Spice changed my life in 2010

I discovered smoked paprika in 2010. Eureka! Mom sprinkled paprika on deviled eggs, & I used to make Chicken Paprikash with the "regular" kind, but this is another spicy level. It comes sweet & hot. I use sweet, most often with olive oil & sherry vinegar. Here it's on garbanzos (with garlic), red peppers, & tuna for a quickie lunch. After the photo I added nonfat Greek yogurt. I also like/love it on spinach stir-fried in olive oil with onions & maybe garlic, & it's wonderful on a fried egg sandwich. Sprinkle it on before you're finished cooking. It likes to sizzle. Oh, also on sautéed potatoes. And fish. And I must return to Chicken Paprikash. Let's see … why do I love this stuff?

2010 has been an appreciation of spice. I even considered blending spices for Christmas gifts (but didn't do it). Next Christmas, these might be in your stocking:

Tandoori spice mix

2 cloves garlic

2-inch piece of ginger, sliced fine or grated

1/2 t. lemon zest

juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 C. cilantro or parsley

1 T. curry powder or Tandoori spice

pinch cayenne

1 t. salt

I mixed this with a cup of yogurt for a chicken marinade. Then broil.

Mideast spice blend

1 T. minced garlic

1 t. minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 t. ground coriander

1 T. ground cumin

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Sauté with an onion in olive oil.

*from a NYTimes recipe for chickpea tagine with chicken and apricots. For that, you sauté 4 skinless chicken thighs in olive oil, remove them, add a chopped onion, then the spices, along with 1 C. chopped tomato & 1/2 C. chopped dried apricots. You cook it a little bit, then add 2 C garbanzos & 1 to 2 C. chicken broth. Cook slowly 15 min., then add 1/2 C. bulgur, & cook until chicken & bulgur are done -- 10-15 min. Add salt. Top with chopped parsley.

And this is Epicurious' Indian spice blend. I sprinkle it on cauliflower & roast it with olive oil. Also good with yogurt, chicken, rice...

Not a little country church

Christmas morning I prayed a Spanish Mass at Jesu church in desolate downtown Miami. It's the opposite of a little country church – but it IS pink. A saving grace.

Snowballs

These are my favorites.

Snowballs

1 C. butter (unsalted)

6 T. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 C. flour

2 C. finely chopped nuts (Toasted pecans are best. Walnuts are good. Almonds are terrible. They belong in macaroons.)

Powdered sugar

Cream butter well, then add sugar & beat until fluffy. Stir in vanilla & flour. Add the nuts. Mix. Take small portions of the dough & roll into ropes on a lightly floured board. Cut into even sections. (You can line up the ropes & cut several at a time.) Roll pieces in your palms to make bite-size cookies. Place on parchment-covered cookie sheet. Bake at 325° for 8-12 minutes. They are extremely tender when you take them out of the oven. Yesterday one fell off the pan and crumbled into the drawer under the oven. I tried to taste another while it was still hot & it crumbled in my hand. So don't touch them until cool, if possible. But as soon as they're out of the oven, sprinkle a big cloud of powdered sugar over them while still in the pan. The hot cookies will make the sugar into something sublime. Then, when cool, do it again for a pretty white dusting.

I don't remember where I got this recipe. There are many variations & I've tried some. This is best.

Cutout cookies

We call them cutout cookies. I've made many variations of the rolled butter cookie, & these are best. You couldn't make a richer cookie; they have almond paste & 4 egg yolks! Below is the recipe, from the Oct-Nov. 2010 Taste of Home magazine, p. 78. Here is a link to another site (Get off your butt and bake), where they also love the cookie.

Daria's best-ever sugar cookies

1/2 C. almond paste (4 oz. I had only 3 oz., & that was fine.)

4 egg yolks

2 C. butter, softened

1 3/4 C. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3 3/4 C. flour

Beat almond paste & egg yolks until crumbly. Add butter, sugar & salt. Beat until light & fluffy. Gradually add flour & mix well. Divide into four sections; shape each into a ball & flatten slightly. Wrap in wax paper & refrigerate for one or two hours or until easy to handle. (The dough will stiffen.)

On lightly floured surface, roll one portion of dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut with floured 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet covered with baking parchment. Bake at 375° for 6-8 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for two minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

When I made these yesterday I brought my seam gauge from the sewing room into the kitchen to measure precisely how thick the dough was. I discovered I like thinner cookies; they are crisper than 1/4". Whatever the thickness, these cookies do crisp up as they cool.

The Taste of Home recipe has an icing made with dried egg whites. It is fluffy & dries hard. Next time, though, I'll try a thin powdered sugar & water glaze to let more cookie taste come through. And I'll brush some with slightly beaten egg white & sprinkle sparkling sugar on top & skip the icing. That will be best, because these cookies are great tasting all alone.

Frosting

3 3/4 C. powdered sugar

3 T. egg white powder (I found it at Fresh Market.)

1/3 C. water

Optional

food coloring (red & green, of course)

sugar sprinkles

Beat sugar, egg white powder & water together until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add food coloring, if desired.

Cool cookies first, then frost. Let frosting harden.

Playing cards

It was like being a kid, making these Christmas postcards from fabric, paper, ribbon & glitter. I love thinking of this vulnerable object flying all alone to my friends & family. I sewed the pieces down & let the stitches show on back, placing the address, stamp & greeting around the threads.

The price of perfect

I'm looking for a $5 gift for Clark.It has to be perfect. Last year the limit was $10. I bought him these green scissors because I love them. They are perfect for me. His wan smile told me the sharp little blades were not perfect for him. Our new puppy chewed his perfect gift, & now they're hard to hold. So this year I'm under pressure to produce perfect.

This morning Clark told me he's found my gift, but it was more than $5; he told the man he has a $5 limit, so the man agreed. This means my gift is from a flea market or antiques shop.

I've got a few more days to search for perfect, & in that time I think about Clark -- what he loves & what I love about him. Perfect.

Chocolate caramel truffles

Chocolate is not Christmas. Except …

Chocolate caramel truffles

1 C. sugar

2/3 C. heavy cream (I use organic.)

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (Kallebut, if you can find it. It costs $15 a pound (at Simply Entertaining in Tallahassee) & they only stock it at Christmastime, so you have to horde some for your Valentine's day chocolate heart.)

1/4 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

In a dry heavy saucepan (I use the beloved copper pan I bought in Paris.) cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork until it melts, & sugar is golden caramel. Remove pan from heat & add cream carefully. (Mixture will bubble up.) Caramel will harden; stir until caramel dissolves.

Remove pan from heat & add chocolate, salt, & vanilla. Let mixture stand 5 minutes & then stir until the chocolate melts. Transfer mixture to a bowl & cool, uncovered. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or until firm.

With a spoon (I use a cookie scoop.) form 1-inch balls. Roll truffles in 1/2 C. cocoa powder, or coat with 1 C. finely chopped pecans, pressing the nuts in slightly. Chill about 1 hour. Makes about 40.

I made these just before Thanksgiving for a Dec. 4 party, & they kept perfectly. I wrapped them in foil, placed in a plastic box, which stayed in the back corner of the refrigerator, where we couldn't easily reach. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

I think I got this recipe from Gourmet.

Lebkuchen = Christmas

Lebkuchen is the essence of Christmas -- childhood and cinnamon and cloves and Grandma. When I was a child I hated the cookie, but now it is my seasonal sacrament. It's trouble, mixing honey and flour, and translating pounds to cups. Every year it turns out different--probably because I make half a recipe and don't get the balance perfect. You adjust. I bet Grandma did too. When it's too hard, I wrap the cookies in whiskey-soaked cheesecloth. Sometimes I drizzle a confectioner's sugar glaze. Once I baked and baked, but it wouldn't get together. After frosting, I had to scoop it off the cookie sheet with a spoon, roll that into balls and put them into little paper cups. Grandma Krumm's recipe (She was Irish, but she adjusted.) is below the photos.

Lebkuchen
Christmas Honey Cake

Grandma Josephine Krumm
(who got it from her mother-in-law, Mary Krumm)

1 lb. honey (the kind you choose makes a difference. I use tupelo.)

1 lb. flour

1/2 lb. sugar

Mix honey and sugar in a little pan. Boil and skim off the froth. When nearly cold add flour.

In a large bowl, mix:

1 1/2 lb sugar

3 eggs

1 lemon (juice and rind)

1/2 lb. citron (I hate it, so I use candied orange peel.)

1 1/2 lb. flour (Oh, I think I've left this out sometimes.)

1/2 C. orange peel (I use candied, but think Grandma used fresh.)

1 T. soda mixed in 1/2 C. whiskey

2 T. cloves

1 lb. almonds (I use blanched, slivered almonds, and then I toast them.)

Mix the two parts together. Add more flour if needed. Spread into greased, rimmed cookie sheets and bake 13 min. at 350. Makes four cookie sheets. (I line the pan with greased parchment and this year I actually rolled it out rather than spread it in the pan. I had to dust with more flour, but it's easier than squishing the goo into corners of the pan. I bake it 17-20 minutes. We like a harder cookie. Cut into diamonds. I use a pizza cutter.) While warm, frost, if desired. If too hard, wrap in whiskey-soaked cheesecloth.

My adjustments and half the recipe.

Equivalents (I use these, but ... you might double-check.)

flour--4 C. = 1 lb.

sugar--2 1/4 C. = 1 lb.

honey--1 1/3 C. = 1 lb.

1/2 of Grandma's recipe

Lebkuchen

2/3 C. honey (the kind you choose makes a difference. I use tupelo.)

2 C. flour 

1/2 C. + 1 T. sugar

Mix honey and sugar in a little pan. Boil and skim off the froth. When nearly cold add flour.

In a large bowl, mix:

1 5/8 + 1 T. sugar

1 1/2 eggs (I beat one egg in a little bowl and use half.)

1/2 lemon (juice and rind)

1/4 lb. citron (I hate it, so I use candied orange peel.)

3 C. flour (Oh, I think I've left this out sometimes.**)

1/4 C. orange peel

1/2 T. soda in 1/4 C. whiskey

1 T. cloves

1/2 lb. almonds (I use blanched, slivered almonds, and then I toast them.)

* I add 2 T. cinnamon. It's in my revised recipe and I don't know how it got in. It does taste good.

**Oops. Just discovered that I left 3 C. flour out of my revision! That explains why my dough is like runny peanut butter. At the end I always have to add flour as I need it -- probably 3 C. -- It explains why every year is different. But good.

Meyer lemon marmalade

Grandma Krumm canned, & so did Mom. (I'm not sure Mom loved slicing all those peaches, juice running down her arms in the hot August kitchen, & 5 kids also running. This Meyer lemon marmalade made me appreciate her work.) Clark sharpened my knife, our across-the-street neighbor Ed gave me treasures from his tree, & I kept promising to do something. I doubled the recipe, & it works fine. The last half-dozen jars are bubbling in the canner beside me, & I'm glad! This is the third year I've used the Epicurious recipe. I remove the packet of seeds after the water-lemon mixture begins to boil, & I finally figured out that 15-20 minutes is enough simmering after you add the sugar. Forget their tip to see if it jells on a cold plate. I've chilled two dozen dessert plates, waiting. Skip this step. Just take it off the heat. It's done.

A-peeling

I don't like citron, so I make candied orange peel for my lebkuchen. Otherwise, I follow Grandma Krumm's recipe. (well, except for the toasted almonds & she didn't use Tupelo Honey either ... ) That recipe is to come, but the orange peel is a treat in itself. I got the recipe from Chocolates and Petits Fours by Beverley Sutherland Smith (p. 12).

Chocolate-Coated Orange Peel

2 thick-skinned medium oranges, halved

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup water

Squeeze juice from oranges. Cut into quarters. Remove the membrane. Do not remove the white pith. Cut peels into half-inch strips, making about 80. Place strips into saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to boil. Drain. Repeat four times. The last time, keep cooking until the peel is translucent. I couldn't tell, exactly. I mean, translucent?? I just cooked it a while, not until it fell apart. Drain well. (I put the strips on a towel.)

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves. Raise heat to medium-high. Cook a minute. Add orange strips and cook until syrup is reduced (Use your judgment; you don't want any juice left.), stirring occasionally. Reduce heat if it seems to be cooking away too fast.

Place strips in a single layer on a wire rack set over waxed paper and dry for 24 hours.

I chop these for a citron substitute in German cookies, but they are perhaps more fabulous when you dip one end into melted Kallebut dark chocolate. Pretty, too.

Little tree

I love my vulnerable Christmas tree, posing here on the kitchen doorstep. If you have a saw & drill you can make one:

1. Slice a 1/4-inch cookie from a log (Mine blew off the black walnut tree.)

2. Match your drill bit to the size of a scrap of evergreen.

3. Drill a hole in the center of the wood.

4. Insert greens.

5. Cut a free-form star. I used a glue gun, but any glue would work.

I got this from a magazine clipping I've been saving. It says they make festive place card holders for the Christmas table.

I made these for my quilting group. We were going to meet for Christmas dinner Tuesday, but postponed it for a week. Hope my greens don't dry. Mary inspired me, reminding me how Dad loved to work with wood, saying she discovered she loves it too. So I "borrowed" Clark's tools & let the sawdust fly onto the floor. Dad caught his in a big box under the saw.

Heron pose

This heron posed for me at sunset on Captiva Island.

Painted church

St. Benedict's Church, south of Kona.

I love little country churches, and there are plenty on Hawai'i's Big Island. This is one of two "painted churches." You go through the portico into a tiny space all painted with religious scenes. I particularly remember one from Hell (possibly inspired by the nearby volcano), but others are happier. The supporting posts are swirls of color like candy canes. Ceiling is painted too --no inch untouched. And no doors: it's built like a three-sided box, with the open porch on the fourth. Over to your left is a steep cemetery, with graves marching down to the Pacific. But of course, not all the way down. It's far.

Eeek--my Volcano!

The volcano on my table has erupted, & it's not pretty. But see that tiny scrap at top right? It says, "Bueno."

Volcano vision

Top* is where I am, bottom is where I was Saturday, at the end of a fabric + collage workshop with Maya Schonenberger. The idea is to collage a landscape. When I got home, I wanted to change what I'd done. So I closed the door, put on Hawai'ian music, and ...

1. First you make a base. Mine is burlap, cotton, felt, silk, packing material, magazine pages, & a little paint. Saturday I had a violet sky. Now it's black.

2. Glue all those pieces onto (19" x 19") plain white cotton.

3. Next, stitch it down.

4. Then layer with lava, smoke & fire.

I feel like a little god, making things.

*The pink is my tablecloth.

Hawai'ian Quilts

Best part of my Hawai'ian quilt pilgrimage was the surprise of talking to people who share my passion. It zapped right through formalities. There were two small quilt shops, one in Volcano, HI, and the other in Waimea, where I saw a few fine Hawai'ian quilts. The upper photo shows one. I know! it's blurry. One woman said she can't get her teenage daughter interested, because quilting is so painstaking & kids want immediacy. Another told me that grandmas today are out working or watching the grandkids while their moms & dads work; they don't have time to quilt. So, she said, families are keeping the old quilts for themselves as they become rare. You can still get cruder versions in the open-air tourist markets, & these are on the beds of many guest houses. Here's the site that led me to Big Island quilt shops.

My favorite was Dragon Mama in Hilo, HI. Japanese fabric (costly). Rice paper screens and rice pillows made to order. I bought kimono scraps of indigo-dyed cotton and brilliant rayons/ silks, which you can see in the bottom photo.

Volcano 'Copter

Our helicopter ride over Kilauea Volcano was my biggest Hawai'i thrill. The pilot took this photo just before takeoff. Then she lifted off, with six of us aboard. We gazed down into a tube of red lava that was like plumbing under the mountain's skin,

and over swaths of blackened lava that has hardened sharp enough to strip the soles off soles of hikers' shoes, and into the blackened garden and house of a man who refused to leave the mountainside. He thumbed his nose at the volcano as it surrounded his home. (He trudges several miles to get a ride to Wal-Mart for supplies. AND he welcomes overnight guests.) This eruption began in 1983 and continues today.

More trapezoids than triangles

Triangle

my favorite shape

wind at my shoulder: triangle

sky between trees: blue triangles

a kiss: several triangles smooched together

This looking at shapes makes drawing easier.

Above, some trapezoids, for perspective. It's the schoolhouse from Miccosukee, FL, now at the Tallahassee Museum just off Orange Avenue. Sunny & bleak too, it was for black students only.

This simple house shape has rectangles & more trapezoids, but that peak is a triangle. This is the outside of the Miccosukee schoolhouse.

Zing! and his triangle ears.

What's it feel like?

Slick

Bumpy (Phipps)

Spiky (Phipps)

Lyric Kinard is leading me in a study of art + quilt – her book of design principles and creativity exercises. I've got a notebook & folder of studies in fabric. Part head, part gut = art. Lots to learn.

Boo perfect

The Halloween spider spun this perfect web just for me by the lake Monday morning.

Unusual slaw

Mary wanted the recipe and also the exact ingredients. You know how flavors differ, brand to brand. I guess this is slaw; it starts with coleslaw mix, but from there it's all new. I had this clipping …

Unusual slaw

16-ounce package coleslaw mix

1/3 C. sesame ginger salad dressing

2 C. cubed cooked chicken

1/2 C. Thai peanut sauce (We used more.)

1/2 C. chow mein noodles

1 medium sweet red pepper, in strips

2 green onions, chopped

Mix coleslaw with salad dressing.

Mix chicken with peanut sauce. When Steph and I made this we agreed 1/3 C. is not enough.

We then mixed everything together, except for the red pepper, which Steph does not care for. So we put that on the side. I see now that the recipe says you should layer the cabbage with chicken, then the three garnishes on top.

Soup

Sunday I went to see a hermit and didn't even have to climb a mountain or peer inside a cave. She lives in a -- well, seeing that she is a hermit, maybe that detail should remain untold. Let's just say she lives nearby.

She's laid up, and I took her some soup. She looked like a cheerful pixie, with red hair and glasses. She was in a hospital bed, reading a book propped on her knees. Soon she explained that her job involves lots of travel and meeting people.

"But my calling is to be a hermit," she told me, chuckling at how fate and an auto accident abruptly provided the kind of simplicity she'd craved.

Anyway, she loved the soup, and so might you. It's my variation of La Soupe Aux Pois Chiches from On Rue Tatin by Susan Herrmann Loomis.

Chickpea Soup

1 pound chickpeas

1 large onion, cut in four

4 whole cloves

5 T. extra-virgin olive oil

3 quarts water

4 bay leaves

parsley

thyme

salt

1 lb. spinach

Rinse chickpeas and sort for stones (I found one, once.)

Cover them with water two inches above.

Soak overnight.

Next day, drain.

Mince 3/4 large onion and saute in 1 T. olive oil. Cook over low heat until soft, 10-15 minutes. Add chickpeas and roll them around in the oil. Cook for a minute. Add 3 quarts water, the herbs, and the remaining quarter of an onion, which you have pierced with four cloves. Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tsp. salt. Stir again and cook for another hour, or until the beans are soft. If the water goes away, add more.

Fish out the sprigs of parsley and the bay leaves and the thyme. (You could also tie them together in a cheesecloth bag at the beginning, but I never do.) If there's a lot of liquid, pour some off, but don't throw it out yet. I just dip in with a large glass measuring cup. If you have a lot of liquid you will have a runny soup.

Mush the beans with an immersion blender, leaving some of them whole for texture interest. If you don't have an immersion blender, get one! Otherwise, use a big blender, but that's trouble. Add more liquid if you like. Salt to taste. (I always add another teaspoon.)

Now add the spinach and just stir it around until it's wilted. Serve the soup with additional olive oil drizzled on top.

This is good with olive oil and garlic croutons.

Ohio farm & field

I've been to Ohio, and took this photo somewhere north of Cincinnati, where this farm abuts the I-71 rest stop. Nostalgia time.

Watching water

I studied water at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park last week. And light. I learned that all colors are there. Not just blue.
Here's my notebook with silk for water, maybe. But I've decided not. Yes, silk is in love with light– as water is. Cotton is not translucent. But.

All parts of the quilt have to go together. I just can't see the writing in the same piece as gathered or pleated silk. And my beach is a dune of words.

I go to bed thinking like this.

Takes time to get it right

OK, I know this is not right. I've been experimenting with making a beach scene. The words are the beach. The hand-dyed blue-green is the water … not good.

Learning to Dye

It was like Christmas morning, when you can't wait to discover what Santa left. I had to rush out to the shed to see how the cotton in my dyepot had colored up overnight. I followed Pat Kumicich's directions, loving it that my hands turned turquoise and gold. You'll believe me when I say the photos don't do the color justice.

Rose Cake

I

• 
  

I don't really like roses – it's the thorns! – but I fell in love with rose ice cream at a Greek ice cream shop in Savannah. It's pink, with elusive flavor. Then I tasted iced tea with rose syrup in New Orleans, & found a similar version here in Tallahassee. (The one in New Orleans had a handful of pistachios in the drink too.) Then I found a small blue jar of Rose Flower Water* in the refrigerator. I have no idea how long it's been there, but it's still effective in this recipe for rose syrup from Epicurious. They say put it on fruit, which I've done, deliciously. This time it's on Mom's sponge cake. I used more sugar –1 1/2 cups. Just pierce the cake with fork tines while it's still warm, & pour the syrup over.

*I think I got the Rose Flower Water in a drug store; I have faint memories... but you can find it at specialty groceries like Fresh Market, & probably at Mideastern shops as well.

• Rose Water Syrup
• 
  
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 1 teaspoon rose water

Boil water with sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add cinnamon stick. Turn heat up to medium-high & boil until you have about 1 cup. Stir in rose water. I keep the syrup in the refrigerator in an old mayonnaise jar.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Fruit-with-Rose-Water-Syrup-5878#ixzz0ztpfmjAo

Painting fabric

Cotton & silk, paint & ink – all look fine if they're turquoise. My fingernails too – they're turquoise today. I've been experimenting with bits of fabric, & so far I've found that I like ink & silk. Ink, I've since read, does not change the "hand" of fabric, while paint stiffens. And silk just lusts after color; cotton accepts nicely.

Night Owls

I love my night owls. They're 19" x 24 1/2"

French Roses quilting bee

Our quilting group is making "French Roses" for the silent auction at this year's quilt show Oct. 28-Jan. 23. Seven or eight of us did the cutting in two hours. We sat around our dining room table & it was fun. I forgot that I hate the cutting part. The next week we sewed together. Here it is, ready for backing & quilting.

T-shirt quilt

Yesterday Sandy said she couldn't wait to see this quilt I made to celebrate Jeffrey's graduation. She just had to open the box. (It arrived just after Jeffrey had left for college. Oh well...) Her excitement makes me glad I created his special present. It's a simple, cozy quilt – 16 squares, each one 14" x 14," all soft T-shirt cotton, backed with sweatshirt fabric. Arranging them was fun, thinking of Jeffrey and the life experiences the shirts represent. He was an outstanding high school student, & I'm sure he'll be the same in college. Warm, too, in those Michigan winters.

Kohlrabi Slaw

"You are one of the few," said the man behind the counter at TomatoLand. "Hardly anyone knows what to do with kohlrabi."

I just like the gnarly bulb – the way it looks. I had some image of maybe using it as a weapon. Irene told me it would be better to slice & eat it with hummus. Delicious, but no color contrast. Then somewhere I picked up this recipe. Be careful when slicing; kohlrabi is so dense it can slip off the cutting board ahead of the knife. Slice a piece from the bottom to make it lie flat.

Kohlrabi Slaw

Julienne 1 carrot & 2 kohlrabi.

Toss with dressing of:

rice vinegar

olive oil

toasted sesame oil (just a drop or two)

ground toasted fennel seed (Lightly brown the seed in a little iron skillet, then pulverize using mortar & pestle.

salt to taste

Threads

These threads helped finish my little Night Owls quilt. Quilters Unlimited says we can't discuss it ... so, shhhh! I hate not showing the final quilt. (It's for the annual members' challenge.) But here - take this inspiration, a video of Kiran Sethi, who believes in kids. I've begun tutoring, back fussing about what makes people learn. For me, it's color. And words.

Baked Onions & Rice

In the hot, slow weeks I've been changing, just like that Beautyberry bush I see. It's added purple clusters -- I've changed the way we eat. More fruits & vegetables. Clark hasn't complained. In fact, he's pulled in his belt a couple of notches. Here's a delicious combo we had the other night: Baked Onions & Rice, served with lentils cooked with that (expensive, delicious) Sukhi's spice packet. Easy. But the oven did heat up the kitchen. I should have made cookies too, but is that a vegetable?

Baked Onions & Rice

1 1/2 lb. onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 1/2 C. chicken stock, heated

3/4 C. long-grain rice

3 T. butter (optional)

1 tsp. salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Place sliced onions in a saucepan & cover with stock. Simmer, covered, 7 minutes. Add the rice. Pour into a casserole with lid. Bake, covered, until rice is soft, 25-35 minutes. Add salt & butter, if desired.

*I think I cut this from one of Lee Bailey's beautiful big cookbooks -- City Food, I think. It has some pages torn out.

Snake & Eggs

This snake looks like it swallowed a dozen eggs. Bumpy. Susan spotted it by the side of the path when we were walking at Phipps a couple of weeks ago. Probably a gray rat snake, she said. It didn't move, & neither did Zing! We proceeded hastily past, as I kept the dog on a short leash. A couple of days afterward, I was chatting with a city parks employee who said learning about snakes is the best way to lose your fear of them. Stephanie, who now works at PetSmart, said she's heard of two dogs dying recently from snake bite.

Peanut Butter & Sweet Potatoes

Everyone loves peanut butter (except for a couple of people in my own family), but many think sweet potatoes are just for Thanksgiving.

Not true, of course. I love sweet potato wedges tossed in olive oil & chopped rosemary, then roasted at 375° until soft & golden brown.

Which led me to try this simple dish: Boil sweet potatoes, then mash with some cooking liquid. Add lots of chopped fresh garlic &, yes, peanut butter. Toss with cooked pasta & top with chopped green onions.*

"I wouldn't care if you didn't make this again," Clark said, as he returned his plate to the kitchen, nearly untouched. He can't deal with peanuts in his pasta.

I will make it again – next time as a soup. Just for me.

*I boiled 3 sweet potatoes, & mashed them with some cooking liquid, using my immersion blender. I added 2 cloves of chopped garlic, salt to taste, & about 3/4 C. peanut butter. For soup, I'll add chicken broth. Cream would be good too, but I'm trying to limit that. I might try cilantro &/or mint for garnish with the green onions.