Oui, c'est mon anniversaire !

As you have seen from yesterdays comments, today is my birthday. Yes, another birthday. I don't feel a day over 60. Maybe that's because I'm turning 59 today. (I don't know who left the anonymous comment yesterday that gave me away — the one signed 'xoxo, "Anonymous"'. Do you?)

By the way, 60 is the new 40, they say: that's when life begins. I can't wait.

There is not a cloud in the sky this morning. The sun shines brightly but it's a little chilly. No frost, though.

05 March 2008

05 March 2006

Sometimes, it's fun to look back through pictures from years past and see what was going on on the same date as today. One year ago, Walt and I were at the Mont Saint-Michel on March 5, and I posted about it back then. But two years ago! Look at the contrast in the two pictures above — you might recognize the first one. Here's another pair from those same dates.

Today (l.) and two years ago on the same date (r.)

We did actually have some snow yesterday, but as you can see it didn't stick at all. Twice yesterday afternoon big dark clouds rolled in, the wind became gusty, and 20-minute showers of mixed rain, sleet, and snow pelted our windows. The temperature dropped to freezing overnight.

Sunset at La Renaudière, 04 March 2008

At about 6:00, Walt and Callie went out for a walk. I went to the bedroom window, looking out over the back yard and out into the vineyard, to watch them go out. The picture above is the sunset I saw starting to happen.

04 March 2008

I stood watching the sky change and taking pictures at different zoom levels for about 10 minutes, and here are some of them.

04 March 2008

Walt was out by the pond with Callie. He was taking pictures too, and I think he posted some of them on his blog this morning.

Walt and Callie by the pond, 04 March 2008

For my birthday dinner, I'm making borscht (or bortsch, as my French recipe spells it). A 85-year-old French woman I knew in Paris way back when used to make it, and I've had the idea in the back of my head for 20 years. The French woman had been married in her youth to a Russian who escaped from Russia in 1917.

Looking around at various recipes, I found out that there are two major categories of borscht. What they have in common is red beets. New York deli borscht is a vegetable soup made with beef stock. Russian borscht is more like a French pot au feu with boiled beef and vegetables.

This is the borscht recipe that inspired me. I think
it is the one my Parisian friend used in the early 1980s.

Russian borscht is what I'm making. I cooked the beef (boned shank) in simmering broth for about four hours yesterday afternoon. In the broth I put leek tops, celery stalks, onions, garlic, allspice, bay leaves, star anise, black peppercorns, fresh thyme, and fresh rosemary (from the yard). Today I'm going to cook carrots, celery, turnips, and beets in the broth along with the beef. Then serve the beef and vegetables in broth with a spoonful or yogurt or crème fraîche. Maybe I'll take a picture or two.