Daily Archives: November 30, 2008

Reading

is essential.  I read my news online, changing sources to find different angles on stories and hopefully find a shred of truth.  In the old days we had our local paper and if we were lucky, Walter Cronkite at six.

When one writes more than one knows from reading or other inspiration, that spells trouble.  When one writes stories without inspiration, that does not make a story.

When it comes to food, tasting is everything.  One “chef-testant” on Top Chef recently said that she didn’t need to drive to nearby NYC to taste real ethnic food, she could read her books.  Wrong.

Town library, every Saturday.  Books, knowledge, plays, all dusty and unused.  No Shakespeare there, just dusty books donors gave many years ago.  We made the best of it.  I knew at age eight that library was useless except for reference books and one cook book.

It’s a pity to know that a college town’s only public library is toast at the tender age of eight.  So my life took a different direction….

Now that’s the beginning of a story of which the author knows not the ending but at least the beginning and the material it may contain.

Scrabble was a hit, especially with the newly six year-old, who chose his own letters to spell the initials of his school.  Wow.  What a Thanksgiving!

ps Thanksgiving was always my mother’s holiday.  It was never mine.  I thought of her a lot this weekend and told funny stories about our childhood as they pertained to whatever conversation was at hand.  Scrabble was her game.  Proper names and acronyms were not allowed. To see nephew Joseph play was a tribute to my mother.  If she was alive ten years from now he may have won.

Missed a photo

John and Joseph and the Boer goats…

With an added surprise of their Yorkie pup Coco.

Teacher

Perhaps I should await student and guest evaluations prior to posting.  Nah, I’ll be honest later.  All I can say is that I had a good time planning a cooking basics class for two of our teen-aged cousins.

Along with trussing, roasting and carving a chicken came braising carrots and making mashed potatoes.  The lesson also included sanitation, salmonella, rudimentary knife skills, and timing a meal.

I left them to finish the meal on their own, with adult supervision.  Not that they need it, except some help with done-ness and carving. Otherwise these are two very impressive young ladies who seemed to enjoy our class and learn from it.

As to rudimentary knife skills, they had rudimentary knives.  Luckily I brought two and they had a usable boning knife.  A cook’s tools include a chef’s knife and a paring knife at minimum.  I hope if their interest continues that they invest in both in time.  I know where to splurge and where “good” is OK and inexpensive.

Seems to me I’ve written something on A Cook’s Tools…

Congratulations ladies!  They made boursin for a Thanksgiving tasting and both thought it out well.  Textures were interesting and very different, some thinking out of the box which I like.  Once they get used to making this cream cheese spread “on the fly” they’ll use what they have and enjoy with judicious abandon.  Both were sparing on the herbs as they were playing with flavors.  That’s better than overloading and having a mess of flavors with no focus.

I’m very proud of you.  Dee

When to Call Your Parents

As one ages, one wonders when to call the folks upon safely arriving home.  We called Jim’s parents to let them know we arrived safely this afternoon, but would not call them if we had flown to Chicago or LA.  It’s strange to be a grown adult and call your parents to say “I got home OK.”

Of course if it was overseas that’s a reason, or working in the Congo.  It must be that parent-child bond that kicks in.  Jim’s mother gave me an antique green glass lemon reamer because she knows that mine was broken many years ago.  There’s more to the story, which makes her gesture even sweeter.

We had an activity-filled several days that was punctuated by quiet time and reading and sleep.  I’d give you the address but you can’t afford this B&B!

Zoe is nearly 40 lbs. and impeccably groomed for her visit.  She’s an Aussie shelter mutt.  Coco is a five pound, five month-old Yorkie.  They played, then slept, like crazy.  At one point yesterday Zoe had Coco’s head in her mouth, but only very lightly for a fraction of a second and to say “Gotcha!”  We had to give them a few “time outs” but they both slept through the night, which allowed us to do so as well.

It was wonderful to see Jim’s family and spend some time together on Thanksgiving.  We got to see Nanny and all sorts of relatives, older and younger.  The weather held up for us on turkey day, with a temperature of 74 degrees, so the kids could go out and play.  It rained all day Friday.

This morning as I was packing the car, it was about 48 degrees and I had to go to the car to get a jacket.  The nippy temperatures must have led to friskiness as within a moment two bulls and two billy goats (in separate pastures a few feet away from me) showed an amorous nature.  Gives farming a whole new meaning.

We saw some fall foliage upon the return but under cloudy skies the colors are harder to appreciate.  Back home, the sun came out and everything is unpacked.  We unloaded the car and I went to the closest store just to take care of dinner and breakfast, as I cleaned out the frig Wednesday morning before we left.

When I got home I started unpacking groceries and Jim asked if there was anything he could do.  I knew I had an hour of unpacking and other things to do, and said “yes, please call your mother and tell her we got home OK.”