A beautiful lunch made up of buckwheat pancakes cooked with walnuts and spread lightly with my sister’s peach jam. As I’ve said before, I adore pancakes, and especially buckwheat. These browned perfectly, smoothly, and the walnuts added texture. I took a sip of coffee after eating half a pancake, and it was like diving into a Sunday morning.
A moment of serendipity, too, when I turned the page in my magazine and found a photo and little article on salts in the new Savuer. I tore it out and stuck it to the giant post-it on my office door. Salt plays a small, but critical role in this new book, as it often does in our food.
It’s a dark afternoon, threatening snow. I’m off to write more pages.
What little thing is illuminating your day?
ginger root
Honestly? Your post, with the delightful photo of the buckwheat pancakes smothered in that shiny, sunny peach jam.
I am serious about that. In a day filled with challenges (work-related, where the pressure is on by the administration/schoolboard withtactics, subtle and not-so-subtle regarding teaching positions they are willing to cut, one of which happens to be the youngest member of the English Department I chair), insane schedules (classes, meetings, kids’ appointments and play practices, all while the husband is out of town for his usual two nights per week for his job), and general feelings of sadness and distraction (economy and fires-in-Australia related), your blog post has proved a tiny, peaceful haven of good feeling.
Thanks, Barbara, as always. Off now to see if I can grab a few minutes to immerse myself again in your wonderful new book, to get a little more of a happy “fix”, before I have to get children to bed and get ready for another round of the insanity tomorrow. 🙂
–MRM
Okay, so I realized that the photo shows pancakes not spread “lightly” with peach jam. I confess I shot this photo last week or maybe two weeks ago, and I was playing with light, so the focus wasn’t as much about food. Ahem.
Ginger root, Gina? That’s so cryptic!
Mary, I’m glad to have given you a moment of peace. Sounds as if you really needed one.
Not so tiny at 9 pounds but a friend’s new baby born today : )
A good report from the vet that my new puppy’s heart murmur is quite minor and he will probably outgrow it. There had been many bitter tears in the last few weeks, waiting for this update.
The picture in the news of the Australian volunteer rescue worker giving a koala, surrounded by scorched grounds and blackened trees, a much needed drink of water.
A baby! That’s not a small anything. Congrats to your friend, Mel.
Melina, that’s very happy news indeed. Puppy hugs all around.
And koala hugs, too. Do you have the link to that pic, Yvonne?
Bushfires are part of living here in Australia and the 1994 bushfires were the catalyst for my writing. We have enormous respect for the mighty power that is unleashed by nature in ‘our wilful, lavish land’ to quote a line from “My Country” by Dorothea Mackellar. Comforting to know that this enormous tragedy is receiving coverage in the US.
I saw the picture of the koala drinking water!
Barbara, here’s a link to the picture:
http://tinyurl.com/bxzoo7
And here’s a link to the video of when the volunteer firefighters found “Sam:”
http://tinyurl.com/cmme77
Apparently she’s recovering well in an animal refuge and has already found a champion in a male koala named “Bob.” That story is here:
http://tinyurl.com/ajm3ff