Living on the Wedge

This is absurd, even for me. Plus the sharp cheddar is blocking a couple stray sticks of mozzarella.

Tundra Sports

I spent the weekend in Bend, a pleasant little mountain hamlet in the middle of Oregon. I know I said I'd be strapping some strategically designed tennis rackets to my feet and traipsing through the Cascade range, but since there wasn't much new snow on the ground it made more sense to rent some cross country skis and explore the area around Mt. Bachelor instead.

I've always had a hard time with skiing. I tried downhill once, at Coffee Mill Ski Area in Wabasha, MN. Which you might not recognize as an alpine region, because it's a river bluff along the Mississippi. Nonetheless, it was formidable enough to scare me away from the slopes for 15 years. Then I moved to Oregon, a mere 50 miles from Mt. Hood, and decided that I should give winter sports another shot. So I strapped my legs to a snowboard this time and threw myself down a bigger hill. Results were not optimal.

This weekend I revisited skiing of the Nordic variety. About 5 years ago I was convinced to do a 10k ski race across a section of Lake Superior, although I had no previous experience. Guess how that turned out.

But this time I went back for a round two, and you know what -- this broad's not half bad on a couple of planks. And boy do I feel like an athlete. And by that I mean I can barely walk and until yesterday I had forgotten I had triceps.

What a lovely way to witness winter.

Things that are only poigniant if you're on your bike: Industrial Dusk

Enough said. Have a good weekend, everyone. I'm going snowshoeing.

It was Soupa! (Sorry)

Deborah Madison knows a thing or two about soup. I followed this recipe for "White Bean Soup with Pasta and Rosemary Oil" from her big cookbook. (As opposed to her soup-specific one.) But I should warn you - I chose this one in part because it was one of her less elaborate creations, and it took about 2 1/2 hours.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to point out that I enjoy meat. Really enjoy it. But sometimes it's nice to show the veggies some love. Or attempt to make your vegetarian friends feel comfortable in your home.

I give this soup a B. If I could do it all over again, I would be more conservative with the beans, and I would take Deborah's advice and blend half of it. And PS: beans are time consuming.

White Bean Soup with Pasta and Rosemary Oil

The Rosemary Oil:

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 TB finely chopped rosemary
2 garlic cloves, sliced

The Soup:

2 cups cannellini or navy beans
2 TB olive oil
1 TB chopped rosemary
1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 celery rib, diced
5 garlic cloves, sliced
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 cup diced tomatoes, and their juice
salt and peppa
1 cup dried pasta, shells, little elbows, whatever strikes your fancy
thin shavings of fresh Parmesan

Slowly warm the olive oil with the rosemary and garlic until the garlic begins to color, about 3 mins. Turn off heat and set aside.

Cover the beans with boiling water and set aside.

Heat the oil with 1 TB rosemary over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots, cook until onion softens, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and parsley, cook for a few minutes. Drain the beans, add them with the tomatoes and 3 quarts of water. (That's 12 cups. I learned this on the internet.) Bring to boil, then simmer, covered, until the beans are tender, about an hour and a half. 90 minutes. A long time. At some point, add 2 teaspoons of salt to the mix.

Puree half the soup, if you please. Cook the pasta, strain the rosemary oil. Ladle it up, add some pasta and drizzle with oil and add pepper to taste. Top with Parm. Enjoy.

Another reason to learn how to sew:

I want to make monsters.

Thank you, pretty Portland.

I managed to leave my nest of sickness and despair home for the first time in a couple of days to putter around my neighborhood. It's a lovely day to make your escape.

Results of food challenge #1: Abort, abort!

Unfortunately, I had to put my Friday night entertaining plans on hold, to instead play host to the most vile stomach virus I've ever encountered. I think (hope) it's safe to say I've turned the corner, so operations will soon resume as usual.

But unless you're interested in an essay about the flavor subtleties of saltines, the evolution of jello since 1988 or season six of the Cosby Show, (which I just realized could sort of be interesting since Bill + Jello = best endorsement deal of all time... ) we'll have to postpone the show-and-tell until early next week.

As I'm sure the anticipation is just killing you, I'll offer a hint or two about what I have planned. It's soup, by Deborah Madison, and it has navy beans in it. Let your imaginations run wild.

PS: Happy Valentine's Day! Hooray for swooning!