365 #2

Spent the day in Bedford, NH, with relatives of my husband. The table keeps growing -- we've had two babies and an engagement in the family since the last holiday gathering!

Water Tracks

Today was my first visit to North Station since they redid it (several years ago now, I believe). I was pleasantly surprised. Waiting for the Green Line over to Lechmere with the intent of treating myself to Finagle a Bagel, I was drawn toward the tracks, where the water that had pooled between them looked like a window, not a reflection. I didn't manage to get a shot that picked up on that before the train arrived. There were only three other people waiting. I couldn't even tell you the last time I took a Green Line train.

Walking down First Street, I made my usual stop to look in the window at David's Shoes, and the usual promise to myself that someday I will buy some cool boots. At least, it used to by my usual stop, back when I parked the car up in the commuter lot there; I haven't been by since we moved. Continuing on, my nose going numb from the 20 degree temperatures, I decided that I liked it that way, that I really wouldn't want it to be warm all the time.

The bagel was quite good, also.

Where I've (Virtually) Been

I often see a post or page, think it's something cool, and then never go back to it. So much for bookmarks, of which I have far too many; this is intended as a slightly more focused aide memoire. Not an original idea, I know, but worth trying.

• ISO Chunky Sweet Potato Soup - More fodder for the soup theme from the CLBB (Cooking Light Bulletin Board). We should probably eat more sweet potatoes. And an SFGate article on soup, too.
• Want. Perhaps I should start making my 2011 Christmas list now? Via Design*Sponge. 
• A lovely post on how to start journaling. I've kept a journal off and on since age 9, but it would benefit from loosening up. And more color.
• This modular planter system looks cool. Given the number of Small Yet Destructive Creatures in my household, I find the idea of suspending things out of reach quite attractive. 
• CSAs in our area. For years now I've thought about joining one, and backed off. There is also the Stillman meat CSA. I don't think we have enough room for that much meat, though.  
• The Strange Case of the Dead Bird on the Nightstand

In a similar spirit, I've finally updated the blog list to reflect sites I'm actually keeping an eye on these days. Shocking, I know.

My Day in Pictures

2011 Recipe Project

I had off the Monday after New Years, and took the Tuesday as well, so had some time to kick around at home after getting most of the post-holiday tidying done (and giving up on Super Mario Bros in frustration). I pulled my recently acquired copy of Around My French Table off the shelf -- I see blog and bulletin board posts referring to it constantly, and thought I ought to give it another look as I considered what to do with my cooking goal for the year. I opened it to the Soup chapter, and there I found my goal.

Or at least, a goal. I often think that I don't make soup nearly often enough, and when I do, it's one of three fairly basic recipes. We have many months of cold weather to go. So for the first two months of 2011, I will try to cook one new soup a week from Ms. Greenspan's book. This may require a bread subtheme, or actual sandwiches (and perhaps some nice bowls...). This will almost certainly have to happen on Sundays, the only day when I can be more or less certain of having some time to myself (the next four Saturdays are already booked with social events, which is certainly A Good Thing, but there are also errands and cleaning to shoehorn in).

We shall see what transpires, how much time I can find, and whether I enjoy having this kind of focus or long for my old scattershot ways.

I got a new camera!

 

Out with the Old...

... holiday catalogs, and 500 first-grade math worksheets. Out with the tree, having served its purpose. Out with toys no longer played with ("out" meaning "into storage until Mimi is old enough for them"). Out with the old ownership of my company, and in with A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Oracle, Inc. Out with cold, grey days, in with more of the same for three more months.

Out with 0-3 month clothes, in with 3-6 month. They do grow quickly. She's found her hands; last night I saw her staring at her fist with an expression I can only call astonished.

Dave took the kids out to a museum in the afternoon. I cleaned the kitchen, put together dinner, and played Super Mario Brothers while Mimi napped.

This is the recipe I intended to make, Braised Beef Short Rib with Salsa Verde and Feta. I was planning to cheat on the salsa, mind. At the last moment I decided that there was no reason to dump salsa on these lovely ribs, and served them as they were, with the vegetables from the sauce (which I rough-chopped in a manner that would have gotten me thrown out of Ms Goin's kitchen at once) and a simple risotto. I love risotto, and I never get around to making it so often that I get tired of it. I'm sure the sauce would have been better had I done it her way, but the ribs were gorgeously silky with their big chunks of carrot and onion, and I have no regrets.

Gearing Up for the New Year

The office last week was tomb-like, a handful of us sprinkled through the big room, trading "sure is quiet" "yep, sure is" comments when we passed. I have been tidying up old projects and giving some thought to new ones. Home has been noisier, but with nothing much going on in terms of the holiday. It's been an exciting year, and we just weren't ready yet to go out and do anything major.

The Weekly Recipe Project is giving me trouble; when I look at it under that name, it seems impossibly limited. Only 52 recipes? I probably have that many online recipes bookmarked, never mind a hundred-odd cookbooks and binders of clippings. How to approach the task of selecting my pool? I browse through blogs, look at files I have saved for years, visualize my bookshelves. Perhaps I should restrict the project to soup recipes, or bread, or desserts? Take one recipe from a different cookbook every week?

I was up early New Years day--for creatures that sleep so damn much themselves, cats don't grasp the idea of sleeping in--and decided to get the grocery list/menu planning out of the way. I already had one new recipe lined up for later in the week, but in the spirit of starting the new year right, I grabbed my new copy of At Home with Madhur Jaffrey and started with the fish chapter.

I made this pretty much as written, except I don't have any asefetida and my fenugreek is ground, not whole. I added more cayenne than specified, but that was by mistake--the result was intensely hot, and made me wish I had some naan. I served this with rice alone, but it would make a nice component in a multi-course meal. It came together quickly and without much fussing, and made a nice change from my usual fish standbys.

Fish and Peas in a Fennel-Fenugreek Sauce

1 lb fillet of cod, hake, or halibut, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
1 tsp salt, divided
pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne, divided
1/8 tsp ground turmeric
3 Tbsp mustard, olive, or canola oil
1/8 tsp ground asafetida
1/4 tsp whole mustard seeds
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/4 tsp whole fennel seeds
1/8 tsp whole fenugreek seeds
3 Tbsp plain yogurt
4 medium tomatoes, coarsely grated (I used a can of tomato sauce)
1 c fresh or frozen and defrosted peas

1. Sprinkle the fish on both sides with 1/4 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and the turmeric. Set aside 30 minutes or longer, refrigerating if necessary.
2. Put the oil in a frying pan and set on medium-high. Put in the asafetida, then the mustard, cumin, fennel, and fenugreek seeds. 
3. As soon as the mustard seeds start to pop, add the yogurt. Stir until it almost disappears.*
4. Add the tomatoes, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and more pepper if desired. Stir and cook for five minutes, until tomatoes thicken slightly. 
5. Add the peas, stir, and continue to cook another minute on medium heat.**
6. Lay the fish down in the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the fish and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and poach fish on medium-low heat until just cooked through, 7-10 minutes. Add water if the pan dries out.

* Mine did not disappear, but left little spongy bits like tofu behind. I used Greek-style yogurt, so maybe it had more solids.
** I added the peas near the end. Why would you cook peas for 10 minutes?

No pictures because my five-year-old camera died last week. I am trying to decide between size and features with a new one.

I am in the middle of a four-day weekend, trying to get the place back to some semblance of normality. More tidying than cleaning, trying to find homes for new things and continue whittling down the old.

On other resolution-related fronts, I sent Empire off to Dragon Moon Press, which was having an open sub month, and have put together a list of agents to query. The first chapter of Fury's Flight went to the writing group for crit, though I haven't psyched myself up sufficiently to read the feedback yet.