Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Eat Your Spinach

eat your spinach, said great aunt maudie, and you will grow up to be big and strong

i do love spinach / fresh, organic, baby spinach / so tender it steams in mere minutes

today for lunch i had cream of spinach soup and then, shoving La Cugina Romagna out of the way, made a ravioli filling of spinach and ricotta and eggs lightly flavored with salt and pepper and nutmeg

using egg roll wrappers i made a small selection of ravioli / i had two sizes of egg roll wrappers / one is big enough that you put dollops of filling in four places and then place a wrapper on top / cut them apart with a pizza wheel

the smaller square egg roll wrapper makes one square or fold it over for a triangle like a wonton

hmmm / well, not exactly what i wd call Cuscinetti di spinaci (spinach pillows) / they cdnt hold a candle to the ones i made last year with home made, hand rolled see through pasta

but i wanted to try it anyway / Giada di Laurentiis uses egg roll wrappers / of course, she lives in LA

i eat a lot of spinach / am i big and strong ?

smile

i fluffed up my feather comforter and gave my winter weight quilt a flick and a flip and a fling onto my bed

a year ago i cdnt do this due to the hysterectomy / i am pleased to note that i can do it now

so maybe i wil feel up to skating this winter after all

Monday, November 29, 2004

Indecision Permits Flexibility and Notes on Boredom

BOREDOM : uses of boredom

Boredom is a necessary element of an essential lull / it makes you think about what is important and what is not

Boredom is useful and valuable or else you would get real tired out from over enthusiasm

Bordeom keeps you from doing some stuff and gets you to do some other stuff instead

(the path you choose is the path that chooses you)

~~~~~~~~~~

Honor your reluctant moments / they comprise the phase knows as :

Indecision Permits Flexibility

Clarity comes at the end of a long walk

Honor your urges as well as your hesitations

~~~~~~~~~~

Some Times are : drop ~ spill ~ turn over ~ kick over ~ step in bucket

This is part of Indecision Permits Flexibility

There is plenty of time for introspection and contemplation while you pick up ~ wipe up ~ sweep up ~ mop up ~ and change your shoes

Also consider this :

Stuck Stumped Stupified Stymied ?

How do you get unstuck
without coming unglued ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes what is happening is that you have lost your touch for customary affinities and havent discovered or made the acquaintance of the future as yer / of course / because you are always being in the NOW

Indecision also permits / promotes / encourages

QUICK WILD FANTASIES AND OTHER FEATS OF DERRING-DO

YAY

Sunday, November 28, 2004

Today's Culinary Adventure and Other Activitease To Keep OneSelf Entertained

cheese crackers are success

easy to make / butter cheese flour / a little salt and cayenne

endless variations possible with different kinds of cheeses

the recipe makes a workable dough / chilling it in quarters gives potential for artistic expression

the picture in gourmet shows perfectly round crackers

i made little hearts / spontaneous squares / cheeZit size squares

i ate the left over squiggles dough / hmmmm / cheese butter

they are tasty

Leggings

the leggings came and they are perfect / i put them on right away with a skating skirt (mature lady length)

when the lake freezes i will be ready

i ordered them from Motherhood Maternity / no i am not preggers / i am almost 71 / smile

looking for leggings on line these seemed a likely possibilitea

they have a wide firm elastic waist (the better to hold in that pregger belly) and nice cuffs at the ankle

thank you thank you, shopping goddess

Saturday, November 27, 2004

Instinct Results

Habitual disuse of Instinct causes loss as in What you dont Use, you Lose.

Habitual misuse of instinct causes abuse of spirit

By misuse of instinct i mean twisting your natural instinct in order to fit it in with or merge with outside INFLUENCE

In other words you recognize your natural instinct but realize that to follow such and BE TRUE TO YOURSELF puts you beyond the pale of ordinary human condition hence the Instinct is blurred and distorted and twisted into more acceptable shape

This is definitely misuse of your instincts and is almost as "BAD" as ignoring them altogether for a fake persona is created that is misleading to those around you

It is not easy to be true to yourself when you dont know who you are and it is not easy to follow your natural instincts when you NO who you are

(word play)(smile)

And it is not easy to be true to yourself when you are a multi-faceted kaleidoscopic prismatic visioned Earth Probe disguised as an ordinary human being

On the other hand, recognizing this "true-ism" is helpful in delineating choices that present themselves

Such as this :

It is not possible to involve oneself in "meaningless" endeavors

It is, however, necessary to involve oneself in activitease that challenge ones perception, stimulate ones imagination and stirs up ones creative juices

thusly : a quest for knowledge and information* . . . learn to differentiate between Information and Knowledge

but to continue :

Meaningless indicates behavior that is vapid, habitual, imitative, lacking in spirit, charm, or humor

Mostly it is repetitive in patterns that are predictably self-absorbing and soul destroying

Often it is necessary to practice meaningless behavior in order to discover what it is and what it is not

stayed tuned in for further abstract thought

Friday, November 26, 2004

Our Turkey Dinner

we took a tip from our Italian cousin, la cugina Romagna, and put into the main cavity of the turkey lemon, orange, apple, onion, and fresh herbs for a truly flavorful and juicy feast

in the neck cavity went some "stuffing" of cornbread, celery, apple, onion, tomatillos (we had a bumper crop this year) and walnuts

we are purists about turkey dinners

turkey dinners are all about mash taters whipped with cream cheese, half n half, and butter

taters so dense you can make a well in the center from which the gravy will not run !

turkey dinners are all about rich dark gravy the colour of chocolate filling up that well in the taters and oh put some more on the turkey breast and the stuffing

it is not possible to have too much gravy

to round out the food groups we will have some whole berry cranberrry sauce and something green / one of us wanted peas and another wanted edamame so we had both

that's it

no side dishes involving marshmallows or canned onion rings or molded salads / not even a nut or an olive on the table to nibble to interrupt the flow of turkey, taters, gravy to the gullet

today we will have a turkey sandwich or maybe a follow up lunch that duplicates in smaller portions the feast of yesterday

later this winter we will have turkey pot pies that have been assembled and put in the freezer

just no end to the fun



Tryptophan

tryptophan is an amino acid that acts as a sedative and is present in turkey

hence the query : Does Turkey Make You Drowsy ?

um / well i went to bed immediately after the turkey dinner and i am on my second cup of coffee this morning to rouse myself awake / smile

read about it here :

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/turkey.htm

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Undecided

whether to sign up at blogexplosion

do i care if anyone reads this ?

i think of cactus flowers blooming on the rim / just blooming for themselves and because that is what they are sposeta do / whether anyone sees them or not or admires them when they do come upon them unexpectedly is irrelevant to the barrel cactus

i think of how i was on an e-mail list for a long time and we knew we had "lurkers" / people who read our exchanges but did not announce their presence / this was bothersome to several of our listees but i remember thinking that when i was doing theatre in Rome i didnt have to know who was in the audience every night !

i expected someone to be in the audience / i wonder now / would we have performed had no one showed up ? yup / darn tooting ! we had so much fun then it didnt matter about the audience although it sure was terrific when we had a full house and heard the "bravi" at the end

so, yes, we were doing the theatre primarily for ourselves / for our amusement / for our personal growth / to "stretch our instruments" as a New York acting coach used to say / smile

okay i decided

Thanksgiving

Excerpted from the Iroquois, here's something of a prayer for the day:
Now the time has come!
Hear us, Lord of the Sky!
We are here to speak the truth,
for you do not hear lies,
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now in the beginning of all things
You provided that we inherit your creation
You said: I shall make the earth
on which people shall live
And they shall look to the earth as their mother
And they shall say, "It is she who supports us."
You said that we should always be thankful
For our earth and for each other
So it is that we are gathered here
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now again the smoke rises
And again we offer prayers
You said that food should be placed beside us
And it should be ours in exchange for our labor.
You thought that ours should be a world
where green grass of many kinds should grow
You said that some should be medicines
And that one should be Ona'o
the sacred food, our sister corn
You gave to her two clinging sisters
beautiful Oa'geta, our sister beans
and bountiful Nyo'sowane, our sister squash
The three sacred sisters; they who sustain us.

This is what you thought, Lord of the Sky.
Thus did you think to provide for us
And you ordered that when the warm season comes,
That we should see the return of life
And remember you, and be thankful,
and gather here by the sacred fire.
So now again the smoke arises
We the people offer our prayers
We speak to you through the rising smoke
We are thankful, Lord of the Sky.

Take this and, as you should with all prayers, place it in a bunch of contexts - in yours, in the nation's, in Iraq's, on and on, praying that we know how to be thankful, praying that we know how to be thankful anymore.



thanks to the Rude Pundit

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

blog explosion

so you can sign up here if you want more readers to your poor unread blog

http://www.blogexplosion.com/index.php

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Flashback

now i remember why i gave up wine, mmmmph, and punditry

Monday, November 22, 2004

The Best Coconut Ice Cream

until i made this ice cream the best coconut ice cream i ever had was in Puerto Rico in the seaside town of Naguabo

here is the recipe :

6 egg yolks
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of heavy or whipping cream
16 oz can of coconut milk/cream
pinch of salt
tsp of vanilla
tsp of coconut flavoring

beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and thick

meanwhile scald the cream with the sugar until the sugar is dissolved

add a little of the hot cream to temper the egg yolks, then add all back in the cream pan

cook on moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of a metal spoon

take off the heat / add the coconut milk / the pinch of salt / and the vanilla and coconut flavorings

cool to room temperature, then chill until cold enough to put in the freezer

during the time it is freezing stir it up once in a while

this is really good ice cream and we had it with a sour cream pound cake with a dash of almond flavor

happy birthday cake and ice cream

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Breaking in the new Stove

it's a fancy one

if i understand all the instructions that come with it i will be able to fly a 747

it has touch screen buttons / i hope i dont inadvertently vote for Bush

first i made a cup of espresso / the pot spit on the gleaming glass surface / this must be wiped up immediately / this babe is very demanding

i made a sour cream pound cake too / some of it dribbled onto the oven bottom

never mind / it is self-cleaning

now it is roasting a duck in convection mode

hmmmm / a hummming fan and a little fan icon lights up on the control panel

the cake is for the son-out-laws birthday / it will be drowned in cherry/blueberry compote and demolished with whipped cream

welcome to your new kitchen home, darling new stove

oooops the smoke alarm in my bedroom also welcomes you with its piercing shriek

Saturday, November 20, 2004

i see Jack Palance is still alive and is . . .

in a new movie

he was in a movie with my actor/husband when we lived abroad

they were shooting in Spain / somewhere outside Madrid

we had an apartment with a kitchen so actor/husband invited Jack Palance to dinner

i made spaghetti with meat sauce

he liked it

i told him how when we first lived in Rome the flour i bought had little bugs and worms in it / so i sifted them out

he thought that was cool and that his wife wdnt do that

smile

(memories are such treasures)

The Last BLT of the Season

there is one perfect Tomato that somehow escaped the final freeze

she waits expectantly on the counter as the last three slices of perfect bacon grizzle in the pan

there is some homemade mayonnaise

and there is A New Bread in Town : Simple Neo-Tuscan Boule

cant think why it is "Neo" / hmmmmmm

one of the grocery store Bakery Ladies slices the loaf for me with the handy-dandy slicer

so all the pieces are even

and it is very very fresh !

some mixed salad greens from the Youth Garden Project

what cd be a more delicious breakfast on a cold rainy November saturday morning ?

Friday, November 19, 2004

Blah

Blah blah blah blah blah blah Blahs

Thursday, November 18, 2004

i googled Me and found this from when i was on DaveWorld

the survey

skaterina, 02:51h

the dw list has a survey

some answers ensue

Shoes / when i was younger i wore hussy shoes / high heels and strippy strippy straps / fm shoes / but now i am old lady and i wear sandals or laced up bootish kind of shoes deapending on the season / i favor Clarks of England and Easy Spirit for sensible more or less well made and comfortable shoes / and i always have a pair or two of Steger moccasins for wearing out in the beWilderness

okay that takes care of Shoes

jewelry / small bear token earring in left lobe / the heart attack lobe

beaded / turquoise chain thing to hang my glasses around my neck / five turquoise bears keep me in bounds

my best feature : i have no boundaries / i have know boundaries

okay what else is on the survey ?

meanwhile i had a very good day / being an old lady may possibly have its merits

i made ghee

vegetable broth

a perfect pizza with leeks and gruyere

my body type is harmoniously coordinated / light but strong skeletal structure / capable of impressive upper and lower body strength / id est / like how much weight can you pick up / carry / / and how far can you run / walk / etc / fast or slow

my coffee mug is from the first trip to ocean city maryland since i was in college and the first trip without murphy ally beloved companion protector / all round good dog

it is the Ocean City Mug and only I use it

my hair is silver / cut short in back / and Did I Mention i cut it myself / so it is always cut as cut can

i have brown eyes and the kind of skin that tans easily

oh if i had unlimited funds as in winning the lottery i woud fancy having a private railway car

and of course / tracks / to all the favorite playgrounds

scenic vistas

cool places to eat

say / where is the rink ?

~~~~~~~kickglidesmile~~~~~~~~~~



Wednesday, November 17, 2004

No Bones About It

i gave Dought one of the bones to take outside / the rest went into the large roasting pan / the oven was set at 400' / when the light went out the roasting pan went in on the upper rack / they will brown and later will be put in the stock pot to make broth

i lollygagged around for awhile then decided to take the dogs up to the Slick Rock for a walk / it was a clear crisp sunny morning / we parked at Cluster D / they took off to favorite spots and i strolled down the sandy road / i had brought my journal and a book to read and water so i cd hang out for awhile

there was no one around and no ranger at the entry booth / lovely silence

i remembered the bones in the oven !

oh dear oh dear / and where are the dogs ? i dashed back to the car parked at the far inner end of the camping cluster and drove back up on the Sand Flats Road looking for them

THERE !~ i see them / they are doing their favorite thing / digging furiously / i tramped over the desert, crushing the precious and fragile cryptobiotic soil apologizing to it with every step / Sorry, sorry, oh i am so sorry

i hollered : Dought ! Dot ! Come Right Now ! There are BONES at home !

they came right away all sandy muzzled / they do know what BONES means

hey and guess what ? the oven was cold / it has gone kaput / just like my printer !

well, i'll be darned / will there be one more thing ? like a set of three ?

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Today's watch word is Precipitous

looking before one leaps

diving in head first

jumping off the cliff

into the abyss

plunging headlong into time

uncurbing all impulses

devil may care

stand back ~ get outa my way

who cares what tomorrow thinks

Aw, shucks

when Giada (Everyday Italian) buys clams from her "pescivendolo" (fishmonger) she asks him to "remove the bodies from the shells"

this is "shucking"

and it is why the clams in her dishes are not tough and chewy for when you bring them home in the shell and steam them and then add them later to the hot chowder (even at the last minute) or the garlic/wine/oliveoil/butter sauce for linguini they will be overcooked

i wonder if the gentleman in charge of the seafood section at the Shifty MarkUp wd be willing to shuck the clams for me

smile

hey, no harm in asking !