The comforting meatballs

I did not grow up eating Spaghetti & Meatball sauce. I didn't even order it when we went out to Italian restaurants in Bangkok. Nor did I look for it in Italy during my visits there. If anything, it was Spaghetti Bolognese that I craved and associated with comforting Italian food (especially during my pregnancy with these kiddos). So naturally, I didn't have a natural affinity to this dish. The meatballs. Until the children arrived.



It must be an American-Italian comfort food, something that every American child has to live through, even when it's heated up from a can. (The thought alone makes me sad).

Somewhere along the last seven years (or more like 4 years since I don't think the kids had any say in what they ate during their first few years), I started making this dish. I don't remember if I opened a cookbook, or consulted google, or just winged it (as usual). But I have pretty much been doing the same things for it, with good results (and never wrote it down, until today). The sauce with the meatballs freeze beautifully as well. I usually start making it in the early part of the day, and have the pot simmer for hours. When the kids come home from school and get a whiff of that familiar comforting aroma, they leap with joy (okay, maybe just a small jump). "Spaghetti for dinner!" they would announce.



I asked them for help today, specifically to make the meatballs (I had the sauce already simmering in the pot). My sweet son with the best tools around (his hands) volunteered to help. Little did he know that I was going to use him, from beginning to end. He seemed to have been thrilled that I let him use a big knife to chop the parsley (he even thanked me for this), and a tong to turn the meatballs. A few more times of being the sous chef, the little man will be making this whole thing by himself! I can't wait.



I also succumbed to baking the 'No Knead Bread' to go with our meal. I had been dubious about this, somewhat irrationally. What is wrong with kneading the bread dough? Why don't people have just 10 minutes to do it the proper way? The way our ancestors have always made bread?

Anyhow, I did it. And shall I say, I was surprised at how good it turned out. But next time, I am still going to pull up my sleeves and give the dough a little love.

Meatball Sauce

For the sauce:

1 small onion, diced
3 medium carrots
3 celery stalks
a handful of parsley
2 cloves garlic

1 can flat anchovies in oil
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon of Herb de Provence (or a mixture of thyme, organo, rosemary)
Salt and pepper to taste

3, 14 oz cans diced or whole peeled tomatoes

Put the first five ingredients into a food processor (or hand chop them all finely). Pulse until finely chopped and blended.

In a heavy sauce pan or pot, cover the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the chopped vegetables. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add one whole can of anchovies, and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to the vegetable mixture. Stir well. Cook for a few more minutes.

Add red wine, and maple syrup. Let simmer for a few more minutes.

Puree the tomatoes in the food processor, and add this to the pot. Mix well, and let simmer.

This sauce is great alone, and you can omit the anchovies if you would like to make it a vegetarian (vegan) sauce.

The Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (or bison is a great option!)
1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumb)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup ketchup
a small handful of chopped parsley

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl. Combine with your hands, making sure it is well blended.  Take a bit of the mixture to roll into balls, the size of a golf ball.

Heat oil in a pan (we use a caste iron pan), drop the meatballs in the pan and brown all sides.

Add the meatballs into the big pot of sauce, and there you have it...the comforting Meatball sauce ready for cooked (al dente) spaghetti or whatever pasta you prefer.

Lingering

Why is it that winter seems to be the only season that lingers? Summer tends to end abruptly, so does fall...and spring...well, it gets muddled with its predecessor.



But when it does come, it comes at full speed. Short, and sweet. And I can't wait for that to happen here.

Although, I do admit that I don't mind how the snow is making the still bare branches all dressed up and clean-looking again.

Spring inside

Washington DC in the Springtime

Washington DC put on an amazing Spring show for us. Though only half a day's drive away, we felt as if we were transported from Ohio's late winter, to a blossoming spring.



We visited several 'touristy' spots on this trip, the first for the children. I had never felt more of the American patriotism anywhere else than in DC!



Clearly, George Washington, and his presence, was everywhere. From Mt. Vernon, his not so humble abode, to everything else imaginable with his namesake (highways, memorials, buildings, streets...the father of this country is very well revered).



There were also countless memorials, monuments, national-everything from archives, to museums, to cathedral. We paid respect to many of these, but did not even scratch the surface.



We also visited with friends, old and new. We shared meals, and well as stories from as far back as 30 years ago, or just a few weeks back.



There is no question we will be returning to the capital city in the near future, especially knowing that spring seems to make its appearance there sooner than elsewhere (near by).



Oh DC...we did enjoy thee.

Spring in DC

The earth laughs with flowers.

For Japan

One of the few stories from childhood that stuck with me until today is Sadako and the thousand paper cranes.

The story, about a girl suffering from cancer, as a result of the radiation from the atomic bomb in WWII. Sadly, Sadako's story is appropriate again today.


It is hard not to be emotional thinking about the country of Japan and her people right now.

We have prayed, donated, sent good thoughts their way. They will remain in our thoughts and prayers for a long time to come.

Another Batch

Another batch of yogurt, a little more confidence. This time I think I was even making something else while the milk was heating up (!!). I would not recommend doing that if you are just starting out because the milk can heat up fast, and you don't want anything to happen to so much goodness that you are about to turn into even more goodness.

My little chef

And her brother (on the other side of the counter). They were busy making dinner the other night. The late afternoon sun was streaming in. I could not help but record the moment.

March 11

Snow, we meet again. You are so reluctant to leave! I do thank you for spreading your white fresh cover over the grey bareness of our days. Thank you...and goodbye.

Behind the scene

I had a lot of fun today taking photos of the making of a pizza parlor. From dough-kneading, to sauce making, to pie-spinning. I found myself liking these behind-the-scene moments. Here are just two images from my fun 'work' morning.

Early Spring comforts

I still remember the morning when I walked down the stairs, stumbling in my slumber. The sun was still a couple of hours away from rising. I turned on the light and took a peek at the thermostat. It read: 0.

I trust that we won't have another day like that for many more months, even though I know in my heart that this Spring like weather could turn any moment, sending us back to frigid, snowy days. But one can have faith, yes?

Inside our house, there are signs of spring. The tomato seedlings have sprouted, bulb flowers abound. There have even been days when the windows are open to let in some fresh, clean spring air.

In the oven, however, the comfort of early Spring like a David-Tanis-Roasted-Chicken, still reminds us that the cold days are not completely behind us, just yet.

This roasted chicken is a joy to make, really. I prefer to cook chicken this way than any other. Just flatten the bird, rub with fresh crushed garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and some herbs (rosemary does wonders). Decorate the surface of the bird with a few rounds of lemon, and roast at 400 for about 1.5 hours (depending on the size of the chicken).

The gravy materials await on the bottom of the pot (I use a large enamel cast iron pot). A little water to flush out the goodness, a little sprinkle of flour to thicken it. Salt and pepper to taste. And there, you have a feast before your eyes.

Greek Yogurt at the table

The Greek yogurt made it from stove to table!



This was our first attempt at making any kind of yogurt, and it proved that we could do it with local ingredients, and a lot of patience.

Here is what we did.

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup plain yogurt with live cultures

food thermometer
mason jars

a large piece of cloth (like an old T-shirt)

a large bowl

a cooler (for keeping the yogurt warm)

Pour the milk and cream in a big pot. Heat it (scald it, really, under low heat) to 180 degrees farenheit. Stir constantly. Take pot off the stove, and let it cool down to 110 degrees. Take a little bit of that 110 degree- milk mixture out to combine with the yogurt and pour it all back into the pot. Mix well.

Transfer the mixture to clean mason jars.

In the cooler, put about 3-4 inches of 110 degree water on the bottom. Place the jars in the cooler with lids on. This will be their 'warm bath' for next many hours.

Keep checking to make sure that the water in the cooler stays about the same temperature by adding more hot water if it's getting too cold. Do this for about the first 3-4 hours.

After 6-8 hours, the yogurt should have set. Now it's time to strain.

Put a thin cloth over a large bowl (not cheesecloth), and pour your yogurt into the cloth. Let the whey drain out for a couple of hours.

Gather the yogurt in the cloth and put into a jar. Your Greek yogurt is now ready for consumption. It will harden more in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Addendum: We have made this twice now, and it has turned out both times! Success!

Hockey and more

We are expanding in the sports world around here. Roller blading? Sure! Hockey? Why not! And who is to say one can't combine the two?

Homemade Yogurt

Though we don't have the results to prove that we indeed made yogurt, at home, we have photos to prove that we did make an attempt at it.

The setting of yogurt, you see, takes hours. So there is a lot of patience involved, which is the most difficult part of the process!

We didn't make just any regular yogurt...we attempted at making Greek yogurt! If you have had it, you will know that Greek yogurt is superior to regular yogurt. It is thicker, smoother, more flavorful.

If our batch turns out to be anywhere near success, we will let you know, and will spell out what we did so that you, too, can make yogurt, in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Maple Sugaring in Ohio

There are two reasons to rejoice if you lived (which we do, amazingly, we do) in Ohio today.

One: it's warmer here than it is in Northern California today! 60s, to be precise. And with sunshine. Yup. Not kidding.



Two: we live just north enough from the equator that there are sugar maple trees can grow here -- they are the ones that produce the sugary sap for maple syrup making!



The weather forecast this week is perfect for tapping. The cold nights, and warmish days, cause the sap to run wild inside the trees.

It's not just the trees that are going crazy. People are too! We think Spring is coming...and oh wouldn't it be nice? We are all cautiously optimistic knowing full well that we could still get another cold snap (or two or three), or another winter storm, or another ice day.

One can only live one day at a time, however. Rejoicing in tapping the maples is just what I did today.

We made butter!

It was 8:30pm. Bed time for most seven year-olds in the world, on a school night.

We were having one of the last chit-chats of the day on the couch.



I was re-telling the story about our missed-opportunity to attend a butter-making class over the weekend. And how our friend down the street, Linda, had taken her kids. And how she was telling me the simplicity and speediness of butter-making.  She even went through the steps with me. It sounded almost too easy.




"She said it only takes about 7-8 minutes of agitating the cream!" I told the family. Their eyes widened.


"That's all? Can we do it now, Mommy? Do we have cream? Can we do it NOW?" Inquired both children.


"Yes, we have cream! And yes! Let's try it!" Who was I kidding? I was as excited about trying it as they were.

And just like that, we were all in the kitchen putting cream in a glass container. With the lid closed, we began to shake.



And we shook, and we shook, until there was nothing more to shake (the cream had solidified. It didn't quite look like butter yet, but something more like cream-cheese. We were a little puzzled, so what did we do? We googled.

That was when we learned that one can also make butter in a food processor. And that the cream will go through different stages...until, poof!, butter and buttermilk separates.

So, leaving the cream-cheese that we made earlier, we gave the more modern method a try.

Before 9pm rolled around, we had made butter. And those little sleepy hands rolled some into balls.



Why had we not done this before? Who knows! We had our own homemade butter with toasts this morning.  "This tastes like real butter!" The happy children exclaimed.

Up next... cheese and yogurt. If butter is this easy... those can't be that hard, right?

Paperwhites

It has become a tradition of sorts...to grow these winter flowers indoors during these bleak months. I think I even did it in California, during those oh so not bleak months in retrospect!

It's all relative, isn't it?

These fragrant flowers sure add a bright spot to our grey days here. But I hear that some groundhog, or is it a woodchuck, predicted an early spring around here.

I will be the first to give that animal a big hug, if that is true. He might not want it, though...

New Sled

Well...that was quite a week!

Storms plowed through much of the country, leaving Ohio with some...ice.

And then, there were two Ice Days when the kids stayed home from school because it was just too dangerous for them to trek the block and a half over to the front steps of the school building. Hmmm.

Today, I found myself saying, I am not ready for the weekend! The week had just started!

There is always next week, I guess.

Never mind what day it is. Look at what I found today at an Antique Mall...an old fashioned sled, engraved "Larry R. Chilcote 12/67".

Not sure if something that is younger than my husband can be considered an antique...but what I do know for sure is that we are ready for that next snow fall. Bring it on, Ohio winter. We are ready to go!

Happy Eggs

I had the pleasure of taking some photos at this bakery today, amidst the ice, under the grey, still threatening skies.

You would think that out of all their baked goods: their lemon bars, their brownies, I would prefer those photos to this one. Nope. These eggs, in this blue container, made me the happiest.

Ice Day

Today was one of the few days of the year that we overslept. One of those days you wake up and go: "Whoa...what day is it? What time is it? Where am I? WHO am I?"

It was 7:45am, an hour later than when we should have been up and about drinking coffee, making lunches... I sprang out of bed, woke up the kids and apologized for my tardiness.  All the while, still wondering who I was.



Then came the voice of reason.

"There are no cars parked on the other side of the street. Is there a way we can find out if school is closed?"

Jim was the one who made the notice, and saw every little thing outside covered with a layer of thick ice.



Well, indeed, the phone message light was blinking. We had not heard the phone ring either! The message said: No school today.

So, ice-day, it is.

And isn't it pretty? Oh sure. Very pretty...

Until you step out onto the ice rink that used to be our driveway... or our sidewalk...or our street! Somehow, I think a snow day would have been more fun.