When I got home today I decided it was okay to plant sweet peas--I hope it will stay cool for a while, since they like cool weather. I put them in the raised bed by the driveway. I'd do better, of course, if I started them in February and had sturdy seedlings to put out in April, but usually I just wait and direct-sow. Today I was thinking about how full of tree roots the bed is and how there's a layer of wood chips on the top and I don't always plant them right, and thought, Gee, I ought to put the seeds in peat pots and plant the pots. I didn't have peat pots, but I folded a bunch of newspaper cups, filled them with potting soil, and planted 3 seeds in each, then planted the cups. The idea is that the sweet peas can start without having to compete with the tree roots, and the newspaper will eventually decompose. That's the idea, anyway. We'll see how it works. It's supposed to rain tonight, so I didn't water them.
Yesterday I found some patching mix--grass seed, mulch, and fertilizer all mixed together in one bag--left over from I don't know when. I don't know if the grass seed is still viable, but I threw it around the side yard (where the dogs don't grow). I watered it yesterday, but haven't today because of the predicted rain. They're saying "locally heavy," and I hope that passes us by--I just want enough to give everything that needs it a good drink.
I still have nasturtiums and morning glories to plant. The nasturtiums will go into the garage bed with the Asiatic lilies, the idea being that they'll trail out over the edges of the dark green bed like bright jewels, and I think I'll put morning glories alternately with the sweet peas--morning glories often have a little more oomph than sweet peas and hopefully they'll last through the summer, after the sweet peas get too hot and give it up.
I really ought to get the garage painted this year if I can, and if I can find the right shade of greyed, faded blue-lavender, so the Asiatic lilies will show up better than they do against the white wall. Or move this batch of lilies and plant some vivid red, orange, gold, and yellow ones. I'm going to have to see what the new sun pattern is. Maybe I can have another go at a yellow climbing rose==maybe Golden Showers. There was enough sun with one tree down last year that the hosta burned up and the astilbe totally vanished, and there'll be more sun this year with the top of the other tree down, so I've got a garden to re-imagine. I'm thinking bright flame colors, red, orange, and yellows, with a lot of green to anchor it. Though that in turn means moving my mourning angel to a more appropriate spot. I've decided I'd like to have her surrounded with European ginger, dark heuchera (Plum Pudding, for instance), with white astilbe at the back. The question is *where* to put it? And I wonder how the gallium is going to react to the extra sun? Doesn't it figure, I just get the place set up for shade and two trees fall down and let the sunshine in.
Then I came in and cuddled Timber, my sweet boy, and then for dinner made this spring/summer pasta dish:
pasta, your choice of shapes (I like rotini) - as much as you'll need, cooked al dente
after the pasta is cooked, drain and add:
shredded Parmesan
solid white tuna in water (drained)
sliced black olives (drained) (nicoise olives if you can find them)
a couple of spoonfuls of commercial pesto, to taste
canned tomatoes, drained--I like Italian-style flavored with garlic and basil when I can find them, but tonight I used plain diced tomatoes and counted on the pesto for the garlic and basil flavors.
The heat of the pasta will heat the other ingredients, although you can return it to the stove and give it a quick re-heating. Store left-overs in the fridge and eat as a cold pasta salad for lunch tomorrow. It's a very colorful dish, filling and fresh-tasting (although if you had tomatoes and basil from the backyard, it would taste even fresher!). To make it more of a nicoise dish you could also add small pieces of cooked green beans, capers, and hard-boiled eggs, but I usually don't.
Now I can work on my spring lace sock and watch Richard Lester's 1973 Three Musketeers in memory of Charlton Heston, and one of my very favorite movies ever.
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Monday, April 7, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Strawberry Shortcake
No, not the dolls; the real thing. I told Monika I would put up an essay by food writer James Villas on the subject of strawberry shortcake, but the essay is longer than I remembered it, so I'll just put some excerpts here. This is from "Strawberry Shortcake," Villas at Table, Harper & Row, 1988, pp. 257-263.
In the first place, I remembered a lot of it incorrectly. Villas does not refrigerate his strawberries! On the contrary, he recommends warming them slightly and serving them with British double or clotted cream. Secondly, it isn't Villas who describes the experience of eating strawberry shortcake; instead, he quotes "the New England gastronome John Thorne: 'A bite of real strawberry shortcake is a mouthful of contrast. The rich, sweet cream, the tart juicy berries, and the sour, crumbly texture of hot biscuit all refuse to amalgam into a single flavor tone, but produce mouth-stimulating contrasts of flavor--hot and cold, soft and hard, sweet and tart, smooth and crumbly. The mouth is alert and enchanted at once.'"
Villas notes that Shakespeare mentions "shortcake" in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and adds, "...it is fairly obvious that a direct historical link can be established between this confection and the ancient British tradition of smearing strawberry preserves and thick double or clotted cream over warm scones and other forms of short pastry." He then refers to the tradition of strawberry shortcake in such classic American cookbooks as Mary Lincoln's 1883 Boston Cookbook, Fannie Farmer's 1896 Boston Cooking School Cookbook, and the 1908 Women's Club Cook Book of Charlotte, NC
"Now for the very sensitive and touchy question as to whether genuine strawberry shortcake should be made with biscuit or scone dough or sponge cake. Most Southerners and Midwesterners simply could not conceive of eating real shortcake not made with some form of short pastry; Yankees, who've never really understood what biscuits are all about, generally maintain that shortcake is synonymous with sponge cake.... Since I must say that, over the years, I've savored some very decent strawberry shortcake prepared with sponge pastry (most memorably at the old Lindy's in New York), I'd almost be willing to attribute high status to this version were it not for one important culinary fact: the word 'shortcake' indicates automatically that shortening (or some form of fat) is a major ingredient in the pastry, and since sponge cake contains no trace of fat, it cannot qualify as an authentic foundation for the dessert."
He ends with no fewer than four recipes for strawberry shortcake, but since it might be a violation of copyright to put them here, I'll only say that he includes a shortcake recipe from Mary Lincoln's Boston Cook Book (link above).
Me? I was brought up by a Southern mother, and we ate shortcake-style shortcake. No doubt Mr. Villas would turn up his nose at the 1950s shortcuts, but aren't the recipes of one's childhood always the best? The recipe for classic Bisquick strawberry shortcake can be found here
In the first place, I remembered a lot of it incorrectly. Villas does not refrigerate his strawberries! On the contrary, he recommends warming them slightly and serving them with British double or clotted cream. Secondly, it isn't Villas who describes the experience of eating strawberry shortcake; instead, he quotes "the New England gastronome John Thorne: 'A bite of real strawberry shortcake is a mouthful of contrast. The rich, sweet cream, the tart juicy berries, and the sour, crumbly texture of hot biscuit all refuse to amalgam into a single flavor tone, but produce mouth-stimulating contrasts of flavor--hot and cold, soft and hard, sweet and tart, smooth and crumbly. The mouth is alert and enchanted at once.'"
Villas notes that Shakespeare mentions "shortcake" in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and adds, "...it is fairly obvious that a direct historical link can be established between this confection and the ancient British tradition of smearing strawberry preserves and thick double or clotted cream over warm scones and other forms of short pastry." He then refers to the tradition of strawberry shortcake in such classic American cookbooks as Mary Lincoln's 1883 Boston Cookbook, Fannie Farmer's 1896 Boston Cooking School Cookbook, and the 1908 Women's Club Cook Book of Charlotte, NC
"Now for the very sensitive and touchy question as to whether genuine strawberry shortcake should be made with biscuit or scone dough or sponge cake. Most Southerners and Midwesterners simply could not conceive of eating real shortcake not made with some form of short pastry; Yankees, who've never really understood what biscuits are all about, generally maintain that shortcake is synonymous with sponge cake.... Since I must say that, over the years, I've savored some very decent strawberry shortcake prepared with sponge pastry (most memorably at the old Lindy's in New York), I'd almost be willing to attribute high status to this version were it not for one important culinary fact: the word 'shortcake' indicates automatically that shortening (or some form of fat) is a major ingredient in the pastry, and since sponge cake contains no trace of fat, it cannot qualify as an authentic foundation for the dessert."
He ends with no fewer than four recipes for strawberry shortcake, but since it might be a violation of copyright to put them here, I'll only say that he includes a shortcake recipe from Mary Lincoln's Boston Cook Book (link above).
Me? I was brought up by a Southern mother, and we ate shortcake-style shortcake. No doubt Mr. Villas would turn up his nose at the 1950s shortcuts, but aren't the recipes of one's childhood always the best? The recipe for classic Bisquick strawberry shortcake can be found here
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Snow Fritters
Something for those of you still up to your ears in the white stuff:
Snow Fritters.Take of light new fallen snow, three table-spoonsful for every egg you would otherwise use--that is, if you would wish the quantity that three eggs would make in the usual way, take nine table-spoonsful of snow, and stir in a quart of rich milk that has been setting in a very cold place, so that it will not melt the snow, and destroy its lightness; put in a tea-spoonful of salt, and enough wheat flour to make a stiff batter; have ready a frying-pan with boiling lard, and drop a spoonful in a place as with other fritters, and set the remainder in a cold place till the first are done. Eat them with wine sauce, or sugar, butter and cream, or any thing you fancy.
From Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers. by Elizabeth Ellicott Lee. Baltimore: Cushings and Bailey, 1869.
Snow Fritters.Take of light new fallen snow, three table-spoonsful for every egg you would otherwise use--that is, if you would wish the quantity that three eggs would make in the usual way, take nine table-spoonsful of snow, and stir in a quart of rich milk that has been setting in a very cold place, so that it will not melt the snow, and destroy its lightness; put in a tea-spoonful of salt, and enough wheat flour to make a stiff batter; have ready a frying-pan with boiling lard, and drop a spoonful in a place as with other fritters, and set the remainder in a cold place till the first are done. Eat them with wine sauce, or sugar, butter and cream, or any thing you fancy.
From Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers. by Elizabeth Ellicott Lee. Baltimore: Cushings and Bailey, 1869.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
freezing, freezing, freezing
It's not even winter yet, but the wind is so cold today. I stayed home after lunch because I think I'm coming down with something--headachey, and my whole body just hurts. So I came home and took a nap, then took the Ts out. Man that wind is cold!
So I was going to come in and drink hot chocolate, but, silly me, I bought some last time I was at the store, instead of making my own tried and true mix, and it smelled so terrible and full of chemicals that I didn't even try to drink it--I dumped it. Must remember to buy the stuff to mix up a batch of hot chocolate mix. I'm sure you've got your own version of this, but fwiw, here's my recipe: 1 cup powdered sugar
10 quart box powdered milk
1-1/2 pound box Nestle's Quik
12 oz. powdered non dairy creamer
Yeah, it makes a lot, and you can halve the recipe. If you make up the entire thing, put it all in a small trashbag, which you must close very tightly, and then shake it up to mix. Over the years I've adapted it a bit--for one thing, you can't find 10-quart boxes of powdered milk any more, and I usually use more Nestle's Quik. You could leave out the non-dairy creamer and add a flavored kind with each cup you made, to get different tastes. And yes, it has about 10,000 calories per cup. But it's sooooooo rich and tastes really good.
What I drink the most of is this:
18 oz. Tang
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup instant tea
2 packages Lemon Kool-Aid (no sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves or allspice
I've messed with that one, too, mostly with the spices--like 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of cloves, or 1/2 teaspoon cloves AND 1/2 teaspoon allspice. It's not a lot better on calories than the hot chocolate--all the sugar in the Tang as well as what you add to the mix--but at least it has some vitamin C in it. It's really turned into a winter comfort drink for me--it smells wonderful, and I love the sweet-tart-spicey taste. Last winter I went through three batches.
I ordered a new keyboard for the computer this morning. I use an Adecco mini-keyboard with touchpad because I don't like using a mouse. I like them a lot, but they're not very sturdy, and I go through about one every 18 months. I also ordered a 2GB flash drive, since it was only $15 and I can't find my 1GB. It's floating around here somewhere... I think...
Speaking of spending money, I was hoping to get another year's use out of Taenzer's play tunnels, but they're in pretty rough shape--looks like I'm going to have to order new ones. Think I'll wait until closer to Christmas and hope I can find a good deal on them.
I'm knitting a little bit, but no socks. I started a sweater and have about 8 inches to go to the armholes. I should have started from the top down, because I want to do raglan sleeves, and I do have a pattern for a top-down raglan sweater, but I wasn't thinking of that when I started and I'm too lazy to stop and start over. It's a 4x2 rib, with a 2/2LC on alternate panels every 12 rows. I'm hoping it will look nice enough to wear to work (most of my sweaters turn out to be knocking-around-the-house sweaters). I've also started another tam. I don't expect to do anything fancy with the crown because I'm using a novelty yarn, Phildar's Top Secret, once I get past the ribbing. Plus I'm working a little bit on a trinity stitch shawl I started last winter. It's going to take me years and years to finish, and it won't be anything terribly fancy, but I think it will be light and warm. The yarn is a laceweight mohair with a bit of gold glitter, and I'm thinking of edging it with some light-weight chenille from the stash, to give it a bit of definition. We'll see.
So I was going to come in and drink hot chocolate, but, silly me, I bought some last time I was at the store, instead of making my own tried and true mix, and it smelled so terrible and full of chemicals that I didn't even try to drink it--I dumped it. Must remember to buy the stuff to mix up a batch of hot chocolate mix. I'm sure you've got your own version of this, but fwiw, here's my recipe: 1 cup powdered sugar
10 quart box powdered milk
1-1/2 pound box Nestle's Quik
12 oz. powdered non dairy creamer
Yeah, it makes a lot, and you can halve the recipe. If you make up the entire thing, put it all in a small trashbag, which you must close very tightly, and then shake it up to mix. Over the years I've adapted it a bit--for one thing, you can't find 10-quart boxes of powdered milk any more, and I usually use more Nestle's Quik. You could leave out the non-dairy creamer and add a flavored kind with each cup you made, to get different tastes. And yes, it has about 10,000 calories per cup. But it's sooooooo rich and tastes really good.
What I drink the most of is this:
18 oz. Tang
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup instant tea
2 packages Lemon Kool-Aid (no sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves or allspice
I've messed with that one, too, mostly with the spices--like 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of cloves, or 1/2 teaspoon cloves AND 1/2 teaspoon allspice. It's not a lot better on calories than the hot chocolate--all the sugar in the Tang as well as what you add to the mix--but at least it has some vitamin C in it. It's really turned into a winter comfort drink for me--it smells wonderful, and I love the sweet-tart-spicey taste. Last winter I went through three batches.
I ordered a new keyboard for the computer this morning. I use an Adecco mini-keyboard with touchpad because I don't like using a mouse. I like them a lot, but they're not very sturdy, and I go through about one every 18 months. I also ordered a 2GB flash drive, since it was only $15 and I can't find my 1GB. It's floating around here somewhere... I think...
Speaking of spending money, I was hoping to get another year's use out of Taenzer's play tunnels, but they're in pretty rough shape--looks like I'm going to have to order new ones. Think I'll wait until closer to Christmas and hope I can find a good deal on them.
I'm knitting a little bit, but no socks. I started a sweater and have about 8 inches to go to the armholes. I should have started from the top down, because I want to do raglan sleeves, and I do have a pattern for a top-down raglan sweater, but I wasn't thinking of that when I started and I'm too lazy to stop and start over. It's a 4x2 rib, with a 2/2LC on alternate panels every 12 rows. I'm hoping it will look nice enough to wear to work (most of my sweaters turn out to be knocking-around-the-house sweaters). I've also started another tam. I don't expect to do anything fancy with the crown because I'm using a novelty yarn, Phildar's Top Secret, once I get past the ribbing. Plus I'm working a little bit on a trinity stitch shawl I started last winter. It's going to take me years and years to finish, and it won't be anything terribly fancy, but I think it will be light and warm. The yarn is a laceweight mohair with a bit of gold glitter, and I'm thinking of edging it with some light-weight chenille from the stash, to give it a bit of definition. We'll see.
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