I ran out of ... popcorn?

SO, it's Sunday night and my sister is visiting from New Jersey. We are supposed to attend a Rihanna concert in Boston but it was cancelled.
We had a lovely day nonetheless: massages at the mall, shopping at the mall, laughing at the same things, trying on clothes in the same dressing room. I adore my sister, and we have a blast together.
At the end of the day, we hit Il Camino in Leominster for dinner with Barry, the best boyfriend ever. We had chicken picatta, a big antipasto, homemade pasta and salads. This is one of our favorite places in the area. The food is wonderful, the prices are reasonable and the service is always very good. The sauce on the chicken picatta is spoon worthy.
We came back to our house after dinner and settled in to watch a movie ("The Giant Mechanical Man" ... and it was a lovely film.) About a half our into the movie, I got up to make popcorn. And I was out of popcorn. I looked everywhere. I was sure I had some, somewhere. But there was none. Well, there was a package of Jiffy Pop that Barry had given to me when we first started dating, but I felt reasonably sure that it would be a mistake to eat that.
I don't normally have microwave popcorn in the cabinet, I use regular popcorn in a microwave popper. Unable to find any popcorn, I just sat down to watch the move. We debated taking a trip to the convenience store down the street, but it was 10 pm at that point and really cold out.
I surveyed other options in the cabinets while my sister remarked that Jenna Fischer's character in the  film did nothing but eat through the whole movie.
We had about a half a bag of animal crackers, a half a jar of Bischoff Spread, 15 jelly beans and some raspberry frozen yogurt. I wanted popcorn, preferrably caramel corn. But a nice soft peanut butter cookie would do. Or a piece of white chocolate. Or kettle corn.
I found a half a bag of mini marshmallows in the cabinet and at some of those. I offered them to my sister and told her they were delicous. She said, "When did marshmallows become delicious?" She ate some though, and we got a little sugar fix. It wasn't the sugar fix we wanted, but we made it through the night.
First stop this morning? The grocery store to buy popcorn. I vow to never be caught in the no popcorn zone again. It was hell.

First, let me apologize for not posting more often. Sure, the holidays were hectic, but there were lots of food things going on that I should have written about. But the problem wasn't just my busyness. I couldn't access my blogger account. The website made a change and all of the sudden, I couldn't log in, post, change photos, etc. And if you've ever dealt with a big website such as ... Google, you know how challenging it can be to get answers.
Anyhoo, I figured things out and am back in action.
I did get caught up in the craziness of the holidays, but had a nice, relaxing visit to Florida for a week to visit Barry's family. For those of you married to the idea that Christmas has to involve freezing temperatures and snow, I beg to differ. Christmas is perfectly fine in warm temperatures. Eating appetizers poolside before Christmas dinner is lovely. Going for a swim on Christmas Eve is wonderful -- rejuvenating. And wearing sandals for a week in December works for me.
Okay, back to food.
We arrived in Florida on Christmas Eve (yes, we flew out of Boston and into Miami on one of the busiest travel days of the year ... and it was seamless!) and went to Barry's mom's house, where we stayed for the week. Viola is 93 and doing pretty well. She doesn't cook like she used to but she has certainly done her share: a lifetime of eggplant parmigiana, lasagna, spaghetti, meatballs and the like. Viola is a wonderful cook. Shortly after we arrived, she handed me a recipe and asked me if I would make pizzelles. In case you don't know, pizzelles are thin cookies that are made using a press, kind of like a waffle iron, flavored with anise. I had only made them once before, for a friend's wedding. And that experience was old school. My friend, her mother, her aunts and her sister all got together to make 500 pizzelles and various other Italian cookies for the reception. And we used the family pizzelle irons, which made one cookie at a time.
So when Viola handed me the recipe, I blanched a bit. I'd just gotten off a plane, I was aching to go out to the pool for a swim and I wasn't sure I had the wherewithal to use a hot iron to make cookies for the next day. But then (cue the angels singing), I found the pizzelle maker. Viola had upgraded to a Cuisinart pizzelle maker. This new gadget makes two cookies at a time, really fast.
I set out to make some pizzelles while Barry and his mom visited. I brought the first batch into the dining room and they loved them. In fact, they loved them so much, I had to make another batch so we had enough to bring to Barry's sister's house the next day. And I made more before we left to head home so that Viola had some to enjoy.
Perhaps it was serendipity that I had a $50 Visa gift card in the mail when we arrived home, a rebate from buying a phone. It was exactly enough to buy my own pizzelle maker. 

Breakfast is ....

Sage Derby cheese and an apple for breakfast.
 

... the most important meal of the day, right? I have mixed feelings. Often, when I eat breakfast, I'm hungry all day. If I don't have breakfast, I don't eat anything until after lunch. I'm not sure it matters just what I eat, either.
What I do know is that once I changed my thinking about what constitutes breakfast, I became more likely to eat something. Back when I was a kid, breakfast was cereal, toast, eggs or pancakes. Today, breakfast usually doesn't mean any of those things (unless it's a big weekend kind of breakfast). Today, breakfast is yogurt, cheese, fruit, smoothies -- even leftovers from last night's dinner.
I bring this all up because I was having the discussion the other day I was having a discussion about pie for breakfast. One of my coworkers was taking a break and she had eggs, toast, hot cereal and a piece of pie on her plate. I love the enthusiasm she has for food and she makes no apologies for what she eats. She is also about a size 4 .. so ... go figure.
Anyhoo, my understanding is that pie for breakfast was an old farm tradition. Fruit pies kept well without refrigeration so they were often served in the morning to the farmhands.
I haven't had pie for breakfast lately but I have a bunch of other stuff I like. This morning I'm having some cheese -- Sage Derby -- with a fresh apple. I love peanut butter smeared on a banana washed down with a cup of coffee.  I used to eat bananas and peanut butter on a rice cake for breakfast almost every day. I enjoy Greek yogurt, plain, mixed with a little jam. Sometimes I throw some fruit in a blender along with an instant breakfast drink. We like what we call "fake" sausage, the Morningstar Farms soy-based sausage patties and I always have hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator. Yesterday I had hummus and pita chips for breakfast.
Rather than worrying about whether or not it's a "breakfast" food, today I concentrate on what is healthy and appealing to me in the morning. Sometimes I get both in, like today. Other days, pie for breakfast sounds perfect.

The (other) thing I would do for free

This apple pie, topped with a crumbly granola topping,
is one of the recipes  I'm  using in a pie class next month
at Your Kitchen Store in Keene.

You may have heard this before: When we are trying to figure out a career, we should try and find something to do that we would do for free. The idea is that it will never feel like work.
After losing my job as a columnist earlier this year, I had to figure out what it was that I would do for free. But, truthfully, my job as a columnist was that thing. It was a little challenging to figure out something else ... other than sleep. I love to sleep; I'd do that for free. But I imagine it would be hard to make a living at it.
As it turns out, there is something else I would do for free: teach people to cook. Last fall, I had an opportunity to teach a few classes through the Keene Community Education program. I offered a course titled "Cooking for Scaredy Cats," designed for people who lacked confidence in the kitchen. We made appetizers, entrees and desserts. After those three classes, I was invited to teach a few more. And then last spring, the folks at Your Kitchen Store in Keene, asked me to teach a few classes there.
I'm a social person. And I'm not a shy person. And I love cooking and being in the kitchen. But mostly, I like to share that passion with others. For me, cooking is the easiest thing in the world. For others, it's a struggle. I like having the opportunity to bridge that gap.
I remember hearing a long time ago that if you can read, you can cook. I don't really believe that. I believe cooking requires a certain rhythm in the kitchen which is born of confidence. Gathering people together to share recipes, techniques and shortcuts is a way of boosting that confidence. And during the class, we always sample the food we are making. This "breaking bread" ritual is bonding for all of us; once you've shared food with someone, you have a connection.
In the next few months I'm teaching classes about pie making, using pumpkin in cooking, holiday gifts from the kitchen and several others. I am honored that so many folks want to come out and spend an evening in the kitchen with me. It is always fun. And I always learn something. I've made new friends, made a few mistakes here and there and had many of those lovely moments where strangers become friends through food and fellowship.
Today, I don't call this the thing I'd do for free anymore. Now I have a different (albeit cliched) name for it: following my bliss.

Okay, so maybe I'm a little obsessive about this ...

Nirvana!
 

Farm stand after farm stand, I heard two things: "No, not yet ... " or "Oh, we don't have that ..." Silver Queen corn was what I sought. It's white corn ... and it's harvested late in the summer. One friend said that's because they save the best for last.Silver Queen isn't always the sweetest corn and the kernels aren't the most plump. But to me, it's the most flavorful. And each year I go through the challenge of finding a stash of it before it's too late. My search reminds me of trying to swim in the ocean in New Hampshire in the summer. There's a very short span of time when you can actually swim without seeing ice cubes floating by. It's as if there is one day in mid-August, between the hours of 1 and 3 p.m. when everything lines up to make that swim tolerable. But if you attempt that same swim the very next day, your limbs will go numb and fall off.
Last year, I went out to find Silver Queen and heard several times "It's too early. Next week." But then the following week, they were all out.
Blink and you miss it.
Well this year, I swam in the ocean in New Hampshire (and I still have all of my limbs intact) and I found Silver Queen corn.


At last ...

I went to three farm stands to find it, a total of about six visits before I found the corn. And when I finally saw it, sitting in the corner of a farm stand in Harvard, Mass., I'm pretty sure I saw a light shining down from above and heard the angels singing.
I bought 18 ears of corn. We had some for dinner that night. I made corn chowder salad the next night (bacon, potatoes, red bell pepper, onion) and put the rest in the freezer ... sliced off of the cob, blanched and packed in freezer bags.
 I'm a very happy girl.

A summer dinner

Sliced cukes, steamed corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes
make up the perfect summer dinner.

Last night after a concert in Boston, I had a piece of pizza that was perfection in its simplicity. It had a thin crust, a light slather of red sauce and enough cheese to make things interesting. I was really hungry and the pizza was hot and fresh. I folded it over and ate it standing on Yawkey way right outside of Fenway Park. It was the perfect late night food.
Tonight I had another perfect meal, the quintessential summertime dinner: corn on the cob, sliced cucumbers and chunks of tomatoes. My neighbor provided the cukes and tomatoes and I bought the corn from a farm stand this afternoon.
The times I eat a vegetarian dinner are few: when I choose to have cereal for dinner, for example, or when I have popcorn for dinner because I'm too lazy to even have cereal. Yes, I am that lazy sometimes.
But the summertime dinner isn't about vegetarian or organic or healthy, it's about summer right on your plate, right on your fork.
I like fresh tomatoes sliced with chopped fresh basil, some garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. And I enjoy cukes dipped in mayonnaise. The corn is delicious with unsalted, melted butter and some chopped dill or fresh chives. But all of those things are just accessories. Summer vegetables fresh out of the garden don't need to be all dressed up.
Summer is waning. I'm going to eat all the corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini that I can. When I'm sitting around this winter, I want to dream about summer: swimming, walking on the beach, wearing flip flops every day, riding in my car with the sunroof open and eating fresh, lovely summer dinners.

This is what I do now.

A friend in Michigan started a blog titled "I Used To Get Paid For This" after being laid off from her journalism job. She would write about all of the things she wrote about professionally in her blog each week. I'm not sure if there was a snarky factor in naming the blog but my guess? There was.
When the bottom dropped out of my professional life in March, I spent a great deal of time feeling intense sadness, loss and shock. I was one of those lucky people; I got to do what I loved for a living. When people would ask if I liked my job, I got to say yes. I said yes pretty much every day for 18 years. And truth be told, many people don't ever get to say that ... not even for one day.
So with a grateful heart for all of those years, I started trying to figure out what the next chapter of my life would look like. My professional life has been in media for more than 20 years; I worked in radio for several years before I went to work at a newspaper. But both radio and newspaper jobs  are scarce. Journalism is alive and well but print media is seriously challenged and live radio has been shrinking for more than a decade.
But before all of that, I had (yet another) career, in the restaurant business. I worked in a bunch of restaurants as a bartender, server, manager, and for a large family restaurant chain as a corporate trainer. And one of the most rewarding things I did in journalism was to write about food.
It's been said that if you find something to do for a living that you would do for free, it will never feel like work. The things I would do for free? Feed people. Write about food. Teach people to cook.
As of last week, I am doing all three and getting paid to do two out of the three.
The very first job that I applied for back in May is the job I started last week. I didn't get a call for an interview for that job for more than a month, and frankly, that's the norm. In fact, if you hear anything at all, it is surprising. I will avoid going on and on about what it's like to be unemployed and to be out there trying to find employment principally because you've heard it all before. Suffice it to say, it can be very disheartening. The whole process sucks your ego dry. And yet, in order to get anywhere in that process, you have to stay strong, believe in yourself and be positive. It's beyond tough. 
I now work at a small nursing-rehabilitation facility near Boston. I am a cook and I prepare meals for about 90 residents. I really like my boss, who is a cool guy who plays in a band and drives a Mini Cooper. And I love feeding people and this week I made all kinds of good food: meatloaf, muffins, pork roast, salads and garlic mashed potatoes.
Teaching cooking has brought great joy to my life. I have classes scheduled at two locations (Your Kitchen Store and the Community Education Program, both in Keene) through the end of the year. During the classes, I get to spend a few hours in a great kitchen surrounded by people who love to cook or want to learn how. That, to me, is bliss.
I'm doing a bit of catering too; at the end of the month, I'm making a small wedding cake and 60 cupcakes for a wedding in Jaffrey.
And I continue to write about food, here on my blog, on my Facebook page and hopefully, other places somewhere down the road.
So, this is my life now. I no longer feel such great sadness or loss. I miss the readers who used to call or write to me and comment about the stories I'd written. I miss some of the folks I worked with and was close to over the years.
Once again, I feel useful, engaged and as if I am contributing ... to my community and my family. It's not how I pictured my life unfolding. But in all honesty, that's a good thing.