A celebration of Lucy

A little over 5 months ago, our application to adopt a senior dog was approved by the local Humane Society. We went to pick her up, being given only 15 minutes to make a yeah-or-nay decision because of Covid protocols. She was charming and well-behaved, so we took her home. It's the best thing that happened to us in 2021. 

So it's been a while...

Sorry, life continues while the blog stands still. I've been more active on other platforms (Twitter, Facebook) and also joined Instagram and Snapchat.

I got an Instant Pot for Christmas in 2018 and finally started using it just after Christmas in 2019. It's been a lot of fun and has really inspired me to do more home-cooking in the past couple months.

Favorite recipes so far:
Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef from Six Sisters' Stuff

Instant Pot Yogurt from Six Sisters' Stuff (this is a cold-start recipe)

Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto from Pressure Luck

Instant Pot Key Lime Cheesecake from Twin City Adventures

I've also tried applesauce, chicken noodle soup, and mac-and-cheese, but none of those were good enough to get memorialized here...

Red Curry Recipe

Borrowed heavily from a now-deleted post by SheSimmers.com

1 can coconut cream (19 oz)
1/2 can red curry paste
2-3 Tablespoons avocado oil
1.25 pounds ground pork
1 pound grilled chicken (CostCo skewers, don't ask...)
1/2 large zucchini, cut into small slivers
1/2 large orange bell pepper, cut into small slivers
1/2 pound white mushrooms, already cooked (leftover from Omelet Day)
a couple of garlic scapes, cut into tiny pieces
1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
handful of fresh basil leaves (I used lettuce basil from my mom's herb garden)

Heat the avocado oil in the bottom of a large Dutch oven.
Add the cream from the can of coconut - but save at least 1/2 cup for the end
Once the cream starts to break down, add the curry paste and mix gently to combine.
After the curry paste has heated through and started smelling good, add the ground pork. Don't stir too often, as you want the bottom to actually brown if possible.
Once the pork is cooked, add vegetables, chicken, and 1/2 cup water, plus more coconut milk if you've got more than 1/2 cup left.
Cook about 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are soft but not mushy and chicken is heated through. Add the last 1/2 cup of coconut milk, the fish sauce, sugar, salt, and basil. 
Mix thoroughly and taste; adjust seasonings as necessary.
Serve over rice.

OK if you really want to ask: the grilled chicken skewers make a good addition to a salad but we weren't eating them fast enough...

My favorite books of 2018

In no particular order...

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
The Last Good Man by Linda Nagata
Elysium Fire by Alistair Reynolds
The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren
A Man of Some Repute by Elizabeth Edmondson
Making Up by Lucy Parker
Head On by John Scalzi
Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Lake House by Kate Morton
Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Red Bones by Ann Cleeves

Fan fiction:
If They Haven't Learned Your Name by Silent Walrus
Landscape with a Blur of Consequences by Diasterisms

-->

My favorite movies of 2018

Tough list!

Movies from 2018:
Black Panther Just mind-blowingly good, from start to finish. I love how the movie managed to be feminist despite centering on the struggles of two young men.

A Wrinkle in Time Gorgeous visuals, a great story. I love how it's a very child-friendly movie but still a great adventure.

Ocean's Eight Not quite enough sense of tension, as the women are so competent that I just assumed it would all work out. I do love the twists in the 3rd act.

Operation Finale A thrilling story that neatly subverts Ben Kingsley's incredible charm.

Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse I cannot even describe how much this movie charmed me, from start to finish.

Crazy Rich Asians

Honorable mentions:
Aquaman
Incredibles 2
Mission Impossible: Fallout
First Man
Bumblebee
Mortal Engines
Artemis Hotel
Annihilation

Movies from earlier, that I first watched in 2018:
Moon
Midnight in Paris
Charlie Wilson's War
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
La La Land
Wind River

Edited to add: In terms of Hugo nominations, I have a few more movies I want to watch, but right it's looking like this:
Black Panther
Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse
A Wrinkle in Time
Aquaman
Annihilation or Incredibles 2
(I really got a kick out of Artemis Hotel, but I suspect it would be a wasted vote)

My weekend in NYC

Pondicheri Cafe: a huge birthday party in back, so the noise level was unpleasantly high and it was nigh impossible to get to the restrooms. We had the Sindhi Pakora Chaat (delicious), the Dal and Brussels (good, but an odd combination), the Green Masala Shrimp (fabulous), and the Goa Pork (very good). We finished with house-made ice cream. I had the Turmeric Lavender in a house-made cone, which had ground peppercorn and rose petals embedded in it. It was an innovative combination and I adored it. The other people had the Moringa Mint and said it was really good, but not as minty as they'd expected.

Pain Quotidien: I actually ate here on two consecutive mornings. The first time, I had the Avocado Toast with Smoked Salmon, and a mug of their Hot Honey Lemon Ginger. Both were terrific. The second time, I got the Smoked Salmon Breakfast and a mug of coffee. The food was great but I once again realized how much I dislike trying to eat a soft-boiled egg in the shell. My companions had the Belgian Waffle with fruit (delicious, not too big) and the Skillet Eggs with Salmon and Avocado (really good.)

Xian Famous Foods: it's a tiny little dive, mostly catering to the carry-out crowd.  You stand along one wall and watch a pair of cooks prepare your order, which takes under 5 minutes. Everything involves their hand-torn noodles, which the cooks also make when they have a free moment. I recommend it for sheer entertainment value, plus the food was delicious. We had the Spicy Cumin Lamb Hand-Ripped Noodles (delicious, but so spicy I could only have a bite) and the Pork "Zha Jiang" Hand-Ripped Noodles (only slightly spicy, and totally delicious.)

Fournos Theofilos: We also got carry-out from here one night. The Greek Salad was amazing and I will always remember it as my new gold standard. Unfortunately, the carry-out situation was confusing, with almost nothing else on the website actually being on offer that night. We ended up with mediocre sausage rolls. I really liked the tomato chutney that came with it; not so much the spicy green mustard sauce.

Great Northern: a food hall in Grand Central Station, featuring Nordic food such as open-faced sandwiches (smørrebrød) and hearty salads. It's a bit confusing: there are multiple stations and you pay for the food at each station right there. I planned carefully and got my drink (GUS grapefruit soda, so good) and a trio of open-faced sandwiches at the same stall. I had the smoked salmon and radish, the curried herring with grated egg, and the avocado with green tomato and green apple. All three were delicious and innovative and I only wish I'd had more space in my stomach!

Bien Cuit: a bakery in Grand Central Market. We picked up breakfast food: an apple cardamom danish, a ginger cranberry tart, and a chocolate almond croissant. All three were terrific.

Pescatore Seafood: a seafood shop in Grand Central Market. We picked up crab rolls and shrimp rolls for the trip home. I loved the crab roll; my mom loved the shrimp roll but I thought it had too much mayonnaise. Service was swift, friendly, and helpful.

In addition to all this, we shopped at Columbus Circle and Uniqlo, and window-shopped up and down Madison Ave. We spent hours at the Winter Fair at Bryant Park, and I found some really lovely and unique gifts plus a necklace for myself. I'd wanted to eat at Momofuku Noodle Bar, but they turned out to be closed on Sundays. (Hello! Update your website with correct hours, people...)

All in all, a lovely weekend despite the driving rain and sleet on Sunday.

Review of Grass Roots Creamery (Granby, CT)

Grass Roots Creamery is one of the must-stop places if you're in north-central CT. They used to be open only April-November, but are experimenting with staying open all winter this year. Please go support them!

They serve ice cream, all of it made in house, much of it wildly creative. In the summer there's about three dozen flavors ready to be scooped; they seem to have cut back to about two dozen right now, but it's still a great range of options. Example: my mother-in-law once got a three-scoop with Geranium, Lavender, and Rose Chocolate Chip as the flavors. They've had flavors as disparate as Pear Blue Cheese, Maple Bacon, and Olive Oil Rosemary. They're constantly trying out new flavors and sadly, this sometimes means that they shelve old ones (I once had a scoop of jalapeno-chip ice cream there. It was amazing. I've never seen it again.)

There's a fascinating back-story of activism and courage behind the store and the name.

The owners are currently expanding, with an eatery opening next door. (Edited to add: open as of 11/28/18)

My only criticism of Grass Roots Creamery is that it's bad for people with specific food allergies, as they cannot guarantee a lack of cross-contamination. They are completely up front about this, but don't have an easy way to address the problem, as they use the same equipment to produce all their different flavors.