Had the nicest time with my brother Tom and his wife, Diane. They are on a nationwide wedding tour, starting with their own daughter's the end of July and with a new one practically every week thereafter it sounded like. It almost made me feel like I should propose to Bill and get married while they were here!
They arrived on Wednesday evening and left Friday afternoon. A nice relaxed visit...it rained one night and we stayed home. Ran around to the Pember and to Roy Egg's studio, down to Gardenworks and to Patty and Mark's where Patty graciously took Diane out for a carriage ride. The weather turned cool while they were here, which was nice.
Diane and I keep threatening to paint together, but there just wasn't time this trip. Hoping she comes back for a longer stay so we can do that.
My brother Tom and his wife are driving up from NYC enroute to a wedding this weekend in Connecticut. It's the first time they've visited us here, so I wanted to make a nice dinner. The menu:
Individual Cherry Tomato Tarts
Lemon-Garlic Marinated Chicken Breasts stuffed with Chicken and Spinach Sausage
served on a bed of
Creamy Stovetop Corn with Poblano Chiles and Creme Fraiche
Lots and lots of rain and lots and lots of visitors. Mary and Emma (sister and niece) were here ever so briefly (alas) and Bev and Clinton and Bob Rigdon from L.A. was supposed to get here, but Irene foiled his plans. Bev ended up stuck with us for three or four extra days. Mary and Emma...in and out! And I'm not just sucking up here...but don't they look like sisters rather than daughter and mother?
We went to the Southern Vermont Garlic Festival, which was tasty and fun. We cooked up a storm (an unnamed storm) including Billy's lovely rice pudding pie with the prune puree layer. We didn't have prunes, so this time he used apricots to good effect. We made tomato puddings and tomato tarts and homemade pasta with cherry tomatoes (noticing a theme here?)...hard to remember all the food we've done, but there were some merguez sausages with homegrown peppers and onions in there somewhere (that was transformed into Chicken cacciatore last night). But all I got pictures of was the garlic festival and Gramma Billy's Rice Custard Pie (renamed for the occasion.)
And it has been raining and raining and raining...my gauge (which I can't show because my computer is doing weird things) shows three inches in the last 48 hours. It's been more. It's a small gauge. The ground is soggy.
This sign greets us every time I pick up Bill from work and drive him home (click on it to enlarge to be able to read the sign). The other side says something about reading Romans. One wonders two things with this clown:
1. How closely has he read Leviticus? Right across the street there's a field with two different crops planted in it (by some farmer that I am certain is wearing two different kinds of fabric)...wonder if he's over there stoning that guy all day...and,
2. Just how much same-sex marriage demand is he experiencing?
Oh well...
Meanwhile our garden is becoming more interesting...red onions (red zeppelins), white (actually, technically I think they're called "yellow cranes"). some really nice jalapenos, squash (always squash), tomatoes, cherry and Romas...and some itty bitty garlic. Barely the side of a single clove. I think I should have cut the scapes and harvested them earlier...
The beans are about done. Thinking about a fall garden...spinach, beets, etc. I still have another tape of radishes.
So the phone rang yesterday morning, and it was Mrs. Halderman, the wife of the couple from whom we bought the house. They have sold the farm...250 acres for $420,000 in case you were wondering...and are in the process of cleaning out the big house. As she put it, she went to look through a drawer she "would have sworn was empty" and found some papers in which she thought we might be interested. And, indeed, we were...as it seems to be an original deed to the house with Lemuel Haynes' signature. At first I was of the opinion that it was the deed which transferred possession of the house to Haynes, but the date is 1825 and we're pretty sure he moved in here in 1803. It's going to take some more detective work, but it is a deed and it notes that "in consideration of the receipt of one thousand four hundred and twenty-five dollars" title was transferred to Lemuel Haynes."
Haynes' signature is visible, faintly, in the bottom fourth of the document, in the top of the blank space on the right hand side of the page, to the left of what look like what might have been a seal. The document is framed so that both sides of the document are visible...on the reverse is another notation about Lemuel Haynes and, interestingly, and puzzlingly, a reference to "Rutland, Vermont".
The document is handwritten and in that 19th century hand that is difficult to read (and with all the use of typing and keyboards anymore, will probably become completely undecipherable to future generations!) It is not easy to read the text, so I am still trying to determine exactly what it means. But it is Haynes' signature.
On a different subject, in the past two weeks, a vacuum, the lawn mower, the house water pump have all broken in addition to the toilet seal in the upstairs bath and the garbage disposal both leaking. Oh, and Bill's car has about $1,000 in repairs that are needed.
Wishing that deed had our name on it at this point!
It was a perfectly beautiful day with schooner clouds sailing across a deep blue sky...so we went rafting! Two hours...north of Lake George. The river was at about mid-depth. Got hung up once or twice, but we easily freed ourselves and continued the drift downstream. The occasional "whitewater" roller coaster made it fun. A more perfect day to do it we couldn't have ordered (like today...getting into the 90s!)
...So we make tarts. Strawberry-rhubarb-cherry tart to be precise. with an oatmeal-almond crumble top. Not our strawberries, but it is our rhubarb. Store-bought cherries.
Nothing says "Happy Birthday" better than Boston Cream Pie...and roses from my sweetheart...a gray rainy day that is making the green all the more lush. The sun broke out ever so briefly...but the rest of the day is going to be Seattlish.
Actually it turned out to be overcast but little rain until the evening. Went shopping with Patty and we were joined by Mark at lunch in Manchester. Got a beautiful leather bag and some nice shirts and the Dorset Exchange. Much fun just tromping around Manchester and Dorset with Patty and Mark.
Mark gave me a flat of a variety of plants...what a nice birthday gift! Several tomatoes, fennel, cucumbers, bell peppers, bee balm, broccoli and beets. Got'em all in this morning (5/17)...it's just been perfect planting weather...wet, not too much sun.
Turned over so much garden this year. The plot is twice the size it was last year. I need to get busy clearing the weeds from the rows, they're coming back with a vengeance!
Bob and Nali are in from Las Vegas and visiting with us and other family in Connecticut and NYC enroute to a surprise visit with their granddaughter Dylan who doesn't know that she's going to Disney World! Johnny came up with them from Connecticut.
Bill made our favorite new Winter Greens Lasagna and we did banana fritters for dessert...hence all the nice smiles on everyone's shining face.
Winter Greens Lasagna
2 T olive oil 1 medium white onion, medium dice 3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 C heavy cream 1 # red kale, washed, tough stems removed, and coarsely chopped (about 10 cups) 1 # Swiss chard, washed, tough stems removed, and coarsely chopped (about 8 cups) 1½ C crème fraîche 1 (9-ounce) box no-boil lasagna noodles 1# fresh ricotta 2 C finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 5 ounces)
Heat the oven to 400° and arrange a rack in the middle. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add onion, garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Add cream and a few handfuls of greens, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly wilted. Continue adding greens, a little at a time, until all are slightly wilted. Cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are tender, completely wilted, and coated in cream, about 10 minutes. Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper and remove from heat.
Spread 1 C of the crème fraîche evenly over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Cover with a layer of 4 noodles, allowing them to overlap slightly. Using a slotted spoon, scoop 1/3 of the greens mixture from cream and evenly spread over the noodles, then cover with 1/3 of the ricotta and ¼ of the Parmesan. Repeat to make two more layers, and end with a final layer of noodles on top. Evenly pour ¼ cup of cream over noodles. Mix together remaining crème fraîche and Parmesan, and spread evenly over the top.
Cover with foil and bake until bubbling and starting to brown, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake until top is browned completely and sauce is bubbling, about 10 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Banana Fritters (Gogola) 5 very ripe bananas (brown, not black)
½ t vanilla extract
1/8 t almond extract
¾ C sugar
3 C flour
1½ t baking powder
1 large pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 large pinch ground cinnamon
¼ C (or more) evaporated milk
Vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar (optional).
1. Using a potato masher or large fork, mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add extracts and sugar, and mix well.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon. Combine the flour and banana mixtures and pour in the evaporated milk. Mix until smooth and thick, like waffle batter, adding a little more milk if needed. Set aside to rest for at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour.
3. Heat 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy pot over medium heat to 350 degrees. Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls into the oil until golden brown on both sides, turning once when the edges are firm. Drain on paper towels. Cook just a few at first and taste to make sure that there is enough sugar and that the insides are cooked. If the inside is runny, reduce the heat so the gogolas cook more slowly. Cook remaining batter in batches.
4. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200-degree oven for up to 2 hours. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.
