magid

Well, one oven, anyway.

When I got home Sunday, I found that while the indicator light lit when I turned the oven on, the actual heating part did not. So Monday I called the place I thought had previously replaced the igniter*, to find that apparently my memory on that was quite wrong. They did have three places they recommended, and I'd bought the stove from one of them, so I called that place first. After a long while on hold, I was told that the oven is so old that they don't stock the part, so I should check with GE about availability. After another long wait on hold, the GE rep said I could order the part, but it wouldn't be back in stock until November 30. I was not going to have Thanksgiving without an oven! So I called one of the other three places (Dell's Appliance, in Medford), and a human picked up the phone immediately. He told me that the igniters are pretty much the same across lots of models, and I got an appointment for today between 8a and 10a (I'm off work for Veterans' Day).

This morning, I took the baking trays out of the drawer beneath the oven, then took the drawer out. I cleaned the drawer, then the floor underneath the oven, which had dust mammoths (oops). That was pretty satisfying to get cleaner.

And then the appliance repair guy showed up just after 8, took the oven apart further (door off, racks out, floor out), confirmed that it was the igniter, and replaced it, in about half an hour.

It feels so much better knowing my oven is available!

* It's always the igniter with this oven. This is the third time I've had to replace it, I think, but since it's about 30 years old, and that's the only major maintenance it's needed, I still call it a win. (I am very happy with my stove: it was made in the sweet spot after self-cleaning and time-baking existed, but before major computer functions were standard, and it's been good to cook with.)

Today's addition to my irregular series of odd mishaps: I managed to give myself a 'paper' cut from... the edge of a flattish flexible (hand-shaped) ice pack.

I'm just that talented.

(On the plus side, it doesn't hurt as much as the 'paper' cut from the edge of the sheet of aluminum foil I managed to give myself some years ago.)

3 lb carrots
3 lb sweet potatoes
3 lb beets (one of the larger ones was >3 lb!)
2 lb purple-skinned potatoes
1 lb purple-top turnips
1 medium-small head of green cabbage
8 leeks
3 tiny heads of cauliflower
1 large bunch of curly kale
1 big bag of spinach (I weighed the one I took while there: 1.5 lb)
1 gorgeous head of what I'm guessing is red-leaf Boston lettuce
1 lb (or 1, for the larger ones) white or purple daikon (I swapped for another head of the lettuce)
take-what-you-want herbs (not for me this time

First thoughts: roasted tray of cauliflower, potatoes, and leeks. Green salad with the lettuce (plus fridge pickles). Kale salad or chips, or sauted with some sweet potato, leeks, and something spicy. Mashed tatties and neeps. Cabbage-based slaw of some sort, or salt-wilted and added to mashed/boiled potatoes. Carrot-daikon slaw with an Asian-inspired dressing (or mustard based).

( from the farmer's email )

It really does feel like Death is very bad at using The Claw... in addition to the other recent celebrity deaths (Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Patrick Stewart hit hardest for me), now John Leeson is gone. Which is not a name I know, except that I do know his voice: he was the voice of K9 (Dr Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures).

I would appreciate no more pieces of my youth taken away for a while, please.

(Feel free to mess with folks who are trying to kill our planet, though.)

I got a winter share from Stone Soup Farm again. It's like the summer share, except that it's not every week, the pickup window is shorter (4-6p instead of 4-7p), and there's only one size.

This week:

3 pounds of purple-skinned potatoes
3 pounds of carrots
3 pounds of purple-top turnips
3 pounds of daikon (I chose a mix of white, red-skinned, and purple starburst)
1 tiny head of green cabbage
3 stalks of broccoli/tiny heads of cauliflower (I chose the latter)
1 bunch of leeks
1 bunch of collards
2 pounds of spinach
0.5 pound of spicy salad mix
take-what-you-want herbs (I took some of what might be tarragon)

First thoughts: time for some carrot-daikon pickles. Collards with carrots, potatoes, leeks, and some vegan sausage meat. Some kind of cole slaw. Maybe roasted things. Maybe a mixed root vegetable pot pie with a hot water crust (would need to get some mushrooms to make a sauce).

This is the last farm share pickup of the summer season; next week starts the winter share.

4 pounds of sweet potatoes
2 pounds of carrots
4 medium-large delicata squash (from Atlas Farm)
8 heads of garlic
12 slender leeks
2 small heads of green cabbage
8 very small heads of cauliflower/stalks of broccoli (I chose all cauliflower)
1 pound of spinach (I swapped half for 6 more leeks)
1 pound of spicy salad mix
take-what-you-want various herbs and hot peppers (I chose some red cayenne peppers)

First thoughts: roast the cauliflower. Start a batch of red fermented hot sauce. Sauted greens with sweet potatoes, garlic, and leeks with seitan.

This week's email from the farmer noted that they still have about 45 winter shares available, with pickups in Cambridge, Boston, and JP on Wednesdays, 11 pickups from next week into March, especially featuring root veggies and spinach.

He also talked about the season so far and to come. ( Read more... )

The commuter rail schedule was different today due to track or signal work, and there weren't any express ones (it was standing room only by halfway through the route). I caught the 7:05a train, the sun just starting to lighten the east. I got to see some gorgeous fall foliage, trees aflame in yellow, orange, or red. It was most impressive when the sun had risen enough to illuminate the trees, leaving the various bodies of water at their feet not yet bright, with mist rising from them. The world can be so beautiful.

Apparently, post-menopausal ovaries have a purpose!

I hadn't realized that the Ethiopian Orthodox bible has 81 books, more than any other Xtian group. I hadn't really noticed before how much difference there is among the various Xtian canon.

A fabulous tentacle pot.

There's a group at work that focuses on local eating, having formed relationships to a couple of local farms, among other things. Today was the last of six weekly opportunities to buy a bag of produce from one of them, which I couldn't resist. What I got for my $10: a bunch of scallions, a small bag of arugula, an acorn squash, a delicata squash, a small red and smaller green bell pepper, 13 fairytale eggplants, and 18 shishito peppers.

I'm trapped in a waiting room with a screen that cannot be turned off, and it's playing a Hallmark Xmas movie. I am beyond annoyed. I hate this stuff with a fiery passion, and I cannot escape it, and it's October, so it's not even time to have this crud.

2 pounds of carrots
2 pounds of beets
2 pounds of yellow potatoes
4 heads of garlic
2 pounds of daikon (I chose a mix of white, red, and purple starburst)
2 huge bunches of lacinato kale
1 pound spicy salad mix
2 pounds of spinach
take-what-you-want hot peppers (I took 2 cayenne) and herbs (I took none)

First thoughts: sauted kale with sweet potatoes, hot peppers, and vegan sausage meat. Kale chips. Pickled daikon and carrot (fermented or vinegar brine). Sauted spinach and salad greens (for the freezer at this point).

This morning I met up with friends M and K to visit the MIT Museum, which has a couple of new exhibits we particularly wanted to see.

Due to the layout, we first explored Sensing Oceans, which had a lot of information about different types of undersea imaging and the devices used to get that data. There was also an installation piece, Plankton Temple a tiny light at the center of a large cluster of individually hung pieces of different shapes of clear glass that made interesting shadows as the light moved through the center of them. The most compelling display was another art piece, Seeing Echoes in the Mind of the Whale we sat down to appreciate: two huge screens showing an 18 minute video loop showing a sort of not-quite-pointillated sort of whale's-eye view, integrated with whale sounds for the audio (the top image at the link shows a still that doesn't show anything of the glory of it). I can totally imagine going there to sit and meditate in the dark its installed in. (Both of these pieces were created by the experiential artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. More about the whale-inspired piece, including some shorter video clips, available at their site.)

Next was the crocheted coral reef exhibit. The biggest piece covers an entire wall, which is a lot, but closer up, I could see that a lot of the components were pieces I could have crocheted. As I looked at some of the smaller pieces, I felt the same, if I'd explored with having a central structure to put the pieces on, pieces of various geometries, colors, sizes. They're having workshops for folks to crochet pieces to potentially add to their own coral reef piece.

The third thing we wanted to see was the original Starship Enterprise model from the original Star Trek show. They have a video looping with more info about the making of the model and its history, but we mostly didn't watch that, because there was a guy there in full Star Trek uniform, who had a communicator with some preset messages from the original cast, a phaser, and a scanner devices (the one that looks like a man purse), all fan-made models this enthusiast had bought and was very happy to show off. The official staff person in that exhibit said that he didn't have much to do when this fan came :-).

2 pounds of carrots
2 pounds of beets
2 pounds of purple-skinned (but white inside) potatoes
2 pounds of purple-topped turnips
4 small heads of garlic
2 medium butternut squash
1.5 pounds of spinach
1 pound of mixed salad greens
8 cauliflower/broccoli (small heads for the former, small stalks for the latter; I went all cauliflower)
take-what-you-want hot peppers (I took some habaneros to start another batch of hot honey) and herbs (sage, parsley, holy basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, etc.; I took none)

First thoughts: saute all the spinach with garlic. Roasted cauliflower. Pizza-like object with butternut squash (or soup, but I'm running out of freezer space).

Monday night I got to attend a performance by S. Bear Bergman of his one-man show, a monologue about the true story of an early 1700s trans French Jew who emigrated to Canada along with reflections/comparison with his own experience. There are nine known facts about Jacques' life, including the governor in Montreal writing multiple times to Louis XV about a person he didn't want to admit to the country (Jacques spent two years waiting for the decision, housed for most of that time in a convent).

It's an enjoyable show, with some emotional moments. Bear notes how having role models can make a huge difference, as does language to describe things (read: "trans" wasn't an available word in the early 1700s). And his knowledge of how hard it can be to live as one's authentic self brings Jacques' story alive.

This is the second time I've seen it, and I think there was an addition this time about how had the governor thought to consult with local Native tribes (he named them specifically), he would have learned that all of them have understanding that folks can be outside the known binary, but as a colonizer he never would have done that.

And there's one nit I'd pick: it's not true that Jews never name after living folks; Ashkenazim don't, but Sefaradim do/can. That's a tiny piece, though; if you get a chance to see it, well worth going.

2 pounds of carrots
2 pounds of beets
2 pounds of gorgeous Purple Viking potatoes
4 pounds of sweet potatoes (grown by Next Barn Over in Hadley MA)
2 small stalks of broccoli
2 very small heads of cauliflower
4 heads of garlic
12 slender leeks
2 big bunches of green curly kale
1.5 pounds of spinach
1 pound of mixed spicy salad greens
take-what-you-want hot peppers and herbs (I took some sprigs of thyme, oregano, sage, parsley, and shiso)

First thoughts: mixed-herb salt. Roasted brassicas. Sauted kale, leeks, and sweet potatoes with Impossible sausages. Gifting half the salad greens, the beets, and spinach (once sauted).

I read A Little More Social (Nicholas Epley), subtitled "How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection", which is about how choosing to interact with other humans directly, especially in person, tends to make people happier (which seems like it could be obvious, but (a) he brings in research to prove his points, and (b) takes the time to unravel various brain weasels that keep us from doing the thing). I found it readable and a helpful nudge towards making better choices. One bit in particular resonated in ways I can't quite articulate, and I wanted to make sure I didn't lose it (p. 40):

Personality doesn't describe the kind of person you are; it describes the kinds of choices you tend to make, and therefore the kinds of experiences you tend to have and the habits you tend to form.

2 pounds of carrots
2 pounds of beets
2 pounds of potatoes
4 heads of garlic
2 bunches of collards
1 pound of spinach
1 pound of 'spicy' salad mix
8 small eggplants
8 green peppers (I swapped them for 4 more eggplant and 2 more garlic, not being a fan of green peppers)
2 bunches of red radishes with greens
take-what-you-want herbs and hot peppers (I took 4 jalapenos)

First thoughts: saute the radish greens and spinach with garlic. Bubble-and-squeak with collards (/kale/cabbage from previous weeks). Roasted eggplant and potato (I don't know why that combo always makes me happy, but it does).

O Autumn, Autumn, by Effie Lee Newsome (1885-1979)

O Autumn, Autumn! O pensive light
    and wistful sound!
Gold-haunted sky, green-haunted ground!

When, wan, the dead leaves flutter by
    Deserted realms of butterfly!
When robins band themselves together

    To seek the sound of sun-steeped weather;
And all of summer’s largesse goes
    For lands of olive and the rose!

Today I focused on getting through as much of the farm share backlog as possible.

sauce with onion*, bell peppers*, tomatoes*, garlic*, and pureed basil*
started two half-gallon jars of fire cider vinegar with onion*, garlic*, lemon, a couple of kinds of hot peppers*, horseradish*, and ginger* (there wasn't any turmeric at either farmers' market)
pureed the rest of the ginger* with sugar so I'll be able to make a ginger oil cake from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat more quickly
radishes* added to a mixed batch of fridge pickles
started fermenting hot peppers* for hot sauce
sauteed spinach* and radish greens* with onion*
dilly* cucumber* salad
a tray of roasted eggplant*
mashed potatoes with massaged kale* and horseradish leaves*
purple slaw: purple cabbage* and purple-skinned carrots* with Asian-inspired dressing (soy sauce, lime juice, toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, cashews)
chicken wings baked with onions*, fresh sage*, and branches of rosemary*

* sourced locally

2 pounds of potatoes
2 pounds of purple-skinned carrots
2 medium heads of green cabbage
4 small heads of cauliflower
2 bunches of red radishes with greens (I swapped one for two more cauliflower)
2 big bunches of kale
8 medium-to-small tomatoes (I chose 2 smaller red ones, and 6 larger yellow ones)
1 pound of spinach
1 pound of 'spicy' mixed salad greens
10 sweet peppers (I chose smaller ones because they'd ripened past green to red, or purple, or one yellow)
8 hot peppers (there were jalapeno, Hungarian wax, what I think were cayenne, habanero, and ones that looked like habaneros except red; I chose a mix of all except the jalapeno (I still have some of those from last week))
six little Italian eggplant
take-what-you-want herbs (I chose none)

First thoughts: I'd assumed I'd get onions this week; need to go get some. Time to make some fermented hot sauce, and maybe start a batch of fire cider vinegar. I'm drawn to the thought of sauteing all the spinach and radish greens with onions and garlic, then mixing with ricotta, and layering with slices of roasted eggplant and stewed tomatoes-and-peppers, possibly with some melty cheese and some type of pasta. Massaged kale with mashed potatoes. Roasted cauliflower. Some kind of cabbage-carrot slaw.

I was reading today's Ask A Manager post about work habits transferring to the rest of life, a round-up of her favorite answers to the question some weeks before. There are some excellent ones, but one in particular stood out, due to a comment it generated.

The answer:

Back in the 90s, I volunteered at a zoo and I still scramble eggs the way the raven preferred them.

Many, many people want more detail about how the raven preferred its eggs scrambled, and one with username Hermit Crab was inspired to poetry:

Once into a wide bowl merry
I cracked the eggs and added dairy
Whipping into a froth, this cheerful chore
While I stirred the eggs for eating, a fry pan thence was gently heating
The bird gave greeting, seated at the kitchen door.
“’Tis not ready” I muttered, “eggs need beating more and more”.
Quoth raven “Now you pour”.

ratatouille (roasted eggplant*, zucchini*, and bell peppers* added to sauted onions*, garlic*, and tomatoes*)
cod cheeks sauted with onions*, eggplant*, and garlic*
a tray of roasted beets* and purple carrots*
a tray of roasted potatoes with rosemary*
potato* salad with dill*, sage*, pickled kale stems*, 'spicy' salad mix* (includes arugula), with mustard vinaigrette dressing
beef tongue boiled with hot pepper*, onion, garlic* and peppercorns
tsimess-like dish with onions*, leeks*, carrots*, sweet potatoes*, diced lemon, Italian plums*, shin meat, and knaidlach

I'd thought about making a few other things, but I think I'm done for now.

Happy Rosh Hashanah to those who are celebrating; may the coming year be one of peace, health, and joy for us all.

* locally sourced

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Rejoice for ovens that turn on!

Cut

Winter share, 2 of 11

A sadness

Winter share, 1 of 11

Farm share, week 20

N things make a post

Grrrrrrr

Farm share, week 19

MIT Museum visit

Farm share, week 18

The First Jew in Canada: a Trans Tale

Farm share, week 17

Quote: personality

Farm share, week 16

A poem for the first (full day) of autumn

Today in food prep

Farm share, week 15

[AAM] Ravens...

Today's bout of cooking