Wilmington sits in region of Massachusetts that is sadly bereft of protrusive terrain. Coming from hilly Connecticut, I quickly noticed the lack of sledding opportunities.
From the road, you would never know a sledding track is there, except for the number of cars in the parking lot that appear immediately after a snowfall.
There are two sledding tracks, one steeper than the other. The flatter one is a favorite of the little kids, but the “ruts” tend to be better defined on the steeper track (ironically, making that one the safer track as you’re less likely to drift off-course).
For a couple of years now, I’ve been pushing all the snow in the driveway into a single pile at the end.
As few as six inches of snow makes a pile three feet high, with a run of eight feet.
The kids have dubbed it “Mt. Sled Helens.”
Sledding down Mt. Sled Helens
We don’t have many hills of any decent size in this corner of Massachusetts, so this fills the gap when I can’t drive the girls to the good sledding hills.
We took all of the joneslings to see the Mummenschanz at the VETS Theater in Providence tonight. They come through every few decades – the last time I saw them was 25 years ago.
But first: dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (right around the corner from the theater). We relegated the cousins to their own end of the table.
Joneslings around the kids’ end of the table
I think it’s safe to say we were all in good spirits.
Tortillas are surprisingly easy to make, but it does go a lot faster with two: one to flatten dough while the other cooks the previously-flattened dough. Each tortilla takes about as long to cook as to roll.
These tortillas are good enough to eat plain. They store well in a ziploc baggie.
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
(up to) 1 cup warm water
Steps:
Preheat a large skillet on medium heat (our stove runs hot so it’s more like medium-low, YMMV)
Mix flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl
Cut in oil with a pastry blender or a fork
Slowly incorporate water, mixing until a soft dough forms
Make 2-inch dough balls – probably ten or twelve
Roll flat with a rolling pin. The dough should be as close to paper-thin as you can make it (you’ll probably wind up with cardstock).
You won’t need to flour the surface – if the dough is good it won’t stick (except maybe to the rolling pin)
Cook the tortillas one at a time until they start to bubble, then flip and heat until brown spots form.
I love black bean burgers, which means in my house I’m the odd man out. Used to be that I would only buy them when we went out because they seemed hard to make. That is, until now.
15ozBlack beans, canneddrained and rinsed; I prefer the low-sodium beans
1/2 - 1wholeBell pepper
1smallOnion
3clovesGarlicminced
1Egg
1tbspChili powder
1tbspCumin
1/2cupBread crumbsup to 1 cup may be required
1-4tbspVegetable oil
Equipment
Potato Masher
Skillet
Flat bottom bowl or sauce pan
Method
Finely dice the bell pepper and onion
Mash the beans in the bowl; you may optionally reserve some from being mashed if you like whole beans in your patties
Mix in peppers, onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and egg
Mix in a half-cup of bread crumbs, until you have a dry, grainy paste. If mixture is still wet, mix in small amounts of bread crumbs until it's dry.
Divide into quarters (or fifths/sixths if you prefer smaller/tiny patties)
Fry in a little oil over medium heat until each side is slightly browned
Notes
The patties tend to be "thirsty" and require a bit of oil, generally 1 tablespoon per patty.
Patties freeze exceptionally well; you can throw frozen patties right on the pan.
I tend to make these while I'm making hamburgers as well, and the beef fat substitutes the vegetable oil very well (though it makes the burgers non-vegetarian).
While walking the dog around the lake this morning, I heard the newly-formed ice ‘pinging’ as the sun rose above the trees. Turn up the volume to hear it.
The Christmas tree at Quincy Market, December 2014
We have established some new family traditions around Christmas and New Years:
a family night out to Quincy Market to see the Christmas tree and have some dinner;
the early-evening fireworks on Boston Common for New Year’s Eve.
These are real, official traditions – we’ve done them for at least two years in a row.
The night at Quincy Market isn’t fancy: a casual stroll around the touristy section of Boston, with some overpriced dinner and maybe some trinkets from the various and sundry vendors. A ride on the carousel, before it closes for the year, is mandatory.
My beard makes me look like sasquatch
Along with the Christmas tree there is a light show called ‘Blink,’ which plays every hour or so. Music by the Boston Pops is piped in over the loudspeakers.
We chose to stay home for Christmas Day, rather than travelling to Connecticut to join our folks. That is a tradition I can get behind – so much less stress than driving around all day.
We didn’t plan much for the day. We held open the possibility of going to the cinema, but the girls wanted to stay home and watch a movie we got for Christmas (Guardians of the Galaxy). Having a low-stress holiday is refreshing, so unlike the holidays of my childhood.
My folks weren’t thrilled with not seeing us – my father is very resistant to change, and he’s accustomed to hosting the entire family – but we had Christmas Part II on the following Sunday, which was actually pretty fun.
A pair of starbursts over Boston Common, New Year’s Eve 2014
This year Baba (the kids’ name for their grandmother) joined us for the fireworks. We took the train in, ate dinner in the city, and walked to the Common with hot chocolate in hand.
The weather was cold but the sky was clear. The show ran a little long, about 15 minutes, but the kids were thrilled and we all forgot about the cold for a bit.
I discovered the D’Angelo’s sandwich chain in my late teens and fell in love with their ‘Number 9’ grilled sandwich. It’s very easy to make for yourself and it’s delicious!
This recipe makes enough to feed two or three people (or more, if they’re kids).
