Hurricane Sandy Hits RI

 Sunday was full of storm preparation for Hurricane Sandy - setting up the barograph and exchanging our indoor-outdoor weather station at Home Depot. We stocked up on flashlights, batteries, and canned goods at Stop and Shop. Filled buckets on the porch in anticipation of flushing the toilet with no power. The wind and waves were big and I took some pictures of the surfers and windsurfers at the beach in Matunuck. Since we live on a good point break, house guests magically appear whenever storms roll through. We had two "water sports enthusiasts" staying with us, they were lucky to get out before things got really bad on Monday afternoon!

We were supposed to evacuate but didn't, as our house is on pretty high ground. The homeowners (who live across the driveway) are ready for the apocalypse, so our farm is in good shape. The hand-pump for well water is coming in handy. The pigs and cows didn't seem to be bothered by the storm but the sheep were all huddled together under a tree to stay dry. A tree fell across the driveway on Monday and within 20 minutes Eric (the homeowner) had his tractor out and was pulling it out of the way - we think he was just excited to use the tractor for something!

The electricity started to flicker just as I was mixing dough for sugar cookies. I made them in record time - racing the loss of electricity - and had no sooner pulled them out of the oven than the power went out. Good thing I didn't opt for bread with a longer baking time! (Nate posted a picture to Facebook - "Will El finish the cookies before the power goes out?")

My barograph runs on electricity (who came up with that idea?) so we've had to advance it by hand ever since the power went out at 3 on Monday - it looks like a diagonal line going down then steps coming up.

We've been cooking dinners on the neighbors' grill and playing Scrabble by candles and an oil lamp. Nate beat me on Monday with "Flog" and last night I got him with "Queasy"...those triple letter scores are a killer!

Now (and until we get power back) I am working and showering at URI. National Grid says my office won't have power until Saturday. I've only been asked my major once so far.

Hurricane Sandy Dinner

No power! Nate cooked the lamb, red pepper and onion kebabs on the neighbors' grill.

Orange-Glazed Salmon

My first seafood cooking experience! I adapted this one from Cook Yourself Thin. The recipe called for mango nectar but I used OJ instead.

Orange-Glazed Salmon
Ingredients:
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp minced ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp rice vinegar
5 oz orange juice
2 salmon fillets, about 1" thick

1. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 min uncovered, until reduced by half.

2. Place salmon on a rack in a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 5.5" from heat 5 min. Brush fish with 1/2 OJ glaze, then broil 3 more min until fish flakes with a fork. Spoon remaining glaze evenly over the fish.

Spinach Salad
Ingredients:
Fresh spinach
Thinly sliced Bosc pear
Shredded carrots
Asian bean sprouts
Toasted sliced almonds (optional)

Dressing:
3 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbs OJ

Roughly chop the spinach, toss all ingredients together.

*Note: January 4, 2013: Cooked this again with a bourbon glaze: bourbon, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a bit of mustard, brown sugar, honey, s+p. Delicious!

Pork, Artichoke and Fresh Bread

Hearth Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
1 packet (1 tbs) active dry yeast
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs salt
2 cups warm water
5.5 to 6 cups all purpose flour (I used Bread Flour)
cornmeal
boiling water

1. Mix together first 4 ingredients. Let stand until yeast, sugar and salt are dissolved. Gradually add flour, mixing until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.

2. Knead for 5 min, sprinkling flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the counter. Let rest while you scrape out and grease the mixing bowl, then knewad again for 2-3 min.

3. Put the dough in the bowl and turn it over to grease the top. Cover witha warm damp towel and put it somewhere draft-free (I used the microwave) for 1-2 hours, or until it doubles in bulk.

4. Punch down the dough and briefly knead out air bubbles. You can repeat step 3 if you want. Shape the dough into loaves and put them on a cookie sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Let rest for 5 minutes. *Note: I didn't have cornmeal so I skipped it. If you're going to do this, grease the pan because my bread totally stuck!

5. Lightly slash the tops of the loaves and brush them with cold water. Place on rack in a cold oven with a roasting pan full of boiling water on the bottom rack. Bake at 400ºF for 35-45 min, until the crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch. *Beth recommends spraying water on the bread about half way through cooking for a crsipier crust.

For lighter bread, let the loaves rise again after shaping. Preheat the oven and roasting pan with water to 500ºF for 15 minutes. Brush the loaves with cold wanter then bake for 10 min. Lower temp to 400º and bake 10 more min.

Source: King Arthur Flour

Winding Down in the Garden

Arugula Tomato Pasta