Sitting out Hurricane Irene wasn’t so bad and with all the initial talk about a Category Two Hurricane passing right through Boston’s North Shore area .. got motivated. Cut down this dead tree out front that had these white mushroom looking things growing out of it … and so the neighbors are pleased. Drainage pipes installed etc., and of course, the all important food and coffee situation. Gabe got a new twenty-two pound bag of dog food so he was good and I got the coffee preground so that when the power went out, no worries. Pound cake, oatmeal, chicken breast and ingredients for scratch pizza & pancakes. What more do you need for a single hurricane day?
So as expected, the power goes out. And then find that there’s no Chemex© Coffee Filters left. Courtney tried giving me an entire box of the things a few months ago but had to do the magnanimous “no thanks” thing. .. And how many times has that magnanimous move not worked out? .. But there was an old Mr. Coffee with some filters from my parent’s house. So lit the gas range with a match since the electric igniter was out. Swung open the Mr. Coffee Basket, added coffee grounds & water then steeped the coffee as done with a french press. When the coffee was properly extracted, closed the basket with water & coffee grounds over the little Mr. Coffee Carafe. This opened the bottom valve delivering the filtered brewed coffee. And you know what? This stuff was pretty good.
Gabe dozing with his ear sticking up. This dog lives the life of Riley and he only has one job. Protect the house. So it was good to see him jump into action when the wind blew open a door that wasn’t properly latched and go charging in to confront the possible intruder. Dog got a biscuit.
You can read, cook, eat and drink more coffee. And I’ve got to tell you, with no noise but the wind it was pretty centering and peaceful in a way. It’s amazing all the noise around us with the cars going by, the TV, the refrigerator, even the fan from the computer. Nice.. Nothing but the wind. Very, very, NICE.
So as you can see, taking pictures was one of the things that kept me occupied. Found that a plate on the black range with a side light gives a good effect. Above is of course kiwis and a banana on a plate. A really nice snack. Even more enjoyable since you could eat and focus on the food with no distractions. The beauty of the silence cannot be overstated.
When the power did come back on the frig could then be opened. So took a stab at pizza making. .. Two reasons for doing this. The first was that Christopher (the same guy who created “Frankenroaster”, see link to this post below) has been going extremely extreme on pizza making.. and it’s contagious. He goes to the mill to get his flour fresh, grows his own tomatoes & basil and has even started making his own mozzarella cheese from unpasteurized milk. Totally intense & possibly insane. .. But the pies he makes. One of those died and gone to heaven kind of things. You must close your eyes when taking a bite. … The second motivation was from a blog post from King Arthur where they write about a method of pizza making where you use a heavy cast iron skillet set to a high heat on the stove first and then the preheated oven. Results being a gorgeously crispy crust as opposed to the standard lame-oh homemade soggy deal that most of us get.
So gave it a go. Tried a mushroom, onion, garlic, olive oil concoction with a marinara sauce and mozzarella & provolone cheeses. Here’s the pizza out of the oven but still in the cast iron skillet.
Then removed the pizza using a spatula. Checked out the crust and it was pretty good. Browned with this nice oily thing going on. Here’s the pie removed from the pan and placed on the board.
Final picture after taking a slice. .. The crust came out deep dish fashion. Thinking of cutting down the yeast and adding more mass to the oven to really jack up its heat capacity.
So that’s the deal. A day of solitude, sans electronic noise & distractions. One for kicking back, drinking coffee, cooking and taking way too many pictures (you’d faint if you knew how many 
BTW WordPress messes up the color balance so just click on the above food pics for hopefully better quality if interested). .. That’s about it. Diane was going to come by but chickened out when she found out that the Mass Pike was flooded and shut down. … Anyway that was her story and she’s sticking to it.
You know all this makes one realize that we’ve let Sundays slip away from us in a way. Sundays used to be a day for the low key, to just sit on our fat asses. Maybe eat a little too much, maybe drink a little too much. Now I’m not saying that this was necessarily a good thing. However.. Quietude. Peacefulness. Listening to nature. Not being distracted. Experiencing. .. No, , becoming Immersed in our reality and creations. The sound of the wind, brewing a pourover, the actual flavor and warmth of your coffee and foods. Centering. … Good.
So Diane is heading over as I type. The old refrigerator is as loud as ever and the computer has it’s barely noticeable whine. Should have started work about two hours ago. .. you know, but what the hell. Tomorrow taking Diane out to lunch in Boston’s Chinatown (she’s a teacher starting another year in a few days so she deserves it). Then will head over to the “Thinking Cup” by the Common. A cup and a crumpet .. sitting on a bench in the sunshine watching the pigeons and the world go by.
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Christmas gifts.. a new eight cup french press, a new three cup french press. Courtney gets a fancy-pants Technivorm.
