Saturday, September 5, 2009

Days of heaven, maybe




A couple nights ago we took another supper out to the farm. Anita and I got inspired by a peppery sort of Mexican menu and before the food was planned she had pulled a red Mexican blanket from the trunk of her car for a tablecloth and I’d chosen a cd - Flaco Jimenez – All Said and Done. Joe and Becca’s interns Nathan & Sarah joined us, Hannah was there, and Daniel, Joe’s good friend, arrived on his motorcycle with his new puppy, Franky, riding in a box on the back.



While Anita and Denis set up, I finished the poblanos, frying them up in Becca’s cast iron skillet.





Sitting down together in the yard with friends and a loaded table had the distinct feel of eternity – the scent we sometimes get being hundreds of miles or years



downstream from the source. What with the long rays of evening crossing the fields diffusing through the trees, the blend of flavors and textures, sharing stories – it roused hope, the reminder that one day these won't be such a rare moments especially when life is…
Cheez. I’ve been reading too much nineteenth century nature writing. Sounds like I’m channeling James Audubon essays. What I’m saying, okay, is that sometimes God gives grace-filled days and I really, really need to bank them against bad times. Not that I’ve lived with a pessimist or anything, these many years.

This was our menu:

Cucumber-Yogurt Soup with Pepperoncini
(now my favorite cold soup with perfect amount of creamy tanginess)
Flat enchiladas (an easy dish from Hispanic neighbors)
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Tomato mint salad with pomegranate molasses dressing (unusual foody items like this can make me crabby, but this specialty molasses was worth it)
Challah bread & butter
Fresh lemonade
Café Flan with whipped cream and Kahlua. (a flawless melting of flavors when a spoonful is slowly pressed to the roof of your mouth)

You know, if there was interest, I might post some of these recipes. But only...

9 comments:

kate o. said...

and it's good to see that in heaven it will also be cool enough to wear jackets. i was just thinking yesterday that if i have to live all my life in florida, perhaps God will let me live in the chilly part of heaven for awhile.

those poblanos look amazing! stuffed and fried? beautiful.

what a great meal. and i love that unusual foodie items make you crabby. hilarious.

bring on the recipes.

Unknown said...

Yep, there *is* interest! Do post.

Debbie said...

your blog is inspiring and encouraging

Sandra Oster said...

Come on Margie, you post stuff like this and not the recipe's? It is 8 in the morning and now I am craving stuffed poblano peppers and I haven't even had breakfast.
So, so wish I had been there.
S

Kathy said...

There definitely is interest! Please do post!

Alina said...

When I first opened up this post, I thought to myself that those looked like stuffed/fried poblanos. I've had a real hankering to try one ever since watching a show on them last week. I think this is my sign.

Katy Bowser said...

Dear Margie,
THERE IS INTEREST. You are cruel to be kind, friend, making us drool in Nashville at the food and friendship at that table. We want to re-create it here!

Margie Haack said...

Thanks for the prompts! I'll never do that again. Hope they work for anyone who tries them.

Anita said...

It was a fun evening, wasn't it? Franky is so cute. Thank you for posting such lovely pictures and making those pablanos. They leave El Carambas in the dust. Wish we could do one more meal before you leave...