Domesticated Cat

Socrates, our wild-at-heart cat, mews incessantly at times and we have no idea why. I’ve come to the conclusion that she has no idea why, either. She just does it because that’s what she does. It crackles and gets a bit sad at times. Then again, it is a roar at times and she quite likes herself while she’s mewing.

Cooking, while I LOVE eating, is something I never thought would get the best of me. It is absolutely no part of my residual self-image. I’m bad ass like Trinity (a la Matrix), or at least that’s what I tell myself. No matter what, my self-image does NOT hold a wooden spoon and certainly does not own a white apron with wintery gnomes painted gleefully at the bottom of it. But here I am: wooden spoon and gnomes galore. And, blasted, I'm blogging about it.

Sigh.

So am I kind of bummed about all of this? Well the funny thing is, no, not at all. What I’m bummed about is that I’m not bummed. I actually like cooking despite the fact that I think, based on my vision of myself, I shouldn’t like it and certainly shouldn't admit to liking it. I’m not sure I’m any good, but I’m loving it and learning to cook the in the savory style of my mom (she’s a heckva cook when she has the time).

I feel a bit like Socrates the cat. She’s domesticated, and enjoys indulging in the domesticated lifestyle, but she mews now and again just to remind herself that, while she’s loving her cat food and mouse toy, she’s still a wild bad ass cat at heart.

Yesterday’s concoction: Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips from Runners World. It is ridiculously easy and they consider it a good post run food. Ha!

I’m a sucker for all-things pumpkin, so gave it a go. It is unbelievably moist, a little chocolaty and deliciously pumpkiny. I prefer large chocolate chips so just changed that one thing!

It's my job to make muffins?

Wait...what?

Yep, it is now my job to make muffins. This blog is borne of two things: (1) a Devin-ism (more on this in a minute), and (2) a decision my boss and co-workers have made to take some unpaid time off to ensure our place of work (a pretty cool landscape architecture studio in Minneapolis), and all eight of us make it through this economic implosion together.

First the Devin-ism. Though I've only heard this story second hand, it is apropos and I think of it nearly every time I, well, make muffins.

Devin, my stepson, had a tough day at day care. He was riding in his car seat losing himself in the landscape as the world passed him by. His dad could feel the sad energy radiating from the backseat. Todd (that’s his dad), asked him about his day and Devin, never short for words, told him how hard it was and how frustrated he was because the other kids weren’t willing to share or play nice. Todd, also never short on words, offered his years of wisdom to Devin. The words flowed freely and Todd talked about what sharing means, how to get along with others and relayed anecdotal stories of his days sharing Lincoln logs. Perhaps Todd shared a story too many and Devin continued to stare out the window. Sensing the loss of attention, Todd summed up with, “I know it can be tough Devin, and sometimes people don’t do what you hoped they’d do, but it is your job to make the most of it.” With that, Devin turned his head toward the rearview mirror and engaged Todd's eyes with an inquisitive look. He was about to speak, then paused and thought again...Todd looked at him through the rearview mirror with that raised eyebrow, "yes? yes?," waiting patiently for his question….and in all Devin wisdom, he said to his dad, “Wait, so you mean it’s my job to make muffins?”

Moral of the story: Sometimes, making the most of it is making muffins.

Second: the furlough. Yes I realize technically “furlough” is a temporary leave of absence from the armed services, but it is now a colloquial euphemism for unpaid leave from any sort of gainful employment. And, I’m on it. As a recent graduate of landscape architecture and urban planning, I’m damn thankful to have a job, and doubly thankful it is at a place like Coen + Partners. We’ve got a great crew, all of whom have agreed to take some unpaid leave in the next two months to keep us in the black for years to come.

So, while I could be a bit miffed about the loss of pay and the time away from work, I have decided to make the most of it, or as Devin may say, make muffins. Hopefully this place will become a repository of furlough stories, cooking adventures and other musings (post, feel free to post!)…but for its humble beginnings, it is a little place for me to share the wealth of my furlough….making FOOD!

Yesterday was Furlough Eve, and I made a delicious hearty minestrone (from the Creme de Colorado cookbook), garlic sourdough bread, and little french fudge cakes (thanks to Lynne Rossetto Kasper's and Sally Swift's How to Eat Supper).

Hearty Minestrone - Italian sausage, a medley of beans, spinach, summer squash, zucchini, chuck roast. I will be honest, I made this in November, but pulled a frozen container of it from my freezer on February 1st and it was even better than this fall.

sourdough garlic bread - get a good Parmesan and super fresh garlic....a little basil and oregano (and oil and butter) and poof! garlic bread to dunk!

little french fudge cakes - this is a meal in itself. The chocolate chunks become pools of molten chocolate and make you scream for some milk. Add some vanilla ice cream and it is pure bliss. I'd recommend trying some different percentages of chocolate (I used 70% Scharffen Berger), and it was a humdinger. Todd got the chocolate wobblies and I seriously could not eat it all.

Nothing like starting out on a full day of work with a full tummy. Wait....er, nothing like starting out on a full day of no work with a full tummy!