Look at the Pretty Pictures

I should write more to go with these pictures, but I'm tired and have had a headache for a few days that I can't seem to shake. I was hoping that neti pot and a hot bath before work would help, but it didn't. Anyway, I think I may have mentioned that Mendy, David's customer service rep down in Tennessee, came to visit last week. Since we had an appointment with the minister last week, as well, we took Mendy with us Downeast so she could get in a little sightseeing. I'm still trying to get all of them off my camera, but I did get a few uploaded to Flickr before I came in to work.

This one is of Mendy in the Schoodic Point section of Acadia National Park. We encountered some heavy flurries, so she had to get out of the car to catch a snowflake on her tongue.



And this one is of the snow clouds after they'd moved offshore. The photo can't quite do justice to the quality of the light, which was shimmering in blue, pink, and silver off the water.



This is the house where my grandmother grew up in Winter Harbor. I have always loved this house, not least because it has a name - Casa Marina. My grandmother's sister owns the house now, and I worry what will become of it when she's gone. I would live here in a heartbeat.



And this one is of the harbor in the little fishing village of Corea. I was reminded of this vista when James posted a harbor photo from his visit to Ireland in this post. The architecture may be different, but the boats are just the same.




Baking Porn



While I was here at work this evening saving puppies and kitties, David was holding a party to christen his new(ish) warehouse space. And even though I wasn't able to swap a shift around with anyone, I was recruited to contribute to the spread of food. So in the wee hours of last night I made some spinach dip, sliced up some veggies and hollowed out a sourdough boule for that. And then I baked the luscious beauty you see above.

I adapted the recipe for "apple cockaigne" from Joy of Cooking. I did a bit of reading, and apparently the Rombauers applied the term "cockaigne" to recipes they particularly liked, Cockaigne being the name of a fictional medieval utopia (and their family home, continuing the theme of named houses). David really likes the part about it raining cheese there (in the fictional version, not at the Rombauer place).

The name was supposedly originally derived from the name of a type of small sweet cake, so I suppose it's appropriate to apply it to this tartlike delicacy, which I adapted to a cranberry-orange filling. I'm told it was very tasty, and I shall post the recipe later, after I've had a chance to get a nap. Have to do something to keep y'all coming back, right?