Cheek By Jowl

On this snowy Saturday, as I had planned, I shopped different neighborhoods by subway and foot to buy the various foods I will bring to my mothers tomorrow, for our Christmas dinner with my family. In a couple of days, my wife and I head out for Minnesota, to be with her family and get a well-earned respite from all the busy-ness.

I have taken it upon myself to be a kind of ambassador from Brooklyn at family gatherings, despite the fact that everyone in my family has immigrant roots in the borough. I'm the kind of ambassador who brings food from my country, and this year it's several kinds dry sausage. I was hoping for the wild-boar cacciatorini at Stinky, but they were out. Disappointed, I bought a dry chorizo instead. Over at Caputo's I picked up a soppressata, and was intent on getting an herbed saucisson, but again -out. So I picked up a regular cacciatorini and a smoked scormozza, which is an aged mozzarella. I went to the other Caputo's, the bakery, to get some bread -essentially for my brother, who sees Brooklyn bread as gifts in and of themselves. He will receive ciabatta and seeded semolina.

I took the G train up to Greenpoint to stop in a little Polish bakery (Jaslowiczanka, 163 Nassau) that sells small babka. I bought four (ridiculous!), two blueberry and two with chocolate glaze. On the way, and because my sister heard Polish, I was admonished to find some kielbasa, smoked, which I could find in my neighborhood, but since I was traveling for babka...I stopped in this very busy place, generically called Meat Market (Podlasie, 121 Nassau), and was overwhelmed by smoked meats, and particularly bacon, which I have only my lack of knowledge of the Polish language to keep me from buying huge quantities! I selected two dry kielbasi by pointing, the cute Polish girl assisting with giggles as she asked the girl at the register how to say my number (for*teen) in English. Maybe on a less busy day I'll go back and risk looking foolish to find out what to call all those lovely looking smoked meats.

All this I will bring to my mom's place, via MTA railroad, in a snowstorm, along with gifts, this Sunday. Next post from the Big Woods of Minnesota.

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Snow

Its unusual for us here in NYC to have cold air in place when an early winter Nor'easter comes our way. While many have canceled their plans, I am not and hoping our mass transit holds up to some snow! According to this latest radar image, we are about to get a heavy dose.

image courtesy of wunderground.com

Dwarf Japanese Spirea, in autumnal colors, with dry snow.

The winter white spires of Russian Sage, faint spots of aster, and snow.

Knockout Rose, uh, knocked out.

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Flora

October's pumpkin, too long in the heat, has developed some lovely mold. The center in the shape of a flower -how nice. Sphere: Related Content

Been Goosed

As I sit here, I hear a flock of geese heading what sounds to be east, but what do I know of goose navigation. Steer clear of those planes please.

After a rowdy Saturday night (ahem, not so much) with some pals (and too many santas -what's with that frat-ish fad?) from my small (but big) world of art, I came home and brewed a cold. Drats! I still went out on Sunday to print my final sheets of paper for my moku hanga class. I wanted to give a hollar for April Vollmer, who is the artist and teacher who has introduced me to this technique, the same technique used by the Ukiyo-e printmakers of 19th century Japan. Her work is often filled with botanical imagery and she has exhibited her work at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. See some examples of her printmaking here. If you like her work (and are looking for that handmade gift), you can purchase prints here.

As a beginner, my own skill in this technique is limited, but the process is fun and I've long been interested in the Ukiyo-e prints and their depiction of people in the landscape. This print is a segment of a much larger painting in the works of the Ammonoosuc River Valley; the valley compressed in my image between Mount Washington and the Mount Washington Hotel.

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Humble

Charlotte's last web, with wind-blown seeds.

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Last Stand

This bundle of broccoli 'Calabrese' has been growing in my vegetable garden since autumn 2008! It over-wintered, then over-summered, and this fall finally grew large and put out florets. The other night, knowing the hard freeze was upon us, I seized the moment to snap these off the branches before it was too late. Once inside, I washed them, and ate. Sweet, crunchy, and strongly flavored leaves mixed with mildly flavored florets. I wish I had more.

Last year my parsley didn't succumb to the cold until February. This year, it bit the dust the other night. I think it was the combo of long-standing freezing temps along with the sun at its lowest point which didn't allow that corner of the garden to get the extra heat to stay above freezing. Of course, it being the busiest time of the year, I never did get any freeze sparing devices around that parsley planter.

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