Snow Day and homemade pasta

It's early morning on a Monday here, and we are snowed in.  Flakes are still falling fast and heavy, and from the looks of it through my window we've gotten at least 9 inches of it since yesterday afternoon.  I worked on Saturday night, beat my way through a horrendously understaffed and chaotic shift, and fretted about the weather all night long.  An extra set of clothes was packed in my car, in case the roads were too dangerous for me to get home.  Luckily the storm parked itself over DC for awhile, delaying its arrival to our area by several hours. 

I left the hospital by 7:45am, and as I drove I saw a large flock of geese flying in a dark V in the grey sky... headed northward.  I pulled over, rolled down my window, and listened to them honk as they flew overhead.  Joni Mitchell sang in my head, "...the warriors of winter give a cold triumphant shout... as all that stays is dying, and all that lives is getting out... see the geese in chevron flight, racing and flapping on before the snow... they've got the urge for going, they've got the wings to go."  I shivered, turned up the heat and continued on my way.   I was home, essential groceries (milk, onions, salad greens) and super fancy coffee drinks from Starbucks (rare treat!) in hand, before the first flurry fell. 

Our plans for this Sunday had been to visit Honeybunch's family, but the storm made that journey unwise for us, and we unfortunately had to reschedule.  Instead, Honeybunch and I decided to spend an evening trying out my Christmas present.  He'd gotten me an Omega juicer, which happens to be an extremely impressive piece of machinery that can not only juice fruits and veggies, but can make nut butters and pasta, grind grains and coffee beans, and act as a food processor.  I mashed together some semolina, whole wheat flour, eggs, and water until it held together in a ball, then passed the dough through the machine to knead it.  I oohed and aahed at how the dough morphed from a sticky, sandy clump to a smooth, elastic ball in just one pass through the machine. 

After wrapping the dough in plastic wrap and letting it rest to allow the gluten to stretch, we fed it through the machine and marveled at how the wads of dough transformed into long, delicate strands of pasta.  Honeybunch is in the process of building me a spiral-style pasta drying rack, but in the meantime we draped tea towels over plastic hangers, strung the pasta up on those and have them hanging from the curtain rods.  It took some practice before we got a hang of how fast to feed the dough into the machine, when to use the "off" button, what length to trim the noodles at, and how to drape them across the hangers without stretching the noodles and causing them to break.  But by the end of it, we had a feel for the process and expect it to become even easier with more practice.

We cooked some of the noodles fresh, and enjoyed a simple meal of noodles with butter and Parmesan cheese.  I was delighted with the texture and flavor.  We currently have about four hangers worth of the pasta drying, and I look forward to seeing if the dried product is superior to store-bought pasta as well.  If it is, I suspect that we'll be making quite a bit more of the stuff very soon.  Pasta is definitely wintertime food for us, and it's feeling more and more like winter every minute here.

Merry Christmas Eve!

I received an early Christmas present today... after a hellish shift last night at work, my supervisor asked if I'd like to be cancelled for my scheduled 7-11pm shift tonight.  I said heck yes!  So instead of being at work right now, I am watching Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in my PJs, drinking spiced mead, and burning a bayberry candle to for socket for luck.  Cookies are out on the kitchen table, wrapped presents lie beneath our brightly lit dwarf pomegranate tree.  I am happy, and full of holiday cheer. 

I hope that you are all as cozy and content as we are here.  Merry Christmas!!

Solstice Eclipse

Last night my Honeybunch and I observed the total lunar eclipse from our backyard.  It was gorgeous.  It looked like a darker eclipse than the last one two years ago.  We got the extra treat of seeing a meteor streak slowly across the southern sky.  Beautiful.  It was too cold to sit outside and watch the transition from start to finish, so we bundled up and went out every twenty minutes or so to observe the changes.  What an amazing thing, to see the moon cycle through all of its phases in one night. 

It is now officially winter, which means one thing to me: the days are getting longer, and Spring is getting closer. 

Best Buy Gift Card Giveaway at FarmGirl Fare

Farmgirl Fare, one of my favorite blogs to browse when I'm in the need of some cute donkeys, is giving away a Best Buy Gift Card sponsored by BlogHer.  The contest ends on 12/22, so enter now!

http://www.farmgirlfare.com/2010/11/review-giveaway-turbo-boosting-my-slow.html

ACLS

I'm signed up to take the "new provider" course for ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support) in January at work.  We're required to be certified within a year of employment, and that milestone is fast approaching for me.  I'm reading the manual, using the accompanying student CD-ROM, and remembering what it feels like to study.  It's been a long time since I last took a test.  It's a bit nerve-wracking, really.

I intend to go back to school, complete my BSN, and go on to obtain my Master's degree as a Nurse Midwife/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner.  These goals are in the back of my mind, always nagging just a bit... but that driving ambition has quieted down a bit, now that I'm earning a living wage with an associate's degree, planning a wedding, and looking to buy some land.  Continuing my education has been put on the back burner, for now. 

I know that some people say that once you've taken a few years off, you'll never go back to school.  I don't believe that.  What motivates me most is boredom, or a sense of stagnancy.  Already I'm feeling a bit bored with my current job.  My new role as a preceptor has been helping with that, as I love to teach.  But how long will that last?  I'm not too eager to jump ship just yet... I do feel something of a sense of loyalty to my current employer.  I've been with them for over four years, first as a phlebotomist and then as a nurse.  At the very least I know I'll be there for a few more months, as the one year mark is sort of the magic number for a new nurse, and I want to be ACLS certified when I submit my applications at other hospitals.  But I'd be content to stay there if a position would open up somewhere else in the hospital, something that would present me with new challenges.

If not, I may go back to school sooner than expected.  If I'm to stay in a position that will soon be old hat for me, then I'll feel an absolute need to challenge myself in some other way.  But I sure do hate the idea of adding to my student loan debt!!!

Baked Goods Swap

We had a wonderful time at the baked goods swap the other night.  I got to take home some of Rosie's almond and honey stuffed pizzelles, some of Heather's homemade pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies with caramel frosting, Sara's grandma's fudge, and Sarah's snickerdoodles.  In addition, I got to spend a wonderful evening talking, laughing and dining with friends.

I decided to make Mexican Wedding Cakes and Almond Cloud cookies.  The Mexican Wedding Cakes were a favorite of my dad's... my mom would make them for him every year, individually wrapped in red foil.  Even now, years after their divorce, and with him living in Israel, he comments on Facebook about craving them.  They're that good... crisp but tender, buttery with a delicate nuttiness.  The Almond Clouds were new to us last year, when my mother stumbled across the recipe in an old newspaper and decided to give them a whirl.  They're some of the tastiest little treats I've found, easy as pie to whip up, and they're great for gluten-free folks as well as they use no flour.



Almond Clouds

325 degrees
20-25 minutes.

10 oz. almond paste
1 cup sugar

Blend together in a mixer or pulse in
a processor.

Put mixture in mixer and add:

2 lightly beaten egg whites
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp. orange oil or
1 tsp. orange peel

Scoop onto parchment lined
cookie sheets. Dust heavily
with confectioners sugar and
indent 3 fingers into center.

Bake 20 - 25 minutes.
Cool on pan.



Mexican Wedding Cakes
350 degrees
15-20 minutes

1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces
1 cup confectioners sugar

Pulse together in processor til
fine.

Cream 1 cup butter in mixer
with ½ tsp vanilla.
Mix together nut mix and
1 3/4 cup flour with a pinch salt.

Gradually add flour mix just
until incorporated.

Chill 1 hour.

Roll into 1 in. balls.
Place 1 1/2" apart on parchment
lined cookie sheet.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until they just
barely begin to brown.
Cool on sheets a few minutes and
roll warm cookies in additional
confectioners sugar.

Preparedness stocking stuffer swap

This amazing idea to pack up preparedness supplies and send them to a like-minded stranger, as detailed here http://selfrelianceadventures.blogspot.com/2010/11/2010-preparedness-stocking-stuffer-swap.html got me all excited.  Tonight I went to the hardware store and procured the $20 worth of goodies I'll be sending to some lady in Georgia tomorrow:

2 emergency blankets
2 packs of waterproof matches
1 pack of regular mouth canning lids
1 LED flashlight with a pack of batteries
3 packs of seeds: spinach, romaine, pickle cucumbers
1 pair of gardening gloves
1 roll of garden twine

It ended up not looking like a whole lot, but I think it's a nice little package of necessities.  I had been planning to pack some first aid supplies as well, like bandaids, antibiotic ointment, rehydration salts, etc... but I hit the $20 cap before I even started in on that.  Next year, maybe!

Holiday spirit

Christmas is but two weeks away, and I'm starting to feel more in the mood for it.  With temperatures dropping down into the teens this weekend, we've finally decided to turn on the heat for the first time this season.  I'm hoping we get a bit of snow.  I'm humming carols to myself as I wash the dishes.  Packages are being wrapped up in (recycled from Honeybunch's shipments of hoop-making supplies) brown paper with silver curling ribbons.  Today I brought home a bouquet of evergreen boughs and eucalyptus, and candles are burning throughout the house as I type.  It feels like Christmas.

All the gift shopping that's really left are the stocking stuffers for Honeybunch and family (my favorite holiday shopping... I love finding fun little treats to tuck into the stockings!), and the stocking stuffers for the Preparedness Stocking Stuffer Swap being organized by http://selfrelianceadventures.blogspot.com/2010/11/2010-preparedness-stocking-stuffer-swap.html .  I think that is just such a great idea, and I'm anxious to get started on putting together a nice package for my swap partner.

There's still lots of baking to do, as my friends will be receiving loaves of homemade bread, cookies and jars of preserves put by in the peak of summer.  Next Friday I'll be getting together with some friends for a holiday goodie swap for which I'll be making my lavender and rose shortbread cookies.  I'll be baking up a whole bunch of them this weekend and will post the recipe with accompanying photos.  Neighbors and coworkers will also be receiving plates of cookies this year, but I haven't decided what other varieties to prepare yet.  Perhaps mexican wedding cookies and almond cloud cookies... my mouth is watering just thinking of it.

On a related note, the winter solstice is joined by a total lunar eclipse this year on December 21st.  I took off from work for it, and have to wonder if the staffing office notices my strange habit of taking time off around significant astrological events.

Miraculous transformation

We all have satellites in our lives.  Exes, long lost friends, distant family members... these people orbit on the periphery of our lives, coming in close enough during the journey of their ellipse only once, maybe twice a year to witness who you are as compared to who you were.  If you're lucky, and if you're open to it, these moments when your paths cross can be a time for reflection and gratitude.

The last time we really spoke, I was living at home with my mother and awaiting my return to nursing school after a year-long hiatus.  I was working in the lab, and at a shop, and I was just learning to hoop, really.  I was turning 21, and while I had a few distant inklings, I had no clear picture of what I wanted my life to be.  We'd just broken up, after nearly two years of dating, and three years before that of very close friendship.  The last time we really spoke, I was losing my best friend.

Now to speak to him, and to tell him about getting married, trying to buy a farm, working on a cardiac floor, establishing my life as a self assured and happy young woman... I realize that I have transformed.  My core is the same, it has never really changed...  I still feel happiest in the middle of the forest, I'm still stubborn and silly and entirely vulnerable to all things cute and fuzzy.  But somehow over the past two and a half years, I've settled into my skin, and found a way to let my core "person hood" guide me through every thought and act of my waking life.  I've built a life that reflects and celebrates what I value and love.  It's not perfect.  It's not often neat.  But it's who I am.  I think I finally understand exactly who that is now.

Productivity

It feels really, really bizarre to not be canning, dehydrating, freezing, or growing any food right now.  I'm kinda freaked out. 

It's not like there aren't other things that need to be done.  There is always laundry, always cleaning, always cooking and baking and tending of the animals.  But eventually, that stuff is done, and it's dark and cold outside, and my body says to me, "sleep, Gelfling".  Lately, I've been listening to it.  A lot.

I have goals this winter... crocheting and knitting projects I want to get done, basic fiddle skills I need to learn, books to read and a wedding to plan.  I've been helping my Honeybunch with the unskilled labor parts of building his LED hoops.  But lately, all I seem to really want to do is curl up under about a thousand blankets and sleep for hours on end.  I feel sort of guilty about it.


The holidays are fast approaching, and I'm starting to get excited about the little gifts I'm finding for my loved ones.  I'll be making a few handmade things as well, such as blown and painted eggs from our girls in a handmade twig nest for my mom, moss terrariums, and air plants in interesting thrift-store acquired containers.  Friends will be receiving loaves of freshly baked bread and homemade preserves.  Etsy.com has been a godsend for those perfect unique little things for my family members.  Where else could I find a t-shirt of a T-rex riding a bicycle??


I'm going to bundle up and head out to the woods for a hike, then swing by the bi-weekly winter grower's market to stock up on tasty local apples.  The rest of the day is a mystery, and I'm just hoping that I stay awake for it.