Emily Paine Carter

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"Ratatouille": It's not just the vowel-laden title of that animated movie about a French rat/chef. It's a stew: a great way to use whatever veggies you have lying around.

I'm using "ratatouille" as a metaphor for "a little of this, a little of that": a mess of topics, all tossed into this kettle of a column. Let's see what's been simmering this summer:

On a recent Saturday morning at Roanoke Natural Foods (aka "The Co-op"), a couple negotiated which herbs and spices to invest in. Sure, expert chefs insist that we should buy new ones to replace stuff older than a few months. But it seems a costly shame to toss out the old, especially when you can rejuvenate herbs considerably by crushing them.

Anyhow, I'm just saying that as someone who still has vintage bottled herbs from the 1960s Golden Age of Gas-Station Giveaways, I can appreciate the couple's seriousness. Stocking a pantry is such a big step -- and test -- in a relationship. New relationship, new spices? Who controls the larder?

He: "How about pumpkin pie spice?" She: "I never use it."

They also discussed the merits of whole versus ground cloves, and how one was not in any of his or her recipes.

Their decision-making tension was stressing my tummy, so -- grateful to see only one kind of catnip -- I quickly scooped a small bag full for Mama's kitty and moseyed on.

Meanwhile, back at the Salem Farmers Market, Salem Times-Register/New Castle Record news editor Meg Hibbert was selling her cookbooks and garlicky products -- even garlic-flavored doggy biscuits! (Perhaps for the dog whose breath is just too sweet.) Sometimes she offers fresh, local elephant garlic.

She e-mailed that she and husband Bill are working on their fifth cookbook, due in October: "Days of Wine and Garlic" will feature recipes and lore "from as many of Virginia's 110 wineries as we can get, plus winning recipes from the last six Virginia Garlic Festival cook-offs."

She wrote that she expects to be at her stall Saturday and other yet-undetermined dates.

And isn't it cool to see cornstalks in the Salem Farmers Market parking lot median strip? The birdfeeder is a nice touch, too. As if free parking weren't enough ...

Say, thanks to all public and private gardening efforts. At times your lovely, well-tended plantings might be the sole, and soul, reminder that the world is still charged with beauty.

A "mighty good" time was definitely had by those lucky enough to squeeze into Salem's Awful Arthur's on July 7 -- before maximum occupancy was reached and the doors were closed. A merry crowd enjoyed Encore, Truckers' Delight and the Rhythm Doctors -- and raised funds to help Glenvar legends Jimmy and Joe Gladden with their medical expenses.

As Rhythm Doctor Andy Hough exclaimed on my voice mail, "It was huge! We were hoping for $2,000 and ended up with more than $4,000!"

The rollicking scene reminded us that for feeling young -- at least until the next day -- there's nothing like going out to hear live music ... even if you're riding with H.C. Crotts, decked in his "Richfield Retirement Community" shirt.