Hoping & Hurting
My Grammy is not doing well. My friend’s Nana who has Alzheimer’s is missing. Another friend is dealing with a partner with a serious addiction. And on and on and on.
There is joy still and hope. It’s just buried a little under the heavy things today.
Soup Season: A List
Soups on my to-make list:
Tomato bisque
Creamy onion
Poblano mushroom
Chicken
Potato leek
Squash
Oyster
Winter duck
Corn chowder
Curried onion
The Kettle Slayer is in the kitchen now, his first tomato sauce simmering on the stove. It is bright and deep. I want to pour cream into it and make it soup. Pure comfort.
Put soup into my bowl
Warm me from the inside out
From the outside in
Feed me soup and we will laugh together through the long winter
What He Said: James Fisher
Today we saw the most beautiful valley in all North America – perhaps in the world – and some of the world’s highest waterfalls, the biggest monoliths, and the world’s largest and oldest living things – all in one day. It was, to say the least, exhausting.
– James Fisher in Wild America
My day felt like that too.
Ham Salad Log
I never buy ham salad. My mind associates the taste, sight, and smell with cat food. Not for people!
A friend had some homemade ham salad and it was offered to me. I accepted politely, held my breath, and forced myself to take a bite.
It was delicious. Now I’m off on a ham salad adventure, trying it from every restaurant and deli I encounter.
I ate ham salad for breakfast yesterday. In the bath. Total decadence.
Today a friend and I had snacky things for lunch and we discovered that ham salad and Hosta Hill Crimson Kraut on a cracker is a heavenly combination.
Next on the list to try is making my own. I have all the ingredients I think I’ll need. This will be a lot like egg or tuna salad: heavy on the personal preference. Pickles? Hard boiled eggs? Spicy or mild? Horseradish?? So many variations to explore.
Maybe my cat food associations are really with deviled ham and I’ve just been missing out on this wonderful treat all these years. Time to play catch-up!
Things I Love: Time in the Kitchen
The tomato jungle yielded great abundance. Tonight we celebrated with an herby tomato sauce over grilled flank steak. Food, wine, friends capped off a beautiful day in the middle of the most gorgeous fall I’ve experienced in the Berkshires. My afternoon in the kitchen was just what I needed to refresh my soul.
We might not have too many years left with Lima Bean at home. She knows how to make a few things to eat and reminded me this morning, “there is this thing called grilled cheese,” so she won’t starve when she’s out on her own. Still, I feel like we can do a little (a lot) better than that.
She’s been charged with making a list of ten things she likes to eat, but doesn’t know how to make. I saw the sparkle in her eye and headed her off. “If you say ‘toaster strudel’, you will learn to make them. From scratch.”
Lima Bean in the kitchen. This promises to be full of small moments to remember.
Challenges & Rewards
It was a lot like this for me today. Bright lights, blurry, moving too quickly. Noisy. Smelly.
Anne Girl shared a bit of wisdom, encouraging me to watch for the joy others were experiencing. I did my best.
The pig was reportedly both giant and alive.
It was difficult to go in here.
It was worth it.
Redux
I have no idea why I thought it would be different for the older one. At least she is big enough to help carry heavy objects.
Progress in Microsteps
The plan: Remove bed from upstairs room. Vacuum. Move downstairs bed to upstairs room. Vacuum. Put upstairs bed in downstairs room.
The first three steps went smoothly.
Have you ever wondered what is under a third grader’s bed? Yeah, me neither. I think I avoid it intentionally.
Insert additional step – enlist Lady Bug to remove dozens of balloons.
We’ll get this done. I think we can. I think we can.
Broken Things
A crash, a gasp, a dash to the kitchen. My precious spice rack upside down on the floor, its contents spread across the kitchen. I took a very deep breath and drove straight to the grocery to pick up a bottle of the caffeinated beverage I’d sworn off that morning.
A few sips in and I felt ready to face the damage. Ceramic chicken – broken. Ceramic little person feeding the chicken – broken. Tea cup from my grandmother – broken. Beautiful platter – hit by ricocheting vinegar bottles and broken. Seven little blue baking dishes safe and one – broken.
The Amazing Survivor Rooster is unharmed.
And, much to my delight, both the spice rack and the advent calendar are all right. Little wooden Mary and Baby Jesus were knocked off the seat next to Joseph, but will be easily fixed.
advent calendar - 2012
Why are things so important? I spent time yesterday repeating all of the good things. No one was hurt. No expensive wall repairs. I have other platters. I was already decluttering.
It wasn’t very comforting. Thank goodness for soup and kind words and tea. And for The Kettle Slayer who put everything back together today. More deep breaths. More perspective. All is well.
a tiny bit of peace
Soup Season – First Soup
Simple and rich, this scallop chowder was bland in color, but full of warm and comforting flavor.
I stuck close to the recipe this time around – onions, butter, potato, scallops, and scalded milk. I can’t remember the last time I scalded milk on purpose!
Next time, I’ll add some bacon or spicy sausage, corn if we have any, and leeks, shallots, or garlic to add to the onions. The Kettle Slayer reached for the hot sauce right away and that most certainly added another warm layer of taste.
I think this book came from Bird Girl. (Thank you!!) The chowder is the first recipe I’ve made from it. I love it when the first recipe is a success; it makes venturing into the others a much more optimistic journey.
The book is divided into seasonal chapters each describing the bounty of New England’s farms, forests, and waters. I think it will be a delicious adventure.
comfort food
Naming Mountains 