Bread, Wine, Salt

While the headlines are fading, the recovery work continues. JHL of A Half-Baked Life is hosting a bake sale/auction , with proceeds going to the United Way for Sandy relief. Take a look at all the yummy things available. My oatmeal cookies are part of the auction, and the winner can customize them any way they choose . mmm...cookies

I had this idea in my head that I wanted pumpkin granola muffins, with the granola acting as a less-sweet streusel topping. I borrowed Maud's pumpkin bread recipe. (It's not on her blog. You should harass her about that.) The muffins weren't a disaster. Muffins rarely are. But they weren't great. No one loved them. The recipe uses one half of a can of pumpkin, so then there was a half can of pumpkin in my refrigerator, mocking me and my failed muffins. (We'll ignore what else might have been mocking me recently. This is about muffins. Whatever else is wrong it seems only fair that I should be able to produce a decent batch of muffins.) So I went back and tried again. I swapped out some oatmeal for some of the flour, added in crystallized ginger and walnuts. In the process I discovered what might have been a critical error in the last batch.) And then I put it in oven, told facebook all about it, and waited.     Unlike the other things I've been wai...

Summer tastes like a bruised peach before breakfast, eaten over the sink while juice runs down your arm. ...like watermelon straight from the refrigerator, cold to the core, eaten while your skin is still hot to the touch, still shining with sweat. ...like ice cream that melts down onto your fingers no matter how many napkins you grab or how quickly you eat. ...like chlorine and sugar and red food coloring when it sounds like the bells and growl of a refrigerated truck. ...like gazpacho sipped from paper cups while you sit on a blanket on the lawn, waiting for the breeze to blow and the music to start. ...like iced coffee in the heat of the afternoon, as you sit with the shades drawn and the fans blowing. ...like salt spray when a wave tosses it in your face as you bend to fill a plastic bucket. ...like a garden grown tomato sliced onto a piece of bread with a smear of mayonnaise and a sprinkle of salt and basil. ...like a burger from the grill, with cheese melting into...

We sit facing each other. You keep telling me it's hot, but I have goosebumps on my arms. You have a knife so finely honed that I don't see it, don't feel it, not even when you've cut me, until suddenly I am bleeding on the lawn and the darkness is falling and you are gone. We play encore like it's a game. The man at the piano winks and urges us on until you return, your arms wide. It is beautiful but it doesn't matter. I am bloodless and breathless, and you never saw me at all. (I'm throwing this against the wall to see if it sticks. Don't worry it you don't like it. I probably won't like in the morning either.)

We've been having a pretty low key summer. I signed the boys up for one session of swim classes, which fizzled out when someone got a fever and someone else didn't want to go anymore (not that he could have gone when his brother had a fever anyway.)  And the rest of the time I've just been doing whatever occurs to me. So we went to a minor league baseball game and sat so close we needed a net to protect us from foul balls. We learned some new chores. We watched a movie at an Aunt's house. We've built a lot of things. We played in the sprinkler. We ate healthful snacks. And then there's this: Homemade Kettle Corn I could pretend its good for us, since it's whole grain and all, but I won't. It's delicious and doesn't need to be justified. You'll need a stove-top popcorn maker, or an electric version that stirs. Ingredients 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter 1 Tablespoon high heat oil such as sunflower 1/3 cup popcorn ke...

In June we had house guests. Since the last time we'd seen them they converted to the paleo diet. (Short version: no grains, no dairy, no legumes, lots of meats, veggies, nuts, and fruits, limited raw honey, dark chocolate.) We had to feed them, while also feeding my older son who won't eat meat unless it's bacon. Almost as soon as they were gone I had vegetarian friends come over for a play date, and I had to feed them lunch. And then the next day my mostly vegetarian friend and her utterly carnivorous husband and son came for a visit and I had to feed them, too.  I say "had to feed them" as if it were a trauma, which is wasn't. I like feeding people. I say "had to" because they were in my home over mealtimes so I was required by the laws of hospitality to offer them sustenance. Basic hospitality also required that I provide food that was acceptable to them. Hospitality doesn't say anything about judging their dietary choices. Why they ea...