Musings

Hey, apologies for touting a TJ’s product once again, but this stuff makes some fine tabouli/tabbouleh. I have struggled with cooking then de-moisturizing the darned bulgur wheat, and using couscous totally eliminates that step, plus you can use some lemon juice and olive oil along with the hot water in the reconstitution process—yum!

Tabouli, like all true peasant recipes, is made with varying quantities of parsley and chopped veggies, with seasonings that vary among the cultures that make it. My favorite version has lots of parsley and lemon, with some crunch and color added by small red pepper and poblano pepper chunks.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Tabouli time

At the urging of KAH, I recently switched from relatively generic fish oils (Target, Meijer), to this fancy Omega 3.6.9 from Nordic Naturals. It differs from the rest of its ilk because it is “filtered” and I am letting myself believe that that is important….

Sometimes investigating jargon leads us to interesting vocabulary lessons. I recall some time ago when I encountered the word “subaltern” and had no idea what it meant. The usage was in the jargon of agency studies (and Anthony Giddens), and referred to the low status and powerlessness of the commoner masses (I think). The word, however, has an upstanding prior meaning. As a noun, it meant a low-ranking British army officer. As an adjective, it did refer to those of low status (hence its co-opting by social theorists), but it also has this meaning (thank you Apple Dictionary):

Over my head!

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

Okay, here’s the hyacinth that was blooming outdoors, flanking the jar of almost-Mexico that we found, also, at TJ’s. I dolled it up with extra onions and garlic and simmered it for another hour before ladling it over the chicken, and it reminded me that it’s been quite a while since I’ve been south of the frontera. Sigh.

Recommended as an easy, inexpensive twinge for the palate, rather like a mole coloradito or mole poblano. Should you want to try making some of these wonderful sauces from scratch, you might try Iliana de la Vega’s recipes.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Mole memories

We’re still awaiting our neighborhood Trader Joe’s—or in this case: José’s (the latest we’ve heard is: not ’til March!), so we had to trek up to Sandy Springs to get our fix of chocolate and wine and other goodies. This label is John’s current “house” favorite, special for all you physics specialists ;)….

Posted at 6:42 PM | 3 Comments »

Since the WOW new Apple Phone Plus Everything (no link ’cause the site’s swamped) won’t be available until this summer, I’m digging into the past, recommending instead you visit Michigan State’s on-line archive of old American cookbooks and 3D images of antique cooking implements, which begin (alphabetically) with the aebelskiver pan, a specialized cast iron cook-pan. Download a cookbook and think about how things USED TO BE, including this 1857 title….

Please pardon me for the hiatus over the last few days—too busy, too overwhelmed, and too distracted to bring my attention to bear on this lil’ ol’ blahg. Now I’m back to reading about Intermediate Elites (thank you, Bob!) and ceramic exchange territories (sorry, not available unless you have top-secret clearance!) and otherwise trying to remember what my life was like back here in ol’ ATL. Weather’s great; glad to be home….

Posted at 2:29 PM | Comments Off on …Jiggety jog

I am so grateful to jcb’s bro and his family for making bourbon balls this year; my schedule didn’t leave me time to do so, and I would have missed them.

The small things can matter so much!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Special foods

Carol vastly improved my turkey soup by making noodles!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Turkey soup

Betcha those folks on “Survivor” wish they had a few of these! The trick is in the pre-cutting, between the “r” and the “e” on this example….

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Modernizing food

You can see that the light frost knocked the peppers back, but they’ve yet to be finished off. The red bells are so very sweet, and a boost to our nightly salad!

Rain today and we’re all feeling rather oppressed by the grey, and missing the sun. On balance, though, healing continues.

Access to all three necessities for posting—energy, laptop, and wifi—remains spotty, but we’re working on it!

Posted at 4:50 PM | 2 Comments »

Yesterday morning we awoke to naturally grayed-out vegetation, not quite a hard frost, but cold enough to coax the plants into a solid turn toward winter torpor. Nevertheless, the cold wasn’t intense enough or of sufficient duration to put the kibosh on the raspberries.

Meanwhile, indoors, the slow process of healing and recovery continues, aided by a fresh pot of white bean soup!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on First frost