five-sense friday (on saturday)

Yesterday was full and not very computer-oriented; I was busy doing the sensing!

Today, though, after a five-hour bout of dates and errands, I am home, and pausing to breathe and little and think about the week. So here we have it:

feeling/touching: the chill after a few days of warmer weather. Yesterday, all day I felt the damp bottoms of my jeans around my ankles--as soon as they'd dry, I'd be out in the rain and puddles again. Today they are dry, and I notice the dryness and am thankful.

tasting: the burning heat of salsa from my taco salad lunch (that's also feeling, I suppose). Soon: cinnamon tea.

smelling: the ghost of last night's dinner: roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, brown sugar carrots, green beans, pumpkin cookies.

hearing: my fingernails on computer keys and the refrigerator's shudder.

seeing: condensation on all the windows from all of last night's cooking; small children on the streets in costume, earlier; the tiny yellow-brown leaves we track into the apartment with our shoes, inevitably.

also:

A woman after my own heart.

Recipe: honey-nut-nola

I love granola. It is almost a personal problem. But I haven't been able to make it to the co-op where I buy granola-making supplies recently, so this week I came up with a bare-bones recipe that is surprisingly yummy (if not exactly health food):

1. Preheat oven to 300.
2. In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 C honey, 2 Tbsp oil, and 2 Tbsp water until well combined.
3. Dump in 3-4 C oats. Stir to coat.
4. Stir in 2 - 4 Tbsp finely chopped honey-roasted peanuts.
5. Spread on a greased rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30-45 minutes, stirring every fifteen and checking frequently after 30 to avoid burning.

Makes 6-8 half-cup servings. Enjoy!

Five-Sense Friday!

Another rainy one.

Seeing: (earlier this week: Where the Wild Things Are--beautiful, really)

Smelling: More burnt dust on radiators. Soon: bathroom cleaning products, popcorn and cheese and citrus

Tasting: earlier, the last of our Michigan apple orchard stash (tart and delicious)

Feeling: a purple sweater I've had since high school and save for rainy days

Hearing: radiator clank and hiss, neighbors laughing through the floor, NPR

two things, including a recipe for Kari

First off, issue 26 of This Joy+Ride is beautifully autumnal and features both a Chicagoan and photos of NYC.

Second, here is a recipe for last night's dinner:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Peel and chop a few pounds of winter squash into 1" pieces. (Caveat: I used acorn squash, which is a pain to peel. Butternut would be much easier. The jury is out on eating acorn squash skin, but if you were into that you could just leave it on.) Peel and chop one yellow onion (or red or white) into 1" pieces. Toss all this on a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of oil, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder (I was out of real garlic -- a few chopped cloves would be even better), and 2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary (fresh would obviously be fabulous). Bake for half an hour or so, tossing with a spatula after 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook 8 ounces of pasta (rigatoni is good, or anything bite-sized). Chop 6 ounces of feta cheese into little bits (or crumble). After draining the pasta, add the cooked vegetables and cheese--mix well.

Serve with a green salad. This makes about 4 servings. The squash takes on this buttery texture so that it's almost a sauce, and the ratio of vegetables to pasta is calculated to make a pretty healthy but hearty dish. I think it would also be lovely followed by a salad of chopped apples in a bit of plain yogurt with a dash of cinnamon and a handful of walnut pieces.

Oh, food.

I forgot five sense Friday!

I lose! But I hope you liked the photo.

What I have been thinking about recently is: my red-glitter-covered pencil, a gift from Grandma, that I like to use after sharpening it really well, and the pleasure of a properly sharpened non-plastic pencil. Things to do with acorn squash. Zines. Breakfasts. How long my hair is getting. Wendell Berry. Philip Roth.

Also: I added chopped kale to my classic potato soup last night, and it was pretty good and a fabulous way to sneak in green. I recommend it.

a photo from my dad

"cold-indicators"

five sense friday

tasting: chai tea and white chocolate with blueberry bits in it

hearing: Josh contending with falling bottles and travel mugs because I left the cabinet above the stove--err--somewhat untidy; rain against the windowpanes

smelling: burnt dust on the newly alive-again radiators

touching: piles and stacks of papers and books; blue jeans; wooden pencils

seeing: fog on the windows; a charging battery for the drill I will use (with my mad skills) to put up a curtain rod; dim afternoon rain light

five sense friday

Really, this chill in the air has astonished me. Where did it come from? How has September already passed? October, I love you, for many reasons (apple picking, leaf-shaped cookie cutters, a return to chai tea and cocoa, cozying up with blankets, roasted things), really, I do, but where did you come from?

My five senses today are from the week, not just this moment:

seeing: Wednesday afternoon, on the silent reading floor, a row of five students spread out in plush tweedy and leather chairs, all with their shoes off and feet tucked up (including mine, of course, and also gawky tall underclass boys and an elegantly coiffed young woman).

hearing: rain against the windowpanes yesterday through much of the evening and night.

smelling: roasting walnuts. so good.

tasting: the cinnamon I'm adding to everything these days.

touching: sweaters, thick socks, slippers inside (waiting for the heat to come on) -- scarves and the insides of my pockets when I'm outside!