This article is a must-read for wine-drinkers. How close have I come to multi-state wine experiences? I regularly drink California, Oregon and Washington State wines, and now and then New York state rieslings and dessert wines from the Finger Lakes region. I've had Long Island wine too, but I won't rush into that. I might've had a bottle of white wine from Virginia once, but with my aging failing memory can't swear to that. (And looky, I took the trouble of looking up Gary V's book and website, as his recommendations tend to rock.)
Beer, now that's another story! I've had local brew in every state I've ever visited other than Kentucky. I've drunk beers from all the favored microbrew regions. As much as I love the idea of expanding America's wine industry past the usual suspects, maybe Kentucky should stick to bourbon and New England should stick with IPAs.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Cooking Without a Map
In the process of dumping a couple years of accumulated magazines, I have to page through some of them for tidbits worth saving: a page of photos, a neat diagram, a reference to a book, a sweater with great colors...but mostly it's recipes. When I find a recipe I want, I go to the magazine's website and copy the recipe to a notepad file. Later when I'm in the mood I copy those recipes to larger formatted documents. I have hundreds of pages of saved recipes, from avocado-sour cream dip to elaborate cakes and pastries. Recognizing that I'll never in a lifetime manage to plow through a tenth of these, lately I've been deleting like crazy, and, most importantly, not adding new recipes unless they sound both very different from all others (in a good way) and are brief and simple enough to entice lazy-ass me into trying them.
Some of my all-time favorite dishes come from saved magazine recipes. Cornmeal biscuits. Sweet potato biscuits. Brussels sprouts with pecans and roasted chestnuts. Raspberry jam brownies. But most days, I just decide what I'd like to eat for dinner, and shop accordingly. Sometimes there's leftovers I build a new meal around, not wanting to waste them. I've been known to buy ingredients for soup for dinner just because the LaBrea 3-cheese semolina bread was still warm when I passed it in D'Agostinos and I just had to buy it.
This article by chef Daniel Patterson says very concisely what I experience every day in my tiny kitchen. It's also what I experience teaching inexperienced gardeners about orchid growing. You come to understand that every vegetable and every fish is different, and you have to poke and prod and taste the food as it cooks to know when it's done or how to season it; a recipe gives a hint for doneness, but after that you judge for yourself; the seasoning that caught your eye reading the recipe may need adjusting to your own taste. Likewise, figuring out if a plant wants or needs repotting or just more water or food or light becomes second nature. Recipes, and gardening advice, are very good starting points, but after a while the process should become intuitive.
Some of my all-time favorite dishes come from saved magazine recipes. Cornmeal biscuits. Sweet potato biscuits. Brussels sprouts with pecans and roasted chestnuts. Raspberry jam brownies. But most days, I just decide what I'd like to eat for dinner, and shop accordingly. Sometimes there's leftovers I build a new meal around, not wanting to waste them. I've been known to buy ingredients for soup for dinner just because the LaBrea 3-cheese semolina bread was still warm when I passed it in D'Agostinos and I just had to buy it.
This article by chef Daniel Patterson says very concisely what I experience every day in my tiny kitchen. It's also what I experience teaching inexperienced gardeners about orchid growing. You come to understand that every vegetable and every fish is different, and you have to poke and prod and taste the food as it cooks to know when it's done or how to season it; a recipe gives a hint for doneness, but after that you judge for yourself; the seasoning that caught your eye reading the recipe may need adjusting to your own taste. Likewise, figuring out if a plant wants or needs repotting or just more water or food or light becomes second nature. Recipes, and gardening advice, are very good starting points, but after a while the process should become intuitive.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Yay, New Orchids!!!
My "oh noes it's mid-December and my AOS 2-year renewal $30 coupon expires in January so I have to order now before the weather gets worse" orchids from Carter & Holmes arrived today. Soooooo happy! So here's what I got.
Bulbophyllum barbigerum (tiny plant) and Bulbophyllum frostii (bigger plant, bare-root). Whee! I last owned barbigerum years and years ago. Can't wait to see those wiggly little lips again! I'm entirely delighted to encourage seed-grown Bulbos being sold.
Stenocoryne vitellina seedling, nice and healthy, at least 1 year from blooming. For a brief glorious few months about 20 years ago, I was the Stenocoryne Queen of the East Coast. I had 4 species. Four! And they all bloomed and thrived until I had a wave of bad luck, and long vacations, that decimated my collection. I'm so pleased a large nursery like C&H is distributing these!
The rest is mini-catts, some are mericlones and some are seedlings:
Lc Tiny Treasure x Slc Angel Face. Ought to be a splash-petal cutie. Nice healthy plant too.
Lc Mini Purple "Tamiami-4n" x Slc Precious Katie. C&H says these are mostly purples, some are red.
Blc Waikiki Gold "Lea" x Laelia briegeri "Star of Brazil." L briegeri hybrids tend to be fantastic free-blooming darlings, so let's hope. It's a tall plant, as expected.
Slc Precious Stones x Slc Barefoot Mailman. These have to be gorgeous red-orange stars.
Potinara Brady Crocker (Pot. Mem. Shirley Moore x Slc. Precious Katie). Sounded good, and described as red, blooming on small plants.
Lctna Flying Colors "Mendenhall". My Otaara and other -tonia hybrids do well, time to try this. I guess I still have a weakness for splash petals.
Eplc Tinker Toy "Sprite." Always wanted one of these little pink & white cuties.
I got two bonus plants too, which totally rocks. One is (C loddigesii x Sc Beaufort), which I'm figuring will be pink and yellow. Heh. The other is a healthy young plant of Cattleya percivaliana. There is no way I can grow that thing to flowering maturity, so once I've potted it and established it some lucky pal of mine will end up with it.
Bulbophyllum barbigerum (tiny plant) and Bulbophyllum frostii (bigger plant, bare-root). Whee! I last owned barbigerum years and years ago. Can't wait to see those wiggly little lips again! I'm entirely delighted to encourage seed-grown Bulbos being sold.
Stenocoryne vitellina seedling, nice and healthy, at least 1 year from blooming. For a brief glorious few months about 20 years ago, I was the Stenocoryne Queen of the East Coast. I had 4 species. Four! And they all bloomed and thrived until I had a wave of bad luck, and long vacations, that decimated my collection. I'm so pleased a large nursery like C&H is distributing these!
The rest is mini-catts, some are mericlones and some are seedlings:
Lc Tiny Treasure x Slc Angel Face. Ought to be a splash-petal cutie. Nice healthy plant too.
Lc Mini Purple "Tamiami-4n" x Slc Precious Katie. C&H says these are mostly purples, some are red.
Blc Waikiki Gold "Lea" x Laelia briegeri "Star of Brazil." L briegeri hybrids tend to be fantastic free-blooming darlings, so let's hope. It's a tall plant, as expected.
Slc Precious Stones x Slc Barefoot Mailman. These have to be gorgeous red-orange stars.
Potinara Brady Crocker (Pot. Mem. Shirley Moore x Slc. Precious Katie). Sounded good, and described as red, blooming on small plants.
Lctna Flying Colors "Mendenhall". My Otaara and other -tonia hybrids do well, time to try this. I guess I still have a weakness for splash petals.
Eplc Tinker Toy "Sprite." Always wanted one of these little pink & white cuties.
I got two bonus plants too, which totally rocks. One is (C loddigesii x Sc Beaufort), which I'm figuring will be pink and yellow. Heh. The other is a healthy young plant of Cattleya percivaliana. There is no way I can grow that thing to flowering maturity, so once I've potted it and established it some lucky pal of mine will end up with it.
Whole Lotta Ho Ho Ho
I heard on the news that the Post Office has declared this holiday season "cancelled." Nobody's mailing anything. Are they right? I was in two of my local POs twice this week, thanks to brisk ebay sales. Last year at this time, a week before Christmas, the lines were out the door at both locations. This year, not so much. In fact, I only waited in line as long as I do on any reasonably busy day. And only a few people were burdened with parcels, the vast majority had only smaller items or Priority Mail envelopes.
What's up, I think, might be that everyone who is doing gifts this year decided to go for bargains online and had those retailers ship directly. Saves effort, saves $$, what's not to like? And some of us are doing charity donations in lieu of material presents. And e-cards and Facebook hugs instead of paper cards.
All of this is fine with me. Our holiday cheer is in short supply this year. I might buy an evergreen bough for a vase on the table, and I desperately want a bottle of Sams Serious Eggnog (from the Waterfront Ale House), but that's about it. As good as I feel about the new regime in DC, this country is still so seriously f**cked-up that I'll save my cheering for January 20. And hope my friends seeking jobs will find them. And hope someone will buy my book...
I did have a personal Awesome Moment yesterday thanks to ebay: I had the rare privilege of mailing an item to North Pole, Alaska, and enjoyed the look on the clerk's face. We agreed Santa obviously really does buy stuff on ebay to re-gift.
And a Hey Lookit! moment today: 2 fire trucks bearing Santa, elves (rather fat ones) and fire fighters in Santa hats, whirring along at 86th and 3rd Ave. Awww!
What's up, I think, might be that everyone who is doing gifts this year decided to go for bargains online and had those retailers ship directly. Saves effort, saves $$, what's not to like? And some of us are doing charity donations in lieu of material presents. And e-cards and Facebook hugs instead of paper cards.
All of this is fine with me. Our holiday cheer is in short supply this year. I might buy an evergreen bough for a vase on the table, and I desperately want a bottle of Sams Serious Eggnog (from the Waterfront Ale House), but that's about it. As good as I feel about the new regime in DC, this country is still so seriously f**cked-up that I'll save my cheering for January 20. And hope my friends seeking jobs will find them. And hope someone will buy my book...
I did have a personal Awesome Moment yesterday thanks to ebay: I had the rare privilege of mailing an item to North Pole, Alaska, and enjoyed the look on the clerk's face. We agreed Santa obviously really does buy stuff on ebay to re-gift.
And a Hey Lookit! moment today: 2 fire trucks bearing Santa, elves (rather fat ones) and fire fighters in Santa hats, whirring along at 86th and 3rd Ave. Awww!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
One Two Reislings
Rudolf Muller 2007 Riesling Pfalz.
Billed as "Rabbit" Reisling, or "The Bunny Wine" thanks to its untraditionally graphically attractive label design of a plump hopping bunny. The label is also untraditionally helpful, being in English. And the price is pretty reasonable too for a pleasant if not especially interesting German Riesling. It's light and fruity though refreshingly semi-dry, with the label-promised peaches and pears rather than more tropical overtones. Recommended dishes of firm cheeses, cream-sauced pastas, light seafood and Asian spices are perfectly suited. I'd also say light chicken and pork dishes would be a good match.
Hazlitt Finger Lakes Riesling 2007.
We "discovered" this winery's riesling about 10 years ago, and went through a case a year for several years. The latest vintage is as good as past ones. The wine is light, fresh and tasty. The label boasts peach and tangerine and I agree, there's a clear tropical whiff to the nose and palate. Nice acidity, not over-sweet, not over-assertive. The label recommends grilled trout, soft-shell crab or fruit salad as good food matches. We've drunk this wine with pretty much everything and enjoyed it every time.
Billed as "Rabbit" Reisling, or "The Bunny Wine" thanks to its untraditionally graphically attractive label design of a plump hopping bunny. The label is also untraditionally helpful, being in English. And the price is pretty reasonable too for a pleasant if not especially interesting German Riesling. It's light and fruity though refreshingly semi-dry, with the label-promised peaches and pears rather than more tropical overtones. Recommended dishes of firm cheeses, cream-sauced pastas, light seafood and Asian spices are perfectly suited. I'd also say light chicken and pork dishes would be a good match.
Hazlitt Finger Lakes Riesling 2007.
We "discovered" this winery's riesling about 10 years ago, and went through a case a year for several years. The latest vintage is as good as past ones. The wine is light, fresh and tasty. The label boasts peach and tangerine and I agree, there's a clear tropical whiff to the nose and palate. Nice acidity, not over-sweet, not over-assertive. The label recommends grilled trout, soft-shell crab or fruit salad as good food matches. We've drunk this wine with pretty much everything and enjoyed it every time.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Reading again
Two new old books this week:
The Curse of the Giant Hogweed, by Charlotte MacLeod. I read this book when it was new in 1985, as at the time my father was still hauling all new mystery books home from the library quick as they were stocked. It was delightful, one of the silliest things I'd ever read, a horticultural fantasy romp full of British myth and daunting Welsh names, and I remember absolutely nothing else about it. With a glad cry I pounced upon a copy in my library's book sale room. I shall begin re-reading it immediately.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, by Anita Loos. Everyone knows "diamonds are a girl's best friend," and might vaguely remember Marilyn Monroe in the movie. I never finished the book years ago, so I'll be having a new go at it.
A great passage from near the beginning:
And Mr Eisman likes me to have what the French people call a "salo" which
means that people all get together in the evening and improve their minds. So I
invited all of the brainy gentlemen I could think up. So I thought up a gentleman who is the professor of all the economics up at Columbia College, and the editor who is the famous editor of the New York Transcript and another gentleman who is a famous playwright...so Sam asked if he could bring a gentleman who writes novels from England...and then we all got together...and the gentleman brought their own liquor. So of course the place was a wreck this morning and Lulu and I worked like proverbial dogs to get it cleaned up, but Heaven knows how long it will take to get the chandelier fixed.
The Curse of the Giant Hogweed, by Charlotte MacLeod. I read this book when it was new in 1985, as at the time my father was still hauling all new mystery books home from the library quick as they were stocked. It was delightful, one of the silliest things I'd ever read, a horticultural fantasy romp full of British myth and daunting Welsh names, and I remember absolutely nothing else about it. With a glad cry I pounced upon a copy in my library's book sale room. I shall begin re-reading it immediately.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, by Anita Loos. Everyone knows "diamonds are a girl's best friend," and might vaguely remember Marilyn Monroe in the movie. I never finished the book years ago, so I'll be having a new go at it.
A great passage from near the beginning:
And Mr Eisman likes me to have what the French people call a "salo" which
means that people all get together in the evening and improve their minds. So I
invited all of the brainy gentlemen I could think up. So I thought up a gentleman who is the professor of all the economics up at Columbia College, and the editor who is the famous editor of the New York Transcript and another gentleman who is a famous playwright...so Sam asked if he could bring a gentleman who writes novels from England...and then we all got together...and the gentleman brought their own liquor. So of course the place was a wreck this morning and Lulu and I worked like proverbial dogs to get it cleaned up, but Heaven knows how long it will take to get the chandelier fixed.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins
I might as well record this for posterity. It's not my original recipe, but based on one from my fave muffin book.
Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prep 12-muffin tin with nonstick spray.
Combine in small bowl: 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt. You may substitute white whole wheat flour for part or all of the flour, or substitute up to 1/2 cup graham flour.
Combine in larger bowl: 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick) cooled, 1/2 cup mashed bananas (2 small/medium), 1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (not nonfat), 1 tsp vanilla extract (if using plain yogurt), 1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut.
Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Before the flour is gone add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Spoon into the muffin tin.
Bake 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. They should be nicely crusty and browned.
These reheat very nicely in a toaster oven at 375 for 5-10 minutes.
I haven't tried substituting brown sugar, or more banana/less yogurt, but I will someday.
Preheat oven to 375 deg. Prep 12-muffin tin with nonstick spray.
Combine in small bowl: 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt. You may substitute white whole wheat flour for part or all of the flour, or substitute up to 1/2 cup graham flour.
Combine in larger bowl: 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick) cooled, 1/2 cup mashed bananas (2 small/medium), 1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (not nonfat), 1 tsp vanilla extract (if using plain yogurt), 1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut.
Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Before the flour is gone add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Spoon into the muffin tin.
Bake 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. They should be nicely crusty and browned.
These reheat very nicely in a toaster oven at 375 for 5-10 minutes.
I haven't tried substituting brown sugar, or more banana/less yogurt, but I will someday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)