Apple Snob

There it is then. Out in the open. I have favorites. We all do. Mine is the juicy, sweet, tang of a firm-fleshed Crispin. I get them from a local orchard; the grocery store does not sell them. (Do not be confused with Honey Crisp which the stores do sell; they are not the same thing.) When they are in season I eat them a lot. More than that, I hold off buying any fall apples until the Crispins are ready in mid-October. They are the BEST eating apple. Of course you can cook with them, but why? One drawback, is that they are HUGE. So you might want to share. My favorite afternoon snack is a sliced Crispin with a nice sharp Irish cheddar cheese.

In terms of cooking, I usually use a combo of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious for pie and McIntoch for crisp.

Do you have a favorite apple?

HHH

Ah, the 3 H’s--hazy, hot and humid. My 3 favorite words. Apparently, I, alone in the universe, love the heat. Summer is my favorite season. I love lying on top of the covers with the window fan blowing cool night air over me. I love summer’s warm embrace as I walk outside after work frozen from my chilly office. I love the hot blast of air ruffling my hair as I drive down the highway with all the windows down and the music blaring. I love sitting on the back deck with a sweating glass of gin and tonic listening to the tree frogs. I love watching the bats flutter through the air snapping up the biting insects on warm summer evenings. I love getting up before the heat rises and watering the garden in my housedress and that the neighbors think it’s OK. I love the cool feel of the tiles on my bare feet. I love a big bowl of icy watermelon for lunch. I love the sun on my head. There is nothing about the heat that I do not like. (Uh, well, I do not like sunburn. And I do not love sweating. And you have to make sure to dress for it. And I did think I was going to suffocate once in Managua.)

But having said all that, remember, I live on a mountain where it never gets hot enough to need A/C but every room has a ceiling fan. I leave folded comforters on the foot of the beds, because you will need to pull them up in the dead of the night, even in July. We often sit wrapped in blankets late on summer evenings around the fire pit roasting marshmallows or passing a bottle of Hypnotiq. It is never too hot to eat outdoors and the cold waters of the lake are down the road. Summer on the mountain is fleeting, but spectacular.

Rice Hoarding

What! There is a shortage of rice??? OMG. Rice is my carb of choice. I dashed downstairs to the pantry to heft the bags of rice and peer into canisters. I had lots of arborio rice, plenty of medium-grained and too much long-grained. There was enough basmati to get through at least 2 dinner parties, half a bag of tired looking brown rice, 2 small bags of forbidden rice and some wild rice, which is not really a rice at all. But horrors! I was almost out of Jasmine rice, my favorite type. Given the current situation and all the talk on the news of rice hoarding…where could I get another bag? My favorite Asian store in Hartsdale? Or maybe I should go to the grocery? It was not a desperate situation, should I wait…or not…should I get in line to buy my 4 bags? Where would I store it? In the freezer? (I had a bag of basmati get all weevily on me once.) I took a deep breath. I decided not.

I don’t understand the hoarding thing. Back in the day, people hoarded toilet paper when the state started to tax it. Heck, people were hoarding all kinds of paper products. I have seen people buying up water and bread and flour but never oatmeal or wine or pickled okra in the jar. And ultimately what is the point? Yes food is becoming expensive but most of us could lose some weight, so let’s take this opportunity to consider our portions, eat smaller meals and get healthier in the process. Meanwhile if you see a large bag of Jasmine rice, could you pick me up a bag or two or….

Favorite Christmas Carols

I have been asking people what their favorite carol is. Here is the list so far:

O Holy Night
Adeste Fideles
Ave Maria
Jingle Bells (my 6 year old neighbor)
Silent Night
Away in the Manger (2 votes)
Bing’s White Christmas
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
El Burrito de Belen

Mine?

Good King Wenceslas. It is a feel good song about giving.

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel

"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather

"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing

Leave your favorite in the comment box.

Food Glorious Food

I am a cookbook lover. I get ideas from them and find them comforting. I read them on snowy winter nights tucked into my flannel sheets, dreaming of exotic smells in far-flung locales. I browse them on summer weekends as the scent of charcoal and cooking meat wafts over the arborvitae hedge. I plan menus from them for summer parties that will go long into the night. I try new recipes on long-suffering friends, family and neighbors (luckily for me they are broad-minded and willing to try anything--mostly.)

I love to cook but I am also out there at the edge. In addition to reading about classic Euro-based cuisine, I read cookbooks from cultures other than my own. With a glint in their eyes and drool on their lips, my friends bring me cookbooks and spices from their world travels.

I am fond of throwing theme parties with food, music, and décor from one country or another. (I posted before about the Moroccan Kasbah party). All of these ideas come from idly browsing cookbooks.

I give you a partial list of some of my favorite cookbooks and encourage you to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book. Or put one on your Christmas list.

Tess Mallos. Cooking Moroccan.
Madhur Jaffrey. Indian Cooking
Lidia Bastianich. Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen
Jacqueline Clarke & Joanna Farrow. Mediterranean Cooking
Nancie McDermott. Quick & Easy Thai
Rick Bayles. Mexico, One Plate at a Time
Marcella Hazan. The Classic Italian Cookbook
Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. Hot Sour Salty Sweet.