Dark Days of Winter Week 5: Wine and Cheese

I'm a little behind on this post--Week 5 was the week between Christmas and New Year's, and my diet that week consisted of dessert, butter, gravy, dessert, and meat with a few starchy vegetables thrown in for good measure. And I also had dessert.

Before I talk about my local meal, I have to mention the amazing dessert that my in-laws always serve at holiday meals. It's called a Smith Island cake. This cake is typical of Smith Island, Maryland, and is characterized by multiple thin layers of cake separated by frosting. It's pretty awesome. The cake comes in many different flavors (vanilla with chocolate frosting, carrot, mint chocolate, etc.), but this Christmas the in-laws served this beautiful red velvet cake. As a former resident of the Deep South, I am very particular about my red velvet. This cake gets a thumbs-up. I'm not sure if the bakery used local ingredients, but the cake itself is definitely local to the area where my in-laws lived.

Back to the Eat Local Challenge--I haven't been able to go to the farmers' market because it is open on Sundays, and Christmas and New Year's Day fell on Sunday this year. And I didn't feel like defrosting any of the locally-sourced foods I have stored. I also just wanted to find a light meal after all the holiday excess. So this all-local meal consisted of VA wine, cheese, and apples. This was a new cheese that I tried--it's called Piedmont from the Everona Diary in Virginia, and is soft in texture and sharp in taste. I can't wait to go buy more from this dairy .

Here's wishing everyone a prosperous 2012! I think this is going to be the best year ever.

p.s. Interesting post about the story behind good luck foods that people eat on New Year's Day.

2011 Garden Recap

The Best and Worst of My 2011 Garden

Much like I did last year, I'm going back through some of the things that went well and not so well in my 2011 garden.

 Best -- We grew some first-time crops this year: tomatillos, onions, and broccoli.

Source: thisoldhouse.com via Angela on Pinterest

Worst -- Never quite got my fall garden started. Never quite got my cold frame up.



  

Best -- I feel confident saying that we can grow peppers. We even grew new varieties (like cayenne and Purple Beauty) and had good results with them too!

Worst -- Some things didn't work out well. Like these carrots.

My sunflowers didn't do well this year either. Blooms weren't as prolific as last year and didn't last long. I guess weather conditions in my area were just different this year. :(

Source: colunistas.ig.com.br via Angela on Pinterest

 Best -- YOU--The online community! I've met so many cool gardeners from around in the world and learned more about gardening from interacting with you and reading your blogs. I also feel such a stronger connection to my food now that I grow some of my own. It makes me very excited to keep learning, keep trying new things. I thank all of you for reading and commenting and sharing your garden experiences with me too.

One More Best -- my new garden helper, Cleopatra the adorable Kitten. She is so cute! (Even though she steals cherry tomatoes and hides them throughout the house).


Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2012!

Iceland

So I'm one of the five people back in the office this week. It's actually pretty nice to be there when no one else is, and between you and me, it means I don't have to worry about what my hair looks like.

We took a pre-Christmas mini-break to Reykjavik, Iceland. Because we are crazy enough to go to a remote island so close to the Arctic Circle in the middle of December. Actually there were quite a few travelers there--we met tourists from the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Asia, but it certainly wasn't hectic and crowded, which made it a very nice, relaxing vacation before we came back to the Christmas madness.  I'm still going through my disc, but I thought I'd share a few pictures taken during daylight hours.

{corner cafe in Reykjavik, and nice clear sidewalks}

The weather was actually pretty mild. Temps were in the 30s (Fahrenheit) both day and night, and we weren't too uncomfortable while walking around the city, except for the last day when it was so windy that we had to stop into many cafes and restaurants for snacks and drinks and stuff.  At this time of year there are maybe five hours of daylight, but the Christmas lights and decorations in everyone's homes and office buildings made everything look festive and cheerful and certainly helped me get over the fact that it was pitch black at 9:30 in the morning.

{top to bottom: a re-created Viking lodge that was near a church; the first Icelandic parliament house (I will double check my notes); and a tree decorated for Christmas just outside a church}

And yes, there was tons of snow! When we left Reykjavik and went touring around the countryside, everything was blanketed in white. It was beautiful and so peaceful-looking. Since we had a brown Christmas here in the DC-area (temperatures around 50F on Christmas Day!?!), it was very nice to be somewhere that was a true winter wonderland, especially because I didn't have to shovel it, fight traffic in it, or wait for public transportation in it. The only vegetation I saw was in the form of Christmas trees and other evergreens, but it suited me just fine.

As I mentioned yesterday, Icelandic food was good. Fish and lamb were common, and they tasted so fresh and natural because the fish are caught right off the coast and the sheep are grass-fed and not pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. Before I left, people told me that all I'd get was herring, but I ate a lot of salmon, haddock, and cod. Vegetables were a bit more limited, but that was to be expected. They have greenhouses where they grow tomatoes and cucumbers, but they didn't look or taste as good as what we can get in warmer climates. I'm certainly not complaining, though, it was nice to see the effort. During one meal, my husband's fish and chips came with a delicious mango (!!) salad (imported I'm sure), so it wasn't like everything was completely brown. Oh--can we talk about the butter? The brand I tried (Smjor) was sooo good and creamy, and guess what? They sell it here at Whole Foods! I have already gone out and bought a stick to smother on all my bread.

I wish I could be a professional traveler. I would love to go back someday when everything is green. I'm signing off with a picture of me dressed as an Icelandic Viking.