Today I took a trip to Catskill Native Nursery to scope it out and get some information to help me fill in the picture for what I want to plant this year in the way of fruit and nuts in the field. It’s a beautiful drive, and the day could not have been nicer. I came home with lingonberry plants, and some flowers for the bed next to the driveway that needs some work. I…
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I was in Vermont on Friday going through the cellar and giving at least half of it to someone from an auction house. On the plus side, it’s one of the few assets we own that has actually- and significantly- appreciated in value, so it’s going to make us some much-needed cash. On the minus side, I parted with some special bottles of Bordeaux, some of which I’ve had for 15 years. Back during the…
On a recent trip to a local market, and thanks in no small part to the random peregrinations through the store which the company of a small boy can engender, I happened upon a certain freezer compartment stuffed full of various exotic game meats- many of which are responsibly farm-raised in the vicinity. I was pretty excited, and loaded up our basket with several different cuts from several different beasts: venison, elk, bison, and quail-…
Last night’s lasagna was easily the best I have ever made, but it was not exactly light fare (eating some cold leftovers today, I noticed the unmistakably grainy texture of beef fat, and was reminded that decadence has a price.) So to give our arteries a bit of a break, but keep the comfort level high, I put some yellow-eye beans out to soak early in the morning. Very early. Around noon, I took a…
I just put up a post over at Thursday Night Smackdown; Michelle, the proprietor, is out of commission for a bit so some of her blogger pals are filling in. It’s fun to try to assume someone else’s voice- especially when that voice is very funny and even more profane. Go check it out.
Chris, Liz, and Nissa came for dinner while Sirkka and Christine were in the city. Chris brought a big steak, and a bottle of 1990 Batasiolo Barolo that was tragically corked. We grilled the steak, baked acorn squash, braised burdock with galangal and ginger, sautéed bok choy, and made a salad. I opened a 1999 Martinetti Barolo “Marasco” which was gorgeous. Liz made an amazing cashew-vanilla-grapefruit cream that we ate on grapefruit and blood oranges…
Completely exhausted from rototilling the garden, and with next to nothing in the fridge, I punted; the brown rice allowed for efficient use of the few things we had. Fillings included roasted acorn squash, chopped wasabi peas, avocado, carrot (shaved super-thin with the peeler) and minced ume plum. That was it. No sides, no wine, just simple food and then bed.
The remaining barley with the addition of milk, agave syrup, and bananas, simmered this morning into a yummy breakfast for Milo. For lunch, we all had tortellini in a classic fridge sauce: the stuffing from Xmas, which Christine puréed last week with a can of tomatoes into soup (like a chickeny pappa al pomodoro) mixed with the kale pesto left over from a recent pizza, plus the last of the short rib liquid and the…
The shrimp shells left from making the shumai yesterday became the base for tonight’s dinner; along with an onion and garlic, plus some white wine, they simmered into a really nice broth. Bean thread noodles and blanched baby bok choy rounded out the soup, and scallions and cilantro finished it. We drank the rest of the cheap white- a 120 Sauvignon Blanc- which for 6 bucks was peachy, had good acidity, and went well with…
John came over to make pie crust for their party, so we opened a couple of old Burgs I bought for a song in Kingston: a 1976 Drouhin Clos des Mouches and a 1978 Geoffroy Clos Prieur. The Gevrey-Chamb was the favorite, but over time the Beaune gained some sweetness. John left before we ate another Moroccan chicken stew with preserved lemon, olives, and sweet potatoes. By the end of the night the wines were…