Christmas Treats for the Birds

Peanut Butter and Old Flour Balls - An Annual Christmas Tradition

The sticky dough is formed into rough balls

Every holiday season my sister gets rid of her old flour and buys a fresh bag for Christmas baking, usually a 5 lb. bag of King Arthur. Flour actually does have an expiration date. This year was noteworthy because she dumped the remains of the 20 lb. bag she had scrounged up during pandemic shortages. Then, as in previous years, she mixed the stale flour with other discarded items to make balls for the birds outside her Connecticut house. This year she inherited some Jiff peanut butter that she wouldn't dream of eating, and some old mixed nuts. She added enough water to make the mixture stick together and formed the mass of sticky dough into small balls. Of course there are many elaborate recipes for homemade bird treats on the Web, but she thinks it's much more fun and ecological to compost her expired food supplies this way . 

Note the pumpkin seeds placed on top to create an appetizing bird treat

Pictured above are some finished balls ready to be scattered in the woods on Christmas Eve.

                 Have a Merry Compost Christmas and a Happy Composting New Year!

Thanksgiving Pies with a Few Family Variations

Pear Tarte Tatin is my sister Lucia's specialty. She wrote: "I'm not a pie maker at all, but every Thanksgiving, I manage to pull off a Tarte Tatin-- not the traditional apple tarte, but a variant suggested in a Molly O'Neill recipe originally published in the New York Times in 1993."  Always a picky eater, Lucia doesn't like the traditional pumpkin or pecan pies, so when she found this French upside down pear tart, she made it her annual contribution to Thanksgiving dinner.

Lucia's 2021 Pear Tarte Tatin

Writing from New York, she goes on to offer a few notes on her Thanksgiving dessert: "I use Bartlett pears---a pedestrian choice, I know. But they are available out of season here. Anjou pears are too juicy and they give off too much liquid as they carmelize. My pears are always quite hard, even with the less juicy Bartletts; I still allow the pears and juice to cook down about twice as long as the recipe says."

"I have an old teflon pan which I use because it is the right size, and also the tarte slides out easily on the flip."

"A last note---don't fear the flip. It's a scary moment, but when the pan is removed, the result will be delicious even  if you have to wipe the sticky juice off the sides of the plate."

  Molly O'Neill's recipe for Pear Tarte Tatin on the New York Times Website

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Position rack in bottom third of oven. Peel the pears, cut them in half lengthwise and core them. Place in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Set aside.
2. Place the sugar in a 10-inch skillet or tarte Tatin pan over low heat. When some of the sugar begins to melt, begin stirring with a wooden spoon until all of the sugar is melted and begins to turn a pale golden color.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the pear halves in the pan spoke fashion, cut side up, with the narrow end of the pears toward the center, as close together as possible. Fill in the center with the remaining pears.
4. Cut the butter into small pieces and scatter over the pears. Place the pan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar turns a deep caramel color and the juices released from the pears are nearly evaporated, about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Roll the dough and cover the pears according to the directions in the pastry recipe. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes.
6. Run a small, sharp knife around the edge of the tarte to loosen. Place a large plate or platter over the skillet. Holding the plate and skillet together using 2 kitchen towels, carefully but quickly invert the tarte onto the plate. Let stand a few minutes to cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve with or creme fraiche if desired.

Lucia swears by Ms. O'Neill's pie crust recipe, which contains an egg yolk, so here is the link:  https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/10504-tarte-tatin-pastry 

                         Now on to my holiday favorite--- Pumpkin Pie

Taya's 2020 Pumpkin Pie 

I can't remember when I first started baking this pie, but I know it was well before I mastered the art of pie crusts. Our mother never made pies so we didn't learn that skill at her apron strings. I struggled for years until Pauline, a friend from Sur La Table, taught me to mix the dough in the food processor, chill it and roll it out giving it a turn every so often to prevent sticking. That works every time. Unlike Lucia's crust, I don't add an egg yolk.

My pie recipe appears in Cooking With Herbs and Spices by Craig Claiborne, legendary food editor of the New York Times from 1957 to '86. My copy is spattered and worn with use, but sports the original dust jacket. I drag it out every November and adjust amounts every so often, penciling notes in the margin. I prefer more spices, less molasses and less evaporated milk than the original. After much experimentation, I can say that I prefer Libby's canned pumpkin which, as it turns out, is actually squash.

           

Here is the page with my faithful pumpkin pie recipe from Cooking with Herbs and Spices

A New Addition to the holiday pie roster---Apple Pie Cookies

A New addition to the Holiday pie roster

Two years ago I bought a Bon Appétit "special edition" booklet on the news stand, titled Essential Cookies. In it I spotted a recipe for Apple-Pie Cookies. Here's the description that precedes the recipe: "Each flaky cookie crust holds a dollop of cinnamon-flecked apple filling, creating a dessert that celebrates fall." I was sold and started baking!

The cookies were time-consuming, but fun to construct. I have a collection of cute little cookie cutters, so I chose the  mini pumpkin to cut out the hole in the "top crust."  Many recipes in the booklet were favorites from the now defunct Gourmet Magazine. Gourmet's recipes were always meticulously tested and came out perfectly. As expected, the fresh- baked cookies were winners and I knew I had a new holiday tradition.

Copied from my Essential Cookies booklet

Thanksgiving Table 2021 and a few Poems of Gratitude

 

As she does every year, my sister in law Ricki set a spectacular Thanksgiving table. I took this photo shortly after we arrived. The autumnal colors were ravishing in the glow of evening.  

Another view of the centerpiece

                Quite a different Thanksgiving table setting, taken in afternoon light 2019.

  

An entire spatchcock turkey -- Quite a feast for two

Then we skipped a year to dine at home during the pandemic in 2020. I set a no frills table, but I did roast a buttermilk brined, spatchcock, heritage turkey and baked my traditional pumpkin pie. Dean whipped up his signature mashed potatoes. Everything was splendid but we really missed our family of choice and Ricki's excellent gravy, a skill we have yet to master.

Last year's pie for just the 2 of us

 2021- I enjoy finding my place card on an elegantly set table once again

Shortly before the event Ricki sent this email to our "Dear Thanksgiving Family," 

"During our meal, let each of us bring a story, a poem, a grace/blessing or favorite prose that inspires reflection on gratitude, the healing power of community, wisdom that aids positive attitudes through challenging times. We have all lived long enough to recall hardships of past eras, yet the harshness of hate made visible through web-based media clearly requires antidotes of "goodness" and reflections on loving kindness and transformation."

                               Dean penned some thoughtful lines:

                               Today we gather with bonds of love

                               Giving thanks for the blessings bestowed from above

                               And as we enjoy our blessed good fortune

                               We'll send to the needy a generous portion

                               

                                

                  Taya followed with a verse about Ricki's Shitzu and my calico kitty

                                 Now Allie and Wink, our favorite pets

                                 We lavish with love without regrets

                                 They fill our lives with joy and love

                                 For them we thank the stars above

                                  

                            Sande brought a poem that I admired and reprint below

The first Green of Spring                                                                   by David Budbill

Out walking in the swamp picking cowslip, marsh marigold, this sweet first green of spring. Now sautéed in a pan melting to a deeper green than ever they were alive, this green, this life, harbinger of things to come. Now we sit at the table munching on this message from the dawn which says we and the world are alive again today, and this is the world’s birthday. And even though we know we are growing old, we are dying, we will never be young again, we also know we’re still right here now, today, and, my oh my! don’t these greens taste good.

The Storm Door Is Open

 

                                                         Rain Gauge December 3, 2014

An atmospheric river dropped 7 3/4 inches of rain at my house in Berkeley on Sunday and Monday, Oct. 24th and 25th. Pictured above is a photo of my rain gauge that I used in a blog post on December 3rd 2014. I was excited when it registered 5" for the first time that year and the excitement continues... During rainfall, whether a drizzle or a storm, I check my gauge obsessively, sometimes even in the middle of the night. This is of course the result of years of drought and fire danger, and also because in Northern California we get next to no rain from March or April to November. This year was a very welcome surprise!!!

Here is same rain gauge this year on Nov. 9th, now set up in a flower box near the street. It's seven years older and clouded over from years of exposure, but still very serviceable. During the atmospheric river event I watched the level climb to 5 " on Sunday,  then happily emptied it and  saw it climb again to 2 3/4 " throughout the next day. Our rain for this historic October storm totaled 7 3/4 ". Goodbye fire danger! Bill Martin, my favorite TV meteorologist, had been very encouraging even when we got our first few sputtering drizzles in mid October. He posited that at least the storm door was opening. 

How right he was! At least for now it's wide open.  Last week we got another third of an inch and Monday night's rain added an inch more. We already have record rainfall for this time of year and of course the totals are higher the farther north you go. We're praying for more. 

             A calm morning in Berkeley after the recent storm -  photographed from our kitchen window

During the rainy season I also like checking the National Weather Service's website HERE for their accurate forecasts and especially their link to RAINFALL TOTALS throughout the state, in 1 to 24 hour increments. I usually check San Francisco, Marin County towns (which average a lot) and nearby East Bay cities. They refresh their statistics every few hours so I can observe obsessively during a storm.  Since it's a national service, I assume this applies to the rest of the country.

They need to change this sign

Our nearby Berkeley firehouse at the top of Shasta Road has a sign that registers fire danger throughout the year. The danger ranges form LOW  to  EXTREME,  and for some reason it's remained on HIGH even after the record breaking October deluge. Puddles now abound and every surface is soaked. We've been assured that fire season is over. Do they know something we don't ??

Happy Halloween '21

 

Halloween card sent to Dean from sister Ricki in 1984. This is one of the treasures I found while rooting through messy drawers during the loickdown. The interior message says " Dear Uncle Dean- hope it finds you in the best of spirits" Signed "Ricki, Bob and Leah" in Ricki's handwriting.

A Knitting Project that Started at the Farmers' Market

One beautiful Tuesday afternoon in June, I was just entering the farmers' market when a blond woman in an orange sleeveless sweater  caught my eye. I coveted her colorful knit top, so I approached her and asked  where she bought it. I was expecting her to name a store where I could find it, but she hesitated just a moment and told me that she had knit it. She added that she got the pattern and yarn from a wonderful company called Quince and that it was easy to knit. We both went about our shopping and I swallowed my disappointment. Then it came to me that my sister was an expert knitter and with the information the wearer had provided we could easily track down the sweater and maybe she would knit it for me. I have mentioned my sister Lucia before and praised her talent for arts and crafts– she did a vintage jeans repair for me in 2017 which I documented:  Find HERE

When I called her in New York to discuss my request, I was thinking about my mother's old sewing patterns from McCalls and knitting patterns cut out from various women's magazines in the '50s, like the one above. Lucia definitely inherited my mothers skills, so she's kept some of those old patterns and precious childhood fabrics stored in the same Scandinavian rosemaled trunk that my mother Isabelle used.  We're so lucky to still have that old thing in the  family.

Luckily, Lucia agreed to the knitting project and I started investigating the Quince&Co. website to find the item I had seen. This was easier said than done. The site was confusing and didn't yield a shell like the one I wanted, not to mention that my memory was vague, having seen the piece for only a few minutes at the market. Lucia had to explain about knitting web sites which often bundle patterns and yarn together. We then exchanged photos of Quince&Co. options and finally hit upon a pattern called "Kai" and a color called rosehip.  Then came my big surprise ---  patterns no longer come in paper packages that you buy or clip from magazines. These days you download the directions that the company provides after you've paid for them. So Lucia ordered the kestrel yarn to be sent to her and directions that she would download.

Photo & description of Kai on Quince&Co's website

"Kai is our sophisticated color block shell, with a split hem and the slightest of finishing trim on neck and armholes. We love the contrast of light, clear Wave and deep coral Anemone, but what colors will you pick?"

The following is Lucia's account of the project:

"When I learned that the wearer of the sweater had said it was from Quince&Co, I knew that I had heard of Quince, a small high quality yarn purveyor in Maine. I even had a pattern published under their auspices.  I was intrigued by the idea of trying linen -- I usually only knit with wool -- and I didn't know how forgiving it would be on my hands. Quince&Co offers two weights of linen, but the pattern called for Kestrel, the heavier of the two weights of linen yarn they offer. When I opened the package and saw the lusciously colored skeins, I was surprised to find the strand flat, not cylindrical like "regular" spun yarn. They call it a tape yarn, but it knit up easily on # 8 round needles, with the resulting texture being nubby and uneven. Attaching in a new skein was a bit of a quandary, but it must have been for others too because Quince provided a blog post on the very subject, with suggestions and tips:

https://quinceandco.com/blogs/news/working-with-kestrel

Knitting up the tank top was quick and easy, a perfect summer project, and I was happy to give this gift to a beloved sister less skilled with her hands.

So the moral of this story is if you see someone wearing something you like, ask where he/she got it. They will  take it as a compliment, and it may end up in a sartorial adventure."

Here are Lucia's comments in texts she sent as the knitting progressed

Friday June 25th                     "Yarn arrived,  color is beautiful"

6/25/21                                            I sent the measurements she requested 

  

       6/27/21                                "Progress on knitting"

7/10/21                                             "Sideways progress, It's fun to knit"

8/21/21                                     "Not the greatest angle but you get the idea"

8/31/21             "Finished knitting but now I have to finish off the ends. Still big job ahead"

9/13/21                                                             "Here she is"

Package arrived safely          

9/15/21

I love it

After I unpacked the hand-knit shell and admired it, I tried to imitate the market shopper's outfit and it was a good match. It was exactly what I wanted!!  Now all I had to do was take it to the farmers' market on Tuesday and find my twin

Maida Heatter's Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies--with Potato Chips

My faded 1977 copy of her first book

My expert hairstylist Maria, who is also a talented baker, mentioned  Maida Heatter's Key Largo oatmeal cookies last week. We then launched into a conversation about her recent death at 102 years old, and this kooky recipe with a secret ingredient. I've baked many oatmeal cookies in my life but never one with potato chips. I had to have the recipe. I hoped that it would be in Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies, which I own.        

My small collection of her many cookbooks

I went home and checked all of my Maida Heatter cookbooks for the recipe and came up empty. Then I went online and tried to locate Key Largo oatmeal cookies. I found nothing linking Ms Heatter to Key Largo cookies. The only recipe I found for these cookies was from a website called The Family Cookbook Project which listed Nancy Watson as the contributor. No mention of Maida Heatter.  Here's the reference:

Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

  Tried it? Rate this Recipe: 

  

 

This recipe for Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies, by Nancy Watson, is from The McCormick Family Cookbook, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com. We'll help you start your own personal cookbook! It's easy and fun.  Click here to start your own cookbook

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I started to wonder if the  the Key Largo cookie was actually a Maida Heatter original. I suspected it was, since she lived had lived in Florida her entire baking career, so I kept searching and finally found the  attribution in a website I have come across before called  Eat Your Books. It's a frustrating site because, though it highlights the recipe you're looking for and includes all the publication details, it only gives the ingredients but doesn't include the directions. I personally am not confident enough to waste time and money on a recipe lacking such important information. At least I did confirm that the recipe is included in Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great cookies which is one of many of hers that I don't own.  

Now I had the full recipe from The Cookbook Project and I knew it was included in a Maida Heatter book. All that was left was to buy a bag of potato chips and start baking. I soon made a batch and declared them winners. They are now included in my bulging file of favorite oatmeal cookies. As Maida said "Baking cookies is a great escape. It's fun. It's happiness. It's creative. It's good for your health. It reduces stress"

Key Largo Oatmeal Cookies (reprinted from The Cookbook Project)

4 oz salted potato chips
6 oz (1 1/2 C) walnuts
2 C sifted unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 packed C light brown sugar
2 eggs graded large
2 C old-fashioned (not instant) oatmeal
10 oz (2 c) dried pitted sour cherries (raisins or cranberries could be substituted. Or a combination of all or any two. I use only the cherries.)

 

Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 350º. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or aluminum foil, shiny side up and set aside. Place the potato chips in a plastic or paper bag and squeeze the bag a few times with both hands to break the pieces just a bit. They should be coarse, not fine. They should measure 2 packed cups, set aside. Break the walnuts into large pieces. Set aside. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until soft.. Add the vanilla and sugar and beat until mixed. Add the eggs and beat to mix. The add the sifted dry ingredients and beat on low speed only until incorporated. Add the oatmeal and beat to mix. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Transfer the dough to a larger bowl (if you don't have one, you can do this in the same bowl, just not as easily.) With a heavy wooden spatula stir in the cherries and nuts. Finally, stir in the potato chips. The chips should still be visible. This takes a strong arm and some heavy stirring.   Each cookie should be made of 1/4 C dough. You can use two spoons and guess at the amount, a 1/4 C measuring cup or (this is best), or a small ice cream scoop (the scoop that measures 2 inches in diameter is the right size). Place a large piece of aluminum foil next to the sink and place the mounds any which way on the foil. Then wet your hands under cold water, shake them off, but do not dry them and with your damp hands roll a mound of dough into a ball, flatten it to about a 3/4 in. thickness and place it on a lined baking sheet. Continue to shape the cookies and place them 2 in. apart (no more than 6 on a 12 by 15 1/2 in. sheet. Keep your hands damp as necessary. Bake two sheets at a time for 18 to 20 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back twice during baking. (If you leave one sheet on the lower rack for too long, those cookies might become too dark on the bottoms). When done, the cookies should be lightly browned all over. Do not over bake. If you bake one sheet alone, bake it on the higher of the two racks and reverse it front to back once or twice during baking. When you bake one sheet alone, the cookies will bake in less time. Let them cool briefly, then with a wide metal spatula transfer them to racks to cool.   These can be stored in an airtight box or they can be wrapped two together (bottoms together) in clear cellophane, wax paper or aluminum foil. (Always store these two together, bottoms together).

                                          

Bookstore Rearrangement

 

The Lion Sleeps Today

 The Lion Sleeps Tonight sung by the Tokens

A stunning photo taken in Uganda by my  friend Jenny Michael. She focuses on birds in her latest  BLOG, but she sent a few animal shots from Africa when Dean and I asked her to. She reports that there are more birds in Uganda than in all of North America

            Another prize winning shot of a baboon--- one of the thousands of pictures she's taken so far   

                                        

              A Malachite kingfisher she photographed in Botswana. Makes me want to go to Africa 

Elaine De Kooning - One of the Ninth Street Women

 

Self portrait of Elaine De Kooning in 1946

Here sits Elaine De Kooning in two self portraits, painted when she was 26 years old. She was the brilliant, talented, energetic and beautiful artist who was the emotional center of a group of creative spirits known as the "New York School."  These were a close knit group of artists, poets, dancers and musicians who lived in lower Manhattan in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

I've recently been introduced to her in the engrossing book Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel. The Berkeley Public Library site offers this summary:

"The rich, revealing, and thrilling story of five women whose lives and painting propelled a revolution in modern art, from the National Book Award finalist. Set amid the most turbulent social and political period of modern times, Ninth Street Women is the impassioned, wild, sometimes tragic, always exhilarating chronicle of five women who dared to enter the male-dominated world of twentieth-century abstract painting--not as muses but as artists. From their cold-water lofts, where they worked, drank, fought, and loved, these pioneers burst open the door to the art world for themselves and countless others to come."

Among the five women artists discussed in the book (De Kooning, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan and Joan Mitchel), it feels like there is a disproportionate amount of space devoted to Elaine De Kooning, probably because she had the most dynamic personality and the most exciting life. Besides working as an abstract expressionist, she started painting self portraits in the '40s and then went on to become a talented portraitist. Her most famous subject was John F. Kennedy, who sat for her in Palm Beach.  As an ardent liberal, she was captivated by JFK and painted numerous works of him, as seen in her studio below.

                   A clearer detail from the large painting above. She's still on the ladder painting JFK

Such a fascinating person deserves a more detailed rendering, so I would recommend checking out her bio HERE or better still, reading the book Ninth Street Women. 

Bloomin' gorgeous

 

These brilliant flowers are bee and butterfly magnets 

I bought this local bloom at the El Cerrito Farmers Market on Sunday. It was too stunning to pass up. Negligence in the garden isn't often rewarded, but when left unpicked the edible buds of the artichoke open into spectacular flowers like the one above. I photographed flowering artichokes in 2012 when I had just started my blog and I'm still at it.

June is Busting Out in Berkeley

 

This scene greeted me first thing Tuesday morning

Bali wind chimes ringing in the fog on June 1st

Primavera for All

It's the Vernal Equinox and Spring has Sprung whether you're a nymph or a cat. Botticelli knew all about it and other's have had some fun with his Renaissance masterpiece known as Allegoria della Primavera or Allegory of Spring, exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Allegory of Spring by Sandro Botticelli c.1480

My cat Allie's version