Somewhat Wordless, Unlike Someone Else!

I haven't written much, and I blame it on Facebook. It's easy enough to write a 140 character observation about something. Harder to write a missive for a blog.

That said, I observed something today on our school fax machine that gave me pause. You know those stupid scamming emails about the dude from Nigeria that wants to send you a bucket of money because he has no other place to put it? He'll give you some percentage of it if you pay him to ship it to you? Something like that?

Today on our fax machine was a newer version of that scam. One I consider to be a new kind of low in the area of scamming. This one was a letter from "Robert Barnes," a US Marine serving in Afghanistan. It uses a whole bunch of jarhead jargon to tell you that things are really bad there but they found this stash of abandoned cash. Here's the kicker paragraph that sort of got me hot:

"I don't want you to judge me by what you just read. I am a Devil Dog with a lot pride and honour. No amount of money can make up for the pain and sacrifice we all got through here in the hell hole in service for our country. But I have to also secure my future and have something to bank on after my active service."


ugh.

Another Perk

So when we were in Minnesota week before last (has it been that long already?), we were staying at my parent's house. Each morning my mom would begin the day the by saying, "We need to plan supper."

Usually this conversation happened right after I stumbled into the house from the camper and poured my first cup of coffee.

Why did she need to know this so early each day? BECAUSE CARNIVORES HAVE TO TAKE STUFF OUT OF THE FREEZER TO THAW! We vegetarians? Not so much. The only advance planning I do anymore is to soak beans overnight or start them in a crockpot during the day. My freezer is full of bread flour and frozen blueberries.

I'm just sayin'

The Invisible Wall: A Love Story that Broke Barries

Mom encouraged me to read this book. I believe it was an Oprah book club selection at one time. I loved it. The book was the first written by this author, who is in his 90s. 

It takes place in a small English town right around the beginning of WWI. It's about a street where the Christians and Jews live across from each other and the barriers of religious beliefs that are evident. Autobiographical, the book is about the author's own family and their struggles to survive poverty. To complicate matters, Harry's sister falls in love with a Jewish boy across the street. It's sort of Romeo and Juliet and Angela's Ashes all rolled into one. Happier endings, though.

There are more books written by this author. I'll be looking for them.

My Summer is Coming to a Close

My summer break ends Sunday night and I will remember this one fondly. It did not involve raves or speedboats, but I had a great little party of my own all summer. I took a lot of naps, I read a lot of books. I played with my food and did a lot of yoga. I got a new car and a new phone, both of which have stretched me technologically. I played with my friends and family. We took a nice trip to Minnesota, where we saw all our family...both sides. Even the ones in Saskatchewan! We saw one niece play her senior recital and another get engaged. We met our one of our new grand-nieces, too.

And the other day we said hello and goodbye to our second son, Riley, who graduated from Army Basic Training. We had a graduation dinner at Yesterday's in Columbia, where he experienced for the first time the gratitude of our country for his service as the owner thanked him and paid for his lunch.

Any regrets at all about this summer? I don't think so. The only thing I didn't get to do that I wanted to was see a Twins game at Target field. But I figure that will be around  for many years to come.

And so on Monday I'll go back to work rested and happy, peaceful and calm. Maybe it will be Endless Summer in my mind.

Back into the Oven!

We have had the most unseasonable weather here this past week. The temps have only been in the low-to-mid 80s and we've gotten up to high 50s in the mornings. But that will end now, as we start to climb back up to the high 90s.

I'm grateful for the new car. Mensa Boy bought a 2010 Prius for me when the van decided to retire. Big Green had 182,000 miles on her, and she was going to need a couple thousand dollars of the work in the coming months. The most pressing of which was the air conditioning. Again. The new car cools off in minutes and this week I will be thinking about that whenever I get into it.

I have to confess I'm a little sheepish about the car. People exclaim and congratulate me, and my best pal has been teasing me unmercifully about it. But it seems so extravagant right now. I loved my van and could have happily driven it for many more years (if they'd ever been able to stop that creaking noise it made when I turned the steering wheel). With a kid in college and new carpet needing to be bought for the house, my salary and days being cut this coming year, and Bob's salary still the same as two years ago, I really feel dumb taking on a car payment. But at least this will be a known car expense and not something that bolts you out of the blue like car repairs do.

So when people exclaim over the vehicle and talk about it, I find myself wanting to just say "let's talk about something else."

This year's Independence Day was probably one of the most fun we've ever had. Mensa Boy organized the "First Ever Henry Nesbitt Grand Day Parade," which was a whopping 1/10th of a mile long. Henry Nesbitt is the end of our Shelley Mullis Rd as it crosses into North Carolina. Apparently you can't just let a SC road name cross the state line, so that last 1/10th of a mile is named for someone else. We still aren't sure who Henry was, but he was probably a war hero of some sort. Could be Revolutionary War, could be "The War of Northern Aggression," who knows?

So after the 10 of us marched down to the end of the road and then marched back, we repaired to our home for supper. We grilled portabello mushrooms and corn and had sliced tomatoes and watermelon. After supper we progressed to Kriz's house, where we lit a bonfire, shot off fireworks and had blueberry cobbler and homemade ice cream. A great time was had by all, particularly Taylor and Ken, who tended the pyrotechnics. Mensa Boy was too tired to stress about the explosives, so Taylor just went to town with them...I think maybe he'd never done that before.

All in all a very nice 4th and a wonderful weekend. Now it's back to the hard work of...oh wait! I still have a month of summer left!

Oh...the Tour! If anyone thinks watching a bike race is boring, they should have watched yesterday's stage 2. Crashes, underdogs, demonstrations...it was all there.

Roast Okra

RoastOkra
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

I know I've written about this before. But I truly think that roasted okra is one of the really good things about living in the south.

Not slimy.

At all.

Drying Stevia

DryingStevia
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

YogiLiz picked up two Stevia plants this spring when she was wandering through the garden centers. They are extremely easy to grow and taste wonderful! Just picking off a leaf and chewing on it gives a wonderful blast of pure sweet.

I've used it here and there for garnishes, but this last weekend I cut a big bunch of it to dry. When I'm satisfied that the leaves are sufficiently dry then I'll crumble them up and put them in a couple of empty spice jars. I think they will be excellent added to tea.

Surya Namaskar A X 108

It's the summer equinox and one traditional yogi way to celebrate it is by doing 108 sun salutations. And so I thought, "why not? I've got all day..."

I gathered 27 coins and put them on the upper right corner of my mat. As I get to to pose 10 pictured there on the right, I flick a coin off the mat onto the floor.

I am not doing 4 and 9. Instead I am going back to plank after 3 and then straight to uttanasana after 8.

I did the first 54 to a sanskrit chant. After doing shoelace to rest and stretch the hips, I switched to African drums. Now I'll start the next 27 to Gregorian chants and then finish off with Donna Delory.

Happy solstice! The longest day of the year. Make the most of it!

I found this picture of the sequence on Google Images. Here.

Blackberries

Blackberries
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

The first of the summer. I got about 1 1/2 cups. I was not dressed for blackberry foraging (long pants, long sleeves, boots, gloves), so I did didn't get very aggressive in my picking.

In my defense, this photo looked a lot less washed-out on my computer before I uploaded it.

Oh. That's a sprig of stevia on top. We are growing some in our yogagarden.

Tostada Night

Tostadas
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

When you decide to go vegetarian, and you are the only one in a family of carnivores, you really have to step it up in terms of "interestingness" when it comes to supper.

Sure, we've had tacos. Lots and lots of tacos. Using store-bought taco mix and hamburger and then all those tortilla chips or taco shells you buy in the bags and boxes. But this. Now THIS...it is the BEST WAY to eat that kind of food. The old-fashioned, fried-in-oil way.

Here's what I wrote about tostada night. And I should tell you, I had to kind of hunt for yellow corn tortillas. White corn rules the market. I think it's semi-tasteless.

Tostada Night

You know how you end up with days and days of leftover pinto beans whenever you cook up a pot? I mean … I like them. Don’t get me wrong. But I can only eat them so many days in a row before I’m ready to swear off them forever.  Of course that wears off after a month or so and then I’m ready to cook up another batch.

                One way I’ve discovered to use those up is to make homemade refried beans with them. Most of us are used to just opening cans of refritos (refried beans) and using those for our tacos or whatever.  But those canned varieties really miss the boat in flavor when compared to the homemade variety. They always seem a little watery to me. And bland. I’m giving you a recipe that I’ve adapted from “The New Moosewood Cookbook,” by Mollie Katzen. I think the cumin really makes or breaks these beans. See what you think.

                Tostada night is a great weeknight dinner event, and a fantastic way to get the family together to hang out and eat. I draw them into the kitchen when I start frying corn tortillas. It works every time. When I was a kid there were no bags of tortilla chips, or prepared taco shells. My mom cooked corn tortillas in oil on the stovetop. Nothing beats that flavor. I think we gave up that practice because we started shying away from frying due to its’ status as an unhealthy way to prepare food, and it was a messy and left oil clouds hanging in the room for a few hours. I keep the mess down by putting my frying screen over the top of the fry pan. I can’t do anything about the oil clouds, but my 10-foot ceilings sure make it easier to ignore!

                Lay out some lettuce, salsa, onions, tomatoes and grated cheese (or go really authentic and use queso) and start frying tortillas. Let the family build theirs as they come out of the skillet. They will stay there and eat them, waiting for the next one to come out of the skillet. And as they stand there, you will hear a lot more about their lives. Just be careful not to fry your tortillas too long. They really only take about half a minute or less on each side. 

Refritos (refried beans)

By Karen Paulson

Adapted from “The New Moosewood Cookbook,” by Mollie Katzen

 Leftover pinto beans, drained (maybe 2 cups)

1 1/2 C minced onion

5 or 6 (or more) medium cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet. Be sure it’s an old skillet that you don’t care about scratching. Add the onions, garlic and cumin. Heat, stirring, until the onions and garlic are starting to get soft. Add the beans. Heat and smash the beans to the consistency you prefer.

If you really want to add flavor, cook your pinto beans with a couple of halved, seeded jalapeno peppers. You can also consider adding a small bell pepper to the bean mixture when you make it in the skillet.

Frittata: The Vegetarian's Meatloaf

Since I became vegetarian in January, Frittatas have become my new meatloaf. My go-to dish. The entrée I whip out when I don’t have a lot of time or imagination. Like meatloaf, frittatas are made from whatever ingredients you have on hand, they have a short prep time, and a little bit of oven time to give you a chance to gather your wits about you (read: drink a glass of wine and check out the newspaper).

                Similar to quiche, frittatas are egg-based and can be the vehicle in which to hide all kinds of edible treasures from meat to veggies to cheese or all of the above. Most frittatas are started on top of the stove and finished in the oven. That’s how I do mine, although you can do the entire dish from start to finish on the stovetop. Unlike quiche, frittatas are generally not known to have a crust. Mine does. So if you are a frittata purist stop reading now. You’ll see my version as an abomination.

                My frittata recipe culminated out of my love for all things hash browned. As far as I am concerned, no egg-y meal is really complete without hash browns on the side.  The crunchier the better, I figure. And so I played with my food one afternoon and conceived this fine frittata with a hash brown crust. I hope you enjoy it.

Hash Brown-Crusted Frittata

2 medium-sized russet potatoes

6-8 eggs, beaten and set aside

1-2 C veggies of your choice, lightly sautéed and set aside

1 C cheese of your choice

Herbs of your choice

Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Microwave the potatoes on high for 3 minutes. They should be softened, but not cooked all the way to a mashable stage. Handling them carefully so as not to burn your hands, grate the potatoes on the large side of a cheese grater. You can leave the peels on or take them off.

Preheat a non-stick skillet on medium high. Heat 1 Tablespoon oil and 1 Tablespoon of butter. Swirl it around to coat the pan. Transfer the grated potatoes to the skillet, patting it down into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. DO NOT STIR AFTER THIS POINT! After about 4 or 5 minutes, gently tilt the pan that you can glimpse the underside of the potatoes. Are they getting brown and crisp? Keep checking until they look like golden, brown and delicious hash browns.

In another oven-safe skillet (cast iron is really the best), heat 1 Tablespoon oil and 1 Tablespoon butter. Drizzle it over the potatoes in the non-stick pan. Then carefully invert the second skillet over the first one and flip over. Now your potatoes are in the second skillet and on their way to hash brown perfection.

Once you are satisfied that the potatoes are well-browned on the underside, remove the pan from the heat. Arrange the reserved veggies, cheese, herbs and spices over the potatoes. Pour the eggs over the mixture and lightly tamp down anything that’s sticking up out of the eggs. If you need more eggs, go ahead and beat them up and pour them in.

Put the frittata in the preheated oven and bake until the eggs are set, usually about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to finish cooking in the pan on the counter. 

Suppertime: Eggplant Gyros

My good friend Debbie Burgess (The Hungry Fox), sent me a link to this recipe on Cuisine Recipes and I was immediately sucked in by the gorgeous photo. This is my own shot, which I'm sorry to say is not quite as nice.

Anyway, our yogafarm produced some very fine cucumbers this week, which immediately made me think of tzatziki, which then made me think of gyros, which then reminded me of this recipe.

That's how my mind works.

The recipe on this site calls for a sauce made of yogurt and feta. I'm sure that is quite good, if not a little bland. Homemade tzatziki has that tangy zip of fresh garlic, which I think is needed in this recipe.

And now I'm going to see what how the leftover eggplant stuff tastes on an omelet.
Footnote: Eggplant stuff VERY GOOD on scrambled eggs. Think of it as eggplant pico de gallo. Scramble a couple of eggs and then drop some of the eggplant mixture on top. Mix in with the hot eggs to take some of the refrigerator chill off. Sea salt finishes it off!

34th Regiment: Always Forward

Riley is in the 34th Regiment at For Jackson. Apparently "Always Forward" is their motto. Riley is proving himself to be always forward. At least in my mind.

His girlfriend said he got a cut on his forehead and suffered a concussion on the "Victory Tower." He went to the infirmary and they told him he may have to take 3 weeks of Basic over again. He said "no way," and went back to his platoon. That's rough.

He's struggling. I've been ok with him being gone. Ok with him being in Basic. But now I'm starting to be a little anxious. His letter yesterday said he was awaiting word on his punishment for a weapons violation. Apparently he shot his (it was loaded with blanks) prematurely during a training exercise. His buddies said they'd help him cover it up, but he elected to tell his drill sergeant about it instead.

He's lonely and usually has a lot of friends around him. He doesn't know many of the guys and I think he'll start to feel better as he gains friendships.

I'm proud of him. And praying for him. I hope you will too.

Suppertime: Shiitake and Sweet Pea Risotto

Last night Taylor grilled burgers for himself and Nate while Liz and I enjoyed this recipe from Cooking Light. I didn't take my own photo of it this time. Too hungry. And you know? Mine was not quite as appetizing-looking as theirs. Because my risotto was a darker brown color. I think it must have been because of the very rich vegetable stock I used instead of the recipe's chicken stock. But boy! Was it delicious! We accompanied it with roasted and sauteed golden beets. I love to do that: roast the beets in the oven, slip the skin off, slice and then saute in butter.

I visited the chickens again this morning before work. I usually don't do that, but I had some very bland cherry tomatoes that needed to be disposed up. Chickens love juicy, seedy things. So I sliced them in half and took them over to the yogafarm. I was there at 6:15, when the sun was just starting to think about coming up. Obviously the chickens thought I was out of my mind for being up so early. None of them came down from their roosts. They just sat up there an murmured at me. I did feed them this time, since I received instruction from YogiLiz. I'll take some videos of the birds when Bob comes back with the camera.

Giant, Hairless Raccoon

That's what the chickens may think I am.
I went to Liz's and let them out this morning. But I could not figure out where their feeder is, so I didn't feed them (Liz was home, just not up yet). They followed me around, glaring at me and bwaawk bwaawking at me...getting all up in wing at me.
Then I took the one egg they'd laid and left.

Proud Parent of a Soldier

Mensa Boy has that sticker on the back of his car. I don't have it on mine yet. My car is too dirty to stick stuff on right now.

Riley is safely ensconced in Basic training at Fort Jackson. I just received the letter with his address. He's in Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment. Here is his address:

Pvt2 Porter, Jack R
Company Delta Platoon 3rd
1/34 In Regt
Fort Jackson  SC  29206

Family day is July 28
Graduation is July 29

We can follow his regiment on facebook. Here is the address:
http://www.facebook.com/134AlwaysForward

28 Years? or 20 Years and 11 Months?

Happy Anniversary, Mensa Boy! 28 years ago we got married at 11 o'clock in the morning. It was about this time that one of our groomsmen said that he thought WE were picking up his tux! What a fun day we had.

Every year I ask MB this question "So. It's been 'x' years. How many years does it feel like?" And he always answers the question with a number that is smaller than the actual (some could say he's sucking up!). This morning his answer was "A little less than 21 years."

It seems like that to me, too.

And now we are off for a quick trip to the beach. I can hear him filling the cooler with ice, and he's done most of our packing. Neither of us, when we moved into that roach-infested apartment in Eagan, Minnesota, ever would have dreamed that we would someday be living in sunny South Carolina, heading to the beach for our anniversary.

Love you, Bob.

Supper: Vegetables in Garlic Sauce

VegetablesinGarlicSauce
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

From China East, the only Chinese restaurant whose food I will allow the guys to pick up. After Taylor and I spent the afternoon on the football field in the 90 degree heat waiting for the Class of 2010 to GET A CLUE (!) we were not interested in any sort of supper-making.

We are both a little scorched tonight. I have sunburned the tops of my feet. Since Commencement will be outside tomorrow, who knows what we'll eat for supper?

Stay tuned.

Suppertime: Trail Mix

TrailMix
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

oh. I'm sorry. Did yesterday's post lead you think I was actually going to COOK supper and photograph it every night? Ain't gonna happen. Most nights, yes. But on nights when I go to yoga usually I just eat leftovers or a sandwich or, in this case, trail mix.

I make this mixture up with a bag of Harris Teeter unsalted dried fruit and nut mix, some roasted salted almonds, and then whatever other dried fruits I have on hand. I make a quart or so of it and we eat out of that all week. Tonight I'm having about 1/2 cup of it with a nice glass of late harvest Piesporter Riesling.

Suppertime: Penne with Chickpeas, Feta and Tomatoes

PenneTomatoesFeta
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

I made this recipe from the March 2010 issue of Cooking Light. This is my own photo, though.
The recipe took only about 20 minutes to put together. We had a side of fresh green beans with it to round out a pleasant, vegetarian meal.
I have to say, though, that I should have simmered the chickpeas a little before using them. Canned chickpeas always seem a little too al dente and I've never really done anything about that. I don't know why. I think it's a paradigm I need to shift. I've just always used beans as they are out of the can, figuring they are cooked just right. But the other day I made another meal from a recipe on my new favorite food blog, Herbivoracious, and he also commented on chickpeas being too firm. He suggested simmering them a little before using them. I was much happier with the result. Incidentally, I'll do that recipe again and post it. It was delicious!

This post is the beginning of what I plan to be a daily supper photo. We'll see how long I keep that up. My plan is to shoot whatever my evening meal is each night. I'll give the recipe (or in this case link to the one I used), tell how long to make it, and mention anything else I think you might want to know.