Nov072014

Decent Knife Phobia, Playing with fire in the kitchen.

Let’s be clear here.  This is the knife my sister uses.

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It is a 4 inch paring knife, meant to peel an apple, cut cherry tomatoes, etc.  It is not a “Chefs” knife.  My 17 year old uses a real knife and has for years now.  There is all kinds of research that indicates that dull knives are the reason for most cuts in the kitchen because you have to use more force to cut and because the knife is dull, the resulting cut is worse that if you cut yourself with a sharp knife.

This is the knife I gave her.

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This is a Victorinox 8″ Chef’s knife rated best by America’s Test Kitchen and runs about $40.  A great buy for a real knife…

I was shocked when I found out my sister, who has cooked for years, had no good knives and more shocked that when given one, she did not immediately see how good knives made the process so much easier and quicker. I can see now that I may have to follow up my gift of the knife with a class on knife skills.  But, that is what sisters are for….  Remember, though, that once you get a good knife, you have to have it sharpened every few months depending on how often you use it and I use a sharpening steel to keep the blade smooth between sharpenings.

http://asian-fusion.com/704/why-sharp-knives-are-safer-than-dull-ones/

I will now be on the hunt for a technique class at Williams Sonoma on knife skills.  They have great free technique classes on Sat or Sun mornings.  Too bad it is Thanksgiving time because the classes are all about the Thanksgiving meal in November, but hopefully soon, there will be a knife skill class offered.

Between now and then, I will be thankful for my sister and overlook her good knife phobia.

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Nov062014

The Advantage of Cooking with Dull Knives, There is no blood shed

Although my sister will disagree with me, I find cooking with dull knives much safer.  I am a good cook, and I cook a lot, and I cook for lots of people quite often.  So, today I am cutting the potatoes and carrots for my stew using my very favorite dull knife.  It is serrated (which helps the cutting a little bit) and it is a lovely orange color.  Well, that is a selling point for the knife right there because our college team’s colors are orange and black. While sawing away today I even sawed the tip of my finger, and it didn’t even bleed!  I’m thinking that is a plus.  My sister, however, cooks dangerously – she uses sharp knives. When she is at my house she gripes and complains the whole time about my knives, so for a gift she gave me what she thought was a really good gift – a sharp knife.  Well, I put it in the drawer and looked at it for months.  It is super big and really, really long.  Unfortunately, one day she asked the fatal question, “so how do you like your knife.” Hmmmm, how to tell her that so far I have only watched it. That thing scares me!! I mean I could lose a hand or something.  And, I think it weighs 12 pounds, But wanting to show her how much I appreciated the gift – NOT – I used it.  I cuts wonderfully and speeds up my preparation of food.  But where is the fun in that.  So I am back to watching the knife. It does look really good in my drawer.My favorite knife

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Nov062014

Daughters and Chicken Noodle Soup: Two really awesome joys.

I sit here at the computer while my 17 year old makes homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch without a recipe.  Life is good.

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I did not really start cooking until she was about 8 and I realized that if I continued that way we were going, she would only know how to warm stuff up.  She would not really know how to cook, with recipes or without, because I mostly just put stuff together that needed to be warmed up.  So I started watching foodnetwork and realized that I loved to cook.  When Devin was 10, I made her responsible for one meal a week.  She could take the easy route of prepared food like canned soup every once and awhile, but I let her know I wanted her to learn to cook.  I got a couple of cookbooks specific for children and off she went.  She made pad thai as one of her first attempts.  From there she took off and I am so proud that she makes stuff up, cooks without a recipe and trusts her ability to combine ingredients.  She makes all kinds of meals now and rarely follows a recipe.

She is really great at asian sauces.  Over time, we have tried all kinds of recipes that we find in magazines, cookbooks or from watching America’s Test Kitchen.  I am working on a cookbook complete with photos of the preparation and final dish so I can print and bind it as a reminder of our favorite “family” recipes.

it just does not take that much effort to build family traditions, empower your kids to be self-sufficient while building their confidence.  A little thought, a little planning, a little creativity…..I cannot say how much I have enjoyed cooking for and with her these past 9 years.  I am proud and thrilled to know that she will grow up to be a skilled, creative and accomplished cook.

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Nov022014

Our trip to Napa California wine country

My sister invited me to join her tennis group,eight ladies counting me, on a wonderful girls trip to Napa and San Francisco, California.  We began our journey on a Thursday where we flew into San Francisco and traveled into Napa where our first adventure began at Domain Chandon.  The group, with the exception of me, likes Champagne and this place has some of the best. It was a beautiful setting and while they sipped on the bubbly, I roamed around and took some photos.  After that we made our way to a lovely house we had rented that had a pool and backed up to a vineyard (can I just say really wonderful setting).  My flight was very early and I was on central time, so by the time we made it the house, I was ready for bed.  Since we had a full few days ahead, I did not want to begin sleep deprived.  We had many activities planned including the rental of a limousine where we tasted at four different wineries – we determined driving would not be a good idea since we were all going to imbibe.  Some tennis was played (this was a tennis group after all – I on the other hand don’t play.  Again, some photo taking time for me). We shopped, we ate, a lot, and we drank, a lot. On Sunday we had brunch plans at a french restaurant in Yountville named Bouchon.  While trying to decide on which dish I wanted, the server was telling us about the wine selections.  My favorite wine is a Chardonnay and she described this one as having a buttery flavor and a hint of oak. Great!  My favorite!  I heard her say the wine was $25.00 a carafe.  Wow!  I thought, that sounds great.  That is the perfect blend of flavors I like in a wine so I ordered a glass.  It was so good, I ordered another glass.  The food was a bit expensive, but I could see that on the menu.  It was truly wonderful food.  Then the bill came.  Well, my hearing was off, because it was not $25.00 a carafe, it was $25.00 a glass – and I had two!! That is the most expensive wine I have ever had.  And the worst part is I don’t even know the name of the wine so I can impress someone with casually mentioning I had a couple glasses of ????I Oh well, I was on vacation wasn’t I?  When I got home and was telling my husband the wine story, I mentioned only the one glass.  Sometimes he thinks I don’t listen well, and I saw no need to confirm that thought.  All in all it was a wonderful trip, and I appreciated my sister asking me to tag along.

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Oct212014

Chihuly Nights Denver Botanic Gardens

It was a beautiful fall night at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  It was just warm enough and I was viewing with a good friend.  The photos look like there was much more daylight than there actually was.  The Pentax K3 did a great job with the low light, because I did not use any flash, but did use a tripod.

After our first circle of the gardens, we had a nice snack at the outdoor patio with a table that overlooked the pond with the purple spires.  The first photo was taken from our table.  I really love the photo of the bee habitat with the green ceramic pot in it.  The wood structures were built with solitary bees in mind with bamboo pieces and blocks of wood with holes drilled so that solitary bees could make their home in them.  I think I will have to make one of those for my yard.  Pat and I might make this a fall/winter craft project.  What a creative idea for making habitats for little creatures that looks good wherever you might place it.  I love to steal other people’s very creative ideas.  We all need to do our part to help keep a healthy bee population.  Solitary bees are easy to make room for, it does not have to be bees that live in hives.  A little less pesticide, a little more consideration of what will allow bees to grow in population so we can continue to have the volume and variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers that we all love.

As it got dark, many of the sculptures were beautifully lit, so well lit that they were hard to photograph with my meager skills.  Our botanic garden is just so well done, such a lovely place to spend an evening.  The gazebo shown in the photos with the green roof would be a great place to have an afternoon tea party,  a birthday party or just a cozy lunch with friends.

Once I am retired, there are very interesting classes offered by the garden that I would love to take.  This garden is a real testament to why we need green spaces in our urban centers because there is something so intrinsic about being close to living, growing green spaces with all the variety of natural beauty that can be maintained in a small space.

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Oct202014

Speaking of Canning

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I am not a canner…have never canned in the traditional sense.  But this year’s crop of tomatoes and apples have made me do something akin to canning.  I have made tomato blue cheese soup, marinara, salsa, roasted tomatoes and frozen them for later use.  I just discovered after 25 years that even if the apples look sort of worm-ridden on the outside, they are actually perfect on the inside.  Who knew….I just assumed that if I did not spray for worms, that the apples would all have worms inside them, but that’s not the case.  So I have just made 10 jars of apple butter from our old family recipe and with the apples left on the tree, I could make many more.  I boiled the jars to make sure they were clean and then after I filled them, I put them back into boiling water and boiled for about 10 minutes.  I have no idea if that will make the jars shelf-safe, but here’s trying.  I can hear a couple of them popping their lids and have no idea what that means.  I guess I should get my second refrigerator fixed so I have a place to store all of the bounties of my garden!

I still have something to figure out for the golden tomatoes I have left and I have a ton of apples that I could do something else with.  I am not a fan of apple sauce and neither is Devin, so that idea is out.  i think egg roll wrappers with some cooked apples inside and then fried up in the cast iron skillet might be next.   T.

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Oct182014

I like canning.

It is relaxing to can.  I love to look at the jars sitting on the shelf, and I am tempted to not use them so I do not deplete my source of visual enjoyment. The latest addition to my shelf is Green Pepper Relish.  I harvested 13 green peppers from the garden and I needed to preserve them, so here is the product.  The recipe is very easy.

12 green peppers and 6 onions with 6 hot peppers (optional)

Chop peppers and onions in a processor and pour boiling water over them and let stand.

In a large pot, mix and boil
3 cups vinegar
3 cups sugar
3 TBLS salt
1 TEA celery seed and 1 TEA mustard seed.

Drain peppers, add to vinegar mixture and boil again.  Pour into properly prepared jars and process 10 minutes in a water bath canner.

Voila!! Yummy over cream cheese served with crackers, a relish for hot dogs and any number of other uses.

Green Pepper Relish

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Oct182014

Our London trip began a journey we have continued.

It is interesting how selfish we are when we are growing up.  I am nine younger than Tricia, and I remember when she came home from the hospital – she cried all the time.  In a fit, I remember asking my mom if she could “keep that baby from disturbing my sleep!” I soon became a teenager and we all know how incorrigible teenagers can be.  If I could go back in time I would handle that differently today.  Younger siblings look up to older siblings, so I would have incorporated her into my life more.  But, alas, we cannot undue the past.  So our present and our future are filled with wonderful times together and a close bond that will not be broken.

The London trip was in 1988.  I know this because it was the first time I applied for a passport.  Since then I have had my passport renewed three times and will have to do it again next year.

We stayed in a tiny apartment that a pilot rented out when he was flying.  It was very near Russell Square and we could hop right on the underground.

It was dreary weather, but that is to be expected in London.  Our photos all seem a bit drab to me.  Of course we were using film cameras and we were amateurs at best.

At Westminster Abby, we came in a side door, and I somehow missed seeing the sign that no photos were allowed.  A Cardinal in long flowing red robes, shoes and hat came and told me in no uncertain terms that I had to leave.  When I tried to explain I did not see the sign, he was unimpressed – and quite rude.  Well, growing up Catholic I was familiar with the hierarchy of the Catholic clergy and knew him to be fairly high up there.  However, I was not intimidated by him and told him I was with my sister and would not leave until I found her.  I (very slowly) looked around for her and he had eagle eyes on me the whole time.  Finally, I had to adjourn to the outdoors and wait.  I am posting two of my forbidden photos.  Before I had these developed I was sure I had a treasure worth lots of money, but you can see they are too dark to see much of anything.

Life is meant to be shared.  It is short and as you age you realize how much time can be lost if you do not grab everything you can from it as it passes in front of of you.  Tricia and I are making the most of our friendship and our sibling relationship.  I love that!

Westminter Abby - Forbidden photoWestminister Abby 1988

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Oct182014

Birthday Trips

My sister and I were born 1 day apart, 9 years apart, April 24th and April 25th.  I was basically her 9th birthday present.  One she was not excited about and one she held against me until I was about 15.  Age 8 and age 17 do not go well together.  It wasn’t until she moved away and I was about 15 before we starting building the relationship we have today.

When I worked for an airline between 1982 and 1993, we started making birthday trips together.  This was long before we got interested in photography, long before digital photography, so the photos are not of great quality, even by our amateurish standards.  The ones I post today were from our trip to London.  I don’t even know what year it is, maybe Laura can say.  I really loved our tradition of traveling for our birthdays, but once I no longer worked for the airline and then I was self-employed and Devin came along and it just got harder to commit to annual birthday trips.  Once Devin is in college, maybe we can start up again, this time to work on our photography hobby as well.

We had a great time in London.  This was before they closed Windsor Castle grounds to the public.  You could walk around the grounds and see the castle pretty up close.  I wish we had toured the castle, and I can’t remember why we did not.  Windsor is a quaint little town and it was still when I took my daughter in 2009.

Even back when photography was not a serious interest for both of us, Laura was busy taking photographs and managed to get herself kicked out of Westminster Abbey.  I was wondering around and could not figure out where she had gotten to….she was waiting outside for me to find her.  You know, back when cell phones did not exist.  She couldn’t just text me to say she was outside.  I had to find her.  She should elaborate on how that situation unfolded.  I don’t know if she has any photos from that trip.  I scanned all of my developed photos into digital format a few years ago.

I remember we had a lovely tea service in some small cafe with clotted cream (which I did not know what to do with back then).  When I went back with Devin in 2009, I could not find a little cafe that offered afternoon tea.  I still don’t know why, buy when I spoke to some people about tea time in London, someone told me that most people make their own tea at home or in their office.  Too bad, that afternoon tea at a little bistro table on the sidewalk was very nice.  You would think with the popularity of Starbucks, afternoon tea would have become more popular out of the office than in, but then, I am American, not British, so who knows what they think of the Starbucks stronghold.

I wish I could remember more about my trips with Laura and trips in general, but come to find out, I have a terrible memory.  Thank God for pictures, or I would be really lost.  I don’t remember where we stayed, but I was never real concerned about accommodations, still am not.  I remember visiting Bath, the Tower of London, but not too may real specifics.  Let’s see what Laura can add.

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Oct172014

The Beauty of Sisters

I smile because you’re my sister, I laugh because you can’t do anything about it.  The journey of having and being a sister is a complicated and complex path.  There are ups and downs, trials and tribulations, but a sister relationship is one of the great treasures of life.  We have a shared history.  We don’t have to love each other, we don’t have to be friends, but the true blessing is when both of those things occur because we choose to love each other as family and treasure each other as friends.  Someone who knows the best and the worst of you and still loves, stands by, supports and encourages you is a gift you give yourself by letting them in, sharing your life, your struggles, and constantly building a bridge between you that lasts a lifetime.  My sister is the first one I go to to tell my bad news, my good news, to ask for help and to share my day, my thoughts, my hobbies.  Sisters encourage each other to be more, laugh more, learn more.  The sister thread is a recurring, critical and intrinsic theme in the fabric of my life and who I am.

We are fortunate that we share the same interests and have found a way to participate with each other in our hobbies even though we do not live in the same state.  This blog is a way that we will share our love of photography and travel, cooking and gardening, raising kids and grandkids and illustrate our life as sisters who are connected and committed to each other.

There is a beauty to sisters. I’m the one on the far left, she is the one on the far right.  9 years apart in age, 750 miles apart in distance and standing side-by-side in life.

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