March Plans

I will blog every day in March.

I did this before, a few years ago, and the results were not all positive. Yeah, I wrote some interesting stuff. But blogging became an obligation. I was so grateful when the month ended that I wrote almost nothing once it was over.

But now I have a different goal, and that is to get out of this current blogging blah and figure out what to do with this thing. I need a new vision. I'm thinking that maybe I'd like to write about subjects other than food and books.

I have chosen a theme for March: LETTERS. Not every post will adhere to the theme.

There will continue to be the occasional shouting about food or books.

Some Things On My Mind

1) I watched the movie Moliere recently. The costumes and scenery were pretty; the story was simplistic and the characters uninteresting. But the movie made me very happy. It is in French, with English subtitles. I was shocked and pleased at how much high school French I remember. Maybe it was just a movie with simple words. Now I am going to hunt down more French movies to watch. Any suggestions? The other French movies that I have seen and remember are Swimming Pool (loved, have seen multiple times) and Tell No One (strongly disliked).

2) I may have discovered my next project. I had dinner with one of my writing friends and her husband last week, and they served a sourdough bread that had a thick crusty crust and an interior with large irregular holes. A really excellent bread, probably made in a fancy oven. This couple tries to buy everything as locally as possible (with the exception of avocados and lemons, which we agreed are essential to survival), and so I asked which bakery it came from. A pause. Not a bakery. They baked it themselves. In a normal oven. No special hearth stones or steam applications. We spent the rest of the evening discussing how to bake bread (and also talking about Tana French novels).

So, I am going to start baking my own bread. I must. It is a disgrace that I don't know this basic skill. No bread machines. Bread machine bread is OK, but most of the kinds that I have tried are soft and uniform, like sandwich bread; no crusty crust. And machinery seems like cheating. My friends use the Jim Lahey no-knead method, and made their own sourdough starter. I will start with the basic white, and then will work on whole-grain advancements and sourdoughs. I can't wait. The only equipment I need to buy is a Dutch oven; I'm thinking that my stainless steel stock pot won't work. Why is it that I am constantly surrounded by Bed Bath and Beyond coupons, except for the times when I actually want to buy something?

3) I have been watching Twin Peaks on DVD. I don't remember 1990 being such a frumpy fashion era. In one scene, Lara Flynn Boyle's character meets her secret lover while wearing what appears to be a navy blue sleeping bag with arm and neck holes. Really? I couldn't hear what they were saying; I was so distracted with wondering what she was thinking.

4) This winter, I haven't minded the cold or the snow or the darkness so much. What I have missed is the CSA veggies. It's sad to buy poor quality, pricy zucchini from Mexico and remember that I overdosed on the best specimens ever last summer. When I get that first bag of spinach this spring, I might munch through it like potato chips.

Mini Chocolate Ganache Tarts

I found a copy of Martha Stewart Living magazine at work, February issue, and fell in love with the chocolate ganache tart on the cover. I hoped that I would forget about it, but every day at lunch time I sought it out to study. For some reason, the chocolate crust beguiled me. And I could feel those meringue hearts crunching in my mouth already.

So I made a bunch over the weekend and gifted most of them to friends for Valentine's Day. Mine aren't anywhere near as pretty as the ones in the magazine of course, and I will think twice next time before thinking that it's not a big deal to introduce meringue and pastry bags to each other. But oh...the flavor and texture was everything I wanted. The crust was crunchy, like a shortbread. The ganache was like chocolate-flavored butter (basically, it was); rich and creamy and barely sweet. The meringue hearts were cheerfully crispy. I'm so grateful that they have now disappeared from my kitchen.

A Week

Last week I bought a new furnace. I was sort of dreading it, because somehow I had the idea in my mind that furnaces cost about $20,000, minimum. When I found out how far off I was, I LOVED the whole process of researching and buying one. I LOVED spending the money. I feel responsible and grownup. Furnaces are cheap! I spent more for the dining table and chairs than for the furnace! New refrigerators (with ice machines) cost more than furnaces! Can I buy two furnaces?

I decided that spending money is fun, and to celebrate the furnace success, I got Chinese takeout. Eggplant Deluxe (eggplant, shredded pork, shrimp, and spicy Szechuan sauce). This was my fortune. This made me so happy, because it reminded me of my New Years resolutions. I spent the rest of the night in plotting and scheming anew for those goals.

Yesterday, I made spicy cheesy crab and corn chowder. It tastes buttery, velvety, and rich, but it's lower in calories than one might think. Instead of lots of butter and cream for thickening, I used a little of those and lot of shredded potato. The potato disintegrates and creates the illusion of creaminess, along with skim milk and chicken stock. There isn't a lot of crab in there, 'cuz I'm cheap, but somehow Old Bay seasoning makes me believe that there's lot of seafood within.

I decided that I needed a new purse. I like my other purse, but it is Kryptonite green, and once in a while I need to be inconspicuous. I'm very picky and very miserly about handbags, but fell in love instantly with this one. It's got several secret pockets (including a side one for the phone). And it was on sale.

And the tag made me feel virtuous about buying it.