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May. 2nd, 2012 10:01 am
Mainweinkatzenjammer sind am schlimmsten!
It was a subdued May Day dinner. Neither of us was feeling up to much more. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
monshu made a lovely frittata of ham and rapini and we washed it down with a cheap Riesling I'd infused overnight. My second attempt to make Maywine met with considerably more success than my first, not least of all because I finally have a woodruff patch worth harvesting. The Old Man liked it fine as is, but I couldn't resist adding a dollop of syrup to boost the woodruff flavour, even if it made it maybe a bit too sweet.
Later in the evening, I found myself asking what the symptoms of coumarin poisoning might be. Out of nowhere, there was a sharp pain on the left side of my groin and I wondered if that might be the location of my liver. You know--typical nonsensical hypochondriac thoughts. I kind of overdid the alcohol in general, what with flambéing Calvados for the bread pudding (which already contained amaretto-soaked raisins) and then chasing it all with a shot of Unicum to aid the digestion.
The bread pudding was Bittman's recipe, by the way, and if I ever made it again, I'd seriously increase the amount of bread. As the GWO put it, "I don't want custard with a bread floater. I want bread held together by custard." It's tasty, however, and very light. I especially appreciate the fact that it's so lightly sweetened (only a half cup of sugar, minus what I sprinkled on top before sliding it under the broiler) which makes it easier to justify eating it for breakfast the next day.
The rain and the chill also dampened our festiveness yesterday, but today is already an insane 21℃ and climbing. Winds are straight out of the south, bringing the heavy Gulf air that was the bane of a childhood without air conditioning or dehumidifiers. The plants love it, of course. I'm definitely going to have to trim back the clematis at least once more and the climbing rose in my neighbour's patch has reached ludicrous dimensions.
It's also in the bud, like the peonies and irises on our street. But whereas I haven't seen those blossoming anywhere, I have passed by rose bushes in bloom in a couple of places. Some things continue to be strangely staggered: some lilacs and bridal wreaths are only just coming into bloom whereas others are long since finished. And the columbine (both traditional red and yellow and trendy purple and white) seems to have erupted practically overnight.
Other flowers I've noticed: lilies-of-the-valley, purple clematis, a single yellow poppy, and the ornamental sage at Loyola. The buckeyes still seem to be on the verge; perhaps this midweek warmup will be their trigger. Meanwhile, the lindens are sneaking up on them. Today I noticed their limey-green bracts, which means blossoms can't be far behind, right?
monshu made a lovely frittata of ham and rapini and we washed it down with a cheap Riesling I'd infused overnight. My second attempt to make Maywine met with considerably more success than my first, not least of all because I finally have a woodruff patch worth harvesting. The Old Man liked it fine as is, but I couldn't resist adding a dollop of syrup to boost the woodruff flavour, even if it made it maybe a bit too sweet.Later in the evening, I found myself asking what the symptoms of coumarin poisoning might be. Out of nowhere, there was a sharp pain on the left side of my groin and I wondered if that might be the location of my liver. You know--typical nonsensical hypochondriac thoughts. I kind of overdid the alcohol in general, what with flambéing Calvados for the bread pudding (which already contained amaretto-soaked raisins) and then chasing it all with a shot of Unicum to aid the digestion.
The bread pudding was Bittman's recipe, by the way, and if I ever made it again, I'd seriously increase the amount of bread. As the GWO put it, "I don't want custard with a bread floater. I want bread held together by custard." It's tasty, however, and very light. I especially appreciate the fact that it's so lightly sweetened (only a half cup of sugar, minus what I sprinkled on top before sliding it under the broiler) which makes it easier to justify eating it for breakfast the next day.
The rain and the chill also dampened our festiveness yesterday, but today is already an insane 21℃ and climbing. Winds are straight out of the south, bringing the heavy Gulf air that was the bane of a childhood without air conditioning or dehumidifiers. The plants love it, of course. I'm definitely going to have to trim back the clematis at least once more and the climbing rose in my neighbour's patch has reached ludicrous dimensions.
It's also in the bud, like the peonies and irises on our street. But whereas I haven't seen those blossoming anywhere, I have passed by rose bushes in bloom in a couple of places. Some things continue to be strangely staggered: some lilacs and bridal wreaths are only just coming into bloom whereas others are long since finished. And the columbine (both traditional red and yellow and trendy purple and white) seems to have erupted practically overnight.
Other flowers I've noticed: lilies-of-the-valley, purple clematis, a single yellow poppy, and the ornamental sage at Loyola. The buckeyes still seem to be on the verge; perhaps this midweek warmup will be their trigger. Meanwhile, the lindens are sneaking up on them. Today I noticed their limey-green bracts, which means blossoms can't be far behind, right?