Happiness is...

...discovering that not only does your library have a coffee shop, working fireplace and great collection of magazines and DVDs (to facilitate lazy weekends), it also has a breathtaking view of the Hudson River.

A Circle of Quiet {book review}

Note - I bought this book over four years ago. I'd previously enjoyed one of Madeleine L'Engle's other memoirs (what I later discovered is the conclusion to this series), so, I bought A Circle of Quiet from a used book store on a whim and proceeded to ignore it for years. Then, while we were still debating whether to move, I picked it back up. I don't know why I did it, but I'm so glad I did. It's exactly what I needed.

A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle {book review}

Madeleine L'Engle does violence to language. I think she would be proud to have that said of her. In A Circle of Quiet, she says:

To do violence to language...it means really speaking to each other, destroying platitudes and jargon and all the safe cushions of small talk with which we insulate ourselves...

She successfully manages to unleash such violence in this first book of her autobiographical quartet, The Crosswick Journals.

A Circle of Quiet is part memoir and part treatise, meandering back and forth as L'Engle discusses the lessons learned throughout her life. She weaves together the beautiful moments (such as leaping on and flattening her sleeping husband upon learning that A Wrinkle in Time would receive the Newberry Medal) with the despairing ones, grappling with doubt, faith, art, hope, pain and love. Her frank recollections and humble commentary are personally refreshing.

I've been itching to flex my creative muscle but hesitated to be vulnerable in that way. L'Engle offers a verse that she wrote as a young woman, which, though she demures at its quality, simultaneously puts my efforts to shame and inspires me to keep on keeping on:

I go into the museum
and look at all the pictures on the walls.
Instead of feeling my own insignificance
I want to go home and paint. 

In addition to inspiring the reader, this first book in the series creates a context for the remaining books to build upon. L'Engle was born the only child of accomplished parents entrenched in New York City society during the early 1900s. She discovered her artistic bent early on, writing furiously from a young age. She attended private schools both in the States and abroad, finding her social niche later in her school years. L'Engle flourished in college and was writing and acting in New York when she met her husband, Hugh.

They bought a farmhouse, Crosswicks, in rural Connecticut and began their family there. However, the pull of the city crescendoed, and they eventually began to split their lives between New York and Connecticut. 

Throughout the narrative, L'Engle readily demonstrates that her understanding is incomplete, reassuring the reader that their ongoing formation is being made excellent through the process. She embraces her limited insight, journaling so that her later wisdom might benefit from the recollections and often forgoing her own words for those whom she esteems, such as Anon and Thomas Mann. 

She has finally clarified for me an exercise from my college creative writing class. Every week, we had to handwrite a page of text from a favorite author. At the time, I thought it was an incredible waste of time, however, now it seems a clever means of internalizing the strengths of that writer, learning from as well as building on their ideas and just flat out practicing. I have written out at least a dozen passages from A Circle of Quiet.

I can thank L'Engle's deliberate violence to language for the encouraging prod.

Being so encouraged, I've already started the second book in her series, The Summer of the Great-Grandmother.

Impressions

To and fro

Sky lightening

shoes crunching

loose gravel on the street

more pairs joining, crunching 

down to the shore

tributaries of shoes and tires

converging at the station

rushing, standing, waiting, fidgeting

seagulls calling

symmetrical gliding

drawing intricacies 

in the sky

train blasting 

greeting

hurrying

slowing

riders sleeping, texting, reading

as the sun winks

on the water

crowds ripple up the stairs

out of the station

breaking and spreading 

along the sidewalk

buses sighing, lumbering

taxis darting

store gates rising halfway

workers meeting, delivering, typing,

repairing, feeding, building

leaving

sky darkening

street lamps spotlighting

streams funneling

back into the station

city decreasing

home fires increasing

Gone walking...along the Hudson

Orange scones...can you ever have too many scones?

In a little over a week, I've managed to enjoy three different types of scones.

First, we visited our local tea shop, where we spent a leisurely afternoon draining our teapot and munching on berry scones.

The berry scones peaked my interest and bolstered my confidence, so I tackled pumpkin scones that ended up being a perfect, decadent 10.

And because good things should come in threes, I jumped on these scones right afterwards. If the pumpkin scones make you sit up and pay attention like neon lights (tasty! delicious! amazing!), then these orange scones are like tealights, encouraging you to sit back and enjoy their gentle ambiance. They're a simple, pleasant addition to any day.

Notes - I omitted the zest simply because I don't have a zester, but I fully intend to acquire one because I'm sure the scones would benefit from them. I also had a much lighter glaze because I added the sugar to the liquid instead of the other way around to better control the consistency. It's a bad habit I'm trying to break.

Pumpkin scones...five stars, two thumbs up and one big smile

For 99.9% of the time, I am proud and happy to be a home cook, but every once in a while I try a recipe that produces a professional-quality product, and I wonder. Then, I remember that the recipe is the star, not me. My creations are not nearly as inspired. Maybe one day.

These scones tell a story of triumph.

A long time coming

I've been thinking of these scones for the last four months. Pumpkin, ginger and cinnamon - the combination was mesmerizing. However, crystallized ginger and cinnamon chips were not as ubiquitous as milk and eggs at my local grocery store. By Christmas, though, I had collected my ingredients...and fully entered the throes of relocating

A clean kitchen

The kitchen is the room where it is most difficult for me to cope with the chaos of moving. After laboring over cleaning and organizing our new one, I felt that a celebration was in order and recalled these scones.

A fear overcome

Scones are one of my culinary hang-ups (along with pie crusts and roast chicken). Don't ask me why. They just seem insurmountable. 

As a result of all the anticipation, I gave this recipe more consideration than usual, carefully reading all the comments instead of just scanning. 

It was worth it. These scones deserve a place in some fancy tea room. The crust is golden brown, and the inside is tender with pockets of ginger and cinnamon. Not bad when a scone can make you close your eyes and think, "I am so happy."

Note - The only change I made to the original recipe was to use part whole wheat flour (2 cups unbleached flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour). Next time, I'll probably try increasing the whole wheat flour.

Much love

I learned...

1.   ...what milky smiles look like
2.   ...how precious chubby arms and legs can be
3.   ...that a quivering lip can be completely heart-wrenching
4.   ...why you should always have a burp cloth handy
5.   ...that walking up and down and back up the stairs is preferable to a lullaby
6.   ...how a tiny, sleeping face can experience the full range of human emotion
7.   ...that being held is a lot better than not being held
8.   ...how baby talk is an involuntary reflex
9.   ...that reading a magazine, watching tv or otherwise dividing my attention is akin to treason
10. ...how "love at first sight" is alive and well

It's a joy to finally meet you, nephew-of-mine. You've already taught me so much.

Life in these United States

Did you every read the "Life in these United States" joke column in Reader's Digest? I grew up reading Reader's Digest, so it has high nostalgic value for me. My family used to keep all the old issues, so it was my default reading material, available in any room of the house.

Relocating to my fifth state of residence has this column title, "Life in these United States," running through my head.  

In the Show Me state, I had the smell of soybeans ingrained into my olfactory memory.

In the Hoosier state, I pretended that I bled red and white.

In the Bluegrass state, I picked up a drawl that stills pops out when I'm being hospitable.

In the Old Line state, I omitted the fact that I've only ever bought imitation crab meat.

In the Empire state, I'm dropping whatever I'm holding when the siren blasts to round up the volunteer firefighters for duty.

What's making you smile in your corner of the world?

Gone walking

Chipotle meat loaves with spinach-cheddar mashed potatoes...and an ode to chipotle peppers

The chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are what prompted me to tear this recipe out of the magazine. It was right around that time that Rachael first introduced them to me. These peppers are smoky, spicy and one of those ingredients that will automatically turn me on to a recipe or menu item. Other such ingredients include avocado, bacon, basil, cheese, cilantro and peanut butter, though please not all in the same dish.

The original meat loaf recipe doesn't need any improvement, however, I've found that I can simplify it and still get great results. So, I've pared down the ingredients.  

In the future, I'd like to improve my version by mixing up my own seasoning. I've found pizza and taco seasoning recipes that I love, so I'm pretty confident that a good general seasoning recipe is also out there in the blogosphere.

Chipotle Meat Loaves with Spinach-Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
(inspired by Redbook)

Meat loaves
1 pound ground turkey
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1 egg

Glaze
1/3 cup ketchup
3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced

Mashed potatoes
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 1/2 ounces baby spinach (1/2 a bag)
4 tablespoons salted butter (1/2 a stick)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
splash of milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 450 degrees.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender (approximately as long as it takes the meat loaves to cook).

In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, grill seasoning and egg. In a small bowl, combine ketchup and chiles. Form ground turkey into four mini loaves and place in baking pan. Coat tops of loaves with glaze. Bake 20 minutes until cooked through.

Add spinach to the pot of potatoes. Stir until spinach is wilted. Drain. Add butter, cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Mash together. Add extra milk for a creamier consistency.

Serves 4

Printer-friendly version

Note on the peppers - If you don't want so much spiciness, try reducing the number of peppers. The original recipe only calls for one pepper. The container gives you more peppers than you need, so I usually divide the extras (plus sauce from the can) among some plastic bags and freeze them for later. 

Note in general - To make this meal extra easy, I bake the meat loaves in the toaster oven (which preheats oh-so-quickly) and line the pan with aluminum foil (for easy clean up).

Snow day