Primrose

Alert: GG's editor spotted a first crop of primroses today at the local market. A few dollars for a flowering plant that will keep giving for weeks (if cared for properly) is a must-do. During the day, make sure it gets some light; in early evening, put it where you'll see it regularly. Instant cheer.

If you've always walked past them, consider buying one (or 3). If you have a garden or balcony, plant them when they are spent. We ended up with a true primrose path many years ago at our former home.

ciao-flowery-meow/GGCM

PS: Primrose tip: pinch off spent blooms at the base. This will help new flowers bloom.

(photograph via Meadowbrook Farm)

Supper Onion Pie for Tough Times

One of the key phrases most searched for on GG's blog is for this supper onion pie by Nigella Lawson. It is really easy & delicious. We don't have even one decent photograph of it, sorry. We are also sorrier than we can say that the tough times continue. The post is from autumn 2008. If you'd like to make something else with your lovely fresh red onions, Saveur's The Elegant Onion is a good place to start.

ciao-meow/GGCM

(vintage red onion via The Grapics Fairy)

Ice Cream (Without a Machine)

You could do this tonight. David Lebovitz is a smart (& sweet) cookie & he has developed an excellent ice cream-without-a-machine recipe. David points out that people were making ice cream long before a machine was invented. It's great if you have one, but times are tough & many of us can't purchase one anytime soon.

ciao-meow/GG Summer Central

PS: July is National Ice Cream Month. Just in case you need a reason.

(Françoise Hardy & Sylvie Vartan via ScoutandLo)

The Waiting...

...is the hardest part.

ciao-fume-meow/GG Voter Central

(image via Mary Cassatt - The Complete Works)

Fresh Flowers for Tough Times

For those of us residing in the State of Penury, here is an excellent idea by Sarah of Blossom and Branch, via Design*Sponge. It's a definite upgrade from our parsley-in-a-creamer. This is Sarah's second post in a twice-a-month series, Flowers A-Z. Take a look, you might be surprised by the ingredients.

ciao-meow/GG's floral designer

(images via design*sponge, GG collage)

The Cupboard is Bare

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Did you see this on NBC Nightly News in December? Zach Wilson's mission to help people feed their dogs & cats during these tough times is an inspiration. When people have to give up their animals, everyone suffers. Bravo & congratulations to Zach & his mother Erica on the smashing success of Central Florida Animal Pantry . Please contact your local animal rescue leagues to see what you can do. Dropping off a bag of food is a great start. We're cooking up something here in the DC-area. Stay tuned.

ciao-meow/GGCM

[photograph by generous D Sharon Pruitt/Pink Sherbet Photography's Free For All Creative Commons]

Pink carnations

We can't resist showing more Real Simple makeovers on supermarket flowers. GGCM is partial to big fluffy pink carnations (before Carrie Bradshaw declared her affection), tightly packed in vases, jars, & old etched glass pitchers or glasses from the thrift (or Mom). RS shows affordable wedding bouquets; by loosening them & holding the ribbons, the principle applies at home. GG's pink nose is the same color as the flowers above. When she's naughty (every single day), her nose becomes pinker & cuter. Must be some sort of defense mechanism because it works.

[update: check out a pink post from A Cup of Jo]

ciao, bisou!
GG Central

Fresh Flowers for Tough Times

OK. In really tough times, flowers are out except for the single stem--try any lily with several buds. GG's editor places bouquets of parsley (only .99 cents) & other herbs in old jars & sets small inexpensive blooming plants in cachepots & painted tin pails. Rosemary, catmint, thyme, & sage are lovely anywhere. Real Simple's website featured these supermarket bunches recently, as wedding bouquets; but they needn't be limited to that happy occasion. Look for sales & use the same culling technique...let the flowers floop a bit in the container, of course. Look at their entire gallery & be inspired.

ciao-meow,
GGCM

Elegy

If only the hyenas were gone...enjoy their humbling while you can. It never lasts.
GG's editor

Elegy

by Arthur Guiterman

The jackals prowl, the serpents hiss
In what was once Persepolis.
Proud Babylon is but a trace
Upon the desert's dusty face.
The topless towers of Ilium
Are ashes. Judah's harp is dumb.
The fleets of Ninevah and Tyre
Are down with Davy Jones, Esquire,
And all the oligarchies, kings,
And potentates that ruled these things
Are gone! But cheer up; don't be sad;
Think what a lovely time they had!

"Elegy" by Arthur Guiterman from The Lyric Baedeker: the Mirthful Lyre.© Harper and Brothers.

via Writer's Almanac

Butternut squash for tough times

We're a little embarrassed. We've never cooked butternut squash. Or any winter squash except the glamorous pumpkin. So when we saw organic butternut & acorn squash on sale, we bought some. It's stares & mocks from a large platter in the kitchen. It knows we're scared. It knows we've inexplicably lost our best paring knife & peeler. (Into the garbage? Is this possible? Nowadays, anything is...we are in an Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole drama.)

We have cooked things so much scarier than squash, so the fear is grounded in icky-gooey gourd dishes to which we were subjected as a child (not by our mum, though). We have nightmares about marshmallows & treacle-y potions poured onto root veggies & squash in autumns & holidays past.

A butternut squash soup recipe from Nigella Lawson's site reader's recipe link--one of five top-rated recipes. Here's another tasty looking soup recipe from the Whole Foods site.

Also, while out & about last week no less than five free publications were worth bringing home & reading; they range from Edible Chesapeake to a Cook's Illustrated give-away to The Whole Deal at Whole Foods. In a previous The Whole Deal, here's a roasted butternut squash with sage & cranberry recipe. We have all three items on hand--what are the odds? (The other pubs were literary & we'll get to them later.) So off we go. It's so cold & windy here that turning on the oven will be a relief.

Today, GG has alternated sleeping in a huge red felt Italian cape & playing with a ball of yarn . But of course.

Cheers. GG's cook

Public Domain Images . Courges butternut (Cucurbita moschata)
Photo JH Mora, septembre 2005
Public Domain Images

Brunettes for Obama

We're having computer & network trouble. Egad. So pardon us while we brood, worry, & wonder how we will have it fixed. Off to tend to our roots sans hairdresser. Due to financial disaster we are stretching out hair appointments: our one luxury (GG is an absolute necessity). Fume.

Ciao-meow,
GG Central Mgmt.

Oatcakes for tough times

We'd not bothered to make these until this past summer & are making up for it. Now we're sure to keep quick-cooking oats (not instant) on hand. We are far too frazzled to be baking lately; however, these are an exception. All biscuit/cookie cutters (except holiday themed) have inexplicably disappeared from our kitchen, but a small juice glass or clean tin ring works just fine. This recipe is from Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess.

While looking for a photo (no, still no camera), we saw scads of different oatcake recipes, histories, & so on. Here is a similar recipe from an interesting blog, Bread, Water, Salt, Oil; also an article from BBC Home. Perhaps a running series on oatcakes (!) is in the abstract future. Meanwhile, we haven't time to ask permission from any bloggers for photographs, so the Walkers photo will have to do...& no, these are not the same oatcake but they are very good.

Oatcakes

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon lard or butter, melted
6-14 tablespoons, very hot water
1 baking sheet
3-inch biscuit cutter (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the oats in a bowl & add the salt & baking soda. Make a well, pour in the fat & stirring with a wooden spoon, enough hot water to mix to a stiff dough. Knead it for a while to make it come smoothly together, then roll out as thinly as you can. Cut into triangles or rounds & bake on the ungreased sheet for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are turning golden brown & the oatcakes themselves are firm (they'll crisp up upon cooling). Remove to a wire rack to cool. Makes 15-20.

Nigella's notes: "There's something very satisfying about making such good, plain fare as oatcakes--as if you're doing something sober & basic & not entertaining yourself with fripperies. If you can bring yourself to use lard, please do. Did you know that it is a less saturated fat than butter?"


GG Notes: These are fast to make, even in the morning. At teatime, they're nice with a bit of demerara sugar sprinkled on top. These are subtle but satisfying & inexpensive to make. Store in a tin--if they last that long. GG's editor makes two batches at a time. We cannot bring ourselves to use lard, though.

Cheers

Welsh Cakes for Tough Times

GG's editor's food cravings are regressing towards childhood with each batch of awful world news. Nigella's Domestic Goddess cookbook hasn't had such a workout in this house since it arrived some years ago. We're excited about the debate tonight, though.

Cheers!

GG & her editor

(Photo courtesy of Anita of bakingandsewing)

Welsh Cakes 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced
1-2/3 cups self-rising cake flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
scant 1/2 cup golden raisins (or be wild & use any chopped up dried fruit on hand)
1 large egg, beaten
3-inch crinkled round cutter (or glass, etc.)
smooth griddle or cast-iron frying pan Rub the butter into the flour as you would if making biscuits, then stir in the sugar, spice, & dried fruit. Add the egg to make a soft but not sticky dough. Form a disc, cover with a plastic wrap, & leave in the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch, & cut out your little cakes; you will need to re-roll & so forth but that shouldn't be problematic. Preheat your unoiled griddle or cast-iron frying pan & cook the cakes for about 3 minutes each side, until golden brown. Remove to a cold plate & sprinkle with sugar. (GG note: demerara sugar is lovely on top as a crunchy change)
Makes about 20.

Nigella's Supper Onion Pie for Tough Ttimes

It's officially autumn, there's a night chill, & the state of the union is absolutely appalling. We need sustenance. Nigella Lawson's supper onion pie is impressive vs. the amount of time & money spent.

To the inevitable "cheese is so expensive & fattening" remark: buy only the amount needed for a recipe. This cuts down on snacking, & therefore cuts 'cooking calories' & cost.The recipe is below as it is not on Nigella's website. Here are two good food blogs that feature the supper onion pie so you can see the photographs & extra tips. It really is easy, though, & How to Be a Domestic Goddess is well worth buying if you can.

We couldn't resist putting in a photo of Nigella in her funny T-shirt. We want one for our lovely English friend, Maid Marion. It will pay her back for giving GG's editor a t-shirt of a tiara-wearing cat & "It's not easy being a princess" on it! (OK, it is funny.) Cheeky woman...

PS: Only for humans...felines are forbidden to eat anything from the onion/lily family. Sorry, Giulia.

Supper Onion Pie
(from Nigella Lawson’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess)

Filling:
4 medium red onions
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 springs of thyme, de-stalked, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons or 5 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese or Gruyere, grated

For the scone dough:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 scant teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
scant 1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 scant teaspoon dry English mustard
1 large egg, beaten
8- to 10-inch cast-iron skillet or 9-inch pie plate, buttered

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Peel the onions, halve them, then cut each half into 4 segments each. Heat the oil and butter in the pan, then add the onions and cook over a medium heat, stirring regularly, for about 30 minutes; they should be soft and tinged with color. Season with salt and pepper, and add the thyme. Turn into a pie dish, and scatter 2 ounces of the cheese over the waiting onions. Leave while you get on with the dough topping.

Put the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl with the remaining cheese. Pour the milk into a measuring cup, add the melted butter, mustard, and egg, mix well and then pour onto the flour mixture in the bowl. Mix to a dough using a fork, a wooden spoon, or your hands; it should be quite sticky.

Then tip it out onto a work surface and press into a circle about the size of the pie dish. Transfer it to the dish, pressing it to seal the edges. Put it in the oven for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350 F. and give it another 10 minutes, by which time the dough should be golden and crisp on top. Let it stand for a couple of minutes, then cover with a large plate and turn upside-down so the plate's beneath.

Nigella eats this with brown sauce, but it's not necessary. (If you’re not up to making it--we aren't—it's readily available at the market.) Makes 6 generous slices.

(photograph by James Merrell)