A New Year’s harvest

Collards are great plants but they aren’t looking too great in the snow. Even so, today I managed to clip a handful of young leaves. They were so tender, all they needed was a quick blanch to turn bright green and crisp. Yum. And of course they were just a side to a batch of […]

What did I do in 2009?

I guess it’s time to do the Obligatory Review Post. So what the heck did I do with myself this year? Let’s see.

Deep Freeze

It’s about as cold as it gets here: 20s during the day, single digits overnight. All the odd little places where puddles form are now cold and dry. The frozen ground has that weird dry sponge feel underfoot, from the way the ice expands in the upper layer as it freezes. And this dairy crate […]

So — a sourdough

Today’s bread was a sourdough. My breads are still not rising as much as I’d like, but oh my god this one tastes good. Sweet and sour and nutty. I want another slice. Maybe I should say: Tasted.

My flirtation with no-knead bread

Like so many people, I have been ensnared by the promise of great bread with little effort extended by the infamous Bittman/Lahey recipe, in particular the version presented on Good Food. The pot boule is a brilliant innovation. You mix up a wet dough, let it ferment overnight, and pour it (gently) into a hot […]

Snapdragons snap back

I know snapdragons can tough it out, even if they look frozen, but it startles me every time. This time, they got well covered in snow, and last night they got well washed by a good strong rain overnight. Now they look downright perky. I know snapdragons are tough, but are they crazy enough to […]

Nothing

Nothing happened today. Nope. No snow, no rain, no sun. Just a cloudy day of nothing to do, nowhere to go, nothing to see. Nice.

Merry Christmas!

Why are you reading this? You should be sleeping off your dinner. Shoo!

Christmas (eve) goose

Some birds get fed. Some birds get eaten. I can’t take credit for this roast goose, but I can hear what it’s saying.

New improved water for the birds

The frisbee I filled with water was a good start. The birds seemed to like it. But as I mentioned to my local Household Inventor, it needed improvement. It might help if the dish was black, I said. And it might help to cover it a bit to reduce the surface area. And it might […]