Here I sit.

...and so it begins, 2010

Here I sit. Bra removed, blouse replaced by husband's t-shirt, feet bare. Classical music at moderate volume. Half prosciutto and fig sandwich resting happily in my belly. One small container of cornichon emptied. One cold glass of milk reduced by two thirds. What? Don't you ever eat a nontraditional breakfast? I've seen the view on the way down the hill and have marched back up. I've had coffee with Chris--our conversation touching on such an array of topics that none saw closure before our kiss goodbye in front of his office building.

I'm in no mood to make order of chaos this morning, so I'll begin with something productive from yesterday. I think I really nailed down my favorite rhubarb recipe. Yes, I'm still talking about rhubarb. If you haven't attempted any of the suggestions in my last post, try this one first. It is, without a doubt, my favorite.

Rhubarb with Earl Grey Tea, Cardamom, and Orange Zest
6 fairly indulgent servings

3 cups (six long thin ribs/just under 1 lb) rhubarb roughly chopped into 1" pieces
3 cups (two peeled, seeded, and cored) apple (Braeburn) roughly chopped into 1" pieces
Juice of 1 small Meyer lemon
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons pure cane sugar
Inner seeds of one green cardamom pod crushed well with mortar and pestle
2 bags of Earl Grey tea steeped in 3/4 cup just-boiled water for 3 minutes and then cooled
*Zest of 2 Valencia oranges (1/2 added before cooking and 1/2 added after cooking)
*Vanilla ice cream (!)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place chopped rhubarb and apple in a medium casserole dish or oven-safe pot.

Add remaining ingredients (*retaining the zest of one orange and vanilla ice cream for later) and gently toss.

Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir (It will smell so good). Bake an additional 15 minutes. Fruit should be tender and kitchen should smell even better than it did the first time you opened the oven door.

Done.

I let this batch cool slightly (5-10 minutes), spooned some into a bowl, and topped it with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. I ate the rhubarb as the ice cream melted on top. It reminded me of this. Chris had fallen asleep at this point, but I woke him up and gave him a bite. He liked it too. He even held his eyes open for a couple additional tastes.

Sweet cool cream on warm chunks of rhubarb and apple infused with Earl Grey tea, cardamom, and orange...mmm. It is good cold too. I just checked. It thickens as it cools and I prefer the cooled texture (and color), but I would not give up that first warm taste with the cool melting ice cream. No no no. This is a big batch, eat it both ways.

I have so much more to say (I made this great pizza with Bloomsdale spinach last night and I made Rachel's to-die-for Spaghetti with sardines, rocket, lemon, chilli and anchovy crumbs (oh, those crumbs!) a couple of nights before...I finally read Canal House Cooking Volume N°1, I'm about to pick up Molly Steven's All About Braising from the library, and then there's my knitting and prose and poetry...) but I fear it would all come across as stream-of-consciousness rambling (too late), so I'll spare you.

Do something nice for yourself today. I'll be here, perched beside my kitchen window, writing, drinking my milk, and thinking about the other half of my sandwich.