Are the Stars Out Tonight?

Posted on August 7, 2011 by marigold

Night sky

A few years ago, a friend gave us a telescope. It’s not quite up there with Mount Palomar but it’s not a toy either. After dinner in Dorset, VT, I suggested to a seven-year-old granddaughter that we look at the stars. Fortunately, her father had an app showing that evening’s star positions because a) it was a little cloudy; b) our house has a lot of large trees near the deck so the view is obstructed and c) I’ve never had a clue as to which star is which.

Mount Palomar

Very much like our telescope

 

Even with glasses, as a kid I had terrible eyesight and someone was always showing me shooting stars or other astronomical wonders which I never really saw (but said I did since they so clearly wanted me to get with the program.) We used to go to NYC’s Hayden Planetarium (now the Rose Center), where the disembodied voice directed us to “see” Orion by pointing an arrow flashlight at a star for the left earlobe, one for the tip of a belt buckle and one for a right heel and intoning “And there’s Orion.” No, I thought, those are three stars that have nothing to do with one another. Clearly, I wasn’t cut out for a career with NASA.

Maddie (the granddaughter) and I looked through the telescope and saw a few stars but, in all honesty, we could also see them almost as clearly with our naked eyes. (The next day, my husband fiddled with the telescope and it now magnifies a great deal better.) Finally, I walked Maddie out the front door and into the middle of the road where there’s a break in the trees so I could show her what I think is the Big Dipper. She was very gracious about the whole thing.

My favorite aspects of astronomy are the Maria Mitchell Observatory at Vassar College, my alma mater, and the movie, Apollo Thirteen, when Tom Hanks says “Houston, we have a problem.” Anything more complex and I’m out of my league. Since NASA isn’t calling, we’ll stick to the kitchen. These star-shaped treats are easy enough to make with a seven year old.

Crispy Cheese Stars

Crispy Cheese Star

2 star-shaped cookie cutters, one slightly smaller than the other

Package of flour tortillas (two packages is probably a good idea to allow for messing up and needing more)

Sliced cheddar cheese (you can substitute provolone)

Chili powder (if you hate spice, use paprika)

Heat the oven to 350º.

With the larger cookie cutter cut out stars from flour tortillas (about 5 per 10-inch tortilla). Bake stars on a foil-covered cookie sheet for 5 minutes.
With smaller cookie cutter cut out an equal number of cheese stars from the sliced cheese and place slices atop tortilla stars. Bake stars for 2 more minutes or so until the cheese melts.
Sprinkle the stars with chili powder or paprika and let them cool before serving.

Go out and wish on the first star of the evening.

 

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Plenty of Pennsylvania

Posted on August 2, 2011 by marigold

Delaware Water Gap

In another time, during another life, I had a house near the Water Gap. Back then, Pike County, where the house was located, was known for rocks, Republicans and rattlesnakes–charming, no? Friends, who are not enamored of any of the trio, still have a house in that area which we visited.

Drink up!

Among the weekend delights was this spectacular cocktail which is neither an Americano nor a Negroni, although vaguely related. We’ll call it a Guistino for private reasons. To make it, fill a glass with ice, add a slug of vodka, enough Campari to make it reddish and a wedge of lime which you’ve squeezed a little before splashing it in. Salut.

Our friends’ house is very near Milford, PA, a Gilded Age resort area that went through a downturn, is now back and adorable complete with lots of galleries and historic buildings. Milford also has the very upmarket Hotel Fauchere that houses the ultra-chic Bar Louis

Bar Louis at Milford's Hotel Fauchere

featuring a photo of Andy Warhol kissing John Lenon over the actual bar.

Milford offers activities year ’round and is near Grey Towers, home of Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the US Forrest Service and twice Governor of PA.

Grey Towers

You could do far worse than spend a weekend visiting Milford although you might not elect to stay at the Fauchere once you see the room rates. (There are plenty of other inns and hotels both in Milford and nearby.)

Among the other weekend pleasures  were long walks, swimming to get a break from the heat and–of course–eating.

This creation was whipped up by our hostess for lunch one day.

And no, I don’t only hang with people who are creative in the kitchen. However, this friend is and here is her recipe:

Ellen’s Farro and Pesto Salad

2 cups farro (a grain that comes from wheat), cooked according to the directions on the package

1/2 cup pesto (make it yourself or buy it)

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half

1/2 cup chopped, fresh basil

1/4 cup snipped fresh chives

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the above together. Check and add S and P as you wish. If salad seems dry, add another 1 T of olive oil (pesto already has oil in it.) Check again. You can always add more olive oil.

Some salad was left over so, next day we added cooked corn sliced off the cob, avocado and more tomatoes. You can pretty much add any ingredient, especially vegetables, that strikes your fancy. Yum.

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Gardeners Have the Best Dirt

Posted on July 28, 2011 by marigold

Turkey Hill Farm

Last weekend, after the Race for the Cure, I visited two Manchester, VT gardens available as part of the Vermont Garden Conservancy Open Days program and was I glad I did! The first “garden,” Turkey Hill Farm, encompasses  seven exquisitely maintained acres, two houses plus other buildings, and numerous pieces of sculpture dotting the landscape. The views go on for miles and a professional gardener makes sure that every flower does its job perfectly.

Next up was A Cook’s Garden, a very personal garden space, created and nurtured by delightful Ellen Ogden whose most current book, the Complete Kitchen Garden, is pictured here.

Ellen grows a lot of vegetables including these glorious artichokes

Artichokes in Ellen Ogden's Garden

and also designs gardens. I’ll bet she could make a stone blossom. If you’d like to investigate either her book or her design services, go to www.ellenogden.com

 

On Sunday, the first stop was  the Dorset Farmer’s Market because I believe in supporting  local farmers and love their fresh veggies and breads.   Later that day, a group of family and friends went to Wildwood Farm in East Dorset to pick blueberries. When you arrive, you get a pail lined with a plastic bag; the pail is suspended on a piece of wide tape that goes around the neck, freeing you for two-handed picking.  These are high bush berries and so plentiful this year they practically fell into the bucket. Lots of kids probably

eat as much as they pick but so it goes.  When my daughters were little and we went berry picking, I tried to get across the idea of how hard this kind of work was but no dice–they thought picking (and eating) was a fabulous way to spend the day (and, in truth, it was.) This year I scored about six pounds of berries which I froze in roughly one pound-size plastic bags. The berries last brilliantly and work fine on cereal or in a pie or cobbler all winter (oh dear, just realized I sound like Ma in Little House on the Prairie–sorry about that.)

One of my favorite, easy things to do with blueberries is to make this buckle (and would love readers to check in with explanations of  a buckle as compared with a cobbler, grunt, crisp, etc.)   This recipe has one seemingly weird step (the boiling water bit) but turns out fine every time.

Blueberry Buckle courtesy Peggy T.

Batter:

3T butter

½   c. sugar

¼ t. salt

1 cup sifted flour

1 t baking powder

½ cup milk

1 egg

Mix sugar and butter. Sift dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture alternating with milk.  Beat a minute or two and then beat in the egg.

Put 2 –3 cups berries  in baking dish. Squeeze ½ lemon over them. Spread batter over berries. Mix ½- ¾  c. sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon w. 1 T. corn starch (or not if you’re a purist and think cornstarch is awful) and ¼ t salt and sprinkle over batter. Pour 1 cup boiling water over all.  (At first I thought yikes but it’s OK).

Bake in 375 oven for 1 hour. Good idea to line the oven rack with foil to catch drippings that can be a mess to deal with.

Blueberry Buckle

Call it what you will, served with vanilla ice cream it’s a great dessert.

 

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Racing (and eating) for the Cure

Posted on July 26, 2011 by marigold

 

I’ve run or walked in the Vermont (now the Vermont/New Hampshire) Race for the Cure for the past fifteen-plus years. It’s all about superstition. My mother died from breast cancer at fifty-nine after dealing with the disease for over five years. I know that participating in the Race doesn’t mean this illness won’t hit me or other members of my family but … you get the idea.

Last weekend, Vermont was in the midst of the heat wave gripping the entire Northeast. Friday and Saturday the temperature in Dorset, VT, reached the low nineties and even my cats were limp fur stretched out against the walls to maximize their cooling surface. Saturday morning (race day) we awoke to find it had rained during the night,  (a big cheer as I didn’t have to deal with watering the garden). One of my daughters-in-law,  (long distance runner, mother of three, quilter extrodinaire and much else ), and I headed off to Hildene meadows at eight-thirty, thrilled with how (relatively) cool it was.  (Side note: Hildene was the summer residence of Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham and Mary Lincoln’s only son who lived to adulthood. It’s a beautiful house on gorgeous grounds, open for tours and used for weddings and other events.)

Hildene, the home of Robert Todd Lincoln

We enjoyed the 5K walk, admiring the lovely houses that line the route and the clever “shower” someone had set out so that anyone who wanted to could walk underneath and get cool, however briefly. We will not discuss my time, except to say that in 2009, when I’d pushed for speed, the next day my legs were sore and this year, walking in a leasurely way, my time was almost identical.

The night before,  of course carbs were on the menu. Real runners eat carbs, right? (They probably don’t drink wine the evening before an event but then, I’m not a real runner—and wine converts to carbs so there.) Actually, my daughter-in-law and her family hadn’t yet arrived and those of us already present ate grilled swordfish with green olive relish. The next day, what was left of the fish became a great salad mixed with the leftover relish, lemon juice and a little mayo. We also ate caprese salad, the standard tomato, mozzarella and basil deal with basil from our garden. The basil photo is pure show-off.  Here’s the relish recipe.

Tomatoes, mozarella and "our own" basil

Green Olive Relish

1/4 c drained bottled pimento- stuffed green olives

1 small garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt

1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh parsley

2 T. olive oil

2 T. fresh lemon juice

Put olives in food processor or mini-chop and, chop fine. Add other ingredients and pulse until olives are minced. Serve on the side to accompany grilled swordfish or any other white-fleshed fish. Relish would also be good on chicken or anything else that can use a little kicking up.

Fish topped with Green Olive Relish

Here’s to all the 2010 runners and walkers with hopes to see everyone and more  back in 2011!

 

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Connecticut Capers

Posted on July 19, 2011 by marigold

Covered Bridge, West Cornwall, CT

Among the boldface names we did not visit in Cornwall, CT were actors, Oliver Platt and Sam Waterston, or composer Tom Jones. We did spend time with a friend who owns a very old, lovingly restored house with a huge meadow out back, a perfect setting from which to watch the sunset.

Cornwall  dates to 1783 when the land was auctioned off and named after an English county.  The town was incorporated in 1740 and has a history of missionary work in the Sandwich Islands. During the 1820s,  the marriage of two local girls to Indians attending Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School led to a near riot and the school was closed. The town’s history is well documented in the small Cornwall Historical Society on Pine Street.

One of our weekend activities was a visit to the Saturday Farmer’s Market where Carol Bonci sells many kinds of bread including gluten-free loaves that taste surprisingly good.

Carol Bonci with one of her baguettes

 

I could happily go to a Farmer’s Market every day of the week if only to see the gorgeous vegetables and flowers. We also went to an all-Cornwall rummage sale where I scored a Dust Buster in A-1 condition for $8 for my daughter whose own DB recently gave up the ghost. We biked, we read, we considered swimming but never quite got there, we visited the Cornwall Country Store now under new ownership, and man did we eat! One night, our host grilled an assortment of sweet and hot Italian sausages, red onion and a vibrant orange pepper which was accompanied by potato salad topped with sliced tomatoes and a dish of feta and olives for a beautiful Mediterranean supper.

most of our Mediterranean medley

The first night we dined on Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan that I made using a Mark Bittman recipe with some minor tweaks. Mr. Bittman is my culinary hero—every recipe I’ve ever made following his instructions turns out perfectly and he never starts  by suggesting that you must incorporate “two persimmons grown on the southern end of Crete.” Everybody now… join in a chorus of “Pretentious, Pretentious” to the tune of “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof.

Here is the recipe with fervent thanks to Mark Bittman.

Eggplant and Chicken Parmesan Mark Bittman

Serves about 6

1-2 eggplants (about 2 pounds total), unpeeled, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
Salt
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing
Freshly ground black pepper
About 1/2 pound boneless, skinless white meat chicken (breast, cutlets, or tenders), pounded to uniform thickness if necessary and blotted dry
4 cups All-Purpose Tomato Sauce (I cheated and used ready made)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil leaves
2 ounces grated or torn mozzarella cheese
1 cup bread crumbs

  1. If the eggplant is particularly large or full of seeds, sprinkle it with salt and set in a colander for at least 15 and up to 60 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. (I simply sliced it and moved on.)
  2. Heat the oven to 400.
  3. Brush the eggplant lightly on both sides with some oil and sprinkle with salt (if you didn’t salt it earlier) and pepper. Grill or broil until browned on both sides, turning once or twice and brushing with more oil if the eggplant looks dry. The idea is to keep the eggplant cooking steadily without burning, so adjust the heat and position as needed. The eggplant is usually ready in somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. When done, set eggplant slices aside.
  4. Cut the chicken so you have 8 or so large pieces. Pound or press them a bit so they’re evenly flat. (Or don’t  bother–I didn’t.) Brush them all over with some oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill or broil the chicken, turning once, no more than 3 minutes per side (to check for doneness, cut into a piece with a thin-bladed knife; the center should still be slightly pink). Set the chicken aside.
  5. Lightly oil a 2-quart baking dish, then spoon a layer of tomato sauce, a layer of eggplant slices, a layer of chicken, some Parmesan and repeat until all the ingredients are used. (There may be sauce left over; warm it up to pass at the table.) Toss the remaining Parmesan with the bread crumbs and the mozzarella. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again. Spread the bread crumb/cheese mixture evenly on top of the dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the dish is bubbling hot. Serve hot or warm, topped with the basil leaves which I tore into a chiffonade (small pieces torn across the leaf.)

Pour a nice glass of wine and enjoy dinner.

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Honest Abe in the Berkshires

Posted on July 12, 2011 by marigold

About four million people visit the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, each year but only a fraction of those drop in at Chesterwood, the summer home of the statue’s sculptor, Daniel Chester French, (1850-1931). Chesterwood, near Stockbridge, MA, was French’s summer retreat for many years. It’s  now  a National Historic Trust with a small scale version of the Lincoln statue in the artist’s studio. In addition to the studio, visitors can stroll through the Italian garden, ground floor of the house and woodland trails.

The thirty-second exhibition of  work by contemporary artists is on view sprinkled about the wooded trails that end with a majestic view over the Berkshires.

Uneasy Chair by Leon Smith

This work, Uneasy Chair, by Leon Smith,  is a hoot. Love the prickles!

 

Earlier in the day, we’d visited Ashintully Gardens in Tyringham, formerly a private home and now maintained by the Trustees of Reservations Land trusts.  The formal gardens include features like a Fountain Pond, Pine Park, Rams Head Terrace, Bowling Green, Regency Bridge, and many others, most created by John McLennan, Jr., son of the Senator. I didn’t have time to walk the entire six hundred acres but it’s a beautiful estate noted for rolling hills, deciduous trees and carefully crafted stonework.

Fountain at Ashintully, Tyringham, MA

We spent a night at the Lenox Club, founded in 1864 as a club for –you guessed it–gentlemen, where the croquet lawn is kept in perfect condition and some rooms have bathrooms with wonderful claw-foot tubs.  A very twenty-first century wedding was taking place that night and the next morning the group was kind enough to give us a bite of the brunch being served to very hung- over friends.

Lenox Club, Lenox, MA

The Berkshires in summer always seems like picnic country to me so here’s a recipe for French potato salad which is great to take along as it doesn’t contain mayonnaise and can easily be made ahead of time.

French Potato Salad

Serves 4

2 lbs small russet potatoes

¼ c. dry white wine

1 T white wine vinegar

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 t Dijon mustard

¼ t white pepper (I use regular ground pepper)

¼ cup olive oil

2 T  chopped scallions

2 T chopped parsley

Scrub potatoes and drop into a pot of salted boiling water to cover. Boil about 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender when stuck with point of knife.

Cut potatoes into ¼ “ slices, being careful not to burn your hands. Place in a single layer in shallow dish. Pour the wine over the warm slices and toss very gently; then set aside so they absorb the wine. (Note: this can be done hours ahead. Do not refrigerate.)

Beat vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl until salt dissolves. Add the oil a bit at a time and whisk until it thickens. Stir in scallions. Before serving, pour dressing over potatoes and add the parsley. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.

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Fourth of July

Posted on July 4, 2011 by marigold

A big day for cook-outs, fireworks and flying the flag. You probably won’t be called upon to sing the National Anthem but here’s a little history about its origin:

In 1814, young Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and amateur poet, watched British ships of the Royal Navy bombard Baltimore’s Fort McHenry. Not until the next morning did dawn reveal that the fort had been successfully defended, saving Baltimore from being overtaken by the British. Inspired by the American victory and especially by seeing a large American flag flying over the fort as “bombs burst in air” all around, Key scribbled a poem on the back of an envelope and gave it the catchy title The Defense of Fort McHenry.

Key’s brother- in- law realized that the words neatly fit the tune of a popular British drinking song written for an all-male social club in London. He had the song printed and it quickly became popular—an early American top 40. Shortly thereafter it was published by the owner of a Baltimore music store under the title The Star Spangled Banner. In 1889, the song became the official tune played whenever the American flag was raised. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that the song be played at military occasions; it became the American national anthem in 1931, signed into law by President Herbert Hoover.

Got that? Another factoid: if your flag becomes damaged and you take it down, find a VFW post and give it to them so it can be properly disposed of.  According to military law, a flag must be appropriately burned or buried.

To celebrate the 4th, we often have an informal group for a pre-fireworks dinner at our VT home.  Last night’s menu included shrimp, guacamole with chips (that classic American dish), veggies and dips and a bunch of what I call “crunchy things”.  Dinner was  fried chicken, ratatouille and salads, all eaten on red-white-and-blue paper plates on the “less work for mother” approach. To go with the chicken, I made mango salsa.

Yesterday, at MASS MOCA in North Adams, MA, we viewed a grouping of sculptures made of foam rubber, reclaimed electronics parts and—you guessed it—mango pits.  Who knew this year’s July 4th would feature the mango?

Mango Tourists by Nari Ward at MASS MOCA

This is the recipe for the salsa, courtesy of my friend Peggy. The toughest part is getting the pesky, oval pit out of the fruit. Ms. Ward of Mass MOCA probably had a team of pitters.

Mango Salsa

4 mangos, not too ripe

1 medium red onion

1 red pepper

1 fresh jalepeno

1 bunch scallions

4-5 fresh squeezed limes

3 garlic cloves (which I omit as I don’t like raw garlic)

Kosher salt

Peel mangos and slice parallel to seed.  (Save for a sculpture or not, your call.)
Cut all veggies into small dice and combine. Squeeze lime juice over all, sprinkle with 1T salt and taste. If necessary, correct the seasoning.

As an accompaniment, this serves about eight to ten.

Hope everyone had a happy July 4th!

 

 

 

 

 

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Giving a Fig

Posted on June 27, 2011 by marigold

En route to Sonoma, after the exhilaration of driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, we stopped briefly in Sausalito to admire the boats–house and other. 

On a beautiful Saturday morning, everyone within miles of Sonoma apparently turns up in the Plaza to sit, talk, read the paper or contemplate their next meal. Ours was lunch at the Girl and the Fig where many dishes have–surprise–figs incorporated in one way or another.

For an aperitif, we each had a Fig Royale, a riff on a Kir Royale using sparkling wine and a house-made fig liqueur, set off by a long, curly piece of lemon rind in the flute.

My smoked trout accompanied by a frisee salad laden with roasted red  and golden  beets was wonderful. The quality of California produce is knock-out in general, far surpassing New York, and a good restaurant, which this certainly is, only buys the best.

Smoked Trout with Roasted Beets, Girl and the Fig

Many goodies followed and we ended lunch sharing fig and port ice cream nestled in a crisp tuile. All that food requires some serious moving around to disperse the calories so next day I mastered the MUNI and went to Golden Gate part to visit the famed Conservatory of Flowers.  There are “galleries” devoted to aquatic plants and various kinds of tropical plants–my favorite was a special exhibit of Wicked Plants including those well-known killers, foxglove and ivy. The photo was taken there but I have no idea which plants it shows–botanists, please check in.

Wicked Plants, San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

 

Later I climbed Telegraph Hill with a friend so we could walk down the justly famous Filbert Street Steps to admire the gardens nestled into the hillside. Part way down we had to quit Filbert and move to the Greenwich Steps which are equally steep and exquisitely gardened.

Dinner our last night was at Bar Tartine, recommended by our savvy waitress at the Anchor and Hope. This restaurant is  so chic it doesn’t have a sign at the front. French, you might think? Nope, haute Hungarian with incredible picked green tomatoes, goat meatballs with blood sausage served atop amazing sauerkraut with green strawberries and quite possibly the best bread I ever ate.

The place was packed with people gobbling what may not sound delicious here but trust me, it was.

In keeping with the fig theme, here’s an appetizer recipe. It’s easy (once you acquire the ripe, fresh figs), unusual and incredibly good.

Fig and Chevre Appetizer

12 fresh figs, halved

4 ounces herbed goat cheese (from a farm, the local supermarket)

24 almonds

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven broiler on high.

Place the fig halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Top each half with about 1/2 teaspoon goat cheese. Place one almond on each and press to push the cheese slightly into each fig.

Broil the figs in the preheated oven until the cheese is soft and the almonds are lightly browned ( 2 to 3 minutes.)  Remove from the broiler and let cool for 5 minutes. Arrange the figs on a serving platter, drizzle with honey and balsamic vinegar. Serve warm and watch them fly off the plate.

 

 

 

 

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Open Up That Golden Gate

Posted on June 22, 2011 by marigold

San Francisco has many qualities in common with New York–fabulous restaurants, great museums, diversity–which may be why I find it so simpatico.  SF also has this iconic bridge which was great fun to drive over en route to Sonoma.

Shortly after arriving, I strolled through Yerba Buena Park, a small gem near our hotel. In the park, among other attractions, is a tea restaurant called Samovar (odd name for what seemed more Japanese than Russian) where I had blood orange tea, described as having “notes of citrus, spice and rain dampened earth.”

The pot was exquisite; the tea, um unusual.

 

That evening, for our first boffo meal we went to Bix, a restaurant celebrating its twenty-third year in a setting that evokes supper clubs of the 50s. Our waiter, AJ, urged us to try the zucchini blossoms and he was right. I also ordered the marrow bone appetizer which was out-of-this-world and not a dish found on a lot of menus.  The marrow is in the little towers of bone; you scrape it out with a special spoon, apply it to the grilled bread and top with parsley salad and a pinch of sea salt.

From marrow bones to art, the exhibit The Steins Collect at SF MOMA details the experiences of Gertrude, her brothers Leo and Michael, and Michael’s wife, Sara, in Paris during the 20s. The Steins recognized the genius of avant-garde talents including Picasso and Matisse well before other did and bought many of their works.  The art is wonderful, made even more so as it’s interspersed with large, blown-up photos of the Stein salons  showing the paintings as they were originally hung, mostly in long groupings.

Matisse's Woman with a Hat

Notable meal #2 took place at Anchor and Hope, a seafood spot that offers creative twists in a laid-back setting   One of us had Angels on Horseback, meaning house-smoked bacon wrapped around oysters remoulade sitting on a bed of seaweed and rock salt.

Angels on Horseback at Anchor and Hope

I had (among other delights), warm sea urchin and Dungeness crab in a lemon  beurre blanc–incredibly rich, incredibly yummy.

 

 

 

For another cultural infusion, we went to the DeYoung Museum where a Picasso show is on but we opted for the Balanciaga exhibit highlighting how Senior Cristobal took his inspiration from great Spanish artists, the bullfight, dance, court dress and other things Spanish.  Many of the outfits have a timeless quality that would make them wearable in any period (assuming one had both the money and the appropriate occasions to wear them!)

DeYoung Museum

I can’t sully the glorious food with a mundane recipe so won’t. More SF to come.

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Peony

Posted on June 11, 2011 by marigold

Peonies in full bloom

Inspired by the exquisite white-with-raspberry-accented peonies in crystal containers at a luncheon, I decided my Vermont garden needed a white peony.  Peonies are my all time fave flowers and the four plants I already have are deep to pale pink.

Off we went to the Frost Hill Peony Farm in tiny Belmont, VT where they grow three hundred varieties—singles, doubles, Japanese, hybrids—you name it.

Frost Hill Farm, Belmont, VT

 

 

 

 

 

Peonies have been depicted in Chinese art for centuries; the ancient city of Luoyang, in the northwest, is said to produce the most beautiful blooms and, to this day, peony shows and competitions take place there. Although Luoyang was one of the four ancient capital cities of China, Belmont VT is a lot easier to get to. 

Plants at Frost Hill are on full alert now and it’s a treat to walk among them, admiring the colors and smelling those that are scented. After much mulling, I finally chose a Chinook, because a friend had a dog of that breed. (When he told me the name, I made a smart-ass remark about his acquiring a salmon, not a dog. Not so fast: Chinooks are also sleds dogs bred to deal with Arctic winters. His particular dog loathed the snow which I found a hoot.)

Chinook Salmon

Chinook dog

 

 

 

My Chinook (plant, not fish nor dog) is a baby but the folks at Frost Hill assured me that if planted ‘correctly’ it will bloom next year. As with all gardening “correctly” translates to “if the plant is happy.” I’ve promised it I’ll do my best but finding an space in full sun isn’t so easy given the orientation of my garden.  Assuming my Chinook blooms, this is what it will look like:

 

 

 

In keeping with the theme, this recipe is for a pseudo-Chinese omelet that, (if you have a vivid imagination), is supposed to remind one of the shape of a peony.

Shrimp Egg Foo Yung

Serves 6

8 ounces fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained (I hear the intake of breath here-this isn’t Germany but, if the idea of bean sprouts makes you uneasy, simply move on to a less threatening food.)

1 cup cooked small shrimp (fresh or frozen and thawed)

8 eggs, beaten

½ cup sliced mushrooms (any kind or mixed)

2 scallions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 T vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 T soy sauce

1/4 t salt

Ground white pepper, to taste

2 T cornstarch

2 T cold water

In a mixing bowl, combine the bean sprouts, shrimp, eggs, mushrooms, scallions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix thoroughly.

Heat a deep skillet over high heat until a drop of water bubbles when sprinkled in. Add oil and turn heat back to medium-high. Pour 1/2 cup of egg mixture into pan. With a spatula, push cooked egg up over shrimp to form a patty.  Saute until golden brown, turning once, about 4 minutes. Set aside and keep warm while you make the rest of the patties with the rest of the egg mixture. If necessary, add a little more oil.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine chicken broth, soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt and white pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch and water; stir into broth mix. Cook and stir until thickened (about 10 seconds). Pour over patties (which have uneven edges like peonies.)

Xiang shou (pronounced ‘ci-ang-show’ and meaning ‘Enjoy.’) If you don’t want to  deal with the recipe, simply enjoy the peonies.

 

 

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