Looking for big winter in small places and filling the hole with sausage, kale and beans
This morning the windows on the south side of the house are encased in a thick layer of bubbly ice. It’s freezing rain on top of an inch or two of snow and is meant to turn to all rain and then back to ice pellets and then to snow again by afternoon. But no real accumulation. How I long for a big snow. A colossal snow. A blizzard like the blizzard of ‘78 where we had to remove the storm door and bring it inside in order to begin to shovel our way out of the house. The snow came 3/4 of the way up the door.
Maybe I’m just wishing for another reason to stay at home (of course I’m wishing for that. Think of all of the things I could accomplish). But winters haven’t been as wintry for the last few years. If it’s going to last this long (and it will, it lasts so bloody long in comparison to the other seasons), it would be nice to have some opportunity for sledding with the kids—that doesn’t melt away the day after it hits the ground. I haven’t seen any of the area ponds stay frozen yet this year, and never see kids ice skating.
It seems like my childhood winters had a blanket of snow on them for two solid months, and every day the whole neighborhood gathered at the top of the big hill by the Taunton River for all-day runs. I spent day after day gliding around on Sturdevent’s Pond when I was a preteen, fantasizing that Robbie Benson or Shawn Cassidy or Leif Garrett sliced back and forth behind me, watching my every move and falling helplessly, hopelessly in love with me. And then I’d attempt a spin and fall straight out of the pages of Tiger Beat Magazine and onto my bony little ass.
Will global warming ramp up in my lifetime to the point where I am able to garden in winter without a heated greenhouse? As much as I love the thought of filling my salad bowl year-round with succulent lettuces, I hope to Maude that I never see a tomato flourish in my February garden.
That’s what pantries are for—we’re supposed to enjoy the less-heady, preserved fruits of our summer labors in the winter.
I think tonight I’ll celebrate this in between time. I’ll stew two overstuffed quart bags of blanched winter greens that are still in the freezer—one each of kale and collards. After I get a pot of brown rice started, I’ll sauté a pound of sliced chicken sausage in the dutch oven with a small chopped onion until the sausage is browned and the onion golden and soft. Then add two cups of cooked Great Northern Beans (also ready and waiting in the freezer—or they were until I set them on the counter a minute ago to thaw) and a quart of chopped tomatoes and garlic (I have one jar left from two years ago, found far back on a shelf). I’ll toss in a little kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste, then let the whole thing simmer for about half an hour on medium-low heat. Once the rice is done, I’ll scoop that into bowls, then top with a heaping spoonful of the greens, sausage and beans, then shave some Asiago cheese and a small swirl of basil and olive oil (that I also just took out of the freezer). Doesn’t that sound warm, but wintry? Now come on snow. Work with me here.
"Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance. What man can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon?"
~Hal Borland
February 1st, 2008 at 7:21 am
I’m listening to that freezing rain patter on my window right now… ugh. I could have gone for a snow storm like last Valentine’s Day… as long as the roads were clear by tomorrow night. (Plans!)
I haven’t pulled anything from the freezer or pantry for this weekend yet, but I might just be ready to take on the squash again… or make some hearty and comforting Indian food. Oh, yeah, and coooooooookies!
Come on, Old Man Winter. We know you’re going to be here for another six weeks. Don’t be a tease.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:33 am
Jennifer, it was a slushy, slippery, slow drive into Hudson today. If you do go out, bring a bag of salt to toss down ahead of yourself as you walk.
; p
Mmm. Indian food. I need to learn more Indian cuisine, I just love it. Can you suggest a good beginners cookbook?
From the looks of it, you make some awesome cookies!
February 1st, 2008 at 9:08 am
Too late, I’m already out and about, with no salt in hand (but treads on my boots). Sigh.
I always fall back on The Indian Vegetarian, which has a really good section on spices in the beginning. I try to stock up on special spices periodically (there’s a good Indian grocery in Parma), but I don’t use them as much as the basics: cumin, coriander, chili powder, turmeric, fenugreek, etc. The recipes are pretty good, though I haven’t worked my way all through it yet. Haven’t really tried any other Indian cookbooks but know there are some classics out there (like Madhur Jaffrey’s stuff).
Look for more awesome cookies this weekend or early next week… got some good ones coming up!
February 1st, 2008 at 10:29 am
I wish I had your cooking skills. That meal sounds dreamy. Thanks for bringing back fond childhood memories of sledding (often on trash bags we took to school and used to slide down the hill toward home at the end of the day) and skating past fish frozen in the ice on the local pond (albeit manmade) in our park.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:02 am
Jennifer, thanks so much for the suggestion. I used to have a Madhur Jaffrey book, but I gave it away because I just never used it. Now I wish I’d kept it!
February 1st, 2008 at 11:05 am
Darcy, that meal is so super-easy. If you want a more specific recipe, let me know and I’ll email you one…
We used to do the trash bag thing, too! There was a cemetery across the street from the high school. Lunch trays worked great, too.
Aaah, winter.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I never got winters like that (being from California and Southern Oregon) and have always wished for them. If Oregon hadn’t stolen my heart and soul when I was a kid I would have moved to some place with more winter snow and ice. Seriously. I know it gets annoying and old after a while but it makes the warmer weather so much more welcome when it comes. I don’t love warm weather but I appreciate it more now that I live in northern Oregon where the winters are colder than they were in Northern CA.
I wish I had some frozen blanched greens to eat. I did make some lentil soup though that was quite good. My friend Chelsea loves Indian food and though I like it too, I never cook it. I am starting to want some too.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
That does sound like a wonderful meal, especially with this bitter cold. We’ve had record-setting cold temperatures here and more snow than my son wants to shovel. I just want to be out in my garden.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Angelina, the four years I lived in the Sacramento Valley were the most disorienting of my life. I couldn’t fathom winter without snow and ice. Only fog. Endless, dangerous-to-drive in fog.
Turns out I didn’t have any frozen greens after all. It was a pile of peppers I saw! Ah well, leftover homemade pizza and a big glass of red wine. Dinner!
February 1st, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Kate, that you even get your son to shovel makes me endlessly jealous. You are my hero. The temperature went up to 40 today! And is meant to hit 50 by Wed. Crazy winter. I’m so itching to get out in the garden, too.
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
I love Indian Vegetarian Cooking at Your House by Sunetra Humbad.
We had so much snow during my 10 years in Boulder that I’ve had my fill. Enjoying the drippy N. Cali winter. Chard and cauliflower and turnips are still producing. No tomatoes, though I still have a dozen quarts left in the pantry.
(Not in Feb. but we had fresh tomatoes in April and May in FL.)