Happy Halloween!
Last night M and I carved a pumpkin, and I have the seeds spread out on a pan to roast later today. I like Halloween but it’s definitely not a big holiday to celebrate in our household– especially since we don’t have kids. I do enjoy seeing jack-o-lanterns and trick-or-treaters but we don’t see many in our neighborhood.
How are you spending the day?
This morning– like many other recent mornings– found me awake in my bed begging for mercy from the bitter cold, urging the dog to cuddle in closer for a few extra degrees of bodily warmth. I’m wondering to myself why I didn’t turn on the heat last night, or at least pull out an extra blanket. The thermometer just outside my door reads 35 degrees, and while I’m fairly sure it’s accurate, the sun blazes in the window, telling a different story. One of the things I love about fall is the way the sun rises over the planet with vigor, promising to do the best job it can of providing a blanket of warmth as a respite from the crisp morning air. As I look out the window I’m greeted not only by the golden light of morning, but by the carpet of fallen leaves covering the ground steps away from my feet. The air is still this morning and the leaves remain on their branches, for now. I anxiously await the falling of more. I love watching their dance and gentle cascade as they dangle from their branches for those last few seconds before they are freed and begin the graceful descent towards their positions on the ground.
I’ve just finished arranging ingredients in my bread machine for the first time. I ordered one this weekend and it arrived a few days ago, but I’ve been overwhelmed with work and underwhelmed at the notion of taking the necessary time to carefully measure out ingredients- a task which took just a few short minutes.
I’ve never baked bread before, aside from the common quick-breads that I look forward to during the holiday season. Like today’s fall sun, the expectation of bread provides a warmth all its own- artificial at best, however. This bread is baking in a bread machine, not an oven or wood fired stove, and I don’t have any fond familial memories of mom or grandma presenting us with bread baked from the oven as my husband often reminisces upon. Even so, there will be bread, and it will be my first time baking it.
While I wait, I get to work peeling carrots and slicing them into thin rounds. I appreciate the relative quiet– interrupted only by the cadence of my knife hitting the board and the intermittent hum of the bread machine. Later this morning I will cook the carrots with some onions and chicken stock, steam some black japonica rice, and combine it all for a piping hot bowl of carrot rice soup to enjoy with my predictably delicious and hearty slice of French bread. Now if only I had a fireplace…
Share the recipes you ask? Of course I will!
French Bread- 1.5 lb loaf (from the Breadman instruction manual and recipe guide)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (80 degrees)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Carrot-Rice Soup (Lundberg Farms recipe)
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
4 cups chicken broth, divided
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 1/4 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup light sour cream (optional) or plain yogurt
Cook and stir carrots and onion in margarine in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add 2 cups broth, tarragon, and pepper. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes. Combine vegetables and broth in food processor or blender; process until smooth (optional, I prefer to only process half and leave half chunky in saucepan, then mix them all). Return to saucepan. Add remaining 2 cups broth and rice; thoroughly heat. Optional dollop sour cream on each serving of soup.
I couldn’t be happier with how the bread turned out. The outside had a thick crust just like a French bread from the bakery. In the future I may use the machine to mix/knead the bread but form it into a the traditional loaf to bake in the oven so as to avoid the funky machine shape. When I sliced into the loaf, I was greeted by light and fluffy, hot, steamy bread.
I’ve made this carrot soup so many times that I don’t even use a recipe anymore. Today I substituted fresh oregano from my herb garden for the tarragon (sometimes I use marjoram). No matter the substitutions I make, I always include the white pepper. It provides an added level of warmth to the soup that you just can’t achieve with black pepper. The bread and soup made such a hearty lunch. M will be thrilled to have leftovers for his lunch tomorrow!
Earlier today we stopped by Harbin’s farm stand so that I could pick out a pumpkin to carve next week. Picking out the perfect pumpkin is something that I look forward to every year, and in less than a minute I spotted the one I wanted to take home. I can’t wait to slice off its top, scoop out all of its insides and carve it a frightful face! In addition to the produce, (and preserves and baked goods!) Harbin’s has pumpkins of all shapes, colors, and sizes to choose from, as well as a great selection of decorative squash, Indian corn, and other festive fall decor. I didn’t buy any of the adorable crookneck squash geese but did treat myself to a few gourds to decorate the coffee table. Most importantly, Mr. Tucker wholeheartedly approves of the pumpkin I chose!
Earlier this evening I was on the phone with my mom having one of those conversations where you don’t really talk about much– she was cleaning out boxes from her garage while I was busy rustling through junk mail and other miscellaneous papers, trying to keep the mounting tissues from toppling out of the trash can. Sometimes it’s nice just to have your loved one at the other end of the line while you go about your mundane business. She told me about the playdough that she found from way back when, some boxes of writing magazines that were my dads and she thought I might enjoy until she discovered they were musty and in poor condition, and the gigantic inflatable dinosaur that belonged to my brother in his childhood dinosaur-expert years. During the process of cleaning out our respective spaces, we chit chatted a bit about what we had both done (or not done) this week since we were both under the weather. She mentioned that she had crocheted a small square today to experiment with different stitches and that maybe she could use the item as a dish cloth. Wait– my mom crochets? I guess during all of the time we’ve spent together over the years it’s never come up that my mom knows how to crochet and knit. It’s amazing what you can learn about people you’ve known your entire life. I’ve seen my mom sew lots of things (many of my things, I might add!), even do some embroidery and candlewicking, but never have I seen my mom sit down with a crochet hook or a skein of yarn to create something.
I find this amazing and touching because for the past few years I’ve had a strong desire to learn how to knit and crochet. I’ve considered taking a class through the county parks and recreation or the community college, but the course offerings and my schedule never seemed to match up conveniently. Back in early 2005 I was on a leave of absence from work with what I would later learn was the onset of a Rheumatoid Arthritis flare up. During that time I had very little energy and was seriously ill and very depressed. With not being able to work, having little energy and absolutely no idea what was wrong with me, I was looking for something to pass the time in the doctors office waiting areas and at home while M was at his law school classes. As an artist I’ve always found joy creating things with my hands, and so when I found a cheap knitting kit for beginners at a discount store it seemed like the perfect activity to help pass the time. Shortly thereafter, I began having problems using my hands and received a diagnoses that would change my life; I had Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Life was a roller coaster ride in 2005. Between losing a job because of my illness, eventually finding new work (and struggling because I was still very ill), getting married in July, and then moving to Maryland in August (which forced me to leave that job), the knitting kit made itself at home inside a box in the back of my closet and hasn’t seen the light of day until now.
Communication is such an important part of relationships between people. You never know what you’re going to learn from someone or even what talents or gifts they have to share. The thought never crossed my mind to ask my mom if she knew how to knit or crochet– I just assumed she didn’t because I’ve never seen her do it, and she never offered to teach me because she never knew I wanted to learn.
I’ll be learning how to crochet and knit, but it won’t be an instructor from parks and recreation or the community college who will be teaching me. It will be someone who has already taught me more than I could ever expect to learn– and that makes the process all the more special and meaningful to me.
So, I’ve been sick now for almost a week and have been completely incapable of doing anything more than coughing, sneezing, and blowing my nose. I’ve been living on the couch for most of the day and spending endless hours watching mostly-bad tv through mostly-closed eyelids. Judge shows in the morning…talk shows in the afternoon…I really need to get a life. I tried reading but the throbbing inside my head compounds itself every time I focus on the page. I’ve been living on white rice, jello, and ginger ale while M is at work. The weather has been gorgeous and I’m irritated that I can’t be spending time outside enjoying the Indian summer. My usual haughtiness has been replaced by downright crankiness and if I have to delve into my medicinal goodie bag one more time for cold remedies I think I’m going to have a cow. Even the dog doesn’t want to be around me right now.
Hopefully this cold is on its way out and I can get back to my regularly scheduled programming. In the meantime, Oprah comes on at 4 and I’m thinking about squeezing a nap in before then.
17 bean soup mix
+ pancetta/garlic
(+ red kabocha squash
+ red chard
+ chicken stock)
x organic
+ salt and pepper
= Hearty and delicious homemade soup
Waves (Hatteras Island, Outer Banks of North Carolina)
September 27-October 4, 2008
Driving onto Hatteras Island the roadways were flooded from recent hurricanes.
Whimseagull Waves.
View from Whimseagull Waves-- you can see the Rodanthe Pier in the distance.
Floor to ceiling windows in the Great Room.
Weatherglass 1620-- I loved checking this thing every day to see what the weather would be like.
Instructions for use.
One of the many gorgeous sunrises.
Another sunrise-- they were different every morning!
Showing off our superb sandcastle construction skills.
The finished product-- fit for a beach queen!
M and my brother with their kayaks.
M sending my Mom out into the sound.
Long walks on the beach...
Mr. Tucker enjoying the view.
Knocked out by a wave-- after that he was done for the day.
Mr. Tucker enjoying the expansive decks.
Caramel apple fondue night.
Remnants from our steamer pot.
Even Tucker participated in Pirate Day!
Chewing the sword was his favorite part of Pirate Day.
Ocracoke Lighthouse.
Driving onto the ferry to Ocracoke Island.
Takeoff!
The waves were huge this year!
A view up the beach of people fishing.
|
