picture albums

During the winter I like working on family picture albums.  I have finished seven BIG albums and just ordered another album online because all seven are plum full. No one can fault me for not keeping records of every family nuance. I have two albums on weddings alone.  Who knew there were so many so detailed in all aspects of those special days?

I would love to be able to show you the video of Madeleine reading a book to Mike. The inflections were spot on but not one word can he detect.  She 'reads Madeleinese' fluently, turning the pages as she goes, looking up to make sure he is attentive, showing him the pictures and then reading on. It is a hoot.

I made a big cabbage dish today.  Started off with bacon and pancetta lardons, then adding onions and diced potatoes then last of all cabbage and radicchio. Yum.  A cold weather favorite of practically no one--only mine and Beth's. I added soy sauce, and sriracha and a few other favorites for flavor.

I hardly look at the Dispatch's Cook's Corner anymore.  It comes on Wednesday as before, but it is of no interest to me now. It's a shame and I bet it will be no more one day soon.

Monday and Tuesday action

My niece, Nancy, and her husband just left after spending the afternoon and night.  They are always fun to have and we never run out of conversation.  Now that does not mean I don't run out of steam around 7:00 even with company in the house for the night. I just need my alone time about then and all house guests know this by now. We are all caught up on the family goings-on and we look forward to their next visit.  Danny is a hunter and he has confirmed by trampling through the snow that the coyote is still cutting through the back forty.  He identified coyote prints and deer prints in the snow.  The deer are pregnant at this time of the year and the coyotes follow the deer waiting for the birth and then they move in. Nature, but cruel to our way of thinking.

Johnna and Angela are planning the Italy trip.  We are going early for part of the trip, then landing in Florence for Alyssa's wedding, then doing Tuscany after the wedding.  Will we ever get home? I'd better buy travel insurance.  I will be a month from 82 on that journey.  (Biologically the doctor says I am 68, so I am acting on that premise.)

I have my new walking shoes which I have told you about, so I might just pull this off.

No cooking news today.  We had deep dish pizza last night.  Oh, have you had boars head ham? Kroger is selling it in different sized spiral cuts and I bought a small (hunk) whole section.  It is wonderful just heated through or browned a little with eggs or great on sandwiches.  I like the way they are selling it now because you can gage it with the number of people you are serving.  It is delicious.  You don't need to fool with glazes, it is perfect as it is.

Bathroom redo

Mike and a guy are putting in a new bathtub in the guest apartment.  After 80 years of use, the room deserves a new fixture.  We are lucky that it is snowy today so that the handyman can be here rather than at his regular job. The tub and tile that are being added will complete the good look of this bathroom.  Beth put her touch on it when they moved in and now it is very stylish. (We are lucky to have Beth and Mike living here.  Nate also.)

The snow is promising to be a big one, but it is in no hurry to get here.  It is just a gentle rain-like drip right now.

The chili from yesterday that I didn't think was very good, turned out to be delicious.  The cornbread topping helped, but actually, it could stand on its own quite well. So, today we will have it over crusty baked potatoes like they do in England. Topped with a dollop of sour cream it will go down very nicely.

Nate is in Hawaii for a month.  He has finally come to and let someone know he is alive. Now that we know this he has probably moved on to his next destination.  He's a wanderer.
However, Nate always comes home when the weather is so he can work and work he does until the next freeze comes along.

Time to get the baked potatoes out of the oven.  Yum.

Happy Shoes

 My hairdresser has trouble with her feet.  I went into the salon last week and noticed she was wearing sneaker type shoes.  I rarely, if ever, wear this type of shoe but it was good looking and she said comfortable. I got on line although they do have brick and mortar stores.  The brand is  O  N  and I bought the same shoe as Heather and have the shoes on right now after receiving them in only a couple of days.  They are so comfortable that I don't want to take them off.  They will be perfect for 11 or 12 days in Italy.  (Angie, Johnna and I and hopefully Beth) are going to Italy ahead of the wedding.  We are touring Italy for 9 days, then doing the wedding.

We are in for a big snow I hear so I made a pot of chili today.  It is not as good as my last batch, but that happens sometimes especially if I don't even look at a recipe.  Soups are off limits when it comes to cooking by recipe.  I also made some of the hyped up oyster crackers that Andy loves. I am also making his breakfast crack cereal. See what I can do in my new comfortable shoes? (chili/cornbread)

    

Pork bun soup

Remember the pork roast with roasted vegetables from yesterday's post? It reappears today in soup form with pork buns addition. The vegetables are multi-colored carrots, celery root, potatoes, and green beans. I added home-made chicken stock, soy, sriracha and a little pepper.

This is our first snowy day, light and pretty and that always sends me to the kitchen.  so I am leaning into the fridge today and pulling out interesting ingredients.  The trouble is my best eater is heading south to send her son, Brooks, off to Iraq. Why are we still there???? Now that is going to be 9 months of worry for all of us.

We are knee deep in preparations for Italy. We ladies are planning a nine-day tour of Italy before landing in Florence just before the wedding. Angela, Johnna's sister, is planning the trip and we are giddy with anticipation.  My walking shoes are arriving today.   They are O  N shoes and my friend and hairdresser had them on because she is having foot problems. They looked good and they do the trick for her, so I got on line and ordered a pair. I don't usually like that style of shoe, but I liked hers.

I may add to this as I raid the fridge today.  I spied cranberries.  Happy to find them still in the markets.  I am freezing some and making some cranberry sauce with liquor and orange.

Celery root

 The house is clean and now I am ready to mess up the kitchen with celery root and potato gratin. Maybe. The celery root can scare people so I thought I would find them easily and cheaply, I mean who searches for recipes for celery root?  It's ugly and hairy (at times) and if they don't have to use it they leave it.  I, however, enjoy celery root and right now I have a big tray of carrots, potatoes and celery root roasting in the oven. By the way, they are not cheap and they are hard to find...at least for Andy who shops for me every day. I am serving the other vegetables with teriyaki pork loin. And, if there is anything left over, I will put it to soup. So, I have talked myself out of the gratin because I have no potatoes left to slice. And the above ideas sound tasty.

If you ever have the chance to buy the book The Chef's Companion, you won't go wrong.  It is beside my computer all of the time. It is a concise dictionary of culinary terms and explanations and spellings of course and how to pronounce the words. It is by Elizabeth Riely copyright 1986.

Sunday nights, and cozy days

I have grown very fond of Sunday night television.  At 6:00 on public television Downton Abbey is on for an hour.  Then Victoria came on after that and showed several episodes including the newest ones. I know it was after 11:00 when it was finished and I watched every second. Sadly the final one for the season is next Sunday and it seems it has just begun.  I don't understand programming. I am, however, grateful for WOSU and the shows they present. I know there are many more to come on Sunday nights.

I finally struggled through the latest Patterson book. Very disappointing, but then some might like it we can't all have the same taste.  I am determined to finish the newest Lee Child's book and it is another struggle. These two authors might want to hang it up.  They have had a good run. I just ordered Stuart Woods latest, said I wouldn't but I did and I read over half of it today.

I have two new products to figure out how to use. I wish I had not bought them, but I did so I am going to learn how to use them.  I have the pressure cooker/slow cooker.  I am still afraid of the pressure cooker but I could not resist the price slash, so I fell for it. This winter when I am trapped in the house and things are cozy and the fireplace is blazing, I will give it a go and probably fall in love with it.  Who knows? The other is an induction cooktop which looks to me like just another hot plate.
I will work on it.  Maybe I will find a big use for it when we have large gatherings.  But first I need to practice.  Next time something new comes on the market, stop me.

chocolate swirl brioche

I think Paris every time I find this euro classic French chocolate swirl brioche.  Last night I rediscovered it and it is just as soft and pillowy as I remembered. I used to get it at The Anderson's but that store has been gone for years and now high end apartments are being built there.  It looks like hundreds of them. 

Beth and I ran to two stores last night and Whole Foods was one.  I keep getting disappointed in Whole Foods because I remember it when it was really special.  The store had plenty of business and many empty shelves, so someone is buying there.  I am just not one of them.  I remember having a winter open house and I bought all of the desserts there.  It was an array like I have never had before out on the three seasons porch.  I kept the desserts there for the party so things would stay cool and perfect.  People were over joyed as they wandered out to the porch to select a beautiful tart or a lovely slice of cake.  It was a difficult decision because it all looked scrumptious. My favorite was their pear tarts; large or small, perfect.  The store had been open a short time and every department was one to be visited.  Sadly, I was eager to get out of there last night.

Fresh Thyme is the second store we visited last evening.  There are several locations in Columbus and we went to the one that is hidden in Worthington.  I would never have known it existed, but Beth knows where everything in Columbus is located. That's where I found the brioche products. I am not a chocolate lover, but I cannot resist this chocolate swirl brioche.  I will have it all to myself because everyone here is on a diet.  I will get to that, but not until this is gone. After all, the first wedding isn't until the end of April.

Andy's garden

The last of Andy's big gardening has just gone into the oven.  Butternut squash will end not only the summer but the plot that he has tended for 32 years here at Many Branches. He has decided on container gardening from now on.  He likes to putter around and has tried several vegetables that grow successfully in a container, so that is what is going to do.  The weeds got the best of the big garden along with the wild animals that cut through the property on the way to Adena creek.  (They even eat the tomato plants!

I am not too fond of the wild animals at this point; they maul my dogs and eat our produce and I am glad that not one has been seen since the mauling of Winston. Also on a warm and sunny day like today (1/5/2019 the dogs roamed the acreage.  Now we have to have a guard out there at all times because harm happens fast.

We have not heard a word from Nate the traveler.  We have no idea where he is.  He is a grown-up, so I am sure he can take care of himself.

We are so happy with the weather so far this month, Mike says Ohio is turning into Florida.  I hope your 2019 is turning out well.

Oh my, delicious warm from the oven.

Naan

  

I remember the one and only time I have tasted Naan, it was 1979 in London.  My mother, a friend of mine, and her mother were in London for a study tour of England.  My friend suggested this restaurant and I could not get enough of Naan.  Now that I have a two-ingredient recipe, I am about to rectify that.

It was 1979, that trip that launched my collecting and dealing in antiques and powered the many trips that I made to London and then Paris. I can count on one hand the food that I have tasted and chased and Naan is one of them. It only calls for self-rising flour and Greek yogurt.  That's it. We don't have one of those special ovens and neither did the woman who put this recipe on line.  She just fried hers in an iron skillet and that's what I will do too. (You will find the simple details on the Gunny Sack Blog)

Spring has come early to Columbus.  It is a beautiful day for January 4, 2019.

Dull girl here

I have come to the conclusion that I am too pedestrian for Netflix.  I have watched several of its offerings and have enjoyed most of them.  Sooo, today when their top ten list appeared on my phone and I had not watched one of those movies that they had offered, I was eager to get started.  Roma was first.  Turns out I had actually watched one half of the first part.  It was slow going to get to that part but when a full frontal man jumped around flinging this way and that as he pretended to be a Ninja warrior or something, I gave up and crossed Roma from the list.

Sunday's Illness was next.  There was a lot of pausing and staring in this one, but when she killed the sick bird and started to bury her healthy dog, that was about my length of patience with that one. That's two out of ten, the first two.  Annihilation is next and the name does not make me want to go there either. The fourth on the list Ballad of Buster Scruggs--I'm shaking my head because I see no promise there.

I guess I'll go back to my own choices on Netflix and let the cool gang have the list of top ten.  I actually just finished the entire season (s) of Wanted.  It was a bit Thelma and Louise, but kept me interested and wanting to see more.

I am not cooking today at all. Andy has gone off to buy us something prepared by hands other than mine.  I am lazy today and wanted a good movie.  I bet I can find one on Netflix just not one in their top ten.  Several million watched Bird Box the first week and it actually broke a record of some kind.  I don't think I can watch that one either.  I am hopeless.