Mud House Year

Old Stuff

 

My grandmother taught me at an early age to love and appreciate anything handed-down from generation to generation in our family.   My grandmother’s name was Jane, we called her Mema, and she lived for a very long time.  Her influence on my life, including the many, many things I value and love to this day, is immeasurable. 

Beautiful old glass, rose bowls, gently worn quilts and hand embroidered linens are just a few of the things Mema gave to me as I grew-up.  As a child, I just called it “old stuff.”  As an adult, I suppose “vintage” is probably a better term, but I am going to stick with “old stuff.”   

Please stay tuned for a "how-to" on gifts I am creating for my daughters inspired by lovely old hand-embroidered handkerchiefs and pillowcases that once belonged to my great-grandmother.  I think these will be great holiday gifts and, who knows,  maybe someday they will be handed-down to a new generation!

If Life Gives You Pomegranates...

...Make Martinis!   Fresh, just picked, off the tree, pomegranate martinis.  Without a doubt, these are THE BEST martinis I have ever tasted.  And, I've tasted a few.  If you have never tasted fresh pomegranate juice you are in for a treat. These are truly scrumptious and worth the extra effort.  Here's the recipe.

Fresh Pomegranate Martinis, Mud House Style

Serves 2

1 1/2 cups fresh pomegranate juice from approximately 3 large pomegranates
1/4 cup fresh clementine juice
2 oz good quality, light colored tequila (or vodka or gin)
1 oz Cointreau
2 tablespoons reserved  pomegranate seeds for garnish
2 slices clementine for garnish
2 pomegranate "crowns" for garnish
superfine sugar for rims
ice
sparkling water (optional) if you want to add a little sparkle

    Here's how...

Rinse two martini glasses with cool water and place in freezer.  

If you don't happen to have pomegranate trees nearby, buy 3-4 large pomegranates.  Otherwise, do this...                      

First cut off the ends (save the little crowns!)  then score the fruit all the way around into sections like this...          Pomegranate seeds are beautiful, but the juice stains everything.  So wear your grubby clothes and submerge the fruit in a large bowl of water while you are removing the seeds. This prevents the seeds and the juice from flying all over kitchen.     Next,  scoop the seeds out of the water and gently squeeze with a hand reamer.

This step is very important.  There are other ways to do this but the trick is to NOT crush the seeds.  You want to gently release the juice without adding any bitterness from the seeds.                                                                                 

Open the reamer once or twice, stir the seeds and gently re-squeeze.  Once you have 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice,  use the reamer to squeeze 1/4 cup clementine juice.                             

Now mix the juices, tequila and  Cointreau in a small pitcher and refrigerate while you prepare the glasses.                      

Remove glasses from freezer, rub cut side of clementine around the rim and invert glass into shallow dish of superfine sugar.  Throw reserved seeds into each glass and return glasses to freezer.                              

Fill cocktail shaker with ice, add contents of pitcher and shake.                                 

Enjoy! I know you will.                                                

Tips:

Place a slice of clementine on a toothpick and place crown on top.  It will be loose.

Add a splash of sparkling water after you pour martinis into glasses.

Keep liquor in freezer.  It will not freze and it will be cold when you need it.  

Check out YouTube for some very helpful videos on how to peel the pomegranates.  

Mud House Fall

When we lived in New England, autumn was my favorite time of year.  Real or imagined, the atmosphere changed on September 1st.  Things are different here in the desert southwest.  It is almost October, and the temperatures remain firmly in the 90s. Granted, this is a relief from the 110s of midsummer, but the seasons pass here with almost imperceptible change.  No changing of green to gold, russet and red.  Here the changes are as subtle as slight shifts in the light as the sun's path moves slowly to the south.   At first, you notice cooler mornings and evenings and find yourself outside more and more during these hours.  In colder climates, gardeners are settling inside for the long winter. Here at the Mud House we are outside creating container gardens of peppers, herbs and annuals and planting a small cutting garden.  We are tackling the big job of transplanting and repotting rose bushes into the "rose garden."    We eagerly anticipate the first ripe pomegranate and we may even attempt to harvest those beautiful prickly pears.   Please stay tuned.  I will be posting pictures over the next few months which will hopefully reflect an abundance of roses, vases of colorful flowers, and herbs, peppers, and pomegranates flavoring delicious regional dishes.

The year begins

We recently sold our family home and signed a one year lease on a little mud adobe house in the Sonoran Desert.   I am recording our time in this authentic and charming home by writing a blog about our experiences over the next year.  I hope you enjoy sharing the day-to-day life in a mud house surrounded by the occasionally forbidding, but always beautiful and fascinating desert.  As the seasons pass, I will share with you the things I love to do.  I hope you find this home, and the Sonoran Desert, as inspiring as I do.  So, with an appreciative nod to Peter Mayle,  please join us for our Mud House Year.