Moody

Yep. That's me. Not sure why, today, but it remains the case, despite my best efforts.

Ok, maybe not my best efforts. In fact, maybe not any efforts.

I should probably go work on that.. maybe a Harry Potter movie might help.

Well, Happy Sunday anyway :P

Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving was always Momma's favorite holiday.  She told me it was her favorite because all she had to worry about was food. And--let's be honest here (in case you haven't figured this out yet)--my family was really into food.

Especially Momma.  

And boy did she "worry" about the food.  Not that she stressed out about it, but she planned and planned for it. I think she really looked forward to the holidays all year long, planning for months ahead of time: stocking up recipes and thinking about what she'd make and how she'd serve it. She loved parties.

She had stacks of magazines with recipes she wanted to try.  Countless cookbooks were piled on her bookshelves. Her recipe box was stuffed with 3 x 5 cards.  Every year she'd try at least one new dish.  Usually, there would be several--sweet, savory, and cookie-y.

...

Torn

Ok, fellow eaters of the world. Here it is, less than two weeks from Thanksgiving, and I have yet to nail down which recipes I definitely want to do.  I have quite an arsenal at the ready, but I don't know what to do.

The turkey, for a brief moment, was hovering between a maple-butter turkey which Momma made for Viv's birthday dinner one year (which was. delicious.) and a boned turkey a la Julia Child.  I still really want to try a boned turkey, but with 10 people coming to dinner chez Black, I think I'll stick with something I know this time 'round.  I was settled on the maple turkey, herbs and all (and more patience and planning this time).  And then... (oh, that infamous little word), I found this turkey from Joanne Chang.

Now, it may not look like much to the un-initiated eye, but really, this woman is the ultimate in amazingly tasty foods.  You've heard me talk about Myers + Chang before, and you've heard me rave about Flour Bakery + Cafe.  And I'm only now discovering she does Thanksgiving?!  I think I would eat anything this woman cooks.

But then I love this stuffing and these sweet potatoes and I'd love to do a soup like this (especially for Vivers), and there will be mashed potatoes and gravy and the Nantucket cranberry relish I made last year (though this one from Joanne looks amazing, too).  I'm even thinking of adding other-than-starch vegetables this year :-o  Like this salad, and then I saw her carrots and her pickles.  I don't know what to do!

Thoughts? Suggestions?  Do you think a soy-sauce turkey will conflict too much with other, more traditional flavors on the table?  If I did Joanne's turkey, what other of her recipes do you think I should definitely make? What ones of my more traditional ones?  Dare I ask what your favorite recipes for Thanksgiving are?

I realize I'm only be acerbating the problem with more recipes, but I'm a recipe junkie. What can I say? :)

In Tangible

Fall has always been such a sense-filled time of year for me.  There's the change in the air, the crunch of the leaves, the holiday cooking smells that begin to waft from the kitchen, the lessening daylight and cozy indoor evenings, and the smell of burning leaves or wood fires in the chill air when you step outside.  The season of fall is all about preparing, storing up, buckling down, and bundling up. Preparing for the holidays, storing up the season's bounty, buckling down to the work of the new school year, bundling up against the looming winter chill.

Slicing a squash in half and scooping out the goopy seeds with a spoon, I was struck by the tangibility of the season.  I soaked the seeds in some water, methodically loosening the squash "gunk," straining, rinsing, and separating the seeds, and dried them off.  They stuck wickedly to the towel, so I ended up having to brush the sticky-seeds off with my hand, and then off my hand into the pan.  I stirred them around in some oil, salt, and pepper, tasting my fingers to make sure the spice was correct, and put them in the oven [275, till crispy].  I love the smell of roasting seeds.  Roasting anything, really--chicken, apples, tomatoes, beets.  All that flavor sealed in to burst at the right moment in my mouth. Perfection. So Fall.

Of course, other seasons are tangible, too. In fact, everything has that sense-full aspect to it.  Padding softly through falling snow, wrapping mitten'd hands around a mug of hot cider; or feeling the first warmish sunshine of early spring on your face, smelling the green things popping up through the ground; even something as unpleasant as sweat dripping down the middle of your back as you walk to work on a hot summer morning brings us sharply into the awareness of our physicality. Our own tangibility.

What a joy to be touch-able, to feel things and see them and smell them and hear them.  To come to know things through the real experience of them, making the idea of them palpable. Memories stirred up from childhood of mounds of crispy roasted pumpkin seeds, freshly salted, recalled themselves to my mind slicing open that squash, peering inside at the promise of spring.  Slowly and steadily, as I washed and seasoned and baked the seeds, the memory and anticipation of Delicious approached until the warm seeds where in my hand, popped into my mouth, and crunched down into reality in a burst of salty-roasted Goodness.  What a beautiful gift our senses are.

Ablaze

I've been working till 5 this week.  This is a bad time of year to start working until 5, I think.  Not only have I just returned from the blissful doing-nothing of Hawaii, but add in the time change on Sunday and it's a recipe for a mopey me as I watch the sun set sitting at the desk answering the phone.

Of course, I know I have no room to complain, so I'm really not asking for sympathy (honest, Viv).  But it kinda puts a damper on the 365 project if you wake up late, rush to work, and don't get out until it's dark. I mean, there are really only so many things at home I can take pictures of :)

So when I happened to look up from the computer yesterday as the sun was setting, and noticed the intense pink and purple light show outside, I grabbed my camera and temporarily abandoned the phone.

It was brilliant. Beautiful. Stunning.

And I may not have noticed it if I had been at home.

So I guess there's always something to be grateful for, huh?

...

Can I admit that I'm kinda proud of myself?  I mean, even though I haven't posted a whole lot on a regular, consistent basis (so much for new year's resolutions, huh?), I've done a wordless photo a week consistently :) That's something, right? It's a start!

I started the wordless thing as an exercise in restraint. To practice not over-explaining my photos or my ideas. To let the picture tell the story. To inspire your imagination.  But I have a confession to make (at least, I think it's a confession--maybe it's more of an Announcement):  I don't like adding titles or descriptions to any of my photos now.  

Well, alright, I do add descriptions to some of them, and I do at least title others.  But when I come to a situation like this, where the photos could all be titled the same thing, or the same one or two things, I think my inherent laziness comes out and I say "oh, you know it's a ginkgo branch." And I leave you to it.

Is that freedom? Is it artistic? Is it really just laziness?

Well... whatever :)

...

...

Perfect Potato Soup

One of the most comforting things in the cold and windy winters of my childhood was Momma's potato soup.  I remember watching her make it, standing on a stool by the warm stove.  She always used gigantic russet potatoes, thoroughly peeling them (for her squeamish children who didn't like "funny brown stuff" in their soup), chopping them, and plop-plop-plopping the chunks into the hot water in the pot.  She never added onions, I guess because we also didn't like those.  But she did add celery. And cream. And salt and pepper. And butter. 

That was it. That was her soup.  She'd serve us each a big bowl, to which I would promptly add another large pat of butter, letting the golden goodness melt and swirl into the soup.  You didn't stir it in completely, though--that spoiled the delight of crafting each spoonful with the right amount of soup, salt, and melted butter. 

Over the years, as I've made the soup myself, I've changed a few things.  For one (and I really don't know what was wrong with me as a kid), I love onion now, and add it to preeetty much everything I make.  For another thing, I like to add herbs and substitute coconut milk for the cream.  I also tend to use red or golden potatoes instead of russet. I think it makes it creamer :) 

In any case, I still stick with that generous pat of butter, letting it happily melt in my bowl.  And, despite my seemingly dramatic shifts from the way I preferred the soup as a child, it remains a strong comforting meal to soothe the wet and windy winter cold away, even in the earliest days of fall. 

Perfect Potato Soup

a bunch of potatoes, roughly chopped (seriously, I never measure--maybe 8 or 10 round red spuds for a good 2 quarts of soup)

some water (you can use stock, but I don't recommend boiling the potatoes in the stock, since you'll drain most of the water)

2-3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

cream (or coconut milk)

optional:

1 or 2 onions, chopped

herbs of choice

a few tablespoons flour (to thicken the soup further)

In a medium pot, bring a couple quarts of salted water to a boil.  While the water is heating up, coarsely chop the potatoes (no need to peel them, but you certainly can if you like) and the celery.  Add both vegetables to the water and cook until fork-tender.  

Optional: While the potatoes are cooking, chop the onions and saute them until they just start to caramelize. Turn off the heat.  Add to the onions the herbs of choice, flour, and any additional seasoning you can think of (I like some cayenne pepper in my soup during flu season).  Mix the herbs and flour into the onions until there are no dry lumps and it's all evenly distributed.  Set aside. 

When the potatoes and celery are tender, drain most of the water but keep it in a bowl or a pitcher.  Add the onions to the drained potatoes and stir well.  Blend the soup with a stick blender adding water as necessary to get  the right consistency (if you want to use stock, add stock to thin the soup instead of the water).  

Taste and check seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve in your favorite big bowl with a big spoonful of butter and some warm toast. Maybe with some cheese on top.  

...

Change

This time of year in Boston is a lovely transition from summer to fall.  It gets warm enough during the day that I don't need a heavy coat and it's enough to have just a light sweater.  But at night it gets chilly--so that I want to snuggle up under a blanket with a hot cup of tea and read a good book while the seasonal winds blow outside.

Fall is coming; and with fall comes all the wonderful goodness of harvest, grand feasts, family holidays, parties, hearty soups, stews, and roasts--warming the house with Love in a Pot from the kitchen.

It is a lovely time of year.

See, the radiators in our building aren't turned on this early. So this is the time of year where we really feel the chill in the air at night.  Granted, we thoroughly enjoy the chill, and the last few nights we've slept with our windows wide open--and an extra down comforter on our bed.  I suppose it makes it that much harder to get out of bed in the morning, when the cold air is fresh in the lungs but the rest of my body is so warm and pleasant.   So, when the radiators do come on, I definitely appreciate them :) but for now, I'm going to make some tea, and wrap a blanket around me while I process photos from my trip to Texas.

Happy Fall to you :)

Start Spreadin' the News

"I'm leavin' today! I want to be a *part* of it: 

New York, New York!" 

That's right!  T and I headed down to NY (for the first time ever) yesterday to visit his grandparents who are in town for another event.  We woke bright and early (well, this time of year it wasn't exactly bright) and took the train down--sleeping most of the way.

From Penn Station, we walked to the hotel to check in and meet up with Grama--since Grampa was still in a meeting.  After a nice lunch at il Menestrello (ooh, tasty tomato and prosciutto pasta!) we went for a leisurely walk though Central Park.  The weather was cool and rather damp, but it made the whole atmosphere very cozy, in a way, and delightfully secluded, muffling the sounds of the city streets.. even the clip-clop clip-clop of the horse-drawn carts through the park was less clamorous.

Grampa took us all to dinner at the Bull and Bear in the Waldorf-Astoria and I had duck for the first time!  A lot like chicken, but (naturally) more game-y. Quite tasty :)  And the best part of our day? Yes, we were in bed, asleep, by 8:30 p.m.

Today: 9am Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral, brunch with Grampa, Grama, and (her sister) Aunt Mary, visit to the Frick Museum (a very impressive private collection--we saw the original St. Thomas More painting!), stroll to the train station, knitting all the way home.  Anti-climactic?  Not at all.  

As far as out-of-town weekends go, this was certainly a very relaxing one.  And it was wonderful to see family--we miss you so!  Thank you, Grampa and Grama for inviting us down!

New York

Happy Feet

I walked through a lovely pile of ginkgo leaves on my way home today.  Happy Feet :)

Not so happy in those shoes, though--I wore them all day yesterday as Viv and I walked around downtown to find her interview places.  Why did I wear them to day, then, you ask?  ...I'm not sure either.

Yesterday was a full day as well. I guess that's just the way it is when one has guests :)  Work in the morning, lunch downtown, wandering around with my Seester, browsing some stores (during her interview).  We had baked beans for dinner last night--my very own Boston baked beans--and some whole grain pull-apart bread (which turned out well!).  Watched a movie together (with T (and tea)).  Generally a great day!

I got off work early today and T and I drove Viv out to Framingham for another interview (which went well--they would like to talk to her in January when she's available!). Sushi for lunch (YUM!) and then we went to a lecture at BC (while I promptly forgot about picking up our food for the week.. our CSA produce and our fresh, local fish :( oops) and had a tasty (free) dinner on campus with other lecture attendees.

Then (and my favorite part), having found a fellow Animaniacs-lover in one of our philosophy friends, we all came back to our place and watched an episode of the Great, the Wonderful Animaniacs.  A perfect way to end the evening.

And now I'm off to bed. Maybe tomorrow I'll blog during the day, when I'm not so tired. This is getting to be a bad habit :(  (but I am still blogging each day--that's gotta count for something?)

We shall see :)

Catching Up?

Here we are again--time when I should be in bed but I'm blogging instead (hey, that rhymes).

I'm blogging about yesterday, though. Does it still count?

T did a 5k race on Sunday with the law school.  It's called Race Ipsa (a pun on res ipsa loquitur... I didn't quite get it either).   But the race went very well and T had a good time--felt really good after the run, too.

[I have to admit, law school does not leave much time for idleness.  They say "idle hands are the devil's workshop," but don't you think it gets a little silly sometimes, with the number of "events" the law school/classes/sections/clubs plan for their members?  Hm..]

So here are the pictures. There's some more "mini-blogging" in the captions :D

Race Ipsa

In other news--I got the house mostly cleaned up for my SEESTER! who's arriving bright and early tomorrow morning (another reason I should be in bed with my Sweet P'Taylor, instead of staring at a computer screen).  She's visiting Boston to scope out the job scene--keep her in your prayers! We want her to move here and hang out with us!  


I did some sewing, too (can't share what yet. 'tis the season, I guess).. which is one reason why I'm blogging now, instead of being a good girl and doing it earlier in the evening.  


Maybe tomorrow I will be better.  


:) 


We'll see. 

Ginkgo!

When I'm walking in the city, I tend to keep my eyes mostly downward (no one wants to step in city-puddles or forgotten dog poop).  But whenever I see a ginkgo leaf on the ground, I try to find the tree.  I gravitate toward them. Ginkgo's are my favorite.  I'm not sure why.  Every time I see one I smile :)

Maybe it's because they're considered a living fossil, being so old and completely unique?

Maybe it's just because they have funny-shaped leaves?

Maybe it's because they tend to lose their leaves all at once?
(leaving tiny, wistful, golden fans all along the sidewalk,

making any walk home enchanting and inspiring)

Maybe it's the bright, fiery yellow they turn when it gets cold?

Maybe it's the odd way they branch out and sprout leaves?

Whatever it is about ginkgo trees, I just love them.  I think that, along with apples trees (!), we're definitely going to plant some ginkgo trees on our dream farm.  Along with Japanese maples.  I know we are planning to have our farm in the Evergreen State, but that's no reason why we can't have pretty fall colors around, too. In fact, that's my favorite way to have it--I love the perennial green of the coniferous trees (the Boston Gray state of affairs all winter leaves me hungering for some good ol' pine trees!), but I just eat up all the bright fall colors in New England.

When I was in college, during the fall, I would routinely detour along Nora Avenue because the whole street was planted with deciduous trees--oh the flames! It was just breathtaking.  I want a lane like that coming up my farm driveway :)

So here's to fall, in all it's dwindling autumnal glory, and pretty yellow ginkgo trees :)

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Two years ago, T and I had our first "on-our-own" Thanksgiving.  I got this recipe from my boss as a variation on the regular sweet potato souffle.  I really liked it--though I would have made the streusel topping a bit more crumbly and crispy.

Boil in salted water for 2 minutes:
6 medium sweet potatoes (~ 3 pounds), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Drain and rinse under cold water.

Grease a 9x13 pan and layer sweet potatoes in it. Pour over:
1 1/2 c heavy cream
cover with topping (below)

Topping
combine with pastry cutter or in food processor:
2 t butter, softened
2 t flour
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c blended oats

Bake 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes

-------------------

But now, having a milk allergy, I can't do the whole "cream" thing :(  So I decided to fiddle around and come up with my own "vegan" version. (Incidentally, we had these spuds last night with "Deviled" Beef Short Ribs. Ooh, so tasty!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil 3 medium sweet potatoes (probably enough for 4-6 people), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick, in salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Grease 8" casserole dish (I used a pie pan) and place sliced sweet potatoes in the pan (at this point, you can place them in the fridge to prepare later).

Saute 1 small onion (optional), quartered and sliced, in some oil until translucent, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Layer onions over sweet potatoes in pan. 

Pour about 1 c coconut milk over potatoes and onions (you may need more or less coconut milk depending on the dish you're using. You want to have about a half-inch of coconut milk with the potatoes in the pan (or 3/4" if it's a small pan stuffed with potatoes).

Topping
combine in food processor and pulse until finely crumbed:
1/2 to 3/4 c oats
1/2 to 3/4 c nuts (I used walnuts, but pecans or almonds would work just as well)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice (or nutmeg or cloves--be creative!)
1 to 2 T sugar [if you want to use honey or maple syrup, add it with the coconut oil, after the dry ingredients have been crumbed]

Add slowly, until the mixture starts to hold together:

2 T coconut oil [be sure to add this gradually--the amount of oil from the nuts makes a big difference in how much extra oil you need]

Crumble topping over sweet potatoes and onions.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes (when sweet potatoes are tender all the way through and the milk is bubbly).  Be sure to place a parchment-lined baking sheet under the sweet potatoes, in case the milk boils over the sides!

Serve up and enjoy!

Soup Night

Mm... cold weather. The perfect time for soups of all kinds!  Especially soups made from the lasting produce from the warm summer.  During Lent when I was growing up, our parish would have a weekly "soup night" (on Wednesdays).  We would pack our bowls and spoons (usually we used the "motor-home" spoons--not Momma's good silverware) and napkins and cups into the soup night basket.  (Incidentally, sibs, I saw this lady at the farmer's market with that exact same basket! So many memories!)  Ooh, and then when we got to soup night, they'd have fresh bread! and you could smell it all the way outside the parish hall.  Sometimes Momma would make her pull-apart bread (recipe to follow later, hopefully).  That bread with butter and hot soup is a recipe for happiness in a bowl :)

But I digress.  I decided last year (probably due in large part to the chilly frigid Boston winters) that soup night should be more than just a Lenten thing.  Once the weather cools down, I try to do at least one soup a week, and if I made a big enough recipe: PRESTO! instant hot lunches.

------------------------

And so... I made beet soup the other night.  The soup was quite tasty, but the real reason I am posting to highlight my favorite kitchen gadget.

My stick blender!

I didn't know they had nifty things like this until I read about it in a cookbook.  I had done plenty of blended soups before.  Well I knew the tedious process of scooping out all the chunks-of-whatever in the soup, putting them in my regular blender, and returning the blended soup to the pot.  Of course, you'd have to do this several times if you made a big recipe, since not all the solids would fit in the blender at the same time.

And the results were never uniform.  Maybe I didn't do it right, but I always ended up with only semi-smoothly-blended soups, rather than the sweetly creamed soups in the recipe pictures...

And then enlightenment dawned!  I had discovered the easy way to blend my soups.  My stick blender (which was a present from my Sweet P'Taylor) has been the most labor-saving device (compared to scooping, blending, returning to pot, repeating ad nauseam, and cleaning up the plop mess between pot and blender), at the best cost, and the most convenience.  All I have to do is plug it in, stick it in the pot, and push the button.

I rave about it whenever we have friends over for a blended soup :) In just a few minutes, it turns a chunky soup into a smooth-textured delicacy.  And the only thing I have to wash is the bottom half of the stick blender (which, by the way, is dishwasher safe!).

We have the KitchenAid blender right now, available for $50.  But before this one, we had the Cuisinart blender (for $30), which worked beautifully (until we tried to blend some chunked chocolate into a milkshake... that dinna work so well).

The only real improvement in the KitchenAid over the Cuisinart that I've noticed is that the KitchenAid has multiple blending speeds.  (though I've only ever used one, so far). Maybe the lower ones would be better for mashed potatoes? Maybe the higher power ones are better for breakfast shakes or something?  I'd have to read the "d-istructions" (as Daddy would say) to find out.

But in the mean time, as fall wraps its brightly-leafed arms around Boston and chills the air, I will have a steady stream of quickly-blended soups ready to ward off the cold.

Happy fall! Happy soup-making!

Ode To Autumn

by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimmed their clammy cell.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,

Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cider-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,---
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir, the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Apple Picking

Saturday, T and I decided we should go apple picking.  There were a few other people who were supposed to join us (ahem), but it ended up being just my love and me, off on an adventure of our own.  Which was fine, of course :)

It's actually a good thing no one else came.  The "orchard" we'd picked wasn't a pick-your-own orchard.  Unless you count "picking your own" to be "picking your own already-picked apples out of big bins that are outside."  They did have really tasty cider, though.  And doughnuts [I have henceforth resolved never to buy a doughnut again.  I want them fresh. And hot. Ooh, so yummy :) Stay tuned for recipes...]

So, we headed got back in the car (cider in hand) and headed down the road in search of another orchard, with real trees to pick our own apples from.  Fortunately, we didn't have to go too far and happened upon Bolton Spring Farm.  We bought a bag and meandered through the trees picking out pretty apples.

It was a relatively short afternoon, but just long enough to feel like we got out of the city for a bit, enjoying the lovely warm weather (there won't be many weekends like this soon enough).  Next time we go, I kinda want to bring a blanket and some sammiches and have lunch under one of the apple trees ("don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me..."), but I don't know if that'll be allowed.  We'll see :)

Enjoy the pictures :)

Apple Picking :)