Things of Note

I have an audition scheduled for January 24 for Eastern Winds, and the next concert will be featuring Stanley Drucker! Needless to say I am hoping to get in. I will update after the audition. Warren and I are excited for a Jim Gaffigan show in a couple of weeks, and we made a Valentine's Day weekend reservation at Rat's restaurant in Grounds for Sculpture. Lots to look forward to!

A New Year's Resolution

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions...it just seems like a doomed idea to me, and I prefer to make my resolutions as the inspiration strikes, but this year it coincides with Warren, Mitch and I having watched "Food, Inc" and all feeling as though we'd like to start eating more local foods and supporting small farmers. We are embarking on a project of visiting at least one local farm per month until we find good places to buy an assortment of meat, eggs, milk and produce.

Our first stop was Abma's Farm in Wyckoff, which raises their own chickens and pigs. They have a really nice market with a good selection of chicken, pork and produce. They have some beef that is not their own, but is local. One of the most fun features is their "pick your own" basket of eggs which are fresh every day. You can buy eggs already placed in the carton a bit cheaper, but the pick your own eggs are the freshest and at $2.09 a dozen they are cheaper than the free-range eggs I used to buy at Shop Rite, anyway. You can bring back the cardboard cartons to recycle next time you visit.

I should have taken some pictures but I was too cold and too interested in the market to remember! ...Anyway, our first stop was a definite success!

A Very Merry Christmas

Warren and I got back yesterday after almost a week spent with my family in Connecticut. It was so nice to celebrate Christmas there. Warren sang in his church service on Christmas Eve, so we had a lovely, quiet Christmas Eve at home and departed on Christmas morning. It was a very quick and easy drive since no one was on the road! We spent Friday and Saturday enjoying the company of Rachel and Frank and we visited the Mark Twain house together, ate at Kashmir, our favorite Indian restaurant in Hartford, and visited an ethnic market where Rachel and my mom like to buy spices. We also played some fun board games at home. It was sad to see them go on Sunday! During the rest of our time at home we had dinner with my grandmother before she set off for Hawaii, went showshoeing in the woods, and enjoyed the pool, hot tub and basketball court at the Y. My parents also took us to the Farmington Valley Arts Center to choose an etching from a local artist who has a shop there. They own two pieces of her art and I have been admiring them for quite a while. We chose an etching that reminded us of Cape Cod. All her things are simple and beautiful. On our last evening we went to dinner with several of my high school friends, which was a lovely time. The only thing we didn't get to do that I was hoping for was to spend a day cross-country skiing in Maple Corner, Massachusetts. It is so beautiful there and while we did have some gorgeous snowfalls it wasn't quite enough for cross-country skiing. Perhaps we will have to make a trip back in January or February after a snowstorm! I am thankful for spending such a delightful holiday at home and am looking forward to many new fun experiences in 2010!

Christmastime is Here

When Warren told me he had never seen the Nutcracker live, I couldn't believe it...it's such a fun thing to do around the holidays. I have wonderful memories of my mom taking my sister and I each year. (Usually at the Hartford ballet). There is something so magical about it. We bought tickets to see it at NYC ballet and had a lovely time there. It was nice to see a lot of adults there just for fun as well as, of course, people bringing their small children. I think I could probably go see this ballet every December for the rest of my life without getting tired of it. :)

More Thanksgiving Treats

We had a nice holiday with Warren's family last week. We had a great time playing games together...Trivial Pursuit, Settlers, Pictionary...and enjoyed hanging out and decorating the house and the church for Christmas. One of the yummiest things that Priscilla made for Thanksgiving dinner was these rolls. I am not ashamed to say that I ate 5 of them. Well, maybe a little bit.

Dinner Rolls

In large bowl, mix the following:
1 cup hot water
¼ cup dry milk
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
¼ cup butter (half stick)

When mixture is cool, add:
1 package dry yeast
1 egg, slightly beaten

Mix well. Beat or stir in 3 ½ to 4 cups flour to form a stiff dough.

Knead 5-10 min. Place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise til double. Punch down. Divide into 24 pieces.

Shape each piece into small ball and place in greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise (may be slow, give plenty of time). Dough will rise ¾ of the way up the pan and rolls will join together.

Bake 20-25 min at 375.

Happy Thanksgiving!

One of our favorite Thanksgiving side dish recipes in recent years has been this cranberry sauce. I made it this afternoon to take to Sugar Grove with us tomorrow. I love cranberries- so tart and refreshing.

Wayne's Cranberry Sauce

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
16 oz bag fresh cranberries
1 cup finely chopped apple
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup currants (optional)
1/4 cup Grand Marnier liqueur
1/2 orange, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Combine the sugar and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and return to a boil, then lower the heat so that the liquid simmers. When the cranberries begin to "pop", add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from the heat and allow the cranberry sauce to cool.

New Fave Recipe

We recently saw Ina making this on the Food Network and were drooling on ourselves while we watched the show. We have made it twice in the past two weeks and still want more! I adjusted a couple of things in her recipe to my liking. Here is the recipe we used:

White Pizza With Arugula

raw pizza dough
olive oil
1 large garlic clove, sliced
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
arugula
fontina, mozzarella and goat cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

In small saucepan combine 1/4 cup olive oil, thyme sprigs and garlic and heat on low for 10 min. Discard thyme and add red pepper flakes. Transfer hot oil to a bowl and let cool.

Roll out dough, place on oiled baking sheet and brush with the garlic oil. Sprinkle with grated fontina and mozzarella and small crumbles of goat cheese. Bake for 20 min.

Just before serving, toss arugula with salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil and spread over pizza.