Bachelor Surprise and Refrigerator Soup

I was able to spend a good part of my weekend with K and her husband (and my adorable godson of course), and once again they so generously invited me to stay for a meal. Saturday was pulled pork tacos (the pork was made by K, and very well done I might add) on homemade corn tortillas (a la Z), and Sunday was Bachelor Surprise. K doesn't like to cook much, even though she can and does make good food like awesome red velvet cake; most of the tasty food in the household can be attributed to her husband Z. Z is very much a do-it-yourselfer in the kitchen; he comes from the same school of thought that homemade from scratch is best. He even roasts his own coffee (something Scooter hopes to try after we move); it's because of Z that I discovered and have come to love the "city roast," a roast of coffee that I can't find in the store since it has a much shorter shelf life than the whole bean or ground coffee you can buy. I wish I could accomplish some of what he's able to do, but alas with a shoebox-sized kitchen (that is to say a "galley") cooking everything from scratch is not always possible because I don't have enough workspace or can't fit the appliances into my (microscopic) kitchen. I love eating over there because even if I don't recognize the dish, I know it will be good.

On Sunday when we were eating his latest batch of Bachelor Surprise, he explained what it was and how he made it. He started making it years ago to use up leftover food. It's an amalgamation of the leftovers in the fridge--whatever they might be--seasoned with complementary spices. Because leftovers inevitably change (and the spices he then chooses do too), the dish is different every time he makes it, and sadly there's no real recipe for it. K fondly remembers him meeting her at the airport with a bowl of Bachelor Surprise many a time before they got married.

When she was alive, my grandmother would do something similar with soup. In her house, soup was a staple every day for lunch, except on Sundays when she would make brunch. Every few days, Gramma would make Refrigerator Soup. She would start with a soup starter (a brand that you can no longer find around here) and add leftovers from the fridge: sauteed zucchini and squash, giblets she saved from a chicken she pan-fried, leftover chicken, cut-up cooked string beans, sometimes even pasta, anything that needed to be used before it got too old was fair game. Despite the hodge-podge of ingredients, the end result was always a thick, hearty soup that she was well-known for among family and friends. Her Refrigerator Soup was relished any time of the year regardless of the weather, usually with a small sandwich or two on the side.

Both Z and Gramma didn't work from a recipe--the mixing of ingredients and spices is done by inclination, by feel. And even though no version of Bachelor Surprise or Refrigerator Soup is ever the same, it's still really good. It is the measure of a true cook to be able to create something delicious by just throwing things together sans recipe. Z and my grandmother have/had the idea down, and I would like to think that Scooter and I are coming along with that kind of cooking too. We'll get in a lot more practice once we have a bigger kitchen to work in.

Do you have something you make that you just "throw together?" Feel free to post about it in the comments.

Friday Fireworks

It's tradition in this little coastal town to set off fireworks for Independence Day, although they aren't always scheduled on the actual holiday. Apparently, this is a much bigger local event that I thought. I have seen the fireworks here before, but that was at my great-uncle's house which had the perfect view from the glass-fronted covered deck next to the living room. All the viewing pleasure without having to go out in the cold. And with the TV on and family laughing and joking, we could easily ignore any traffic going by the house.

This time, we were outside on the deck (wrapped up in warm clothing and a blanket) in a house that faces the only access road to the fireworks' ground zero. We had a great view from the house and didn't need to drive anywhere--and good thing too. Apparently, people want to be as close to the fireworks as possible because cars were driving by the house all day. I can only imagine what kind of creative parking people were doing to fit their car in so they could watch the show. I assume that there was much parking on grass and at angles only a protractor could replicate (that is my poor effort at a math joke). To give you an idea of how many people there were, the line of cars after the fireworks stretched all the way to the other side of of the harbor past where we could see (a couple of miles at least). There were still cars going by after 11pm, more than a hour after the show ended. So yeah, it's a popular show in this area.

We also got to enjoy another American summer tradition: smores. Nothing like a good smore washed down with a glass of milk for a little pre-show treat. For those who don't know what a smore is (I do get some international readers apparently), it's made by sandwiching a roasted marshmallow--it needs to be gooey for full effect--and a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers. It's really sweet, but still really good.

There is always a risk that the fog will come in and cause the fireworks show to be canceled. Luckily, that didn't happen last night. The sky remained clear and I could see still see stars when we went back inside. I looked outside this morning and there is a healthy cover of fog over the water. Good thing the fireworks weren't scheduled for today. And I think my sunbathing may be over. The heat wave has broken.

July Travels

I spoke to my mom yesterday. She's dealing with some minor medical issues, and to speed her recovery and keep them from becoming major medical issues she has adopted a personal mantra of keeping things stress-free. Thanks, Mom for the inspiration because at least for this weekend I am doing the same.

Scooter and I have escaped to the coast, back to my aunt and uncle's summer home in the coastal village I love so much. The uncomfortable heat at home means that for the first time ever (at least since I started bringing Scooter up here), the weather is warm enough to spend time enjoying the deck. Last night, after getting into town late, we sat out on the deck for quite awhile, enjoying the quiet and looking at the stars in a clear night sky that should have been shrouded in fog. We relaxed and talked and just were. A drastic change in my chaotic routine, and one I have desperately needed. Stress-free, just like the mantra says.

This morning, we cooked a simple breakfast and ate while sitting in the deck chairs with a chorus of morning bird calls and the harbor's foghorn. I hear the gulls off in the distance at one of the wharfs calling out for food. The sky is a perfect color of blue, although there seems to be a fog bank out in the direction of the ocean that is fighting with the sun and losing. I can see boats coming into the harbor right up the Channel, turning the calm water into white froth. Turkey vultures are soaring through the sky, using the wind to lift them without a single flap of their wings. The warm wood of the deck is soothing on my bare feet and the slight breeze that's making the tree branches gently sway feels delightful. It's really the perfect, idyllic morning and I'm sorry it's taken a few years of coming up here to finally win the weather lottery.

The rest of the day will likely be more of the same. I brought up some of my old art supplies, something I've been wanting to take up again after having been away from sketching and drawing for years. This place inspires me, and I want and hope to somehow capture the kinship I feel with this place. I still think this town would be the perfect setting for a fantasy novel, for it possesses a quiet mystique if you only know how to see it.

Yep, definitely a stress-free day.