First Snowy Weekend, 2012

It's been a warm winter.  Oh, those few days that made our teeth chatter and our hair a mess because we needed to wear hats were anomalies.  We were reminded of the norm when the snow fell for the first time in 2012 somewhere between the late hours of  January 19th and the 20th.   It was just enough snow to send me straight to the Agway in Claverack to buy a pair of fake Mucks (insulated snow boots) which I actually like better than the originals - because they're black - and very chic.

I also felt the need for something seriously substantial for dinner.  I wanted the food to warm up my insides and make me sleepy.   In the meantime I just happened to be playing Scrabble  on Facebook and having an online chat with my friend - which is a very nice way to communicate as you must compose and write down your thoughts - or not.  Roy, a food expert and I, food-interested, talk about what's for dinner - all the time.  He always has a good idea.   The Friday of the first mini snowfall I was trying to figure out what to do with a pair of chicken legs and thighs.  "Marinate them in yogurt and sumac, then roast them".  Hmmm - good idea indeed.  When I was going in the direction of the Claverack Agway I thought that I should go just a few miles further east to the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store and get some of their rich and tangy, biodynamic yogurt.  Powdered sumac - used mosty in North African and Middle Eastern food preparations - is part of my spice collection.  The tart spice adds citrus flavor to anything to which it's added (in fact, you can substitute lemon juice for any recipe asking for sumac).  I'm sure that you've seen sumac plants growing in almost any environment where they're allowed to flourish and not pulled out with the rest of the weeds that surround them.  They are easily recognized by their Christmas tree-shaped leaves and pine cone-shaped cluster of brick-colored berries.   "What if I add some fresh thyme leaves as well?(just purchased from Lick the Market)".  "Yum" said Roy.  That was it.  I marinated the legs and thighs in yogurt to cover, about a tablespoon of powdered sumac and a heaping tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves - for an hour or so.   Then I roasted them at 375 degrees F., turning once, for 45 minutes.  I finished them by putting them under the broiler for a few minutes, just enought time to burnish them.   This preparation really wants to be grilled outdoors - at least I think.

A friend had just gifted me with a jar of  Tunisian couscous ( purchased from Olde Hudson - they do mail order) .   Talk about timing.  The easy-to-make couscous was the perfect accompaniment for the chicken - and it looked so comfortable sitting  on a bed of the pebbly pasta - cooked exactly according to directions and mositend with chicken pan drippings to serve . 

Friends from down-the-road in Rhinbeck came for tea on the day after/during the succesive snowfall.   We gathered around the fire, caught up on each other's news and happily drank tea - and coffee - and ate bites of some of my favorite snacks; roasted pears (see posting, December 9, 2010) with the fabulous Kunik cheese (which I talk about all the time), and my mother's ginger snaps ( recipe on 21 October 2011 posting).
Somehow that first snowfall has turned into slush from the fairly warm rainfall.  Winter?  I'm not sure I'm ready for you to go away so quickly - but, I rather not squash my hair into another hat.   Oh, vanity, thy name is a woman who worries about her hair too much.
  SUSANSIMONSAYS:

Just bloomed.  Amaryllis - EXOTIC STAR - I planted the bulb about a week after Christmas - and here it is.

The snow has finally melted in the Northern Catskills

The last time I visited my friend, Rita's, and husband David's enchanting home in the northern Catskill Mountains there was so much snow outside that the only way to walk around was on snow shoes.  Allegra's paws got tiny cuts on them crunching through the ice-covered, blindingly white mounds of snow.
On a recent visit the snow was a distance memory and the property was lush with various shades of green. 

Rita, I, and our dogs, Frankie and Allegra went upstate for what has become a June tradition -a  girl's only weekend while David was away at an annual conference.  
The first thing that Rita does when she arrives at her upstate home is to fill the vintage bottles that line the living room fireplace mantle with something that was, or is growing  outdoors - this goes for all seasons.  So, during the dead of winter there may be branches of evergreens or dried leaves and vines.  For our recent weekend Rita placed branches of single petal, heirloom roses in each bottle.   The next thing she does is look through her vegetable garden for what has gone missing - "Someone ate the squash leaves", she said.  "Can you imagine, the squash leaves - must have been the baby woodchucks".   It's not easy being a weekend gardener. 

She did, however, find beets, assorted green leaves for salad, chocolate mint for tea - and things like chard, kale and arugula - "which no one seems to like."

I had plans to make pasta with beets and beet greens for dinner.  But, we both were kind of exhausted from the at least five-stops trip from the City so we opted for salad with Kunik cheese - about which I've written several times on this blog.   It was just right.

Blueberries and yogurt for Saturday breakfast and a plan to go off in search of Heather Ridge Farm and their farm cafe called The Bees Knees.  We thought we knew where we were going but a series of missed turns and unclear directions had us going in circles before arrived at the farm.  The charming place on, yes, a ridge has tasty, made-from- the-heart food - but vegetarians have little to no choice as
Heather Ridge Farm raises animals so their menu is meat-centric.

My chili - called "Oink & Moo" served with a corn muffin seemed just the right  thing to eat on the chilly, overcast day.   Tart lemonade and ice tea flavored with the farm's honey and mint were beverage choices.

Before we left for our adventure Rita took an early morning walk into her woods - she had a hunch that because it had rained for days that there just might be some early chanterelles.  She was right and came back with enough golden trumpets to make a tasty concoction that we spread on crackers and had  as an hors d'oeuvre with a glass of Lillet on the rocks.

RITA'S CHANTERELLES
Clean and chop the chanterelles.  Saute in extra virgin olive oil with chopped leeks and garlic scapes until tender.  Finish with a dab of butter.

We had  beet pasta for dinner:

PAPPARDELLE WITH BEETS AND BEET GREENS

Saute diced beets in olive oil with minced garlic.  Tear the the leaves from the ribs of the thoroughly rinsed beet greens.   Chop about 1/3 of the ribs into pieces the size of the diced beets.  Add to the saute.  Add water to the saute pan and cook until the vegetables are fork tender 30 - 40 minutes - adding water as needed.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.   Add the greens to the beets with a bit of lemon zest and juice, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.   Add water.    Cook the pasta according to the manufacturer's directions.  Two minutes before the pasta cooking time is complete use tongs or a wire mesh strainer to remove it from the pot and add directly to the beets.   Toss the combine.  Serve immediately garnished with fresh, whole milk ricotta.  (We bought some exceptionally good fresh ricotta at the Barbers Farm stand in Middleburgh, NY).

There were blueberries and strawberries hanging around the refrigerator so I make a quick crumble.  It was a good dessert but an even better breakfast the next morning served cold with Evans yogurt - the BEST, from Norwich, NY - and a glass of iced coffee.

QUICK FRUIT CRUMBLE (is there any other kind?)
Add fruit of your choice; berries, peaches, nectarines, plums, etc. mixed with a little lemon juice and sugar or honey to a buttered baking dish.  Use your fingers to rub together equal parts of unsalted butter, flour(or 1/2 flour, 1/2 rolled oats), and sugar to make crumbs.  Add a pinch of salt and flavor, as I did with ground cinnamon and a splash of pure vanilla extract (sometimes I use almond extract).   Scatter the crumbs over the top of the fruit.   Baked at 350 degrees F. until the top is slightly brown and the sides are bubbly - about 30 minutes.

Allegra found a nest of baby minks and became completely obsessed.  I was happy that mama mink wasn't home when she was barking and digging at the nest.

We all had a good time.

David made the above sage-colored chairs from a pattern purchased at Wave Hill - they're chairs designed for the grand NYC gardens overlooking the Hudson River towards the Palisades.

SUSANSIMONSAYS:

Lisa Corti reimagined.   Rita used one of her worn-out Lisa Corti quilts - check out the website to see some of the prettiest quilts and home ware, ever - in her vegetable garden to keep the weeds from growing (remember, she's a weekend gardener).  The mulch anchors the quilt.