gone to NYC!

managed to pack late last night, no time to take pics of my superbly packed suitcase (hah!). have never gone to nyc with so few pieces of clothing... and only 3 pairs of shoes, might (read will) have to buy some. now heading to the airport, see you on oct 10th!

chicken with pearl barley

pre-cooked breaked barley grain from myllyn paras was the start of today's lunch. it's fairly quick to cook, 20 mins, has more nutrients and fiber than rice and has a more robust flavor







sweated eggplant before sauteeing it in tiny bit of rapeseed oil, then put aside to wait for the next step







barley got chicken to go with, chicken was browned on both sides, leftover 1 dl of 4% cooking cream was added along with juice of half a lemon, parsley and generous amount of black pepper, no salt this time either. after adding the cream bring to a boil and turn off the heat (if your stove is electric) and leave on stove to keep cooking further







barley dish coming together, cooked barley, one coarsely grated big carrot, one eggplant sauteed, 2 tbsp red (or green) pesto, chili powder to taste







you could spice this up a bit more, i usually forget to add onions, which would have been nice in this. i didn't use any salt when cooking, neither did i add any (pesto has some salt in it) later. barley bends nicely to any kind of spicing but is equally tasty as is







one lunch ready to go, the sauce had just the right lemony taste to it






no i will go and pack... maybe

preparing for nyc & pasta

yes, i do realize it's close to midnight and it might probably be a good idea to go to bed already but... there are so many things to "get done". i've been tuning my NFT guide to NYC with small notes of places to see and restaurants to visit, making a schedule (how idiotic is that? new york isn't about schedules, it's the feeling one gets there) and listing this and that. certain someone is going to NYC for the first time so i gotta play tourist guide and take him to a sight or two

have taken out suitcases







thrown some clothes on the sofa as an effort to pack. i think the skirt and orange sweater will meet martha, not sure yet, maybe i'll find something better over there...







getting organized (another yes, i do realize that this is boderline obsessive)







my tuned NFT & schedule







called my friend in the city, she offered to pick us up from JFK, which is super-nice. we are also going to stone barns for harvest fest with other friends. they offered to pick us up from our hotel and drive there, which is also very nice, saves us the hassle of finding the right track at grand central


i think i'll be all set, eventually, provided i don't sleep much. oh well, there is the almost 9 hr flight, plenty of time to catch up on sleep


somehow managed to cook lunch before work, my staple, button mushroom pasta sauce, no meat this time, doesn't get any easier than this







sauteed the mushrooms in a very hot pan with tiny bit of rapeseed oil, added 1 dl of 4% cooking cream and 1 dl of water from the pasta, lots of black pepper, parsley and lemon juice to spice it up, no salt in either the sauce the water pasta was cooked in. my sin of the day was to use white pasta







plated, did use a splash of reduced-sodium soy sauce on top







another quick salad to take to work, arugula, basil, cucumber, mozzarella and sundried tomatoes in oil, no need for dressing because of the oil

deer steaks & oven roasted veggies

as the new hunting season approaches we needed to get something out of the freezer, namely 2 (tiny) tenderloins of a deer (the one that looks like bambi, don't hate me!) that produced 6 tiny filet mignon look a likes







searded them in a hot pan three at a time, in butter-oil mixture, for just a minute using my late grandmother's very well seasoned cast iron skillet







now, don't do what i did... all this get healthy thingy was distracting me at the store and i got the light version of creme fresh, big mistake! so let's pretend that i got the real stuff and carry on. after searing all of the filets, put them all back to pan, add ½ cup of creme fresh and 2 tbsp of cognac (i have a bottle just for this, good enough to drink but not the very good stuff), mix well and put into 180C oven for 15 mins for the fillets to cook further. again, no salt (or pepper) to pan, we seasoned at table. certain someone said it was the best steak he'd ever eaten, well thank you, but you shot it! but it's true, the meat was amazingly tender and tasty, and i happened to get the doneness right







i accidentally went to a store that i've decided to boycott, only remembered that at the door (it's conveniently on the way to the shack). they have a very poor selection of fresh, domestic vegetables and it's supposed to the best time of year for those. anyways, instead of a more versatile root vegetable mix, i only got these (can you imagine, there wasn't a one single parsnip in the store!)







chopped, bathing in rapeseed oil, thyme and ½ cup of vegetable stock (either the real stuff or from one of those cubes)







after 45 mins in 220C, and the 15 mins with fillets in 180C







my portion, it was so good i almost forgot to the a pic







there was salad of mixed greens with lime vinaigrette, but that was somehow forgotten







i'm getting panicky, i've been trying to make a list of sights to see and places (restaurants) to visit in nyc. it's overwhelming, the restaurant list is still over 20 long and if it wasn't for the martha taping i'd know what clothes to pack... dress to impress is no short order!

belated b'day present

go this this cute package from certain someone's mother







inside was this runner







i do like the design, not yet sure where i'll put it to use, back at my apt, or here at the shack... also, not sure if it's autumn, but i'm graving to do some redecorating, my place could use some paint, furniture could be shuffled, curtains might be good... we'll see