Miracle of miracles….. Talking with MIL M the other day I heard wind in the background but she’s already planted in Texas, it was warm and she was picking asparagus for dinner that comes up every year. We’re not so lucky, yet.
Today I didn’t take my car out. I walked to the store, dressed too warmly (I checked the weather a few moments before when I took Zoe out and changed jackets, an unwise move).
Just in case my husband does arrive hungry tomorrow night for the weekend I plan to make pizza dough and was getting the fixings while talking to this guy at the deli counter about different doughs we’ve made over the years. Interesting stuff, I know. Then I hear a woman’s voice asking how Zoe is doing. I looked over and it was our former USPS mail carrier, L. She said one of the gals said that Zoe says hello. She’s still around the neighborhood but not at our place. Because of L, Zoe goes up to everyone in blue pants with a dark stripe! Anyone who says dogs are color blind needs to have their eyes examined.
Funny and sad. My old dog Chani was abused by a deputy sheriff and left at a shelter to rot for a year. I spent time every week with her and when her health declined and she was becoming a danger to herself and others I took her home, rehabilitated her and we spent ten years together. She was afraid of any kind of uniform or hat for a while but got over it and her fear of the kids who used to throw sticks and rocks at her as a pup such that all the kids in the tot lot called out her name when we entered our park. And their moms let them pet her. Now Zoe seeks out people in uniform, something we should all do to thank our service personnel here and abroad.
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I think my dinner party has blown up. No worries, it was supposed to be a cooking lesson and dinner. I’ll find out what’s happening tomorrow and will go ahead with the dinner anyway. I can always freeze cooked foods and give some away.
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Did I write about diet trifle? I never said that, I’ll be taken out back by British chefs and flogged. Shhhh, not a word. I’m trying an experiment. Some folks around here are refusing dessert. I have an experiment. I usually make a multi-berry trifle with lemon curd with pound cake and whipped cream. Tomorrow I’m going to try angel food cake with nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt and berries. I’m not letting go of the lemon curd, though. Perhaps I can add lemon zest and juice as well. It’s a somewhat healthy alternative. I’ll let you know how it goes. Oh, I didn’t make the cake or the curd or the yogurt. I didn’t grow the berries because it’s still too cold here.
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On my walk to the grocery store I saw a few tulips, hyacinths, and hints of buds on hedges. Also squirrels and another animal I saw for a fraction of a second and can’t identify. There were loads of birds and I was able to pick out a few male robins. No cardinals since a couple of months ago. The trees are still bare and I have to look at the lake and the flag, at half mast once again, to find out where the wind is coming from (that determines clothing and where to walk the dog).
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My husband says fall is his favorite season. I think spring is mine, when everything comes to life and one can stop making winter stews and make ratatouille or chilled cucumber/yogurt soup. And eat a peach or a cantaloupe or a pint of cherries that taste as they should. Farmers’ markets will open. We’ll see watercraft on the lake. I can clean all the winter gear and wear a light jacket in the evening, or a pashmina shawl. I do love the colors of fall, though, especially in the Adirondacks.
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It’s chicken wings tonight with a homemade Asian marinade/glaze. I’ve heirloom carrots in all colors and will roast them and make some sort of potato. Now I have to make lists. I don’t want my husband and me to spend the one day he has at home doing errands. Cheers and have a great weekend! Dee
Cooking with Dee 