Yours 'til Niagara Falls

And the Answer is: The Highballs are on Me!

Tonight I will watch Madmen.  It occurred to me that I should mix myself a cocktail to enjoy as my friends from 1963 swill their drinks.  My friend Linda has extolled the virtues of a drink called Drambuie.  It is Scotch whiskey mixed with herbs and honey.  The formula for Drambuie dates back to 1745.  Today I purchased a modest bottle of the stuff.  A hangtag on the bottle suggested this recipe:  "Fill a tall glass with ice.  Add one ounce Drambuie and fill the glass with ginger ale.  Squeeze a wedge of lime into it, stir and enjoy."  I had two drinks just to make certain I was doing it right.  I was.  It's good. My husband and I were a little suprised to note that we have never had a mixed drink at home in thirty years of marriage.  Plenty of wine, but never cocktails.  Speaking of the actual word "cocktail"- there are sources which say the cocktail was invented less than ten miles from where I sit, in Lewiston, New York.  A lady named Catherine Hustler mixed a drink for a tavern customer in the early 1800's.  To stir the drink, Mistress Hustler plucked a feather from the tail of a stuffed rooster which was set upon the bar.  Hence the moniker "cocktail".

In reference to the title of this post:  The question is - What did the giraffe say as he walked into the bar?  (An old, old Buddy Hackett joke which still amuses me.)

This little giraffe is a sample of the sort of needlefelting I used to do.

Pippens and Postures

Last Saturday morning I went to the North Tonawanda city market and bought some 20 ounce pippen apples.  When I made apple crisp for dessert tonight I only needed to slice up two of them!  They are pleasantly tart, but a little dry.

One thing I am pleased with is my new yoga class.  I must say that the last couple of yoga instructors I have had have been a little ummm... jerky.  I like the new lady.  I am starting to realize how much I missed yoga.  I've lost a considerable amount of flexibility (physical, not mental) and I'm really going to have to work to get it back.  Here is a good pic of the downward facing dog posture:

 

Michaelmas, Mitered Squares, Amaranth and Lambic

Yesterday was Michaelmas.  Raveloe's Fifth Wheel spinning group had an informal celebration which meant to fortify us for the short, dark days which winter will bring.  We also has a lovely blackberry cobbler.  The blackberries are part of Michaelmas lore.  Michael the Archangel wrestled with the Devil.  In the course of the scuffle, Lucifer landed in a briar patch.  Enraged, the story goes, he spit on the blackberries, rendering them inedible after Michaelmas.  Some sources infer that he might hav done something even worse to the fruit, but we choose not to entertain that thought.  Anyhoo, the cobbler was made with the Fanny Farmer recipe and It must have been good because it was eaten up by the group.  Here is a picture of it partway through the evening:

Tonight I had a wonderful night learning a new-to-me knitting technique.  It is a mitered square which will be turned into a lovely vest.  I am also using Noro yarn which is beloved by countless knitters.  Again, it is a first-time experience for me.  Muriel, the workshop instructor is kind and patient, just what a teacher should be.  Here is my progress so far:

After the workshop, regular knitting night began.  Kind Phyllis brought a loaf of homemade bread.  If that wasn't nice enough, the bread recipe had aramanth in the list of ingredients.  At first I thought she said absinthe which would have brought the whole notion of the green fairy into play.  I was mistaken, of course.  Amaranth is a seed from the pigweed family (imagine that!) which is very high in protein and low in gluten.  The loaf had a fine crumb and was pleasantly moist. I will certainly be experimenting with it in my future bread baking. 

During the course of the evening a bottle of lambic was opened.  Lambic is a

 Belgian fruit-flavored beer.  This particular bottle was apple.  Erica, a member of

the group is in the process of making blackberry lambic at home.  (Being that they were harvested before Michaelmas, the are, presumably, unsullied)  One suprising discovery in the course of the evening was that the aforementioned Phyllis does not leave her home without 1.) a church key type bottle opener and 2.) a corkscrew.  A former girl scout, no doubt.  Oddly enough, the lambic bottle required both tools before we could imbibe.  It was worth the effort.  Lambic turns out to be delicious. 

What a nice world it is that one can have four new experiences in one evening!

Just Peachy

Western New York produces excellent peaches.  In addition, while not many people were thrilled with this summer's weather, it has done wonderful things for the local orchards.  Yesterday my daughter and her BFF went to the North Tonawanda City Market, which my favorite-little-boy-in-the-world calls the "silly market".  They each bought a bushel of peaches and invited me over this afternoon for a jam session.

Many hands make light work.  The peaches were peeled, sliced and diced.  Then they were made into the loveliest jam.

 

 

 

Nearly eighty jars of the stuff.  The itty-bitty jars will be given as bridal shower favors sometime next summer.  The rest will be divvied up and enjoyed all winter.

Julie and Julia

I have been looking forward to the movie Julie and Julia all summer and tonight my husband and I went to see it.  We both enjoyed it.  To get into the spirit of things I spent the entire afternoon making Boeuf Bourguignon to have for dinner before the movie.  A culinary triumph, I say!  But then, drown anything in a bottle of Robert Mondavi and your heading in the right direction.I'm glad we liked it because the recipe made enough for Napolean's army and I'm not sure it would freeze well. I made the peach tart from Mastering the Art of French Cooking for an after movie dessert.  It was a treat, too.   

Food, Glorious Food

Going to the farmer's market throws me into a tizzy.  My selections have no rhyme or reason.  This year, my own homegrown produce is adding to the dilemma.  This is how my brain works when it is time to cook:

I think I'll use up those ears of corn in the Joy of Cooking corn chowder recipe (corn, potatoes, whole milk and bacon - we are not on a diet).  Oh, look!  I need to dice onions and celery.  I might as well make macaroni salad.  I had a giant bowl of peaches, apricots and plums - I'll cut them up for a cobbler.  As long as I have all the baking stuff out (and the oven on) I'll throw together a cherry pie.  And the result is... a random variety of food which does not remotely constitute a balanced meal.  But it's sooo good. I'm  going through a zucchini glut just now, so there is some zucchini bread in our near future.

Using Agar Agar Powder to Make a Dessert

Agar agar powder is a product which is made with seaweed.  It is a vegetarian alternative to gelatin.  It actually has some advantages over gelatin, namely setting very quickly and staying gelled in hot weather.  Agar agar is available through internet sources.  I was able to get some at the Lexington Co-op on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.  It's kind of pricey, but you only need a little for a recipe.  Here's how I use it:

You need two cups of juice.  I used an organic mango lemonade drink.  You also need 1 1/2 teaspoons of agar-agar powder.

Bring one cup of the juice to a boil.  Using a whisk, stir in the 1 1/2 teaspoons of agar agar powder.  Let the mixture boil for sixty seconds or one minute - which ever comes first. (haha)

Remove from heat and stir in the other cup of juice.

Pour into a bowl, a mold or individual serving dishes.  I left the whisk in the bowl because it is old and made of glass and I didn't want it to crack.  Chill in the refrigerator.  It should be ready to eat in half an hour or so.

 

Here is the finished dessert.  As you can see, it holds its form enough to be cut into cubes.  The agar agar product has no flavor, so you only taste the juice.  It melts in your mouth a little differently than gelatin, but it is pleasant and refreshing.  I think I'll try a plum dessert next time.

Raspberry Pie

With my last punnet of Raspberries, I made a pie.  Punnet.  I love that word.*  It was my first pie in quite a while.  Over the last winter I collected a number of small glass pie plates, about 8" inches in diameter.  Sad to say, that size is just enough to serve my husband and myself. Actuually, I'd have to say 90% of my baking pans are from estate sales. 

* Punnet is not to beconfused with pundit.  Pundit is from Sanskrit which what you call a person who gives good advice.  Currently, my favorite pundit is Maureen Dowd .

Cherries Preserved in Brandy

You will need:  1 1/2 cups cherries, one cup brandy,1/2 cup sugar, pint canning jar (a twist top type would work just as well as this rubber gasket type), scissors

Trim the stems to about a half an inch.  This also gives you a chance to inspect each cherry for blemishes.  Use only perfect fruit.  Put the cherries in the jar.

Glug,glug, glug in goes the brandy.  No need to use the good stuff.  Average stuff will do just fine.

Pour in the granulated sugar. Put the lid on the jar and give it a gentle shake.

Stash this in the fridge.  When you think of it you can pick it up and give it a gentle shake.  In the fullness of time, the sugar will completely dissolve and the liquid will turn an exceedingly beutiful red color.  They will be ready to enjoy by Thanksgiving.

Cherries and Berries

It might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but Western New York has superlative produce in the summer and fall.  Strawberry season always finds me unawares - I generally stumble upon them in the market. I have not, in recent memory, gone the u-pick route to get strawberries.  Raspberries, on the other hand, are something I anticipate.  I know the season is mid-July and make certain to have a day free to go picking.  This morning the weather was perfect, so after slathering on some sunblock, I set off.  The picking was easy, so after just an hour or so I had eight pretty little pints:

Oh, my they are lovely.  I think a batch of jam is in order.  But wait; one of the pints in the back looks a little low.  What happened? you might ask.  Let me tell you.  Little Sofie the pug, my daughter's dog, has been staying with me.  My son-in-law is finishing up a patio which involved pouring a lot of concrete.  Wet concrete + pug = big ol' mess.  Anyhoo... when I got home from picking I was unloading the car.  I let the dogs out and Sofie the pug made a beeline for the car, which I foolishly had left open. 

She hopped into the car right onto the berries.  Then she must have felt like dancing the Tarantella all over the back seat as seen in this picture.  I knew I'd have these scarlet paw prints forever if I didn't get right to it.  A few minutes of scrubbing removed the traces of her handiwork.  I'll remember that she possess this skill this fall when it is time to take wine.

 

 

It is also cherry season.  The trees were heavily laden with fruit.  Easy tasks are referred to as cherry picking for good reason.  In hardly any time at all I had picked pounds and pounds of cherries.  The farmer's chickens were feasting under the trees and kept me company.  Here's what I brought home:

 

These are Golds.  They have a mild, sweet flavor.  Many people think they have never had these, but oh yes they have!  This is the type of cherry which is dyed a livid red color and put into bottles with syrup and sold as Maraschino cherries.

 

These are Queen Anne cherries. They have a wonderful flavor - sweet, but not overly so.  I think they are my favorite.

 

These are Oxford Dark Reds.  I have plans for these little darlings.  I will be putting them in a jar with a syrup made of brandy and sugar and then forget about them until Christmas time.  They are delicious beyond words served on ice cream or on their own.  The syrup turns an exquisite shade of red and is a lovely after dinner drink to sip during the holidays.