Teenage Brains

September 21, 2011

Lee sent me this article from National Geographic a couple of weeks ago; since then, it’s been making the rounds on the internet–apparently we’re not the only people who are stumped by the sometimes bewildering workings of our children’s minds. The article bears a close reading, then a re-read, just to be sure you got [...]

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Breakfast of Champions

September 20, 2011

Homemade country sourdough bread. Homemade cultured butter. Homemade sour cherry jam. Obsessed much?  Well, yes.  I suppose I am. Behold–the perfect breakfast.

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Thinking About Vanilla

September 19, 2011

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of fancy cocktails that include various and sundry “house-infused” concoctions.  The hip new place in Raleigh (Beasley’s Chicken and Honey) has one drink on the menu that includes “bacon-washed bourbon” and another with “chocolate chile bitters.”  I haven’t had a chance to try them yet, but they’re both on [...]

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One Crumble Fits All

September 16, 2011

It’s a dreary, cool day here–we don’t often get weather like this till well into the fall.  I’m trying not to let it bother me. I had half a dozen figs ripening on the counter (I’ve been picking a few a day, trying to stay ahead of the birds and squirrels).  So to cheer myself [...]

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Padron Peppers

September 15, 2011

I stumbled across these peppers at one of the local farmer’s markets.  The sign said Padron Peppers, which sounded familiar.  I didn’t buy them right away; I went home and looked them up.  They’re a Spanish pepper, not often available in this country. That was all I needed to know–I wanted them.  I started plotting [...]

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An Ode to the Kitchen Scale

September 14, 2011

Yes!  Finally–someone with some clout (The New York Times, no less) has seen the light about the kitchen scale. Read this article–it’s so much more persuasive than anything I could say on the subject–then go buy a kitchen scale (or pull that one you got for your wedding out from the back of the pantry). [...]

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What to do with your 10th grade yearbook

September 13, 2011

Lee has made a most excellent discovery.  As I’ve mentioned before, we’re going through our bookshelves, gradually wrapping our brains around the idea of letting go of all those books.* Most books are easy enough to part with–I know if I need to revisit something, I can just get it on the Kindle, or check [...]

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Boys and Girls

September 12, 2011

Toby is a senior in high school.  That makes this–for those of us who are math-impaired–his fourth year at the high school.  Delaney is a freshman (at the same school).  That makes this–again with the math–her fifth week at the school. Lee and I have learned more about the school in the last three weeks than [...]

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Tomato-palooza

September 9, 2011

This is what I’ve been doing all week.  Tomatoes.  I bought a box of Romas on Sunday, and have been cranking through them ever since. –A batch (the second in the last few weeks) of pasta sauce, in the freezer (recipe here). –Nine pounds became a cup and a half of tomato paste. –Two batches [...]

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How To Clean a Teenager’s Room

September 8, 2011

We made huge progress last weekend–we cleaned Toby’s room!  After months of having him hanging out in the kitchen (I love him, but the constant underfoot was really getting old), we realized that the only solution was to move him–and all his stuff–back into his bedroom.  Step one:  clear out his room.  In order to [...]

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