Sagittarius Bento

The sun is currently travelling through Sagittarius, the exuberant zodiac sign of international travel, cultural pursuits, philosophy, and high-spirited celebration.

Lucy Ash writes in her excellent cookbook A Taste of Astrology that the foods of this jovial sign are "sweet, fragrant, spicy and strong" and include cloves, asparagus, figs, mushrooms, sage, chestnuts, game, pears,  tropical fruits, and curries.

I'd like to suggest an additional edible metaphor for generous, warm, and adventurous Sagittarius: the dumpling. Culinary world travelers, dumplings have journeyed over vast territories, carrying flavors and delight across borders.

Along Silk Road trade paths, Central Asian mantu, Korean mandu and Turkish manti mingled and offered warming joy. A carefully prepared dumpling embodies craft, pleasure, and the sharing of international influences--all quite Sagittarian themes!

Chilled by newly sharpened December winds, we recently went in search of dumpling comfort at Sichuan Village in Chantilly, VA. Near Dulles International Airport, it is often filled with hungry groups of Chinese tourists just touched down in the D.C. area.

On this visit, there were delicate crystal shrimp dumplings with pretty crimped edges, puffy, tender green vegetable buns, ginger-chicken half-moons, and a selection of excellent pickles. Here are crisp zig-zag cut cucumber pickles drenched in red pepper oil:

Sichuan pickles, pungent and salty:

Crystal shrimp dumplings:

Ginger chicken dumplings:

Salt and pepper squid:

The Sagittarius bento features dumpling varieties from Sichuan Village, along with asparagus, watercress, beech mushrooms, sage, chestnuts, yellow peppers, fresh figs, and an exotic pink Indian coconut sweet with pistachios (photographed on a print of the Turkish Piri Reis map from 1513). Here's to international culinary exploration, exchange, and inspiration!

First Snow and Northern Inspirations

This weekend, the first snow of the season came to our area:

Camellias, cold and wet but still glowing:

And other flares of color amid the snow:

I was craving Old World spicy-sweet flavors as the snow softly fell: cloves and sherry, ginger and black pepper. We recently visited a market with a great variety of German holiday treats:

I took these festive, spicy sweets as the inspiration for Saturday's menu.

 Swedish Red Cabbage, a great recipe from Epicurious:

Above, made with wild blackberry jam and ground cloves: yum!

I was casting about for cauliflower inspiration, and my Mom mentioned a delightful recipe for cauliflower in  goat-cheese cream sauce when we chatted Saturday morning.

To make: steam cauliflower florets until tender, lightly season with salt and pepper. Gently heat cream in a saucepan to gradually thicken, then stir in goat cheese to taste. Pour over cauliflower and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes with fresh breadcrumbs, minced parsley and small dabs of butter.

Another super Epicurious recipe for the main course: Chicken with Shallots and Prunes

And circling back to the spice-cookie inspiration, pears baked with grated ginger and wine, a delicious echo of centuries past from Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of South-West France, garnished with marzipan-spice Zimtsterne cookies:

Monday's bento lunch with chicken, green apples, red cabbage, radish "heart", forelle pear, and spice cookies. Let it snow!

Flying South for Thanksgiving, with Bento Box

This year we drove down to York, South Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with my husband's family. Barb, Jamison's mom, came to York eight years ago; originally from upstate New York she has lived in many international locations.

In York, she's found a place to truly settle, and has created in this quiet town just over the border from North Carolina a world rich in friends and family, nature, and wonderful animals. We share a love of cats, which makes visiting a treat! Here's Niño, King of Cats, guarding the espresso machine. He is the benevolent ruler of this realm, a calm and dignified soul who nurtures the other felines who appear here, adopted by his mom:

And Grayling, a smoky gray princess with a heart-shaped face who purrs and burbles to life around Barb:

Cats in other forms also populate her charming home:

The day before Thanksgiving was beautifully misty and overcast, a perfect day for ambling into town, a short jaunt from the house.

I loved this weathered trellis, wound about with rose vines and morning glories and several birds nests:

A pink rose in bud:

And some sprightly dogs, curious about the visitors:

Luminous coral rose hips on the trellis:

These mysterious structures, marked "Circus Winter Quarters" have always suggested to us an early R.E.M. song with their "Fables of the Reconstruction" aura. At the York Wedding Chapel, delicate and beautiful wrought iron work:

Diana in the Chapel garden:

These buildings looked almost Romanesque in their brick solidity:

The Sylvia Theatre is a restored landmark featuring live entertainment:

For pre-Thanksgiving dinner a meal of salad,

and the amazing lumpia our friend Gaylen made:

Thanksgiving morning dawned chilly and damp. The dining room fireplace made for a quite cozy scene:

Our contribution to the day's feast was a portabella mushroom, fresh fennel, pecan, and golden raisin stuffing. For the stuffing, fresh thyme separated from the stem:

Outside, a pink rose:

And Barb's hens, in earnest conversation:

The Thanksgiving meal: for me, its all about the side dishes! Butternut squash:

Cranberry and orange sauce with ginger:

Our fennel-mushroom-pecan stuffing:

A festive plate (mine):

Aunt Pat brought an amazing apple pie, made with homegrown Granny Smith apples:

Post-meal, candlelit quiet and cats: (above photo by Jamison)

The day after Thanksgiving was wonderfully relaxed--just right for exploring outside and making a Thanksgiving leftovers bento! These hibiscus buds in the garden caught my eye:

As did this lovely spearmint:

Barb helpfully gathered purple-marbled green beans and a decorative wildflower for the bento (I brought the trusty flower-shaped wooden box along for this visit), which also included a toasted roll filled with turkey, fennel-mushroom stuffing and fig jam, red-leaf lettuce, cranberry-orange sauce, local pecans, mint, and a tangerine wedge:

The rich, fertile land here is great for gardening. Barb's basil tomatoes elevate any dish to a sublime, sunny place:

Her fig-strawberry preserves:

Tree branches viewed from the hammock:

Loulou the Lab came by to visit:

While inside, Niño played "Test Your I.Q.":

Overnight, the first frost came, glazing the yard near the fig trees and reminding us of winter, and cozy times ahead: