Hardware Store Black Out

I took the train out of the city early on Friday to shop at Lowes. Tim would come up on the train later that evening and I would pick him up. Typically on a Friday night, we get to Poughkeepsie so late that Lowes is closed or we are too tired to shop. I should not be allowed in a hardware store by myself. It spells disaster. I cannot walk into a Lowes, Home Depot, or Ace Hardware without spending a fortune. Tim has cut me off many times before. I told him and myself that I was only going to spend a gift card that I had received for Christmas. That is all I was allowed to spend. I went with my gift card to shop for tile for the guest bathroom. I walked in completely conscious and all I can remember is how beautiful the weather was that afternoon. I blacked out shortly after that. I walked out of Lowes, two hours later, with a gazebo kit, trellis panel supplies, subway tile boxes, quarts of tile adhesive, a deck umbrella, alternate tile samples, and a headache. I don't know what happened. I only became conscious as the two men were loading the 200 pound gazebo kit into the back of the pick up. What was I thinking? I blame it on a particularly warm 70 degree day on friday afternoon. I blame it on a long winter. I blame it on too many hours watching DIY shows on HGTV. It was just too much for me. I hesitantly pulled into the train station hoping Tim might not notice the 10 foot wood planks and the 8 foot, 200 pound gazebo kit hanging off the back of the pickup. Tim just got in the truck and said " that must have been a hell of a gift card."

SALMON WITH BROWN SUGAR AND MUSTARD GLAZE

We came up this weekend thinking we would have a decent snow melt and we could get out in the garden and start building additional raised beds. The weather wasn't cooperating so we just painted the guest bathroom and cooked. Both of us are trying to lose weight so this was our attempt at a low fat meal.

MENU:

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

Asparagus and Green Beans with Chili-Orange Oil

Balsamic Red Onions

SALMON WITH BROWN SUGAR AND MUSTARD GLAZE

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, minced

1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup whole-grain mustard

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 side salmon (about 3 pounds) skin

removed, cut into 8 fillets

1 bunch watercress (about 3/4 pound),

thick stems trimmed

1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

1. Heat broiler, with rack in top position . In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium high. Add shallot and cook, stirring often until softened, 3 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until slightly evaporated. 1 minute. Add mustard and brown sugar; stir until warm and combined, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

(To store, refrigerate cooled glaze in an airtight container, up to 1 day.)

2. Place salmon fillets on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/2 cup glaze to a small dish and brush on top of salmon Broil salmon until glaze is bubbling and fish is opaque throughout. 5 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness; brush remaining glaze over fillets. Serve salmon along with watercress and lemon wedges.

ASPARAGUS AND GREEN BEANS WITH CHILI-ORANGE OIL

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 wide strips orange zest plus

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

coarse salt and ground pepper

2 bunches asparagus (about 1 pound

each) trimmed, cut into 2 inch lengths.

1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into

2 inch lengths

1/2 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves

1. In a small saucepan, bring oil, orange zest and red-pepper flakes to a simmer over medium- high and cook 3 minutes. Remove chili-orange oil from heat and set aside. (To store, refrigerate cooled oil in an airtight container, up to 3 days).

2. Working in two batches, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook asparagus and green beans separately until bright-green and crisp-tender. 3 minutes. Transfer to a colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking.

3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon chili-orange oil over high. Add half the vegetables and cook, stirring often. until warmed through and tender, 3 minutes. Stir in half the basil, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a platter. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining vegetables and basil. Drizzle with remaining oil and orange juice and serve immediately. Serves 8.

BALSAMIC RED ONIONS

Heat broiler, with rack in top position. On a rimmed baking sheet place 6 medium red onions, cut crosswise into 1/2 thick rounds, in a single layer and drizzle with 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , turning to coat with with oil. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Broil onions until lightly charred. 4 minutes. Flip and brush with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Broil until lightly charred. 4 minutes. To serve, transfer to a platter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 8.

Sookie the Water Maiden Cat

Sookie is constantly in the sink, the tub and the kitchen sink. She is obsessed with water. We don't quite understand the water obsession. She likes to bathe with us when we get in the shower - we will have to get her a bathing cap.

DIY PROJECT: Kitchen Island Phase 1

When we bought the house there were obvious things about the house that we had to change. One of the projects was to update the kitchen island which was just plain and didn't have a lot of character. We started working on it this weekend. We wanted to frame out the sides and back of the island and add subway tile which we also used on the backsplash. It adds a lot of "weight" to the island and a vintage quality. We were pleased with the initial results and have to finish tiling and painting and adding some vintage brackets as well for detail.

Spring Itch

Right about now, we start getting a little itchy to get out and start planting. There is still so much snow on the ground and we won't actually be able to plant anything in the ground for another two months but we can't help but get a little bit excited. All of the seed catalogs are in ... Johnny Appleseeds, Gurneys, Burpees. We placed orders - 40 forsythia bushes, 6 white birch, 6 Norway evergreen, every potato imaginable, rhubarb, asparagus, etc... all in anticipation for planting - once it gets warm enough. We have been listening to new garden podcasts about winter sowing but are skeptical. However if you are interested in learning more about winter sowing - check out the site Wintersown.org. It's a little wordy, but captures all of the information that we have been listening to from different sources. Meanwhile, we have been productive, eco-friendly planners all winter - collecting every eggshell container, eggshell, can, glass jar, plastic take out container, etc... to use for planting seeds. We wanted to recycle as much as possible rather then buy all new pots or planters for the seeds. However, the basement looks like a recycling center with boxes filled with this stuff plus our normal recycling of 2 liter plastic soda bottles for aqua spikes and canning jars in preparation for the season. We plan on adding additional raised stone beds for the garden and will start building the beds this weekend along with setting up the planting shelves and grow lights. We cannot wait!

Awww The Life of a Kitten

Sookie hasn't quite mastered her lady-like cat behavior yet which is a lot of her charm. However, her sleeping habits along with her bathroom habits need some work.