A year's worth of "to-do's", involving food of course!

It's not January, but I'm feeling the need to create a list of important things I would like to complete within this year. Since I'm a teacher August feels like New Year's, and a time to create resolutions, or at least goals. We teachers really like the word goal. You get a new class, another chance to do things differently, and new things to learn and adjust to. With this said...here are a couple of things I want to do this year...I think.

1. Finish my old quilt Check

2. Start a new quilt with a more difficult pattern, like so:Check

3. Attempt homemade brioche

4. Grow broccoli, cabbage, carrots, beets, cauliflower, and a variety of mixed greens Check

5. Don't let any of the above go to waste Sort-of Check (we froze broccoli)

6. Make homemade pasta (besides gnocchi, we've already mastered that)

7. Make apple butter with apples that we've picked Check

8. Sew a shirt with ruffles! (this one scares me the most)

9. Read all the Little House books...that should be easy! Check

10. Make a tiramisu with homemade zabaglione and lady fingers

11. Bake pitas

12. Make honey wheat bread a muscadine jam to eat with it!

13. Sew oven mitts and hot pads with insulated batting

14. Find a cute house to rent in May, with a small plot of land that has good soil and gets lots of sun

15. Make homemade chicken stock and freeze

16. Go to The Piedmont, a restaurant in Durham

17. Make dinners more during the week night

...I can't think of anymore!

out with the old in with the new

Our garden is suffering from a variety of diseases, inconsistent rain, mold, insects, and anything else you can imagine that would attack an innocent plant. We're still getting peppers in by the basket full and a few tomatoes, though mostly green because the ripe ones have all busted open by the time we arrive to pick. The romas have been our most sturdy tomato, resisting the heat and remaining intact. We've made endless sauces, salsas, soups, and pizzas with them. Most of our herbs are also fine and dandy, with the exception of the cilantro and dill. But the squash and cucumbers have been long gone, along with the corn and radishes. So we're left with a few rotten looking tomato plants and lots of peppers. We put peppers in everything, so lately we've been freezing all of them, because I need a break from peppers. I guess at this point I've become disenchanted with our garden. It's no longer neat and pretty, each small seedling green and bright. It has produced so many goods and filled our bellies time and time again, but as August wears on, I'm thinking it's time for a change.

It's hard to beat a fried green tomato sandwich

Swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, butternut squash, cilantro, kale, parsnips, carrots. I know how to grown some of these. Swiss chard, kale, and spinach will go in the ground as seeds and sprout until it gets too cold. Broccoli will go in the ground as a plant, as will cilantro. I'd love to plant butternut squash, but it's a little late for seeds. Can I get plants? As for parsnips and carrots I have no idea. I'm researching on the internet for some advice, since my parents have never grown either.

I'm really enjoying this school year. I'm not stressed and I feel like I have a life outside of teaching. Last year I became so worn out and tried of always being in a endless cycle of teaching, planning for teaching, grading, and teaching more. I felt that I was trapped and couldn't do anything else. I learned late last year that you have to make time for other dreams and desires you have. I've been reading a great book called Coop about a family's decent into a Wisconsin farm, slowly working on my quilt, and will sign up for pottery lessons in late August.

Progress

I assumed the hardiest part would be the tiny hand stitches binding this quilt together. It's actually the most soothing.

Though there were are some failures in the garden, bitter cucumbers, stunted jalapenos, squash bugs that took over and brought quick destruction on all but two squash plants, the tomatoes are nothing short of a miracle. Three times the weight of these gigantic plants have caused them to fall over, though they are caged and steaked. They're incredibly sturdy and the stalks are thick. I've been most impressed with my Brandywine for their size and flavor, the Beef Steak because it was the first to produce a ripe tomato at the end of June and is also the sweeter of my big varieties, and my Mexico Midget, which is so loaded with tomatoes it worries me a little. The Cherokee Purple was a big disappointment due to the fact bugs like it more than the others, it's very slow growing, and looks the least healthy. The Better Girls must have been planted to late because they've done nothing but grown a few inches over the past month and a half. Most of our tomato plants are over 6 feet tall. Our garden has inspired us to create some truly delicious meals.

Spicy sausage, summer squash, and goat cheese pasta with basil

Summer squash and tomato gratin with sauteed onions and thyme

Roasted tomato and garlic soup with homemade croutons and fresh basil (the secret is to roast the tomatoes and garlic low and slow for an hour and saute the onions in butter not oil)

Quiltin'

Quilting is taking up most of my free time this summer that would otherwise be occupied by watching the Golden Girls or rereading the Harry Potter series. It has been, big surprise, frustrating. Only impatient me could manage to screw up sewing 200 some rectangles together. It's only a straight line for heaven's sake! Most teachers have until August, but being at a year round school, I've got three more precious weeks. I've finished piecing the front and will start quilting the batten and back this weekend with assistance from my mother-in-law. I have my doubts about finishing it.

It has been a pretty great summer, especially compared to the none stop work and uncertainty of last summer. I didn't get to all the projects I wanted to, but if I finish this quilt I'll consider that an accomplishment. I'll remember this summer as one filled with new and exciting music. Here are some of my new discoveries:

Laura Veirs

Samantha Cran

Gregory Alan Isakov (really really love!)

Bowerbirds

Nothing beats an outdoors concert that welcomes quilts and homemade food. Music in the Gardens at the Duke Gardens has been wonderful this summer! I'm really falling in love with Durham. Living 45 minutes away all my life, in a rural town, I heard horrible things about a Durham with the "highest crime rate"in North Carolina. My preconceived notions have been proven wrong time and time again.

I haven't baked anything spectacular lately. Bathing suits make me think twice about using butter and sugar. My favorite baking recipe I've used this summer is for granola by Molly Wizenberg from the June Bon Appetit. It's the perfect balance of nuts, sugar, salt, and spices.

Simple Granola:

3 cups of old fashioned oats

1 cup chopped pecans (but I do half pecans and half almonds)

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

3 Tbl. brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup honey

2 Tbl. vegetable oil (I like grape seed)

1 cup assorted dried fruit (Dried cranberries are yummy!)

Preheat oven to 300 and mix the first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Heat the honey and vegetable oil in a saucepan until the two have blended and warmed. Pour warm honey and oil on to ingredients and mix. Pour onto a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes to make sure the oats are evenly cooked. I also added a few more drizzles of oil to get a little more crunch. Add the fruit once the oats have cooled. It's great for breakfast, or even lunch.

The only thing that's missing this summer is watermelon and the ocean. Nothing late July won't cure.

A precious quiet moment with a crazy kitten.

Blue Hare's Fur

That's the name of my favorite glaze we used in pottery class. The name sounds antique and rural, two things that I happen to love. It's also a great blue-green color that I adore. Pottery was really wonderful. I'm a tactile person, so pottery was very satisfying, especially the feel of the smooth, cool clay spinning between my palms. Everything about it involves being able to feel what is right or wrong with the clay. It felt very odd for me to be in a class setting where I had to try and be creative and use my hands to create decent pieces that were functional and sound. If felt like I was trying to write with my left hand. I did very little on my own. The teacher modeled a lot for me, which I found really helpful. Of course my fingers were itching to make everything, and my pride pushed me to want to do it all on my own, but I'm glad that this first time around I just got to be guided very slowly in how clay works. Always a pair of hands to help me center the clay, pull it up, and finish it off. Everyone said I would become addicted, but I can't say I feel that way. I will be taking the class in the fall, but not with the hopes of becoming great at pottery, but to quench the need to be something other than a teacher, use my mind in a different way and to get my hands dirty. I like the feeling of trying to write with the wrong hand. Being ambidextrous is a valuable thing.

Rain + Sun = Grow

It's hard to believe that after 6 weeks the garden has grown and flourished into beautiful plants, each with their own characteristics and charm. It seemed like for the longest time I cared for the tiniest two-leaved plants that I sometimes would mistake for weeds. Did you know those first two leaves to pop out of the dirt are called feeder leaves? I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw green tomatoes on the vines. Small green tomatoes that will turn into ruby red wonders of summer, with a taste so succulent that you can't forget it, not even in the dead of winter. It's why people are obsessed with finding just the right plant and forsaking all other plants if they must, but never their tomato plants. It's why I dream about slices of tomates drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with fresh basil. We currently have: 3 brandywine, 1 beef steak, 2 romas, 1 cherry, 1 cherokee purple, 1 mexico midget, and two better girls. A few other things I've learned: The top part of the tomato plant is called the crown, and you only want one crown. If you accidently snap it off then two might grow. Always pull off the suckers that grow in between your larger stalks, keeping the plant mostly growing up. Next week we'll stake the plants.

We had an odd plant sprout up that was suppose to be cilantro. Anyone know what this is? We've ruled out broccoli though it smells faintly of it.
We have a new member of our family. Matt and I adopted a kitten from the shelter a week ago. Her name is Olive and she's so precious. We were overwhelmed the first few days with getting used to a litter box and skittish kitty, but she has really come out of her shell and is great. She looks like an opossum, which is actually kind of wonderful.



Signs of summer: a hummingbird buzzing around the back porch, a lightening bug in the parking lot, blackberries starting to bud, fleas, strawberries baked in everything, radishes, and THREE and a HALF more weeks until SCHOOL is over!!!!

Next post: I'll summarize my pottery classes and what I learned and made.

Short Cuts

I don't really like short cuts all that much. I associate short cuts with laziness and consumerism. I picture the food industry, the CEO of Kraft Foods perhaps, smirking because they truly have the majority of Americans right where they want them. People use a box or bag or can to create the majority of their food, and inside of that box or bag there are dozens of things that they can't pronounce, let alone understand how that ingredient is made or where it derives from. Everybody gets more and more disconnected from food, the major source that gives us life. I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies must see a nice profit. I'm currently reading Twinkie Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger and he kind of goes behind the scenes of where these crazy ingredients, like Polysorbate 60, come from. So, I've cut out baking from a box, which has been difficult since everyone in my generation has been raised on baking from a box. No more frosting from jars, store bought humus, bread, or fast food.
All of the above wasn't really what I wanted to focus on in this entry. I really had more positive thoughts in mind. The neat thing about cooking, is that once you get into the ritual of doing something it feels like you're taking the short cut, you're saving a buck, and you've put no more effort into baking something from scratch then baking it from a box. I did three things over this break that were true shortcuts that took moments to make and were extremely rewarding.

1. Chocolate Pudding

Who doesn't love chocolate pudding? I can name a few people, my husband is one of them. However, I do think I've won him over. Let me ask him now: "Matt, do you like the chocolate pudding I've been making?" He shrugs his shoulders and says, "It's good." "So you would rather eat something else?" I ask. "No," he responds. "Then what's with the shrug?" I asked. "It's good," he admits. There, even someone like my husband likes this pudding. What's great about it is it takes 10 minutes to make, and dirties up two dishes (six if you count the little glass bowls I put it in). This is the recipe from Joy the Baker (awesome blog!) that I made a few adjustments to.

Milk Chocolate Pudding

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup milk

1 cup half and half

4 ounces fine-quality milk chocolate, chopped (I loved Green and Blacks. Even Hershey chocolate chips were good, but the texture does get a little gritty from the stabilizers in the chips.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and cream. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking constantly. Boil, whisking for two minutes. Mixture will be thick. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate pieces and vanilla extract. Stir until melted and smooth.

Transfer pudding to four or six small dishes. Cover the surface with wax paper, to prevent a skin from forming, and place in the fridge until cool and set, about two hours. But they don't get good and cold until 6 or more hours or over night.

2. Bread

This recipe makes two medium-small baguettes. In a bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water (think slightly above your body temperature), 1/2 tablespoon + 1/4 tablespoon of instant yeast (I use 1 packet), 1/2 tablespoon + 1/4 tablespoon of salt, and then 3 1/4 cups of all purpose flour ( I use King Arthur's unbleached). Mix with a spoon, or if you're lucky to have a mixer, with the dough hook until just combined. The dough should be uniformed but it will be very sticky. Dump the dough out into a container that has a lid. I use a plastic tupperware with a lid. Allow to rise at room temperature, with the lid on, for two hours or until it begins to collapse and has a flat top. Place it in the fridge, and the dough is at your disposal for two weeks.
When you're ready to bake, it couldn't be more simple. Take out a portion, about the size of a grapefruit, add a touch of flour and work it into a ball (not too much, this should take maybe 30-60 seconds). Shape into the desired shape. Place it on a pizza peel dusted with plenty of cornmeal, whole wheat flour, what have you and allow to rise for twenty minues. While you're allowing the bread to rise, prepare the oven. Place a stone in the middle of the oven and a shallow baking pan one the next rack underneath. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. After the twenty minute are up, brush the bread with water, slice with a knife, pour 1 cup of hot water into the shallow pan under the stone, slide your bread on the stone, and bake for 30 minutes. Oh! And though the bread's crust is very crunchy when it first comes out, it will soften with cooling, but will harden back up after completely cooled. So eat it right away or wait until it is finished cooling.

3. 1 Hour Dress
My mom freaked out when we came across this fabric at a store that is already smocked at the top. Her, Diane, and another lady reminisced about making dresses from this type of fabric as teenagers and how easy it is. You literally just put a seam down the back and hem to the desired length. I decided to add pockets to mine, because a dress or skirt with pockets is like a million dollars.

The learning bug has bit me big time. I start pottery classes in two weeks and I'm thinking about guitar lessons.

Decide what you want to be, and go be it.