i am overcome with poison ivy; constellations of individual blisters behind both knees (they could be nasty squiter bites), a spattering of on my right shoulder and, well, my left forearm is grotesque. for two straight days last week i could be found in the woods behind the house pruning trees and clearing brush along the trail. i thought i was careful, i know what it looks like but on one pass down the slope i found myself in a sea of three leaves. at least now the kids can walk freely without the tickle of knee high saplings or prick of thorny vines.
i'm going to blame my anguish on chris stewart. had his novel not infected me with a deeper desire to commune with nature and take care of business i probably wouldn't be wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt right now to cover a hideous skin condition. but alas, driving over lemons is an incredible read. with humble optimism and generous detail stewart takes his reader over every bump along the experience of finding, buying and rebuilding a farm while at the same time being a foreign newcomer to the alpujarra region of southern spain. i've been through the spanish sierra nevada mountains before so i felt i was right there with him bridge building, tending the flock and drinking costa, the local wine.
in 1968 at the age of 17, stewart quit his gig as drummer for the band genesis and took up sheep shearing and travel writing. a short time after his split anthony phillips, the founding member, followed suit due to stage fright. i hate to compare but if i were going to quit a band that would go onto become one of the highest-selling artists of all time, i'd plead natuarlist.
this morning i went back down the trail in search of jewelweed, an herbal remedy for poison ivy rash. i found a handful, boiled it and soaked my forearm and shoulder with a rag for a good bit of time. it's very possible that the rash is too far gone for any type of treatment at this point but the foraging at least took my mind off the stinging irritation. reading it away also helps. i'm on the final chapter of michael pollan's omnivore's dilemma. already he has witnessed the extremes of the agriculture industry firsthand - our modern food chain: factory farming, conventional farming, organic farming, rotational farming. and now he is about to do some foraging of his own - for wild mushrooms in sonoma. his final endeavor is to experience the primordial food chain as hunter/gatherer. the fungi should go well with the wild pig.
i'll finish omnivore's dilemma today but seeing how impressionable I can be and where my enthusiasm can get me i think i'll wait until i reach the sierra nevadas in california and do like pollan: find a suitable companion before taking off on my own primordial adventure.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
clutching time
there are countless memorable moments to speak of during my visit with my mother last week. to name a few: lake and river swimming, boating, a saturday night fish fry, dinners on the patio, and late night movies in the cabin. but none top the quiet hours we spent, just the two of us, relaxing on the lawn. this was my first summer visit to the virginia mountain home my mother and step-father moved into just a few years ago. and with my journey west just four weeks away it's hard to say when i'll be back east, even harder to say where i'll be out west.
with books and beverages in hand, we converged on the lawn at midday while the kids contented themselves inside watching jake and josh and hannah montana. rarely did we get any reading done but the poignant choice of literature was inspiring enough to spark conversations about beautiful places and future and past lives. on my first night on the mountain i picked driving over lemons off the shelf; a travel experience novel by chris stewart published in 1999. while on the chaise lounge to my right my mother held the acclaimed under the tuscan sun, by frances mayes. both are personal accounts of building a home in a foreign land. with mom's house behind us and a view of the next ridge through the trees, italy and spain were not far away at all.
'this is the life' not only escaped my mother's lips but was written on her face. she had arrived and the accumulation of her life experience seemed to pass peacefully through her in a breath. while our personal realities are stretched to polar extremes our appreciation of those moments were shared. 'i'm taking only two bags to california,' i stated. she went on to tell me of the adventures she and my father had in the 60's moving from place to place. these are stories i can listen to and romantacize about for hours: six months in dublin, a studio apartment in washington dc, an a-frame house in idaho where my mother gardened and my father worked as an eco-friendly lumberjack. she insists they were not hippies or beatnicks (hard to believe when their cat was named after a character in a gogol novel).
sharing her stories of the past and my optimism for the future were more than i could ask for from her. dropping one life and career in search of something new is nothing unique, but the stories are. in those few hours we shared looking over the ridge, we clutched time and praised the unknown.
with books and beverages in hand, we converged on the lawn at midday while the kids contented themselves inside watching jake and josh and hannah montana. rarely did we get any reading done but the poignant choice of literature was inspiring enough to spark conversations about beautiful places and future and past lives. on my first night on the mountain i picked driving over lemons off the shelf; a travel experience novel by chris stewart published in 1999. while on the chaise lounge to my right my mother held the acclaimed under the tuscan sun, by frances mayes. both are personal accounts of building a home in a foreign land. with mom's house behind us and a view of the next ridge through the trees, italy and spain were not far away at all.
'this is the life' not only escaped my mother's lips but was written on her face. she had arrived and the accumulation of her life experience seemed to pass peacefully through her in a breath. while our personal realities are stretched to polar extremes our appreciation of those moments were shared. 'i'm taking only two bags to california,' i stated. she went on to tell me of the adventures she and my father had in the 60's moving from place to place. these are stories i can listen to and romantacize about for hours: six months in dublin, a studio apartment in washington dc, an a-frame house in idaho where my mother gardened and my father worked as an eco-friendly lumberjack. she insists they were not hippies or beatnicks (hard to believe when their cat was named after a character in a gogol novel).
sharing her stories of the past and my optimism for the future were more than i could ask for from her. dropping one life and career in search of something new is nothing unique, but the stories are. in those few hours we shared looking over the ridge, we clutched time and praised the unknown.
Friday, July 18, 2008
cucumelon
ah, peace and quiet. last night the kids went off to visit with their father so katie and i have the place to oursleves for a couple days, make that 36 hours. it's incredible how much one can learn about life while caring for 3 children day-in and day-out. after just two months they've definitely chopped me down to size and takin' the city girl right out of me. then again, so has this place.
with all the humity out there the chillins and myself stay busy indoors all day; harassing each other, watching the avatar, eating, working on art projects, and learning a few things here and there. luckily, the garden is on auto-pilot for the most part. elysia will be going into kindergarden so we're making efforts to learn the alphabet, how to write her name, and putting her shoes on the right feet. she's got these cute little dora the explorer sandals with velco buckles, so i tell her, "butterfly, pinky toe! the butterfly on the buckle meets to the pinky toe." she's getting it now and shows me every time.
as for mckenzie, we're keeping her up to snuff on words she learned in kindergarden. and kenny is practicing cursive and reading to us out loud. it's not easy - it's summer time. i'm lucky if they can concentrate for 30 minutes. it's fascinating nonetheless. hand-eye coordination, mental visualization, patience - these are aquired skills! i can remember learning cursive. today it seems antiquated; a holdover from a time when handwriting was common practice. have you written a cursive F, Q or Z recently?
anyhow, this quiet time also gives me a moment to reflect on the developments in the garden. so far we've been enjoying a bounty of zucchini, yellow squash, green eggplant, basil, mint, thyme, cucumbers, and watercress. the tomatoes are green and booming, the itchiban eggplant is making its way, and the cantelope has got about a week to go, maybe less. i regret having not better treated the soil before planting, but there really wasn't the time and i figured what the hay, see what happens.
the effects aren't quite clear yet, but i'm seeing signs. the swiss chard looks robust, however, the color is dull as with the kale. could be they're not fully mature yet, but still they don't look quite right. another effect from the soil could be the appearance and taste of the cucumbers. they aren't turning fully green and the portion nearest the stem is bitter. could be soil or it could be cross-pollination with the watermelon. after i planted the cucs 2 rogue watermelon plants from last year popped up in the same bed. later i learned they should not be planted near to each other because the bees will go from one plant to the next and mess up the flavor. oh well, we might have some cucumber flavored watermelon.
with all the humity out there the chillins and myself stay busy indoors all day; harassing each other, watching the avatar, eating, working on art projects, and learning a few things here and there. luckily, the garden is on auto-pilot for the most part. elysia will be going into kindergarden so we're making efforts to learn the alphabet, how to write her name, and putting her shoes on the right feet. she's got these cute little dora the explorer sandals with velco buckles, so i tell her, "butterfly, pinky toe! the butterfly on the buckle meets to the pinky toe." she's getting it now and shows me every time.
as for mckenzie, we're keeping her up to snuff on words she learned in kindergarden. and kenny is practicing cursive and reading to us out loud. it's not easy - it's summer time. i'm lucky if they can concentrate for 30 minutes. it's fascinating nonetheless. hand-eye coordination, mental visualization, patience - these are aquired skills! i can remember learning cursive. today it seems antiquated; a holdover from a time when handwriting was common practice. have you written a cursive F, Q or Z recently?
anyhow, this quiet time also gives me a moment to reflect on the developments in the garden. so far we've been enjoying a bounty of zucchini, yellow squash, green eggplant, basil, mint, thyme, cucumbers, and watercress. the tomatoes are green and booming, the itchiban eggplant is making its way, and the cantelope has got about a week to go, maybe less. i regret having not better treated the soil before planting, but there really wasn't the time and i figured what the hay, see what happens.
the effects aren't quite clear yet, but i'm seeing signs. the swiss chard looks robust, however, the color is dull as with the kale. could be they're not fully mature yet, but still they don't look quite right. another effect from the soil could be the appearance and taste of the cucumbers. they aren't turning fully green and the portion nearest the stem is bitter. could be soil or it could be cross-pollination with the watermelon. after i planted the cucs 2 rogue watermelon plants from last year popped up in the same bed. later i learned they should not be planted near to each other because the bees will go from one plant to the next and mess up the flavor. oh well, we might have some cucumber flavored watermelon.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
in memory
griffin mckenzie2000 - 2008
griffin died last thursday from cardiac arrest while undergoing anesthesia. i brought him to the vet wednesday evening for an infection on his paw. because he wouldn't behave in the doctor's care, he had to be held overnight and sedated the next morning for a very simple cleaning. because the cause of death is so rare, they believe he must have had an underlying heart condition.
bogie barnes2003 - 2008
bogie never came home wednesday night last week, which is very unlike him. we found him under the camper thursday morning. he had been shot. annie was also shot, but survived and is doing well.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
garden view
watermelon
dang horse ate my corn!
sunflowers
cantelope
green eggplant
cucumber on a trellis
broccoli
Monday, July 7, 2008
we went, we ate
after a seven hour drive in holiday traffic katie and i made our way across the manhattan bridge into brooklyn at 10pm thursday night. there were reports of major delays on i-95 so we stuck to alternate routes from virginia, past baltimore. some parts of the drive were lovely - farm land and small towns - until we hit the strip-mall armpit of southern maryland, la plata and waldorf. at least traffic was moving. 
on saturday we headed to manhattan for some chinatown/ little italy/ soho action. my first idea was to grab a couple vietnamese sandwishes to-go, but the weather wasn't conducive to eating in the park so we went for vietnamese, dine-in. pho bang on mott street is where to go. i ordered vermicelli noodles with grilled shrimp and katie got the classic pho ga, chicken noodle soup. the first time i went to bang was well before i had moved to nyc, and i've been going ever since. it's cheap and unpretentious; just what you need after a long walk through the glut and glamour of soho.
later we happened upon a delicious plum tart at once upon a tart, and for dinner, coal oven pizza at arturo's. typically i'd take visitors to the famous lombardi's but in my opinion arturo's coal oven pies are outstanding and the ambiance is more enjoyable. the front room is dark but has bright charming windows that face houston street. and in the back of the room, live jazz to top it off. lombardi's is just too crowded even after the recent expansion.
what can i say, we hit the ground eating. our first stop was chez oskar; a small french bistro and long time establishment of fort greene, brooklyn. it was late enough that we had no problem getting a table outside. katie had a burger, i had a crab cake and we both had a stella artois to wash it down. that was just beginning.
friday morning we stuck to our plan: my homemade muffins for breakfast. after a stroll through the old neighborhood we headed to red hook for petanque. red hook isn't your typical tourist destination, it's gritty and industrial, but it's got some gems and pit stop is one of them. the restaurant itself is tiny, seats maybe 25, but the garden is where it's at: sheltered outdoor seating and 4 petanque courts. i've been there a couple times before but i never tried the food, just the hoegaarden. this time i tried the hanger steak sandwich (they were out of merguez). it came on a brioche roll with an incredible remoulade sauce. the whole thing just melts in your mouth, if you order it rare like i did. katie and i then proceeded to kick some butt in petanque.
believe it or not we had room in our bellies for a friendly back yard bbq: savory pasteries, blue cheese, walnut and cranberry salad, thyme burgers and all-american hot dogs.
believe it or not we had room in our bellies for a friendly back yard bbq: savory pasteries, blue cheese, walnut and cranberry salad, thyme burgers and all-american hot dogs.
on saturday we headed to manhattan for some chinatown/ little italy/ soho action. my first idea was to grab a couple vietnamese sandwishes to-go, but the weather wasn't conducive to eating in the park so we went for vietnamese, dine-in. pho bang on mott street is where to go. i ordered vermicelli noodles with grilled shrimp and katie got the classic pho ga, chicken noodle soup. the first time i went to bang was well before i had moved to nyc, and i've been going ever since. it's cheap and unpretentious; just what you need after a long walk through the glut and glamour of soho. 
later we happened upon a delicious plum tart at once upon a tart, and for dinner, coal oven pizza at arturo's. typically i'd take visitors to the famous lombardi's but in my opinion arturo's coal oven pies are outstanding and the ambiance is more enjoyable. the front room is dark but has bright charming windows that face houston street. and in the back of the room, live jazz to top it off. lombardi's is just too crowded even after the recent expansion.
with just two full days to explore new york, i'd say we did pretty well for ourselves, i mean our stomaches. i was totally prepared to head uptown - stroll around central park and through times square - but it didn't happen. in the end it was a stroll through my culinary paradise. new york taught me how to eat and the meaning of good food. i think katie got the full lesson.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
muffin to-go, please
this afternoon katie and i are heading north to nyc. there is still a bunch of stuff at the old apartment i need to cart down to virginia, so what better time to go than 4th of july weekend?! the timing couldn't be better for katie; this is her first trip to nyc and the last opportunity for me to go before i head west this fall. which means she will get the full tour from a guide wholeheartedly soaking in the memories, oh so bittersweet. the heat of central park? SURE; the hoards of times square? NO PROBLEM! just as long as we retire to fort greene, brooklyn each night, i'm happy as a clam.
for the trip up i'm preparing egg salad with watercress on pumpernickel. this sandwich brings me back to my gallery days. when i became associate director at the art gallery, john connelly presents i travelled to london for the frieze art fair. i can not tell you how many egg salad watercress sandwiches i consumed. i made one yesterday with a touch of salt, pepper, paparika, dijon and mayo; it exceeded my expectations. my mother told me watercress prefers shady spots, but i'm happy to say my plants are growing quite well in full sun. my only concern is that they become too bitter, so i'm keeping them well watered.
in order to cut down on expenses in nyc, i made zucchini bread muffins. eating-in in the a.m. is a good way to a healthy conscience come dinner time. and there is some serious eating to be done. i found a simple recipe online and made it my own:
INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar (it called for 2)
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons (guesstimate) fresh grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons (guesstimate) fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 shots grand marnier (zing!)
2 shots grand marnier (zing!)
bake at 325 degrees for 70 minutes in two 8x4 inch loaf pans. we had only one loaf pan so i poured the rest in a muffin pan and kept an eye on them. the muffins cooked for about half an hour. the original recipe calls for vanilla extract, but in search of vanilla i found almond and thought - oh yeah! then i thought almond and grand marnier - yes please! last night katie and i tested out the muffins and we are happy to report that breakfast, is served. now all that concerns us is, where to blow a wad first: local/seasonal french (http://www.icirestaurant.com/) in brooklyn or blow-your-mind brick-oven pizza (http://www.firstpizza.com/) in manhattan.
tomorrow there is a good chance that we'll be playing petanque (think french bocce, smaller
balls) at pit stop in red hook, brooklyn, so lunch will probably consist of stella artois, pommes frites and sausage. on saturday we'll stop in for vietnamese subs after a tour of chinatown. then, of course, there are the polish delis and italian markets where we'll find provisions to carry home with us. oh the possibilites are endless, but i've got a handle on the options.
balls) at pit stop in red hook, brooklyn, so lunch will probably consist of stella artois, pommes frites and sausage. on saturday we'll stop in for vietnamese subs after a tour of chinatown. then, of course, there are the polish delis and italian markets where we'll find provisions to carry home with us. oh the possibilites are endless, but i've got a handle on the options.
there is so much eating to fantasize about, but right now i am thinking about the drive: i-95 to the new jersey turnpike. the trip is historic for me, i've driven it a million and one times between dc and nyc. now i look forward to sharing it with my sister.
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