Renovations All Around

If you've been following along here through the summer, you know we (barely) survived renovating nearly the entire first floor of our house. Well, the work is now done and I'm ready to unveil it.

But first, I want to show you the *other* renovation that's been going on.

I've been working with the most patient and wonderful Barbara from Kinetic Designs (VinoLuci to you Twitter folks) on a facelift for this blog. We're migrating the blog from this site at Blogspot to a new site on WordPress and I'm really excited to show it to you.

It's a big girl blog now, with my own domain name - www.mrswheelbarrow.com. 

There are no renovations without a little muss, and I'm so sorry, but those of you who have subscribed to the feed will need to resubscribe over at the new blog. Right at the top, on the left, there's a box to enter your email address. That way we can be sure to stay in touch.

Ok. Ready? Here we go. xox

September? Already? NPR Morning Edition and Fig Lemon Thyme Confitures

Yesterday was an amazing day. NPR's Morning Edition ran the canning story at the end of the second hour. I sat in my kitchen, nervous as I've ever been, waiting to hear it.

I loved it. Linda Wertheimer took four hours of cooking and chatting and pulled together a cohesive, charming tale of canning. And I think it did a lot to dispel the notion that canning is onerous.

I'll admit that hearing my own voice on the radio was a bit of a shock. When did I start sounding so much like my mother? Or my brother?

But when I got over all the self-critical stuff, I was really happy.

I knew traffic would be up here on the blog, but never in a million years did I expect to be so overwhelmed so instantly. Every time I checked email, there were 75-100 new messages. And comments here. And on Facebook. And phone messages. Really amazing. I love you all. Thank you for sharing the day with me.

And thank you, Linda Wertheimer, Sasa Woodruff (the brilliant, wonderful producer I worked with) and Leah Scarpelli (the production assistant who recorded all the pings and plops and other sounds of the canning kitchen.) Everyone was so wonderful. All professional, smart, and interested - just as you might imagine from NPR.

There's only one more recipe from the Morning Edition show to share with you, and that's the French-style fig jam we made. This is a very sophisticated preserves, more confitures than jam. The thin slices of lemon are bitter in the same way marmalade has a sweet and sharp taste, and the figgy goodness and honey laced syrup balance beautifully. It's exquisite with cheese - anything from a soft fromage blanc to the more developed aged cheeses - my personal favorite is the Grayson Reserve produced by Meadow Creek Dairy (I find it at Stoneyman Gourmet Farmer, Bethesda Central Farm Mkt.) A sinful lunch? Grilled cheese sandwiches with fontina and this jam.

I've employed the maceration technique I learned from Christine Ferber in order to infuse the syrup with the thyme and give the lemons some time to soften. You can skip this step, but I hope you won't.

Fig, Lemon, Thyme Confitures
Makes 12-4 oz jars

4 lbs. fresh figs - Black Mission figs are gorgeous, Brown Turkey figs were equally lovely
3 organic lemons, sliced very thinly, seeds removed
1 c wildflower, acacia or clover honey
3 c sugar
1 large bunch thyme, tied together

Pour boiling water over the figs, allow to stand for 10 minutes and then drain. Quarter the figs, then place them in a large preserving or other non-reactive pan.

Wash the lemons well and slice very thin with a mandoline or a sharp knife. Remove the seeds. Add the lemons, honey, sugar and thyme to the figs.

Bring the jam to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour into a ceramic or glass bowl, cover with parchment and refrigerate overnight to develop the flavors.

The next day, put the jam back into the preserving pan and bring up to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for five minutes. Remove the thyme.

I like this as a loose jam, but if you want it to be firmer, just add one packet of liquid pectin at this point and follow package directions.

Pour hot jam into hot sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Around here, we'll be working on getting the house put together. I'm very close to showing you all what it looks like - we're just waiting for three more pieces of furniture to arrive and I want to get some art back up on the walls before the grand unveiling.

Bad Blogger

I've been a very bad blogger.

This used to be our tv room. It will be again. So I'm told

The bathroom tile was the first thing finished. I go here just to stare and pray for completion.

The renovations have gotten in the way of everything.

That's Bob. He is my new best friend. I made some pizza last week, so now he loves me.

Picking paint colors. The only task I hate more is picking hardware. Haven't done that yet. Six weeks to select knobs. Insane.

New stairs. Pretty, aren't they?

I barely cook. I'm canning on the weekends in a flash of hot, steamy messes, the kitchen at 90°, barely cooler than the air outside.

Half the time I can't find my camera. The other half of the time, I can't write or hear myself think over the whine of saws and the bang of nail guns.

Forgive me. I promise I'll be better.

I've been in NYC for two days of blissful eating and gathering with online friends for some real-life fun. I've eaten so much delicious food and talked myself hoarse and laughed myself silly.

Stellar dinner at Congee Village. Twelve delectable courses, culminating in karaoke. No, I didn't sing. But everyone else did! My sides still hurt from laughing.

Jellyfish, pig stomach, chicken feet, something I can't remember, and tofu skin wraps. All delicious.

Typical mealtime with bloggers.

Chicken, lobster, whole fish, silky noodles and fantastic rice.

All you wonderful people who came out to play, Kim, Jennie, Gail, Jessica, Jessica, Kian, Marc, Vanessa, and Carol - thank you for making me feel so welcome in NYC, and making me laugh and laugh. Click through for some great blogs full of delicious reading.

Look what Gail (The Tough Cookie) made! We each received one of these cookies - decorated to look just like our latest blog post! Clever clever lady. I love her.

I had a superb lunch at The Spotted Pig with Winnie. We were so busy chatting, neither of us took a single picture, but if you get there, try the rollmops. They were as fabulous as my Grandmother's. And the super skinny fries, served with a burger that was perfection on a bun. Oh! And if they have corn soup? You really must make room.

Finally, the trip culminated in an exceptional dinner at Prune with my two beautiful cousins, Laura and Elizabeth, and Laura's lucky fiance. He's found himself a very special woman.

Chef Gabrielle Hamilton is a genius. Make plans to go to Prune. You will not be disappointed.

Signature Prune appetizers - sardines, triscuits & mustard, radishes with sweet butter and salt, aged goat cheese with salted red onion.

Celery salad. I must try to repeat this. Really refreshing, tart, crunchy.

Lamb shank.

I'll be posting recipes this weekend for some deliicous canning projects. It's time to get into the kitchen and put up the best of summer, before it all goes away.

xoxMrsW

PS I have to be a proud mama here - little Louie graduated from Obedience School this week. How cute is he?

Making Room for the New

This isn't a post about food or about gardens. It's really just about life.

Maybe you've noticed. I like a very controlled, organized life and home. We're about to start a major renovation. These two statements don't always co-exist happily, but I'm determined to get through the next two to three months with a smile on my face. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm hoping to get through the next two months without sobbing. Daily.
Fortunately, this renovation will not include my twin sanctuaries of kitchen and garden. Sure, my little sitting space in the kitchen will have a minor bit of disruption, but not three months' worth.

So, because I'm getting used to sharing my life here, it's time to show you the before. I'm planning to complain a lot. Oh, let me restate that. I'm planning to SHARE a lot of this experience here, if only to reduce the sobs.

This all started out about 8 years ago, when we thought to search for our retirement home. I've chronicled some of that experience here.

"We'll have nice furniture and a cool house when we find The House." was the refrain. As soon as we decided to stay here, we each chimed in with what had to happen. Dennis was all about the trim and the doors. For me, it was all about the furnishings. I wanted a grown up look.

We hired one of my best friends to do the interior design work. Julie Goos has great vision and a talented eye, there's no doubt about that. She's also adept at finding the middle between my taste and Dennis', always in an inspired way.
She blew us away immediately by suggesting some big changes to the doorways and openings on the first floor. They'll be lifted to the ceiling in this renovation, trim removed, so the eye will travel from room to room.

We said "We have no style. We need a style. It's a mishmash." Julie has now defined our style as clean, green, natural and American. It's true, we admire recycled or safely harvested woods, and items crafted by individuals are much more interesting than those manufactured. The pieces she's found already just blow me away. Julie is a curator and we're her fortunate clients.

In the meantime, we're trying to clear out closets and bookcases, making piles for donations, Craig's List, and so on. It's confronting, trying to fit our entire life on the tiny second floor. The workers can have the first floor. It'll be alright. I'll have to open the garage door to get to the laundry room, but I can cope with this, right?

We hope to start in the next few days. And to finish on time and within budget. Uh huh.