Susan made a lemon tea cake.
It was very pretty to see.
It was impossible not to eat.
Susan made a lemon tea cake.
It was very pretty to see.
It was impossible not to eat.
The final days of January 2021 are upon us.
The final days of Dry January 2021 are upon us.
Pictured here a “Virgin Bloody Mary.” It tastes pretty much like a Bloody Mary, less the vodka, of course.
I bought the Bloody Mary mix (Agalima Organic, The Authentic Bloody Mary Mix) back in October thinking we might have one or two on Thanksgiving and on Christmas. In years past, family traditions included a large pitcher of Bloody Mary mix next to a bottle of vodka on a counter.
Because of Covid there were no family get-togethers and no Bloody Mary mix on a counter next to bottle of vodka.
We never did have a Bloody Mary or two but come Dry January, I enjoyed a Virgin Bloody Mary or two.
The month, Dry January, is really about wellness and it feels fine and healthy to enjoy the month without wine at dinner—or a Bloody Mary! I think we will keep it up. Within reason.
Of course, Dry January is all about living an alcohol free month—not dessert-free.
And we have enjoyed a few spectacular desserts.
Susan made this delicious Berry Cake!
Susan also made Fika, a Swedish chocolate treat!
I made a Banana, Blueberry, Chocolate, Coconut, Walnut Bread which was so good!
And a few days ago, Susan made an outstanding Orange and Chocolate cake!
I haven’t lost much weight but once it warms up outside (It was 2 degrees this morning with a wind-chill of -12!) and I start walking again I am sure the weight will start to disappear and I will get back to my college wrestling weight class.
Cheers!
Yesterday, Friday, January 8th, was Susan’s birthday. When I woke up on the day before, the 7th, I thought the 7th was the 8th.
Before she woke (on the 7th), I scrambled to wrap her present and make her card. (See Freddy above sniffing at her card and present.) Soon she came out of the bedroom and I said “Happy Birthday!” She said, “Today’s not my birthday. It’s the 8th.” I said, “Today is the 8th. Come. Let’s look at the calendar.” Sure enough it was the 7th. This confusion a sign of the times. To misquote a song by Chicago, “Does anybody really know what day it is?”
I know tomorrow is Sunday because the Sunday New York Times is delivered. And Wednesday is garbage day because I see that our street is lined with barrels filled with garbage. And Friday is Brooks and Shields (Now Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart since Shields recently retired). But other than that I am never sure of the day or date. Or time! This a sign of the pandemic and being in quarantine. I need a calendar!
Susan opened her card first upon waking on the 8th, a picture of our kitchen table which I think says much about who we are, our interests, our love of books and beauty. And it reminds me of a painting by French Impressionists. I enjoy still lifes of our home.
Years ago, I wrote:
This might be the best pasta recipe I have ever made. It’s based on one from Melissa Clark. I made a few changes which I note below.
Melissa writes: “Studded with salty olives, pancetta and Parmesan that gets golden and crisp at the edges, this is roasted cauliflower at its brightest and most full-flavored. You can serve the caramelized florets either as a vegetable-based main dish or a hearty side to roasted meats or fish, or big bowls of pasta. The recipe calls for using a package of finely diced pancetta that practically melts into the sauce. But if you prefer a chunkier texture, you can dice it yourself into 1/2-inch cubes, and add them with the cauliflower. Or, to make this vegetarian, just leave the pancetta out.”
Tonight is the last night of summer. You can see autumn coming today in the color of the lace hydrangea leaves.
Where did summer go?
I have a record of sorts; a list of the everyday routines.
I wake up when Freddy jumps out of bed. This happens between 5:00 and 5:30. Sometimes, but rarely 6:00 or 4:30. I give him a snack and then we wait for a glimmer of sunlight to appear in the eastern sky so we can safely go for a walk. This morning it was cold. Thirty one degrees. It was still dark and I carried a flashlight.
I had intentions to write every day but my will to write has withered and all I am left with are these lists. However, I do find solace in what G.K. Chesterton said: “The greatest poem is an inventory.”
Thus, I have written the greatest poem. An inventory of my everyday routines.
Here from a few days ago:
September 16
Up at 6:00
A walk with Freddy
Coffee with Susan
Bacon and Eggs for Breakfast
Vacuuming house
Food Shopping at Big Y
Susan working on shutters in garage
Susan picking up things in living room
Susan cleaning the bathroom
Ham Salad Sandwich for me, Salmon salad for Susan
Susan cutting my hair
Hummingbird at zinnias
Wine outside with Susan before dinner
Grilled Petite Sirloin and Broccoli Ramen Salad for Dinner
A walk with Freddy
Seeing a Pileated Woodpecker
Early to bed
These lists of my everyday life are, in fact, my gratitude journal, my 1000 gifts. I am grateful. I am very grateful. I have a smart and loving wife in Susan. Two smart and happy children. Two happy grandchildren. A beautiful home. My gifts, from photography to cooking to finding and sharing beauty.
Susan and I have seen our grandchildren once since early March when we celebrated my birthday. The quarantine has kept us all apart (and I have gained The Quarantine Fifteen. If not, 20!). But we did see them to drop off a present for Matthew’s birthday a few weeks ago, keeping somewhat socially distant and no hugging.
Susan and I have always spent a lot of time together and more so now than ever. We miss our volunteer work at a local elementary school and going out for dinner every so often. But I believe, if it is even possible, we grow even closer every day. God has certainly blessed us.
Now we are working together to paint our kitchen and re-wallpaper two walls.
(to be continued)
I believe I am making the world a better place with beautiful photography. If you are looking for beautiful portrait, nature, or documentary photography, or someone you know is looking for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life, please contact me.
Susan found this recipe for me.
Based on the following recipe from Melissa Clark of The New York Times. According to the newspaper:
“Beautiful to behold and easy to make, this sheet-pan dinner combines sweet plums and soft red onions with crisp-skinned pieces of roasted chicken. Toasted fennel seeds, red-pepper flakes and a touch of allspice add complexity while a mound of fresh torn herbs crowns the top. If good ripe plums aren’t available, you can substitute another stone fruit including peaches, nectarines or pluots, though if your fruit is very sweet, you might want to add a squeeze of lemon at the end. Serve this with rice pilaf, polenta or warm flatbread for a festive meal.”
I served this with Israeli Couscous with parsley and mint.
I believe I am making the world a better place with beautiful photography. If you are looking for beautiful portrait, nature, or documentary photography, or someone you know is looking for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life, please contact me.
This is based on a recipe from Joyful Healthy Eats. She called for using thyme which I have growing in my garden but it was raining cats and dogs and I had a bunch of cilantro in the fridge so I used that instead. A big plus; this is a one pan dish!
Honey Mustard Sauce:
Delicious!
I believe I am making the world a better place with beautiful photography. If you are looking for beautiful portrait, nature, or documentary photography, or someone you know is looking for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life, please contact me.
As Susan was heading out the door on her way to buy Shetland Salmon and Shrimp, she called out to me and said “Bruce, while I am gone why don’t you make a potato salad to have with our salmon?”
I found a recipe online and adapted it to my liking.
Ingredients
Instructions
We served this with Grilled Shetland Salmon. The Shrimp Cocktail we had while watching The Belmont Stakes.
I believe I am making the world a better place with beautiful photography. If you are looking for beautiful portrait, nature, or documentary photography, or someone you know is looking for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life, please contact me.
Sunday morning I photographed the weeping cheery tree. In the afternoon I travelled to Vienna, Austria. Budapest, Hungary. Top of South Island, New Zealand. The British Virgin Islands. I loved visiting Virgin Gorda and Anegada-Davida, also known as “Drowned Island” (It’s highest elevation is only 28 feet above sea level.) and “Conch Island.”
Last week I was in Qatar. The week before I was in Japan.
I love Japanese food and often make it for Susan. My children (And grandchildren!) love Tamago-Yaki.
I have also made Shrimp Sushi.
And Miso Haddock.
But when I was in Qatar (All these trips, by the way, on my couch watching documentaries on Create TV! My new way of life: I wake up at 5:30. Get dressed. Walk Freddy. Sit on the couch. Watch TV. Sometimes read. But not often enough. I have been fairly unmotivated during the Covid-19 Quarantine.) visiting a few Persian restaurants I said to myself “Bruce, I think you have never made Persian food.” So that night I made Kotlet which is a Persian Meat Pattie (ground beef, lamb or turkey with grated potato, grated onion and turmeric). I served this with Persian rice and Baked Spring Rolls (Not Persian) stuffed with ground turkey, veggies, and chopped peanuts. Both the spring rolls and Kotlet I served with a spicy peanut soy sauce. Delicious!
I am sitting at my desk now–not on the couch watching TV. I look out the window at my garden and see a large root that needs to be cut and removed.
And I dream of the garden in bloom later this summer. I am working on having eyes to the future. My garden planted and thriving. Tomatoes. Peppers. Basil. Lettuce. Zinnias. Thriving in the same way I pray our world comes back to life.
Recently a Cardinal was at the feeder in the garden.
I am occasionally working on my cookbook.
Someone asked me for my Chicken Parm recipe when she saw the photo on Facebook. I said buy the cookbook when it is published.
Susan and I busy ourselves working on jigsaw puzzles, a new-found hobby as it has become for many people around the world. We have completed two puzzles, each taking three to four weeks.
We celebrate the silent joys of everyday life.
Dinner. This was a plate of Roasted Miso Chicken (Japanese, again), Mashed Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Cranberry Sauce.
A Robin’s nest and eggs in a wreath on our front door.
New wine glasses.
And what good are new wine glasses without bottles of wine!
We bake bread.
We give thanks every morning we are alive and together to see another sunrise, another day.
We laugh at the sign-of-the-times at a nearby restaurant.
We have a tree removed from our yard.
Seems like ages ago we sat outside and enjoyed a glass of wine on one of the few plesant days during the past six weeks of quarantine. We grilled a steak for dinner, too–the first of the year.
It was around this time (March 11) schools were closed and our volunteering in the 4th grade here in town came to an end. We miss these children.
And no one came over for Easter. Baseball season never started. The greenhouse didn’t open. No markers of time. It is difficult to remember what day of the week it is. Today is Monday. Yesterday was Sunday. I know this to be true. The Sunday New York Times arrived early in the morning. We work on the crossword together. What is 119 across; “Like the entire 290-page Georges Perec novel “A Void,” curiously enough?” Rituals get us through the day. Coffee and toast. Cleaning the house. Walking Freddy. If someone comes down the street we keep a wise social distance. When we go out to the grocery store we wear our masks. We try not to touch our faces. We wash our hands. Again and again.
Who knows. We might become vegetarians. We might. I don’t know. I don’t mind. We have a few wonderful vegetarian cookbooks. I have always wanted to make a Black Bean Burger. A few weeks ago I made a Beet Burger. Yum! And the Lentil Caciatore I made a few weeks ago was delicious.
But just a few days ago Susan asked me to make Italian Wedding Soup with tiny turkey meatballs. And I did. And it, too, was delicious.
Do you know that the tiniest birds make the most beautiful songs?
I believe I am making the world a better place with beautiful photography. If you are looking for beautiful portrait, nature, or documentary photography, or someone you know is looking for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life, please contact me.
Not too long ago, Susan returned from the grocery store with what seemed like dozens of cans of Chick Peas. What, I thought, am I going to do with all these cans of chick peas? I often make Hummus but what else could I create. Salads? Soups?
I found many soup recipes online and was inspired by this one, “20-Minute Moroccan Chickpea Soup.” I note my changes and additions below.
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I believe I am making the world a better place with beautiful photography. If you are looking for beautiful portrait, nature, or documentary photography, or someone you know is looking for photography that helps to create a more artful and beautiful life, please contact me.