He's a real party boy

Photos from the big par-tay

A customized card from Michelle & Bill --note the power tools :-)

Wearing his new coveralls, Kyle shows off his old coveralls

King for a day

A mighty wind snuffed the 19 candles

It takes a village to raise a child, and the villagers came to the party to celebrate with cranberry punch, chocolate-orange cake, and homemade dulce de leche ice cream.


Even Ocho attended, with Bill B providing seating.

Showing off the LED flashlight in his new Swiss Army emergency pocket tool kit.



Look at that grin!


Kyle hugging his dad after Dan's toast to Kyle

A visit from Holly

My pal Holly, yes, the newly-wed Holly, came to visit this weekend, arriving Friday evening after the snowstorm, and leaving Sunday after Saturday night's snowstorm.

She and Dan greeted me at the door with a margarita after my harrowing drive home, in which I narrowly missed being squashed between 2 SUVs in a 20-car pileup on the highway. Fortunately, I knew a back way home, and after 45 minutes of inching 2 miles along, I exited and took a back road and avoided the hours of waiting for traffic to clear.

We had a quiet weekend, what with all the snow, but had lots of fun cooking (apricot ginger scones), playing cards, a church supper with friends and more cards, and lots of laughter. Our new, larger tent had arrived, and Holly helped us set it up and check it out -- after all, only 37 more days until spring! Plans call for a joint camping trip somewhere with Holly and Dave next summer.

The new tent is big. It has a bit more floor space than my trusty 20+ year old Eureka (99x80 vs 90x60) and a lot more headroom. I think we could fit the old Eureka inside. I wish the new tent had mesh doors with a zip up cover like my Eureka tent did, but it is a nice neutral color. The thought of spending a rainy day in an orange and yellow tent is enough to make me take up drinking, so the soothing pale gray and navy of the new tent look good. Another reason to be counting the days until spring....

The good life

A comfy seat, family, and a nearby woodstove, what more could a cat ask for? (Well, at a minimum, tuna, and catnip, plus a servant to administer it, and maybe some new cat toys, and a heated plush catbed for when the woodstove isn't running, oh, and fresh litter every day.)

From left, Luna, Luigi, and Yoda, who grace the home of our friends Bill and Karen with their presence.

Fresh snow for the new year

True to the forecast, the snow began here at 12:50 pm, and it has been snowing steadily ever since. Dan's guessing that as of 6:30, we had 3 inches of snow, with the flakes becoming heavier and falling more rapidly as the evening goes on.

The forecast has flopped and flipped more than a presidential candidate before the Iowa caucus, but right now the prediction is for up to 9 inches, about half of early predictions for 12-14 inches. Will there be school tomorrow? Only time will tell at this point.

Yesterday, we spent a very pleasant new year's eve with friends Bill and Karen. After shoveling out yesterday morning, we picked Bill and Karen up in the afternoon and drove to the local independent movie house to see the movie Juno.

We all enjoyed it, as did most of the other patrons, judging from the laughs during the movie and smiles after in the lobby. We then grabbed dinner at a locally owned Mexican restaurant, then went back to Bill's and Karen's for a few games of cards and some celebratory champagne. Karen whipped up a dessert treat, "David Eyre's Pancake," an eggy, puffy pancake reminiscent of a Dutch Baby, but sprinkled generously with lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Curious, today I did a quick search on it and found it had been originally published in the NY Times by Craig Claiborne in 1966, and again fairly recently featured in the food section. More can be found about the pancake and David Eyre here and more, including the recipe below, from Eyre himself, here.

The David Eyre Pancake

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (the New York Times recorded the nutmeg measure as a "pinch")
4 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Juice of half a lemon, or more to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add flour, milk and nutmeg and lightly beat until blended but still slightly lumpy.

Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet** with a heatproof handle over medium-high heat. (An 11-by-7-inch Pyrex dish will work equally well, according to Eyre.) When butter is very hot but not brown, pour in batter. Bake until pancake is billowing on the edges and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Working quickly, remove pan from oven, and using a fine-meshed sieve, sprinkle with sugar. Return to oven for 1 to 2 minutes more.

Sprinkle with lemon juice. Serves 2 to 4.

** Eyre said a cast iron skillet made the pancake too crisp.

In the article, Eyre mentions the pancake is delicious served with macademia nuts, pineapple and/or mango. I'll have to try that!

Decidedly delicious. Thanks, Karen, and best wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year!

Welcoming the light

Although I love Christmas, when I give free rein to my inner magpie, at this time of year my energy is always at a low point. The short days, too often cloudy, sap my energy and keep me inside for far too much of the time. It seems like my only moments outside are brief forays to other buildings on campus or to and from the car, and weekends never have enough room in them to spend all the time I want outside.

But last Saturday we celebrated the return of the light here at Henbogle, inviting a few friends over for good company, good food and a Solstice fire. Each guest had a spring of evergreen to throw on the fire if so desired, and after the blaze died down we warmed ourselves with some delicious homemade eggnog, courtesy of the Henbogle girls. We certainly enjoyed ourselves immensely, and I hope our friends did, too.

The promise of lengthening days and a fresh new year are energizing, as is having some time off together here at home. Dan and I have spent quite a bit of time clearing the clutter, weeding the bookshelves, reorganizing our files (aka giant piles of paper) and puttering about. We've both had colds, so the desperately-needed cleaning of the barn hasn't happened, but it will, as a February vacation project looms.

We visit the girls daily for bonus midday treats, (frozen pumpkin, breadcrumbs, leftover green beans, yum!) and took advantage of a warm day to clean out Henbogle Coop and put in fresh bedding (that's Pippi checking things out). A recent winter rainstorm had exposed a few blades of grass which the girls greeted with enthusiasm. The snow dome is working out remarkably well, now that the girls have overcome their fear of the snow.

A big pile of gardening catalogs awaits my attention, and with the promise of snow for the next few days, I am sure to have time to start planning for spring as the light increases. And of course, there are a few birthdays ahead to look forward too as well. Happy new year, everyone!


Henbogle Eggnog

12 eggs, separated
2 cups sugar
2 c gold rum
1 c apricot brandy
3 pints milk
1 pint heavy cream
Nutmeg

Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until thick. Slowly stir in the rum, apricot brandy, milk and cream. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and pour into a punch bowl. Beat the egg whites until stiff and and fold gently into the eggnog. Grate fresh nutmeg on top to taste

Ack! Fedco orders are due tomorrow!

Where does the time go! The deadline for discount orders from Fedco is due tomorrow. Orders placed by this date receive a 10% discount of orders of $200 or more, 15% for $400+.

Last year, my pal Karen and I placed a joint order and managed to meet the $200 needed for the discount. I don't know what Karen is planning, I need to call her tonight and see if she wants to place a joint order.

Locavore logic

Eating locally can be a challenge and it can also be more expensive. It isn't for everyone, and it is important to me to respect other's circumstances and choices. But Dan and I are choosing to buy locally when we can, because we like our neighbors and I'd rather support them than some California mega-farm. (That said, however, I'm not giving up exotic spices, olive oil, or citrus fruit, etc.)

Kim at Yankee Food over in NH recently had a great post about eating locally. She really articulates many of my feelings about eating locally. What it all comes down to, however, is this: I'd rather give my food dollars to my neighbors, and in so doing, support them and their farms, and thus preserving the Maine I know and love.

What was lost is now found: Double Chocolate Pound Cake

I was beginning to panic --my chocolate pound cake recipe had gone astray. It was based on one of my mother's recipes, but I'd made several changes to it, tweaking it here and there to better accommodate my taste and including new techniques I've learned along the way. It would take me many tries to recreate my changes, even if I could find the cake recipe again.

And then Holly called and said she'd found a pad of paper. She laughed, saying she knew it was mine because it contained many lists. She didn't realize the cake recipe was in the middle of the lists. I was so very glad to lay my hands on this recipe again!

Double Chocolate Pound Cake
1 ¾ c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 ½ sticks butter, divided
1 ¾ c light brown sugar
1 T vanilla
5 eggs
¾ c cocoa
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
¾ boiling water
1 c sour cream

Pre-heat oven to 350º F Grease bundt pan with a mix of 1 T each of melted butter and baking cocoa, blended into a paste. Heat ¾ c water to a boil. Add cocoa and stir together. Add ½ stick of butter and chocolate and stir until melted. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in sour cream. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour baking soda and salt. Beat 1 stick butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about four minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and chocolate mixture alternately. Bake until just pulling away from the pan, about 60 minutes.

This is a very adaptable cake. For Holly's wedding, I used organic dark chocolate with orange, added the zest of a large, organic orange, and made an orange sauce from the juice of the orange to use as a glaze. It was a terrific combination of chocolate and orange. I had hoped to make candied orange peel for a garnish, but ran out of time. This summer for Dan's and Michelle's silver birthday celebration, I flavored the cake with cherry liquer and made a cherry glaze for the top. I am so glad Holly found the recipe!

A tale of two turkeys

We had a marvelous visit to Dan's parent's in NY over the Thanksgiving holiday, with time to cook, to chat, for me to get a crochet refresher from Mom, and do a few chores for Mom and Dad, too.

We drove over on Tuesday, departing just as the snow started here in Maine -- fortunately just a dusting but enough to make me wish I'd purchased new windshield wipers before the trip. Traffic was not terrible, but busy enough on the Mass Pike to make me really glad we were driving over early.

Instead of driving west with a zillion other crazy Mass drivers, on Wednesday we did a few chores and in the afternoon, I made pie --pumpkin, pumpkin pecan, and apple. It went pretty quickly as I had made the dough ahead of time -- which also made the dough a little easier to work with, I think. Whatever the reason, these pies turned out pretty well, the bottom crust was crisp and they were beautifully flaky and tender.

We did have a pie tragedy. A piping hot pumpkin pie was knocked off the counter, did a mid-air flip and landed right-side up on the floor, but with much of the filling jolted out of the crust onto the floor. Fortunately, the pie plate did not break, but chaos ensued as we scurried to get the hot pie filling off the floor before the dog ate the filling, or the hot plate burned the linoleum. It was heartbreaking, (all those Henbogle eggs gone to waste!) but no one was hurt, we got to a sample the filling and crust without guilt, (see the before sampling photo, below left) and we have a new anecdote for the family stories archive. Perfect!

There was plenty of pumpkin puree left, and I had enough dough left for another crust, so I whipped together another pumpkin pie. I am just glad it wasn't the pumpkin pecan pie that crashed, as that would have been one sticky mess!

Making the pies the day ahead made cooking the actual dinner go pretty smoothly, even with the disadvantage of being in a different kitchen and using an unfamiliar smooth-top electric stove. It is crucial to plan backwards from the time dinner will be served, and make as much ahead as possible. I like roasted vegetables, so I usually try and make as much in the oven as possible, which also leaves the burners free for gravy and mashed potatoes, etc. Things were a bit tight in Mom's oven (note the oven rack mark across the turkey breast on the above photo), but I managed by cooking the squash ahead of time and reheating while the turkey rested. Of course, kitchen staff makes life easier, too.

Dan was a big help, doing dishes, washing the turkey and prepping the squash. He even julienned the carrots for me. I was trying to make life easy for Dan's mom, but needed her help with a few things, readying the potatoes and especially with finding the various dishes needed to cook everything.

I only swore twice, once when I turned off the wrong burner, causing the gravy to boil over, burning on the stove, and again during the emergency response that followed, when the roux for the gravy hit the floor, arghh. I'm getting better at producing these dinners, but by this point, with dinner mere moments away, I was on the edge.

Lucky for me, Dan's sister Jean was on hand to help out, she made a flour-water paste to thicken the gravy, and with that, dinner was served. Of course, this means that I was so wigged out I forgot to take the group photo I had planned, but we all enjoyed dinner and good company, and that is, after all, what it is all about.

Capping off the holiday was a flying visit to my friend Mrs. Holly to see her and get a taste of a second Thanksgiving feast. We had my favorite, little turkey sandwiches made on Holly's fabulous homemade dinner rolls. Holly is still enjoying her newlywed status, and we got to ooh and ah over photos and wedding gifts. The visit was far too short, but I hope we'll see her again soon for a visit here at Henbogle. Maybe for a solstice celebration? I can hope....

Create a cookbook

I'm so excited I just have to write about this (and no, I'm not getting a kickback from the company). There's a new website, Tastebook,which provides a template for self-publishing a cookbook!

I long ago promised a friend a cookbook as a wedding gift, and did give her a crude pile of pages from the laser printer, but have yet to get the book formatted to go to Kinkos for printing.

Now, I don't have to. It is so easy to upload recipes, that I'm halfway finished (54 recipes) uploading all my recipes from my book. In addition to uploading your own, you can import favorites from Epicurious as well.

Finally, no more frantic shuffling through the clutter to find a recipe drafted on the back of an envelope. They will all be neatly bound in an organized manner. Now if I could just find the recipe for the chocolate pound cake....

More wedding photos

Gold lame socks for the bride -- to match the gold lame sneakers!


Sarah, Holly and Mom


Holly and Pop


Holly and I


Mom & Pop escort Holly

Congratulations Holly & Dave!

A lovely bride with Mom & Pop, Esther & Bill

A done deal!


Dancing with Pop


A little bridal exultation


Cutting the delicious chocolate orange wedding cake, (Dave's flavorite) made with love by me and the hens. I made sure to keep a chunk for freezing to share on their first anniversary.


There was a lot of hairspray involved in that hairdo.

The stage crew rejoices, our friends are wedded.

My best friend is getting hitched tomorrow!

Congratulations to Holly and Dave on their upcoming nuptials. They have been together many years and are finally going to celebrate their togetherness with family and friends.

I've known Holly since 1983, when we met in Professor Ronald Koperski's public speaking class at Bradley University. Until that moment, I had been questioning my sanity in departing Maine for Peoria, Illinois, but once I met Holly, I realized why fate had sent me to Bradley.

We've been through good times and better times together, and I'm looking forward to many more years of laughter.

Best wishes to both of my friends on this happy day.

Heating Season begins

I usually try and hold out until October 1, but last night we left a couple of windows open, and this morning the temperature in the kitchen was a balmy 54°F.

Being busy with canning tomato sauce in the morning, I didn't really feel the cold, so held off on turning on the furnace. The house did warm up a bit during the day, but at 4 pm is was only 64F so I asked Dan to crank up the woodstove.

I hate to start the heating season, but that good wood heat sure feels good after a busy day.

Another reminder of fall: our friend Karen's birthday was Friday. We celebrated a day late with buttered rum pound cake with bananas foster sauce and a new (old) book: My Life in the Maine Woods by Annette Jackson.

The book has been re-printed with some new material by Islandport Press, and I was sure Karen, our woodswoman friend who grew up camping for weeks at a time in the Allagash, would enjoy it. Apparently I was right since she could barely peel her eyes away from the book to eat her cake. Happy Birthday Karen!