It is the last day of February, a snowy day here where I live, a good day to write on the blog.
For two weeks my computer was gone for service and for the other two weeks?
We’ve had some snow here, probably not enough to change the drought situation, but still, we’re grateful for anything. After one snowfall, the kids built snowmen and snow forts in the back yard and had a snowball fight with grandpa. I was delighted to watch, rather than participate. When that snow melted, the forts and the snowmen remained, albeit diminished. We then took all those large lumps of iced snow and put them on the garden beds. They have not melted further, and now there is new snow. I think the snow is pretty, as long as I don’t have to go anywhere in it, or shovel the driveway before going anywhere. My dear husband and our neighbor take care of all that. I’m looking into one of those systems that melt the snow on the driveway, since we need to repave the driveway anyway.
I reread, and saw a movie of Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austin. It is the 200th anniversary of publication of this book and it is still fresh and popular. Would that I could write something for people to enjoy 200 years from now! Some famous person said about Jane Austin’s world, “These are people for whom a snowfall is a major event.” I am also one of those people.
On the night of the birthday party for our daughter—about 17 people attended—it began snowing and blowing outside, but we were warm inside, laughing and talking together. All that snow is still on the ground along with new snow. At the party we served soup, home made bread, salad, and of course birthday cake. I made four soups: vegetarian pumpkin/apple soup, cream of broccoli/cauliflower soup, beef stew, and meaty chili. I made the vegetable stock for the first two, and then as I was putting things together, I had this thought, “Don’t put onions in everything!” So I did not put them in the broccoli. Sure enough, one of the guests asked, “Is there anything without onions?”
For the salad, I put the iceberg lettuce in one bowl and the specialty greens in another, and then in smaller bowls I put purple onion, avocado, bell pepper, nuts, and dried fruit. These days, everyone is so careful about diet, that you can hardly make one salad.
The birthday cake made by our other daughter, was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting embedded with chopped pecans. There are many recipes for this cake, but my daughter’s recipe is supreme. I’m not sure how she makes it so very moist! Since it is full of carrots, we do feel we are eating a healthy food, even as we enjoy the frosting. We also enjoyed a gluten free chocolate cake made especially for the allergic among us, but tasty enough for everyone.
Today in the newspaper there is a recipe for a chocolate cake made with eight eggs, and one tablespoon of flour and lots of butter. I was about to try it, then I remembered it is Lent, a season of self denial and prayer—not of extravagance. Still, snowy days seem to call out for chocolate. Now I’m looking for other recipes, because even one tablespoon of flour will ruin it for our grandson who cannot eat wheat. Of course he can’t eat the butter either, and he can have only the yolks of eggs. Much of my life, and now my daughter’s life, is spent trying to adapt recipes to our health needs. Finally, if we use oil instead of butter, and only the yolks of the eggs, how will it taste and what kind of texture will it have? Have you ever seen a recipe for a one or two serving cake? I have not, so whatever I make, must be suitable for sharing.
Every day I do the puzzles in the newspaper, such as sudoku, crossword, and Tom Underwood’s coded messages. Recently, I have been preparing for an upcoming presentation of our “Adventures in China” so I am looking at pictures from each trip, making display boards for Beijing, Shanghai, and the Yangtze River towns. Thus have I consumed my time in February.