What's new and exciting in my life? Let me tell you:
My grandmother Lili died last Friday morning in New York; she was 94 years old (almost 95).
Lili, two days after her 90th birthday, in her apartment in New York. (2004)
One of the things I've been remembering over the past few days is how she connected with my friends that she met. She recalled people she'd only met once or twice for years, and would ask about them when we chatted on the phone. At a party after my college graduation, I remember four or five of my friends around her, listening with rapt attention to stories of her life for the better part of an hour.
She had a long, full life, survived much of WWII in hiding in Europe, emigrated to the United States, raised a daughter, ran a business and managed a building in New York City into her eighties, not only survived a major accident that doctors said would leave her unable to walk but scoffed at the idea of using a cane afterward, and connected with many people, even if she didn't have a lot of friends.
She also was ready to be done. For the past few years, she'd said that there wasn't anything she really wanted to do. It's hard to argue that point with a 90 year-old who's lived in Manhattan for twice as long as you've been alive. Over the past year or so, she said things were getting harder, even day-to-day things. Thankfully, her passing was quick and hopefully easy and painless. It's a sad thing for sure, but not tragic.
She'll be missed.
[ I've written about her a couple of times before, notably here and here. ]
Needing something to take to a dinner party, and inspired by some beautiful, if just-peaked, heirloom tomatoes at the Capitol Hill Farmer's Market, I decided to make some saffron-tomato ice cream. My mom had given me some saffron a while back, and she likes to make a pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes, saffron, and cream (just microwave it for a couple minutes to soften everything up and steep the saffron in the cream & tomatoes). The saffron/tomato flavor combination is a real winner, and I'd been wondering why more people didn't make tomato ice cream.
My recipe follows:
Saffron-Tomato Ice CreamI just snuck a little taste from the freezer, and couldn't be happier with the results. I'm thinking about making some parmesan crisps to go with it. Do you think I could add a little sugar to them to make it more of a desserty cookie?Makes about one quart.
- ~2 lbs very ripe tomatoes (I used two very large heirloom tomatoes that were in the "seconds" pile at the Farmer's Market for $3/lb)
- A little less than ½ cup sugar
- 1 generous pinch saffron threads (maybe about a half a teaspoon?)
- 1 generous pinch salt
- 1 pint half & half
- ½ pint heavy whipping cream
- 3 egg yolks
Chop the tomatoes into large chunks. In a heavy saucepan over reasonably high heat, combine the tomatoes and sugar. They'll release their liquid and start to break down. Simmer over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until there's about half as much liquid as when you started (should be about a pint, give or take). Remove from heat.
Add the half & half, saffron, and salt, and stir to mix. Let the mixture steep for 10 minutes or so.
Reheat the mixture. Temper the egg yolks (add some of the liquid, a little at a time, to prevent them from cooking immediately), then add that back to the saucepan and cook over low-medium heat until it coats the back of a spoon (and leaves a distinct trail when you drag your finger across the back of the spoon).
Remove from heat, and strain the mixture into a bowl with the heavy cream (preferably over an ice bath). Allow it to cool, then mix in your ice cream maker according to the instructions.
The ice cream-making part of the process goes much quicker when the mixture is cool. Leave enough time for it to cool down after making it, or make it the day before and leave it in the fridge overnight.
I'm back yet again from another business trip to China (sadly, not in business class). Even though I'm just two months in to my Chinese lessons, I found that little bit of knowledge of the language made a huge difference. I was able to understand quite a few words in conversations, and just being able to say "I have four people in my family: my dad, mom and a younger brother named Matt" showed I was making an effort. In many ways, communication with folks there went better than ever.
In other ways, communication went horribly, horribly awry. To say they weren't prepared for our visit (even though it'd been on the calendar for months) would be an understatement. Lots of things went wrong that really shouldn't have, and it was quite a frustrating trip. But, I'm led to believe by my colleagues, this is pretty much par for the course. So I learned a lot about getting things made in China.
And I got some things made when I got back, too. Over this Memorial Day weekend, I built a new home for our turkeys. Check it out here. Still some work to be done to house them outside (they're living in the basement, now free of predatory cat, who sadly claimed a few turkey lives before revealing itself), but lots of progress made this weekend.
And yesterday, a few friends and I headed out I-90 to hike along the Yakima Skyline Trail. We did about 7 or 8 miles along a beautiful high-desert ridge, surrounded by wildflowers, horned lizards, and gorgeous views. I took some pictures, but my camera sensor (or lens?) was pretty dirty, so I'm not sure how well they'll come out.
Months ago, I was invited to what promised to be a lovely wedding this Memorial Day weekend, but I was feeling traveled out even then, with quite a few international trips to go, so I declined. Sad as I was to watch the tweets go by from the ceremony and ensuing party, I think I made the right decision to stay in town, recover from China (mentally and physically), and enjoy Seattle at its finest. All the same, congrats Whit & Claire!
I opted to buy a replacement LCD and digitizer for my iPhone. Though the disassembly was a little tricky, it went just fine (this video was pretty helpful), and the phone is working again like a champ.
Also working like a champ is my new computer - it's not particularly revolutionary in design compared to my old one, but the screen is a fair bit bigger (15" vs. 12") and it's a ton faster.
New lappy made short work of posting Italy pics - check 'em out here. I will go back and edit out the dust spots (note to self: clean camera sensor before vacation), but otherwise, the photos are all up.
I'm actually pretty happy getting back to "normal" life after Drew and my Italian vacation. As previously mentioned, I've been traveling up a storm, and the prospect of not having to go anywhere on a plane for months is quite exciting.
The trip was pretty great, though. We spent a few days in Venice before heading to Rimini for Paganello, then relaxed in Cinque Terre for another few days before making our way home. Our timing couldn't have been much better, as we missed the Easter rush in Venice and the weekend crowds in Cinque Terre, while still getting a great feel for both. And Paganello - 1600 frisbee players taking over an Italian beach resort town for a long weekend - was pretty amazing, too.
Select Italy cheers (among many):
- the Duomo in Milan
- gelato
- cappucino
- perfectly cooked pasta and fish
- Rick Steves' Italy 2009
- beautiful Cinque Terre vistas during a clearing rainstorm
And the jeers (thankfully, not too many):
- water damage to my phone during said rainstorm
- the "Inter-city" trains in Italy, which apparently require a special kind of ticket that costs €15 more than usual, but they don't tell you this at the station, and then charge you that plus an €8 penalty on the train
- the Holiday Inn Express Malpensa, which, in spite of being at Malpensa, is a giant pain in the ass to get to and not worth the money. €20 for a 1km cab ride? Absurd!
- the 7th floor food court at the Rinascente Department Store in Milan - way overrated and overpriced
No pictures yet, but check back soon. In the meantime, you can check out this sweet video I took of a dachshund, digging in the sand on the sidelines one day at Paganello.
I'm not quite sure yet how best to deal with my crippled phone (buy a new phone? or just a new screen?), but in the meantime, I've ordered a new computer. It's been a bit over 4 years, and though my little 12" Powerbook has treated me quite well, it's time to retire it (perhaps it'll become an interface to the robot arm). One of the big bonuses to upgrading is that I can now use Picasa for the Mac!
