(hopefully) my last snowy run

It’s certainly not very spring-like around here.

It was pretty brisk, but also a nice chance to get one more run out of all my cold-weather gear. In fact, this was the first time I tried out my new blue hooded running top (Nike). Scored it on sale from Dick’s awhile back and then the weather warmed up. (I knew it was too good to be true.) I loved having the hood up for the extra warmth.

And I’m glad I ran, since I saw my physical therapist for the first time afterward and she put the kabosh on running–at least until she could evaluate my gait. This bulging disc is really cramping my style. No pain while running, but I understand anything high-impact probably isn’t beneficial right now.

Did my usual 3-mile route, high-stepping through snow for a decent amount of it, which slowed me way down. Time: approximately 29 minutes. Slow. I didn’t wear my running watch, so I’m not sure of the exact time. I think a Garmin might be on my birthday list this year.

Oh. My. Heavens. My birthday is next month. How is it April already?

Oh, right, it’s because we have SNOW on the ground, and that’s throwing me just a bit off.

snovember

So, we had a giant snowstorm back in November. You might have heard of it.

It started snowing Monday night, and I was definitely stressed about having to drive into Buffalo the next day to go to the hospital. I knew if the Buffalo Public Schools were closed, I’d also have the day off. However, the snow was expected in the Southtowns, not Buffalo, so we weren’t sure what was going to happen. Moog rarely closes, so Andrew anticipated going into work.

I woke up around 5:30 with texts on my phone about school being cancelled, so that was a relief. Otherwise, I’d be the lone student who couldn’t make it in…and have to make up the missed time on my own. Later in the morning, we heard Moog was closed as well. By mid-morning Tuesday, the accumulation was growing and it snowed virtually all day. We were out three times to shovel and snow-blow, and that was just to keep it manageable. When we weren’t outside, we were parked on the couch trying to rest up before heading out again just a few hours later. There may have been hot chocolate and episodes of The Walking Dead involved…

Wednesday morning we awoke to sunny skies and not a flurry falling. It was almost surreal. It felt as if we were in the ‘eye’ of the storm, knowing more snow was coming. We spent the day relaxing and visiting the Nyes’ house. That night, we did a quick shovel and snow-blow of the driveway to clear the six or so inches that had fallen the previous night.

The snow returned with a vengeance Thursday, and we were out three times that day to keep up with it. Keep in mind that when it snows this much overnight, the first person up with the dog has to shovel an entire path just so they can relieve themselves. Not fun.

It finally stopped snowing sometime that evening while we were out doing our final clear. By that point, I’d had it with shoveling. I didn’t have anywhere to throw the snow anymore!

On Friday, yet another snow day, Andrew decided we needed to clear the snow off our side roof, which is above our laundry room. To get to it, he used the ladder as a walkway on top of about 3-4 feet of snow.

Shoveling off the roof:

That night we decided to get out of the house–for something other than snow-blowing–and we headed to Main Street to see Mockingjay at our local theater.

Afterward, we walked all the way down to the other end of Main Street to grab a beer before heading home again. I think I made a pizza at home, too…

Our last day of snow removal was Saturday. You can see Andrew’s head on the top of our roof in the photo below. He shoveled all the snow off our roof…and let it all fall right in front of our back door (a.k.a. the door we actually use). I could have killed him. I spent the afternoon trying to get our car out of the driveway, which has been snow-blowed but not quite wide enough all the way down. A kind neighbor came and helped me while Andrew cleared the roof, and then Dad Layer stopped by and the three of us (sans Andrew) attacked the snow piled in front of our door.

If I never shovel again, it will be too soon. (Disclaimer: We’ve already had more snow. It was too soon. Definitely too soon.)

And to think: Buffalo (the city) got, like, NO SNOW. Seriously. Maybe a few inches. We got 90.5 inches. NINETY-POINT-FIVE. Seven and a half feet of snow. In three days. #snovember

the best kind of day

I went on a special adventure yesterday with Mrs. Nye. She invited me to join her on a trip to Lantz’s Bulk Foods, about a 30-40 minute drive (we took a few detours, so I’m not sure exactly how long it would take if you were heading straight there). It’s in Wyoming County (or maybe Lancaster?), near where Mrs. Nye grew up, and is run by an Amish (or Mennonite, I’m not sure which) family.

What a gem it was!

They had a small cafe (cafe implies it was cute and fancy, which it wasn’t; think more utilitarian, perhaps even the kind of hole-in-the-wall place only the locals go), a refrigerated meat and cheese case, a small section of books and cookbooks, and aisles of dry goods.

There were decent amount of people there, both eating and shopping, that it’s clear this store is a landmark among the miles of open farmland surrounding it.

Obviously, the spices and flours captivated me the most. I walked the aisles completely, taking it all in, before I grabbed a basket and, for lack of a better word, went crazy. The photos of my haul follow these, taken at The Valley Inn, in Warsaw. Mr. and Mrs. Nye go occasionally and it’s been on my to-go list for awhile now–we just never think of it.

It’s in a quaint farmhouse just off the road in the middle of the village there. I walked in and felt like I was in Bucks County, Pa., where I used to live. The decor was very ‘Revolutionary War-era’ and classy. In my snow boots, I felt just a tad under dressed! (Thankfully, I’d happened to wear a nice sweatshirt and scarf, and since it’s snowy and we’re in Western New York, everyone else was wearing snow boots with their khakis, too.)

Mrs. Nye recommended the she-crab soup, which immediately made me want it. It wasn’t until the last seven or eight years or so that I’ve come to really like seafood and fish. Growing up, I avoided it like the plague as much as I could get away with, but now I find I really like most of it. New Year’s Resolution no. 6 (or it is 7?): make fish once a week. (We’ll see how long that lasts; Andrew is likely to revolt!)

My soup arrived with little crabs of puff pastry on top!

Despite my resolve to eat more fruits and vegetables and less of everything else, I had to order the rueben. It was calling to me. I have such a hard time ordering salads at restaurants, as I eat them so much when I’m at home. Eating out is such an experience to me that I hate ruining it–especially my first time somewhere–by getting something I didn’t really want in the first place.

Their New York salad sounded fantastic–apples, sweet potato chips, sunflower seeds, hot dressing–but I can make that at home. A rueben, I can’t. (Well, I COULD, but who does that with any regularity?)

I splurged and got the fries in hopes they’d be good–they were. Too good. Andrew will love them. I consider it a personal victory that I left about half of them on my plate.

I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying a cup of coffee with the rest of the gang at the Nyes’ upon our return, and then took Hadrian out for a cold, snowy walk to Firefly Cupcakes. (More on that shortly.)

When I arrived home, I set out my purchases to photo (and show Andrew). Oat and rye flours (both of which I needed and at these bulk prices, I couldn’t refuse), whole-wheat couscous, tapioca, angel food cake mixes (again, about half the price of our local Tops or Wegmans!), spices and some pasta.

My biggest splurge: black cherry juice concentrate. I have a cherry ice cream recipe I’ve been wanting to make for Andrew (his favorite flavor at Graeter’s) that calls for it and I’ve only seen it from King Arthur Flour, which would be more expensive PLUS shipping costs. I threw it in the basket with gusto.

Look! My nails match the Valentines’ Day decors! Cute pink sprinkles and hearts, as well as coarse red sanding sugar.

Look at that price! Half the sprinkles would be double that at Tops. I love you, Amish bulk foods people.

Whole nutmeg. Interestingly enough, I’ve been wanting to grate my own nutmeg for some time now. Andrew even asked if I needed a nutmeg grinder in my stocking this year. I think I can use one of the surfaces on my microplane grater, but I’ll take a small mortar and pestle, as well as an electric spice grinder, honey.

I’ve found that my cookbooks, especially Barefoot Contessa’s, can’t stress enough the difference between freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg. Just opening the lid of the nutmeg convinced me.

I wanted to get Andrew a treat for while I’m gone–heading to Ohio in just a couple hours–and I thought he’d like these:

I could take them or leave them, but he’s already munched away at the bag.

OK, how awesome does this pasta look:

I couldn’t resist.

Another neat thing happened yesterday while we were out. My friend, Wendy, the owner of Firefly, texted me asking about a hummingbird cake recipe. Apparently they’re experimenting with a new cupcake flavor over there and she knows I like hummingbird cake. I don’t even know why I like it so much… Obviously, the banan/pineapple/cinnamon/coconut/cream cheese frosting combo is fantastic, but it’s more than that. Hummingbird cake is an old, Southern tradition reminiscent of the 1950’s. Traditional. Home-maker-ish. Heels and pearls in the kitchen-ish. Everything I’m not but (kind-of) want to be, in my own, updated and modern kind of way.

I was excited. And what a boon it was to be with Mrs. Nye when it happened. We immediately started talking hummingbird cake recipes and baking (as if we hadn’t been already). When we got to her house, she dug out this 1990 issue of Southern Living:

You can see she made a note, “very good,” next to the Hummingbird Cake recipe below. Apparently, it appeared in 1978’s issue and became Southern Living’s most requested recipe! What a treasure Mrs. Nye has right there!

I texted with Wendy and marched myself (and Hadrian–he was in desperate need of some exercise!) over to Firefly where a sweet blonde employee (I wish I’d caught her name) ran a 2-pack of whatever iteration they’re on out to me in the snow.

They’re a little worse for wear–I was walking a giant dog home in the snow–but good thing that doesn’t detract from taste. Wendy thought they were a little too banana-y, and I agreed. When I think of hummingbird cake, my first thought is of pineapple and cinnamon and coconut (which I don’t believe was in the SL recipe, but has become a well-known addition) more than banana. My thoughts: less banana, more pineapple and cinnamon. Perfect amount of coconut. I even found a recipe online that called for ginger, but that’s probably stretching it a bit. I’m a huge fan, but not everyone is. Although just a TINY bit could add a little warmth, especially with the cinnamon…

Anyway, I shared my thoughts with Wendy and am going to deliver the other one to Mrs. Nye, who has the benefit of years of baking experience and is very familiar with hummingbird cake (so many people these days aren’t), and I can’t wait to hear what she says!

As I walked home with Hadrian yesterday, as the sun was going down and despite the icy snow blowing in our faces, I could not even contain my smile as it spread right across my face. A day spent surrounded by good food and dear friends, good conversation, asked for my two-cents on a recipe (who doesn’t like that?), and here I am, walking with Hadrian on an errand. I even saw a friend from school who was volunteering at the co-op office!

Hadrian was happy to be outside and I was happy to take him, enjoying that I can walk to Main Street and see friendly faces along the way. This is my hometown, now, and there isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be.