Whiny me

So, after all my angst, the flowers are fine and I got a beautiful, warm Valentines Day morning out of the deal...

Here's....winter!

I'm so friggin glad that the spring flowers are all going into high gear - look at this mess...

Kermit-the-door

You should have seen it before I darkened the mix - positively radioactive! Reason #11 why Serena should not be left to her own devices.

Serena's bubble and squeak

Okay, so last night I was cooking for just myself (we'll not discuss the daily pork chop for the dogs here). I am not very good at making small quantities (just look at me). Anyhow, decided to use leftovers in the fridge for din-din, chow-down last night and actually came up with something halfway decent.*

First I nuked a smallish potato, then opened it up in a bowl and chunked up the innards a bit (to say mashed would be overstating the 20 seconds I spent in there with a fork).

Then I cut up some brussel sprouts and set them to boil just for a couple of minutes. While they were turning emerald, I set the last few strips of bacon to fry up and drained the grease off. Strained out the sprouts and added them to the bacon and cooked them on low heat together until the flavours had mingled a bit (hey, nice to meet ya).

Finally dumped the mix on top of the potato & added a pat of butter to secure the deal. After all, I had to make up for draining off that grease!

Yummy, quick and smelly - rather like Curt's feet after a long day in the sneakers - I still can't stay away from 'em...



Today I am making a vegetable/bean soup. Toot-toot :)

*This isn't going to make much sense to those not in favour of brussel sprouts (Adam, you might as well skip this entry altogether) as I used them in place of cabbage.

In the garden

As you can see, I am terribly proud of our quinces. The bigger one has been in for a couple of years now and it is getting quite grand. The little guys should catch up soon as they are in a nice protected spot with a lot of afternoon light.

Looking out my window - I can see why there are so many watercoulours of quince blooms. Maybe we should be planting plum, cherry and almond trees next. Somehow, don't think they would thrive in the dry shady slope that is our yard.

Sam Walker

Sam taught me painting, drawing and printmaking while I was at UMass Boston. He was also my counselor and mentor. He showed me how to accomplish some of the things that come to mind without trying to influence what that should be. He coaxed me thru some of the ugly duckling phases (still can't draw a straight line, but now I know that doesn't matter). Best of all, he turned me on to Coltrane!

He died from cancer. I graduated in spring 99, and he was gone by mid-October. Came across this picture and it made me happy...

Bistro Sophia

The man of the house is migrating north for a few days and decided to go for broke (literally) to please me before ditching us. He knows that the way to my heart is thru my mouth (really it's the only way without causing instantaneous death).

So, it was a tough decision between 223, Porticello (for some reason I can only find their MA location online, but assume that the menu here is similar if not the same) or Bistro Sophia. 223 is yum, but we'd been there before and I was feeling adventurous (Serena the haggis eater). The Porticello menu intrigues me, but decided on Bistro Sophia in the end.

Their website currently has the January menu online, and since they had sample menus by the door, I snagged one so you could see what was on offer...

We had a gluttonous evening (surprise, surprise). First things first, I chose a bottle of Kenneth Volk Vineyards Pinot Grigio. It was light and not too sweet - just right (I'm always interested in the restaurant markup on wine, and while I'm sure it's just as ridiculous in this case, it still wasn't too costly).

Mr. got the country pate to start with. I've had some fairly awful versions in the past and was actually a bit hesitant, but it was soooo tasty! Our revenge on the geese that keep fouling the lakes here. It came wrapped in something along the lines of pancetta and with the other little sweets/savory bits on the plate, it was great.

We both ordered the roasted beet and spinach salad. It was simple and scrumptious. We are not necessarily big beet fans. I think that usually people add way too many and they overpower the whole plate. Also, it should be noted that there is a big difference between canned and ordinary beets (think of spam vs actual ham on this one). So, this had just four bites of beet which made an interesting compliment to the chevre and spinach.

Next we were on to our main courses. He got the special which was a gynormous serving of flounder, some Israeli couscous and haricot vert (that's green beans for the rest of us nincompoops). I was impressed at how much my dear got thru, but he did admit to being in a wee bit of discomfort by that point.

She (hey, that's me) ordered the seared duck. It's not something that I often seek out, but figured this was the place for it. It was delectable! They recommended it medium-rare, but Curt made sure it was medium. That was a smart intervention on behalf of my immature palate. They could have just served me a plate with the sauce and I would have been content.

He ended with a glass of Kopke 30 Year Old Fine Tawny Port and I went for a pot of earl grey to sober up on and a beautiful lemon tart with a pistachio crust and some kind of crazy-delicious wine/berry sauce.

Part of the great pleasure we got from this dinner was the relaxing atmosphere (the whole place seemed really clean - I even noticed a lovely floral smell that did not seem to emanate from a nearby glade plug-in). In warmer weather, they have a back patio with pretty landscaping around. We also got to enjoy this view as the room we were in had big picture windows. Our waiter Alex was great about not rushing us, making good suggestions and spending time talking with us. The next time, we will be looking for him.