Good eats

Well here is a quiche I don't recall making, but it looks good! Hmmm, I should make a ham quiche with some of our leftover Christmas ham!

I've been making my crusts with 50% barley flour from these folks who grow barley in Delta Junction. In fact, I've pretty much substituted barley flour for whole wheat, in making my baked goods more nutritious. Food security! It's actually milled finer than whole wheat flour is. You can barley tell it's healthier.

DL got me a gift certificate from Williams Sonoma for my birthday, so I spent it on a pressure cooker. The first thing I made was this braised caribou:

It came out good.

Loyal reader (and meatworld friend) RT has told me that her favorite use for leftover ham was steamed bao, so this year I decided to try it with our Christmas ham. I sautéed the ham with leeks and carrots, then thought it wouldn't taste very Chinese. I'd really have preferred Chinese barbecued pork! But of course, ham is already very salty, so I didn't want to add barbecue sauce. I finally decided on a sprinkle of five-spice powder.

My first time making any dough for steaming! It was a bit more challenging to work with than I had in mind... the dough was just elastic enough to unwrap itself after I had carefully formed each bun. So that is why there is a twist on top of most bao. I twisted the next few very aggressively, and still they unwound themselves while sitting there! I think next time I will make the dough wetter, and also let it rest for longer, before wrapping.

They were tasty! Not bad for my first attempt!

Here is a photo of schweet Schweetie Thistle:

And Cricket here modelling the pack I got from Apocalypse Design. I fill the front pocket with Yummy Chummies, and hang it around my neck to skijor. On fast days when I don't feel like breaking the sound barrier, I unhook them, fold up their lines, and tuck them into the pouch. The Very Good Girls trot along beside me. :)

And here is the aforementioned Christmas ham!

Our Christmas dinner came out far more reasonable than Thanksgiving. We just had the ham, mac n cheese, and stir-fried kale with garlic. I made the mac n cheese very fancy though, with asiago along with cheddar!

I hope all 12 of my loyal readers are having peaceful and safe Winter Holidays.

Happy Solstice

Photo credit: Todd Paris, University of Alaska Fairbanks

My my, what a strange year it has been. May next year be brighter for us all.

Here is a gratuitous dog photo:

They posed so nicely! After I had already had our holiday cards made, alas. :D

They have been rather picturesque lately! The above photo is from when they sat bolt upright because a moose came walking through the front yard. A second later, they were barking at the door.

They are very good about moose and don't chase them, just woof at them. :)

Today, our only Solstice gathering was virtual. My friends AT and ST took a small portion of their family to Troth Yeddha' Park to represent the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers to commemorate Gazhee by singing to the Winter Solstice Siqiñiq (Sun). Here is a link to the performance.

Here is a screenshot:

Happy Solstice to all 12 of my loyal readers! Although I love winter, I understand that the darkness is hard on people, and our ancestors rightfully knew it as a dangerous time. In the times before wood stoves and polar fleece and electric lighting and daily shipments of fresh produce and cheese aisles in the grocery stores, people knew that not everyone would make it through each winter, and there may not have been enough of everything to go around. It was a foreboding time indeed. Let us be thankful for our little pleasures in this darkest of times. On this darkest, longest night, remember what my friend AT says: "Berries are sleeping under the snow!"

Working from Home Selfies

Phew!

Final grades are in! I'm *very* pleased. I had some exceptionally bright students this semester, but every single one of them did a credible job and displayed that they had learned the main concepts. I had a few fall behind (some *very* behind), but I was lenient with extensions and even from one person accepted five (!!) late homework assignments that the person had apparently knocked out in one sitting!

Despite my initial discomfort of teaching 100% online, I generally had attendance of 23-26 out of 27, and at least a few students were constantly engaged. So I'd call it a good semester. ❤

Look! They are snugglin'!

Comfy

Do you think they are comfy? I sure hope they are comfy.

Post Thanksgiving

Now that I work from home, I think we should be able to put off our morning run until there is some daylight. Then we can enjoy the sunrise and be more aware of our surroundings and not have to wear our blinky lights and reflectors.

However, Miss Thistle likes her routines and hovers by the door.

And Stares At Me while I'm trying to work and it's impossible.

Then I say, "OK fine", and I put on our blinky lights, and we are off in the dark. Sigh.

She also herds me after our (human) supper. She is antsy until I do the dishes, then as I sit with my book she stares. She herds me along to pee. (Seriously! She monitors MY pee schedule!) She's very anxious to take our pre-bedtime, last-empty-the-bladder walk, even if it's only 9 p.m. and not quite bedtime. When we get back, she doesn't get comfy until I brush my teeth. Then finally, finally, she settles into sleep.

Well here she is looking content after our morning run.

She can finally settle in for the day.

These days, sunrise spans from 8:30 to 10:30, and sunset spans from 2:30 to 4:30. I took this photo at 2:30.

In other news, we are finally finished the turkey and have made the turkey soup, the traditional Last Turkey Meal. I decided against the classic wide egg noodles and carrots, and instead made it Italianish, putting onions, tomatoes, oregano, marjoram, thyme, carrots, collards, and tortellini. I exercised more restraint than usual and refrained from adding assorted wilty veggies from the no-longer-crisp pile in the "crisper" drawer. But I still filled the two-gallon pot to the brim (oops).

I made focaccia to have with it, topping with asiago and red pepper flakes. Leftovers made lunch sandwiches!

At some point during the turkey marathon, I got tired of beige turkey permutations and made spicy cashew chicken:

And a veggie scramble with tortillas for breakfast:

On Turkey Pot Pie night, I forgot to put any water into the freezer to make ice water for the crust. Of course, Fairbanks in winter offers its own solution, you just have to push aside the birch seeds:

The first pot pie night, we had it with collard greens:

Look how beautiful these collards are! Veggies are very hit-or-miss these days. These are a hit!

The next night, I wanted to make turkey enchiladas, but DL Very Subtley requested another pot pie, so! For some reason the veggies we had left were all Chinese, so we had it with garlic-fried napa cabbage:

Comfyness Assessment Time! Do you think they are comfy? I sure hope they are comfy.

Happy Thanksgiving

I would like to wish all 14 of my loyal readers a Happy and Peaceful Thanksgiving. May you live in boring times once more one day! Ironically, today's Interesting Times make individual lives Boring Days, if you are one of the lucky ones. So, we are counting our blessings.

It used to be customary for us to have Thanksgiving with the Bs, but during this pandemic, DL and I are home alone. To be honest, it's kind of nice and peaceful. When I was growing up in my family of three, my mom sometimes lamented that we weren't like other Chinese families with aunties, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc, etc squabbling around a giant house. But I never minded. I don't particularly care for either crowds or Noise. The only thing I feel sad about with our two-person Thanksgiving is that I wish I could invite over some single friends or other small families to feast together, but alas! I may have to start a new tradition, separate from the Bs, and do my own Thanksgivings from now on. We can still do Christmas together. I'll express how much I have appreciated their love, but that now that I'm a married adult I'm ready to strike out for Thanksgivings. *sad smile*

When I was growing up, my mom would always invite over a bunch of random people who had nowhere else to go. At the time, I didn't think it was anything special, but in retrospect, I really appreciate those memories, because even though we were poor, she knew enough that when we had a big-ass turkey and more than enough to eat, the only appropriate thing to do was to share it! And of course it's not just about the food. It's about not being alone on a traditional, family-centered holiday, and coming together with whomever you come together with! My mom was a new immigrant at the time, but she had that part down pat.

My sister apparently has not roasted a turkey in many years, but I hope she does one day, and invites over a bunch of random loners, so my niece will also get to experience that kind of Thanksgiving one day. (I know she reads this blog, so hint-hint!! :~D)

Well here are dog photos. Look! They match in chirality!

To the left, to the left!

To the right, to the right! (And trade places!)

Yesterday we got this warm fuzzy email from our IT department. I had never expected to get a warm fuzzy email from an IT department, but we live in strange times.

I, too, feel an above-normal level of concern for my students. I prepared two slides that I have added to lectures:

OK here are Thanksgiving photos. I made a pi pie:

And cranberry sauce from half of my hard-earned stash that I picked with numb fingers that day with M last fall:

I got the smallest turkey I could find at 12 lbs. I stuffed it with a classic sage-flavored stuffing:

The cranberry sauce thickened up nicely:

That classic green bean casserole:

I deglazed the pan and made gravy:

Because there are only two of us, I just ate a thigh and DL ate a drumstick and thigh. No cardboard white meat! I'm saving all of that for pot pie, tamales, and soup!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Long may you live in boring times!

Good Eats, Beautiful Weather, Dog Photos, etc

I love cold weather foods! Lasagne!

Cod baked with herbs and buttered bread crumbs:

Served with pasta with fresh tomato sauce and steamed veggies:

Another Working from Home Situation. Absent-mindedly grabbing an apple when you have forgotten that You Are Obligated to Share Apples. I often eat apples while I work, so I don't think about it, then I'm like, "Why are you all up in my grill? Oh."

The trails have been packed enough by multiple skiers and snowmachiners, so DL and I went for a walk last weekend with the dogs running loose. The light was so lovely that I brought a camera. Cricket happy!

Thistle happy!

Happy, happy! Joy, joy!

Here it is! Our holiday card photo. Right behind our cabin!

That lovely, lovely light:

Bluebird skies:

Oh check this out. We passed a friend on the trails, and Cricket screamed at her (because that's what Cricket does). Later that day, I got a facebook message from her. And now I have an eyewitness statement that this little cuddler runs like a hellhound and wails like a banshee!