Skipping seasons and "frickles"

Guys. Can we talk about how this happened?

Spring. Yes. Since the cold snap I was whining about, I've moved, worked my butt off (on the treadmill and at the office), picked up a bunch of freelance work, and spring happened. Now it's summer! How does time do this to me?

I'm back and I'm bringing pickles. Fresh, crunchy, refrigerator pickles--let's call them frickles because why not? Please don't be intimidated. They're so easy to make. A week or two ago I had to whip something BBQ-appropriate up to contribute to a company BBQ on a day that I would be spending the morning doing this:

(weekend job). Pickles were surprisingly the perfect solution. Think about it. Who doesn't love pickles? And they're so much more fun and unusual than hot dog buns. (Don't worry, we had plenty.)

Here's how you make them: quarter some smaller cucumbers. Shove them into any container you have (I shamelessly used a Chinese food soup container) with some fresh dill, some garlic cloves, and some spices (I used dill seed, mustard seed, coriander seed, hot pepper flakes, celery seed, and peppercorns, about 1/2 teaspoon each). Then mix up 1 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 tablespoon sugar. Pour it into the container and you're done!

Now, if you want things to be a little more interesting, you can chop up a jalapeno and throw it into the mix.

These pickles got spicier and spicier as they sat in the fridge! We might be trying habaneros next time.

What I'm trying to say is: be careful if you have a pickle craving anywhere near my fridge. Some of them may bite back.

On comfort food and reading two books at once

Right now in my little corner of the Hudson Valley, we have gratefully emerged from a cold snap, into the (incredibly foggy) warmer weather that isn't actually very warm, and then back into some cold and snow. That brief spell of warmer weather gave me the overwhelming urges to take my car to the car wash and go for a long run outside. Winter is a bit of a mind game. It gets dark so early that anything after 4:00 (the beginning of the prevening, if you are as big of a fan of The Big Bang Theory as I am) seems to tilt you into a frenzied rush toward bedtime. It's that feeling of "it's dark so I need to get to sleep!" You feel as though there isn't enough time in the evenings after work to get anything of any value accomplished. So instead we heat up something comforting and snuggle under blankets on the couch, watching TV or reading until the clock deems it an appropriate time to call it a night. I can't say I mind it terribly (I've never been opposed to snuggling on the couch), but it certainly doesn't make me feel very productive.

I've just finished reading Gone Girl (have you read it??) and while I can't deny how engrossing the plot is, there is something about the tone that makes me feel totally hopeless. The emotions swing from such highs to such lows so quickly, it's very depressing. Not the best choice for a snowy/rainy end of January in the Northeast.

So now that I've finished this one, I'm agonizing over my next book choice. Don't we readers have such troubles? I recently bought a stack of great finds at the thrift store and I'm eager to dive in. I've also pulled Under the Dome off of Jim's bookshelf after hearing the rumors of a CBS special! Given the size of the book (1,074 pages), I'm not sure that it's an especially good candidate for lugging back and forth to work, so I'm considering...reading two books at once. Can it be done!? It's not something I've ever been able to manage. Stephen King read at home, and a nice, light paperback for work. It's a challenge.

In this weather, everyone wants something comforting. That means soups and stews, but it also (for me) means risotto. I stumbled onto this recipe while perusing Tastespotting years ago, and I've loved it ever since. While I certainly support its use as a side dish, in the chill of winter, I love to eat this on its own, with a glass of wine, as its own comfort food meal. Enjoy.

Tomato Goat Cheese Risotto
(Loosely adapted from Taste of Beirut)

2 cups arborio rice
1 large log goat cheese
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
12-14 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 stick butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium-sized pot or very large skillet. Add the onions and fry until golden brown. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the cup of wine and cook, stirring, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken or vegetable stock one cup at a time, stirring while the liquid is absorbed. Add the can of tomato sauce and stir as the liquid is absorbed and the risotto thickens. Add in the goat cheese, breaking it up with your fingers to allow it to melt more quickly. Add in the quartered cherry tomatoes and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with more Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on the top.

2013 Resolutions

Resolutions end up feeling a lot like a to do list, but I make them anyway. I like the intentions behind them, and even if you only accomplish one, it's a step in a good direction. I waited this long to jump on the "post your resolution" bandwagon because I had a long list on the first of the year and I wanted to keep only the ones that really felt important after trying them out for a month:

1. Simplify. An ubiquitous resolution this year. I always have a full plate and I find that I can keep my stress and anxiety in check if I keep things clean and simple. Doesn't life feel so much less chaotic when the bed is made and there is homemade soup in the fridge? Keeping things simple and stress-free is the only way I manage to stop and enjoy the little things.

2. Photo-ify. I really want my SOOC (straight out of the camera) photos to improve, as I'm hopeless at Photoshop (maybe that can be a resolution for next year?). For this year, I'd like to be less afraid to lug my DSLR around and more inclined to use the remote so that I can be in my own photos. I have high hopes of fun little trips in my future and I'd love to have the tangible memories of photos for all of them!

3. Health-ify. Specifically, though, I would like to eat more vegetables than I already do and make weekly or monthly fitness goals, instead of being an overachiever and failing to meet a standard set too high. Feed my body, not my diet.

Now to get to it! Any advice?