Bitter Holidays

They were wonderful. The bitter part comes from my very sweet mother-in-law, who took me to their small town's (surprisingly large) herb store in New Hampshire. When she saw my eyes open wide at the jars of gentian and burdock roots, she sweetly smiled. Like my mom, she is patient and kind. She asked why I was so excited and I explained that I've been interested in making my own bitters (for drinks, a la Angostura or Peychaud's) and that burdock and gentian roots are two of the strange ingredients of yore that I've never heard of nor seen before. She nodded sweetly and waited patiently for me to check out, then she purchased said ingredients for me for Christmas. I was thankful and excited. I can't wait to make them. And thanks to Alyson for first showing me the site that has bitter recipes here and here.

Ken and I went to New Hampshire for the holidays to visit Ken's folks. We had a great time and took Kinley along, too. He loved playing in the snow with the other dogs and to follow our tracks while we snowshoed through the woods. At one point, Kinley fell and got stuck in a tree well... just like I did on my first date with Ken. He is my dog.

I got to ride on a backhoe/tractor down to the barn and play in the snow. I got to sleep. Ken watched football and went on hikes with the dogs. We got to spend time with family. We were happy.



We got back on Thursday night and left Friday morning for Bend, Oregon. 30 people in two cabins for New Year's weekend. It was fun. Ken and I skied Mt. Bachelor on Saturday. It was the worst day of skiing of my life. White-out conditions; 50-mile-an-hour winds. I felt nauseated with every turn. I couldn't tell what was high or low. Ken stopped for wait for me, only to realize he couldn't move. Turns out there was a snowbank 3-feet tall within arms reach of him and he couldn't see it without putting out his arm to see why he wasn't moving. Monday was clear and gorgeous. I made pot roast for 30 people. Many thanks to my mom and mother-in-law for teaching me how to make pot roast in the first place, let alone pot roast for 30. As an added bonus, Bon Appetit published almost the exact recipe I made. I read it the day after. PS Parsnips and sweet potatoes are amazing in pot roast. We ran out of veggies; an impressive feat considering the carniverous crew in the house.