Winter, AT LAST!

There is little reason to live in New England without Winter. Spring is damp, Summer is measured by the race to get the tomatoes and zucchini ripe before the frost, Fall is nice but there are the leaves. All of these seasons are focused on the coming of Winter. Stock the larder, get out the shovels and the tree decorations and make sure that you have a fresh box of Bell's Seasoning.
Winter is here at last. We are due for a monster snow storm. The wind will blow, the snow will drift, the plow guys will chase each snowflake around town with their pick-up trucks. People will flock to the store for bread and milk and eggs. They will also flock to the liquor store, maybe for some sherry to go with the French Toast.
I went out this morning for something that I wanted and I will be able to survive comfortably for at least four days. My larder is packed and there are many dishes I have been longing to try. I still need to make the fish stock. If I don't make it soon I will have all of the ingredients for nouc mam. I don't have the recipe for the ancient Roman Garum but nobody else does either. That dish may have been the reason for installing a vomitorium.
Yesterday I was going to make the fish stock. I opened the refrigerator and there they were! The sausages looked up at me with a pleading look, unlike the fish that look at me with those big accusing eyes, and the sausages were joined in their appeal by the tomatoes and garlic and onions and mushrooms. Their chorus overwhelmed the fish stock mission and their masterpiece was ladled over linguini and topped with grated asiago. Today might be a good day to make oatmeal cookies or another loaf of that amazing almost-no-knead bread. The bread is baked in the Dutch Oven and comes out better than any artisan bread that I have ever had. Yes, that is a good plan for a snowy New England day. Spend the day loafing. It is Winter in New England. A time for rest and reading and napping and eating, At Last!
As long as the power stays on, this ant will be snug as a bug can be. If the power goes off, I have candles but it is so hard to cook with candles. Fondue maybe. MMMMM. I will try not to think of Giants in the Earth or Ethan Frome. This is Massachusetts, not Minnesota or Vermont. Winter in those places is more of a test than a rest.