Category Archives: Lore

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Wedding Season – Part 1

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Art and Creativity, Family, Food, Lore, Weddings

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Amanda and Jedd Willis
– photo by Erin McCracken

My family’s Wedding Season, as my sister Madeline has dubbed it,  is over, and the confetti is settling.  Amanda Harris (my niece) and Jedd Willis were married on May 26, and Rachel Silliman (my daughter) and Bret Aaker on June 30.  The weddings, like the couples, were very different; but both unions were sources of great happiness for the brides and grooms and for those of us who love them.  I have so much to say about Wedding Season that I’ll have to do it in installments.  This is Part One.  And let me just say that my musings will not necessarily be in chronological order.  On something this big, I find that a more stream of consciousness approach works much better.

The first “official” photo of newlyweds Rachel Silliman Aaker and Bret Aaker from the wedding photographer

Rachel and Bret’s Wedding
One thing I’ve learned as I contemplated writing about the week of my daughter’s wedding is that it’s difficult for me to blog without photographs.  My role as mother of the bride, or as we call it, MOB, limited my ability to walk around shooting pictures of everything.  In retrospect, I wish I had photographed more of the casual moments when no one would have cared that I was poking a camera into her face.  Ah, well, the lifelong list of lost photo ops is long.  I did take some.  As we go along, I’ll illustrate with those taken by others and  with the ones I did take.

The wedding party as depicted by flower-girl daughter Lucy Aaker, age 7

The wedding party as depicted by daughter and flower girl Frances Aaker, age 7

So, the wedding.  First of all, in my mind I’m calling it our Big Fat American Wedding.  Not original, I know, but the description definitely gives you the flavor of  its social complexity.  But first some general statements:

  • After a year of planning, the wedding event was beautiful, happy, and as flawless as these things can be.
  • In spite of all surrounding chaos before, during, and in the aftermath of the wedding, Rachel and Bret were the sanest, calmest bride and groom I’ve ever seen .
  • Many people contribute to the success of such an event and, more importantly, such a union.

Frannie and Lucy Aaker strewing petals along the bridal path
– photo by Amanda Harris Willis

By way of follow-up to my earlier post about the dresses I made for Frannie and Lucy,  here’s Amanda’s picture of the girls as they led the wedding procession.

Since the MOB role prevented me from taking photos during the ceremony, I’ll refer you for now to the wonderful images posted by Rachel’s cousin Emily Gibson on her flickr account.  Her video of the dancing is especially appealing and features the children, the flower-girl dresses, and the bride and groom (not necessarily in order of importance). And here’s her image of the ceremony with the bride’s sister Rebecca officiating and Bret’s son, Henry serving as best man.

More to come on Wedding Season…. I warned you about the randomness.

More Mark and Memories of Mecca

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in Art and Creativity, Food, Lore, Travel

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Cooking with Mark Bittman
So this week it’s the Rice and Grains chapter in The Food Matters Cook Book.  Last week was my introduction to bulgur in a chickpea and chicken recipe, so thought I’d venture further into the great grain adventure.  After reading the introductory material in the chapter and most of the recipes (drool…..), I made a trip to Fresh Market and stocked up on ingredients like Quinoa (pronounced keen’-wah or alternatively, kee-noh’uh – I had to look it up) sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut, chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, rolled oats, etc.

I started out the day Tuesday making Mark’s Granola.  It is a thing of beauty and deliciousness and, in spite of no added fat, calories.  I tell myself that they’re healthy calories.  For dinner the same day, I made Chipotle Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans.  This was my first exposure to quinoa and the first time I’ve cooked with chipotle chiles.   It will not be the last!  This is a hearty vegetarian – vegan, even – dish and is filling and very flavorful.  The quinoa has a slightly nutty texture.  I’m a bit of a chicken when it comes to hot peppers, so I used the canned chiles but omitted the adobo sauce, which is very hot.  Next time, I’ll use some of the sauce.  There was some heat from the chiles, but the smoky flavor is fabulous and more heat would add even more flavor, I think.  I have the ingredients for several more dishes from the chapter and can’t wait to try them.

(Re-)Visiting Mecca

"I cannot live without books."

On a dreary winter day it’s nice to remember the adventures of autumn.  Last October my friend Corinne and I visited Washington, DC.  We drove out and stopped in Charlottesville, VA, on the way to see the University of Virginia and Monticello.  Both were intriguing and a great warm-up for a visit to our nation’s capital.  Is it a coincidence that this is the mug I’m drinking from this morning?  I don’t think so. If you’re interested in seeing pictures of our trip, here’s a link.

The highlight of the trip for me, however, was our visit to the Library of Congress.  For a a hard core, card-carrying bibliophile, it was a trip to heaven.  First of all, the place is a temple to learning.

Also, it is filled with art and is an architectural feast.  We lucked out because we were there on Columbus Day and in honor of the national holiday the Reading Room was open for visitors.  Employees of the LOC were on hand to answer questions and (joy!) photography was allowed.  Usually visiting the Reading Room requires a research pass and only quiet study is allowed – and no photography.  In addition, access was allowed to the card catalog room – a huge vault with drawer after drawer of entries.  Of course, I’m sure the catalog of holdings is largely digitized now, but for someone who well remembers using a card catalog to find books, seeing this vast collection was thrilling.

A Celebration and Celebrating Eating

09 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Food, Lore, Random Thoughts

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A Big Event
Saturday night we celebrated Madeline and Dave Harris’s 40th wedding anniversary with a party hosted by me, their daughter Amanda, and our sister Anne.  Forty years!  Same person.  Still sane. Still loving.  Now, that’s something to celebrate.  Friends, family, food, flowers and balloons abounded.  In fact, here’s a picture of Amanda and Anne as they spent a couple of hours detangling balloons whose ribbons had thoroughly embraced one another on the ride home in Amanda’s SUV. They were determined to do it without cutting the ribbons.  At the end of the game, balloons one, women zero.

So, how about a little before and after perspective on the honorees?

Dave Davies, David and Madeline Harris, Jan Davies - Dec. 31, 1971

Dave Davies, David and Madeline Harris, Jan Davies - Jan. 7, 2012

Happy Anniversary (Dec. 31) Madeline and David!  Click here for more pics from the celebration.

Mark Bittman Month
I’ve always had a bit of a No New Year’s Resolutions policy.  For one thing, everybody’s doing it – something I tend to resist.  Secondly, it seems to run counter to my “denial is our friend” mantra.  However, on January One this year, in a moment of let’s just call it weakness, I decided on two resolutions: 1) blog more, and 2) January is Mark Bittman Month.  I also added a couple of New Year’s suggestions, which I may or may not discuss in a later entry.

Rachel and Bret gave me Mark Bittman’s The Food Matters Cookbook for Christmas, so, in keeping with resolution two, last night I made a dinner of Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower from the book and Chicken and Roasted Squash with Kale.  The latter recipe illustrates one of the things I love about Mark’s recipes.  Sometimes they’re more suggestions for combinations of ingredients than actual recipes.  Both dishes were delicious.  (I’d say, “amazing,” but am trying to not overuse that descriptor.)

Mark’s cookbook includes a panegyric to the pot of beans, and so far I’ve cooked a pot of mixed beans for traditional bean soup and a pot of chick peas.  I used some of the chick peas in the recipe mentioned above and plan to use more of them later this week in his recipe for Chickpea Tagine with Chicken and Bulgur from the book.  It sounds amaz…, er, yummy!

Jeanne Silliman
January 9, 2012

Launching The Site

31 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Lore

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For me it’s difficult in both the emotional and creative contexts to describe the origins of sausage soup in my family.  It’s emblematic of the both the pains and the joys of our history.

It seems particularly appropriate to ponder this matter on the anniversary of my mother’s birthday, October 31.  Born in 1919, Jeanne Mae Parks Thrall Croxton (she didn’t use all those names at once) would have been ninety-two today.  Mom died in 2008, just short of her 89th birthday, but her strength, determination, and warmth are still very much alive in the hearts of her five children and her many grandchildren.

Sausage soup originated during our childhood when resources were scarce in a family of five children headed by a single mother working as a secretary.  It began as a way to make tasty dishes from meager ingredients.  Its basic ingredients have remained the same over the years and generations, but their quality and quantity have been improved and refined with practice and improved circumstances.  It is now firmly entrenched in family traditions.  It is a staple of my family’s Christmas Eve celebrations.  I’ve never seen it duplicated anywhere else, so cherish its uniqueness.  We’ve shared the recipe with friends over the years, but I like to think that those who make it think of our family while they’re enjoying its comfort and yumminess.

So, I guess you could say that sausage soup is a metaphor for creating something wonderful out of whatever you have.  Take the yummy stuff, the happy stuff, the painful stuff, blend them together with imagination, tweak them, improve them, add to them.  Then share.  Et voila! SausageSoup.

So here it is, family and special friends.  Read, create, add, share!

P. S. Happy Birthday, Mom!!  I love you every day of my life.

Jeanne Silliman
October 31, 2011