Pernil, Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw and Soft Poppy Seed Kaiser Rolls

 Quarantine supper tonite...  Live from NYC...

Today the temperatures plummeted into the mid 60’s...  the smoke from the fires out west slowly drifting across the country and leaving a haze over NY skies.  Luckily the greenhouse door and vent are closed so the temps inside climbed into the mid 70’s...  tonite will be a cold one...  thermometer and incandescent light bulb keeping the temps above 62°F...  just enough to keep the tomatoes and cukes comfie.  

The next couple of days will be warmer...  but by the end of the week the nights will dip into the 50’s.  It’s time to give the greenhouse a blankie...  the hubs is already concocting a plan...  I can’t wait to see what his imagination dreams up...  I’m sure it’ll be incredible.

The new cabinet arrived today...  it’s 12” wide...  12” deep and 72” tall.  I’m calling it the pandemic cabinet...  it’s going to relieve the dining room from its current state of storage bin for all the additional supplies we have purchased for cleaning...  masking up...  gloves... hand sanitizer...  peroxide and of course... bleach.  Of course you KNOW I’m also going to store non perishables inside as well.  I’m thinking of making it into a baking cabinet for all the flours, sugars, chocolates and accompaniments needed for my “projects” as the hubs likes to call them.  It arrived flat packed...  thank goodness the hubs is handy...  the instructions we so muddled... some of the drawings were inside down...  but he managed to put it together in record time...  so pleased.  

Tonite was leftover pernil with red cabbage slaw, tomato jam and soft poppy seed Kaiser rolls followed by summer fruit salad with lime juice squeezed over the top and chocolate chocolate chip cream cheese cookies (just one each 😩).  After installing the cabinet...  we were HUNGRY for sure! 

How was your day?   What’s on your plate?   Thoughts?

Slow Cooker Pernil & Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

 Quarantine supper tonite...  Live from NYC...  

Today was a taste of autumn...  blustery...  temps in the low 70’s...  bright skies...  few clouds...  opened the roof vent in the greenhouse for just a few hours in the afternoon sun but by 4pm it was getting too chilly and the vent was closed.  It stays nice and warm in there...  the fan running to keep a breeze moving and ward off mold or fungi.  

The cucumbers have begun hanging from the inner roof twining their tendrils around the center beam...  incredibly strong to support the weight of the fruit...  turnip greens getting thick once again (almost time for a haircut)  tomatoes still producing...  radishes, beets, collards, carrots and arugula all coming along nicely.  So much to learn...  an interesting experiment... gives me great respect for farmers.

Around noon it was time to set up the slow cooker for pernil.  Bought  a small pork shoulder...  seasoned it (NYTimes Cooking - Mark Bittman) and placed it in the slow cooker for 5 hours on high...  while it simmered away in its own fat and juices it was time to care for the plants...  bake the cookies...  video chat with a client...  clean two bathrooms (yuck!)...  cook the farro and roast tomatoes into jam...   a productive day to be sure.  

Can’t help but think about the fires in the west...  the Cameron Peak Fire has not spread further since the snow and rain fall...  cooler temperatures are helping Colorado hotshots manage the blaze...  so far...  fingers crossed 🤞 

Meanwhile on the west coast devestation in California... Oregon and Washington...  hoping the rain expected will help get the fires under control and save lives 💞😷

How was your day?   What’s on your plate?  Thoughts?

Leftover Frosting Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

 Update:  found a recipe, Leftover Frosting Cookie Recipe...  to 1 1/2 cups chocolate cream cheese frosting add...  4 oz more cream cheese to equal 2 cups, 1 jumbo egg, 2 c flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 10 oz 60% cacao baking chips and 1/2 c shredded coconut...   make small 1” balls and flatten with fork in crosshatch pattern...  bake at 350°F for 10 minutes...  

DELICIOUS...  came out slightly cakey... very chocolatey...  moist and tender... like tiny cakes... so thrilled with this weird project’s outcome 💞😷

Frosting leftover over from Mom’s 90th birthday cupcakes...

I used about 1/3 of the frosting for the cupcakes.  

I have a chocolate cream cheese cookie recipe I would like to use but need help figuring out exactly what to add to make the cookies work?  I’m not tied to the recipe I have... never made it before...  so any chocolate cream cheese cookie recipe is appreciated...💞😷

Shrimp Tacos, Grilled Asparagus and Black Beans with Bacon

 Quarantine supper tonite...  Live from NYC...

Sunday...  our day to visit Mom...  the weather cooperated nicely...  high 70’s...  partly cloudy...  a bit humid...  but nice enough for Mom to have her best friend over in the early afternoon for a visit...   they sat out on the balcony and chatted in the warm sun and delightful breeze.  By the time we arrived in the mid afternoon she was in good spirits.  We were thrilled to find out she has been having friends up to her apartment...  sitting out on the balcony with her sliding glass doors open several times this past week and has plans to visit with a few more this coming week.  

Although the ladies can’t yet play bridge, they can come together one on one and catch up.  It’s been a long lonely spring and summer and with NYC covid stats remaining under 1% for the past couple of months Mom is slowly rebuilding her social network.  We are so pleased to see her reaching out and having fun again.

By the time we headed home it was nearing supper time...  we called our son and Andrea to see if they wanted to join us for dinner out.  Instead they invited us to join them for shrimp tacos at their place.   Delicious flavors of lime...  sour cream...  garlic...  and scallions made a fabulous salsa verde mixed into a red cabbage slaw and spooned over the top of our tacos of grilled shrimp...  slaw... queso fresco... and lime...  the flavor combination was intoxicating...  or was it the delightful wine...  who knows???  Grilled asparagus and savory black beans simmered with bacon (OMG - double yum) as sides made the meal a huuuuge hit!  Who knew that dinner would be so fabulous...  two talented chefs!!  One proud Mama!!

Our friends on the west coast are in dire straights tonite...  we hope that Monday’s forecasted rain is enough to stop the spread of the wildfires and give firefighters the help they so desperately need...   sending light and love to all in harms way 💞😷

How was your day?   What’s on your plate?  Thoughts?

Empañadas, Pork Chops, Applesauce and Shishito Peppers

 Quarantine activities tonite...   Live from NYC...

Family...  food...  and a well controlled fire...  on our deck tonight feeling the first stirrings of Autumn...  temperatures dropped into the lower 60’s as the sun set...  the chill palpable giving us a reason to don long pants, socks, shoes and sweatshirts for the first time in over four months.  

Danicha  and Eduardo brought delicious empañadas which we gobbled up hot and savory with just the right poke of heat.  Grilled pork chops with ginger and za-tar was the perfect foil for the homemade applesauce and apple crisp made last night from my 20 pound apple score at the market.  Roasted cauliflower and grilled shishito peppers along with a lovely Pinot Noir rounded out the meal.  

The sun fell and the temperature plummeted...  we lit a fire in the hubs new fire pit and enjoyed the crackling flames as we chatted and laughed regaling one another with hilarious stories of verbal blunders while trying to spit out words.  

Today after digging toad stools from the lawn the hubs needs to put his shovel away in the garage...  as I came into the kitchen off the deck I said... “ I’ll open the garage so you can put your squirrel away”...  laughing I said...  “What just came out of my mouth?”  The hubs shrugged, chuckled and said... “Okay, I’ll go put my squirrel away now”...   brain spasms for sure.

How was your day?   What on your plate?   Thoughts?

One Hundred Eighty Nine Days

 One hundred eighty nine days since the quarantine began...

One hundred eighty nine days since I hugged my Mom...

One hundred eighty nine days watching... waiting...  

hoping the virus would ease...  

One hundred eighty nine days not seeing most of our friends... 

One hundred eighty nine days of astonishment at the incredible loss of humanity...  917,000 dead worldwide... over 190,000 here in America...

One hundred eighty nine days that didn’t have to happen... 

VOTE!

Apple Crisp

 It’s finished!   The Apple Crisp ( Ina Garten’s recipe is almost the exact same ingredients as NYTimes Mark Bittman’s Apple Crisp) delicious... smells like heaven 🍏 🍎 

My own tweaks... for the crisp...

Topping: 

1 cup rolled old fashioned oats

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

Pinch salt

3/4 stick butter 1/2” cubed cold

2-3 tbsp ice water 

Place oats, flour, sugar and salt in food processor...  pulse a few times till well mixed.   Drop in cold cubed butter and pulse about 10 times till butter is pea size.  With processor running drizzle in ice water till topping clumps. 

Do the apples first while the oven preheats...

For the apples... into a large mixing bowl... 

Peeled and cubed 9 various apples (at least 4 Granny Smith)

Cinnamon, allspice and ginger sprinkled over the apples liberally

Toss with hands... pile into baking dish...

Cover the fruit as much as possible with the crisp topping to protect the fruit...  bake at 350°F until apples are bubbling and topping is browned and crisp...  took about 45 minutes for this huuuge one...  normally takes less time... maybe 30 minutes or so... cover with loose foil if getting too dry or browning too fast... I did for the last 15 minutes...  still very crispy