Well, I managed to pass a perfectly fine weekend without having any major appliances break. Also, there were no more termites.
I consider this a success of a weekend unto itself. However, on top of it, we had our first nice, non-rainy weather in literally a week.
The pups and I took full advantage of the weather and we finally got to go on our long walk at the park that we've missed since March. It was an unusual walk. Due to the fact we've had over 13 inches of rain since April 1st, the park had flooded. Most of the flooding had abated when we walked but the signs were definitely there. There were dead fish all over the place from where the water had risen and then rescinded, leaving the poor fish behind. There were even some large shrimplike things that had died and shrivelled in the sun. I think these may have been crawfish but I'm not sure.
Either way, our walk was a wee bit stinky as recently flooded areas often are. We only ran into difficulty when we were headed towards the trail we normally take and found ourselves slipping on sliding on rather wet, slick mud that hadn't yet dried. Nevertheless we triumphed even though both Sookie and Rory needed a bath by the time we were done. There were parts of our walk that were also impossible to do- our normal lakeside path was still flooded over and there was no sign of the little road we take because it was still hidden under several feet of water.
It made for an interesting walk. For a beautiful day, it was also surprisingly secluded. There weren't many walkers out and about. I suspect many of them were in the garden, mowing their grass while the sun was shining.
The rest of our Saturday we spent outside and I finally wound up, reading a book, enjoying a glass of white wine while the sun set. It was a lovely way to end a beautiful day.
Sunday has not been so beautiful. It has been grey and gloomy and the rain is not far off. I think we're in for another wet week. It hasn't been a bad day as gloomy days go- my younger brother and his family came down to make a trip to Jungle Jim's. I'm always pleased to guide tours there since I know my way around a little better than I should. It was a good day for it, too. Most of the shelves were still stocked even though on a Sunday afternoon that often isn't the case. I've been a little disappointed with Jungle Jim's lately, to be honest. They failed to produce any ramps during April. I discovered ramps at Jungle Jim's last year and I missed them as soon as their short season was over. In case you don't know, they're a cross between a green onion and a leek and very delicious. I also haven't found any good mushrooms there. I was hoping to at least try some morels this year but even though its morel season, there's never a fresh morel to be found in the store.
Still, for all my griping, Jungle Jim's still manages to deliver to my gourmet needs or, at least, my aspirations to be a gourmet. After all, I found sunchokes there a couple of weeks ago and am now a big fan. They have the pea sprouts I've come to love as a garnish as well as all manner of unusual vegetables.
My trip with my brother and his family was a lot of fun. I got to show my brother the pigs head and lambs heads that always fascinate me and then I got to watch as he chased my niece with the lamb's head. I know, it's a little twisted but it's nice to know my brother and I share a sense of the same dark humour. I got to spend some time with my niece too which was fun. It's amazing that for as often as I go to Jungle Jim's, I still discover new things each time.
Now my brother and his family has gone, the house is quiet except for the sound of my washing machine which, so far, has not gone to join its life partner in the Great Beyond of Household Appliances. So far, its getting along with the new dryer just fine. I know there's an age difference there but, well, who knows...maybe they'll be together for many years to come. Of course, at this point, I'd settle for many months to come, rather than years- I'll take what I can get at this point.
Even though it's back to work tomorrow, it's nice to have a few more hours where I can curl up, enjoy the gloom and know that, until tomorrow when my alarm goes off, there's nothing but time to relax, enjoy "Game of Thrones" on HBO and be grateful that even though I had a dark week last week, the weekend provides some much needed light at the end of the tunnel.
Happy Monday!
Showing posts with label morels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label morels. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Rainy Weekends, Ramps and Other Food Geekery...
It's Sunday evening already and the weekend is passing by far too quickly, as usual.
It's been a very wet weekend. The rain held off for most of Friday and Saturday but when it came, it really poured. We had torrential rain on Saturday night and now we're having a steady downpour that's been going on since about 2 p.m. On days like today, the only thing that seems right is to sit down on the sofa and enjoy a rainy evening.
The puppies don't care for the rain. I feel bad that they have to go outside to do their business. They try to resist quite hard but in the end, they're mostly willing to run out, do their thing and then come inside, soaked and ready to roll on the carpet to try themselves off.
Of course, at one point, during the beginning of the first torrential downpour on Saturday night, I realized they'd dragged all their soft toys outside and if they remained outside, they'd get so wet they couldn't be saved. So, silly Monkeypants that I am, I dived out into the downpour, retrieved their toys and ran inside. I did not roll on the carpet to dry off, however.
It's been a nice weekend. My parents came down to visit which is always fun. I got to make them lunch and spend time with them which is always a treat. It's a treat for the puppies too- I think they probably get sick of seeing just me all the time.
The nice thing about hanging out with my parents is that we don't have to do too much to be entertained. We spent a portion of the afternoon at IKEA. My dad had never been. I think, as most people are on their first visit to an IKEA, he was rather overwhelmed. He was also not keen on IKEA's stealthy way of making you pretty much have to navigate through the entire store to get out, therefore ensuring you will buy something. My mother bought a tea strainer. That's it. I was quite impressed. Of course, I didn't buy anything but then again, I did go last weekend so I didn't need anything. Not that I ever really need anything at IKEA but you know what I mean.
Of course, no visit from my parents is complete without a visit to Jungle Jim's. I never mind going there. I went last weekend but I can always find something to get excited about. At the moment, to my extremely geeky-food-lovin' joy, they have ramps. Most people don't know what a ramp is. I didn't until I saw Mario Batali use them on Iron Chef America. It merited investigation. A ramp is a wild leek that only grows, literally, for just a couple of weeks in the spring. As far as I know it's either hard or even impossible to cultivate. Since I've seen them used in several of Mario's recipes as well as in other places, I had the urge to try them. So, imagine my glee when Jungle Jim's had them. I got some last week and, I'm sort of embarrassed to admit, I squealed a little...only to realize that I was by myself and squealing over ramps was a bit strange. I cooked them using a Batali recipe for Spaghetti with Ramps. I used Linguine. It was delicious. So, this week, when I saw that they still had ramps and they'd lowered the price, I was extremely happy. I can't wait to use them.
Jungle Jim's, thus far, has proved to me that they pretty much supply everything a pretentious foodie like me could want from fresh quail eggs to cippolini onions to ramps. They've even had truffles and morels and different times. Alas, these are far to rich for my lowly salary but it's nice to know they have them. The one thing I haven't seen is fresh chanterelle mushrooms but I have no doubt that, in time, I'll see them. That's an ingredient I'm still longing to try.
My parents left a little while ago, the puppies are quietly chewing on their puppy teething rings I gave them and the rain is pouring outside. It's a pretty peaceful way to ease into the Sunday evening and a nice end to a quiet weekend.
Now I think I'll go and ponder what to do with my ramps and relax for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is Monday which means back to routine and back to work. However, I think that I'll take Scarlett O'Hara's words of wisdom about thinking about that tomorrow. Tomorrow is, after all, another day and why waste a perfectly good Sunday thinking about tomorrow.
Happy Monday (tomorrow!)
It's been a very wet weekend. The rain held off for most of Friday and Saturday but when it came, it really poured. We had torrential rain on Saturday night and now we're having a steady downpour that's been going on since about 2 p.m. On days like today, the only thing that seems right is to sit down on the sofa and enjoy a rainy evening.
The puppies don't care for the rain. I feel bad that they have to go outside to do their business. They try to resist quite hard but in the end, they're mostly willing to run out, do their thing and then come inside, soaked and ready to roll on the carpet to try themselves off.
Of course, at one point, during the beginning of the first torrential downpour on Saturday night, I realized they'd dragged all their soft toys outside and if they remained outside, they'd get so wet they couldn't be saved. So, silly Monkeypants that I am, I dived out into the downpour, retrieved their toys and ran inside. I did not roll on the carpet to dry off, however.
It's been a nice weekend. My parents came down to visit which is always fun. I got to make them lunch and spend time with them which is always a treat. It's a treat for the puppies too- I think they probably get sick of seeing just me all the time.
The nice thing about hanging out with my parents is that we don't have to do too much to be entertained. We spent a portion of the afternoon at IKEA. My dad had never been. I think, as most people are on their first visit to an IKEA, he was rather overwhelmed. He was also not keen on IKEA's stealthy way of making you pretty much have to navigate through the entire store to get out, therefore ensuring you will buy something. My mother bought a tea strainer. That's it. I was quite impressed. Of course, I didn't buy anything but then again, I did go last weekend so I didn't need anything. Not that I ever really need anything at IKEA but you know what I mean.
Of course, no visit from my parents is complete without a visit to Jungle Jim's. I never mind going there. I went last weekend but I can always find something to get excited about. At the moment, to my extremely geeky-food-lovin' joy, they have ramps. Most people don't know what a ramp is. I didn't until I saw Mario Batali use them on Iron Chef America. It merited investigation. A ramp is a wild leek that only grows, literally, for just a couple of weeks in the spring. As far as I know it's either hard or even impossible to cultivate. Since I've seen them used in several of Mario's recipes as well as in other places, I had the urge to try them. So, imagine my glee when Jungle Jim's had them. I got some last week and, I'm sort of embarrassed to admit, I squealed a little...only to realize that I was by myself and squealing over ramps was a bit strange. I cooked them using a Batali recipe for Spaghetti with Ramps. I used Linguine. It was delicious. So, this week, when I saw that they still had ramps and they'd lowered the price, I was extremely happy. I can't wait to use them.
Jungle Jim's, thus far, has proved to me that they pretty much supply everything a pretentious foodie like me could want from fresh quail eggs to cippolini onions to ramps. They've even had truffles and morels and different times. Alas, these are far to rich for my lowly salary but it's nice to know they have them. The one thing I haven't seen is fresh chanterelle mushrooms but I have no doubt that, in time, I'll see them. That's an ingredient I'm still longing to try.
My parents left a little while ago, the puppies are quietly chewing on their puppy teething rings I gave them and the rain is pouring outside. It's a pretty peaceful way to ease into the Sunday evening and a nice end to a quiet weekend.
Now I think I'll go and ponder what to do with my ramps and relax for the rest of the day. Tomorrow is Monday which means back to routine and back to work. However, I think that I'll take Scarlett O'Hara's words of wisdom about thinking about that tomorrow. Tomorrow is, after all, another day and why waste a perfectly good Sunday thinking about tomorrow.
Happy Monday (tomorrow!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
StatCounter
