Ay yi yi

Bad enough we've had 8 feet of snow in the past 3 weeks.

Now this!

Saturday 21 February, 9:30 am
That was the thermometer in my car yesterday morning. It was -12° F (-24° C) when I got up. And even though today is almost 40° and raining it will be back below 0 tonight with little relief in sight.

The weather isn't the Big Story around here these days. It's the *only* story these days. Roofs have collapsed all over the region.

Driving can be treacherous

So can walking. This was over a week ago. It's almost like walking in a tunnel now.

And the deer must be really desperate to be out like this in broad daylight. This is from my living room window at 9:30 Thursday morning. In 25 years now I've only seen this a couple of times.

Enough already! I am *so* looking forward to spring!

Looks like winter

Courtesy of a New Year's Nor'easter.

We're close enough to the coast to have Nor'easters give us the occasional blizzard but we're spared the coastal flooding. We got snow. This is New England. It snows here in the wintertime. I mean really, the way the local news carries on you'd think we never saw snow before. And the way people drive. Don't get me started! I don't recall when the thought first occurred to me but there must be a lot of people here came from someplace else.

And when did this bread and milk thing start?! They forecast snow and the supermarket's are out of bread and milk within minutes. And cold cuts! A few years ago I watched in amazement as people lined up at the deli counter buying cheese and cold cuts 2 and 3 pounds at a time. I won't go anywhere near a supermarket when there's a storm in the forecast!

From my office window. 3 January 10:00 am.
I really don't mind the snow so much. What I *really* hate is the cold.

The cold?

The cold! 4 January 7:00 am. -4° F
I absolutely *hate* the cold and some serious cold came in behind this last storm. I do pretty good even down into the single digits but I'm seriously miserable when it goes below 0. This is about as cold as we've had in 3 years or so. *Everything* is hard in the cold. I grow less tolerant of the cold every year.

But remember. Yankees don't move. Not real ones anyway. I think I better go get some soup started.

Soup season!

We had our first freeze of the season here this morning. Comfort food season is back. Comfort food has to include soup!

This was my favorite soup from last Winter and might even be the best thing I made all year.

My take on this French Lentil Soup. Although I didn't use French lentils I think the tarragon makes it "French". The beautiful color comes from the paprika. I added slices of browned polish sausage. I was positively delighted with this soup!

French lentil soup
I hate the cold. But last night's freeze will free us from the bugs for a while and we'll still have a few nice days left. Of course soup and fresh bread make the cold a little more bearable! Maybe this year I'll try using French lentils.

Cold and windy

Yesterday was cold. Not too bad really but the wind was just awful. And of course the footing was frozen hard and uneven. Eight or 10 inches of snow usually makes for good footing at least.

Desperate for something to do with L I bundled up and we went for a walk.

15 January 2012. Cold. Windy!
I think I had a better time than L did. She kept giving me dirty looks. We walked for 2 or 3 miles and of course she was a rock star. I've blogged about this walking thing before. You'd think the sense of partnership and teamwork would be boldest when we ride. But no, I find I feel a greater sense of our "working together" when we walk.

We haven't walked in a long time now. Being able to go out and just have a pleasant walk, without having done so in a while, in the cold and the wind, is a huge achievement.

---

I spent most of that walk thinking how good a hot chocolate was going to be when I got home. Then, on the drive home, I changed my mind. I decided to try a Woodchuck hard cider. I've *never* had hard cider! Shocking I know.

Excellent stuff! Two thumbs up!
They didn't have a variety pack, so, for no real reason, I chose Amber style. I really enjoyed the Amber style hard cider and I'll definitely be trying other styles.

Officially Miserable

There goes the heating bill.

23 January 2011 7:00 am

Bring. Me. In.
This time of year it seems I do an awful lot of this...

We did ride yesterday but we weren't gone long. We got whacked pretty good by that last storm.

L is strong and she's fit but she is off her peak. It's hard to keep your training on track without indoor facilities this time of year. I could really feel her working in the deep snow and she stumbled on a berm left behind by a plow. A nice enough ride as it was but much more and it would have been more work than fun. Which is ok when it's necessary but when it isn't? Not so much.

So of course comfort food comes immediately to mind when it's cold and snowy. This is a classic comfort food favorite! Creamed salmon with peas on toast.

Here's some interesting trivia! This recipe was first published in The Lookout Cookbook (pdf) in 1938 by the US Forest Service. It's on page 14. I'm partial to rustic food and this is about as rustic as it gets.

Basically, you make a white sauce, add canned salmon, mushy peas, and serve it over toast.

I have messed with the recipe. I've used fresh grilled salmon, I've used fresh poached salmon, I've added mushrooms, pearl onions, I've used frozen baby peas, I've used fresh peas, I've added dill, and cilantro, and parsley, and *nothing* beats the original recipe. Except for a pinch of salt it's all right here:

Make a white sauce. Use equal parts butter and flour. Melt the butter in a skillet, whisk in the flour, and when it's all pasty, add whole milk, about a half cup for each tablespoon of butter.

The canned salmon works best. And the mushy peas from a can. I make a somewhat thick white sauce and I thin it out with the liquid from the peas. Canned salmon has bones so open the can into a bowl and pick the bones out. The last thing I do I add the peas to the sauce. You just want them warmed and you don't want them to get all beat up.

Use a really nice rustic crusty bread for your toast.

This is right up there with meatloaf, macaroni and cheese and pot roast when it comes to the ultimate in comfort food.

And remember! Brandy is a fine dessert any time!

Oh I hate this

I really do.
10 December 2010 7:19 am
It's a little early in the season for the pond to be frozen this solid. I just hate the cold!

11 December 2010 8:15 am
Here's the same shot a little less than 2 months ago. Not so bad:

17 October 2010 8:56 am
This might help. It's a favorite!

Lentil soup

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This is so easy!

• mirepoix, about 1/3 cup each celery, carrot and onion, finely chopped, I like to make sure some celery leaf gets chopped in there
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  
• Pinch of salt
  
• Generous pinch of Italian Seasoning
  
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
  
• 2 cups chicken broth
  
• 14 1/2 oz. can chopped tomatoes
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1/3 cup lentils
  

Sweat the mirepoix with the garlic, Italian Seasoning and red pepper flakes in the olive oil for about 10 minutes with the pinch of salt.

Add the chicken broth and the bay leaf. When the chicken broth comes to a boil add the tomatoes. When it comes to a boil again let the tomatoes go at a ripping boil for a few minutes.

Rinse and add the lentils, reduce it to a simmer and cover for 35 minutes.

Pick out the bay leaf and tweak the salt before serving.

Just the thing when the season starts getting ugly cold.