Fifteen Degrees Below Cats

It's fifteen degrees farenheight in Brooklyn's backyard, and those kittens I watched grow up during fall are surviving the cold. They're back there now, huddled together in their usual spot which is a vent pipe of some sort that juts off my building into the yard.

As you can see, when I tried to snap another shot Lux scurried down to ground level. See that furry, black blur at the very bottom-center of this photo? That's Lux.

Once he was on the ground, Lux sat still and posed for a photo.

Up above from the warm spot, Tux stood up to check out the commotion, and Hunter hid behind his brother.

It's been a while since I've seen all three cats together like this, and I must say I'm glad to see they're all still doing okay. From the size of them, it looks like someone is still feeding them. I'm still hoping they are all sterile males so I don't end up with a whole colony in the spring....

I'm a nut. I'm a nut. I'm...

I'm a nut. I'm a nut. I'm... NUTMEG!

While visiting my parents last month, they mentioned they were going on a cruise (surprise, surprise) and that Granada, the spice island, was one of the ports they'd be visiting. I asked them to pick up two things for me: vanilla beans and whole nutmegs.

"Nutmegs, Mom asked?" Yes, whole nutmegs. "I have whole nutmegs," she told me. They were left over from who knows when because my parents, it seems, have been to Granada a number of times. And one time, they bought whole nutmegs and didn't know what to do with them. Give them to me, I suggested. And so they did.

Those up there are nutmegs.

This is a nutmeg cracked open.

This is a nutmeg cracked open and ground down a bit.

Nutmeg. Cracked open and ground down.

Fresh. You cannot begin to imagine the fragrance. That packaged, grocery store stuff will never taste the same.

Pizza 101

To ring in year thirty-two (sort of -- a month early), some friends met me at South Brooklyn Pizza where we all enrolled ourselves in their Pizza 101 class. Forty bucks buys you the pizza class, three hours of open bar, and a whole lot of pizza. Consensus: best party ever.

A Shout-Out to Sprouts

Brussels sprouts, that is. While many of us grew up thinking Brussels sprouts grew in a freezer, I'm here to tell you this is an outright myth. If you think you don't like Brussels sprouts, ask yourself if you've ever had a fresh one or if you've only ever experienced the frozen variety. If it's the latter, give the sprout a chance!



Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Set your oven (or in the case of a small household, the toaster oven) to 400 degrees.

Cut your buds in half and toss them into a Ziploc bag or a tight-seal container.

Mince a liberal amount of garlic and add that in. Add some olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Shake it up so the mixture coats the Brussels sprouts.

Spray a baking sheet with Pam and toss your sprouts on there. Turn them so they're cut-side down.

Stick them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. They should be cooked all the way through, and the outer leaves should be brown and crisp.

Remove from the oven and add some course salt to taste.

Send in the Clowns

After this recent new year's eve celebration, I'm not sure anyone is better suited to host new year's eve than the Big Apple Circus. Cindy, Rebecca, Amanda, Pete, and I joined the fun this year in the one-ring tent set up in Damrosch Park, which is actually part of Lincoln Center. The circus ran from 9:30 to 11:30 PM and was followed by a truly different new year's celebration. After the show, the performers passed out bags filled with new year's goodies, including red clown noses. They filled our cups with champagne and the crowd counted down to midnight. Once the clock struck 2010, the live band played on and we all partied with the circus people right in the circus ring.

Check out the video for a look into new years with the Big Apple Circus.

'Twas the day before winter...

Though the official start-day of winter this year is December 21st, the season made an early arrival and dumped about a foot of snow on Brooklyn's backyard.

Here's a view of my block from one direction.



And a view of my block from another direction.




Below is a scene one block away from my apartment. I just couldn't resist taking this photo.




And, in case you need a spot to sit back and relax, why not rest in my backyard?

That's right.

Where I've Bean

I'm a little relieved that my CSA (community-supported agriculture) season is over. While the six months of local, organic veggies were nice, I'm veggied out of my wits by now.

In the last week of the share, I received black beans. Considering I've never made beans that didn't come from a can, I was a bit bewildered.


First, I shucked.

Then I went onto the Internet.

Turns out beans that grow in pods (rather than cans) need to be soaked overnight. Covered with about two inches of water, I soaked the beans.

By the next day, the beans had soaked up all the water. I threw them into a pot with water, garlic, onion, and salt and let the them boil for about an hour before adding lime.

End result: very good. But on this one, I've gotta say I'm fine with the canned version.