Hello again

As you’ve probably noticed, we three have gone into a miniature hibernation after the flurry of summer activity. For me personally, it wasn’t just a hiatus from blogging – it was a break from the things I’d been blogging about and a time to catch up on things I’d neglected during my many weeks of cooking and hiking. It’s gotten grey and rainy in Seattle, and with the time change for Daylight Savings, day “light” disappears too early in the afternoon. It means I have to fight the seasonal force of inactivity and get out and do stuff. So I’m going to Europe for a few weeks.

Since receiving my last CSA box of the season (pictured above in all its tomato-y and pepper-y glory), I haven’t been doing a lot of cooking. The other day, I bought some hazelnut tortellini to fix with sundried tomatoes and alfredo sauce, and when searching the grocery store for a vegetable accompaniment, I noticed that brussels sprouts were on sale. It’s a vegetable that was never forced on me as a child, but I’ve also never cooked them either. They seem to be at their peak when the weather turns cold and many of the other veggies go away, and their surprising sweetness were a great alternative to bitter winter greens (which were forced on me as a child). I followed Mark Bittman’s recipe for “Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts,” using butter and vegetable stock, but I made the mistake of using one of my cheap non-stick pans so I didn’t get very much browning. Still, they tasted great, and I’ll be revisiting this one (with a better pan) this winter. Don’t discount the hated vegetables!

Hiking for the season is done as well. The weekend after I did the Ingalls Lake hike, a woman got stuck out there in whiteout conditions and it took search & rescue a few days to get her out – fortunately, alive. Weather can change so fast. Now everything I’m interested is covered in at least a foot of snow, so it’s time to put away the hiking boots and start looking towards ski season, which should be well underway when I get back in town.

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy Black Friday shopping!