Cookies Gone Wrong

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Who makes cookies and forgets to add the sugar! I mean, what use is a cookie without any sugar? Apparently I made cookies without adding any sugar! And you know what, they taste good anyway. I’m not sure just how that manages to be true, but it is. They are Turmeric Breakfast Cookies. I will say though, that even though I will eat all of them, the next time I make these cookies I will strive to remember to add the called for sugar to the recipe. I’d say that I’d learned my lesson and this wouldn’t happen again, but it has happened before, and I am sure it will happen again… I have an avoidance thing about sugar; only because I like it so much, and it is not good for me. The kitchen is a busy place at Mist Cottage today. The weather can be thanked for that. Blowing snow and rain, and the temperature is hovering just above freezing. The roads are covered in slush and ice, and the wind is wicked. Home is the best place to be when weather like this comes to visit. And what better to do, on windy, wet and cold day, … Continue reading →

Daily Bread

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Years ago I baked all of our bread, all of the time. Then we moved to the country house, and my job demanded my time for almost all my waking hours, and the bread baking just wasn’t possible. Then the job disappeared, and I began taking on a series of truly horrid, very low paying, local jobs with either long hours, or on-call short notice jobs that chopped up my time so that I couldn’t really expect to have open ended hours for bread baking. Bread baking became more and more difficult to undertake, and eventually I just gave it up. Then we moved to Mist Cottage. Living in the tunnels-through-the-boxes in this tiny house, and working on downsizing, took years. There were also significant renovations going on the whole time. Then, just as the physical environment was stabilizing, Attila had a “midlife crisis”, and life upended in a different way. Attila’s crisis has eased, 2018 was survived, life at Mist Cottage has stabilized, and I am able to return to baking all of our bread. Years ago, before we moved to the country house, I purchased 50 pounds of whole wheat flour. If life had not had other plans … Continue reading →

Spring is Dressing Slowly

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Attila said, when he arrived home from work last night, that the driving conditions were the worst he had ever driven in. Heavy snow and white outs that made the road slippery and everything on or around it almost invisible. He made it home, it just took an extra forty five minutes to get here. Last night the temperature dropped to -19C and the wind chill was -27C. I awoke this morning to a loud snap as the wood in the house cracked in the cold. Tonight they predict the temperature will go down to -19C again, but the wind chill will only be -23C. And then… On Saturday the temperature is supposed to rise to 2C during the day, and every day after that, in the forecast, it is predicted to rise above freezing. It seems that spring is dressing slowly. This morning the sun is shining brightly and the snow sparkles. The world is a little quieter when there is fresh snow on the ground. The sharp edges of car doors slamming and big trucks rumbling by are captured and softened by in the light white blanket. I am frequently asked “what are you doing today.” The answer … Continue reading →

Where Virtue Lives

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Well here it is, March! At last! We awoke to a winter wonderland, a few inches of snow fell over the course of the night, to sparkle this morning in the sunlight. We had thought to go out for a walk today, but opted for a day of food preparation instead, so as to avoid any possible ice underfoot. Bread baking and Split Pea Soup making passed the hours pleasantly. Yesterday was spent moving furniture around. This provided an opportunity to sort through some belongings, clothes in particular. If a piece of clothing holds together and fits comfortably, it stays. A few items went into the trash, they were well past any hope of being useful to humans. A full grocery bag of lightly worn, no-longer-fit clothes, was gleaned from the cupboards, and it will go to the women’s shelter. Virtue: conformity to a standard of right : morality. Source: Mirriam-Webster The keyword, in my opinion, in this definition, is the word “right”, as in correct. Who is to say what is right? How does one know what is right? Who sets this standard by which the virtuous establish their claim to virtue? Two possible standard bearers are external, or … Continue reading →

The Very Long Wait

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Last fall I began a bit of a journey, and I have been waiting for its conclusion. I had two health issues (well three, but this entry is about two of them). One was my upcoming colonoscopy. The second was a largish lump on the inside of my mouth, which did not heal or go away. The colonoscopy is troubling for me on five levels. In order of severity they are: dealing with the hospital staff re: anaphylaxis; the procedure itself, which is very unpleasant; the preparation, which is horrendous for me, I don’t tolerate the purge chemicals well; the fear of human error resulting in my death, due to my anaphylaxis; and last but certainly not least, the fear that cancer will be found, and many more colonoscopies will populate my last years on earth. About four weeks before a colonoscopy, my stress levels begin to increase. The colonoscopy was booked for early December. The result of the colonoscopy was a polyp, which was removed and biopsied. The surgeon left the country just after the procedure, so my wait to hear the results dragged on until the middle of January. The results were benign, but the surgeon wasn’t satisfied … Continue reading →