Ryah

I got to visit Janina and Peter's baby today for the first time. This is 3-week old Ryah.

Ideas from the market, for Cherry. And anyone.

Today Cherry and I were discussing easy dishes to make from the things we get at the market. She inspired me with pickled beets, and I told her about the $1/pound tomatoes I've been throwing whole into a pot of olive oil and cooking for 3 hours. They can be used for sauce (blend and add grated Parmesan and egg yolks), as a side dish, on crostini, mixed with greens.... This evening I got to thinking of a few more simple things I've made recently:

Beluga lentils -- cook them in water or stock. Cool to room temp. Add chopped chervil and mint and drizzle with olive oil.

Roasted things: cut up apples, celery root, butternut squash, and shallots. Toss them with olive oil and stick them in the oven at 400 until they're all nice and brown.

This is one mom and I tried after hearing a bit of Carol's lecture at the New School of Cooking: Greens with dates (sliced lengthwise into matchsticks, if possible), pistachios, oranges, and goat cheese. We dressed it with white wine vinegar and olive oil.

Guess I'll add more as I think of them. Happy marketing.

Simple Dreams

You grade papers by lamplight.
I shell a colander of black-eyed peas.
Zig zag zig zag we sip our jars of wine.

Fig and Raspberry Almond Tarte

Crust:

1 cup butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
1 cup almonds, finely ground
1 cup ap flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
ice water as needed

Mix together ground almonds and flour. Add salt and sugar. Mix. Cut butter into flour mixture until it looks like course sand. Add just enough ice water so that the dough holds together. Gather dough into two equal balls and flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling:
12 oz fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup sugar
12 figs

Heat berries and sugar in a sauce pan until mixture resembles a watery jam. Depending on the berries, you may have to add a little water. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut figs in quarters lengthwise, set aside.

Roll out one disk of pie dough into 1/8 inch thick circle. Place in 8 or 9 inch tart pan. Place figs evenly around the bottom of the tart pan on top of the dough. Pour raspberry "sauce" over the figs to fill the pastry shell. Roll the second disk of pie dough into a 1/8 inch thick circle. Cut into 1 inch strips.

Lay strips along top of filling, attaching at the edges to the bottom crust and leaving a 1 inch gap between each strip. Turn the pie and place the rest of the strips are at a diagonal, forming a diamond shape of raspberry filling showing through. Don't worry about doing any sort of "basket weave" under-over thing. This dough is so buttery, it all just melts into itself anyway.

Bake at 400 for 30-45 minutes or until the crust is brown. If the outside part of the crust starts cooking too fast, turn the oven down to 350.

Serve with 1 cup whipped mascarpone cheese mixed with 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Happy Birthday to Me

I just bought myself 2 pounds of foie gras that will be seared in celebration of 30.

Electronic Company

4 am, lonely prone
Read. Type. Click.
I don't want to sleep alone.

"New message" shown.
Spam. Hype. Ick.
4 am, lonely prone.

Up, down phone.
Texting, texting, buttons stick--
I don't want to sleep alone.

Neighbor, Neighbor. are you home?
Toss. Turn. Kick.
4 am and lonely prone.

Lonley, lonely dial tone
Facebook status shtick.
I don't want to sleep alone.

Complain. Refrain. Moan.
Clock. Tock. Tick.
4 am--lonely prone--
I don't want to sleep alone.

Highlights of Last Night's Fondue Dinner

Orin in a green frilly apron.

Tom Jones on vinyl.

My nail that the cheese grater got.

Hot plum brandy.

2 bottles of Pellegrino all for me.

The cheese crust at the bottom of the pot.

Christa's running commentary on Michael Fisher's age.

Song and the stories she told.

Peaches soaked in Brandy for two days.