snowangel

So we are home from this birthday party -- a 60th birthday celebration for a couple we know. They both turn 60 this month, within a week of each other. The setting was spectacular. They have built a huge house (bed and breakfast with 5 rooms up, personal space down) on 50+ acres of land in eastern Wisconsin between Houlton and Hudson. The view from the back yard and kitchen are spectacular. You can't see the rivers (St. Croix and Mississippi), but can see the valleys. It was yet another glorious day (we have waited for these since early May) and the sunset was beyond divine. There was an interesting crowd of fellow church members (that's how we know them), colleagues and friends, and I was surprised to find people I knew from other walks of life. The food was very average. They had some appetizers of shrimp (frozen peel and eat), standard cut up veggies and packaged dip, some meatball things in glop (which I didn't try) and olives (black and green with pimentos, from cans and jars), and buffalo wings, which although not fried, were surprisingingly way hot. For dinner, we had Very deli. Meat and cheese tray containing roast beef (very poor looking); ham; smoked turkey; non-descript swiss, yellow (cheddar or colby?) and some other white cheese with those zig-zag edges) with some sort of chard garnish in the middle of the black tray that had one of those big plastic lids on it. Why, for a flat meat and cheese tray should there be a big, high plastic lid? WOuldn't you want to keep the air out? Oh, well. Average supermarket white and wheat buns. Pickle wedges. Potato salad (better than average for deli). Some cole slaw thing with crushed ramen noodles that for some reason is popular in this area. The bonus, which I stocked up on were wonderful homegrown tomatoes and romaine lettuce. I forewent the large, supermarket bakery sheet cake and ice cream. I saved that room for peaches, which I had on the deck when we arrived home. They also offered pop (white, dark, caffinated, decaf, diet and full sugar), bottles of water, beer (Leinies and Mic light) and white and red wine (forgot to check labels, tasted like middle of the shelf stuff). But, we had a wonderful time, in large part due to the company and setting. After all, that is a big part of the meal, isn't it? Diana and Heidi fared well at home, and Diana earned a quick $20.00. She made egg salad for dinner (a favorite of Heidi's) and had peaches. It is still beautifully warm and sulty outside, so it's time to grab another one of those peaches and head to the deck. Oh. The b-day people requested no gifts. However, nothing could keep me from taking them a few of those oh, so, juicy treats. The hostess said that she thought that tonight, after the guests were gone, she thought that sharing peaches on the deck, watching the night sky with her honey, peaches would be appropriate . Edited to add that there was also fruit salad with decent melons and supermarket strawberries, and Old Dutch Ripple Chips. Plus usual condiments. French's and Grey poupon (sp?) mustard, mayo and miracle whip. I don't think most people here know about other dijon mustards, and Miracle Whip on a table is de rigeur in these parts, as well. Old Dutch is, I believe, a local brand. The brand I buy because they put two or three bags in a box and they don't get crushed on a trip to the cabin (the only time I ever buy chips). Their ripples are really, really wonderful.

New Ulm and vicinity has some real gems. Lenny's meat market is outstanding. At our last Blue Fin Bay gathering, Lenny's bacon (we had a bacon taste testing) was a real winner. Anything from the Nicollet Meat Market in Nicollet is outstanding. (we decided that when we do our next bacon taste testing, everything needs to be sliced to the same thick/thinness. We seemed to get more of a sense of the taste from thinner sliced bacon). The Nicollet Meat Market garlic or beer summer sausage takes first place every year at the State Fair. Last time we stopped there, it was a Saturday morning. In a town of about 800, we had to park about 3 blocks away. They had 20 or 30 people working there. Local reputation, I dare say. We bought summer sausage and took it and some other stuff for a picnic at the Schell's Beer Place. They have a lovely park there. OK. Back on topic. For a snack, I eschewed a sandwich (something I can have any time) for three peaches. Eaten on the deck. I'm going to have to hose the peach juice off the deck. My diet this week has not been about variety. It's been what great at this most fabulous, bountious of seasons.

I check it all. A gentle squeeze, a smell on fruit. If it isn't ripe, or almost ripe, I don't want it. Interesting that I commented on my blog that the Colorado peaches we've been having have been wonderful, but the Washington one awful. The Colorado's arrive ripe. The Washington's don't. Fruit becomes a real hit and miss here in the winter. So much of it needs to ripen on the vine or tree. I don't buy much packaged food, so can't comment on that. Meat. I buy most of it from a meat market, and ask that it is presented so I can smell it before I buy it. I buy some meat at the supermarket, but I have made a point of meeting the butchers (the head butcher is a woman!), and as I have looked in the case, she has caught my eye occasionally and brought me out sometime special. Just a couple of weeks ago, she caught my eye, and brought out the best of the chuck eye's she'd just espied. My kids are learning, from me how to really shop.

For breakfast this morning, I made a family favorite. I start with some patty-style breakfast sausage. We get this from the Miltona meat market, and it is really tasty. Spiced just right, not too heavy on the salt, with a bit of zip, but not too much for Heidi and Peter. The Miltona meat market usually wins several ribbons at the Minnesota State Fair for their smoked and processed meat products. It was most pleasant standing at the stove this morning with a warm breeze blowing through the window and all of that brilliant sun. Then, I made some toast (bread for everyone but me; I had an English muffin). Then fried some eggs. Put it all together for a wonderful version of a McMuffin. We were running a bit late for church, so I didn't take a photo of it. Later this afternoon, we are going to a birthday party (60th), and the invitation says "light supper at 5:00 pm." I wonder if it acceptable to take pictures of food at someone's house?

I should add that as we ate dinner, we had a discussion about eating habits. She hails from Berkeley, just a few blocks from Monterrey Market and Acme. Just a couple more blocks, and one can get to the Cheese Board. To one from Minnesota, who visits in the later winter/early spring, this is heaven. But, in full summer, this is the place to be. She fully admitted that although she can get those baby artichokes, she cannot get sweet corn as fresh and "unstarchy" as we can. She cannot grow tomatoes. Although during the the fall and winter I do miss the access to the fresh and new she can get, we do have two distinct cooking seasons. Although these days lately have been warm -- warmer than normal (it's about time!) -- the angle of the sun is changing dramatically, every morning there are more leaves that have fallen on the lawn, and the days are shortening noticably -- the body is starting to call for braising, roasting, hot soups. But, that late summer call of the veg that is still fresh and great, requires only slicing and light steaming is still strong. So, although I am am aching to do the Mock Porchetta from the Zuni Cafe cookbook (the leftovers, in hash are diving) or to braise some short ribs, I know that all too soon, there will be no more sweet corn. No more local, fresh, tender and slender green beans. No more fresh tomatoes. One of the things my sister said was that "you see much more distinct and different cooking seaons than we do." And, yes, we do. So, while our diet has seemed "lopsided" this past week, it is what our bodies have called for, and what is here and what is good. Why does each summer seem to go faster than the last? At some point this winter, I will look at Paul and say "so, just why didn't I eat that extra piece of sweet corn? Why didn't I have that extra swim at the cabin?"

I did indeed have a second ripe tomato: Off a different plant, so I have no idea what it is. Some sort of heritage or heirloom. Not sure of the PC term. So, for dinner, we had That is an exhausted Peter that you see sans shirt. OK, I'll admit it, with shame. We had chicken breasts, marinated and grilled. The gig is that I had a houseguest for about 4 months, and one of the things he left in the freezer was 2 lbs. of boned, skinned breasts. Nothing that I would ever buy. We are dark meat people. But, in the spirit of emptying the deep freeze in the hopes of another deer this fall, I figured it was time to get rid of it. So, I did sort of a Thai satay marinade, remembering those many years ago. Some coconut milk, and some spices (curry powder, cumin, turmeric, lots o garlic, some Tiparos, a bit of curry paste), sliced into strips pre marinate. Then skewered and grilled. They were good, and the breasts are gone. Coconut milk can do good things to chicken breasts. Sort of juices them up. What this photo does not show is the peanut sauce and that wonderful Thai cucumber/vinegar/sugar/lots of hot pepper condiment that I also served). We also had more To Die For Sweet Corn. We ate through this, and more. The corn was so good that we fattened up on that and there is some leftover chicken, which is a good thing, because only Diana and Heidi will be home tomorrow night alone, and there will be good leftovers for them for dinner. This corn was beyond belief. Small, sweet, tender kernels. Requiring not even butter, which I adore. I ate 6 ears. The beans were also lovely. One of the things about a cool summer is nice, small, sweet green beans the whole season. I think that if I could live on only two foods, they would be sweet corn and green beans. And, both are so versatile as leftovers. The tomatoes (I should add that two of the tomatoes are homegrown-on-the-estate, the rest are farmer's market). As they have been all summer, disappointing. The texture and flavor are not what they are during a hot summer. I know now that I did not pick the right spot in the yard for the plants I grew. But, having watched the light all summer, I have now selected the Spot For Tomatoes. But, back to dinner. Although the Family Table (the one I grew up eating at in Thailand, nursed Diana at, had many many early 20's birthdays at) is important and good to have at this house. the evening screamed Eat On The Deck, so we loaded our plates and headed out. Following this bounty, we halved a bunch of these most luscious peaches And stood over the deck rails and ate and let the juice run down our arms, dripping onto the yard. Peaches are a very sensual fruit, and we enjoyed every juicy bit. This is all that is left of a lug of peaches, purchased just yesterday There were originally two layers of peaches nestled into this crate. There is less than one now. (As my dad said after dinner, "with all of this corn, tomatoes and peaches, we will be regular!" Peter than asked what regular was. We eschewed the possibly ensuing discussion as we were still eating dinner.) Heidi especially loves them. On Monday, I would love to send her to school with a peach. Catch is that is has to be pre-cut. As in cut by me early that morning. What do I do to it to keep it from getting dried, colored, whatever? I've also thought about salsa-ing some of these peaches, but the flavor is so pure, the juice so succulent, I hesitate to F with Mother Nature. It was a wonderful evening filled with three generations. Eating and drinking together. The drink of the evening was Stoly (my sister's favorite) over ice with lime. Dad was the designated driver. Coffee pot is set for the morning. Full of water. Beans in the grinder, just waiting for Paul. That's his job. Grind the beans in the morning to make sure I wake to that smell. Not the Maxwell smell, but the smell of really good, really strong java.

We were invited to a birthday party for a 6 year old today. It was held at a local skating rink -- loud, noisy and full of gimicks. For lunch, the menu was pizza (frozen) that had been sitting around for a while. I took one bite and decided that I could remain hungry. The birthday cake was of the supermarket variety sort with way too much of that greasy frosting. These kinds of parties are very popular (another hot place is Chuck E Cheese). Fortunately, my kids prefer to have parties at home with real food. Homemade pizza, tortillas with carnitas. And, they always want a homemade cake with homemade frosting! None of my kids cared for the food and neither did my sister, so we were mighty hungry when we got home. So, we had Scrambled eggs, raw veggies, hummus, and a bunch of different kinds of salsa. We all prefered the Costa's homegrown salsa -- made in Minnesota. Plenty of heat, which made me very happy. I think that tomato just might be a black krim. I think I may have another tomato from another plant that's ripe. If so, it will be on the dinner table.

So, I don't. The idea of raw pork grosses Diana out. I just might have to make some for myself for lunch one of the days.

My sister and I were up late, catching up, so it was a later than normal arising time this morning. As I always do at this time of year, the first thing I do is grab a cup of coffee and go and check out my garden. I was so pleased to see that I have a ripe tomato! I'm not sure what kind it is. Someone gave me 5 heirloom plants, but they had thrown away the identifying sticks. They did tell me that one plant was a brandywine, one a black krim and one a green zebra. Two of the plants produced no tomatoes. The summer has been cool, and everyone here has had bad luck with tomatoes. For breakfast this morning, I fried up a mess of bacon. This is from Hack's. It is very good. We also sliced some peaches and had yogurt. I usually get plain, but bought vanilla by mistake. Old Home is a local brand, and it is pretty good. This was served with waffles I love this waffle maker. Recovery time is great, there is no power cord to misplace, doesn't take up a lot of space, and it's really reliable. I don't think it would work very well on an electric stove. We have one at the cabin, and as soon as I got my gas stove, knew I wanted one for home. Even at the Nordicware outlet they are about $50.00, but one day when I dropped a load of stuff at ARC (sort of like Goodwill), I browsed around and found this one for $1.69. They had two of them, so I snapped them both up. Took the extra one to the cabin as I frequently cook for 10 or more.

Why do I alway stand in the bathroom taking out my contact lenses going "I've just chopped up a mess of bird chiles and shouldn't be doing this" yet I do it? Sort of like that permanent burm blister on the top side of my right hand from hitting it on the top rack (which is never used) in my oven when retrieving a pan?)

The sweet corn was so good that my sister and I just had a heart to heart over the last 1/2 dozen ears. Better send Paul back to the 101 Market tomorrow. \ I will fortify him with serious bacon before the 10 mile trip. My diet this past week may have seemed very simple, and probably unimpressivly presented, but this is the way a stay-at-home mom does things at the height of the summer season. It does not get any better than this. The tomatoes from New Ulm were, well, I'll dream of them tonight. Unadored, except with a fresh crack of pepper. The corn. The corn. It makes me weak at the knees. The peaches from Colorado drip down ones arms. This is indeed a most sensual of seasons.

Sometimes the occasion takes more of the center stage. And, then sometimes, one of the ingredients takes the center stage. I have not seen my sister in over a year, so this meal was less about food than about the company. Never the less, the meal was outstanding. We ended up carrying it all out to the deck, but by that time, the allure of the corn was too enticing to take a photo. We had venison burgers, sliced tomatoes (from my friend who picked them from her yard in New Ulm, MN, sliced onions, and corn from the 101 market. And, peaches. The corn was hands down the best of the season. It reminded me of the corn I used to pick with my grandmother on the farm just outside of Milford, Nebraska. The corn that was picked after the water was boiling. Sweet does not begin to describe it. Small kerneled, there was not a hint of starch. The picture below only shows half of what we cooked. I only had 1/2 a burger, but 8 ears of this manna. This merely capped off a stunning September day. It is warm. It has been sunny. It is still warm. Life could not be grander. Come fall and winter, I will cook more complicated, but right now, it's all about that sweetest of sweet corn, sitting on the deck, waiting for the grill to go. All too soon, we will be indoors, shivering. Edited to add a lame photo: of dinner

Cake cones. There's something about that quadrangle at the bottom, with ice cream, and that crunch that just grabs me. Plus, there's the eating of that little "collar" that they have.

My sister is here! It is exciting. She is a vegetarian (will eat eggs and cheese) and has been suffering in a Hyatt in Milwaukee from vegetable withdrawl. So, once I picked DIana up from volleyball practice, we chopped up some stuff: to make some salsa I like these chips. Sister has requested sweet corn and tomatoes. So, we will oblige. The meat eaters amongst us will eat venison burgers (still working on getting the freezer emptied out). I still have a boatload of venison sausage. Perhaps I should come up with some silly contest and give EG Twin Cities dim sum goers venison sausages as "door" prizes. Photos of dinner to follow. We are drinking vodka tonics with tons of lime. It is a beautiful evening. Sunny, warm, bug free.

If you saved any of the bones, you could make pork stock and posole and put a mess of the pork in the soup. Sort of a bastardized version, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't work and be great.

Sadly, we were too early at the Asian Market to get bahn mi. So, after we did our shopping, we came back to my house, grabbed the last hunk of venison sausage, some Organic Valley extra sharp white cheddar, bread (we also stopped at Panera for bread) and water and got on our bikes and rode to the Coon Rapids Reginal Dam. It was wonderful. Sadly, I forgot my camera. We live just 2 blocks from this park, so we are very close to the Mississippi River. Often on weekend days and week nights, we can hear boats on the river. Tomorrow, I will return to the Asian market as my cousin has asked me to pick up some things for him and give him curry lessons. My sister and I will go late enough (noon or 1:00 pm) so I can get a bahn mi and she can get some summer rolls or something. I think she and I should picnic there together while the kids are at a birthday party. I'll remember my camera next time!

Skinless, definitely, for larb, unless you are using leftover grilled chicken and the skin is really crispy. Then, I reserve the crispy skin to use as a garnish. I should not have had granola for breakfast. I should have larbed!

Chicken thighs larb very well. They are kind of a bitch to bone, but then I always take that pile of bones, stick them in the freezer for stock making. If we grill chicken, and there are leftovers, I often take the meat off the bone and larb it. I'll often nuke the chopped, leftover chicken just long enough to take the chill off of it. I have been larbing every week throughout the summer.

Good morning. It is absolutely beautiful day today, and the days continue to be warm. I think it's supposed to be over 80 today! For breakfast this morning, I broke from my regular tradition and had a bowl of granola (I did put milk on it) and several cups of coffee on the deck. Since the deck does not get direct early morning sun, the picture is darker and does not show the brilliant sky. I was going to head to the farmer's market, but a friend from out of town is in town this morning and going to stop by. She did say that she is bringing me fresh tomatoes and green beans, so I'll just have Paul stop by the 101 Market in Otsego (a corn stand/gardening center) and get sweet corn. They have had the most reliably great corn of just about any place I've tried. For many years, there was a guy who'd show up with a pick up truck full of corn and park on a corner a few blocks from my house. Turns out that it was on railroad property (but empty) and they booted him. If I were the manager of that land, I'd have struck a deal for free sweet corn in exchange for a place for the truck. My friend also wants to go to the Asian market with me, so I do think I'll be having bahn mi for lunch.

Yes, I have considered cork. I really need more info on flooring. One of the things is that with kids, stuff gets dragged all over the floor. Heidi drools constantly, thus, it can't be shiny. Best of all worlds is a floor that looks like dirt and needs little maintenance, other than a coat of wax periodically, plus some mopping. I'm ashamed to say that I hate this floor so much (plus it has a boatload of intentional crap collectors -- excuse me, I mean "dimples") that I have quit doing almost anything other than sweeping and wiping the really offending gunk. This floor bugs me more and more every day. Like all regular house vinyl sheet goods, it feels sticky all the time. Gack. I know I shouldn't expect "Rome in a day." But, having re-done a kitchen not 18 months before selling the house, I am determined to do this one soon. So I can enjoy it for many, many years. I'm just sorry I didn't replace the cupboards and cabinets before putting the counters in. But, budget in mind, and knowing that we also need a new furnace and a bunch of new wiring (DIY), I was prudent. New knobs are a given. Where one cooks can be as important as what one cooks. Call it inspiration.

I had hoped to have a leftover pork chop tonight, with the specific goal of larbing a cooked pork chop (probably the one thing I haven't larbed). But, the kids were extra hungry, so no leftover pork. Seems to me I should, right now, go and get that lone chicken breast out of the freezer to larb tomorrow for lunch. Larb. I hadn't had it for a few weeks. I forgot just how satisfying it is. I think we need a National Larb Night.

We got up and left. My other two kids were horrified. They are very protective of their sister. Never mind that the orders were well under way. We left no tip. And, it's cleft palate. Birth defect, very treatable (with surgery) when they are babies now a days. Dining out with a child like Heidi (our snowangel) is a hit or miss experience. Most often, it's really great. When it's bad, it's really bad and we leave. Always because of other people. Sad, isn't it? She loves food. She loves to eat. She love the excitement of eating out.

Here is my kitchen My former kitchen had acres of counters and miles of linear cupboard and cabinet space. As I said before, I don't miss it. I do also have a pantry (of sorts): The shelves are very deep and do not roll out. That's another project for the fall. Some things I really like. In the pantry photo, you will note that the living room (which opens to a sun room). Very open. That, I like. There are a few other houses like ours in the neighbhood (heck, we live in a development, albeit 30 years old), and in all of the other houses, there is a wall between the living and dining rooms. So, the space plays out large. I like my much smaller kitchen. I never could have afforded granite for the acres of counters I had, and I love my granite. It is cool, very carressable, and very deep when one looks at it. Nice and irregular. No regrets there. I am outlet-impaired. There is one 4-plex at the end of the peninsula, and one duplex to the right of the sink. All of the appliances are new. I fired up the dishwasher the second day we lived here, and it leaked -- FROM THE TOP! When I shut the fridge door, the freezer door popped open (and when I shut the freezer, the fridge door popped open). Good thing I baked something before I put the ham in on Easter, because I discovered that the oven took 1.5 hours to heat to 350 F. Worst yet, they were harvest gold. I spend a winter at our former house eradicating the harvest gold. The previous counters were harvest gold formica -- with the "leatherette" texture. Read, get out a toothbrust to clean them. We had intended to replace the floor in the kitchen/dining area in a "few years" but as soon as we replaced the counters, the floor looked even worse. So, I have started floor shopping. I am leaning toward commercial vinyl tile. Ceramic is out (Heidi falls a lot and drops a lot of things), and I don't want wood (hardwood will be revealed when we tear up the living room carpet next spring and I want some definition to this space. So, this is where it all happens. The homework around the table. The noshing. The dining. The talk about the day. The FOOD! I'm off for a snack and then to bed. Farmer's market tomorrow and get ready for a short visit from my sister. She hails from Berkeley, and is making a 36 hour stop on her way home from a conference in Milwaukee. Kids to school. Meals to cook. The days have been beautiful. As much as I want to braise and roast, I know I need to seize these days and eat late summer bounty (sweet corn and tomatoes!) and spend the evening on the deck grilling.

Shamefully would be the point. I have a child with disabilities, and as I pulled out the bowl and cup she must have, the comment from the waitron was "so, why don't you just feed her at home." Never mind that home was half-way across the country. Sorry; you hit a really sore point with me. It is not a laughing matter.

Klink, my local Cub market is carrying chuck eyes for $3.78/lb. Regarding cleaning out the grill. We have a Weber Kettle. It is 20 years old. There was somewhere on EG where someone thought that their new Kettle was ligther in weight than the old one that they replaced. I think mine must seem heavier because of the build-up. Scrape, yes. Wash? Never heard of that.