Scratch Cooking August 2nd

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over! Just over a week is left. I can't imagine buying a loaf bread or a can of beans. Maybe I'll just ignore the one year mark and keep going...

My daughter returned on Thursday, safe and sound. It was tough for Mallaury, I think it made her really miss her family. I wasn't feeling particularly understanding because I wanted it to be a good homecoming for my daughter. But my daughter was extremely understanding and within 24 hours they had bonded over their love of chocolate and cute boys that work at Abercrombie and Fitch. Friday morning Mallaury was talking about going home early, by Friday afternoon, she was rethinking it again.

Tonight I was going to go hiking with the dogs and leave the girls to their own devices. As I was entering the park, we were told that there was a big ass mountain lion on the prowl, so we had to come home. I found the girls in the midst of a movie marathon and a dinner of brioches, chocolate and raspberries.

It's good to have my daughter home. She definitely brings a lightness to the whole operation chez nous!

And here's what's been cooking chez nous. The night she came home I made a chicken and brocolli stir fry. One chopped onion, one chopped head of brocolli, 2 chopped chicken breasts, sauteed in ollive oil and finished with a little salt, pepper, rice wine vinegar and tamari. Nobody ate that night. My daughter was too tired, Mallaury was too upset and I was too angry.

The real homecoming dinner was the next night. Lamb chops, corn on the cob, guacamole and tortillas and Barb's Vichysoisse from the Joy of Cooking:

This leek soup may be served hot or very cold. Yes, the last "s" is pronounced.

Most Americans shun it, in a most "genteel" way, as though it were virtuous to ignore it.

Be sure to serve the soup reduced to a velvety smoothness.

About 6 cups

Mince the white part of:

3 medium sized leeks

1 medium sized onion

Stir and saute them for 3 minutes in:

2 tablespoons butter

Peel, slice very fine and add:

4 medium sized potatoes

Add:

4 cups chicken stock

Simmer the vegetables, covered for 15 minutes or until tender.

Put them through a very fine sieve, food mill or blender.

Add:

1 to 2 cups cream

(1/4 teaspoon mace)

Salt and White pepper

Chopped watercress or chives

Note from Barb: That is the recipe as written - I used 1 cup of 1/2 and 1/2 and I ignored the mace direction.

Everybody ate that night.

Dessert was apricot ice cream and chocolate chip meringue cookies.

Here's the ice cream recipe:

4 egg yolks

1/2 plus 1/3 cup sugar

1 cup milk

2 cups cream

10 apricots

Heat the milk and 1/2 cup cream. While it's warming, mix the egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until creamy. When the milk is hot, add to the egg yolks and heat over a medium flame, stirring constantly, until it thickens to a custard. Once thick, add the rest of the cream and let cool over night. In the meantime, remove the pits from the apricots and run them through a food processor with 1/3 cup sugar until well combined. Let sit for an hour and then refrigerate over night. Combine the custard and apricots and run through ice cream maker.

The meringues were made with the leftover egg whites from the last 2 batches of ice cream!

Beat 8 egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar and salt. Add 2 cups sugar and beat until stiff. Fold in 1 bag of chocolate chips. Drop teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees. Turn off the oven and let sit in it over night.

Saturday night we went to a party where the girls bonded further over their discovery that by speaking French, they could talk about people right in front of them. And also a love for cupcakes.

Sunday morning I made waffles. A whole lotta waffles.

Mix 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt and set aside.

Separate 2 eggs and mix the yolks with 2 cups milk and 1/3 cup melted butter.

Beat egg whites until stiff.

Mix flour with egg yolk mixture until almost blended. Fold in egg whites and cook on your buttered waffle maker. The girls assure me that the waffles are delicious and even better when you put squares of chocolate on them.

Last night we went with my friend Anabelle to see Shakespeare in the Park, a production of Othello. My friend Bernadette was in it and she was fantastic! And right after the last line was delivered, the coyotes started howling. It was perfect!

The girls helped make a picnic. Mallaury made guacamole and my daughter made tortillas. I made potato salad with basil.

8 potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut in cubes

1 sweet onion chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped basil

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon mustard

salt

pepper.

Mix potatoes, onions and herbs in a bowl. Mix oil, vinegar and mustard and pour over potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Annabelle was there the weekend Robin died, so we have shared something profound. We end up talking a lot about life and death and choices. I was thinking about it today and how easy it is to beat ourselves up for things because we assume that had we done certain things differently, the outcomes would be different. And the truth is we don't know. We all have things we wish we had done differently, but we assume that having done them differently would have created a different outcome and you don't really know. I am learning how hard it is to forgive ourselves, but also to let go of blame of all kinds. Whether it is on ourselves or someone else.

I was so upset Thursday night that Mallaury had ruined my daughter's homecoming because she was upset. I couldn't get past it. But my daughter was just happy to be home and that happiness allowed her to have compassion for Mallaury's situation and an understanding that she was probably just really missing her family and seeing us together, knowing that my daughter had just been with her parents, was painful. And through that compassion, she reached out to Mallaury and now they are sharing in a movie marathon of French and English films.

Things can only be ruined if one has some concept of how they are going to be. Some script that has to be followed. Some perfect variation of a moment. But the truth is, when things go off script, they sometimes turn out better than the script.