More than enough

On Wednesday, my family gathered together for my grandmother's funeral. She had been 90 years old, and was living on her own with her beloved cats - which were named after characters in Pride and Prejudice - until just two weeks before.

My house contains more physical representations of my grandmother than almost anyone else. She's in the handmade braided and vestimade rugs, and in the Waterford wedding gifts she bestowed upon Peter and me four years ago, and in the Christmas ornaments she gave my sister and me each year.

It's seems fitting that I see her all over the house, because more than anyone else, she reveled in all things home. She could endlessly examine a house, soaking in each detail. Every inch of her own home was decorated with things she loved. She had boxes of meticulously organized holiday decorations that came out every year, and she's the reason my mom, sister, and I have a village and a full set of carolers.

My sister and I spent lots of time with my grandparents growing up, with a few afternoons a week during the school year, and a few days each week during the summer. For lunch, she made the kinds of foods that kids love - spaghetti with lots of butter and salt, macaroni and cheese with Velveeta (and always a side of cranberry sauce, for some reason), and individual tubs of Friendly's ice cream sundaes.

She loved shopping, and was a world-class bargain hunter. She had an amazing ability to remember the exact price of all the best deals she scored - a trait I certainly inherited. She could look at a mahogany headboard and say that she bought it sixteen years ago at a tag sale on Cooley Street for $10, but she'd talked them down from $15.

She saved and saved her whole life, but she and my grandpa always made it a priority to take vacations and go out to eat occasionally. They would go to South Carolina for the winter when I was growing up, and we loved visiting their condo over February vacations.

We never did that much with them, but the days felt full. Dressing up, playing with dolls, feeding the birds, watching old movies, taking a walk around the block. Sometimes we played cards or asked the Ouiji board questions about our future husbands, but she also took naps, did crossword puzzles, and watched Meet the Press. She didn't feel that they had to entertain us, and it served us well.

Being in her orbit was more than enough.

Maple Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Crust

Peter's family was in town this weekend, and since we won't all be together for Thanksgiving this year, we decided to have an early celebration. We made roasted turkey roulade, celery root and apple puree, Swiss chard gratin, and maple pumpkin pie with a brown sugar crust.

Every single recipe was a new one, and there wasn't a single clunker! Do you know how rare that is?! I'd happily add any of them to the real Thanksgiving celebration next month.

Maple Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar Crust
Crust adapted from Martha Stewart
Pie filling adapted from New York Times

Crust
2 tablespoons packed dark-brown sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water

Filling
15 oz. can unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Amaretto
2 large eggs
½ cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse brown sugar and 1/4 cup flour to combine. Add salt and remaining flour; pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms pea-size clumps - this took many pulses for me. Add the lightly beaten egg yolk and water and pulse until the dough starts to come together. Wrap it up in a piece of plastic wrap and form a disk. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Add the cinnamon, ginger, salt and Amaretto. In a small bowl lightly beat the eggs and cream, then combine with the pumpkin.

Roll out the chilled pie crust and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Pour the filling into the crust and cover the pie edges loosely with foil. Bake on the lower level of the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 more minutes, until filling has set (mine took 35 minutes).

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.

Gourdious

Tomorrow morning Peter is proctoring an ACT test, and I have GRAND plans for Lizzy and me to go to Wegmans, clean the house, do laundry, and paint the TV stand in the living room. Lizzy is actually *not* that great a helper for any of these activities, if you can believe it, so we'll see what we actually accomplish :)

We're also seeing a friend for dinner, visiting with Peter's family, and hopefully squeezing in a day trip or mini-hike. It should be glorious (gourdious?).

Happy Friday to all!

Gardens at Elm Bank

We discovered the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gardens at Elm Bank a couple of weeks ago - absolutely stunning! It's a great place to a take a stroll. The grounds look massive in these pictures, but it's really just five or six different gardens in a fairly compact space.

On the way out, we stopped at Sunshine Farm for some produce and ice cream. Lizzy had a milk protein allergy that cleared up when she was about four months, so I'm doing my best to make up for a dairy-free summer with LOTS of awesome ice cream this fall. Hard work, but I'm rising to the challenge.

Chase Woodlands + Peters Reservation

A couple weekends ago, we went out to Chase Woodlands for a walk in the woods. It was such a great afternoon that we tacked on Peters Reservation, too, which is right across the street. The parking lot for both only fits about six cars, so it's very quiet and peaceful along the paths. Great mile to two mile loops with pretty views of the Charles on the Peters side.

That night, Peter put this together. I'd been wanting breaded pork tenderloin from The Fort so badly, and luckily, Peter's version was an amazing substitute. In case you're inspired to make your own:

• Pork schnitzel 
• German-style homefries
• Braised red cabbage

Happy almost weekend to all! 

Feast for a Reader

This is perhaps one of the stranger things I've revealed on the blog, but I am really into betting. Not in a dangerous way - don't worry, you won't find me sneaking off to Mohegan Sun at 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday to spend away our mortgage payment. But I love little, frequent bets - who can guess what time we'll arrive, or who will show up last at the party. These almost never involve actual dollars changing hands; that would stress me out. The prizes are more like, I'll make you a fun dinner if you're right!

Last fall, I was in Connecticut visiting my family, and a frequently repeated conversation came up again. This is going to sound mean, but we regularly made fun of my dad for not being much of a reader. He reads newspapers - I think at one point, there were three delivered to their house. But books - not so much. He'd do maybe one a year, and he'd read it over the course of the entire year, but just on vacations. We'd jokingly refer to his "book of 2011" or "the San Diego-Italy" book.

Somehow, on this particular day, the conversation morphed into betting territory. An official, signed agreement was drawn up betting that he couldn't read ten new books in the next year. If he won, I'd have to cook him a five-course dinner (and - I'm about to reveal something else weird about myself - I would have to switch my toilet paper from over to under for an entire year. I am PASSIONATE about toilet paper that comes down over the roll, and he is equally passionate that it should be under. If he had lost, he would have had to do it the right way my way for a year, womp womp.)

Well, guys, he blew the bet out of the water. I think he finished his tenth book sometime over the summer, and he has truly, officially, become a person who loves to read books! I sent him a few options for his five-course feast, and we held it at my parents house a few weeks ago. The dinner was an absolutely joy to make, and it was wonderful to celebrate his new-found love of books. The toilet paper, on the other hand, will continue to plague me for many months...

Feast for a Reader Menu

1st course: Figs on Parmesan Toasts

2nd course: Kale Salad with Apples and Hazelnuts

3rd course: Roasted Fennel and White Beans

4th course: Chard and Mushroom Stuffed Breast of Veal

5th course: Crack Pie

If you're curious about his book selections, they were a very eclectic mix! He read the Hunger Games series (loved), a Harlin Coben novel or two (loved), The Paris Wife (we told him he wouldn't like, and he didn't!), Outcasts United (loved), The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (loved), and a handful of others. And now - post bet - he's reading a WWII book about fighter pilots.

Sets in the West

There have been some amazing sunsets in Boston this week! I think I snapped this on Tuesday night? One of the best things about the new house is the view from our back deck, which faces west. We're up on a little hill, and there's this great view of the sky peaking through the roofs and trees.

This weekend I'm going to finish painting our front door red - it currently has one coat of paint on so it looks hot pink. Hopefully our neighbors aren't too worried! And I'll maybe tackle the treads of the stairs, too; we'll see how motivated I am :) The past few weeks, we've been furiously painting and cleaning and setting up, and I think it's time to take a bit of a step back. So tomorrow night we're also planning a fun dinner here, and something else good for Sunday, too. If the weather cooperates, a hike, and if not, a museum.

Happy weekend to all! Here's to not painting too much.

Happy Candy Eating Day!

On the agenda for tonight:

• Watching Psycho (I've never seen it all the way through!)
• Making this for dinner (though I'm equally tempted by this)
• Fantasizing  about having this (!!!) for dessert, but I think all the kidlets in our new neighborhood will probably take all the candy first / I'll just eat any left-overs in their "natural" form 

Happy Halloween to all!

Enjoy the Remainder

I have almost no patience for people who complain of busyness, but lo, I have been too busy lately. This is mostly a result of traveling lots and lots (for wonderful occasions - we've spent many weekends away this fall for weddings, plus some great family visits squeezed in) but with class and work and our house, I'm more than ready to tone it down a bit.

Thankfully, we'll mostly be home through Thanksgiving. Things are being kept afloat at work, but lots of good stuff - the fun stuff - of daily life has dropped away. Our contractors are actually finishing up today (!!!) with phase one of our house projects, so we have lots of painting and cleaning in our future. But I also want to get back to having people over for dinner, buying flowers, stopping at the farmers market, making soup, playing golf, watching Drop Dead Diva - you know, the really important stuff.

I snapped this picture when Peter and I went golfing on Columbus Day. This fall has been absolute perfection in Boston (and you know I'm an autumn hater), so I want to enjoy the remainder as much as possible.

Cheers to the rest of October, and to finding room for all the good stuff.

Weekend at Basin Harbor

 

We spent the weekend at the beautiful Basin Harbor Club for our friends' wedding. We've been to Vermont a bunch, but never here. It's almost a Dirty Dancing style resort where everything you could want or need is all on the property - a lake, lawn games out the wazoo, a bar, a restaurant, darling little cabins, and colorful Adirondack chairs around every bend. (I really want some colorful Adirondack chairs now.)

We had the bestest time with our friends there - a few who we haven't seen since we lived in D.C. almost seven years ago! Too long. We made up for lost time by pretending that we're all still 22 :)

Game Day

I went to an entire football game! And it was fun, you guys! Mostly because the team we were cheering for won. My main problem with my budding sports fan-dom is that things regularly don't go your way. I know this is the deal - sometimes you win, sometimes you lose - but I'm really bad at that. I'm always threatening to jump ship when things look dire to root for the other guys.

After the game, Peter's parents and siblings all came to our house for dinner. We made cassoulet, and it was really good - perfect post-game food. My brother- and sister-in-law were so impressed. "This looks so good! You should take a picture and blog about this!" I claimed it would be terrible - a photo that would inspire absolutely no one to make it. No greens, lack of natural light, live sausages poking through! I'm showing you anyway (obviously).

Try not to crash Pinterest with this one, okay?!

P.S. My favorite players on the team.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apple and Pancetta

I made these Brussels sprouts last week, and they were so good and easy, I had to share. Anybody still looking for Thanksgiving sides? These would be lovely.

The Brussels sprouts were quartered, doused in olive oil and salt, and went into the oven at 400 degrees. While those were getting started cooking, I peeled and chopped an apple, and added the apple and about 1/4 cup of chopped pancetta to the roasting pan. I gave it a shake, and let it hang out for another 15-20 minutes - just until the Brussels have some dark spots and a few crispy leaves.

I served it all on top of blue cheese grits (You know the secret to making any side a main, right? Add a grain).

Hope you are all have a fantastic November! Peter and I are home today for Veteran's Day, and we're going to bop out to Concord for a healthy dose of the natural world on Walden Pond.

Happy Halloween!

To Catch a Thief (you will need to get this on Vudu - it's worth the $2.99 investment) + Irony wine + Reese's pumpkins

Happy Halloween to all! I am excited to pass out candy to all the littles in our neighborhood tonight. Last year, I nearly ran out of candy! And it was not (entirely) because I ate a lot of it!

Yesterday Peter was off again because of the hurricane, so I left him with the task of purchasing the candy. Stress inducing, I tell you! That is a job I very much enjoy. I gave him strict instructions that ended with, "No Star-bursts  Eww." Of course, he succeeded in getting the best candy bag mixes filled with mini Snickers and mini Reese's.

Kids, come to our house early if you want these things. By 8:00 p.m., we might be giving away dusty snack bags of trail mix.

High on the Hilltop

I have more to say about our trip to North Carolina! You probably thought I was finished since I already showed you 29 photos of cute Asheville, but I was a prolific photographer that weekend! And North Carolina was just so photogenic.

On our drive out to Asheville (after the most wonderful visit with our dear friends in Charlotte!) Peter convinced me that we should make a quick stop for barbecue at Bill's Spoon. North Carolina BBQ and I are BFFs since vinegar base = no tomatoes! Yay for fabulous pork, mustard slaw, hush puppies, and sweet tea.

Everyone kept saying, "Oh, it's going to be so beautiful out in the mountains this weekend!" And I will admit to you that I was a snobby-snob about it and didn't really believe them. I mean, New England in the fall is pretttttttty spectacular, know what I'm saying?

But they were right. Asheville was gorgeous - much more red and orange than my local leaves. I didn't do a great job capturing how crazy colorful it was, so you'll just have to go next October to see for yourself :)

Marissa and Adam got married on a lovely hill top. Their ceremony was one of our favorites - they absolutely radiated joy. Afterwards, we drove down the mountain a bit to a lovely tent set up alongside a stream. There was a fire pit and fantastic wine, cupcakes and a DJ who knew how to play the songs everyone would dance to. My heart is still so happy! And I want to do it all again next weekend.