A Snowy Drive

Today was a beautiful, crisp winter day,

so I decided to take the long way home on my way back from town.

I don't often go down by the lake in the winter,

simply because the access roads are usually hazardous.

But as the road crews have been busy clearing the roads this past week,

I decided to travel that way.

While waiting for an appointment I spied this little guy outside the window.

(Click on the photo.)

Wonder where this squirrel is headed?

Guess he found a way to avoid the traffic.




Driving down to the lake.

Just don't go off the road as there is quite a drop on either side.

The road was fairly clear - until I reached the bottom.

There the sun never gets a chance to warm the pavement,

melting the snow and ice.

Poor, poor farmer is still hanging around.

Crossing over Moores Creek.

This road is usually flooded here in the spring

and actually becomes part of Lake Monroe.

I parked the car and ventured out into the snow to take some pictures.

Off in the distance,

it looks like the main body of Lake Monroe is ice-free.

The state limits building on the shores of the lake

as they wish to preserve a natural view from the lake.

American Sycamores.

Close-up picture of the bark of

an American Sycamore.

Time to head back up the hill.

Remember, do as I say and not as I do:

don't drive and take pictures.

Stream alongside the road.

I hope you enjoyed our little trip.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Snowed In

"Hot" on the heels of the last little snow storm,

we received another of winter's little presents.

This time the NWS promised us 4 to 7 inches of snow.

At least they got it right this time

as we did end up with at least 4 inches of the white fluffy stuff.

There's "my" barn again.

Snow.

And more snow.

*

Little Minx has been very anxious to go out in the snow

and has tried several times to sneak out of the house.

I decided to indulge him today and let him out

- on a leash.

Surprisingly, he didn't even balk this time at having the harness put on him.

Minx seemed to enjoy the cold, wet stuff.

Me? Not so much.

After all, it was cold and windy out there.

Minx reluctantly let me drag him back inside.

*

A cold, snowy winter's day deserves some hearty food.

I decided to make Anne Burrell's Pasta Bolognese.

But first, here is a tip for those of you who need a way to display a recipe so that it can easily be read during the cooking process.

I put a small binder clip on a large spatula that sits in a container on my counter...

Then the recipe attaches to that, holding it in place while I cook.

Easy peasy and didn't cost me a dime

(and that makes my accountant/banker husband very happy).

*

Now, on to the recipe.

As the recipe makes enough for six to eight people,

I decided to halve the recipe this time out.

My mise en place consisted of:

1/3 cup onion, cut into 1 inch dice

1 large carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1-1/2 ribs celery, cut into 1 inch dice

2 cloves garlic

extra virgin olive oil, for the pan

kosher salt

1-1/2 lbs. ground chuck

1 cup (12 oz.) tomato paste

1-1/2 cups hearty red wine

water

1-1/2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

High quality extra virgin olive oil, for finishing

After tasting, I did end up adding about 1/4 cup of sugar to the sauce.*

*Yes, I know that adding sugar to a tomato sauce

is sacrilegious to Italians, but I'm not Italian, so there.

The directions said to pulse the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in a food processor

until they became a coarse paste.

Done.

Next, I was to saute the veggies in some olive oil

until the liquid is evaporated and the veggies start to brown.

Then the ground beef was added in and allowed to brown.

Looking good.

Next it was time to add the tomato paste in the pan to allow that to caramelize a bit.

Red wine was added to the pan and allowed to reduce by half.

Can I just tell you that I can see all the flavor?

No, I didn't think so.
I think Sandra Lee is crazy for seeing flavor all the time.

Finally it was time to add enough water to cover the beef by one inch.

The bay leaves and the thyme were also added at this point.

After allowing the sauce to come to a brief boil,

the heat was reduced to a simmer.

I then let this simmer happily away for three and a half hours,

adding more water if needed.



At the end, I tasted, and added more salt to season.

Then, as the sauce still seemed to need something,

I added the sugar.

Yep, that was it.

Luckily, this makes enough sauce for two dishes,
so I was able to save half the sauce for another time.

Following the directions,

I added the cooked pasta and some of the pasta water to the remaining sauce.

Then the Parmesan cheese was added to the dish.

More Parmesan cheese and some garlic bread add to the dish.

What can I say?

We all loved this dish,

despite the fact that it is somewhat time-consuming to make.

But I guess that's a personal problem, right?

Snow Days

The National Weather Service warned of a major snow event headed our way

and I sprang into action:

heading to the grocery store to stock up on food and wine

(what's up with people stocking up on milk and bread before storms?

Is there some law that one must have those particular items on hand in case of emergency?),

filling the gas tank of my car,

filling the bird feeders on the back deck

and making sure that we had enough salt on hand for the driveway and front walk.

Then the only thing left to do was to sit back and wait for the storm to hit.

The storm arrived,

first with rain,

then with snow,

then back to rain

before turning back to snow.

The snow finally started to accumulate after dark on Friday evening.

I woke up Saturday morning to find that we had gotten perhaps 2 to 3 inches of snow.

Much better than the 4 to 9 inches they had forecast.

And certainly better than the snowfall amounts that the Eastern seaboard is getting.

The birds visit the bird feeder at the table.

How many cardinals can you find in the tree?

(Click on the photo to enlarge.)

Snow "cushions" on the chairs.

A male cardinal visits another bird feeder.

Snowscapes.

The snow covers tables and chairs on the front porch.

Many thanks to the dear husband for fixing my computer problems

so I can once again upload photos.

After all, a blog without pictures isn't nearly as nice.