You know the blogging bug has taken hold when there’s a constant buzz in your ear that reminds you just how long it’s been since the last post. This week that very bug has been winging around my brain, wondering why I haven’t come up with anything yet for goodness’ sake. Oh, I’ve been cooking, here and there, and baking, just a little, but some hyper-busyness followed by the great urge to nap has kept me from having very much to say. It’s also nigh impossible during the week to get a good picture of whatever it is I’ve made, since the sky is smoky when I leave for work in the morning and inky on the ride home. The recent acquisition of a high-wattage bulb, which was supposed to mark the end of my troubles with taking photos indoors, was not quite the magic lamp I’d anticipated. What it really comes down to is that I’ve got a lot to learn about strobes and lighting paraphernalia and all the myriad types of set-up, not to mention settings on the camera itself. The person who commented that new cameras are fun is right indeed, but I’m afraid there’s nothing at all wrong with the lovely camera I’ve been borrowing - it’s the photographer that needs an upgrade!

Meanwhile, the weekend seems to have gone by in a flash, no pun intended, and the only thing I have to show for it is a pear cranberry cake that I wasn’t too crazy about. I’m not sure if it was the cake itself or merely lack of enthusiasm on my part, as there’s nothing very specific wrong with it…apart from just being sort of greasy and boring. Update: it did get better the next day. As for the grease, well there is a cup of oil in it, and I really ought to know by now not to bother making cakes that call for that much oil. Anyway, I do still plan to take it in to work tomorrow…but don’t worry, I’m not trying to push a nasty cake on my wonderful co-workers. In fact, I’m pretty sure most people there will like it, at least the ones that aren’t as picky as me. :) At worst, I can always turn it loose on the grad students, who will eat anything if it’s free. In case you’re curious, the recipe was adapted from this one (found by trolling the internets for bundt cakes with lots of fruit), but again, it’d require a bit of manhandling to make it anything but average. On the plus side, this was a good opportunity to practice with camera settings a bit. You can’t even tell how wet and grey it was outside.

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What a wonderful Thanksgiving it was this year. In fact, it was probably the best Thanksgiving I’ve had in recent memory, and I’m pretty sure it was because of two orthodox details that happened to be missing this time around. First, it was all vegetarian and thus no turkey, second, the dinner was spent with friends rather than family. I can’t thank our wonderful hosts enough, who were so gracious and made terrific food, and also the lovely friend who invited us.

Although I’ve had some fantastic post-Thanksgiving dinners with friends, turkey, and all the fixings, I’m usually obliged to spend Thanksgiving Day itself with family. However, as my family is quite small, it seems a bit overkill to go into a cooking frenzy (especially since I’m the only one who likes to cook), so we go out to eat, which to me seems most un-Thanksgivingy. And let me tell you, even supposedly reputable restaurants can serve a pretty horrible interpretation of Thanksgiving dinner. Needless to say, I was tickled pink to have another option this year (which involved some careful strategizing to please the family, mind).

First things first: vegetarian Thanksgiving isn’t all about Tofurkey, believe it or not. There was nary a meat substitute in sight; instead, everyone contributed to an amazing array of dishes, which spanned the unconventional (hominy stew, nut loaf, homemade samosas, roasted beets and red carrots) to the deliciously traditional (stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a shocking magenta cranberry sauce). In fact, there was more food than I recall seeing at Thanksgivings of any kind. To top it off, we even got to take home leftovers. I’m still swimming in food heaven.

Of course, I couldn’t help myself but go a bit manic and bring not one, but three dishes along, which thankfully wasn’t interpreted as overbearing by our hosts. :) So to log this year’s contributions, and also since we’re too exhausted to do a post-Thanksgiving this year, what follows are a few short words and some quickly-snapped pictures of the dishes we brought.

First was a savory Mushroom and Onion Tart. I used purchased puff pastry for this, and next time I may bake the pastry first rather than with the topping on (or perhaps just use less topping, or use a thicker crust), because the middle slices were a bit too soft to hold easily in the hand. It’s a mixture of caramelized onions, sautéed oyster and shiitake mushrooms with fresh thyme, topped with a few sliced kalamatas and some shredded Gruyère.

The other things were brought were, of course, desserts. Tiramisù is a nice crowd-pleaser, and my mad scientist makes a wonderful one. Along with all the typical ingredients, like savoiardi, mascarpone, and good-quality espresso, he uses a special Portuguese twist (which you can probably guess). The recipe is from a highly amusing and talented friend, Dushyanth.

As one dessert just didn’t seem like enough to my sugar-obsessed brain, I made a Lemon Cream Tart, using Pierre Hermé’s ultra-decadent Lemon Cream recipe. I did cut down the butter only slightly, and frankly am glad to have done so, as more would have been way over the top. The cream is supremely luxurious and rich, but I couldn’t resist adding some chopped crystallized ginger to gild the lily. I’ll post the full recipe for this tomorrow.

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Ok, so I did not end up entering the pie contest. But my reason for not doing so wasn’t because of shyness, or even grumpiness….it was that wretched devil that is time. I talked about this with a friend and we both wondered whose idea it was to have the contest on a Saturday morning. I for one think Sunday would have been a better choice, since honestly, how many people have the time or inclination to bake on a Friday night? I had plans that night, and there just wasn’t an opportunity earlier in the week to get good-quality apples. Oh well. I hear it was a pretty good festival, so I’ll likely sign up next year, doing my best to plan ahead (yeah, yeah, laugh away…).

Meanwhile, here’s a short interlude of some strange food findings, shot on location thanks to that glorious gadget that is the iPhone. First, talking about not having time…I present to you an example of American convenience gone too far:

I found this at my local Whole Foods, right by the eggs in cartons which you could hard-boil yourself in ten minutes. I mean, how freaking lazy and/or strapped for time has our culture gotten? I certainly don’t always have time to cook either, but sheesh.

Next is a Russian snack that my partner in crime found at a shop in Brighton Beach. This one rather speaks for itself, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s the sad fate of all those poor unclaimed fish that are offered as carnival pets.

Regular programming will resume tomorrow. It’s been a wacky weekend.

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The fuzzy black fellow is the scariest one of all, a plushy Yersinia Pestis.

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Do you think it’s weird to eat oatmeal for dinner?

I don’t…at least not when the day is dark, muggy, and wet, you forgot your umbrella on the way to work, and your dermatologist has told you that if you need to get rid of a few pimples, she can hook you up with a special formula that the pharmacy mixes up just for her, made from a drug that is usually used to treat leprosy. Yes, folks, say hello to your friendly neighborhood leper! But wait! Don’t run away just yet!

I realize that leprosy is probably not the best topic for a food blog, but still…it’s rather amazing what sort of new uses are discovered in old remedies. Maybe this stuff will soon be the new sensation. All medical speculation aside, though, what I really meant to say is that it’s just the sort of rainy day for comfort foods, warm blankets, and silly 80s movies. Let’s just call it a teeny, self-imposed quarantine.

*Please note that I do not actually have leprosy. Thank you.

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I’m off on a brief jaunt to NYC, and am bringing my camera and a far-too-ambitious list of places to eat. I hope we can at least make it to a few of them. See you next week!

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