Fried chicken, that is.
Month: January 2011
Our cat died Thursday night. It wasn’t sudden; he was fast approaching 19 years old. He had renal failure, which means that for the last couple of months, pursuant to sudden weight loss, we’d been giving him special food and subcutaneous fluids and extra helpings of affection. I met him when he was three, and within a matter of weeks he would greet me by rushing over to this one small area rug in Christine’s apartment and flopping down supine for some serious tummy rubbing. He was a big cat, and in his heyday could easily jump five feet in the air in pursuit of a laser pointer’s red dot. He loved to fight with me, getting all huffy and dilated with indignant cattitude at the temerity of my hand when it bopped him on the nose. He liked to eat raisins. And he was a total whore for the tummy love.
I’ve been on a no-meat sort of run lately, trying to resist the cold-weather hankering for braises and such by digging deep into various traditions that know their way around some legumes. Tonight was burritos with quite good black-eyed peas, leftover brown rice, guacamole, and salsa I froze in September. Very satisfying, but not especially interesting or photogenic. Last night I made a version of something I first did a while back, with some unintentional differences as a result of poor planning. The result was still good to eat, I’m happy to report.
Seafood inspires me. Faced with some wild shrimp and semi-local (RI) clams, I thought about all the ways I could use them–together or separately–to good effect. I went around and around, and ultimately I settled on soup. Amazing, right? All the visions of multiple small plates (each cradling one elegant concoction) collapsed in the din of the ticking clock. I did have enough time to prepare the components individually, though, and it made a huge difference to the result.
I’ve been working to replenish some of the sold ceramics because I miss using them, and I’ve also been messing around a bit with some new ideas. As I get closer to having all the dishes I want for my own use, I’m thinking in terms of future projects like pickling crocks and a sink for the bathroom.. But in the meantime it’s mostly plates and bowls that inspire me to cook food to go in/on them. And this woven basket thing, which for now makes a nice centerpiece for the dining room table, especially with the red runner we got as a Christmas gift.
First off, having both Christmas and New Year’s Day on Saturdays is totally awesome, and should henceforth be the arrangement for all eternity. Wasn’t it so much easier? With the start of a new year, I thought I’d mention various non-food-related things that I find interesting from time to time. I’m going to add a sidebar widget for short posts like this in the future, as soon as I find one that works. So: The…
For this month’s Chronogram article, I took a look at four-season gardening on both a commercial and home-gardening scale. The basics are very simple, and all gardeners in cold climates should seriously consider simple season-extension to get much more food from their plots. There’s a culinary bonus, too; cold-weather crops taste better this time of year. Photo by the not at all cold Jennifer May