Today, please send prayers, good thoughts, hope, love or whatever kind of positive energy you believe in to everyone affected by this morning’s shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
And hold your loved ones a little tighter when you see them.
“You’re gonna get the shits.”
It was the late 70s and I was maybe 10 years old — 10 being my default age for somewhat indistinct childhood memories — and the wind was whipping my hair into a rat’s nest. It was summer and I was riding in the back of a pickup truck with a group of kids, heading back to our meeting place after an afternoon of picking peaches. Oh, there was an adult riding with us who was there in a supervisory capacity, because there has to be ONE responsible grown-up around when you’re transporting a bunch of kids IN THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK. No, we weren’t day laborers or or migrant peach-pickers, but a group of Mennonites gathered for a weekend pig roast in Mississippi to celebrate the dedication of a new church building. I suppose the adults wanted to get us out of the way and thought we’d burn off some energy gathering fruit.
I don’t remember the activity of picking itself, but the trip home is firmly planted […]
I saw this chocolate-sour cream cake on Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn last week and simply could not get it out of my mind. A two-layer chocolate-sour cream cake! I had to make it. HAD TO. Because Gil’s birthday was just a few days ago, it gave me the great excuse I didn’t really need (because I have this here blog, you see). I used Jules Gluten-Free Flour in place of the AP flour in the original recipe.
So I got to work as soon as Gil left for for the office this morning, and it still took most of the day because I’m not much of a baker. Nor am I much of an icer, from the evidence presented above. Still, a crumb coat must be applied, no matter how messily.
I think it looked pretty nice once I was finished. And even though powdered sugar-based frostings […]
I’m heading to Louisiana tomorrow for an extra-long (and warm-weathered) Christmas visit with my family! (Cue happy dance.) Gil has to work this week, so he’ll join us after spending a few days alone with the dogfaces. Since I won’t be around for the start of Hanukkah, I thought I’d make Gil a batch of chocolate-drizzled macaroons to remember me by.
I was still working on my drizzling technique with these first few, but they’re charming in a jolie laide sort of way, right?
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate it! Next up: something savory to balance all of the sugar I’ve been posting…
recipe after the jump
I’ve been in the breakfast doldrums lately. My daily dose of yogurt holds little appeal, and oatmeal and eggs aren’t doing much for me, either. Still, a girl has to eat, so I whipped up a quinoa porridge which fortified me for a long, cold walk with the doggies. The texture’s closer to steel cut oats than to rolled or instant, and it has a wonderful nutty flavor even when cooked with milk. I made it with one part quinoa to 2 1/2 parts liquid (milk & water), but will distort the proportions even more next time to see if I can get it to a rice pudding consistency. I topped it with a little extra milk, cinnamon and a drizzle of honey, and it really hit the spot.
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Remember the roasted pears with amaretto mascarpone from last weekend? Well, I repurposed the leftover cream into semifreddo and it might be even better now. So easy to do — just lightly oil a loaf pan, line it with plastic wrap, spoon the cream into the pan […]
We’ve had a busy, busy, busy few weeks. Between traveling to St. Louis for Passover, catching up at work, and puttering around the house, I haven’t been doing a lot of cooking by my standards, though there has been some. More updates coming soon, but for now a picture from today’s birthday brunch at Double Crown — Chip Delany (the guest of honor) posing with his picture from last week’s New York Magazine.
Happy birthday, Chip. Here’s to many, many more.
Four years.
Sure, I moan about missing summer, but a sunset like this makes it easier to consider the glass half full — the stripped-down trees guarantee an unobstructed view of any late afternoon glory that comes our way. (As always, click on the images to see the larger view on flickr.)
Thanks to everyone for their submissions in the Name My New Refrigerator contest! We have a winner!
If the sheer number of entries was the deciding factor, Marcella (or Marcilla) would’ve won hands-down. Your persistence is admirable, Claudia, but…
Frigid Moynahan held the lead for most of the day, and I just didn’t see how anyone could top that, but…
Nothing made me laugh as hard as Colda Meir. It won with a combination of timeliness (the high holidays are approaching) and visual accuracy (let’s face it, for all her charms, Ms. Meir was a bit, erm, boxy).
So let’s hear it for Kate! You get to select your prize now. What’ll it be? Cookies? A baby portrait session? Babysitting (and any day now)?
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