For the four people who check this: I think I'll take a hiatus from the blog for a while.

Yesterday was a day for food.

Cow tongue... venison pâté... fresh sheep's milk cheese on freshly baked Asiago bread... grilled Salmon marinated in soy sauce, Sriracha sauce, ginger and agave nectar... brown and wild rice with butter-toasted almonds and raisins soaked in Sherry...

Sorry, no pictures. Alas.

A big thank-you to Jeff for much of that, and for Hubby for coming to the farmer's market and also for coercing me to try the tongue.

New York/Boston/Maine '09

Finally I got around to editing/uploading all my pictures from my trip onto Flickr. This link will take you to the set if you're interested.
To sum up:
The last day of school for me was June 19 (Friday). On Monday, James and I moved, and on Tuesday morning I flew out to New York to see my parents. I spent two days in the city: highlights include the MoMA (never been before!), sushi, the old guy in Chinatown that was eager to pose for the camera, and my bagel (Liz, pay special attention).











With my parents, I went up to Portland, Maine to visit my sister and her family. On the way, we stopped in Boston so I could have lunch with Brent and Danika. Woot! They are so fabulous I can hardly stand it. Also: I got to add New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont to my list of states. I really liked Maine and Vermont. But New Hampshire? Really? C'mon.













We spent a few days in Maine. Highlights include making dinner with my sister, the beach (surprisingly warm), spending time with my niece and nephew (who remembers me! Yay! It's been a few years), and again, sushi (with Maine lobster).

Cheese.
As a child, I could only tolerate mild cheddar in a casserole or macaroni. When I saw siblings nonchalantly slicing off a chunk and popping it straight I grimaced; who would want that stinky piece of squish in their mouth? Maybe I just didn't like the taste of strong/pungent food, or maybe I had aversion to dairy in general (it took me 25 years to enjoy cottage cheese), but it wasn't until a few years ago that I really started to appreciate cheese. I have to hand it to my sister, Ginny, for introducing me to gouda - one of the first cheeses I could eat simply by itself, an added bonus being that it's a goat cheese so I favored those varieties earlier on. Then, years later, came the Pixton's - with their sharp Irish cheddars and awesome devotion to cheese plates, I was able to safely explore the realm and wonder that is fine cheese.

And now I must say I'm becoming a stalwart fan of dropping a little dough on a fine cheese. Gruyere, Brie, Stilton, simple locally-produced Farmers goat cheese... I look forward to these treats more than I do chocolate these days. (I know! Shocker! I used to be such a chocolate snob I'd travel 20 minutes out of my way just for a truffle sold at one particular shop. One truffle.) This week's selection: a goat cheese crafted in Bend, OR., Brie, blueberry Stilton and lemon peel Stilton. The farmers cheese I actually had a few days ago and had to go back for more.