Inspired Cooking

Cooking is one of those things that I like to think I am good at, but I’m not. I can do basic things, I don’t burn everything, or cook completely terrible things, but I can’t whip things together like I think I should be able to. Justin is a far better cook than I am, but in my defense, I’m not very good at doing what I am told. Sometimes recipes don’t work out for me even when I follow the directions, so now I find myself reading them and just plain not trusting what they say! Then again, I’m not always good at following directions…
A few years ago I was inspired by the most wonderful book by Molly Wizenberg called A Homemade Life. In it she recounts stories of her life along with recipes from her kitchen table growing up. Her heart is in the kitchen and she is lovely.
                   
Yesterday I was feeling a little Suzie homemaker and did some reading of Molly’s blog, www.orangette.blogspot.com.  I then made a trip to the farmers market where I picked up some local Maine blueberries to make the recipe she had posted for scones!

I have to say I was a little skeptical because scones sound like a difficult thing to make. But I followed the directions and they came out AMAZINGLY well! I was so excited! Molly’s writing has a calm, honest, humanness to it that makes me feel like if she can do it, so can I. She tries things that don’t turn out well, and makes yummy yummy things… she also writes the way I think which is helpful to me. I feel like I know her already, and have known her for years.

I forgot to mention that I am also a horrible food planner. I can look through loads of recipes and not find a single thing that looks good! I’m awful at planning ahead and choosing new things to make. Tonight however, not only did I make delicious scones, but I also prepped a whole chicken for roasting tomorrow night and made a simple, new pasta sauce for dinner, all care of Ms. Molly Wizenberg and Orangette. I feel a little more accomplished than usual tonight. And the best part is, the scone recipe? She got it from Standard Baking Company right here in Portland!  I will pass it along as well, and you too can experience the yumminess at home! Thank you Molly!
Oat Scones
Adapted from Standard Baking Company (Portland, ME) by Molly Wizenberg

If you use frozen berries, do not thaw them before using.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. kosher salt
11 Tbsp. (5 ½ ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 ¾ cups cold half-and-half
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries or blackberries
For garnish:
3 Tbsp. old-fashioned rolled oats
5 tsp. Turbinado sugar
Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse to mix well. Add the butter and pulse again briefly, until the mixture looks coarse and the largest lumps of butter are no bigger than a pea.
In a large bowl, stir together the half-and-half and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and the rolled oats, and stir until just combined. The dough will be thick and sticky. Add the berries, and stir briefly to mix. [When I use blackberries in particular, I find that it’s difficult to stir them into the dough without crushing them, overworking the dough, and turning the whole mixture purple. My solution is to only stir a little, and then move on to the next step. As you scoop the dough onto the baking sheets, you can use your fingers to press any errant berries into the mounds of dough.]
Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup, scoop the dough into mounds, arranging them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Garnish the tops with rolled oats and Turbinado sugar.
Bake for 24 to 27 minutes, or until the center of the scones feels firm to the touch.
Note: Wrapped in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container, these keep beautifully at room temperature for 4 or 5 days. Warm in a toaster oven before eating.

Why I love weddings

Weddings are one of those things that you either love or hate, and while I understand the reasons that some people aren’t wedding fans, I happen to love them. Even the boring one’s, the one’s where you don’t even get to interact with the bride and groom, the one’s that you don’t really understand, I still love them. And here is why.

Ceremony

There is something magnificent about ceremony. In some ways I don’t love the idea of things always being done in the same way. Whenever I am at a wedding I search for the things that are unique and different from other ceremonies, things that make it special. But I do love tradition. I do love the idea that we pass on similar experiences from person to person over time through generations, share common experiences, create history and stories to be told. Traditions create human connection, a feeling that others have experienced what is to come and that you can understand the experiences, and possibly even emotions, of people that you have never even met.

Friends and Family

I am a people watcher. Even at a wedding where I don’t know many people, I still get great enjoyment out of watching people interact, observing them as a group of the couples most dear loved one’s (and maybe a few odds and ends) and wondering what their relationships are to each other and the newlyweds. My most favorite thing is being with groups of my favorite people, and even if they aren’t mine, there is something lovely about the happiness and joy of a big group at a wedding!

Celebration

Along the lines of ceremony is celebration! I’m a sucker – total sap for lovey, sweet sentiments and moments. I love an event all in celebration of a couple, their individuality, their coupling, their spirit! I love the sappy speeches, the outward (if sometimes uncomfortable) expression of love for other people. Even if I don’t know them, it gets me everytime!

Design

I am some form of artist… I am in LOVE with design, decoration, the creative pieces of putting together a wedding, especially local, homemade, original creations. These pictures are all from my cousin Geoff’s wedding this past weekend. He married the most adorable, amazing woman, Siobhan, and she did an incredible job of designing all of the pieces of their wedding. This was officially one of my favorite weddings for design, creative ideas and pure beauty… totally me and I loved it! Here are a few more pics!

             

and last but most important… Love.

Siobhan’s father incredibly eloquently recounted the description of love that he gave to his young, questioning daughter. He said something along the lines of … love is when you are in a crowded room and your focus is drawn to one person… the sounds all disappear, the room goes dark as you close your eyes, only aware of each other. You share a kiss, and only when you open your eyes does the room come alive again, with the sounds and light of what is around you. Weddings are a celebration of what every being searches for. Love. I can’t even pretend to write well on the subject… Everyone knows what it is like to search for it, yearn for it, have it, lose it, live for it. You can say what you want about love, that it’s what makes the world go around or what makes it all worthwhile, that it’s the only thing worth living for… no matter what your thoughts are, life is all about love. Being in the presence of true love is… perfection. Love brings balance, peace and makes everything feel right in the world.

I have high hopes for my own wedding someday. Not for the dress or flowers or hair, (although those things will be fun in their own way) but because my favorite thing in the world is to get together with my favorite people. As an adult this seems to happen less and less and the idea of what I hope to be at least a weekend with all of my favorite people together in the same place sounds like pure bliss! Time stands still for me when this happens, no worrying, no unnecessary stressing about life, just pure, undistracted happiness!  My wedding won’t be perfect because not a thing goes wrong and everything is in it’s exact place, it will be perfect because it will be a celebration of all that is right and good in the world, with those I love!

Living with Creativity

Despite the fact that I have always been a “creative person,” I have never quite trusted my creativity. It seems to have a life of it’s own and comes and goes as it pleases. Which can be mildly annoying to one who feels the need to create but doesn’t always have access to creativity. I often wonder if I am truly that creative, or that good at being creative, because it seems to be there only when it feels like it. I can’t sew, throw pots, write, anything, unless I am “in the mood.” I realize that this is true of many creative people, but as someone who feels the NEED to create, the desire to create, I find it frustrating that it is not in my control to produce as often as my egotistical mind deems appropriate for a “creative person". I am not a career person. I don’t have ONE thing that I am REALLY good at, that I excel in, that I climb the ladder of, that I am an expert in. Sometimes this bothers me, as I WANT to be really good at something. But the truth is it makes sense to me that I don’t have one thing. It just isn’t who I am. I believe in the process of things, in developing and evolving through out life into whatever comes next. Still, I think this is why I don’t trust my creativity, because I think of it as the core of who I am, yet I can only be creative sometimes. Not whenever I want to be.

On occasion my mum has suggested, with the wisest of words, that I use my frustration, angst, or bad mood and go throw some pots or do something creative. On paper this sounds  perfect. I love the idea of channeling my energy into something creative and productive. In fact, I believe that should be the case for someone creative, that they are able to do that. But the truth is, that’s not how it works for me. I can tell you in less than a minute when I sit down to throw a pot if it is a throwing day for me. Sometimes creativity is just not interested in hanging around with me. Maybe it’s at the beach, or having lunch with another friend, but it is not available. If I relied heavily on my creativity to support myself, my fear is that a) I would become one of those deeply afflicted, dark creative types, b) that I just plain wouldn’t be able to produce, and c) that I would then start to despise my creativity, be angry at it, jealous and suspicious of it even, that maybe it wasn’t just mine, but was gallivanting around with others.
Luckily I am not one of those really dark, serious creative types, I can accept in the end that my creativity is what it is. I still have my guard up about our relationship; it’s not the most stable and a little co-dependent, but I will use it anyway, grab it’s tail on the way by and take what I can get. I suppose that what makes art and creative things amazing, is that we don’t know where they come from, everyone’s view of them is different and the point often is the process. It’s about the journey, for the creator anyway, not the destination, or end result. The end result is the expression of the process. And truthfully, it is a life lesson. That the point of work and energy and the daily process is the experiences themselves. There is no destination, no end result, the end is death. The process, the journey, is living.