Thanksgiving 2021....I think I have gone a bit overboard...

      My menu planning started weeks ago.  My schedule for the holiday weekend shortly followed.  Cooking started last Sunday.  Why?  What makes this Thanksgiving different than others?  Could it be that we moved into the city?  Could it be that COVID is still around?  Could it be that Dear Daughter should be arriving any minute now from college with a friend in tow - who could not go back home to Barbados.  Maybe it is all of the above.  Or maybe it was an excuse to cook.  So here is the schedule and the menu...I dare not step on the scale for at least 2 weeks after the next three days.

The fanfare starts tonight - omakase dinner at Umi - which is now within walking distance of our house instead of a 45-minute drive.  Cate, her friend, Jamie and I will savor seven small courses.  It is a small, intimate place - perfect for conversation.

For tomorrow, I have already made a quiche for a late breakfast/brunch.  I have told the "kids" to sleep in. If they do not want quiche, I have pumpkin bread and a cranberry orange bread.  Our Thanksgiving dinner will consist of a new amuse bouche - a cranberry brie bite.  I made the cranberry sauce earlier this week.  The first course will be a wonderful Brussel sprout salad with the sprouts coming from a local farm.  Dinner will be Cornish game hens, stuffing, and potatoes.   I will admit that the gravy came from Trader Joe's.  But Jamie did make a bourbon pecan pie for dessert.  We will eat around 5pm, watch football and have enough time to take an evening walk to settle our stomachs.

Friday morning, I plan to make my normal Christmas Day breakfast - Southern Crab Hash with Poached Eggs.  Again, this may be mid-morning or brunch time.  I purchased tickets to the Science museum to see an immersive exhibit on Pompeii.  Recently, Jamie and I went to an immersive exhibit on Van Gogh and it was super cool.  We sat on cushions in a large room and the paintings came to life in front of us.  While it wasn't quite like seeing his actual paintings as we did at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, it was still an experience.

Dinner on Friday will be tapas.  Iberico Ham and Manchego Cheese, Chiorzo in Cidre, Salt Cod Croquettes and Rabo de Toro (oxtail stew).  For dessert - pumpkin flan.  May I mention that all of this is basically homemade?

They will be gone by Saturday afternoon and I suspect Jamie and I will be quite quiet the rest of the day - maybe from all of the food but I suspect that it will be because the house has returned to its quietness.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!  I will keep you posted on the food results.  In the meantime, if you are looking for a great and different cake - try David Lebowitz's Ginger Cake - the NY Times Cooking site has the recipe.  I made it this afternoon - 4 ounces of chopped ginger!  It is incredible and definitely needs some vanilla ice cream.  But I am also wondering if it could be paired with a foie gras mousse as an appetizer or maybe yet another meal?

Cheers!

Promise Me - You Won't Try This Soup Unless You Grow Your Own...

Tomatoes!  More to follow.

While the calendar says it is mid October, weather wise, we are stuck in late summer.  They keep telling us that it will change this weekend.  I hope so because I am ready to be in soup-mode.

It is Friday afternoon.  I finished around 3:45.  Jamie is still hard at it at 5pm.  He is jamming to 80's music as he finishes annual evaluations.  It must be a bit stressful as the music is blaring!  It think this is so I don't hear him yelling various words when the program does not work.  Always an Army guy...he hates to miss deadlines.  Some things never change.

Cate has made her daily call which I know helped him a great deal.  She is COMING HOME on Sunday...No, I am not in the least bit excited.seriously, I cannot wait...I get the added blessing of heading her direction mid week to attend a conference and will be staying in Carlisle Barracks so maybe we will a dinner or two together as a family.

But let's go back to this soup.  A version of it appeared in the NY Times this week along with a new version for grilled cheese.  I have an abundance of heirloom tomatoes growing the backyard.  Most of which, I had to ripen on the kitchen counter but they still turned out really well...and I really stink at growing tomatoes!  So instead of using canned tomatoes, I used my own.

Super Easy Tomato Soup

28 ounces of really good, ripened tomatoes, diced

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper

1-in rind of Parmesan

1/2 large yellow onion, diced

1 1/2 t oregano

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 T butter

1. Place the diced tomatoes in a stockpot.  Add the chicken broth, oregano, Parmesan, butter, onion, salt and pepper.  Cook for about 20 minutes.  

2. Cool.  Then puree with an immersion blender.  Add cream and taste for seasoning.

3.  Make your favorite grilled cheese and do not forget to dunk it in the soup!

Enjoy and have a good weekend.  Johnny Cash is on the turntable.  Have to start singing and maybe dancing in my chair!  

20 years…and it seems like yesterday

 It is Saturday. I relish in sleeping on the weekends. Cate is back at Dickinson, as a sophomore but really, a freshman socially. She never experienced a typical freshman year. We will never know if that was good or bad.  But she is there and loving every minute of it…from college football games, tailgating, backyard BBQs, a swim practice here and there, and figuring out her classes. I look forward to seeing her next weekend for Homecoming and she has already said that she wants to go skiing with us for her Spring Break. We hear from her daily, either by a text or a call. It makes our day. 

So I woke up late this morning and made us breakfast. What to do as empty nesters…we decided to head out to the lake and kayak. In our former house, it was a short drive. Now that we are in the city, it takes almost an hour. But the weather was spectacular and it was a wonderful 90 minutes on the lake followed by a late lunch of wings and beer. Really, a wonderful day. 

But today is 9-11. It may hit me more than most. Jamie and I discussed it last night. He could not leave his office at the National Guard Headquarters. He asked me what I did…he did not know after all this time. I worked 2 miles from the Pentagon. I was 9 months pregnant. From the trading floor, we watched what happened in NY.  My bosses were out of the office on business. When the Pentagon was struck, a partner in the firm, gave us the go ahead to leave. I remember making sure that all had left, then I got in my car and started to drive…but to where. 

I called my dad. I needed to hear a voice and Jamie was locked down so I could not talk to him. Dad told me to just get home. But his voice was comforting. 

I drove home…but made my way by Jamie’s building. I knew I would never gain an entrance but I just needed to go there. I did get home, and stayed glued to the TV, chanting over and over again, “stay in my belly”. Cate actually cooperated and did not make her appearance until the 24th. 

Jamie was supposed to be at the Pentagon that morning but his meeting was cancelled. So 9-11 makes me remember how lucky I am. I should remember it every day. So today, I think about how wonderful our kayaking trip was…how eating wings, drinking beer and watching college football was terrific and receiving texts from Cate brightens my day. 

It is an emotional day. I feel lucky and am grateful. President Bush’s and VP Harris’ speeches today in PA were a tribute. 

I think we should discuss this more as a country. Maybe it could bring us more together. Even in schools, it is not discussed. Cate knows it based on our lives but not based on school discussion. 

I felt the need to write. Sometimes it helps me sort out emotions. But I sign off now as I just saw a text from Cate. She always trumps everything,

Yes, Vacations Sometimes Require Early Mornings

 We have been in the Keys for a little over a week. Our house is great…sits on a canal with wonderful breezes, has a pool and nice outdoor space. We spent last week exploring. Kayaking the mangroves (trees that grow in the salt water), snorkelling the Sombrero Reef, fishing for Tarpon (didn’t get anything) but did catch enough snapper and yellowtail to have a fish fry lunch. Only the fishing required an early wake up. All of the other days, everyone woke when they wanted to and I have to say, that is quite nice. 

Yesterday, we had to drive from the Middle Keys to Key West to board a boat that would take us to the Dry Tortugas. We left the house before 6am!  That was hard. The Dry Tortugas are a series of islands founded by Ponce de Leon and at the time, he called is Las Tortugas (the turtles) as so many of them inhabited the waters/islands. After the Louisiana Purchase, we take control and shortly embark on a series of construction projects to ensure the safety of the east coast of the US. What is built now, was started in the early 1800s and is truly impressive. It is huge fort, constructed of red brick…and it is 70 miles from Key West!  How did they manage this feat?

It takes us 2+ hours by boat and it is hot.  There are about 150 other passengers and I think it is totally run by the Park Service now. The guides were great. As part of the package, you receive breakfast, lunch, and snorkelling equipment.  You can spend the time just in the water, tour the fort or do both. We do a combination of everything. Boat lands at 10:30 am. I have to admit, I don’t feel great. I did not sleep well in anticipation of getting up so early, then drove in the dark for an hour.  I know I have low blood sugar, feel nauseous and the open water, while was not bad…did just enough to make me seasick. But anyway, we manage a good time but it is a long day. We do not arrive back in Key West until 5:30 and the ride back was really choppy-so you know how I feel!  We immediately head to our hotel, a nice resort away from the fray of Duval Street. We are starving and order room service (which we never do) before we even wash off the sea salt. It was a great experience, but a hard day. Wish I could say I slept better, but the low blood sugar impacted my sleep. Oh well…today wasn’t an early day. 

We headed into town for an 11:00 food tour. I was a bit nervous as the last one we had last week in a different Key was so bad, we left early. But this one was super…really knowledgeable guide, who not only talked about the seafood of the Keys, but it’s history and culture. The group of 11 enjoyed ourselves. When we finished, stuffed and exhausted, Jamie, Cate and I had to visit Smokey Joe’s, Hemingway’s favourite bar. If you have not seen the Ken Burns recent documentary on Earnest, put it on your list. On our walk, we passed by Truman’s Little White House (btw—it isn’t little). We headed back to the resort to rest for the afternoon. Cate slept, Jamie probably did work and I went to the pool. We plan to leave tomorrow back to our rental house the remainder of the week. 

We have nothing else planned. Not sure if that is good or bad. We are a family that thrives on activity-even if it is just a lunch out. We were supposed to go out fishing again but the weather doesn’t look good. But overall, our time here has been great. Everyone can relax in their own fashion. We join together at different times of the day and have great conversations, watch the hockey playoffs, listen to music. I will not complain. We have booked a return visit to the area in December. We chose our house well. It is quieter in the Middle Keys, a bit less congested. On our next trip, we hope to go fishing and are even toying with renting our own boat. 

It is interesting that I was born in Florida and actually lived in Key West 50+ years ago. But I don’t feel like a Floridian. A woman at Smoke Joe’s told me today that it was of no consequence…once born in Florida always a Floridian. Who knows?  I may get sea sick but I think I caught the most fish. 

On our final night in Key West, Jamie suggests that we head back into town and find a restaurant.  I make reservations at a relatively new restaurant that has received good reviews.  It is a small place, not too crowded and you hear a conversation.  The wait staff is super friendly and not obtrusive.  The food was fantastic and creative.  We have a great meal and afterwards, walk a block or so to peer through the gates of Hemingway’s house.  Of course, there are two cats sitting in the courtyard which seemed quite appropriate.

A few photos…

Finally....Vacation

 We are on Vacation!   A Real Vacation!!!!  I am not ungrateful...we missed ski trips and a trip to Slovenia during the pandemic.  But we were lucky enough to work out of Savannah, GA (3 times), Winter Park, Co (2 times), Bozeman, MT (once) and Columbia, SC (once).  So, we travelled...and we worked.  But now, we are actually on vacation.  Originally, I had booked two weeks in St. Lucia as I thought that Europe would not be open to us.  As it got closer and closer to the cancellation date and St. Lucia had restrictions, I cancelled that trip.  So, where to go in the US for those that would rather be in Europe?  I settled on the Middle Keys of Florida....landed a house in Marathon on a canal with a pool.   We are not beach people.  Cate did not want to bring anyone.  I have to admit, Jamie and I were a bit nervous.  Will this work out?  Will this be a vacation?   I planned several activities from food tours, to snorkeling, to deep sea fishing and an overnight in Key West.

We arrived yesterday.  We rented a Jeep Wrangler...I don't know why...it just seemed appropriate.  Flew from Pittsburgh to Dulles and then from Dulles to Key West - all First Class...why not?  On the way to our rental, we stopped at the 7 Mile Grille and had appetizers - Conch Fritters and beer.  Loved the place.  Stopped in Marathon at the Publix and picked up basic provisions and then on to our rental house.  It is quaint...totally enough size for the three of us and the pool overlooking the canal doesn't stink.  We had dinner outside - crab dip and crackers, simple steamed shrimp and key lime pie.  A great way to start the trip.

I am reading a series of murder mysteries penned by an author called Jean Luc Bannalec.  He is actually a German author but his mysteries are all set in Brittany...hence my interest.  In his latest book, the main character and his girlfriend are on a 2 week trip to a coastal town in Western Brittany.  The author's writing is very descriptive and I think I will have to visit this place.  The girlfriend of the main character is all about relaxing...lounging on the beach, reading a book, swimming, etc.  The main character is going nuts in the matter of 24 hours.  As I read the book, I wonder if Jamie will be the same.

After a nice first night, I sleep until 8:30.  I hear Jamie roam around the house at 7am, hear him leave around 8am.  I am up before he gets back...he has been in search of coffee.  By 9am, I am lounging by the pool.  He comes around from time to time, keeps me updated on the neighbors and their boats.  But I can already tell...he is the main character.  He takes off the roof of the Jeep and at lunch time, the three of us head back to the 7 Mile Grill for lunch.  We already feel like regulars.

He loosens up a bit in the afternoon...swims with Cate in the pool while I nap.  She and I have an aperitif around 4pm.  By 4:30, she is having a siesta, I am showering, and Jamie....he is taking a drive...

It will be interesting go see how the next two weeks go...for all three of us!  Tonight, we are cooking Red Snapper on the grill.  Tomorrow, our activity is a kayak tour.  I am hoping that is enough for everyone.  Jamie is already talking about a possible trip on his own to Austria in the fall as he has 10 weeks of vacation to use before 2022.

One thing for certain...we are not working!

I just want to write....

 Virtually no one reads these postings but there are times when I feel that I need document my thoughts.  Shortly, Jamie's mum (as they say in Pittsburgh) will have escaped her assisted living facility for brunch.  I have ordered biscuits and gravy from a local farmer, hopefully, giving her a taste of her childhood.

We moved!  During COVID, we decided that once Dickinson College, where Cate is attending, would allow her to be on campus, we would put the house up for sale.  We are not made for suburbs.  House sold...for an ungodly price and we are now renters in an upscale area of Pittsburgh.   This has had its own challenges...downsizing;...a man who brags about the pants he has on that are 20+ years old, etc....I could go on and on.    But I love the townhouse we are renting.  I love that in one minute, I can be at a grocery store, the nail salon, restaurants....I love watching people  walk by the house.....I love that it is quieter here than it was in the suburbs.    

It is so much smaller than what we had and I was afraid that Cate would be upset with the move...but she is an Army child...she loves it....spending her time decorating her space.  

So yesterday, I drive to my favorite bakery which is now only a mile away as opposed to 40.  I stand in line as they only allow 2 people in the store at once.  A woman and her two children come up behind  me...and they are not speaking English.   They are speaking German.  I turn around and quietly say, "I love hearing German."   The mom is face-timing with her mom and I overhear the conversation in German...most of which I still do not understand but it had such a calming effect on me.  When they finished their conversation with "Tschuss", I almost cried.  

Then the mom looks at me and says in English, "So you speak German?"  My response, "Ein Bisschein",  a little.  She tells me that she and her husband are from Berlin but her children, grades 2 and 5 were born in the US.   I tell her about our time in Germany and where we lived.  I tell her that Cate attended the local Grundshule  when we  moved to our village and she is amazed.  They want to move back and send their own children to the local German school and they are fighting the effort.

I came home and cried.  I so miss my time in Europe.  I must say that I have cooked more in the last week now that Cate is home.  And I am looking forward to our vacation....not Europe this year but to a place I lived when I was 2 years old....Key West.  Evidently, Tennessee Williams used to drive past our bungalow with his boyfriend... I am looking forward to seeing if the old place still exists. But I like this new place because it reminds me of Europe.  Cate seems to be settling in well.  We had "Mum" over today for brunch and I think she enjoyed it as well.

 I realized yesterday, that I have missed writing....Cate and I were looking at this blog and were so surprised at how many postings I did in 2020.  Maybe I will start up again...

Very few read this but it is somewhat calming for me to throw a few thoughts out there....

Could I Move to a Town Just Because of the Grocery Store?

      Soon, we will be six months into the work from home thing.  Actually, I am now under the "hybrid" model.  I go into the office two days a week and work from home the other three.  Jamie is full time at home with no end in sight.  Cate started Dickinson College 10 days ago from her new dorm room across the hall from her bedroom.  But, we are handling it.  Understanding, it is not ideal for our daughter's development, we have tried as much as possible to not get involved in solving her problems, we do not expect her at dinner, and we refuse to ask, "How was school today?"  I might query with, "How are your classes going?"  I think I would have asked the same question via text or on the phone had she been at Dickinson.

    Jamie takes some weekends to go off to the mountains with a college buddy where they ride bikes, cut wood, have a bonfire, etc.  Then he takes mid-week trips to really obscure places such as the Corning Glass Museum (I won't get into the others).  But the important thing is that he is able to get away, stimulate his mind in a different way and most of his trips center around the proximity to a certain grocery store.  More to follow...

    I do not go anywhere.  Maybe three times, I have had drinks with a friend.  Last weekend, I planned an outing for all of us to stay at a hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, have massages and a leisurely dinner at the Capital Grille.  It was wonderful and much needed.

    I am slammed at work.  My cyber school went from an enrollment of about 850 at the end of SY19-20 to nearly 1,500 when school started on August 24.  This is wonderful for us but I have been in constant interviewing mode for several months now.  So, I thought...you can interview from anywhere - so why not go somewhere and work and just spend a few nights on your own.  Since all of our trips to Europe and Canada have been cancelled (and luckily, refunded), we have been taking trips like this to work but have a different setting.  But this would be the first time that I had done it on my own.

    On one of "those" Jamie trips, he discovered the Lake Chautauqua region of New York.  After learning how to properly pronounce it...there is no "g" it is a "qu", he could not reconcile that being a native Pittsburgher and a man of travel, that he did not realize that it was only 2 hours from our house. So, we spent a week here in July.  Cate found it incredibly boring and I do not blame her.  Outside of boating, which was the highlight of her week, there is little else except for anything to do with the lake, which could also mean, looking at the lake, sitting by the lake, maybe kayaking on the lake.  Not exciting for an almost 19 year old.

    But when I decided that I needed to spend a few days on my own and work from a different location, I landed on, what to me is the perfect lake house.  Small - only two bedrooms but a wall full of windows that look out over the lake.  A beautiful screened in porch is attached so I can sit outside and not worry about the bugs.  There is an outdoor deck, an outdoor fire pit and a dock.  In the early mornings, the sun streams in during sunrise.  During the course of the day, as I dial yet another number for another interview, I watch water skiers, kayaks and boats go past my workspace.  It  has a calming effect.  That is not to say that I am any less tired at the end of the day, but I am alone, I am looking at the water, it is quiet and it is peaceful.

    So, why cook for just me?  Why spend the money on things like olive oil, butter, spices and the such, when I am here for only a few days.  If you ask the family, for any road trip, the culinary stash takes up more space than my suitcase.  But I decided to go light this time.  Hence the purpose of my post...Could I move somewhere just because I love the grocery store?

    NY has a chain of stores called Wegman's.  It is family owned and not located solely in NY.  When we lived in DC, we would specifically travel to one in VA about 40 minutes away.  Now in PA, there is one in Erie.  Jamie and I love a great grocery store and this one is it.  I love it mainly for its prepared foods section.  I am not a big proponent of prepared foods.  During this pandemic, Door Dash or pizza delivery has been used by us about 5 times.  But I love a good deli section.  I love getting charcuterie and great cheeses and maybe finding something that I cannot find in Pittsburgh.  That is really my prepared foods.

    So, when Jamie has been travelling, he only travels to NY towns that have a Wegman's and he gets a poke bowl for dinner one night and a small charcuterie/cheese plate for lunch the next day.  Given that I did not want leftovers, I stopped by the closest Wegman's yesterday after work and found a small sashimi plate with tuna and salmon and a summer roll with shrimp.  Ok - that can be dinner.  It was too much for dinner so it became lunch for today as well.  Then I landed upon a premade macaroni and cheese.  I LOVE Mac and Cheese.  How could I resist this?  I started to think about the calories?  Then I noticed that they published it on the side of the dish.  Ummm