Ahhh ... it's ice-fishing time again! I saw my first shanty today.Currently cheering:
- The New York Giants. Of course.
- Barack Obama. Of course.
- yogabeans!
- Mayberry Moment #5: Me to stranger in supermarket parking lot: "Are you Jennifer's husband, by any chance?" After he said yes, I explained that I had gone skiiing with his wife the week before and had ridden in the very car he was driving, in which I had left my sunglasses. Why yes, there they were!
- My husband's heroic snow-clearing efforts
- My heroic cooking efforts
About which: I roasted my first chicken today. I know that's one of the easiest recipes ever but it was my first time and I am rather proud. Because although I can get by, I am really a pretty lousy cook.
Exhibit A: A few weeks ago I tried to make a steak rub from the Tea Diet* book. As I pawed through the cabinet looking for chili powder, I found some chipotle chili powder. "Must be about the same," methought. Yeah. The same hacking, coughing, sinus-clearing, tongue-numbing kind of thing. Amusingly, my husband rescued the beef by dousing it in ... tea (brewed; he had no idea there were crushed tea leaves in the rub). And a whole whole lot of butter.
The New York Times Sunday magazine yesterday contained an interview with poet laureate Charles Simic. Asked for advice for people looking to be happy, he replied "For starters, learn how to cook." Sigh. It really would be nice to enjoy a task you have to perform day in and day out for your entire life until you become superrich and can hire a cook to be at your beck and call.
(It's a good thing it's no longer NoMeatPoWeek, what with all the mentions of carnivorousness. Really, we only eat meat a few times a week at the most. The kids love tofu, eggs, and cheese and all of those I can make without poisoning anyone. Homemade pizza and Thai Kitchen stir fries are weekly staples, along with veggie pasta and grilled salmon.)
*I forgot to mention here that I am giving away a copy--a nice hardcover copy, not the bound galley I'm keeping for myself!--of the book over at The Full Mommy. Just post a comment by midnight Thursday to enter.
Art by Jann Haworth
4 comments:
I really, really need to learn how to cook better. I love that quote! My grandmother actually did have cooks over the years, but since she was living in a different country from where she grew up, she taught each cook all her favorite dishes that she wanted prepared. I always thought that was pretty cool.
Wow - that is a real mayberry moment - here they would have chucked the offending unclaimed sunglasses out the window while yelling "so long suckers!". And yogabeans are so good for the soul.
Good job on the chicken!
Nice job on the chicken!
I'm loving me some Obama too.
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