Happy New Year!

A large, rollicking party, loud with noisemakers and awash in champagne, like something Nick and Nora Charles would attend?  Or a quiet evening by the fire, watching Ryan Seacrest and trying not to miss Dick Clark (but at the same time wishing Dick Clark would just let it go, when his infirm self shows up at the end of the show) and having a glass of dry sherry at midnight?  Hard to say.  New Year's Eve is tricky.  If you go out there are always expectations of romance and revelations, both of which seldom appear.  And those expectations often seem to turn New Year's Eve into a disappointment.  Then sometimes you just get together with a couple of friends, some spaghetti, and some champagne and you end up dancing til three o'clock in the morning.  So yes, I think New Year's Eve is tricky.  For me the key is minimal expectations so that I'm sure I won't be disappointed, but I also leave room to be pleasantly surprised.

Usually we have fondue for a late dinner.  But this year, with semi-adult children coming and going, and not being sure who will be here when, I've opted out of the cheese-fest.  Leftover fondue is never a good thing.  So this year we are going with the aforementioned spaghetti, along with meatballs, sausages, and garlic bread.  And the alcohol may or may not flow--we'll just see how the evening goes.

When the children were little, I would make a two layer cake for dessert.  Then I would cut up a few 3 x 5 cards into four pieces, and write a fortune on each piece.  Fortunes don't need to be elaborate:  "the tooth fairy will visit before the summer's end" or "you will meet a new friend who will become dear to you" or "great luck, happiness, and wealth will soon be yours" (may as well think big).  You get the idea. Wrap each fortune in foil, and then punch a hole in the foil-covered card.  Tie a piece of curling ribbon to each fortune, leaving the ends about eighteen inches long, then curling the ends.  Put the first layer of the cake on a plate, level the top, and frost the sides and top.  Lay the fortunes on top, with the ribbons sticking out, draping down over the sides of the first layer. Place the second layer on top, sandwiching the fortunes between the two layers, and frost the sides and top of the top layer.  Now you have a cake with colorful, curly ribbons sticking out.  Take turns gently pulling out fortunes and reading them aloud.

We'd also do M&M fortune telling (apparently I'm big on fortune-telling).  Take a handful of M&Ms and reveal your future.  Red: self-confidence;  blue: wealth;  orange: love;  yellow: geekiness (can be cancelled out if you also have red and blue);  green: wishes (make a wish for each green one you have);  brown: health.  It's kind of fun, very easy, suitable for all ages.

Now of course New Year's Eve tends to be somewhat alco-centric, and I've been seeing a lot of hangover cures online.  You do know there are no hangover cures, right?  Time is the only thing that really cures a hangover, and prevention is the only way to buffer the after-effects of your debauchery.  No, I'm not saying you have to have a dry New Year's.  Rather, there are a few things I have found, through some rather unscientific experimentation, that help you to survive the next day, because there's nothing worse than that feeling of being afraid you might die of your hangover, and also of being afraid you won't.  First of all, water is the biggest key.  Before you even start to party, have a bottle or two of water.  Start out hydrated and it won't be so hard to keep hydrated (the hangover headache is mostly due to dehydration).  Eat.  Regularly. If you are going somewhere where a proper meal is not on offer, have a peanut butter sandwich before you go. At bedtime have a snack and another bottle (maybe two) of water.  A couple of spoonfuls of honey at bedtime is, for some reason, very helpful.  And then Advil.  I take four, but you should probably stick to the recommendations on the bottle as I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.  So the bedtime regime is a snack, water, honey, Advil, more water, then bed.

I'm not even going to remind you not to drink and drive because you are not an idiot and wouldn't do anything that dumb.

So it might not be a New Year's Eve Nick and Nora would relish, but we've had a stressful year and the idea of some quiet revelry is very appealing.  Next year will be better than this one--good riddance to 2011, hello 2012!

Happy New Year!

Family, Feasting, and a Merry Christmas!

We have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.  Usually prime rib, but due to austerity measures this year, we are having bangers and mash (which we all love but rarely eat, for obvious reasons). On Christmas Day, we graze. There are mince tarts, jam tarts, and maid of honour tarts (yes, these get spelled the English way).  Christmas cookies, Christmas toffee, Christmas cake  (I feel like Elf and his four main food groups: "Candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup").  Sausage rolls, lox and cream cheese with bagels, bourbon balls, peppermint bark, mini quiches, and a box of chocolates.  Later, we add rolls, cold sliced turkey and sliced roast beef, and condiments and crudites into the mix.  It is a food extravaganza that goes on all day Christmas Day.  And because we do have this embarrassment of riches, I don't have to cook on the 26th, either.  Which is quite a treat, really, since I have been cooking like a fiend for the week (and longer, for the things that can be frozen) leading up to the 25th.

Springerle cookies (at right) are a new addition this year--we'll see how they turn out.  The sausage rolls (at far left in the picture above) are a perennial favorite. The tarts are on the tiered plate above, and Christmas sugar cookies (below right)  are made in a double batch, frozen, and then slowly doled out and quickly iced, otherwise we would scarf them down in a day or two.

Bourbon balls (below) are probably my favorite Christmas goodie.  Even when I was a little child I loved them.  They are very bourbony, so I'm not sure this says anything good about me.  The Christmas cake is a fruitcake draped with almond paste, then iced with royal icing (hey! this is what Kate and William's wedding cake was--just one more way in which my life parallels that of the royal family...).

The mini quiches, peppermint bark, box of See's, and Cadbury fingers are all gifts or purchased (once a year treats, and I can't do everything), and they nestle up nicely to the homemade English toffee (at left).

Now, I've not given you recipes, but these are all easy to find, run-of-the-mill Christmas treats.  I know Christmas isn't just about food, like I know that Christmas isn't just about presents.  But certainly you can't deny the huge role both play in the celebration.  Christmas is, of course, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but it is also a time to celebrate family and tradition, which I think is just as significant to most people as the religious reasons for the holiday.  So have a very Merry Christmas, and enjoy your families and your feast.

Quick, Easy Dinner for Pre-Christmas Week

What with those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings when friends come to call, I know you're busy. Me too.  So I thought that a quick and easy Crock Pot dinner might be helpful.  This is mostly from the Food Network cookbook Making It Easy. It said to use brisket, but I used a  3 lb. boneless chuck steak and it worked just fine (plus I'm never quite sure what a brisket actually is...).  This took about 20 minutes to get into the Crock Pot, and then it cooked all day.  So there I was wrapping (not rapping--that would be a different sort of day), listening to Andy Williams croon that It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, basically getting lots of stuff done, and all the while, dinner simmered away, smelling delicious.

Southwestern Pulled Beef Sandwiches  serves 6

3 lbs. beef brisket (boneless chuck steak just fine)

Salt and pepper

2 Tbl. vegetable oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced thinly

1 Tbl. chili powder

2 tsp. ground coriander

2 tsp. cumin

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

3 Tbl. molasses

1 14 oz. can whole or chopped tomatoes, with their juices

2 whole canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

soft sandwich rolls

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the oil and heat until almost smoking.  Add the meat and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total.  Place meat in slow cooker.  Lower heat, and to the same skillet add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to the drippings and heat until fragrant, about a minute. Add vinegar and boil until almost gone, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon.  Stir in the water and molasses and pour the mixture over the meat.  Crush the tomatoes, whether whole or chopped, through your fingers into the slow cooker.  Add the chipotles and the juice from the tomatoes.  Cover the cooker, cook on LOW for 8 hours (or, alternatively, you could cook on HIGH for one hour, then on LOW for 5-6 hours, which is what I did--however the timing works for you).  To serve, leave the meat in the slow cooker and use two forks to pull it apart into shreds.  Stir the meat evenly into the sauce, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.  Pile saucy meat onto sandwich buns and serve (quite delicious to first spread the cut side of the buns with butter, sprinkle with a little garlic powder, and broil til lightly toasted, then fill with the meat).  Muy tasty. Now off you go, go finish your wrapping (not rapping).

There's a Brand New Baby in Our House...

[caption id="attachment_1177" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The baby in question"][/caption]

Yes, we have a new addition to the family.  She's not really a  baby, and she doesn't really look like any of the relatives, but she is definitely family.  Growing up, we always had a dog, and now my family and I have had dogs for almost 25 years.  This past summer our dear old dog died.  Very sad, very wrenching, so I don't want to talk about it--it's just too hard.

Anyway, we decided we were ready for a new dog.  She's not a replacement, she's just the new dog in our lives--we've never not had at least one, and you miss having a dog!  All the dogs and cats we've ever had have found us--they were strays or pets that other people didn't want anymore.  We kept waiting for a dog to find us, but that didn't seem to be happening, so I went to the Solano County Animal Shelter in Fairfield to choose a new pet.  If you've ever been to an animal shelter, you'll understand how hard that was to do.  But we knew we wanted to get a shelter dog, so needs must.  I went on a Wednesday, and she came home on Thursday.

It has been amazing how quickly she's made herself at home.  They say that shelter dogs are grateful, that they "know."  I am here to say it is absolutely true.  She's loving and calm and sweet and funny.  We got her a cozy bed she loves to curl up in, and today we discovered she loves to run really fast.  She's been a bit shy, but now she's letting her hair down, and she's a lot of fun.  She's like our family Christmas gift.  (Now, for heaven's sake, what with Christmas coming up soon, don't surprise anyone with the gift of a dog if there is any possibility, however remote, that that person won't be 110% delighted!!)

Going to the shelter, and seeing all those abandoned dogs (and there are cats, too, suffering the same plight as the dogs, but I didn't even go into the cat section)--well, it makes me so mad!  Here is a handy quiz (with answers!) to help decide whether or not to get a dog:

Should I Get a Dog?

Are you worried that the dog will scratch your hardwood floors?  (Yes, the dog will scratch your hardwood floors.  Don't get a dog.)

Are you worried that the dog will mess up your yard, or make yellow spots on your lawn?  (Yes, the dog will mess up your yard and make yellow spots on the lawn.  Don't get a dog.)

Does it bother you when the dog comes in the house and is rambunctious because he is excited to see you? (He will be excited, he may knock things over with his tail, but it's because he loves you, and you've left him alone too much. Dogs are pack animals.  They need to be with you--you are their top dog.  If you can't spend a lot of time with him, don't get a dog.)

Do you hate it when you or your guests get dog hair on their clothes?  (You will get dog hair on your clothes.  Your guests will get dog hair on their clothes.  Don't get a dog.)

Do you think it's okay to "try out" a dog, because you can give him to somebody else if it doesn't work out?  (It's not okay.  Unless it is a true issue of safety, make it work.  If you're not sure for any reason, don't get a dog.)

Do you plan to leave the dog outside for a week or so when you go away, since the dog loves it outside, and that way it's easier for you?  (That poor animal will bark day and night out of boredom and loneliness, and your neighbors will complain and they will hate you and your dog.  Don't get a dog.)

[caption id="attachment_1202" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Home at last"][/caption]

However.  If all these possible problems truthfully wouldn't bother you, if you feel you have passed the test, that you've thought about all the particulars and the eventualities, and that you are willing to care for and love this dog for the rest of his days on earth, well then, okay.  You can get a dog.  I hope you'll go the shelter to get one that someone else got rid of.  Because don't forget:  shelter dogs are grateful--they know.

Autumn in New York? No, it's Vacaville! (and...Happy Thanksgiving!)

You may already have an inkling of how much I love fall.  Cool weather, rain, sweaters--I love all of it.  And now, Vacaville is doing Mother Nature proud.  We are amassing quite a quantity of the most gorgeous autumn colors.  Hard to believe these pictures are taken here in Vacaville. Look how picturesque we are!  This could be some little town in New England.  I've heard that the fall color is diminishing in the eastern states due to climate change.  Maybe we'll get to have our own fall color now.We won't talk about the fact that the Christmas banners are already up downtown.  The city is probably just being efficient.  But look!  It's just so pretty!Okay, last one, this time of one of my favorite haunts, the Vacaville Public Library (the old new library, as opposed to the new new library--I love them both).  Yes, we have two.  It's fantastic.

I'm in the process of getting ready for Thanksgiving.  We are an intimate little group this year, so I tried to decide which of the usual side dishes should get the axe.  Due to extensive lobbying, all  have been spared.  There will be lots of leftovers, that's for sure.  This way I won't have to cook until about Tuesday!  What's the line-up, you ask?  Well, hors d'ouevres are minimal--don't want everyone filling up, what with all those side dishes on deck.  Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts and marcona almonds are the extent of the pre-dinner snacks.  Oh--and prosecco.  Then we move on to a little salad with pears and blue cheese, with shallot vinaigrette.  We have a jello salad, a vestige from 1967, that we cannot bear to part with (and plus it's really good--it has a little wine in it!). Cranberries,  just the recipe on the bag.  Rolls--this year I'm trying the buttermilk dinner rolls from the Williams Sonoma book, Cooking at Home.  Sweet potatoes, corn pudding, creamed spinach, brussels sprouts with shallots, peas with bacon and garlic, traditional bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, the make-ahead gravy I made a couple of weeks ago that has been relaxing in the freezer,  and, of course, turkey.  The option of pinot noir or sauvignon blanc to wash it all down.  And then pumpkin pie or pecan pie.  Whew!  My waistband is tightening just thinking about it.  An embarrassment of riches, yes, but certainly nothing expensive or extravagant.

Thankfulness, certainly, is the theme of the day on Thursday.  Hasn't been a great year, all in all.  But then I look around, and I see so many struggling so hard, and I am thankful we're still hanging on.  Some months it's by our toenails, but hanging on we are.  Jean Paul Richter (1763 - 1825) said that "For sleep, riches, and health to be truly enjoyed, they must be interrupted."  So true!  Maybe these past few years have been our interruption.  Maybe we were a bit complacent, a bit spoiled, and now we are paying a price.  So let's be thankful for any lessons we learn, however painful they may be, so that we don't get in this mess again.  And be thankful for families and friends, the most important things of all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kindle Fire? Or Gin Lane??

I'm not one for devices.  I could lose my cell phone tomorrow and not miss it.  Sometimes I leave it in my purse and forget to check it for hours.  HDTV?  It's very nice, but I was fine with LDTV.  I will, however, admit that I do love my iPod.  And now I have another love.  I got an Amazon Kindle Fire (birthday gift).  This morning it was 11:45 and I was still in dressing gown and jammies.  You know that engraving by William Hogarth, "Gin Lane"?  Okay, see that woman on the stairs who looks quite inebriated and seems to have dropped her baby over the railing (the parallel does not continue to her exposed bosom, however--it's a cold morning and I was in flannel, thank you very much)?  That was me this morning.  But instead of a tin of snuff in her hands, imagine that she's holding a Kindle Fire.  Kerchief askew, hair in disarray, goofy smile on her lips, environment a shambles...yup, me (well, maybe not the kerchief).  Although I was not loaded on cheap gin (this time), I did have a dirty coffee cup on the table, a full dishwasher, and kids wandering around, wondering what was for breakfast ("I don't know--a cookie?"), while I browsed.  I reserved two books at the real library, borrowed one book from Amazon's library, and got a free 90-day subscription to Architectural Digest. I listened to some of my music (it's hooked up to Amazon's Cloud, so all my music is automatically on my Kindle) with the surprisingly good speaker.  A waste of time?  Perhaps.  But so fun!  If you are thinking of getting one, at this point I certainly recommend it (it's not been 24 hours yet since it arrived).  No, I don't have any information on how well the battery lasts, etc. But it feels good in your hand--kind of heavy, kind of solid feeling.  I've never felt an iPad, so maybe that's how it feels, too, but I don't know.   It is intuitive to use (which is part of why I like the iPod so much), even for someone like me who isn't a techie person.  So while some of its attributes (good hand-feel, ease of use) may be borrowed from Apple, the price is much better.  I will use it for surfing, some reading (don't think I'll ever give up on paper), and playing on Amazon and the library website.  With usage like that, $500 seems a bit steep for a notepad, which is I think about where the price starts for an iPad.  The Kindle is $200, which is more manageable.   Alright, well, I must put away the metaphorical rot-gut gin and attend to my duties, so that I can get back to doing...uh...other...things.

Yet Another Holy Grail: Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

[caption id="attachment_1084" align="alignnone" width="144" caption="Autumnal scenery"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1085" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Indoor autumnal scenery"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1086" align="alignright" width="240" caption="And yet more autumnal scenery"][/caption]

Guess what I did today?  I made the gravy for Thanksgiving!   This recipe does not involve jarred or powdered or canned gravy that you enliven with...with...other stuff.  Rather, this uses actual turkey parts you roast yourself.  Is it cost effective?  Not particularly.  Is it worth every penny?  You bet your sweet bippy.

And yes, it is only November 10, but gravy can be kind of hard--it has to be done at the last minute, and it is subject to the whims of your drippings, your flour, your whisking, and your attention span (and maybe your pre-dinner wine consumption?).  When you are making a multi-course dinner for 11 of your closest friends, making the gravy right before dinner is served tends to be a teensy bit stressful.  Lumpy?  Runny?  Not enough?  The mind reels.  For the last few years I have followed the recipe in Ann Hodgman's Beat This for Chicken Gravy, except I doubled it (we are big gravy fans, and we like gravy with the leftovers, thank you very much) ad libbed it a little bit, and ended up with Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy.  This is a bit time consuming, but think how glad--indeed, how thankful--you'll be that you've freed up all that pre-dinner potato mashing, cream whipping time.

First of all, buy some turkey parts, say up to a month before Thanksgiving.  This time I bought three turkey thighs and three turkey necks (mostly because all they had at Safeway was thighs and necks).  Thighs make a good amount of drippings, and I used the necks for the stock . You could use wings and giblets (not the liver), too, for the stock, or use drumsticks for roasting. See what they have at the store.

[caption id="attachment_1078" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Flour lightly tanned from the oven"][/caption]

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.While you get the thighs ready, put 12 Tbl. of flour on a cookie sheet and put in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir flour to mix the browned and still white flour together, and return to oven for 4 more minutes. Set aside. Place the thighs, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.  Spread them with a little butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put a little water in the bottom of the pan so that the drippings don't smoke and scorch and make your oven messy, to boot. Roast the thighs at 425 degrees for about an hour, maybe a little more, depending on how big they are.

[caption id="attachment_1079" align="alignright" width="300" caption="How your thighs should look when they are done (well, the turkey's thighs)"][/caption]

While the thighs roast, make the stock:  place in a large stock pot the turkey necks, 2 or 3 carrots cut in chunks, 3 sticks of celery in chunks, 3 large onions cut into slabs, 5 whole cloves garlic, peeled, 2 tsp. whole peppercorns, handful of fresh parsley, 1 Tbl. dried thyme, 2 tsp. dried sage, approx. 30 oz. chicken broth (canned is fine!), 4 cups of water, and 3/4 cup vermouth or white wine.  Bring to a boil, then let simmer for a couple of hours.  Skim the scum on the surface if you need to.  Let the stock simmer until reduced by about one-quarter. When it's done, pour the stock and veggies through a sieve into a jug or bowl.  Press down on the veggies to get all the juices out, then discard the veggies.  Keep the stock handy.

[caption id="attachment_1080" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Stock ingredients"][/caption]

Remove the rack and cooked turkey from the roasting pan.  Place the roasting pan on a low flame on the stove, and start to stir and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan (the "fond").  If you don't have enough drippings, which happens often, add some canola oil, a little at a time, until you have approximately 10 or so tablespoons of drippings and oil combined.  Increase the heat, keep stirring, and listen for the drippings to start to sizzle.  Using a fine sieve, start to sift in the

[caption id="attachment_1081" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Heating the drippings"][/caption]

browned flour you made earlier, a few tablespoons at a time, into the drippings, stirring the flour and drippings into a paste.  Keep doing this until you have just about 2 Tbl. of flour left, and reserve the 2 Tbl. of flour.  If you are having a hard time making the paste (the "roux"), you could add a little stock to moisten things up and help make the paste.  When all (except the 2 Tbl.) of the flour has been incorporated, start to add the warm (or hot) stock, a ladleful at a time, to the roasting pan.  Start whisking, making sure to keep the growing gravy moving.  Lower the heat if necessary, and keep adding stock until the consistency is, as Ann

[caption id="attachment_1082" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Finished product"][/caption]

Hodgman says, gravy-ish.  If it's become too thick, add a little more stock.  If it doesn't seem thick enough, sieve the remaining flour, a little bit at a time, into the gravy, whisking well.  Taste the gravy--more salt? pepper? vermouth? garlic powder? thyme?  Keep tasting til you're happy--you'll know what it needs.

Let the gravy cool, transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze until Thanksgiving (I wouldn't freeze it for longer than a month).  Let thaw overnight in the fridge.  An hour or two before dinner, place thawed

[caption id="attachment_1083" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Ready for the freezer"][/caption]

gravy in a saucepan. It may be much thicker now, so feel free to add some canned chicken broth, a little at a time, to thin it.  Heat slowly over low, then medium-low, heat. Taste for seasoning again.  Pour into a warmed gravy boat.  Be thankful.

Cider, Music, and Movies

Truly a delight, on a rainy November evening....



Some previous day, hopefully you went to Trader Joe's and bought a bottle of their spiced apple cider.  And at some other point in your travels, hopefully you happened to pick up some Calvados (apple brandy from France).  Now all you have to do is heat the spiced cider in a mug (the microwave is fine--let's not make more work here), and when it's done, pour in a shot of Calvados.  I feel quite sure you will be pleased.

And while you are knocking back a spiked cider (or two?) maybe a little something on the stereo?  Maybe Christopher O'Riley's Out of My Hands (all piano music--get it?).  Or Tony Bennett Sings the Ultimate American Songbook, Volume 1.  His version of "The Way You Look Tonight" is so lovely, so wistful.  It's one of my favorite songs, and so different from Frank Sinatra's more upbeat version (even though I love that one, too).

What about something to read?  I just finished Amor Towles' Rules of Civility, which I very much enjoyed.  Very F. Scott Fitzgerald-ish, what with an introspective, somewhat cash-strapped, heroine who is caught up in the world of wealthy socialites.  Kind of reminded me of the Nick Carraway character in The Great Gatsby.

Or how about a movie?  It's still a bit too early for Christmas movies (well, at least for most people, myself not exactly included...), so how about something like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir?  Gene Tierney is so beautiful, and Rex Harrison so dashing (albeit crabby...), it's excellent rainy-day/night fodder.  Or for something completely different, what about Keeping Mum?  Rowan Atkinson is an absent-minded vicar, Kristin Scott Thomas is his randy wife, and Maggie Smith is their charming, though rather homicidal, housekeeper.

So there you go.  You have all the information you need to have a relaxing, entertaining evening tomorrow night.  Enjoy!

Fall Decorating (and Molasses Cookies)

I like to do a little decorating around the house for fall.  When the kids were little, decorations were heavy on the Halloween.  But as they've grown older, I've gone to a more generic autumnal...thing.  I bought several antique amber glass fairy lamps to use for candles, and they look both warm and sparkly when the candles are lit. On the mantlepiece, surrounded by red-tailed hawk feathers we found, needle-felted wool acorns, and porcelain pumpkins, the fairy lamps are my little harbingers of autumn.  And while I love Christmas and its trappings, I must say I love the fact that my fall decorating is done in about 20 minutes (as opposed to Christmas decorating, which takes all day).

We do put up some Halloween decorations; it's just not the focus anymore.  My surprised Jack- o'-Lanterns make me smile, and I still put out other little bits and pieces that remind me of small children dressed like lions or pumpkins.  The holidays change as our families change, and sometimes that makes me a bit sad. But onward and upward!  Just as my fairy lamps are the harbinger of fall, change is the harbinger of life going on, and that's a good thing.

But some things do stay the same.  Cinnamon, cloves, and ginger are an integral part of autumn. Even though I'll make these cookies in, say, May, they are really quintessential autumn sweets.  Now as far as these molasses cookies go, this is a recipe that my mother got from Auntie Sally, the dear friend she met when my sister was in preschool, lo these 40-odd years ago (egad!).  The recipe states it's from 1966.  It's easy and reliable, and it only makes a few dozen, which is nice when you don't want to be baking for hours.  Use full-flavor molasses, not the light flavor or gentle flavor or however they put it. It's integral to the taste. And please do not get all uppity about the use of shortening--these are my very favorite molasses cookies. Oh, I go catting around, trying out other recipes, but my little 45-year-old recipe card sits and patiently waits for me, knowing I'll be back.  And I always am.

Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

5 Tbl. dark molasses ( I only use Brer Rabbit full flavor, green label)

2 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet or use a Silpat instead. Mix all ingredients.  Roll into 1 inch balls, place on cookie sheet and press down lightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Monarchs, Autumn, and Lantana in Vacaville

The autumn monarch butterfly migration is underway. I think word finally got out on the  Migration Superhighway, and the word on the street is that we have fantastic nectar snacks for the road--the lantana is a huge hit with the monarch butterflies!  We've got more butterflies this year than we've ever had before, even though we've had the lantana for years.  I am always one to look for omens and signs (seems like a bad habit I should stop), so I cannot help but wonder what the butterfly bonanza means.  Of course there is all the symbolism of change and rebirth, which may certainly have a role in my life these days.  But I was actually thinking of more of a weather type of thing.  I love the cold and rainy weather so much that I'm always looking for signs of impending heavy weather--lots of walnuts on the tree? Check.  Fluffy tails on the squirrels?  Got 'em.  So lots of butterflies...they need to get out of town en masse because of the coming harsh winteriness?  I can only hope.  But look at these flowers--if I was a butterfly I would certainly stop by--they're gorgeous.

I strongly recommend planting lantana here in Vacaville.  It does have a rather pungent scent that some people don't like (I have grown to like it because I love these plants, and when I can smell it I know pool time is coming), but as long as you don't crush the leaves, you won't smell it.  Butterflies and birds, especially hummingbirds, seem to adore it.

My gardening philosophy is that the strong will survive.  I'm not a big fan of gardening, but I do want the yard to look nice.  Our lantana thrives on my benign neglect.  It grows in full blazing sun, gets minimal water (a deep drippering about every week, even in summer), and comes back after being "killed" by the frost.  Some years we cut off all the dead wood left after the frost (the plant turns brown and black, looking as though it caught fire), and sometimes we don't.  Doesn't matter.  It comes back thick and lush every year.  The lantana loves it here, and we love the lantana!

Lying on the couch...

I've been channeling Snow White's missing three dwarfs, Barfy, Poopy, and Dizzy (uh-oh...feel I may have crossed a line), these last few days.  Today I feel somewhat on the mend, so I settled myself on the couch to find a good movie.  I found it--Arabesque, from 1966, starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren.  I really have no idea what was going on.  I came in 10 minutes after it started and apparently lost most of the particulars of the plot.  Gregory Peck is a professor, Sophia Loren lives (in a room lined with the best red toile I have

[caption id="attachment_915" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="See the toile in the background?"][/caption]

ever seen--more white than red--so pretty.  Even the tiles in the bathroom are in the same toile.) as the mistress of a menacing Arab (--what? politician? gangster? I just don't know) who seems to have a touch of a foot fetish (he buys her lots of shoes and likes to massage her feet), and everyone is trying to kill each other while they seek the cypher. What the cypher tells them I--surprise!--don't know.

But what I do know about this movie is that the clothes were sensational!  When I first came in, Sophia made her entrance in an evening gown that would be so perfect for women of, say, my age.  I'm not sure if it was black or navy blue, but that is immaterial.  It had a very wide neckline, very low-cut (but without putting her girls out there in a sleazy way), a close-fitting bodice and full, sheer sleeves with feathers around the wrists.  So maybe not suitable for a dinner, but definitely for cocktails. Later on, she and Gregory Peck get chased around London and when she gets back home to her Arab lover, she takes off her great little white coat and reveals a very plain black sheath dress, 3/4 sleeves, below the knee, with a bateau neck.  But when she turns around, the back is U-shaped, down to almost her waist!  So sexy, so subtle.  I loved it.  Later they get chased around London some more (while in their pretty little red Mercedes) and she is wearing a very groovy shiny red raincoat, with knee-high black boots. Truly, the clothes were amazing--sorry I couldn't find a photo of the sheath dress.  I wish I had a dressmaker who could replicate these outfits, especially that little black sheath dress.  So many dresses are just too short!

Come to find out after I poked around online that it was a Dior wardrobe, valued at over $150,000 (at the time!).  So that's nice.  But if you're channeling your own dwarfs, due to illness or hangover (hey, these things happen), or just need some pretty clothes and some mindless entertainment, Arabesque is a great bet.

Three Good Things

Today I was...what?  involved with? user of? three very good things.

First of all, I finished the book What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.  Imagine getting a do-over of all the snarky, testy things you've said to your spouse (and spouse has said to you), and getting to see with fresh eyes the situations that led up to those comments.  Alice falls down at the gym, hits her head, and gets amnesia.  She awakes, thinking it is 10 years previous.  Imagine her shock, finding out that she's thin and in terrific shape, finding out that she has three children, and finding out that she and her beloved husband are divorcing.  It's an interesting take on an old idea, and I really enjoyed it.  What Alice Forgot is a wistful look at the way lives unexpectedly turn out,  and it's even a bit funny in spots.  I recommend it.

Secondly, I wore my new shoes when I went out for coffee this morning.  For some reason, I had a yen to get some moccasins to wear this fall.  Beaded moccasins.  What's that saying, "The heart has reasons of which the mind knows nothing"?  Well, beaded moccasins may not be what whoever said that had in mind, but, well,  there you go.  So anyway, I went to Zappos way back in July and got my mocs.  They are by Minnetonka, called Thunderbird Suede Boat Sole, and they are sooo comfy!  Now, no, they are not the most glamorous footwear I own, but they are comfortable, cozy, and fall-y, which is just what I wanted.  And they have a Top-Sider-type sole, so you could actually wear them in adverse conditions.  Or when you go boating (what, in your birchbark canoe?).

Finally, furthering my sartorial autumnal agenda, I put on my corduroy pants from L.L. Bean for the first time today (can you tell the weather was much cooler than it has been in ages?).  Once again, back in July I decided I wanted corduroy (hey, did you know that comes from the French corde du roi, meaning cord for the king, which is to say that this corded fabric used to be only worn by royalty?  I'm telling you, the things you learn, hanging out with me--I'm like Cliff Clavin) pants for fall.  Sooo, since LL is my new favorite store, I got a pair there.  I love them!  They are called Saturday Pants, they are boot cut, and I got them in the curvy fit.  Comfy and well-fitting right out of the gate, and very little skwiff-skwiff noise (you know, the noise corduroy sometimes makes when you walk?).

So now you have a good book to read and some comfy (apparently the word of the day) clothes to wear.  Yay Fall!

Gainful Employment

It's finally happened.  The Vacaville Housewife has begun climbing the corporate ladder.  Well, the corporate step stool at any rate. And it is, may I say, absolutely no fun whatsoever.

[caption id="attachment_859" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The raw material"][/caption]

I get home after everyone else is home, and I'm beyond tired, and I still have to make dinner.  I know, I should have spouse or offspring do it, but  I'm not willing to do that.  I still feel adamant that dinner (and food in general) is my responsibility and I will persevere!  I didn't want to go back to work yet, but needs must, and so here I am.  When I was growing up my mother worked, but she was home by about 4:00, and we had housecleaning help.  If that scenario was on deck, I'd feel much better.  But sadly, it's not, so I content myself with planning my exit strategy, fantasizing about flinging down my papers and shouting, "I quit!"

Until that dramatic day, however,  I am left juggling grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry.  On the weekend, I make three lists of dinners:  make-ahead (to, uh, make, you know, ahead) quick and easy (to make on work nights), and regular (to make on weekends).  And as far as baking goes, well, there just isn't a lot of time for that.  Which makes me sad.  A quick and easy cookie that my mother used to make has always been one of my favorites, and it is also one of my children's favorites.  They are called Valley Cookies (though I'm not sure why, since they look more like little hills.  I also make what my children call Cave Cookies, so we have all the landforms covered.  But more on those another time.), and you don't even have to bake them.   You make them on top of the stove, leave them in the fridge to harden, and they take literally five minutes to make.  Do it before bed, and you'll have cookies for lunches tomorrow.

Valley Cookies  makes about 3 dozen

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk (I use whole milk)

1 stick butter (4 oz.)

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

4 Tbl. Hershey's unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

3 1/4 cups oats (quick cooking or old-fashioned--I use old-fashioned)

[caption id="attachment_861" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Miss Congeniality cookies"][/caption]

Place butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat.  Add sugar and milk.  Increase heat and bring to a boil.  Boil for one minute.  Remove from heat. Quickly add the peanut butter, cocoa, and vanilla, and mix well.  Now add the oats (no dilly-dallying--you don't want the mixture to set up before you get the oats all mixed in).  Cool mixture slightly, for just a few minutes.  Drop mixture by tablespoons onto a greased or Silpat-covered baking sheet. You can also cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap, and drop the cookies onto the plastic.  Put the uncovered baking sheet in the fridge and let cookies harden.  When hard, remove from sheet and store tightly covered in the fridge.  They won't win any beauty contests for cookies,  but they sure are tasty.  And they get tastier when you think  how it took you about five minutes to make them.