Pity-Party Avocado Sandwich

I have gotten acid reflux and I can't stop obsessing over all the food I might not eat again without pain.  I started taking omeprazole this week - only $9 over the counter, far cheaper than a doctor apppointment and still reasonable this early in the game.  My faint hope is that I will be back to normal after 14 days.  My fear is that I will struggle with this, in spite of drugs and a limited diet, which is a reality for my mother and my best friend.

I snapped a photo of my avocado, salt, and sourdough bread lunch at my job this week - it's tasty and supposedly safe for someone with acid reflux.

Sometimes I face the acid with stoicism, with all my past adversities backing me up. Most of the time I mourn the food I love and complain that the universe is so unfair (this is ridiculous - my faith in God does not support this, but that's my honest gut reaction).

But one thing I am firm about:  continuing projects and work.  It's therapy to me, a kind of refusal to sink into the depths and cower on the sofa.  I finished a quilt last night - pictures coming soon!

Cleaning Oven Hood Filters

My zone (deep) cleaning sort of went missing this year.  I'm trying to regain that routine - it always feels more germane in the dead of winter! 

I borrowed a trick from teaching days by putting my sheet of zone cleaning jobs in a page protector.  Then I use an erasable marker to cross off the jobs.  I can wipe it clean now, instead of needing to print off (and in the process, edit and fiddle and get distracted) a new sheet.

A recent job I did was cleaning the oven hood filters.  They were caked with grease and fuzzy with dust.  It's true!  I gently popped them out with their little pull tabs.  I laid them in a sinkfull of hot, soapy water.  After a while I gently scrubbed them a bit - not too much because that would destroy the grease-catching web.  I left them to dry for a while, and popped them back in.  Much better! 

I haven't done any zone cleaning this week - maybe because I'm not hosting any New Year's festivities?

Dark Days 5: Transforming the Ugly Beets

Don't they look awful?  They were some odd cross between golden and regular beets, but they were also woody inside.  I had a plan, however! 

1.  Scrub.  Bake, covered, for 1 hour or until tender when poked.
2.  Allow to sit for up to 10 minutes.
3.  Dump beets in cold water.  Slide skins off - they will come right off with your hands!  Run a little more cold water over them if needed.
4.  Now you have cooked, skinned beets.
5.  Puree according to Mollie Katzen's directions in Moosewood.  Flavored with salt, homemade applesauce, apple cider vinegar, and local honey (and non-local lemon).

I only used a few beets for the sauce.  The rest I pickled with a siriacha brine.

Beet sauce served with Cottage Potatoes (local cheese, butter, potatoes, sweet onions; not local rosemary and homemade bread - but made with organic flour).  Roasted brussel sprouts.  Local, and sadly, according to my market farmer, the last ones until next fall.

Family's opinions:  The kids weren't very enthused about the brussel sprouts, but I paid no attention because sometimes they adore them.  Logically, I think they'd want some nice vegetables after all the Christmas sweets, but their tastes aren't logical.

My husband and I enjoyed the flavors in this meal.  The beet sauce is definitely more than the sum of its parts.

Genevieve and I ate together after some shopping, leaving a Christmas gift from Aunt Mel spread out on the table.  Genevieve didn't eat much before she wanted to work on her mosaic again.

(Dark Days Challenge explanation here, in case you haven't read any back posts)

"We Wish You Were Merry, Christmas"

Title quote by 3-year-old Ben, with my comma inserted to make the joke.

We are having a lovely, quiet Christmas Eve.  We're looking forward to clam chowder, candlelit carols, and stockings before bed.  The children will open the 24 on the Advent calendar - the homey Advent calendar my parents got in Germany before I was born.

And tomorrow, Christmas service and then curry and presents with family. Hopefully a walk in the crisp winter air.

May your Christmas be merry, too

Dark Days 4: Apple & Potato Latkes

I saw the latke recipe on the New York Times website, and saw how easily I could make local latkes.

Menu: 

apple & potato latkes with thick yogurt

French endive, arugula, red lettuce, and escarole salad with poppyseed dressing

pumpkin pie

 

I have clear memories of my mother's potato pancakes in my childhood.  We usually ate them with ketchup.  As an adult, I would prefer applesauce, except that I haven't made latkes/potato pancakes as an adult. 

The New York Times recommended Greek yogurt with cinnamon and maple syrup. I skipped the flavorings, and strained my homemade yogurt to make it thick. I saved the whey in the fridge to make oatmeal pancakes some day - does anyone know how long whey keeps?

I forgot to add the onions to the latkes - I was so disappointed! However, the meal was delicious and my family gobbled it up.

Also, you should know that squeezing the liquid out of the potatoes and apples resulted in a stained dishtowel.  When it was clear the stain would not come out, I folded it up and put it on the bottom of my dishtowel stack.  I will be making these latkes again (and adding the onion this time!), so I'll just re-stain the dishtowel.

Dark days ingredients, all local and where noted, organic:

organic potatoes, apples, milk (homemade yogurt), organic greens, organic pumpkin, cream, organic eggs, organic WW pastry flour

Cultivating My Image As Someone Who Loves Free Stuff

In my circles, I am known as somebody who is happy to take unwanted stuff.  This isn't a culturally popular image, right?  But I'm finally middle-aged enough not to mind.  I am reducing trash, saving money, and staying home where I want to be instead of shopping.

How I cultivate my image:

1.  Take what's offered, even if I don't think I personally will use it.

2.  Check to see if the giver wants it back if I can't use it.  If the giver doesn't want it back and I decide not to keep it, then I donate it to a thrift store or check with other people I know who love freebies.  (We've got a hotline and a password - shhhh, don't tell)

3.  Make sure the giver knows how grateful I am for the stuff. 

The benefits:
1.  Useful stuff!  That I don't have to track down in some shopping edifice!  I think most of my fabric stash is pass-ons from other people.  If you are one of those people and you are reading this post, thank you, again!  You rock.

2.  One person's trash is another person's treasure, right?  I am so pleased when something marked for the trash turns out to be useful to someone.

3.  The warm community feeling.  Makes me feel like sharing my stuff too. 

4.  Creatively, life is more interesting.  I sometimes confine myself to the things people give me because it's an exercise in thinking outside the box and finding solutions.

And yes, these curtains.  My mother-in-law did not need these curtains which came with their house 2 years ago.  She offered them to me.  Perfectly serendipitous, as I was wanting plain curtains in our bedroom. 

But I like to have light sometimes, so the curtains needed tiebacks.

I pulled a delightful assortment of fabrics out of my scrap bag - some from this pillowcase, the cuffs from my bathing chemise, and some leftover stripes from the brick wall comforter (which is on the bed).  Bias-tape loops. $21 for three curtain rods. High-up hooks so the light can still get in when the curtains are pulled back. 

I'm very, very pleased with the functionality and the way the curtains fit right in. 

Creme Anglaise Instead of Ice Cream

Because it's delicious, slightly unusual for guests, and made with cheap pantry staples. Plus, you get to use a pretty pitcher on your table (not shown, as I forgot to take a picture).

I served creme anglaise (pouring custard) not long ago to guests on top of apple crisp.  And the next day, we finished it up with gingerbread.