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Five Good Things: Comfy Cozy Edition

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1. November nights spent sitting on the couch eating chicken salad sandwiches on toast and watching Benjamin Button (sort of lovely for the first hour and a half, and sort of yucky after that. Also, am I wrong or is there absolutely nothing compelling about Brad Pitt the moment he ceases to be foxy?). Bonus points for knitting scarves and tucking your cold little feet in someone else’s lap.

2. Culinary endeavors big and small: black bean and sweet potato quesadillas (pretty tasty, and the leftover filling was completely smashing the next day when I cooked it up with some spicy sausage and put it over bowties) and pumpkin-pear crumble (hmm, there was texture weirdness, but it was hands-down the best crumble topping I’ve ever made, Ina’s included).

3. The OnPoint Friday News Round Table on BUR. I look forward to it every single week. A civilized, shout-free discussion about current events? On talk radio? Imagine that.

4. Spending today–a gray, rainy, frosty Saturday–cleaning the apartment, reading all the December issues stacked on the hutch, and making some Thanksgiving shopping lists. Tell me: what is everybody’s favorite kind of stuffing? I’ve done cornbread and sausage the last couple of years, but I’m thinking it’s time for a change.

5. Coffee. Lots of coffee.

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Ina’s Cheddar Corn Chowder. Also, Vampires.

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I realized it had been awhile since I fell all over myself telling you how Ina is my favorite person in the world besides Taylor Hanson and Michelle Obama (now there is a dinner party I would like to be invited to), so last week I got the original Barefoot book out of the library and set to work. I don’t own this one, and having now spent some time with it I don’t know WHY, since it’s lovely and easy and all the things I love about Ina, and plus if I had my own copy I could be sure that all the crumbs in the binding were mine. 

It was my friend H’s birthday (also, PS, I got her a Twilight jigsaw puzzle for which she went so gangbusters it almost made up for the fact that I was so embarrassed about BUYING a Twilight jigsaw puzzle that when I went up to the checkout counter at Borders I got this awful case of verbal spew and was all, “It’s a Twilight jigsaw puzzle. It’s not for me. It’s for my friend. It’s her birthday. She really likes jigsaw puzzles. And Twilight. I mean. It’s not for me.”) and she asked for something on the lighter side, so I made a big green spinach salad and the cheddar corn chowder.

IT WAS REALLY GOOD CHOWDER OKAY. Rich but not at all the kind of thing that makes you feel gross afterward, and so flavorful and autumn-y and just–cheerful. Can food be cheerful? This food was. I divided the recipe in thirds, since the original makes chowder for twelve people, but honestly even if I had made the full amount it probably would have been gone by the next day. 

Dear Ina: I hope you make this for Jeffrey on his birthday, along with your coconut cake and a nice bottle of wine, and I hope you got him a Twilight puzzle too, because the kids are just crazy for that Robert Pattinson. Many happy returns to you both from us here at Kitchen Door.

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like a melody in my head

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Here we go. 

Back from the mountains. Pictures to come. The Adirondacks in the fall are beautiful and spooky, red trees and grey sunlight and somebody’s old-fashioned honeymoon, everything shut down for the winter. We wandered around an abandoned amusement park and went for long drives up windy mountain roads. We played Scrabble and had a fancy lobster dinner and saw Couples Retreat, which was (shocker) Not Very Good. They upgraded us to a fancy suite for no good reason except we were almost the only ones at the hotel. Would have given me the jimjams, had I been there by myself. 

Instead, suffice it to say: vacation is nice. 

And now: two weeks outside of Thanksgiving. Cookies to bake. New families to babysit. Menu to plan. Cards to design. Anne Tyler to read. Stock to simmer. Inkscape to decrypt. Stockings (or something like them) to knit. 

Plus I need to get back on the Shred before the buttons on my jeans start flying off at random and kill someone.

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Oh, my.

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Lots to chat about today, including but certainly not limited to reports on Ina’s Cheddar Corn Chowder and Fresh365’s black bean/sweet potato quesadillas and pear/pumpkin crumble, a long whine about the tedium of trying to get short stories published in snotty literary magazines when what you really want to write about is handsome men, and some EXTRA AWESOME gossip about how the above photo may or may not wind up on the splash page of the website for my brand. new. business.

But all of that is going to have to wait until Wednesday, lovies, because I’m going on vacation with a handsome man of my very own. I have my camera, the December Martha, and a Lumpy Bumpy Bar from Trader Joe’s. Who could ask for anything more?

Catch you on the flip side.

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for we cannot tarry here

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Oh my goodness I have so many things to tell you. I’ve been storing them up all week.

001. I’m probably way behind the curve here, but this is just about the coolest thing I’ve done lately. A font of your handwriting. It’s pretty awesome. I’m just saying. Gonna use it for my Christmas cards for sure.

002. Apparently Quack’s brother called him from California in a panic over the fact that Cabot Cheese is possibly going under. Does anybody know anything about this? Could something so hideous possibly be true? I’m gonna go buy some cheddar after work today, just in case. I love me some Cabot. You should love yourself some, too.

003. Barbara has a new book! Be still my beating heart. I love Barbara so much I’d marry her if she’d have me. I heard her read at Harvard a couple of years ago and it was the best day.

004. We got True Blood from Netflix and I thought it was absolutely the most boring thing ever except for the opening credits. This was NOT the reaction I was expecting to have. Please discuss.

005. Marta is doing such a cool thing! Am trying to spend this month focusing on how much I have to be thankful for in my own life. And LOVING the idea of thankfulness emails.

006. I voted in the mayoral election this week. My guy lost, but still. Worth noting. Democratic process at work and all.

007. This is my new favorite blog. Holy cow. I’m starving just thinking about it. I’m making the sweet potato quesadillas and the pumpkin-pear crumble this weekend. Will report back from the front.

008. Trader Joe’s Maple Leaf cookies are the yummiest, most fall-iest addition to my afternoon coffee at work. I love them so much. Nom nom nom.

009. This continues to rock my face off, no matter how many times I watch it. Seriously.

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010. It’s Friday. Yeah it is.

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Schooled.

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Back from Philadelphia. A happy, happy, happy girl. Long walks. Chocolate-covered almonds. This Is It. Hashing stuff out. Magic Garden. Bookstore browsing. Sleeping in. Sendak exhibit. Coffee times one million. Giggles just about that much.  Hey R: thanks for a bitchin’ weekend. I’ll meet you at home in three weeks. 

This week: Finished the Updike. Starting the Roth. Website building. Business-card printing. Shredding times five. Birthday dinners times three. Babysitting times two. Grocery shopping times one. Thanksgiving planning.  A trip to Target for some much-needed supplies. Photo-heavy. Stay tuned.

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