lululu

Uhhhhhpparently I haven’t uploaded any pictures since June. I was thinking I’d just throw up a few recent garden pics and discovered I had a backlog of a couple hundred. We actually did a few things this summer, I vaguely recall. Things like, barbeque ribs.

Visit Morro Bay for Debbie’s 30th birthday.

See Hearst Castle while we were in the neighborhood.

Go to the beach.

Oh yes, and our apricot tree bore much fruit.

In fact, we’ve even done some things this fall, but those pictures may just have to wait for a few more months.

I appreciate an unlikely newspaper article (or, okay, blog post I guess) that will make me laugh out loud in the morning when the thought of going to work hurts. The paragraph that did it:

Positive psychology types like to say that savoring the moment is a “crucial happiness skill,” and that’s what Schmidt does next: “So I pay a little attention to the type of pain it is, how long it lasts, how intense it gets.” A harvester ant, for instance, “felt like somebody was putting a knife in and twisting it.” A wasp known in the American Southwest as the “tarantula hawk” made him lie down and scream: “The good news is that by three minutes, it’s gone. If you really use your imagination you can get it to last five.”

I’ve been a little horrified at the “health care reform will abandon old people in the desert to die” meme circulating among (what passes for legitimate news sources on) the Right, so it’s nice to see a mild-mannered, mainstream columnist call a spade a spade.

Is the New York Times spying on us?

This photo from 2003 showed up as my random gallery image, and I thought I’d highlight it. Some feelings are eternal.

Related: this feature on who would want to govern our crazy Neverland of a state is pretty entertaining. Here’s an Arnold anecdote:

Even in the most desperate circumstances, when you might expect the [Democrats and Republicans] to make common cause, their attempts at working together are comical, or sad. In the middle of June, Schwarzenegger sent a melon-size sculpture of bull testicles to the leader of the Democratic-controlled senate, Darrell Steinberg, to encourage lawmakers to find the requisite fortitude to close the budget deficit. Not amused, Steinberg returned the “gift” to the governor.

I actually can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want those in his office.

Bryan and I got it together enough on Friday to make it out to the beach, but aside from that we’ve just been at home, bouncing from one lazy activity to the next: dabbling in low-commitment home improvement projects, shucking a few oysters, catching up on blogs, experimenting with beer cocktails (3 parts hefeweizen + 1 part ginger beer + squeeze of lemon and a mint sprig = summer goodness in a glass), shopping for just the right apricot off our rapidly ripening tree, etc etc etc. I think I’m currently reading 6 books, including “1776″ for its 4th of July relevance.

But Nicholas Kristof’s latest column and associated blog post on the best books for children made me want to go reread my own childhood favorites (though I can’t read those precise books since I left them all with my classroom library). Madeleine L’Engle, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis—oh my!

Speaking of Kristof, I also loved his short video on “Covering a Global Crisis,” edited by our very own Clare Major.

Last week we ventured out into the city on a weeknight (!) for an event called “Porkapalooza.” Really, how could we resist? The hook was that you watched a butchering demonstration while you ate fingerfoods made from that very pig. (A couple of my friends misunderstood and thought for most of a week that we’d gone to an event at which the pig was actually slaughtered for an audience—”I thought it was noble that you were willing to hear your food scream”—but no, it wasn’t like a porcine snuff film at all. Just slightly more interesting than standing at the Safeway meat counter with a free sample of salami.)

Before:

After:

It was fun to watch a couple of very talented butchers work, and a little interesting to do it while eating a hot dog, but elbowing through a crowd to snag a slider was not really our cup of tea. Far preferable to cook delicious pork chops at home! and oh-my-god if you do like pork chops you must try this recipe*:

Pork Chops with Leeks in Mustard Sauce
(from the May issue of Bon Appetit; also available here)

4 1 1/2- to 2-inch-thick bone-in heritage pork rib chops
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
Olive oil (optional)
4 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 3 large)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup créme fraîche or sour cream (Maybe you have some left over from making that to-die-for chicken sandwich, hmm?)

Pat chops dry with paper towels. Mix 2 teaspoons coarse salt, thyme, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle seasoning mixture on both sides of chops. Let stand at room temperature 1 to 2 hours or wrap and chill up to 1 day.

Heat heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and sauté until crisp and lightly browned. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to small bowl. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chops to skillet. Sear until brown, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer chops to small baking sheet.

Pour off all but 3 tablespoons drippings from skillet (or add olive oil to make 3 tablespoons). Add leeks and sauté until soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add brandy, then broth and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Return bacon to skillet; add sage and stir to blend.

Nestle chops in leeks in skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover; simmer 3 minutes. Turn chops over. Cover; simmer until thermometer inserted into thickest part of chops registers 140°F to 145°F, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chops to platter. Tent loosely with foil to keep warm.

Spoon off any fat from cooking liquid in skillet. Boil until all liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Whisk in mustard, then crème fraîche (do not boil). Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over chops. [This ends up looking a little unappetizing but tasting great. For company I might try leaving the leeks bare and serving the mustard and creme fraiche separately as a sauce.]

*Come on, you knew this was going to end in a recipe.

Okay, now I must tell you about this grilled chicken sandwich we made the other night. I mean, the season of recklessly dumping charcoal smoke into the air won’t last forever, right?

This post is dedicated to my mother, because I ripped this recipe out of her Martha Stewart Living on my way out of Dallas the other week, and I think it’s a sandwich she’d really enjoy.

#1 awesome thing about this meal was grilling the chicken and onions the day before because we were having people over to eat a bunch of hamburgers (because we love them and also to clean out our meat box (which is not as dirty but pretty much as fun as it sounds)). Anyway, we grilled everything ahead of time, so when it came time to make the sandwiches, all I had to do was warm things up and slice some bread and a pickle. Kind of an ideal Monday night dinner, but I’m sure fresh off the grill would have been even nicer.

The recipe, without further ado:

Ingredients

(Makes 4)

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill [we didn't have this]
2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 chicken cutlets (6 ounces each)
1 large red onion, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds [I don't know why I haven't been grilling red onion like this all my life]
3 ounces aged cheddar cheese, thinly sliced [we didn't use this, but it would have been tasty]
1 baguette, cut crosswise into 4 pieces and halved horizontally
3 tablespoons creme fraiche
3 sour pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise

Directions

1. Mix 1/4 cup mustard, the oil, dill, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Add chicken and onion, and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat grill to medium-high. Grill onion, turning often, 8 to 10 minutes. Grill chicken on 1 side for 3 minutes; flip, top with cheddar, and cook 3 minutes more. Cut cutlets in half. Grill baguette, cut sides down, until crisp, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Mix remaining 3 tablespoons mustard and the creme fraiche in a small bowl. Spread onto cut sides of baguette. Sandwich chicken, pickles, and onion between bread.

[hat tip to Martha]

I’ve had fun with some crafty home projects lately. One of my recent ventures was making over a beat-up little plant stand I’d picked up around Christmastime to put our mini-tree on. Here’s a before shot:

I mainly wanted to paint over the truly crummy parts. The top was warped from leaking water, and there were a few half-peeled-off sticker remnants that gave it a really classy feel in our living room. Also, I’m not done ripping off this cool lady’s reverse-stenciling trick (see our new computer table for my first venture).

Since I can’t seem to kick the Under the Sea theme that’s consuming our living room, I decided to incorporate some fancy goldfish paper I’d bought for Bryan’s post-PhD scrapbook. (I now own a jar of Mod Podge. Be afraid.) I also returned to the same can of aqua paint currently featured on our picture frames, dining chairs, the aforementioned computer table, and (faintly) our bedroom carpet, where Bryan accidentally dumped it as we were moving in. Because when you hand over $20 for a quart of non-toxic, fume-free, hippie-endorsed paint that would probably improve the water quality if you dumped it in the Bay, by golly you’re going to use the whole thing. The result is a sort of UFO fishbowl:

I kind of love it.

Bryan and I keep meaning to return to our honeymoon spot for our anniversary, but we haven’t yet been able to justify the price tag. Instead, this year we boarded the dog and spent a whole weekend indulging in our favorite things. We documented our day in the city fairly well in the usual place.