Repairing the Poetry Post

One morning in December, I discovered the poetry post box lying in the front bed on top of a perplexed euphorbia.  The poetry box was either ripped off the post by the Neighborhood Miscreants or simply fell because the screws were too short.  I'll never know.  I scooped up the undamaged box and sat it in the garage where it was slowly hidden by layers of clutter.  My clutter.  Hidden until I took a halfhearted attempt to clean the garage over the weekend, just so I could feel that I had earned my T-bone steak dinner.  

As I pushed my clutter around in the garage, I watched a familiar dog walker approach the post and touch the screw holes on the empty poetry post.  I realized that she felt the absence of the poetry and might fear that the box had been stolen.

So, I shook off the box that still held one rain stained autumn poem.  Oh dear.  And asked My (loving) Pirate to reattach the poetry box to the post with longer screws, while I took pictures.  

That looks so much better.  Now, I don't have to try to dodge the complaints of the poetry lovers in our neighborhood.   Because you know how they get!

I even took some pictures of the dead Rubus Lineatus leaves to possible add to the top of my next poem in the poetry box.  And the T-bone steak was delicious.  

My Pirate and Pok Pok

Ever since I handed My Pirate the new cook book, Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand, by Andy Ricker with JJ Goode, our roles have reversed in the kitchen. I'm running to my new favorite Asian market, Tola Angkor Market, to pick up last minute items like shallots, limes, and mint.  We've been shopping for new kitchen equipment that the cookbook suggests.   A couple of weeks ago we purchased a Thai clay mortar and wooden pestle for mixing salads.  My Pirate is working his way through the salad chapter and I'm loving every minute of it.  

I'm normally the one going through crazy phases in the kitchen, but this time I just get to stand back and encourage him.  And nosh on some pretty amazing food.  Andy Ricker's recipes translated for the home cook make for a convincing version of my favorite Pok Pok dishes.  And whenever I've been able to pry the book away from My Pirate, it's a great read.  So far, his book has exceeded my expectations.  

Som Tam Thai (Central Thai-Style Papaya Salad)

Andy Ricker brought Thai street food to Portland in the form of a food shack named Pok Pok.  Now he runs four restaurants in Portland and two in New York City.  If you live near one of his restaurants, you simply must go and try their Khao Soi curry soup, Vietnamese fish-sauce wings, and a drinking vinegar.  It will change your life or the very least wow you.  Whenever I'm across the river in Portland, I like to drop by Pok Pok and order a bowl of Khao Soi, and add so many roasted pepper flakes that my nose runs as I eat it.  It's fantastic.  

My Pirate uses our new Thai clay mortar and wood pestle to mix up fantastic salad dressings.  

Ricker's cookbook will never take the place of Pok Pok in my heart, but it's wonderful for those nights that we want to stay in and cook.  My kitchen is filling up with new ingredients and kitchen gear and I'm enjoying their influence in our cooking.  Last week, I made a tuna melt out of the leftovers of Yam Tuna, a Thai Tuna Salad and my eyes rolled into the back of my head as I ate it.  Everything old is new again!  

Food 52 recently featured JJ Goode and included several recipes from the Pok Pok cook book.  Check it out.

And out of curiosity, what is your favorite Pok Pok dish? 

Barnaby and Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day January 2014

Last month, my camera lens kept pulling towards the seed heads in my garden.  This week, I was thrilled to discover an emerging Sweet Coltsfoot, Petasites japonicas, blossom in my backyard.   Today, I snuck out of the house to capture a few shots of it while My Pirate was busy cooking out of the new Pok Pok cookbook.  

                                                                                     Now you see it!

Unfortunately, Barnaby decided to help me...

                                                                                       Now you don't!

Oh Barnaby!  

What? What?  Who me?  

Please don't forget to visit our lovely hostess, Carol at May Dreams Gardens and see blooms from around the world!  What's blooming in your garden right now?

A Time to Mourn

Lately, I can’t hold a tune and my cooking is just a bit off.  This happens whenever I’m sad.  And despite, a truly fantastic holiday season, I find myself sifting back through the past.  Here’s why.

My Grandma died in November at 94 years old, but I only learned of it in my Mom’s Christmas card (our only form of contact.)  I had been dreading my Mom’s Christmas card because I worried that my Grandma would quickly follow my Grandfather into the grave.  And she did.

My Grandparents had an extraordinary love, the passionate kind that you read about in romance novels, and they celebrated 74 years of marriage together before my Grandpa died.  I remember watching them as a child, how when their eyes locked everyone else in the room disappeared and wanting THAT when I grew up. 

Grandpa and Grandma’s father’s were friends and they grew up together.  They married on my Grandfather’s 18th birthday and bought their new home and property for $1,200.  My Grandpa worked as an ironworker with his Dad and father-in-law and they were all happy.  Then the cloud of war changed all that.  Grandpa was drafted into the Army to fight in the war leaving my Grandma at home pregnant with my uncle.  She moved back home onto her parent's farm and rented their house out.

Four years later, Grandpa returned home to a son that didn’t know him and in-laws that didn’t want their daughter and grandson to leave.  But leave they did, back to their home to resume their normal life that war had fractured. He discovered that his Mom had disposed of all his things that he had stored at her home because she thought that he would die in the war.  Grandpa returned to work as an ironworker and Grandma once more tried to learn how to cook only for three instead of a house full of hungry farmers. 

Time passed and my Mom was born and they added rooms to their tiny home and eventually dug out a basement.  In the blink of an eye, their children were grown and had kids of their own.  Grandpa retired and they travelled. 

My Grandparents grew up during the depression, experienced the popular boom of the automobile, remembered getting their first family radio, first refrigerator, TV, washer and dryer, dishwasher, saw man landing on the moon, 8 track tapes, microwaves, VCRs, space shuttles, cell phones, and computers.  They saw it all.  And when I prodded them about it their gaze would turn inward and they’d talk about listening to the radio shows with their families while growing up.  Then, my Grandma would pop a joke about how much she loved her household appliances. 

My Grandma taught me how to curse, grow tomatoes, and make a mean tomato and bacon sandwich. I have the same middle name as she did and my hands look just like hers.  I’d like to think that I learned the best from her, and yet I feel looking back, like her life was an unknown continent to me. 

I’m grateful that I saw how she loved my Grandpa.  Even though he teased her about the time that she had accidentally cold cocked him in the face with the refrigerator door and laid him out.  But, love is like that sometimes.  Sometimes, BAM!  It just knocks you over. 

I just wish that I could have kissed her soft crumpled face one last time before she reunited with my Grandpa.  And whenever I dream of them, they look young and happy together.

My Ten Favorite Photos From 2013

Happy New Year!

It's just been over a year since My Pirate gave me my first DSLR camera.  And so for the first time, I'm able to participate in A Tidewater Gardener's yearly ten favorite photo meme. So, please join me as I take a look back to review my favorite pictures.

January 8, 2013

Even though it was a rainy day, I set up my new tripod right under the eaves of the house and took shots of the fading hardy fuchsia blooms.

March 3, 2013

This Indian Plum blossom momentarily cheered me two days after the death of my beloved dog, Maya. 

May 14, 2013 

The arrival of the Royal Wedding Poppy blooms coincided with eighty degree days and an early start to my summer watering schedule.  I adore this flower.

May 20, 2013

Barnaby, our Blue Merle Great Dane puppy, loves to savor sunny afternoons chewing on sticks on the back patio furniture.  Here, he is 11 weeks old.

June 9, 2013

I took this shot on a warm Sunday evening as the wind kicked up off the Columbia River.  I tried to capture the sun glowing through the masterwort flowers,

Astrantia major

, as they danced in the breeze.  

June 15, 2013

With camera in hand, I welcomed the dawn in My Victory Garden and was rewarded with this shot of borage in the morning light with bronze fennel.

August 22, 2013

We celebrated the first night of our road trip vacation with a delicious picnic in our hotel room.

September 8, 2013

This picture captures me falling back in love with my garden after an amazing nursery and garden tour.  Barnaby scratched the door to go outside and I noticed the evening light touching the Japanese Anemone clump and I took a few shots. This shot is a runner up in the Fine Gardening Autumn Garden photo contest and I won a gift certificate. 

December 20, 2013

A light snow with some ice pellets fell and I ran outside with my camera to capture the transformation.  Tomatillo skeletons are beautiful when they are glazed with frost or snow.  

December 5, 2013

Winter sunrises catch the sky on fire.  I took this shot of the Japanese Anemone seed heads looking up though the Douglas Firs at the fiery sunrise.

I love capturing quiet moments of beauty in my pictures.  I used to think that my garden was a mess in the winter, but now I go out and explore.  Dawn and sunset are my new friends.  Seeing my world through the camera lens has opened up my eyes.  

Please don't forget to stop by A Tidewater Gardener to gawk at his gorgeous photos!