Halves

It was a quiet Sunday last Sunday. Which is the best type in my opinion. The soft light was coming through my curtains casting shadows.

I dozed.

I was halfway through my laundry. Halfway through Shadow of the Thin Man. There was a chicken, half cooked, in the oven.

I wish I could say I was halfway thorough that book but I'm not.

Lots of halves all over the place.

(These roasted apricots were the tastiest though)

The trick with being only half way is often you blink and it's over. Or it gets lost in the haze, never quite as clear as the beginning or the end.

So I'm putting it here, just in case I want to remember some day what it was like to be halfway on a Sunday.

The Twins Take Manhattan (And Parts of Brooklyn)

Have I mentioned that I had a birthday over a month ago?

NO!

Which is insane as I'm an aries so having a whole day where you're allowed to make everything be about yourself is just the best thing ever. Like eyes glossing over with the sick power of it all best thing ever.

And if you're like me and discovered you have a faux twin your freshman year of college not only did you have a childhood free from the real twin plague of constantly having to share everything BUT you get an adulthood where with your f-win powers combined the two of you can commandeer a whole week ALL ABOUT YOU.

So we did.

If you've never met my twin this picture pretty much sums her up. The Peanuts. Captain America. Kandinsky. Wonder Woman. Star Wars. Scarlett O'Hara. Degas. Disney.

Clearly this week was going to be insane.

I arrived in NYC sleep deprived and totally zonked but my darling twin fed me Chinese take-out, propped me up in front of the TV to watch The Avengers and put me to bed early. I love her.

You know how the French just sit in cafes drinking cafe and watch people? Well she's like that but with Dr. Pepper and dogs. It's true. No one dog can come within a two block radius and she's spotted it. And stares. And coos. And makes googly eyes and exclaims.

See that face?? Every. Time. She. Sees. A. Dog.  And I just stand there being all "Yay. It's ANOTHER dog. Can we go now please thank you."

That happened a lot.

We also rode a lot of trains. Someone in NYC has a deep love of Tolkien and a good sense of humor.

We had an epic day of shopping on my Birthday in which we took about 8 trains to get from her apartment in Coney Island to Lower Manhattan and then all the way up to the Upper East Side and back down again. It was epic.

We also rendez-vous-ed with my Fairy Godmother to see the Lion King which was hugely epic. Especially the back stage part where we got to TOUCH STUFF. I managed not to hyperventilate but it was a close call.

Luckily my twin is just as prone to excitement, this time it was about Abraham Lincoln in the Brooklyn Museum. She's be happy to live in that room forever. I'd come visit and tap on the glass. 

She even bought me a plate with his name all over it. Because I live in his land. Somehow I feel like she arranged that to get closer to him. Creeper. 

The rest of our museum day was spent taking turns freaking out over things.

I got excited that my shoes matched the tile floor.

And about some stairs.

And I booked it across the grand hall shrieking "OMG gilt!!" to salivate over medieval art. They even had my favorite martyr, St. Lawrence of Rome, asking the Romans to turn him over as he was done on that side. Cheeky.

Meanwhile Twin was across the hall staring at Russian art and later entranced by creepy South American death objects.

Other trip highlights include me insisting we buy buy flowers from a street vendor as Chicago has no flower stalls and it makes me sad. And Birthdays always need flowers!

We had a date at Lincoln Center a la Moonstruck...

...and had tea afterwards at Alice's Tea Cup.

Someone makes a very good Red Queen. Off with your head!

Or she would have been yelling that if her mouth wasn't stuffed with scones and tea sandwiches. I need to hold another tea party soon, they're just such fun!

But I think the best part of the whole mad week was here, eating a bagel with lox next to my Twin watching dogs on a quiet sunny street in Lower Manhattan. She's decided that we're on the cusp of great things this year, and I'm excited to see what life brings us. 

Hopefully more bagels. 

May Flowers

Our April showers have finally given way to May flowers, though it's still a bit colder than one would like.  Miss Linda came up for the Mother's Day weekend and we shivered together in sweaters and scarves before giving up and putting coats back on. But shoes can be worn without socks and the sun felt warm on our faces so I'm happy.

I've lived in the city long enough that we don't feel the need to see a million things, rather to simply enjoy each other's company. Walking through my neighborhood. Baking. Talking endlessly. Sleeping in. Standing in the lake. Pots of tea. Lots of lovely little things.

I made Molly's scones for breakfast with lemon zest, crystalized ginger and chopped walnuts over which I poured a glaze of lemon juice and powdered sugar. One of my best batches so far and will be savored  along with memories of this weekend. Lots of slightly sticky fingers will be licked. And a wonderful Mommy will be missed.

Scottish Scones with Lemon and Ginger

From A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

2 c unbleached all-purpose flour (I ran out at 1 3/4 cups so the last 1/4 was whole wheat which adds a nice amount of wholesomeness without ruining it by making it too healty.)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbs (2 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes

3 tbs sugar

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1/4 c finely chopped crystalized ginger

(1/4 c finely chopped walnuts)

1/2 c half-and-half (or normal milk, don't not make these just because you don't have cream!!), plus more for glazing

1 lrg egg

(For Lemony Glaze whisk together the juice of half a lemon and about 6 tbs of powdered sugar or however many it takes to form a paste that you spread on the cooled scones. It really is the proverbial cherry on top of these particular scones and I won't vouch for their awesomeness without it!)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, whist together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing and pinching with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal and there are no butter lumps bigger than a pea. Add the sugar, lemon zest, and crystallized ginger, (walnuts), and whisk to incorporate.

Pour 1/2 cup half-an-half into a small bowl or measuring cup and add the egg. Beat with a fork to mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, and stir gently to just combine. The dough will look dry and shaggy, and there may be some unincorporated flour at the bottom of the bowl. Don't worry about that. Using your hands, squeeze and press the dough into a rough mass. Turn the dough, and any excess flour, out onto a board or countertop, and press and gather and knead it until it just comes together. You don't want to overwork the dough; ideally, do not knead more than 12 times. There may be some excess flour that is not absorbed, but it doesn't matter. As soon as the dough holds together, pat it into a rough circle about 1 inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 wedges.

Place the wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Pour a splash of half-and-half into a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the scones with a thin coat to glaze. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until pale golden. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool slightly, and serve warm, with butter, if you like. (Make lemony glaze and spoon on top)

Note: If you plan to eat them within a day or two, store the scones in an airtight container at room temperature. For longer storage, seal them in a heavy plastic bag or container, and freeze them. Before serving, bring them to room temperature. Either way, reheat them briefly in a 300 degree oven. They're best served warm.

Potatoes and Eggs

I like holidays and food, so really any time I get to make food for a holiday it's pretty exciting. As ever I totally failed at making anything Welch for St. Davids day (I've seriously been trying to do that for like....years.) so felt guilty and went gangbusters for St. Patrick.

There was colcannon, as you can see. I thought for sure I'd posted a recipe for that but I can't seem to find it so just in case you've never eaten it please do the following:

Make mashed potatoes.

While the potatoes are cooking wash half a bunch of kale and put it in a smaller pot of boiling water.

When they're tender drain as best you can and coarsely chop. Add to the mashed potatoes with anything else you fancy such as sauteed onion, cheese, more butter...it's very sturdy and comforting food. Miss Dick taught me how to make it one rainy afternoon while we watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

And no St. Patrick celebration is complete without Margaret Bell's Soda Bread and reubens.

I even found marbled rye this year!! To top it off Miss H and I made up a devious concoction in a blender of Baileys, B&J Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Haaged Daz French Vanilla ice cream. It's decadent and delicious, but you should make it anyways. It is a celebration after all...

And after you've finished off your last reuben it's time for Easter! Which means eggs and ham.

MINI HAM!! Finally a legit ham that I can buy to feed just me!! It's entirely possible that I clapped my hands and squeaked a bit when I spotted it in the meat isle of my grocery store. Entirely possible.

I stuck it in bistro salad with poached eggs...

...in pasta alla carbonara. It was so nice to eat ham for Easter! Maybe I'll do a fidget pie next year as the last time I made it I had to use lunch meat ham instead of real ham ham which was rather disappointing. Tragic, really. I don't think I even put a crust on top. So it really wasn't fidget pie at all just roasted veggies with bits of meat. Clearly I need to fix that.

Some day I'll get around to making hot cross buns just like Miss Linda, but I'm not rushing it.  One food tradition at a time!

Because really the most important one is the chocolate bunny.

Duh.

Count Your Blessings

Well folks, I made it through the woods.

I'm still a little dazed, blinking bemusedly at my surroundings and wondering how the heck I did it, but it's done! I now officially have only two jobs and will be getting back that thing referred to as  "a weekend". I managed the situation gracefully up to mid March where it went to pieces and I arrived in April looking rather worse for wear. But it didn't kill me, just made me more resilient. Or something.

Anyways, I would like to share the only weekend I didn't work in March! Also known as 'Lizbeth and Jack Save My Sanity with Fun Adventures in Chicago'.

Because if good friends, baby coos, and jellyfish don't make you feel good you're a goner.

I hadn't been to the Shedd Aquarium since I was here on a family vacation before I went to college, Lizbeth and I figured it would be a good activity for everyone including the four month old who likes to stare at lights.

This was his face pretty much the whole time. Except when he was sleeping. Or the few times he needed to express his opinion about things.

*point*  Fiiiiiiishieeeeeees!!!

The 'Jellies' were everyone's favorite.

And I got be a good Fairy Godmother and spoil him with a toy for him to hold onto and drool on. (!!!!!!!)

The rest of the visit was quiet and comfortable. And we ate this dinner while watching this delightful film and later munching on florentine cookies my sweetie of a Mom sent in a care package. I miss her baking!! We kept saying "oh, just one more..." and ate half the tin. WHAT.

I was sad to see them drive off, but I was happier that they had been here! Definitely a blessing I've been counting.

Now I have to go do my taxes (aha.) and make these muffins. I'll tell you all about it next time!