ha ha - it's been so long that even Blogger doesn't know me

Where to begin? Maybe I should work backwards.

Right now, I am taking a break from packing for tomorrow's teaching trip to North Carolina. Dinner won't be for another hour so I am eating a small bowl of cold cucumber yogurt dill soup, which I made this morning. VERY low in calories and divine.

2 cups 1% yogurt (200 calories)
2 cukes (free)
2 cloves garlic (ditto)
bunch of dill
bunch of mint
1 tsp olive oil (why? -- but it's about 30 cal)
salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste


Tonight's dinner will be low fat shrimp scampi on a minimum of pasta and homemade coconut ice cream for dessert. (hey, you gotta have dessert).

It has been an interesting few weeks.
Yesterday morning, my beloved brother Jon left for home (Pittsburgh) after having been here to help me TRY and make a dent in our mother's apartment. We were there every day (almost) and it was by turns frustrating, exhausting, stressful, and hilarious.

Ma was truly a hoarder and we are dealing with the aftermath.  But she was a neat hoarder: all the STUFF was hidden away in drawers, closets, and her storage area in the building. We found an almost full case of bathroom tissue that she brought over in 1992 when she moved (and did not touch since).
Our father was in the wholesale contractors' supply business and since he also sold paper towels, kleenex, and t.p.to the contractors , we always had a carton of each (i.e. 96 rolls) in the basement.  Uh - the business closed 25 years ago.  This is the tip of the iceberg.

It isn't all bad: we found my grandparents engagement certificate, their ketubah (marriage certificate) from 1913, my great-grandparents' passports and green cards, and other wonderful papers, postcards in Polish and German from Europe in the early 20th C before they exterminated all our relatives who had sent them.

We know a lot about my mother's side of he family.  Our father's side is a mystery.  Our grandmother died when our father was five and we're not even sure what her maiden name was.  Ellis island records and other genealogy sites yield nothing because on her 4 childrens' birth certificates, her last name was spelled 4 different ways.  And there is a fifth spelling on my aunt's wedding certificate. We can find no record of her on the boat with any of those spellings.  We know when she was born and when she died -- but there is no record of anything else. We don't know whether our father's parents were married in NY or NJ, but eventually we will have to check NY's records.

On Sunday, Jon and I went to the cemetery to find our grandmother's grave.We found it, discovered her Hebrew first name, and were still clueless about anything else. Here we are, happy to be together.

 

I think I should get back to packing for tomorrow's 10 hour drive to the South.  I'm looking forward to teaching on Friday and Saturday.  After that, we go to Durham and on Sunday will pick up my quilts on exhibit in Chapel Hill.  Monday, we head for home.

miso soup

 In case you missed this when I posted it last year, this is easy and delicious and perfect winter food. I am going to make some right now.  There are lots of recipes out there, but I like this one.

Miso soup ingredients

• 2 teaspoons dashi granules
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons miso paste
• 1 (8 ounce) package silken tofu, diced
• 2 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine dashi granules and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in tofu. Separate the layers of the green onions, and add them to the soup. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

Sunday night

Yes, the cousins came today and it was wonderful to see them. I made the Mediterranean Chicken Salad from the original Silver Palette Cookbook.

It is a wonderful, easy recipe and can be made the day before and the green beans added at the last minute. I didn't have beans, so I used asparagus -just as good.  I was too lazy to get up, go into the kitchen, scan in the recipe for you - so I googled it.  Found various bastardized recipes claiming to be this: one added some raspberry icky stuff (an updated Silver Palette recipe - bleh); another left out the imported black olives. But I found the original on line.

In about 1980, Marty and I were on the Upper West Side and the Silver Palette had a hole-in-the-wall store run by Sheila Lukins (who, sadly, died last year) and Julie Rosso.  We went in and bought some of this chicken salad and something else and I only remember that this stuff cost $8 a pound, which 30 years ago, was a fortune. But Marty bought it (we weren't married yet - LOL). Then, I bought the cookbook and made it myself, after that first time. Haven't made it for years - I often make the tarragon chicken salad -- but this was a treat.  And I got two quarts of chicken soup out of the deal.

Actually got some work done tonight, which is hard to believe if you look at the horizontal spaces. Ms. Closet, I am afraid that even YOU would give up trying to organize this mess.  I just shove it all aside and clear about 18" square to work in.  Actualy, I was working on the computer tonight so this mess didn't really bother me.

A couple of weeks ago I received my SQUARE in the mail, which is a gizmo that allows you to take credit cards on your iPhone (or probably a Droid, as well).  You plug the little thing into the headphone jack on your phone and it becomes a credit card terminal. Cute, huh?

 This is the little slot where you swipe the card.  I had some trouble and had to end up putting in the numbers manually, which costs more of a commission. So I complained and Square Inc sent me a new card reader and asked me to send back the first one.  The second one came yesterday and seems better.

  I think it takes some practice, like swiping the NY subway metro cards.  But now I will be able to take credit cards for my quilts, my scarves, my books, and whatever else.  I am perfectly happy with cash or checks but this is another option for people who want to buy stuff and would rather use a card. yay.

It has been a long day and tomorrow, the studio!  I have scarves to print and things to do.

now where was I?

Ah - the European sensibility vs the U.S.  Some great comments, the last two of which I need to respond to but am too tired tonight.  Thanks, everybody!  Will get back to this topic because honestly, there is more to think about here - and more to say. So hang in.

Summer is back after a lovely two-day break.  Hot, muggy, and the crickets are still at it outside my open window.  I just made myself a glass of delicious salted lassi - my favorite drink for a hot summer night.  If you google it, you'll find lots of variations on the recipe but the basic one I use is this (and I really don't measure)

1 cup non fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin seed
throw in the blender with a few ice cubes, blend, and drink! Some people add mint, some add cilantro, some add cayenne.  Some people add more water because they like it thinner, but the crushed ice thins it. Try it - it's great!

I left my camera in the studio (that happens too often) so I couldn't post last night. But I did clean up the front half of the space (except for the fabric on the table, which is a whole other problem I don't have time for right now). Next week, I'll tackle the back half. Major project but has to be done so I can have my classes here.

This afternoon, my package of Aurifil threads arrived and I felt like a kid in a candy store!  I spent a good deal of time taking off the wrappers so I could take note of the numbers on the threads and cross-reference them with my chart.  This was more or less a grab-bag (you get what you get) and that was fine with me, since I love them all (well...there is that PINK) and can never make a decision.  This way, I'll see what I don't have and know what I want in the future.  But for now, this should do me, along with the spools I brought home from FoQ.

Gosh, I don't think I've ever had so many colors of thread at one time!

Tomorrow I'm cooking for Rosh Hashanah and after that, I have Miss Emma for a few days while her parents go away. Aw, gee. We were there Sunday, picking up her equipment (bottles, diapers, pack 'n play, etc). The rest of the family is taking turns with her - she is so much in demand - LOL.

 she likes grandpa's beard

Well, she'll have plenty of chance to play with it over the weekend.

still at it

Not to beat a dead horse, but you asked how these chocolate-tahini things turned out.  When I got home today, Marty was in the process of demolishing one.

 

 He loved it, and he is not a dark chocolate person. Last night when I tasted it right out of the oven, it tasted too sweet to me.  I told Sandy that next time I will either use half the sugar (1/4 cup instead of 1/2) or use bitter chocolate instead of bittersweet.

BUT - tonight, my leftover bit over had settled in and was less sweet.  Some things just have to sit for a day.  We still have one left and I'll let the other member of the household have it. HE is the one who needs to gain weight around here!

Choc and tahini is a lovely, subtle, combo - although you could substitute peanut butter if you prefer.  And you can use regular flour or some kind of gluten-free flour instead of whatever it was in the recipe. Seems that almost anything will work.

Tonight's dinner was moules marinière (white wine, garlic, onion, bay leaves, thyme) over linguini, accompanied by a lovely fennel and celery salad, courtesy of Mark Bittman.  I am addicted to Mark Bittman: his recipes, his Minimalist columns for the NY Times, his blog...   My copy of How to Cook Everything is in shreds, literally because I use it almost every day (although why did it break at the page for braised stuffed squid, which I have never made?)

I love this book so much I gave one to each of my children. And then they gave me How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, which is also terrific. I have never seen a recipe for choco-tahini yummies in either book but you can't have everything.

Back to art...
When I started working on this piece and had something else entirely in mind, it was on this background.

 

Then I wanted to see what it would look like on a different background; by the time I posted it, this is what you saw.  Tonight, I am back to square one.  They both work for me, but the ambience changes with the background.

I wanted to look at overall value so I took photos of each in black and white. There appears to be more contrast in the darker piece, but not necessarily - and it depends on where you look.

In the end, this logical/analytical way of working is very interesting but it doesn't make me happy. I cannot make decisions based on logic because they are always wrong and I invariably regret not having gone with my instincts.  Of course, if my instinct doesn't tell me, that means neither choice is the right one and it's on to plan C (whatever that might be).  Or, either choice could be right. Yawn.

And with that yawn, I am off to bed. Was up at 3:30 this a.m. worrying about something (don't you hate that???) and we have an 8:am medical appointment tomorrow, which means getting up at 6:00. Not my favorite time of day.

food for thought

As I look at this picture of Cold Ginger-Carrot Soup, I am reminded of the baby food squash my children used to eat.  But it doesn't taste like that.  It was so good that I bought a zillion carrots afterwards so I could make more.  Maybe tomorrow. It is perfect for this weather (hot, muggy, yech)

1 T ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp or more of cumin (my addition)
2 T butter (or olive oil or combination of the two)
5 cups carrots, sliced or grated (I grated them in the food processor--don't ask me how many carrots this is-- about 1 lb.)
1 potato (optional - I added it to thicken the soup;it is not in the original recipe)
2 cans of chicken broth
1 can of water (this doesn't say what size can.  I skipped the chicken broth and used about 4 cups of water)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Nonfat yogurt  & chopped cilantro (optional garnish)

In soup pot sauté ginger, garlic, onion and cumin in butter till tender.  Add carrots (and potato if you want) & water and simmer till tender (about 20 min). Add lime juice, taste for seasoning - add salt to taste, and more cumin if you want). Pureé with stick blender or in food processor or blender till smooth.  Chill.  Yummy!

My friend, cohort/cahoot and general troublemaker Sandy, sent me a link to this blog and the recipe for chocolate and tahini gooey cake. Naturally, there were links to a bunch of French food blogs and I was off and reading when I should have been working.

Sandy remembered that I had a lifetime supply (now dwindling) of tahini and she figured I would have dark chocolate, so she KNEW I could not resist experimenting with the recipe.  I just took it out of the oven. I don't love gooey, so I baked it for 12 minutes instead of 10. Have not yet tasted it, but here it is. It probably needs unsweetened whipped cream, which I do not have.

Finally, I threw some therapy strips at the wall tonight and decided to sew them together, which I am doing (or will be doing once I finish this blog post).

This is not what I intended when I started, but it told me what it wanted to be and I acted accordingly.  I will probably continue to modify as I go.  Excuse me while I go and taste the chocolate tahini thing...

frying fish

Well, not literally.  Dentist this morning, after which I continued my hunt for tahini.  I used to be able to buy it everywhere but somehow, these days, I can't find it very often. So on the way home from the dentist I stopped in yet another supermarket and bought the last two cans. This should hold me for a while, like maybe 2 years. The top can is almost empty.

Now why, you might ask, do I need so much tahini? Good question.  I seem to use a lot of it.  I always make my own hummus bi tahini and baba ganouj, which require this ingredient.  Both are so simple to make and so wonderful and much less expensive (if you amortize the $6.49 can over a year's time - LOL) than buying it.  Besides, it is authentic when I make it. The recipe comes from a Syrian/Lebanese cookbook that the father of my children brought back as a gift when he returned from a sojourn to the middle east 35 years ago.  I almost always have some in the fridge and can make it on the spur of the moment.

Hummus bi tahini

1 cup canned chick peas, drained.
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Throw chick peas in food processor and purée.  While the processor is running, slowly add tahini and lemon juice, alternately.  Add garlic crushed w/ salt.  Sauce should be thick and smooth but if it seems to thick, thin with water.
Yum yum yum.

1 large eggplant, baked or broiled or grilled till skin is crisp and starts to crack open & flesh is soft.  Scoop pulp out and throw into food processor.

Add 1/3 c. tahini
1/2 c lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, 3/4 tsp salt
Process till smooth.

I bought radishes and was going to make a delicious radish salad with tahini from a vegetarian cookbook I have,but never got around to it tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll post this very different, tasty recipe. I mean, there aren't all that many recipes for things to do with radis.

Now it is almost 3:am - I drank too much coffee but did get some work done, moving things around on my design wall, which is out in the hallway by the front door.  The problem is, if I move it so it is not blocking the a/c vent, then it is blocking the door from the garage (which we use constantly) and it falls over every time, scattering my carefully placed pieces of cloth. 

So this is why it looks different every time I post it. It falls down and can't get up.  I feel as though it's one of those rubic cubes - I can move the pieces around but will never get them in the right places.  I think it is my procrastination board.  But I have given up for tonight.

ok, ok - recipes

Potato Chip Oatmeal Cookies Excuse me while I go make a cup of tea and get a few of these to eat while I write this recipe for you... they are that good!...ok, I'm back with 3 cookies in hand. The original recipe is from Maida Heatter's Brand New Cookbook (which it isn't) of Great Cookies (which some of them aren't) where she calls them Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies. I have never been a big fan of oatmeal cookies - they are fine, but not my favorites. However - THESE!!! Here is my adaptation of her recipe 4 oz salted potato chips, crushed put a bunch of chips in a plastic bag and squeeze them to crush them a bit - but they should be coarse, not fine. They should fill 2 cups when they're crushed (of course, I cheated and added more). 1-1/2 cups walnut pieces 2 cups sifted unbleached flour (I used whole wheat) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 to 1-3/4 packed cups brown sugar** ** The recipe calls for 1-3/4 cups light brown sugar. I cut it almost in half and used 1 cup because I don't like very sweet stuff. I also used dark brown because that's what I had. Suit yourself anywhere in between. 2 large eggs 2 cups old fashioned (not instant) oatmeal 1 cup raisins 1 cup dried pitted sour cherries (I used dried cranberries but you could use cut up dried apricots, dates, or whatever. I like the tart things best, though) 1. With electric mixer in large mixing bowl, beat butter till soft. 2. Add vanilla and sugar and beat till mixed. 3. Add eggs and beat till mixed 4. Add sifted dry ingredients and beat on low only till incorporated. 5. Add oatmeal and beat to mix. (if using food processor, move contents to a large mixing bowl to continue) 6. With wooden spoon or sturdy spatula, stir in the dried fruits and nuts. 7. Finally, stir in the potato chips. The chips should still be visible. Line cookie sheets w/ parchment, put a tablespoons of dough on the sheet, about 1" apart: press down to flatten. Bake at 350 for 18-20 min or till lightly browned all over. Maida Heatter uses 1/4 cup of dough for each cookie but I'd rather use a tablespoon and get twice as many cookies out of the deal. You will be glad you made smaller ones and more of them! Happy eating. Mushroom Barley Soup there are a zillion recipes, some of which you can find on the Internet. I grew up with a grandmother and a mother who were good cooks and Nanny never used a recipe. Both cooked by instinct, taste and experience nothing written, nothing measured exactly--adding unspecified amounts and giving this kind of advice:"if it needs salt, add more"; if it is too sweet, next time, add less," "cook until it's done", etc. While nothing was ever the same twice, it was always delicious. Actually, in my family, this was called Bean and Barley soup and the only mushrooms in it were dried Polish mushrooms, which gave it a wonderful,smoky flavor. I never saw a live mushroom in my bean and barley soup. My mother and grandmother made it in the pressure cooker because it cooks in 20 min, and they always included a soup bone (beef marrow bone). I use the pressure cooker, but if I don't have a bone I make it without. If I have fresh mushrooms, I'll throw some in - but if not, I don't care. The dried ones are the ones that count. Here's my "recipe" - give or take. If you are the type of cook who needs measurements, skip this and go to the cookie recipe. 6 cups water - Put into pressure cooker or pot and add: a few cut up celery stalks, including leaves a few cut up carrots 5 or 6 dried Polish mushrooms a couple big onions or a few small ones, cut up about 1 cup pearl barley about 1/2 cup dry lima beans (more if you want, or none if you don't want) a bay leaf 3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced salt & pepper OPTIONAL a parsnip if you have one a couple pieces celery root if you have any sliced fresh mushrooms a beef bone If you have about 3 hours, you can cook all of this on low. If not, cook under pressure for 20 min, adjust salt and add a handful of fresh dill. Soup should be thick. If it isn't, add more..but by next day you'll probably have to add water. (see what I mean?) If you look on the Internet for a recipe, ignore all that add tomatoes or green peppers (no self-respecting Jewish grandmother would add those!) and skip any that tell you to sauté the onions and carrots, etc. before you add the other stuff. Too much trouble - just throw everything in at once! Enjoy! R.

cookies and UFOs (long)

Almost as good as ironing: 24 hours of baking and mindless sewing. the cookies. I baked half of them last night and since I had eaten almost all of these little morsels by today, I baked the other half of the dough which was, as per instructions, sitting in the fridge till I felt like baking again. While others bake Christmas cookies, in the spirit of Chanukah I got out my little six-pointed cookie cutter and went to work. Like much of what I make, these came out somewhat lopsided and random. But these don't have to be juried in, so I'm not concerned. They actually look more like sheriff's badges than Chanukah cookies but they taste wonderful and are easy enough for a child to make. The round ones were cut with a Yahrtzeit glass, which was not only my grandmother's cookie cutter, it was her measuring cup (6 oz liquid or 3/4 cup flour or sugar) and the glass from which she and grandpa drank their tea. "Yahrtzeit" means "a year's time" and it is customary to light a candle each year on the eve of the anniversary of a close relative's death (usually a spouse, parent, child, grandparent, or sibling). The candle burns for 24 hours. Because the candle comes in a glass, you can imagine that we acquired quite a few of them over the years; we used them as drinking glasses when I was growing up. I use them now as orange juice glasses. But just for the heck of it, I used one to cut out a few cookies tonight -- a nod to my Nanny. Her cookies, I am sorry to say, were never this good. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brown Sugar Shortbread 1 cup soft butter 1/2 cup brown sugar (recipe calls for light, I always use dark) 2-1/2 c. sifted flour (I used white whole wheat flour) Beat butter & sugar till fluffy, stir in flour till smooth. Divide dough in half and refrigerate till ready to roll out. Roll out first half of dough on floured surface till thin, cut w/ cookie cutter. Bake 15-20 min at 300 (or 325) or till light golden. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- the UFO This afternoon, I was in the studio, determined make this into something I could bear to look at. All that sweetness!! Since I needed to sew, I moved my machine to a table near where I was cutting and ironing and all of a sudden, I was comfortable sewing there, as well as at home. Duh. I got quite a bit accomplished and then brought it home to work on after I baked tonight. The first challenge was how to minimize the pink without ripping it out. I stuck the block on the wall and auditioned a few colors as antidotes. Better, but not good. This is what I brought home with me today and tonight I cut it into pieces. That was the easy part. Now comes the work. I am in the process of therapy-sewing some strips together and fishing around for some scraps so I can create some new things to combine with the PINK. You already know my process.This piece has a long way to go and will probably end up looking completely different, but in the meantime, it is keeping me occupied. Anybody want to join me?

I baked after dinner tonight. I think this recipe (and a similar picture) find their way to my blog every year or two. Can't help it. They are so quick and easy and delicious that I have to post the recipe periodically. I think I got it from a Good Housekeeping in the 1960's (which is when I was reading that magazine) and have never seen as good a recipe again. They are basically shortbread. I've been baking so much this week that I'm running out of butter. I only use sweet, unsalted butter for baking-- and a food processor, which is not in the original recipe. Cookie Crescents Into the food processor, throw: 3/4 c. unsalted butter (1-1/2 sticks) 1 cup flour 1/2 c. cornstarch 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar As soon as dough comes together, stop. Take about 1 tsp of dough (or less), roll between your hands, make into crescent and flatten. ( I get about 6 doz). Line cookie sheets with parchment (or not) Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 min or till slightly brown at edges. Yum yum. You can dust them in confectioner's sugar but I find that too sweet. Working backwards...I didn't do any fiber work tonight because I spent much of the evening on the phone with my friend Laura, who is mourning the loss of her mother and her brother-in-law within 12 hours of one another. Today, I was in the studio before lunch putting together the piece that has been sitting on my wall for a couple of weeks. Things never go together exactly as they have been arranged on the wall - or the way you think they should. And sometimes, you'll surprise yourself by making a change at the last minute that works better than you would have imagined - or that you hadn't thought of till AHA! "Aha" is sometimes very subtle and this is not the final version. Some of the pieces are lightly Misty-Fused together at the edge,others are just pinned to the wall. Normally I stitch, but today I thought I would fuse edges because I can move the pieces around and eventually, straighten them out. Of course, when your printing is askew it always looks lopsided, even if the fabric pieces are straight. Or especially if they are straight. One thing I discovered: it is much more physically exhausting to print than to put together a quilt. My afternoon felt very leisurely and la-di-da as I carried fabrics from the wall to the cutting mat to the ironing table and back to the wall. I was relaxed. My feet did not hurt. And when I left at 4:something, I even had the energy to stop at Whole Foods and pick up an item or two, make a quiche for dinner and bake after dinner. Maybe I should stop printing and just make art from what I already have. The weather has been pretty nice - breezy and not humid. But I've been running the A/C in the studio because we have a southern exposure and it is SUNNY. Tonight I actually put the air on in the house because it is turning humid. And we did not take our usual postprandial stroll. Here is Marty, just before we took our walk last night. And here is the beautiful pool in our development that we used to go to when we first moved here but haven't been to in a while. Nonetheless, we walk past it every evening (not tonight) and it is very nice to look at. I think this post has been somewhat out of sequence and disorganized but that's the way my life is these days - LOL. I finally got my car washed today but it needs another run-through because of the sticky goo from the damn tree next to my driveway. I am parking across the street for the rest of the summer. One more thing just flew through my head but it's just as well it vanished because this post is too long, anyway.

Newspapers. Eleven days' worth, saved in case I wanted to read them. I didn't...but of course, had to go through the entire pile so I could retrieve Wednesday's NY Times food section, Thursday's Home and Styles sections, and the Sunday book reviews from the last two weekends. Oh, and the art. Took the whole morning.
Well, to be fair, it took only half the morning. I got home at 6:am and since my body was on Left Coast time, I went to sleep and slept through the first half of the morning. Then back to laundry and real life. Studio Six meets at my house on Wednesday and I had to bake for the occasion - so that was tonight's actvity. Lemon Sours

3/4 cup sifted flour (I didn't sift)
1/3 c. sweet butter
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar -pack a little, not too firm (I used 2/3 cup and it is plenty sweet!)
3/4 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 c. confectioner's sugar (approx)

Mix together flour and butter to a fine curmb. Sprinkle evenly in 11x7 pan (I used 8x8) Bake in 350 oven for 10 min.

Meanwhile, beat eggs, brown sugar, coconut, nuts, baking powder. spread on first mixture as you take it from the oven. Return to oven and bake 20 min longer (or till brown on top)

Mix lemon rind, lemon juice and add conf. sugar to make a creamy mixture. Spread over top as soon as pan is taken from the oven. Cool cut into squares. Makes 16-24 squares, depending on size of pan.

It has been countless years since I have made these so I'm not sure how they have turned out.
Will let you know.

tea

I grew up in a house where we had tea and dessert (often, cookies) after dinner every night. Tea with lemon, no sugar. Coffee was for breakfast. Somewhere along the line, I stopped putting lemon in my tea - and I'm not sure why. I actually love it with lemon. Through my marriages, the tea kettle went on after dinner - and even now, I have a cup at my right hand as I type. Much as I love coffee, I am more likely to make a cup of tea in the afternoon. Tea = comfort. Baking also=comfort. Less so the eating than the process of baking. I have had the recipe for Pepper-Cumin Cookies sitting around since the beginning of time: obviously cut from the NY Times magazine. I had not baked in a while - and last night, apparently needing comfort --I baked a half-recipe of these cookies (just in case they were terrible). Love at first bite. Snow day today. Worked at home: did paperwork, made soup, and baked another batch of these cookies, which are as divine as I had hoped they would be. Half of them I will take to the studio to share. Perfect counterpoint to tea. Of course, they might not appeal to everybody - the flavor is a bit quirky --and you might not have a big jar of cumin seeds sitting around in your pantry, as I do, but these cookies are worth a trip to the Indian grocery store. Seeds, not ground cumin. You didn't ask, but here it is. Pepper-Cumin Cookies

2 c. flour (I used whole wheat)

6 T sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp black peppercorns, cracked

1 tsp cumin seeds, cracked

1 cup unsalted butter, softened slightly and cut into pieces

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Put the first 6 ingredients into food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter & vanilla and pulse till mixture just forms a dough.

2. Place dough on work surface and shape into 1" balls. Put on parchment-lined baking sheets and flaten each cookie with palm of hand.

3. Bake till lightly browned, about 15 min. Remove and cool on rack. Makes about 3-4 doz.

bonne année à tous

Ce soir mon cousin Frédéric m'a téléphoné pour nous souhaiter bonne année. C'est mon petit cousin (alors, pas vraiment petit parce ce qu'il est plus grand que moi - mais c'est moi qui est plus âgé. Alors...France télécom offre un "deal" où on téléphone à n'importe où par l'internet et c'est compris-- donc, il me téléphone de temps en temps. (Ok - assez. Je continue en anglais.) Non sequitor to-die-for, no-brainer Cookie Crescent recipe NOTE: This will not do much for your waistline or your complexion, but it is worth it. makes about 4-5 doz, baked at 300 degrees 15-20 min. In food processor, mix: 3/4 c. butter (aarrgh -yum)= 1.5 sticks of the stuff 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar 1/2 c. cornstarch 1 c. flour (I used whole wheat flour to get fiber and make myself feel less guilty - and they are just as good!! In fact, better!) Take 1/2 tsp of dough, roll into log and shape into crescent. Flatten. Bake as above. I got about 5 doz out of this batch. I make 'em small because they are so addicitve I will eat 6 of them - no matter what size they are. Aarrgh. No fail. You can roll them in confect. sugar while warm, but I don't like 'em that sweet. I was seriously considering making this batch with salted pistachios either added in or crushed so I could roll the cookies in 'em. But lazy. So, instead, I am sitting here eating the cookies with a side of salted pistachios. So delicious. So decadent. Trust me, these are so easy your 6-7 year old kids or grandkids can make them.

If there are any left, I am taking them into NY to give to our friend Arthur, who loves any cookies. His favorites are my lemon squares but I didn't have time to make them today. This morning, I paid bills (my mother's and my own)and then this afternoon, went to the Short Hills Mall to buy a weekend house gift for Rosalie & Arthur, since we are staying at their East Side Manhattan pied à terre from Sat. to Monday. I'm bringing the NY Times listings with me so we can decide what we want to do tomorrow and Sunday during the day. Museums? Chelsea galleries? Ah - la vie de luxe! Dinner at a neighborhood French restaurant New Year's Eve and then we come home to a party down the street from us. I love this time of year! Last year on New Year's Eve (or maybe before dinner) we went to see Woody Allen's new movie -whatever it was - and I thought it was a delight!! Uh - SCOOP. Rent it if you haven't seen it!

So, where was I? After I bought the weekend house gift, I hightailed it over to Saks Fifth Ave. to treat myself to my 2007 makeover. After all, I have this wonderful haircut and color - and this crappy old makeup. What is THAT? Spent a king's ransom on my face but - oh, well - am I not I worth it? How you feel about yourself makes all the difference, even if it has no basis in reality.

Unfortunately, I have to wash my face tonight. Will take my camera to the City and try to take pictures to post when I get home. Aarrgh. My husband has the day off on Tuesday: the stock market is closed in memory of Gerald Ford. Nevertheless, I have to work after I get home from my root canal appointment.

Happy New Year to all - and to all, a good night. (I think wrong poem - but you get the idea

I promised

that I would post the biscotti recipe. Just be forewarned: in the interest of research, I tried one with my martini tonight. Trust me, it was NOT a good combination. You can do your own research with this recipe - and you can play around with it, as well. You can't expect me to have followed the recipe exactly, can you? With gracious thanks to Florence Fabricant of the NY Times, I give you the original with modifications of one of 3 fabulous biscotti recettes (the other 2 were Toasted Almond and Chocolate Hazelnut) that appeared in the paper on Sunday, Dec. 12, 1993. 1993???!!! How is that possible?

Rosemary Pine-Nut Biscotti

1) 1 cup pine nuts, toasted at 350 on a baking sheet 6-8 minutes & set aside. 2-3/4 c. flour, plus flour for work surface (I used whole wheat flour, but you might prefer unbleached white) 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp baking powder pinch of salt 4 eggs, beaten lightly 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped (you could probably use dried leaves) 1 tsp lemon zest 2) sift the dry ingredients and set aside (I don't bother sifting) 3) beat the eggs until blended. Remove 2 T and set aside. Beat sugar into remaining eggs till blended. Stir in vanilla, rosemary & lemon zest, then flour mixture to make a soft dough. (uh - I added the sugar to the dry ingredients by mistake, but it didn't seem to matter. I also added 1/4 c oil to the mixture, because the whole wheat flour makes a really dry mixture.) 4) Divide dough in half and on a well-floured surface, with floured hands, pat each into a 6" square. Scatter half the pine nuts on each square and press into the dough. 5) Roll dough into cylinders about 2" diameter and 15" long. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush tops with reserved beaten egg. 6) Bake at 350 about 15 min or till golden and firm to the touch (in my lousy oven, this takes about 25 min). Take out and slice into 1/2" slices and lay on baking sheet. Return to oven for 10 min, take out, turn slices over, bake another 10 min till golden on each side. Cool completely before serving. Yield: supposedly about 60 biscotti, but I only got 44. Whatever. Enjoy! I am going back to the studio.