Posts from the ‘A Word or Two’ Category

speaking love

I have a question. My husband loves me very well and usually his gifts are just incredibly thoughtful. Recently I had a birthday though and the gift he bought me has raised a tiny disagreement between us and I’d like to know what you think. He bought me a stand-mixer. This much is indisputable: It’s got a lot of power under the hood. With a heavy-duty crank, the large stainless steel bowl lifts to meet the beaters. It can make enough whole-grain bread dough to feed the multitudes. With attachments it could make pasta and probably even sausages (if I ate sausages.) It’s even got the word “professional” emblazoned on the front!

It’s powerful and great engineering and all…but what I want to know is: would that speak romance to you?

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garden-spree

I’ve relished the recent gathering of loud and crowding family in the kitchen; little ones running off once again to play “Mary, Joseph and the camel”; the scattering of Azalea petals on the path as little girls usher in some imagined procession of royals; the little boy Luke, turned two, who pats my head and calls me honey, over and over calls me my honey! How many times can a heart break wide open? And how much love can that heart then hold? We all know the truth of it: no such limits!

This past week, the work and play of the kitchen has had a different tempo about it. I think maybe it’s a jig I’ve been dancing! I’ve loved every breathless minute! And now, once again, quiet has descended, and with it, the rain.

I’d promised my mom a day in her garden today, so I woke early, baked golden bran and flaxseed muffins – (you know me so well – yes, the recipe will follow) – and headed to my mom’s. THIS was definitely a day for rain boots and hat, and waterproof jacket. As layered as I was, I still shivered a bit as I worked; and my overalls were drenched and covered with mud when I climbed back into my car to race towards a long soak in a hot tub.  I haven’t quite made it there yet. I’m going to brew a pot of tea and have myself another muffin. I’ll work on heating this body up from the inside out! And then, a good soak will take care of the rest.

Tomorrow I’ll have some muffins for you. And for the weekend, things for the grill! Rain or shine!

Humble Pie

Most mornings I’ll wake at first light and sit in my corner chair with coffee and journal. The words that find their way to paper flow like ribbons from a spool. I don’t make these words, I barely write them. They unwind and flow of their own volition it seems, perhaps falling from the last pages of my dreams. Sometimes they inform, other times amuse, and sometimes I have no earthly explanation for what they mean or how they came to be upon my page. Yesterday was such a morning. I’d been writing for maybe fifteen minutes, when out of the blue, Humble pie appeared. I asked (amused, as you can imagine), Really?!  Humble pie? And Yes, was all it said. And so I laughed out loud. What would you have done? It seemed like such a reasonable response! I know, I know, but after years of companionable times with my journal, I’ve learned to listen. Writing in the mornings has uncovered much for me. When my thoughts and feelings are a jumbled mess, writing helps me sort them. It can help set me straight, show me where I’ve erred.  It shines a light when I’m standing in the dark. SO even when something as silly as humble pie shows up, I say OK. Tell me more.

In this case, I took it both figuratively and literally. I suspect you’re more interested in the literal interpretation, which brings me to today’s offering: Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette.

Have you ever had a completely irrational, seemingly baseless fear? We all have, right? Well, mine has been pie. OK, absurd, I know, but I prefaced this by saying irrational. My Mom always made beautiful pies. Her crusts were never tough or soggy, but always buttery and flaky and just plain pretty. At some point, probably very early on, I told myself I could never make a pie like my Mom. And you know how it oftentimes is when you tell yourself a “lie,” you believe it instantly and go on repeating it for (oh, I hope it’s not so!) the rest of your life. SO, a couple years ago, being buoyed by little successes in unrelated areas, I vowed I would tackle the pie! I came upon a recipe for Galette, this free-form, rather rustic and charming little fruit-filled pastry. It seemed goof-proof. And I believed instantly, I can do that!  And I did! And it was good! Have I conquered my fear? Not entirely, but I’m working with it. And maybe that’s all we’re called to do. Was it Maya Angelou who said, “Feel the fear, but do it anyway.” If it wasn’t she, it was someone else quite brilliant.

So this is me, being humble before you: I still have a little fear of pie.  But I’m not willing to give up. Two reasons: 1) because who ever heard of being afraid of pie? and 2) berry pie is possibly my very favorite dessert and I’m a grown woman and I can’t expect my Mom to make them all for me! This humble little pie-like thing was my first attempt. Is it just possible that eating a little humble pie may be good for the soul? I think maybe so.

Plans and Punts

It was a beautiful day here yesterday, the first in a string of one, and it was Friday (the 13th), the end of a good but long week. Everything seemed right for a special dinner – prepared partly outside, partly in, and eaten around the table with the doors flung wide open. And then, around 4:00, more than two-thousand local residents lost their power and had to punt their dinner plans. So last night’s dinner menu is making its way to tonight’s table. I thought I’d give you a little forecast of what’s to come. It looks like I may be grilling in my rain boots tonight, but that’s nothing we and countless others haven’t done before. It’s part of the adventure – now that’s the spirit!

Tonight’s dinner will go something like this:

Grilled Lemon-Fennel Chicken Skewers
Morrocan Orange, Red Onion, Fennel & Olive Salad (sounds so weird and I promise, it’s SO delicious!)
Couscous – with maybe herbs & spices or toasted pinenuts – we’ll see what comes

I’ll be sure and let you know, with photos and posts tomorrow, or possibly tonight, depending on how contented and lazy I am after tonight’s offerings. Yes, probably tomorrow.

Dinner with a friend – without the gluten

(This appeared as an earlier post, April 2011.)  Last night we had our friend Christie to dinner. She’s a lovely person who deals with a rather un-lovely condition. It wasn’t at all difficult cooking for her, despite the food restrictions imposed on her. Besides the good companionship and lively conversation, here’s what we had at our table:

Grilled Salmon Fillets with Asparagus and Blood Oranges

Steamed New Potatoes with Butter and Chives

Green Salad with Avocado, Kumquats and Pistacios

Mango-Citrus Sorbet and Orangettes

and a bit of red wine

Being that April is Citrus Month (in Spree’s mind) each course celebrated those bright fruits. And with asparagus, blood oranges and new potatoes being so in-season, it was an appropriate dinner for a Spring evening. Though salmon season hasn’t quite hit yet, we found some beautiful thick fillets of wild salmon, flash-frozen at sea. Not a bad compromise!

(Recipes for each appear in the following posts.)