Last weekend we had the first day of Spring and the day was windy and sharp with cool. Spring is more of a state of mind for me at this point, more about the promise I see in the buds on the Turkish Fig tree we planted today and the scent of the fat cream flowers on the grapefruit tree.
We had some homeless folks who are in a work training program come over to do planting and cleaning outside. The man was personable and bright, the woman not so much. It taught me a little about cognitive abilities that I usually don't have to consider. With her, you had to tell her about each thing that needed done twice. Him, no - got it first run and had already found a way to make it better before I could draw a breath.
I'll be looking for grants to write for this group tomorrow. Helping people help themselves is worth spending my time on.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Those little memory flashes...and PIZZA!
Not long ago, I was ticking through pleasant memories to pass minutes on a sleepless night. I went back to my last radio gig, when I had a really good guy as the music director and morning show and I side-kicked for him.
A side-kick just helps the 'funny guy' be funnier. Write some jokes/bits, be the straight man, be a good second banana. I had done that gig for quite a few guys and was usually their boss. The best ever was my friend Chuck who now works in a top 25 market.
I knew he was good from the beginning and I wished he'd come along back during the heyday of personality radio.
This guy taps into the best of everything. He brings joy to the world he looks at and can communicate that from behind a mike. And he isn't a pain in the ass to skeptical people like me.
He found me on FaceBook today and all of my shelved feelings for this little brother of another mother came back. He is, of course, older and his otter-slick black hair is now grey. And I still want good things for him and would cheerfully kick the pins out from under anyone who offered him harm. My poor dear, stuck with friends who haven't lost their redneck proclivities:)
Anyway, in those ancient days when radio was changing and we could record our voices over music on a hard drive and have it sound live, we tested the studio we were getting. We recorded some normal "DJ" time and drove to my favorite pizza place, Barnaby's, a few miles away and sat with a little radio on our table. We ordered pizza and beer and waited for the top of the hour to come to listen to his voice talk up the next song. We looked at each other with eye-brows arched and eyes opened large and then howled and slapped palms. IT WORKED, and radio would not be the same again.
The pizza was wonderful, as it always is at Barnaby's (Tallahassee, FL) and we scarfed it down so we could scoot back to the studios to see what other magic this new thing could help us do.
Publix Pizza dough
16 oz can good crushed tomatoes
Basil, oregano, thyme, sea salt, ground sage
mild Italian sausage, removed from casing and scramble-cooked
sliced white muchrooms and red onions
Mozzerella and Parmesan cheese
Pre-heat oven to 400
Mix the crushed tomatoes with the seasoning, add more to taste.
The closest I have had to create the at-home Barnaby's experience starts with dough from Publix. You do have to work it and stretch it and settle it on a cornmeal-dusted pizza paddle.
Once you get it stretched to a thinness (this dough bakes thick), prick it well with a pastry pronger or sharp-tined fork.
Slide it onto a pizza pan (I like the ones with holes in them, crisper crust) and put on bottom rack of oven for five minutes. Remove, give a few minutes to cool and then add as much of the sauce as you want, add toppings and cook for another 10-12 minutes.
Pour a cold beer, cut the pizza into slices and enjoy it with a friend.
A side-kick just helps the 'funny guy' be funnier. Write some jokes/bits, be the straight man, be a good second banana. I had done that gig for quite a few guys and was usually their boss. The best ever was my friend Chuck who now works in a top 25 market.
I knew he was good from the beginning and I wished he'd come along back during the heyday of personality radio.
This guy taps into the best of everything. He brings joy to the world he looks at and can communicate that from behind a mike. And he isn't a pain in the ass to skeptical people like me.
He found me on FaceBook today and all of my shelved feelings for this little brother of another mother came back. He is, of course, older and his otter-slick black hair is now grey. And I still want good things for him and would cheerfully kick the pins out from under anyone who offered him harm. My poor dear, stuck with friends who haven't lost their redneck proclivities:)
Anyway, in those ancient days when radio was changing and we could record our voices over music on a hard drive and have it sound live, we tested the studio we were getting. We recorded some normal "DJ" time and drove to my favorite pizza place, Barnaby's, a few miles away and sat with a little radio on our table. We ordered pizza and beer and waited for the top of the hour to come to listen to his voice talk up the next song. We looked at each other with eye-brows arched and eyes opened large and then howled and slapped palms. IT WORKED, and radio would not be the same again.
The pizza was wonderful, as it always is at Barnaby's (Tallahassee, FL) and we scarfed it down so we could scoot back to the studios to see what other magic this new thing could help us do.
Publix Pizza dough
16 oz can good crushed tomatoes
Basil, oregano, thyme, sea salt, ground sage
mild Italian sausage, removed from casing and scramble-cooked
sliced white muchrooms and red onions
Mozzerella and Parmesan cheese
Pre-heat oven to 400
Mix the crushed tomatoes with the seasoning, add more to taste.
The closest I have had to create the at-home Barnaby's experience starts with dough from Publix. You do have to work it and stretch it and settle it on a cornmeal-dusted pizza paddle.
Once you get it stretched to a thinness (this dough bakes thick), prick it well with a pastry pronger or sharp-tined fork.
Slide it onto a pizza pan (I like the ones with holes in them, crisper crust) and put on bottom rack of oven for five minutes. Remove, give a few minutes to cool and then add as much of the sauce as you want, add toppings and cook for another 10-12 minutes.
Pour a cold beer, cut the pizza into slices and enjoy it with a friend.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Will it or won't it??
I am waiting for spring to begin and getting a little cranky about it.
I had plans for a nice grilled supper tonight but it was too damn cold to make my poor husband stand outside and tend the fire.
I'll tell you what I have in mind anyway since it WILL happen;)
2 lb boneless chuck roast, marinated
2 lb skinny aspargus, tough ends snapped
two portobellos, sliced thickly
3 bell peppers - red, orange, yellow
Mix a marinade of half cup extra virgin olive oil and half cup red wine vinegar, whisk in 1/8 tsp ground mustard, 1/2 tsp each thyme and oregano, three cloves of minced garlic. Rinse and pat roast dry, put into a bag with marinade, massage marinade into beef. Put in the fridge for at least an hour, optimally overnight.
Wash and dry peppers, turn oven on to BROIL, put peppers onto a cookie sheet covered with foil (so you don't have to wash the cookie sheet) and place under the broiler, Turn the peppers every 5-7 minutes, as teh skin chars, until all sides are charred a bit. Remove from pan and put into a plastic bag, close bag, let rest 20 minutes or more.
When the peppers have cooled, remove from bag, seed and peel. Section peppers into strips based on where the pepper's bracts are, set aside.
Brush a little olive oil on both sides of the mushrooms and sprinkle with oregano and a little time. Put them aside and grill chuck roast to desired steak-eating temp; start mushrooms when you have five minutes of cooking time left. Grill them OFF direct flame until they are fork tender.
Spray a grill tray with cooking mist or brush with oil, arrange asparagus in one layer and place on grill, tossing spears until crisp-tender.
Your cooking should have items come off in this order: chuck roast, mushrooms, asparagus. The roast needs to sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting. The asparagus has to be watched because it will be done quickly.
Cut the roast along its sections and top each with a strip of pepper. Serve with the mushrooms and asparagus, a little good balsamic dribbled over the asparagus is nice:)
I had plans for a nice grilled supper tonight but it was too damn cold to make my poor husband stand outside and tend the fire.
I'll tell you what I have in mind anyway since it WILL happen;)
2 lb boneless chuck roast, marinated
2 lb skinny aspargus, tough ends snapped
two portobellos, sliced thickly
3 bell peppers - red, orange, yellow
Mix a marinade of half cup extra virgin olive oil and half cup red wine vinegar, whisk in 1/8 tsp ground mustard, 1/2 tsp each thyme and oregano, three cloves of minced garlic. Rinse and pat roast dry, put into a bag with marinade, massage marinade into beef. Put in the fridge for at least an hour, optimally overnight.
Wash and dry peppers, turn oven on to BROIL, put peppers onto a cookie sheet covered with foil (so you don't have to wash the cookie sheet) and place under the broiler, Turn the peppers every 5-7 minutes, as teh skin chars, until all sides are charred a bit. Remove from pan and put into a plastic bag, close bag, let rest 20 minutes or more.
When the peppers have cooled, remove from bag, seed and peel. Section peppers into strips based on where the pepper's bracts are, set aside.
Brush a little olive oil on both sides of the mushrooms and sprinkle with oregano and a little time. Put them aside and grill chuck roast to desired steak-eating temp; start mushrooms when you have five minutes of cooking time left. Grill them OFF direct flame until they are fork tender.
Spray a grill tray with cooking mist or brush with oil, arrange asparagus in one layer and place on grill, tossing spears until crisp-tender.
Your cooking should have items come off in this order: chuck roast, mushrooms, asparagus. The roast needs to sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting. The asparagus has to be watched because it will be done quickly.
Cut the roast along its sections and top each with a strip of pepper. Serve with the mushrooms and asparagus, a little good balsamic dribbled over the asparagus is nice:)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Meow
The Meowies are in fine form tonight. They don't want to stay out long because of the cold but still have some energy to burn so fur is flying, a certain amount of catly cursing is going on and I think someone just hocked a hairball on the carpet.
I woke up to nine of them sharing the bed with me this morning. I know, I know - that sounds like a lot of cats. It is a lot of cats but it works out.
We just started with two, the late Jackson and then-young Romeo; a feral mother showed up with kittens in the back yard and we tamed them but could never get her and she kept producing until she took off. So we have something like 12 tame and "fixed" and four or five I feed but haven't been able to tame. Oh, and the Big-headed males from the neighborhood who come around for wetfood and to flirt with the intact females.
Romeo, my 19-pound Flame Point Siamese, my once-timid Romy, now growls low in his chest when he sees those interlopers. Romy hasn't got the equipment to mate but he considers all of the yard and its residents to be his responsibility. He took one kitten to be his special charge when we first began adopting our windfall. Porter, black down to his paw-pads, bumped his tiny black nose against Romeo's big pink one and it was love.
Po is now grown but still bumps his nose against Romy's and curls up beside him to nap. Sometimes they look like the symbol for Yin and Yang; a black apostrophe curved into a white one.
My little troop have two big litter boxes in the laundry room that I clean often enough to wish cat excrement was a marketable commodity. I'd make bank on even a penny a pound - seriously.
They are ready for me to move to the bedroom. Romeo, Porter, Randy, Cabrillo, George and Trixie, Jerry, Icom, Carrot and Wink will come to the bed but Bill (aka Fuzzbutt), Lo Po (little Porter) and Bo Po (Baby Porter) will sleep wherever they feel most secure. They are the wildest of the group; only Bill likes being petted. LoPo and BoPo are solid black babies just like Porter and have the same curiosity about people that led Po to tame himself.
This morning I realized that cats really do smile. One of my big golden boys (Cab) was laying beside me, purring as I pet him, and I saw him in profile and saw his mouth curved up. I looked at some of the others who were nearby and purring; all had the upturned mouth. I watched them nap and walk and play through the day and saw the way they held their mouths during all of their activities - they definitely express emotion with more than just their eyes and tails.
I have always loved cats and feel very fortunate to have so many who love me back. It's a nice feeling to walk into the yard and have greetings chirped and moawed and miaowed and meowed to me as they leap and roll and trot to me. Most of them are shades of light orange down to red orange (6), then we have brown tabbies (2), black or black and white (4) and precious Wink who manages to be all colors with eyes that are a human hazel shade.
I have always heard that cats are solitary, that cats are not as loyal as dogs nor capable of the unconditional love that dogs show, that cats choose who they love.
I am actually hoping that is true; because if it is, I am a hell of a human.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Sometimes you just have to be unsinkable...and laugh
I had a day this week that would have been perfect in a screwball comedy romance.
It started with a late-to-work, crappy hair day. Copier ate my originals a couple of times, banged my knee against my computer stand twice, spilled some lunch on my shirt - but I was OK. It's Christmas time! I am Happy!
I go home, the newspaper is wet, mail damp but I go into the house to meet the kitties inside and let others in so the feeding can begin.
My nose twitches. I feel like Will Smith in 'Independence Day:' "WHAT the hell is that SMELL????"
Charlie left our bedroom door open in spite of a warning not to since we've had some bad behavior regarding inappropriate poops in there.
That's where my nose led me and I discovered that several kitties had urinated in the same place, ON THE BED, to the point that the comforter, both blankets and top sheet were wet.
My mood has suffered a crack, but I am still chipper and I strip the bed, go open 15 cans of wetfood for the horde,and start sorting the bedding. Sheets go in first.
Did I mention several calls from corporate on an emergency of their own making? Yah.
The washer has begun to fill and I wipe up catfood spills but the water sounds odd. Sounds close, smells fresh, like it is hitting air..OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THE WATER IS SHOOTING FROM THE CLEAN-Y PLACE-Y SPOUT!!!!!!
I turned the machine off, figured out the problem and looked at a wet litter box rug, wet laundry room floor and decided I'd been a good soldier long enough.
I poured a glass of wine, called my husband and told him he was bringing supper home because I would not be cooking it!
If I had continued on my Pollyanna day, supper would have been Ham Pie since I had brought some good, salt cured country ham home from my mother's house.
Ham Pie
2 slices salt cured country ham
water to cover
milk
3 boiled eggs, chopped fine
big batch of biscuit dough
This is so easy it ought to be taught to girlscouts!
In a heavy-bottomed pot bring the ham slices and water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cook until you have a dense, hammy broth. Remove from heat, fish out the ham and cut into bite sized pieces. Just put those into the bowl with the diced eggs.
Add about 3 cups of milk ( I prefer organic) to the pot with the ham broth and bring to a high simmer (watch it, milk can scorch). Turn it up to a boil and as soon as the bubbles start begin dropping teaspoonfuls of biscuit dough into the pot. 5 or 6 is good for a small ham pie.
Turn the milk back down to a high simmer and let the dumplings cook while you grease an 8x8 glass pan and preheat the oven to 350.
As soon as the pan is greased, pour in the milk and dumplings, add the ham and egg dice, make biscuits with the rest of the biscuit dough (flatten the biscuits a little) to form a cover.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the top biscuits are done.
I always serve this in bowls and any left over I add milk to for re-heating. Use whole milk!
It started with a late-to-work, crappy hair day. Copier ate my originals a couple of times, banged my knee against my computer stand twice, spilled some lunch on my shirt - but I was OK. It's Christmas time! I am Happy!
I go home, the newspaper is wet, mail damp but I go into the house to meet the kitties inside and let others in so the feeding can begin.
My nose twitches. I feel like Will Smith in 'Independence Day:' "WHAT the hell is that SMELL????"
Charlie left our bedroom door open in spite of a warning not to since we've had some bad behavior regarding inappropriate poops in there.
That's where my nose led me and I discovered that several kitties had urinated in the same place, ON THE BED, to the point that the comforter, both blankets and top sheet were wet.
My mood has suffered a crack, but I am still chipper and I strip the bed, go open 15 cans of wetfood for the horde,and start sorting the bedding. Sheets go in first.
Did I mention several calls from corporate on an emergency of their own making? Yah.
The washer has begun to fill and I wipe up catfood spills but the water sounds odd. Sounds close, smells fresh, like it is hitting air..OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THE WATER IS SHOOTING FROM THE CLEAN-Y PLACE-Y SPOUT!!!!!!
I turned the machine off, figured out the problem and looked at a wet litter box rug, wet laundry room floor and decided I'd been a good soldier long enough.
I poured a glass of wine, called my husband and told him he was bringing supper home because I would not be cooking it!
If I had continued on my Pollyanna day, supper would have been Ham Pie since I had brought some good, salt cured country ham home from my mother's house.
Ham Pie
2 slices salt cured country ham
water to cover
milk
3 boiled eggs, chopped fine
big batch of biscuit dough
This is so easy it ought to be taught to girlscouts!
In a heavy-bottomed pot bring the ham slices and water to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cook until you have a dense, hammy broth. Remove from heat, fish out the ham and cut into bite sized pieces. Just put those into the bowl with the diced eggs.
Add about 3 cups of milk ( I prefer organic) to the pot with the ham broth and bring to a high simmer (watch it, milk can scorch). Turn it up to a boil and as soon as the bubbles start begin dropping teaspoonfuls of biscuit dough into the pot. 5 or 6 is good for a small ham pie.
Turn the milk back down to a high simmer and let the dumplings cook while you grease an 8x8 glass pan and preheat the oven to 350.
As soon as the pan is greased, pour in the milk and dumplings, add the ham and egg dice, make biscuits with the rest of the biscuit dough (flatten the biscuits a little) to form a cover.
Bake for about 30 minutes until the top biscuits are done.
I always serve this in bowls and any left over I add milk to for re-heating. Use whole milk!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Shades of Age and food for life
I saw someone today whom I have loved for many years and he has become a shadow of himself. He was once a robust man full of ideas whose very presence brightened a room and wooed all within that room to his way of thinking.
As far as I can tell my beloved friend is not ill, just confused about the best path to a long and healthy life.
He is not the first person I've known or heard of who believed that nearly starving oneself will lead to longevity. As for me, the only really old people I've ever seen who were in their full senses and in control of their faculties had some meat on their bones. Not fat, just not ascetic.
I love food and love to cook and love knowing that I can orchestrate meals that are good for us.
I hope to convince my friend that good eating is good for him - and I may start with some of these recipes.
Sausage Gumbo
I know, that just sounds awful, but the lycopene in the tomatoes, cayenne and chili in the seasoning, and the general goodness of onions, peppers and celery are all good for a body.
1 bag cut okra or one pound fresh, cut into 1/2 slices
1 pound sausage links, country sausage preferably
1 red onion, diced
2 diced bell peppers
3 diced celery stalks
1 can chicken broth
2 32 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
9 tbl Wondra flour
7 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Seasoning: Chili powder, thyme, garlic salt, paprika, sage and a bit of cayenne - sea salt and ground pepper OR just get some good Creole seasoning, like Tony Cachere's and add to it.
Pour the oil in a big pot over medium high, add flour when the oil shimmers and begin whisking the flour into the oil. Make a nice roux, I've never had it take more than eight minutes of steady whisking when I use Wondra and olive oil.
Pour your diced trinity into the roux and stir to cover and cook for a minute, add the sausage, tomatoes and broth and stir again. Add enough water to cover everything and add an inch.
Now the waiting starts - simmer and stir, add Okra, then simmer and stir some more, then taste and season.
The gumbo should be done and delicious after an hour and is usually better the next day as the flavors love up on each other:)
Serve over Jasmine rice and feel good about eating good food that has lots in it that's good for you!
I just took a pot of this to my son and daughter-in-law this afternoon to keep them nourished as they celebrate their first week as parents. The scent of my gumbo gently re-heating on their stove wafted my way when I kissed my little grand-infant farewell.
I left knowing they would eat well and that my tiny Pixie infant would get the benefit of it later when her Mama nursed her.
As far as I can tell my beloved friend is not ill, just confused about the best path to a long and healthy life.
He is not the first person I've known or heard of who believed that nearly starving oneself will lead to longevity. As for me, the only really old people I've ever seen who were in their full senses and in control of their faculties had some meat on their bones. Not fat, just not ascetic.
I love food and love to cook and love knowing that I can orchestrate meals that are good for us.
I hope to convince my friend that good eating is good for him - and I may start with some of these recipes.
Sausage Gumbo
I know, that just sounds awful, but the lycopene in the tomatoes, cayenne and chili in the seasoning, and the general goodness of onions, peppers and celery are all good for a body.
1 bag cut okra or one pound fresh, cut into 1/2 slices
1 pound sausage links, country sausage preferably
1 red onion, diced
2 diced bell peppers
3 diced celery stalks
1 can chicken broth
2 32 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
9 tbl Wondra flour
7 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Seasoning: Chili powder, thyme, garlic salt, paprika, sage and a bit of cayenne - sea salt and ground pepper OR just get some good Creole seasoning, like Tony Cachere's and add to it.
Pour the oil in a big pot over medium high, add flour when the oil shimmers and begin whisking the flour into the oil. Make a nice roux, I've never had it take more than eight minutes of steady whisking when I use Wondra and olive oil.
Pour your diced trinity into the roux and stir to cover and cook for a minute, add the sausage, tomatoes and broth and stir again. Add enough water to cover everything and add an inch.
Now the waiting starts - simmer and stir, add Okra, then simmer and stir some more, then taste and season.
The gumbo should be done and delicious after an hour and is usually better the next day as the flavors love up on each other:)
Serve over Jasmine rice and feel good about eating good food that has lots in it that's good for you!
I just took a pot of this to my son and daughter-in-law this afternoon to keep them nourished as they celebrate their first week as parents. The scent of my gumbo gently re-heating on their stove wafted my way when I kissed my little grand-infant farewell.
I left knowing they would eat well and that my tiny Pixie infant would get the benefit of it later when her Mama nursed her.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuna Poke!
Tuna Poke, pronounced "Po-Kay," is a Hawaiian dish that I tasted at Cafe 30-A last Saturday night and decided that I had to learn to make!
I bought some sushi tuna from the sushi chef at Publix that he had packaged with toothpick cuts of cucumber and carrot for some thing or another (they won't just sell it to you), freshly picked oak leaf and frisee lettuce and had the rest at home.
If you try, you can buy good tomatoes out of season. The ones on the vine are good after a week on the counter - by the way, never refrigerate tomatoes unless you've cut them.
My attempt came out well but will be different next time. I had bought some pretty, picked-this-morning oak-leaf and frisse lettuce and used it as a base topped with thinly sliced ripe (really!) tomato, toothpick cucumber and carrot and then a timbale of the raw tuna in small chunks with diced avocado dressed in lime juice, sea salt and pepper.I made a dressing to dip into of good EVOO, parsley and lime juice with a splash of red wine vinegar.
There was just too much greenery and the whole dish was enough for two.
Next time, thinly sliced baby or English cucumber, sprinkled with sea salt and topped with thin slices of the tuna. Small dice of the tomato and avocado dressed with ground pepper, sea salt and lime juice along the side and a drip of good EVOO on the edge of the plate for the occasional dip.
That should work:)
I bought some sushi tuna from the sushi chef at Publix that he had packaged with toothpick cuts of cucumber and carrot for some thing or another (they won't just sell it to you), freshly picked oak leaf and frisee lettuce and had the rest at home.
If you try, you can buy good tomatoes out of season. The ones on the vine are good after a week on the counter - by the way, never refrigerate tomatoes unless you've cut them.
My attempt came out well but will be different next time. I had bought some pretty, picked-this-morning oak-leaf and frisse lettuce and used it as a base topped with thinly sliced ripe (really!) tomato, toothpick cucumber and carrot and then a timbale of the raw tuna in small chunks with diced avocado dressed in lime juice, sea salt and pepper.I made a dressing to dip into of good EVOO, parsley and lime juice with a splash of red wine vinegar.
There was just too much greenery and the whole dish was enough for two.
Next time, thinly sliced baby or English cucumber, sprinkled with sea salt and topped with thin slices of the tuna. Small dice of the tomato and avocado dressed with ground pepper, sea salt and lime juice along the side and a drip of good EVOO on the edge of the plate for the occasional dip.
That should work:)
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