Reading is good

I have always been a voracious reader. Anything in reach will be read even if it is not interesting. Dining is normally multi-tasking with a book or newspaper. Preferred genres are science fiction, historical biographies (as in, dead more than 100 years), science non-fiction, single topic books (as in, Salt), Edith Wharton and suchlike. As someone who has a lot of books, many of which she has re-read, that take up two and a half rooms in her house, I have always harbored the fantasy that I could be a writer. However, as this blog bears witness, I write quite infrequently. So I will aim to write more often, and to branch out from the culinary delights that are oft my subjects.

So I will today relate my love for the feline members of the household. We are down to 4 (from a high of 10-12, depending on how you count). It feels empty sometimes, when we remember the crowd that we had once. We have been fortunate to share many years with our companions, with the majority passing away at advanced old ages. So who is left? A petite, q-tip fetching, long haired black and white girl; a three-legged all-orange tabby boy; a playful all-grey tabby boy; and the old orange tabby curmudgeon who came with the farm and now leads his retired life of leisure indoors. It feels sad to relate that setting out their meals does not anymore require wading through a sea of fur; yet the nightimes still finds us trapped in positions in bed where we do not wish to disturb our sleeping buddies.

Dining in Rochester

We went out for dinner last night at Eros' biweekly wine tasting dinner. Of note for me were the riesling for the first course, a delicious Bloom riesling from Germany. The second course was a pleasant surprise with a lobster/cornbread/strawberry salsa. The company at the approx. 40 person dinner was pleasant, we sat with an architect and his wife, who recently relocated from Texas. She could not get used to our regional pronounciations of "Chili," "Charlotte," "Lima," and "Avon." They live in the top floor of a local landmark, recently converted to loft apartments. I was talking with my co-worker about his travel plans. He mentions how nice it is to come home to the known comforts of Rochester. Even though the restaurants might be better elsewhere, even though the architecture is grander, the art institutions larger, what we have here is usually good enough and actually not bad at all.

Polenta, Polenta, Polenta- what to do?

I've often commented to my husband, my co-occupant of this house, my co-omnivore, that I don't know how to cook for two. Really, I don't. Two cups corn meal + six cups broth; you can see that's a lot of corn mush. Corn mush- really, the proper name for polenta. Polenta is such a sexy euphemism for corn mush. But, aaah, add cheese and an herb, say, rosemary, you got yourself a stellar side dish!

Mainly, this failing of mine results in leftovers- which he enjoys. But sometimes it's too much and it goes to waste. Tonight I'm not sure a pound of veal, the above-mentioned polenta (dredged in panko and fried), with mushrooms sauteed with rosemary and garlic, will receive the proper destination- stomachs, not compost.

Will work for dinner

Last night we had a good dinner to celebrate my husband's first day of paid work in about 10 months. I picked up some NY Strip Steak at Skips. Many thanks to my friend Mike for telling me about this butcher- their prices are so much more economical than Wegman's. Sauteed some bok choy with garlic and balsamic vinegar, made smashed potatoes with baby reds (skin on, of course), and sauteed some shitake mushrooms. My husband was enlisted to mash the potatoes when they were done, as I had enough to do with monitoring three other burners at once. He commented that gave him the opportunity to add extra butter without me knowing about it. Well, it all tastes better that way, doesn't it?

The temperatures could have been higher on the steak and the mushrooms, as they were cooked through but lacking that nice caramelization. Got me to thinking about how sometimes our jobs, paid or not, can bring out the best without going too far. By far, my current job is my least favorite. It will not challenge me, but neither will it burn me out. Of my past positions, the ones that were the most challenging were the best ones. And by challenging, I mean they had technical challenges and not merely institutional speedbumps. In today's economy, this current position will have to do until things pick up again. Here's hoping that my husband's new long commute- an hour plus each way- will not burn him out but afford him thinking time to consider what he'd like to do.

Eats to remember- Thai red curry

This blog is intended to be a place to document my remembrances and enjoyments.

One of things we enjoy is good food. In our household, margarine and Wonder Bread are verboten. However, due to childhood likes, boxed Mac and Cheez are not. And should I mention how good Merlot and Cheezy Puffs are together? Probably not.

My husband made a very nice dinner last night. I asked him to make a curry dinner, using the canned curry pastes we have in the pantry. My preference is Green, but I guess we only had Red and Yellow available. He made Basmati Rice, sauteed some shrimp and scallops, stirred in coconut milk and red curry, then added onion, pepper, garlic and ginger. His genius touch was wilting bok choy separately with soy sauce and sesame seeds. Combine all the above and it was a very good dinner, the scallops were like butter! I think all I could have done differently was to reduce the sauce a bit more so it thickened and coated everything. And it could've used more curry as it was not hot at all... pay no heed, as I was one who once used a whole can of curry paste which is a story in and of itself.

The tragedy of it all was when the carefully packed leftovers were not put in my lunch bag the next morning. Imprecations were mentioned, with which I will not sully your eyes with, dear reader.