Nils is the name of the storm that swept across France last night. It's still blowin' a gale out there, but the wind is starting to subside in our region. We lost power in the wee hours about 02h30; it came back around 04h30. It's still on as I type this. Fingers crossed that it stays on. The sun will be up in couple of hours and we'll get to see if all is well outdoors.
I'm planning a trip to the grocery store this morning. To do some grocery shopping. Some might call it food shopping. Others might call it going to the supermarket or, more simply, going to the market. The name of the establishment might figure in what you call it. As in going to Price Chopper or Kroger, Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. Many are open 24 hours a day. What you're getting there is implied: food.
Depending on where you live and what you like, you might also be going for alcohol. I think that most food chains in the US sell beer and wine. Food stores here in France also sell liquor. In New York state, where I grew up, there is still no wine to be had in grocery stores (supermarkets). There are state-licensed establishments for that. Since 2023, liquor and wine stores in New York can be open between the hours of 10am and 10pm on Sunday (or between 9am and midnight the rest of the week). When I was a kid, beer could not be sold before noon.
Where do you go for food? Wine and spirits?
This is the walnut tree that grows out among the grape vines behind our house. The nuts it produces each year are small and not very good. Certainly not worth the work of shelling them. That said, I used to see one of our neighbors out there gathering them from time to time. He must have had a good use for them, but I never spoke to him about it.
Today's another three-minute day for increasing daylight. The forecast predicts dropping temperatures as the week goes on. Ugh.
The sun rises at 08h08 this morning. We will gain another three minutes of daylight today. This is according to one of the weather sites I visit daily. I'm ready. More light, more warmth. Bring it on.
It's getting to be time to do some outdoor work. Nothing heavy, yet. I'd like to trim the hydrangeas, for example. Maybe it's too early. Working in double-digit temperatures would be nice on a dry day. We'll see.
The pizza damage from Friday wasn't as bad as it could have been. It took me a good half-hour to clean off the pizza stone and the oven, but it wasn't difficult. The pizza itself didn't look good but, as I said, it tasted just fine.
One of the reasons for the faulty crust, I think, is that I mis-measured the flour/water mixture, making the dough wetter than it normally is. I'm also using a softer flour than usual and that might have had something to do with the stickiness of the dough. I thought I had compensated for all that, but apparently not. Oh well. Better luck next time!
The sauce was tomato with ground chicken. We added sliced mushrooms, canned artichoke hearts, and two types of sliced cheese from the Netherlands (Edam and Maasdam). Yum!
There was one little mishap, totally my fault. I didn't realized that part of the first pizza had stuck to the peel. When I jerked the peel to slide the pie into the oven, the toppings went, but the crust stayed behind. Oops. I had to work quickly (with the oven at 270ºC, about 500ºF) to pull it all back together. Fortunately, most of the mess stayed on the pizza stone. It looked horrible, but it tasted fine.
I'm making pizza for lunch today. We have some tomato and chicken sauce in the 'fridge, left over from a previous meal. We'll root around in the pantry for some other toppings. I'm thinking canned artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Photos may or may not get taken.
In the "didja ever notice" catetgory: Did you ever notice that after a cold spell, while the outside air starts to feel warmer, the house acts like a refrigerator, seemingly sealing in the cool air?
