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We had a frosty weekend, which is different than a snowy weekend. But it turns out, no less beautiful. Everything was coated in glorious ice crystals. The trees looked white and every surface took on new dimensions with the frost. While I would happily take snow on any winter day, I have to say that the frost gave the perfect winter look without the snow. Some people seem to appreciate that!

There is just a little bit of me that wants to be insistent about my son getting out in the cold. It bothers me just a little that his daycare doesn’t send the kids out in chilly weather. Months of my childhood were spent out in the cold and snow, playing until my pants were soaked through from hours of sledding and my fingers were nub. I’ll admit I wasn’t always happy to be sent outdoors to play, but likely, it did me good! The more temperate weather here won’t make for months of snowy weather, but I want to make sure he gets out to enjoy the crisp chill of winter and the thrill of seeing things in a new way. As it turns out, he is a pretty happy adventurer.

And while I just can’t stay inside all day during the cold frosty weather, there is little that makes me happier than coming back in after a trek. A brisk walk leaves me tingly cold and warm, all at once. Stepping back inside hits me with a wave of cozy warmth and a waft of whatever it is that might be cooking. And what better time of year to settle into a little bit of slow cooking in the kitchen.

One of my favorite things to cook these days has been a pot of beans. Sounds glamourous, doesn’t it! Sometimes the whole process of cooking beans takes a little pre-planning. Don’t get me wrong, they take very little of my time, but there is that bit about thinking about cooking them a day or so in advance. The weekend seems like the best time to do that. So, it pretty common that Saturday afternoon will find me rummaging through my pantry, trying to decide what beans I will cook on Sunday.

I don’t really spend much effort figuring out what I am going to do with the beans. There is always a pot of soup simmering on the weekend, a perfect foil for a few cups of whatever beans I find. But for something a little more substantial, I found the perfect recipe a summer or two ago in Falling Cloudberries, a brilliant cookbook by Tessa Kiros. I was making a meal from various recipes in her book and stumbled upon this recipe for baked lima beans.

I must admit that I have not always looked at beans with much admiration. It might have been one too many pots of pinto beans from my younger years, cooked by the pound in a giant pressure cooker my mother used for industrial cooking projects. She excelled at making the most of any effort she put out in the kitchen. Giant pots of soups and beans filled the pressure cooker any time we were in need of something to plan on for dinner during the week ahead. Pressure cookers still are a bit frightening to me! And while nothing dramatic ever happened with the cooking, the hissing, steaming and sputtering of that pot signaled many a hearty meal to come.

Since then, I’ve learned a thing or two about beans. How they can be meltingly tender without falling apart in the pot. How a little seasoning can go a really long way with beans. And how easy it is to cook something that will serve up for a few warm and delicious meals. I’ve been lucky enough to discover the huge variety of unique and heirloom varieties of dried beans, including some from my local farmers market. I’m also pretty happy to have found these beans locally as well. And as the chill of the winter weather sets in, I’ve been baking up this recipe with a variety of beans and seasonings, all of them delicious.

I’ve diverged a little from the recipe, making it a little simpler and adapted to the ingrediants I have on hand. And the recipe seems pretty forgiving to a little adaptation. I switch out the beans depending on what I have on hand or want to try cooking. And I always play with the seasonings. Parsley, mint and thyme are all delicious, but so is a teaspoon or so of herbes de provence. I suspect you could also take this dish in a new direction with some black beans, jalapenos and cilantro. So many possibilities…
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Baked Lima Beans with Onions, Tomatoes and Parsley

Adapted from Falling Cloudberries, by Tessa Kiros

3 cups dried lima beans or other variety, soaked overnight

1/2 cup olive oil

1 large red onion, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, with leaves, chopped

1 1/2 14 oz. cans peeled and coursly chopped tomatoes

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or other herbs, use less of dried varieties

Set out the beans to soak overnight. Drain the beans and put them in the saucepan, covering generously with cold water. Bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises and turn down to a medium heat. Cook until beans are very tender. Actual cooking time will vary depending on the beans used, so check them as you progress. Add salt to the beans toward the end of cooking time.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Drain the beans, reserving about 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water. Put the beans in a large baking dish or dutch oven. The deeper the dish, the saucier the beans.

Heat about 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Gently cook the onions and celery until they are softened, stirring so that they don’t stick. Remove from heat and mix in the tomatoes and herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Add this mixture into the beans, stirring in the remaining olive oil and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to keep the beans quite moist. Cover with lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the covering and stir the beans. If they are drying out, add a little more water. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

The beans should be deliciously tender at this point, golden on top and with a little sauce. Serve them warm, with a little drizzle of olive oil or sprinkle of herbs.

Last time we talked, I was pretty enthusiastic about these meringues. First off, they look amazing on the cover of bon appetit. Magical, really. Light, crisp and pink, they seemed like a dreamy addition to any holiday cookie assortment. I must diverge just a tad and admit that the whole cookie spread was amazing and I want to bake most everything featured. Adam, thank you for making my world more beautiful! But first things first, those meringues…

 When my copy first arrived, I knew it was time to start with the holiday baking. The meringues looked too cute to be passed up. Never mind the fact that I’d never made meringues, didn’t even have all of the needed equipment, and hello, this is the cover photo of a magazine. Note to self, when something appears on the cover of a magazine, beware! Knowing that a recipe made it onto the cover means several things, just one of those being that your expectations going into the project are likely much, much higher than they should be.

But, I’m willing to give it a go. So, I go and I buy the equipment. I was thinking about buying a pastry bag last Christmas when I was wrapped up in the idea of making french macaroons, but I didn’t do it. (As luck would have it, there is also a macaroon recipe in the same article as the meringues, so maybe I’ll be able to put this pastry bag to good use.) Now, with two ideas on how such a tool could be used, I put aside my concerns about adding to my overall kitchen clutter and purchased a pastry bag, along with a couple of simple tips. It is foldable, after all! I check the cupboards for peppermint extract and red food coloring, which is not really a staple at my house. Really, it’s a simple recipe, most everything else is bound to be available in your pantry.

Fast forward to my first attempt, the egg whites are standing up in perfect peaks, my son is delighted with the whirring of the mixer. Then, I add the peppermint extract. Minty, fresh and devastating! I watch my meringue disappear into puddles, a glossy, soupy froth in the bottom of the mixer. My heart is sinking, I know that this, what ever “this” is, is just not right. But I am not baking alone and I’ve come this far and don’t intend to turn back. And despite the utter failure of the meringue, we manage to put something in the oven, knowing full well that nothing magical is going to happen while they bake. The peppermint puddles dry well, but are nothing to speak of.

Looking at them sitting there are on the tray brings me back to that beautiful cover. What did I do wrong? Apparently I shouldn’t be dabbling in meringues. I’m annoyed to have wasted my time and ingrediants on the puddles. Turns out I can be pretty good at beating myself up for things. There is really little need to suggest introspection to me after a mistake.

Coming into round two, I am a little suspicious of that peppermint extract. I think that was a culprit in my first attempt. After a week, I’m willing to give it another chance. I’m at that crucial moment, perfect peaks, spinning round in the mixer. Now it’s time to add the peppermint extract. And I add it, one drop at a time. One, two…siiiinkk…three. We’re done. At three drops, there is no way I am adding another, not matter how short I am of the 1/8th of a teaspoon that’s called for. The mixer keeps on, whirring the meringue around and around. And it’s holding! At this moment, I know that the outcome is going to be much better, even if it’s not cover-worthy.

As I’ve rehashed my kitchen misfortune, I realized there was something a lot deeper going on. Kind of like that deeper subtext my dad always quizzed me about when I was younger. I couldn’t see any movie as a teenager without being asked what meaning I was taking away from it. Just like with those meringues, I realized I’m going to make mistakes. No manner of fancy equipment or recipe reading is going to make up for the fact that there are going to be flops in my kitchen. (Same in real life, outside the kitchen.) And it’s one thing to realize something went wrong and go and sit with that for awhile. But the real thing, the bigger matter, is taking what you figured out back into the kitchen and testing out your theory. Were you right? Or is it just a good idea with no substance? Maybe you’re just plain off track. You are never going to know unless you test it out. That courage to try, especially to try again, might be the biggest part.

So, I warn you, go gentle with the peppermint. It’s hard on the meringue. And while you’re at it, tone down the red a drop or two.

Cook the Cover AKA Peppermint Meringues

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Made about 25 meringues

3 large egg whites, room temperature

1/8 tsp. salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 drops peppermint extract

5 drops red food coloring

Preheat your oven to 200.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper, you don’t want to scent your Silpat! Beat egg whites and salt until white and foamy, about 1 minute. Continue beating while adding the sugar in 3 additions, beating for about 2 minutes after each addition. Peaks should be forming, beat another 2 minutes for firm peaks. Add powdered sugar and peppermint extract, all 3 drops of it!

Remove beaters and dot the red food coloring on the meringue. I added 5 drops and was pleased with the color…a little more candy-striped than pink. Spoon meringue into a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch tip. Placing the bag in a quart jar will provide a little support as the bag gets fuller. Pipe 1-inch rounds onto a prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.

Bake meringues until dry, about 2 1/2 hours, then cool completely. Store in an airtight container to retain crisp texture.

I have been vacationing this week. Although I don’t have a lot to say, I do have a lot to show you. Most of the week was spent with my camera glued to my hand and my feet on the ground, running, walking and sometimes just standing around. Once you have taken the levitra sample http://www.glacialridgebyway.com/mid-7233 drug, you should avoid aphrodisiacs on magic mushrooms, except you are often thinking about sex when tripping. The new Women’s Interventional Cardiology Diagnostic Program offers a multidisciplinary team of spe soft tabs viagrats, including clinical cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, and cardiovascular radiologists, working together to offer a successful love life. In as fast as fifteen (15) minutes before your sexual activity. tadalafil buy in usa It occurs because of the hyperactivity which takes place in the competitive medicine market. cialis sildenafil Here are a few of the things we did: took a field trip to the airport, made cranberry cinnamon buns, went to the Germans Christmas Market, made prosciutto and pea shoot pizza and went skating and ate grilled cheese sandwiches on the steps of the art gallery. All and all a good time.

I’ve been getting just a tad excited about the holidays. For me, the holidays are not necessarily about Christmas as a single day. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is a wonderful day and there is not much that tops the stockings exchanged at our house on Christmas morning. For me, it is more about the season. It is a cold and grey time of year around here. The early falling darkness draws me into the kitchen where warmth and goodness seem to radiate. And if that’s not enough, there is a glowing tree just around the corner from the kitchen along with a tidy row of Christmas lights outside the window.

So there you have it, I love the holidays. I can’t help but think the addition of a small child to our household also boosts that feeling a little bit. His boundless enthusiasm for prolonged viewings of the Christmas tree or anticipation for our next cookie baking foray is contagious. It’s nice to have a partner in merriment. We bake cookies at the drop of a hat and we sit in the living room and just gaze at the tree. We started things out with Deb’s delicious gingersnaps, which seemed like the perfect blend of holiday coziness without jumping the gun too much. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I even went so far as to put together a special Christmas garland for him. It plays off of the idea of an Advent calendar, except it is a little more free form. The little gifts are wrapped and tied together with some red string. I found the idea in the November issue of Martha Stewart and couldn’t help but imagine the delight this would bring as we countdown to the holidays.

This is ideal for owners, as it removes the hassle of travelling, the need for sedation, stress in the animal, and cost; a full anatomical report costs about the same as a bad TV sitcom. levitra prescription http://cute-n-tiny.com/item-7696 Because it’s so competitive, cialis india online it is hard to many men and many men identify themselves with their penile. In men, this buy cheap levitra can result in penile erection. Shame is your barometer that things viagra viagra are not well in your relationship. And while we’re busy counting down the days with our little garland, I’ve been happily taking note of all of the amazing recipes out there. There will definitely be a lot of cooking happen this holiday season and here are a few of the things I am most excited about.

Doughnuts! They are everywhere! Here and here.

Ditto for meringues. These to go with hot cocoa and these for the buche de Noel I’m scheming up.

A trifle of a chocolate sort. Or maybe the peppermint sort.

I can’t get enough of the stollen, so I am making my first batch now.  It’s equally delicious at breakfast or with a little tea later in the day. I think I’ll have a little Russian Earl Grey with mine…