Food Friday: White Cheese

Since he was a very little boy, JT has loved white cheese on a cracker.  What he calls white cheese is actually boursin, a creamy soft cheese, usually flavored with garlic and spices.  At the grocery store a cup of it will run you $4 or $5.  I don’t know about y’all, but that’s a bit too costly for me to pick up on a regular basis.  My version is easy to make and inexpensive.  On top of that, it tastes terrific.  Try it and I promise that you will never buy the the store version again.

When I make it, I serve it with crackers or crusty french bread.  It’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

The Recipe

1 brick of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon each dried oregano and dried basil

1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

1 tablespoon half and half

Place all the ingredients in a bowl.

Now get out your hand mixer.  Set the mixer on high and whip the cheese for 3 minutes.  This will whip in a lot of air, making the cheese light and creamy.

Using a spatula, place the creamy cheese in a smaller bowl to serve.

Leftovers (if you have any) should be refrigerated.  Enjoy!

Whoosh

A few weeks ago, JT and I took a nice long walk in the woods that run along the D & R Canal.  This path runs along the eastern edge of the campus at our school and JT knows it well.  When he was in preschool, a creative gym teacher used to take the 3 and 4 year olds along the trail so they could admire nature.  Together, he and I have walked this trail more times than I can count.  JT knows which trees will prove most beautiful and he knows where along the trail we should pause to look for turtles sunning themselves.

As JT nears the age of 10, a number that sounds so old, I am increasingly aware of time passing.  One of the best things about raising a child is the chance to again experience the wonder and joy of childhood, this time watching life unfold before your child’s eyes.  When he was very small, if something impressed JT, you’d hear the sound of a little whoosh coming from his mouth as he expressed awe at what he saw.  It happened pretty often; the world often offers new experiences when you are small.  That whoosh is more rare as he gets older.  One of the benefits of age is wisdom, of course.  But there is also less wonder; less awe.

Mother Nature still provides those whoosh moments I cherish.  Ducks gliding across the water; a group of still deer in the meadow; the brilliant leaves on the trail…they all make my boy stop and admire the beauty of it all.  And then I hear that whoosh.

In that moment, all is right in my world.

Indecisions, Indecisions: An Endorsement of Sorts

It’s gubernatorial election day in New Jersey; we are one of just two states holding statewide elections this year (Virginia is the other one) and it’s a race that has attracted national interest.  The only reason that I can spell gubernatorial is because it was a spelling word for the 4th grade.  And 4th graders needed to know how to spell that word because they have been studying the election.  So it was that my son has come home this fall regularly expressing his opinions and asking questions.  God save me if I hadn’t known about the public question or our representatives to the state legislature.  I was proud of my boy’s interest in the race and I took his questions and ideas seriously.  And though I say it myself, I was impressed by his level of engagement in the races.

At school the 4th graders organized an election for the whole of the Lower School.  In that election, JT cast his ballot for governor.  He voted for Jon Corzine, the Democratic candidate.  This morning, it was my turn.  Four years ago, I voted for Corzine’s first bid to be governor of the state.  This year, he’s seeking another term and facing off against Republican Chris Christie and Independent Chris Daggett.  JT and I watched the debates and we’ve talked about the issues.

There are a host of problems in New Jersey, but it all boils down to one problem:  local control.  Towns and municipalities abound in New Jersey and they all seek their pound of flesh.  We need to break the back of local control, a task the established parties have failed to accomplish.  So, good Democrat though I am, I was interested in casting a ballot for the Independent.  That’s always a risky strategy, of course, because in our two-party system I could be voting for a spoiler.  And I am concerned about that as I have neither faith in nor enthusiasm for the Republican candidate.  I wanted Daggett but I could live with another term for Corzine, who had one hell of a task before him when he first took office, a reality nicely illustrated by this New York Times article by Matt Bai.

This morning, before we set off to vote, JT and I took a final look at the polls. Christie has a slight lead.  Daggett is a distant third.  Jon Corzine will need a last minute surge of support if he is to win today.  JT and I talked it through and then we made our decision: at the ballot box this morning, we voted for Jon Corzine.

All Halloween, All the Time

This year, the calendar kindly served up a Halloween that was a two-day affair.  On Friday, we celebrated at school and on Saturday, the actual Halloween day, we got to work at home.  There was a block party in the afternoon.

And then JT’s buddy D arrived for the trick-or-treat extravaganza.  The front porch was made festive.

JT donned his man-skirt; D seemed to have experienced a rather significant accident.  This happens to him every year at Halloween.  Perhaps the authorities should be notified?

The tricky twosome trolled town for candy acquisition.

They met with great success and returned home to count and catalog their loot.  Some serious candy trading ensued.

There is enough candy in my house to carry us through the coming dark and cold season.

November 1st: Hostas

It seems a little mean-spirited to post a photo of the hostas at this point in the garden season.  They’ve yet to attain the spare elegance and quiet of winter and are instead working through their last gasp from the summer.  They look dry and tired.  They seem to be saying “just leave us alone.”

Fair enough.  How about we admre the elm and dogwood in the backyard?

 

 

They were looking pretty glorious this week.

Witches, Ghosts, Goblins….and Highlanders

One of the traditions I love best is the Halloween parade at the Lower School.  JT is in the 4th grade and this is his 7th year in the parade.  In that parade, he’s been a dinosaur, a prince, Peter Pan, an Indian, a black cat, an alien, and a Scottish Highlander.  This last costume, perhaps his most extravagant ever, was a joint production of JT”s imagination and his grandma’s sewing skills.

Watching the parade around the old copper beech tree is one of the best parts of fall.  This year, Grandma came to see the glory of her creation in motion.  The day wrapped up with trunk-or-treat with his buddies, a festival of trick-or-treating that is the most efficient candy delivery system known to child-kind.

JT sorted the candy when we arrived home and sternly warned the grown-ups to leave it be.  But, hey, that’s why Mama created a bedtime.

 

Food Friday: Creamed Spinach

I have a great fondness for spinach and earlier this week I wrote about some creamed spinach that I made.  I promised the recipe and here it is.

1 package fresh spinach (I like the baby spinach)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

 

salt and pepper to taste

 

Heat skillet on medium-high heat, melt butter and then saute garlic and onion.  The goal is to soften them up, not to brown them.

Add the spinach and stir well to cover with the butter.  Keep stirring as the spinach wilts; it should take 3-4 minutes.

Wilting looks like this:

And then like this:

When it wilts to your satisfaction, pour in the cream.

Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.  This will provide two servings and it can be doubled; tripled, etc as needed.

Tastes amazing, I promise.