Saturday, October 8, 2011

It's wonderful to be here/It's certainly a thrill - TinyMontgomery Kitchen, Meatless Monday Gypsy Soup, and Clay

On Tuesday evening the Boy and I went to see Nick Lowe and Wilco at the newly re-opened Peabody Opera House. It has been restored and renovated to a shiny lustre and it was good to be back in a place I had seen so many great shows in the past. Unfortunately, halfway through Wilco's set I realized I had a splitting headache triggered, no doubt, by the exuberant stage lighting. A migraine developed and has stuck with me all week. It's Saturday night and the migraine is mostly gone, but some pain is still lingering. At least I'm not forced to wear sunglasses in the house at all times as I was until yesterday. At any rate, the headache impeded my computer activities, and really, just about all of my activities.

So I've gotten behind in posting here, and I neglected to take photos of some of last week's meals. I did, however, get photos of Monday's meatless Gypsy Soup. I first had this soup many years ago when a co-worker recommended the recipe from the first (I think) Moosewood Cookbook. It's a highly customizable recipe; I basically use the recipe as a map and go from there with with I happen to have in the house. Also, I always make more than the recipe calls for. This time I used half golden nugget squash and half sweet potato as the base, green and red bell pepper, and all but about two cups of cooked chickpeas from a 1 pound bag of dried beans I cooked in the pressure cooker. It's a really hearty, comforting soup, a little sweet and a lot savory.
Tonight I oven barbecued chicken breasts, roasted cauliflower and made very garlicky, very crispy potato wedges. Apparently the secret is pre-cooking prior to the baking, and the coating of seasoned corn starch because these little dudes (I used new potatoes, quartered) were beautifully crispy.

I am really excited about this year's Rock N Roll Craft Show on the weekend after Thanksgiving. The last couple of years I have deejayed for a part of the show; two years ago I also had items in the show, but last year the crafty vibe was not with me and music was my only contribution. As I sat with my laptop and playlist watching the shoppers last year, I was also studying the table with two ladies selling various baked sweets across the room from me. The notion of doing something like that myself stuck with me but I kept putting off approaching the organizers because I just didn't feel like the possible rejection. Finally, just before the deadline for artists applying for the 2011 show was up, I sent the email to put forward the idea. Much to my delight (and nervousness), they approved the idea. And thus, TinyMontgomery Kitchen was born.

I have been squirreling away bunches of recipes so I will have a wide variety to choose from when it comes time to actually make all this stuff. I plan on having some savory snacks (crackers, snack mixes, veg pies), and lots of sweets including cute things on sticks (convenient for eating and shopping!), cookies and bars for sale. I am so excited about this venture! I am so anxious about this venture! I really can't wait, though.

I've managed to make some more clay pieces that are now awaiting their first firing. In addition to more faux bois, I'm attempting little bird and little house pendants, and also some doughnuts for bracelets. Way, way back, possibly the grade school years, I made a lot of macrame jewelry with waxed thread and small beads. Seems that variations on that have come back around again. I always loved the look of the basic knots so I want to explore a more minimalist look with it.

The migraine is almost gone. Surely tomorrow I will wake up without it. But I've been saying that for days now...

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