Lost

I wrote an entire piece for you with recipe ideas, everything, and it was lost. I continued an earlier post and went to post it and my kind host made me sign in and everything was lost! I’ll try to reconstruct over the next couple of days because there was some good stuff in there for you.

Beef Carbonnade with traditional Pappardelle noodles; and a chicken liver mousse that is softened by onions, apples, brandy and cream cheese. I just looked up a recipe on epicurious for duck ragu that will go with the prepared egg pappardelle I found at the specialty grocery.

Not that there’s a competition going on, but when my neighbor brings over a plate of cookies or other treats, I return it in kind. So I got gorgeous cookies today and responded in kind with a bowl of chicken pate. It was a joy to spend much of the day exploring new territory on an eastward drive we’ve never taken, even though we were splashed by every semi going the opposite way.

Then I got to spend several hours in the kitchen making stew and pate. I love to have a fire going, look at the mountains and figure out what to cook. Lately, now that Sundance is over, it’ll be easier to find a place to live. Someone here doesn’t like the fact that we have a dog. They like our dog. Their dog likes our dog. But every time we see them there’s a complaint lodged against us because we have a well-behaved, now (I just decided this is her birthday) six years old. Happy Birthday Zoe! We got her March 12 and instead of being 8 wks she was only six. So I don’t want her to have to compete with Punxatawny Phil tomorrow.

It’s interesting that some of the places have been on the market forever, always for a reason. Two properties look promising, I’m steering clear of the places that advertise regular moose sightings because moose hate dogs and kick them to death. Yes, Ms. City Gal is talking about moose properties. What has become of me? I’ve got to tell you what my dear husband tells all the recruiters that call him: “this is the prettiest place I’ve ever lived.”

I’ve lived in a number of pretty and interesting places but this, with the mountains and wildlife, is rich. And I’m going to learn to make a proper Texas chili (taking it from Lady Bird Johnson’s White House recipe) and maybe even cassoulet before the weather warms up in May.

What did you make this weekend? Are you helping a friend out? Write in and let everyone know.

I’m sending out a dedication today to Wynk, a horse saved from the slaughterhouse by Val, our cousin and our dog Zoe’s hip surgeon, only to become a dedicated endurance-race riding horse. It appears he died of a heart attack in the stable overnight, in old age. Godspeed, Wynk, and cheers to all reading this blog today. Dee