Cherries, berries and salad dressing (and changing changelessness)

Chon-ji is a tae kwon do form that Ruben learned a couple of years ago. The literal Korean translation is  'the heaven the earth.' He uttered Chon-ji once when we were in the mountains in Western Virginia where the clouds were touching the earth all around us. It is a word that signifies the beginning, and is an idea from the I-Ching that life processes are based on changing changelessness....Perhaps sort of like how a head of lettuce or a cherry is exactly the same thing each year and yet so completely different.

Maple syrup and balsamic vinegar dressing (from Farmer John's Cookbook, the Real Dirt on Vegetables  
1 C extra virgin olive oil
3 TB maple syrup (grade B has a stronger maply taste)
2 TB balsamic vinegar
2 TB finely sliced basil (I prefer to leave it out of dressing)
1 TB lemon juice (fresh squeezed is recommended)
1 ts dry mustard (i use wet dijon)
1 clove garlic minced
salt
pepper
The book says it stores up to two weeks in the fridge, but my guess is if you leave out the basil it will store longer and there's no need to put it in the fridge where the olive oil will congeal.


We're going to have a "heaven on earth" salad today with local cherries, blueberries and hull peas...I'm not going to take a picture of it, some things are better without words or images.

porcelain base, glass punctures and drips