210220 Mumma being domestic.
Today
I love turning onto the road that leads to our little cul de sac; it is not sanded, so the road itself is white. A road paved with snow, it seems enchanted. How is it that I can look at snow day after day and feel like I'm seeing it for the first time, that a picture like this can make my heart beat faster, take away my breath?*
*****
Feb.17
Wednesday night there was a fierce snowstorm. I took Fig out and the wind was blasting, the snow whirled around me and blew into my face so I couldn't see. Underfoot the fallen snow rose and fell where the winds had waved it, like sand under the sea. The complete darkness of the night here made the disorientation the more acute.
Feb. 18
Blackie has been hanging around our house the last two days like a homeless cat. He has a better view of the valley and the road here than at his home up the hill, or maybe he thinks we need guarding. He can guard us and his family from here because they are behind us.. He also loves little Fig and maybe just hangs around in case Fig comes out. He even paws at the window sometimes to get our attention.
Feb. 19
The sun was shining and it was - 8 and still. I sat on the porch in the morning sun with the two dogs. The surface of the snow is higher than the porch.
Feb. 20 (today)
Rain had an appointment at Reilly House Charity Shop on the 17th, to look for some clothes, so I went along and picked up several needed items (and one or two not needed). One was a clothes drying rack! Needed! I washed a load of whites that very day and put it out to dry on the porch. I brought the rack in at night, partially folding it for easy carrying, didn't even have to take the clothes off. They were frozen to the bars. Set the rack back up in the mud room. The clothes were dry enough not to drip and could finish drying there.
The clothes come remarkably clean washed by hand (and stick), most noticeable with the lights and whites. Whether or not it is the pure water, ours is from a well, I don't know. I use very little soap, but add some baking soda. And the clothes when dry are so soft and feel so fresh; I am very pleased with the results of my old-fashioned laundering.
Picked up some forks at Reilly House; we only have three and run out between washes. Found a few other useful items: electric wok - bigger than the usual household size, 14 inch diameter; it is much better for cooking for two or more. I have in fact been searching for one this size for several years, since my old one wore out. Did not expect to find one here in The Estrie and hadn't even considered an electric one. Almost new, the teflon (wanted a non-stick surface) is still perfect, but the temperature knob is missing. The screw is there, with a straight slit in it, so a knife tip works perfectly to adjust the heat. Also found a large pyrex oven dish with lid. It will be perfect for real baked baked beans! The bean pot, being from the "consignment room" was $10, but the wok was $4 maybe 5.
Using my new "mandolin" from Friperie Karma, I made eggplant "french fries" in the new wok. Seasoned with garlic powder, a little turmeric, cayenne, pepper and salt, they were delicious. The next morning I put the leftovers in an omelette. Amazing. They weren't crispy however. Perhaps they would crisp dredged in flour and cooked in a flat pan. Another night, inspired by a Facebook friend who posted a picture of her home-made sweet potato chips, I made my own. The mandolin seemed to show up for just that purpose.
The mandolin slices and makes french fry shapes.
Eggplant fries. Sweet Potato Chips.
*****
Yesterday I made home-made falafels for the very first time. I had precooked frozen chickpeas and was pleased to have found a potato masher at Reilly House to replace my glass tumbler masher. I used a recipe from a website called Downshiftology (link below). I don't have a food processer here, and in any case I thought that people have been making falafels for perhaps thousands of years, and most of that time they didn't use a food processer. Maybe a large mortar and pestle (hm...). The potato masher worked about as well as my tumbler, so there were a few unmashed peas. I didn't have cumin (which I don't like and would have left out anyway), and was without cardamom too. I put in some turmeric instead, after googling to find out if it was a spice used in Middle Eastern cooking (yes, it is).
I made the patties by hand: apparently you can buy a little press to make puck-shaped patties for baking and frying. For deep-frying the recipe suggests a round ball shape. My patties kept getting bigger!
They were, with one exception, the best falafels I have ever had.** (The recipe is called Most Delicious Falafel Recipe***) I used the Tahini Sauce Recipe from the same site and served the falafels in a pita with the tahini sauce, lettuce, kale and diced tomatoes from a can, drained. (I was pleasantly surprised by how well the canned tomatoes worked. Winter is not a great time for buying fresh tomatoes and I wasn't sure when I'd be making falafels.) The falafels were indeed delicious: flavourful and tender. I can't wait for tonight's supper. We have falafel leftovers enough for two!
Feb. 20
It is snowing again. How it seems to flow down the mountain beside us! The meadow that runs from higher up the mountain down into the valley forms a sort of riverbed for the blowing snow. Watching out the window it seems like being under water.
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