weekend recap

Not that there is a whole lot to report. 

As predicted we decided against heading to the Ellicottville Brewing Company on Saturday, as Evan was still under the weather. The weather which was cold cold cold this weekend. All in all, a great weekend to stay inside, which - except for a trip to Wegmans (our local grocery store) - is exactly what we did. 

Normally this would inspire an ambitious agenda of making things (new recipes, sewing projects, etc) but I'm sorry to say that I was feeling cranky and uninspired, and time was mainly spent on such uninteresting things as laundry, washing dishes and vacuuming. And making Evan tea (which is about the extent of my "nursing" skills). 

Fortunately midday on Saturday I got a call from my mom which put me in better spirits and reminded me that it was time to pop open a jar of pickled curried cauliflower and peppers for a taste.  And taste I did, if consuming an entire pint can be considered "tasting." 

They were intensely pickley, curry-y, gingery. In other words, dangerously addictive. 

Which brings me to something that may be too much information - but since I posted a link to the recipe I feel a sense of obligation to share. When I saw that the recipe called for twelve 1/2 pint jars last weekend I thought, "That's a ridiculously small amount of pickled anything. I might want to give these to friends, and wont it seem kind of miserly to give them a teeny jar with - what - 2 florets of cauliflower packed inside?"

Well. I now have a theory.  

About an hour after enjoying my pint of pickled goods I began to understand why the recipe calls for tiny portions. I think Mr. McClure knows that once you open a jar, you wont stop until its all gone, and will even find yourself googling ways to use the leftover brine. Even a pint of these precious pickled gems doesn't seem like enough when you've reached the bottom of the jar. And I think he also knows that some stomachs cant handle more than 1/2 pint of deliciously intense brine solution-soaked cauliflower in such a high quantity.

Moderation, friends - moderation. 

Buzzing around doing chores all day today, I finally noticed how bright and warm the sun room was around 3:00. Finally having furniture in there for the past few weeks has been wonderful beyond words. I decided to savor the remains of the day's sun with a cup of my favorite tea and catch up on some blog reading.

Before I knew it I was indulging in one of those perfect Sunday afternoon naps. When I woke up, it was getting dark, and time to plug in the mood lighting. 

So the highlights of this simple home-bound weekend really were the breaks in between being "productive." Stopping to smell the roses, if you will - or in this case, to taste the cauliflower and sip (and smell) the wild rose tea.