Saturday Snapshot ... My Culinary Bucket List

I love to cook and bake and create good food, but like everyone who cooks, there are certain dishes that have intimidated me over the years. Last year, I sat down and made a 'culinary bucket list' - a list of dishes that I really want to make before I am relegated to applesauce and prune juice ...

This past week, I conquered ... eclairs! I have to tell you. They were so good ! I'm not sure what the next item will be ... over the past year, I've crossed handmade aioli, madeleines, gnocchi, gateaux de crepes, and a lattice-topped pie off my list ... there are still so many more, though!

What's on your culinary bucket list?

This post is linked to Alyce's weekly photoshare over at athomewithbooks . Click the link and go see what other folks are sharing today ... there are a bunch of links already! Read up on the rules of the photoshare and post yours too!

Saturday Snapshot .... 1 -2- 3 or 3 - 2- 1 ?

I was recently walking through a small gallery that was showing the work of two NYC-based artists - all stark lines of neon color that jarred the eyes in one case. In the second case, these layers and lines of bold oils were slathered over canvas, framed plainly, and lit in such a manner that the 3-D quality of each piece was highlighted.

I chose to photograph the second artist's work, as I found it more intriguing ... although the juxtaposition of the flat neon with the more textured oils was an obvious exhibit decision (I think!).

Like many a gallery visitor, I found myself standing back and then walking in on the paintings. Me and my camera ...

 

1

 

 

2

 

 

3

 

In thinking about posting these snaps, though, I began to wonder what would intrigue more ... 1 -2 -3 shots or 3 -2- 1 shots ... so whaddaya think? Other than wondering what this guy's paint budget is, that is.

 

 

 

 3

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 1

 

 Artwork by : James Walsh

Walking at Night - The Mag 139

 

Midnight Snack - 1984 by Curtis Wilson Cost

 

Walking At Night

 

A lighted window will always draw my eye

Away from the dark road or wooded path
Sometimes a flash of clothing moves past
Or the bright movement from the television

 

I turn away and move down across meadow
Points of flickering green or shimmering red
Greet me from hedgerows with huffs or
Chitters, rustles that move away or fall silent

 

The angular reflections of bouncing light
Stand mute at the meetinghouse  – wavy
In the big old panes of glass, creak golden from
The weathervane that turns to catch night light

 

Sometimes I turn down quiet lanes
Blue white ceilings on porches cast an aura
Around front doors and over porch swings
That sway and squeal softly on the breeze

 

Main Street is always an assault - headlights

And blinkers, cigarettes flashing past with ashes
Trailing - a loud and raucous gauntlet to be run
Signage pops on off on off on off on on on

 

Garish light of neon makes me close my eyes
I squint with an imprint of color and flash
Hard against my lids – the sound of voices
Clink of glass thump of bass echo of music

 

Best is the light that gently falls from above
The pinpoints of light from ages past
Luring my eyes upward and out past red dots
That blink their way across the firmament

 

Passing back into the black and blue of night
I return to our small place at the wayside
A gentle light and movement behind curtains
A warm comfort that waits beyond the step

- Susan Lindquist 10/2012

 

 

shared at Tess Kinkaid's Magpie Tales - The Mag 139 

edit done - 10/16/12

 

 

 

 

'Give Us This Day ...' Saturday Snapshot

" Let there be work, bread, water, and salt for all."

                                                                 - Nelson Mandela

 

I made a lovely loaf of bread this week and was caught up in the thought that many in this world and in this country ( the U S of A) would find a loaf such as this a luxury. That seems wrong to me. I guess I'm a bleeding heart liberal or a socialist or a Communist or a Christian or a dissident or a fool or something. I just want us to spread our personal and national wealth around as far at it will go and I wish every citizen of this great country felt the same way.

Just call me a Pollyanna. It's okay. It would be nothing that I haven't heard from my family and friends ...

 

 

This is a Saturday Snapshot and is shared on Alyce's blog  athomewithbooks ... head on over to check out what others are posting today. Link to the original Saturday Snapshot post for rules on posting your own snapshot ... then, bake a couple loaves of bread and share one ... just a thought!

The Mag 138 - Fast Write Doggerel

Sick Woman – Jan Steen , 1665

Tongue In Cheek

 

I should have known better, dear Doctor -
The lampreys, the quail, and the leeks
I’ve eaten my weight in warm pompion
I’ll feel fat and bloated for weeks.

I should have known better, old Master.

The dinner board groaned with the weight -
The stew made with boar and white turnip
The tarts, nuts and sweetmeats we ate.

I should have known better, kind Counselor.

Now what is this woman to do ?
In payment for leeches, possets, and pats,
I’ve a shitload more cooking to do!


This week's Magpie Tales prompt has hit me where I live ... I spent the weekend entertaining, which meant cooking and cooking and cooking. It was a great time, but I am relating to that poor woman in the prompt.

Hence, a fast write with a nod to common doggerel ...

Fall Foliage - Saturday Snapshot

 

Pearly Pond March

Tell me if you do this, too. I drive to and fro and sometimes never look beyond the lane in front of me and the mirrors inside and to either side of the car. I park the car and walk to and fro on a mission. I move through my world and miss so much of what's around me in the rush to get things done. I swear that sometimes I don't even remember the passage because I have been thinking about some mundane thing or concentrating on getting 'somewhere' to get 'something' done. Do you ever find yourself doing the same?

This weeks Saturday Snapshot is a result of languidly looking aside as I passed one of the many swamps and marshes that dot my end of New Hampshire. The richness of the color palette literally made me stop the car and take a few moments out of a busy Saturday morning of errands to gaze and soak it in. I went home from shopping, got my camera and returned to capture it on film.

Happy Fall from my little corner of New England!

Cat Tail Reeds and Swamp Maples

 

 

 

Golden October

 

 

 

Marsh Panorama

These photos all come from a stretch of road that I have 'passed over' every time I go to the market. Note to self: Drive slower and look around more. It's amazing what you might see.


So there's my Saturday Snapshot ! There are more for you to see at Alyce's weekly photoshare. Click the link  - athomewithbooks . It's amazing what others have stopped to notice and document!