Nowilayme

When we were very young, our mother said our prayers with us each night.  Imagine two little tow-headed children, on their knees, heads against their folded hands on the bedspread.  Until we could remember the entire prayer,  our mother would recite each line and we'd repeat it.  We had two prayers; one was Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep and the other was The Lord's Prayer.  I wish I had a video of it because I think we must have been too darn cute.

My mother explained The Lord's Prayer, telling us the meaning of hallowed and debtors. I suppose she thought the Now I Lay Me Prayer was clear but I always thought the first word of the prayer was Nowilayme. I don't know what I thought that meant but it was a word to me.

For those that don't know, the prayer is:

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

My mother had us add a few more lines.  They went like this:

God bless Mommy and Daddy,
And Susan and Johnny,
And everybody in the whole wide world.

Isn't that sweet?

My parents got divorced when I as about 7.  We quickly got a step-mother; the first of 3.  Her name was Katie and we did not like her. As an adult, I think back to why I didn't like her.  I'm sure much of it had to do with the fact the my mother didn't like her.  And my father pushed her on us way too quickly.  I also think she just wasn't the easiest person to warm to.  She was loud and brash.  She swore and drank up a storm.  When I was 10 she told me she was a better mother to me than my mother.  I don't know if I'd like her today if I met her but I probably wouldn't have hated her and considered her the Cruella DeVille of my life.

At some point, shortly after the divorce, my brother and I add a new ending to the prayer.  Now it went:

God bless Mommy and Daddy,
And Susan and Johnny,
And everybody in the whole wide world.
Except Katie.

I'm not going to examine why a mother let two children ask God not to bless one person but it worked for us.

Oh, When the Giants Come to Town

When I was a young Southern California girl in high school, I was dating a college guy from Northern California.  He would go home every summer and, in those days, no one made long distance phone calls unless there was a special occasion or an emergency.  And so we wrote letters.  I think we often wrote daily.  And I saved many of those letters because I'm a saver.

At some point, on the back of an envelope, he wrote, "Mailman, Mailman/Do your duty/Take this letter/To my California cutie."  I think that was copied from a popular song. But it started our envelope meme.  From then on, many letters, back and forth, had Mailman, Mailman sayings.  He was a huge Giant fan and I was raised a true, blue Dodger fan.  Consequently many of our little ditties related to the Dodgers or Giants.

So today I share with you some of his baseball envelope writings.  If you don't follow baseball and/or you aren't as old (or easily amused) as I am, you may not find them as fun as I still do.  Sadly my own creative endeavors are lost to eternity and so can't be included here.

Mailman, Mailman / "Ah swhar" I'm not in heaven, / And "Dat Da Ting" the Giants / Aren't ahead by seven

Mailman, Mailman / Vida has gained instant fame / And more than that / He won the all star game!

Mailman, Mailman / Don't be a goon / Dispel this nonsense / About a "June Swoon"

Mailman, Mailman / The Giants aren't made of taffy / (Even though their lead has / Sunk to five-and-a-halfy.)

Mailman, Mailman /  Vida's throwin' tonight / "Dat da ting - / Dat's not a welcome sight

Mailman, Mailman / Sue's so light, she's an airy gal / It's because she spends all her time / Hating Juan Derful  (he noted he couldn't bring himself to actually write the true rhyme)

Mailman, Mailman / I think it's neato / That Leferver and Wells / Are not as good as Speier and Tito

Mailman, Mailnam / He'll knock you off your feets / Good catcher, better hitter and he's named / Dick Dietz

Mailman, Mailman / Well you take this to Sue maybe? / And tell her when the Giants come to town / It's Bye Bye Baby

 

Sweet and Sour Onions: Inspired by Italy

When we were in Venice, Italy, where you are supposed to enjoy the seafood, we had a dish of Sweet and Sour Sardines  which the recipe in the link identifies as one of the most typical Venice dishes. And it was delicious.  It was one of the first I tried to recreate when I got home.  The recipe I worked from was this one. Unfortunately for me, I had trouble finding fresh sardines.  The first time I tried it, I used canned, skinless, boneless sardines.  And it was good.  But I liked the onions best.  The second time I tried it, the store didn't have sardines but said smelt would be close.  Again, it was good. But I liked the onions best.

I finally decided it wasn't the fish, it was the onions.  If you search for sweet and sour sardines or "Sarde in Saor", you'll find plenty of recipes.  I used the one I originally found as my starting point.  Without the sardines. And I changed up the quantities.  I was quadrupling the recipe but I still only used 1/4 C raisins and 1/4 C nuts.  You can adjust to your tastes. I discovered that there was too much oil for me so I cut that way back.  The end result is sweet caramelized onions that have the tang of vinegar with some raisins and pine nuts.  And the longer they sit in your fridge, the better they taste.  My problem is letting them sit at all. They are good all by themselves or with any kind of fish.  Today I had them with baked salmon. I've also had them with sautéed tilapia.   I'm sure you can find other things to serve them with.


Before cooking the onions, soak about 1/4 C raisins in 1/2 C white wine.  And toast about 1/4 C of pine nuts.

I used 4 large sweet onions.  I cut the top of the onion off - the part that sprouts.  Then I cut the onion in half through the root.   I put the halves cut side down, cut off the root, and then sliced them thinly.  If I followed the recipe I would then cook those onions in  3 cups of olive oil. DON'T do that.  I heated about 2 T of olive oil in my 10 inch frying pan and tossed in the onions.  I let them cook down, removing some of the liquid as they cooked. When it seemed like they might stick, I added a little bit more olive oil. Then I just let them cook until they became nice and brown.  I didn't time it but my best guess is 45 minutes.

Add the white wine vinegar, raisins, and nuts and salt to taste.  I also tossed in the wine the raisins were soaking in.  Then cook it a little longer to let some of the juice evaporate.  Put it in a bowl, let it cool and then put it in the refrigerator and try not to eat it until the next day.

Inside Outside Grilled Cheese

Following up on a couple of posts from Facebook friends (you know who you are). I decided to try this method of making a grilled cheese sandwich which results in a crispy cheese outside.

I didn't completely follow the advice though.  First of all I used a nice grainy Rustique Miche loaf from Trader Joe's.  I don't have white bread at home and I wasn't going to buy a whole loaf just for my lunch today.  Since it was a round loaf, I cut two slices and then cut those slices in half so the sides of my sandwich would match.  Then I followed the directions for making the grilled cheese.  I'd absolutely use this grainy bread again.  The texture is great.

The other way I diverged from the video instructions is that I didn't just use cheddar.  The chef in the video suggests there are no other options for a grilled cheese but I beg to differ.  My sandwich had a sharp cheddar cheese and a nice runny Port Salut cheese on the inside and a  grated Mexican Mix on the outside.  I also added some slices of Granny Smith apple and arugula on the inside.

The result was wonderful!  Crispy, gooey, crunchy, and cheesy.  Yum!!  The only change I might make would be to add more apple.  To compensate I took a bite of apple with each bite of sandwich.  And I might just make an arugula side salad with vinaigrette instead of adding the arugula to the sandwich because putting the arugula on the inside is messy - the lettuce keeps falling in the pan.

I have to agree with others that once you've made a grilled cheese this way, you might never want to do it any other way.

Recreating the Food From Italy, Episode 1

We had some amazing, amazing food in Italy and now I'm trying to recreate some of it as best I can.  Most things I enjoyed just require finding the right ingredients, some require looking up recipes, and some, like today's creation, are trial and error.

One of the best things we had was a mushroom dish served at a family restaurant in Montepulciano, a lovely small town in wine country.  The Italian name is I Funghi Porcini con Uovo in Camicia e fonduta di Pecorino al Tartuto Nero.  Translated that is Porcini Mushrooms with Poached Egg and Black Truffle Pecorino fondue. It was SO delicious. A rich mushroom truffle soup - almost a stew - with a poached egg. It was served in a parchment bag which was interesting but I'm not sure if it was baked in the bag or not. I have searched the Internet for a recipe and not found anything so I think maybe it was just a creation of the owner chef.

Today I did my best to recreate it. And I got pretty close.

First I soaked about an ounce of dried Porcini mushrooms in warm water for about 30 minutes. I gently washed the mushrooms first so I could use the resulting liquid later. I chopped and sautéed the Porcini mushrooms along with some chopped Shitaki and Cremini mushrooms in about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil that I'd added a few drops of truffle oil to. I salted and peppered the mushrooms to taste. The mushrooms covered the bottom of my 10" fry pan and I'd guess I had a little more than a cup when they were cooked. I set the mushrooms aside and used the pan to make the soup.

I suppose I could have made my own soup but I'm somewhat lazy. A friend of mine recommended Trader Joe's condensed cream of Portobello mushroom soup so I used that. The instructions call for an equal amount of liquid and I used some of the liquid from soaking the Porcini mushrooms to refill the box half way and then I filled the rest with white wine. I stirred that until it was incorporated and then I stirred in about 2 ounces of truffle cheese from Trader Joe's. This is because I didn't have any of the Pecorino cheese left that we'd brought home from Italy and Trader Joe's didn't have any. Next time I'll search out Pecorino. I did add a little bit of Parmesan to get the saltiness.

While the cheese and soup melded, I poached an egg. I tried a new process I'd read about that calls for putting the egg in 1/3 C of vinegar for 5 minutes before poaching. That is supposed to make the white stick closer to the egg and I do think it helped. Once the egg was poached, I ladled the soup into my bowl and added my egg. I have enough of the soup left to make another dish tomorrow - or later today.

It was delicious. I don't think it was as rich as the soup we had in Italy and I think using Pecorino will help, as well as perhaps adding a bit of heavy cream. But my version was excellent and I'll be making it again.

I Got Paid To Lose Weight

One day last May I was cruising the internet and saw an ad about being paid to lose weight.  "Right!", I thought but I clicked anyway.  I ended at at the HealthyWage page and I read it pretty throughly.  They have a few different programs but the one that interested me was the challenge to wager on my weight loss.

At that point, I was at least 75 pounds overweight.  I'd tried lots of different programs and sometimes lost up to 25 pounds in the course of dieting.  But I always got discouraged and quit and eventually regained all the weight - and then some.

So I was frustrated and discouraged and pretty much willing to try anything - except maybe surgery.  The way the HealthWage challenge worked was that I input how much I weighed and how much I wanted to lose in what time frame.   I decided I wanted to lose 50 pounds in 6 months. They came back with a challenge: I would pay $50 a month for the 6 months and if I was successful, they would send me my $300 back PLUS another $588.55.  I don't know how they came up with those numbers but I was willing to give it a shot.  I was 90% sure it was a scam and that I'd never see my $300 but I was 10% hopeful I'd get the money and lose the weight.  And even if I didn't get the money, I decided I was willing to pay $300 for yet another diet program.

So I set out on my 6 month challenge. I had to submit a before picture and a video verification of my weight and was accepted to the program.  I decided I wasn't going to "diet" but rather make my new mantra, "Eat Less, Move More" though I was sad ELMM didn't resonate as a fun acronym. I ate whatever I wanted but I limited my calories to 1200 a day.  I wasn't obsessive about the calories but I looked things up and rounded up.  I did limit some things; rice, pasta, potatoes, bread and wine.  It wasn't easy but I do think the money was an excellent motivator.  Every time someone offered me goodies or whenever I thought about cracking open a bottle of wine, I thought about that money and I kept my willpower.

Coincidently, about that same time, our prevention program sent me a notification that because my BMI was too high, I was being sent a Fitbit Flex for free.  Who could say no to that?  That arrived in June and I started my 10K steps a day and have been pretty consistent with that.  As it turns out, I'm a bit more competitive than I ever knew and as soon as I saw my friends' step totals I ramped up my game to catch up with them.

And it worked.  I started losing weight right away and I kept it up for 5 months.  I lost 55 lbs and I'm still losing but just not as quickly, probably because of the holidays and vacations I've been taking.  I allow myself to enjoy the good stuff when I'm out with friends.

Once I met my goal, I made my claim with HealthyWage.  I submitted all the information they requested and got an email that said I was a winner and "the check was in the mail."  And it was!  It arrived last week and I deposited it.  The bank cleared it!

I'm on maintenance until the year end but then I might enter another challenge in January to take some more pounds off.

Here are my before and after photos that HealthyWage required:

I know not professional and all, but not edited either.  I'm wearing clothes that are 2 sizes smaller than before and I've donated a huge pile of things I can't wear any longer.  And I feel great. Thank you, HealthyWage.  

Pear and Cranberry Compote

I found the Auntie Em's Cookbook at my local library and thought many of the recipes looked interesting.  I also like it because the author's restaurant, Auntie Em's Kitchen,  is located in my old college stomping grounds, Eagle Rock, California.

I kept the book out for a few weeks and copied a few recipes.  Before taking it back to the library today, I skimmed through it again while I had coffee.  I happen to have some luscious pears just ready to eat and decided I should make the Pear and Cranberry compote with a couple of them.  I only needed to pick up some cranberries from Trader Joe's which happens to be right across the street from my library.  When I got home, I realized I'd turned the book in without copying the recipe. So I did an internet search and found this recipe which seems to be identical to the Auntie Em's version as best I could remember.

I only wanted to use a couple of my pears which weighed just about 1 lb so I decided to use 1/3 of all the other ingredients.  I just guessed on the seasonings.  And I cut back on the sugar using less than 1/4 cup.   It is an easy, simple recipe as long as you have the time to cook the fruit down.  

It is delicious!  And, very, very sweet.  Maybe a little too sweet on its own but good with yogurt. And I'm sure it would be good on oatmeal or a biscuit or used in a cobbler.  My pears are particularly sweet and might not need the sugar at all.  Next time, I'll definitely taste before adding sugar.

Roasted Tomatoes and Spaghetti Squash

I had half of a spaghetti squash left over from my spaghetti squash casserole dinner the other night.  I decided to try and recreate a spaghetti squash dinner my daughter made me some time back that I've always remembered.  She just made it up at the time so I had to do the same.

I sprayed the squash with olive oil and seasoned it with some salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  I roasted it at 400 degrees for 50 minutes.

When the squash was done, I let it cool while I roasted a pound of sugar plum tomatoes at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

I chopped up a half sweet onion and a half orange pepper and sautéed them in a pan that I had sprayed with some olive oil. I added a couple minced cloves of garlic, some red pepper flakes and then some sliced mushrooms.  I had a little bit of spinach leftover from breakfast so I tossed that in too.

I let it cook a few minutes until the veggies were soft and then tossed in the roasted tomatoes.

I shredded the spaghetti squash with a fork and then topped it with the cooked veggies.  The squash served as a great bowl.

There were enough veggies left over for at least one more half spaghetti squash and then some.

And it was delicious.

UPDATE: Adding some Parmesan only makes it better.

Spaghetti Squash and Tomato Casserole

Yet another Pinterest inspired dinner.  This is a definite keeper. My version has a few changes even though I'm sure the original is also delicious.

I used one half of a spaghetti squash, sprayed it with olive oil, added salt, pepper and some Italian seasoning and then roasted it cut side down for 50 minutes at 400 degrees.  After it cooled, I scraped out the squash and put it in a small casserole pan (7x7).  I chopped up 15 or so grape tomatoes (about 1 Cup) and stirred them in. I seasoned it with some dried basil, Onion Onion*, and Garlic Garlic*.  I topped it with about 2oz of pepper-jack cheese.  Then I baked it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  It wasn't browned enough so I put it back in for 10 more minutes.

It was totally delicious and I'd make it exactly the same again.  For variety I might add mushrooms and maybe some tomato paste.

Spaghetti squash is tasty and I enjoy it by itself with some butter and salt.  Maybe a little Parmesan.  But it isn't pasta and it will never fool you into thinking it is pasta.  If I really need a pasta fix, I will cook up some spaghetti and add it to the spaghetti squash for that yummy carb taste.  The squash makes a great filler and tastes good with pasta.




*Tastefully Simple seasonings.

Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad

Another Pinterest find.  Orzo, feta, and cucumber drizzled with olive oil and tossed with parsley, mint, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  It was refreshing and tasty but it needed something.  Maybe just a dash of hot sauce.

I was only making enough to have lunch today and didn't want to have any left overs; just in case I didn't like it.  I used 1/4 C dry pasta which ends up being 1/2 C cooked.  That is 1/6 of what the recipe calls for but I couldn't bring myself to cut everything else by 6.  I used a generous 1/3 of a cucumber and a handful of feta crumbles.  My feta had Mediterranean spices on it.  I drizzled olive oil along with the zest and juice from 1/3 lemon.  Then I sprinkled it with chopped mint and parsley and tossed it all together.  Salt and pepper to taste. Next time I will either chop the mint more or leave it out entirely.  Here is the link to the original recipe so you can adjust as you like.  I think the recipe is pasta heavy and I enjoy the crunch of extra cucumber.

The One About Best Friends

A few months back,  I learned that my mom's best friend had died and I posted about their life long friendship.  Yesterday I heard from my dad that his best friend Dave Burnham recently died.

I only met my mom's friend Helen a few times so didn't know her well and I never met my dad's friend Dave.  My dad mentioned Dave fairly often and therefore I know they attended high school at Loomis together, sailed together and kept in touch with each other over the past 70 some years.  I know that my dad was delighted to get to visit with Dave when they went to a Loomis reunion a few years back.  I wish I had met Dave.  He sounds like a terrific guy.

I am happy each of my parents had a long term, close friend.  That person who has known you almost your entire life and who loves you through all the ups and downs.  Someone you stay in touch no matter how far apart you might live.  Someone who knew your parents and watched you grow and change over the years.  They saw you fall in (and out) of love.  They watch as you get jobs, change jobs and retire from having jobs.  That person you can call when you just need someone to listen to you.  The person who can call you any hour, day or night, and you'll listen too.  The person who will rejoice or commiserate with you.  Someone you consider family.

Friends are wonderful and I know people can be best friends without a lifelong relationship but I'm happy my parents got to experience that extra special friendship.  And I'm glad that both my brother and I are blessed to have our own best friends who have known us since our early teens.  Maybe we learned it from our parents.

Around the Calendar in Connecticut

Among the things at my Aunt Mary's were these slides that originally came from Great-Aunt Margaret, my grandfather's sister. The show of the seasons in Connecticut starts on New Year's and ends just after Christmas. There were two slide trays of pictures along with a written presentation which she gave to groups. I had to cut some of the slides and the show is still a bit long. Many of the pictures were taken in Colchester, at or near the Bunyan family home. Other locations in Connecticut are represented as well.

The woman snapping the photo of the lady slippers is Margaret. The boy in the tree cutting slide is my dad. The woman making doughnuts and biscuits is my great-grandmother. The man at the head of the Thanksgiving table is my grandfather. There are more family members at the Christmas table.

Cauli-flour

I found a recipe the other day for Jalapeño and Cheddar Cauliflower Muffins (the name is a bit of a misnomer since there isn't much Jalapeño in the recipe).  Lots of cauliflower, a lot of cheese and a tiny bit of flour, along with eggs, chopped jalapeños and some spices.  They don't rise much but they do come out of the oven cheesy and delicious.  The recipe says to let them sit an hour after cooking to firm up, but I couldn't wait that long.  The next day I decided they aren't so tasty when they are cold so I cut some in half and toasted them back to cheesy goodness using my toaster oven.  

I riced the cauliflower in my food processor.  Just put florets in and pulse until fine. The recipe calls for butter but with all the cheese I didn't see a reason for even more fat so I left it out.  Instead of onion flakes and garlic salt, I used a big tablespoon of Onion, Onion and 1/2 tablespoon of Garlic, Garlic from Tastefully Simple.  The recipe also calls for 1/4 C coconut flour but I just used regular flour because I don't have coconut flour and don't have gluten issues.

A couple of days later, I made the same "batter" and then created some Cauliflower Cheddar Jalapeño bread sticks.  I added a little less cheese and little more jalapeño this time.  I spread it out on my small bar pan and cooked them for about 15 minutes before cutting them into bread sticks and separating them. I continued cooking another 20 minutes or so, until they were nice and brown.  I cut them before completing the cooking because I wanted more edge. They weren't pretty but they were also warm and cheesy.  They also didn't hold up as well when cold so leftovers need to be reheated.

I'll be making both these recipes again.  

My Mom's Best Friend Died

My mom and Helen were best friends from the time they were 6.  They lived around the corner from each other in Niagara Fall, NY until my mother moved away in her 20s.  Mom moved around a bit, living in New York, then Germany and then New York again.  Finally in 1950, she moved to Los Angeles where she resided (still moving around a lot) until she came to live with me in 1983.  She lived in Nevada until her death in 1998.  Helen moved to Niagara Falls as a child and lived on Niagara Avenue until she died at 94 years old.  Mom married, had two kids, divorced and never remarried.  Helen never married and didn't have children. Mom loved to travel, Helen didn't drive and, as far as I know never traveled much.

They saw each other rarely after 1950 but they wrote lots of letters and they spoke on the phone as often as possible; phone calls were expensive in those days.  I can remember listening to Mom and Helen talking on the phone from the time when I was a young girl.  They laughed a lot and those phone calls always made Mom happy.  Mom got to NY a few times during the years before she stopped flying and I'd guess she actually got to visit with Helen about 4 or 5 times after moving to California.

Everything I know about Helen, I know from Mom's stories about their friendship.  No matter where Mom lived and no matter how life events changed them, Mom and Helen considered each other best friends.  I met Helen once, maybe twice.  I did talk to her a few times on the phone after Mom developed Alzheimer's and had to move to a care facility.  Mom forgot a lot about her own life in her last 3 years of life but she never forgot Helen.  One day, about 6 months before she died, I brought her to my house and I called Helen and then put Mom on the phone.  The two of them chatted for some time.  Later Helen told me she thought Mom sounded great, just like her old self with only a few memory lapses.  I just remember hearing Mom laugh like her old self for the first time in years.  I cherish that memory.

The last time I talked to Helen was the day Mom died in September, 1998.  She was so kind and told me how much she cared for my mom, how smart my mom was and what a good friend she was.  From then on, Helen sent me a Christmas card every year, usually with a kind comment telling me how she missed my mom and how proud mom would be of me and Debra.

A few days ago, I suddenly realized I didn't get a card from Helen this past Christmas. Of course she could have just decided not to send cards but a quick google search revealed to me that Helen died last May.  I will miss Helen's cards and I will be imagining those two best friends having a lovely reunion.

Eggs in Clouds

 I made this Eggs in Clouds recipe I found over on Pinterest.  They were easy to make.  Just separate the eggs, whip the whites until stiff and fold in some cheese, chives and bacon.  I didn't have chives so I used some green onion.  Make mounds on parchment paper and put a dip in the middle.  Cook them about 3 minutes and then add the yolks before cooking them another 3 minutes.

They were pretty tasty, though they weren't exactly what I expected.  With the whipped egg white I expected a little more meringue texture but in reality it was more like an egg white omelet with a runny yolk.  Which I enjoyed more than a regular fried egg over easy.  The yolk is the best part.  But I missed the crispy.  I suppose I should have taken a clue from the name of the recipe: clouds aren't so crispy.  So I think next time I'll add a piece of toast or maybe an English muffin to up the crunch factor.

 The recipe calls for separating the eggs and putting each yolk in its own bowl.  But that seemed kind of wasteful to me so I just kept the yolks in the half shell until I need them.  I also think I used a little too much onion this time.  And while I enjoyed the Parmesan cheese the recipe calls for, I think I might like cheddar better - or in addition.  I'm not sure how well cheddar will fold into the whites so if it doesn't work out, I'll probably put the cheese on the toast.

What the Kale

I'm enjoying a kale salad phase.  I have made a kale salad 4 out of the last 5 days.

If you go pick up some kale and try a bite, you may think kale salad doesn't seem like a wonderful lunch but once you tenderize it, add some other ingredients and a great salad dressing, you have a perfect meal.

I bought the already chopped and bagged kale from Trader Joe's.  It annoys me that it still has some of the stems in there but I pick them out.  You can just buy the kale from the store and chop out the stems yourself and then chop up the leaves but I so rarely go to a regular grocery store, I get by with the Trader Joe's kale.

I can make 3 or 4 salads from one bag of TJ kale.  I toss some in a bowl, pick out the stems and then squeeze 1/2 lemon over the leaves.  Then I tear the leaves into smaller bites, making sure to handle the kale a lot.  The more you massage it the more tender it gets.  I then let it sit while I make the dressing and cut up the other ingredients.  I don't know if this makes the kale get even more tender or not but I'm pretending it does.  For the salad in the picture, I added chopped heirloom tomatoes, some roasted corn and bacon crumbles.  You can add whatever you prefer.  I love the bacon taste!  And I like to add some red onion when I have it.

The dressing is a mustard vinaigrette.  Some crushed garlic, a blob of mustard and some vinegar or lemon.  I used champagne vinegar because that is what I have.  I don't measure but if I'm guessing about 2 or 3 tablespoons.  Then whisk it with some olive oil to emulsify it.  Again, maybe 2-3 tablespoons.  Salt and pepper to taste.  It may look like you don't have enough dressing but you do.

The secret - given to me by my daughter - is to make sure to put one chopped up hard boiled egg and a handful of goat cheese crumbles on the kale before adding the dressing.  Then mix it, mix it, mix it until you can't tell you have cheese crumbles and egg in there.  It seems like you have a creamy dressing instead.

Now eat!

CATS Salad

I got the inspiration for my Cucumber, Avocado, Tomato and Shrimp (CATS) salad from this appetizer found on Pinterest.  I made the appetizer and it was very good; yummy shrimp and avocado with a chilled slice of cucumber.  The Sriracha made the dish.

I'm ultimately lazy though and so, after a few tastes, I cut up all the remaining items and made it into a salad.  I added some halved sugar tomatoes.  Instead of squirting Sriracha on every bite I just mixed some Sriracha with soy sauce and used that as my dressing.  It didn't need much because the grilled shrimp was yummy.

I realize it probably should be Shrimp, Cucumber, Avocato and Tomato but that makes it SCAT salad and the kitties don't like that word.

After a few adjustments my final recipe for the salad:

1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 lg tomato, diced or 10-15 small tomatoes halved
1/2 avocado, diced
7-10 grilled shrimp, chopped into bite size pieces

Mix it all together and drizzle with Sriracha, soy sauce and lemon juice to taste.

Grilled Shrimp:

Rinse and dry a pound of raw shrimp.  Drying is important, as I learned from my BFF Chef Debbie.  Otherwise when you grill them, there is too much liquid and they steam.  Once the shrimp are dry drizzled them with a little olive oil.  I've also used Trader Joe's spray olive oil; just spray them lightly.

Mix together 1 1/2 T soy sauce, some red pepper flakes, a dash of lemon zest,  and garlic salt.  I've also added real crushed garlic.  Pour this on the shrimp and mix it well.  I like to let it marinate at least 10 minutes and I think the longer it marinates the better it tastes.

Grill the shrimp in a very hot pan.  You shouldn't need oil since the shrimp have been sitting in oil.  But you might want to try it with butter as she did in the original recipe.  Turn the shrimp as soon as you see the pink coming through, about 1 minute.  I like the shrimp less cooked so once I turn them I don't let them cook more than another minute.  With a pound of shrimp, I have two batches.  You can do one batch for your salad and save the rest to cook later.  That way the flavor is even better.

Remove them from the pan and chop some for the salad.  If you cooked all the shrimp you can nosh on the rest through out the day. They are delicious plain.

Corny Egg Breakfast

I got the idea for this dish from a quiche recipe. I'm not a huge fan of the crust so I turned it into a frittata. This picture does not do justice to the yumminess. I knew I like tomatoes and eggs but wasn't sure about corn.  It was amazing!  And the carmelized onions just made it even better.

I used the ingredient list as a guideline but then made it my own. First,  I chopped up and caramelized a medium sized onion, in a 10 inch oven-proof skillet, using butter and olive oil.  That took about 35 minutes so make sure you allow enough time.  Once the onion was done I added a minced garlic clove (or two). Then I tossed in a generous cup of frozen roasted corn and a generous cup of chopped sugar plum tomatoes.  I beat 4 eggs and added about 1/4 cup of heavy cream.  I stirred in 1/2 cup of grated cheddar/gruyere cheese and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese into the egg mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.  I poured the egg mixture over the veggies and then let it cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes to get it started setting.  I put in in a 350 degree oven to finish.  I took it out when the top was set but not firm.  I don't like overlooked eggs and theses were just perfectly soft but not mushy.

Next time I might add some cheese on top and let it brown if I can accomplish that without overcooking.  I will also probably use two onions. 

Wine and a Movie

Today I set off to experience the new Galaxy Theatres, Green Valley.  I had high expectations because I want the theater to help revitalize our community. The strip mall the theater occupies used to be a wonderfully active area with several  good places to eat and shop. Then came the recession and, one by one, places closed.  Now I'm hopeful again.

First, the theater. It was almost everything I could hope for:

1. I love, love, love the seating.  Wide aisles with recliners that you can adjust from sitting straight up to lying almost flat and anywhere in between.  I had my feet almost straight out and people could still easily go by me.

2. I love the big screen.  I know, no big deal BUT, I'd pretty much given up going to the movies for several reasons and I've missed the big screen. So now I can go back.

3. I loved having a glass of wine at the movies. Not great, great wine, but nice enough and I liked it. Beer drinkers have more variety. And bigger glasses.

4. I loved being able to pick my seat before going into the theater.

5. I do wish there were more food options. I broke down and had a chili cheese dog. Not just any chili cheese dog- a jalapeño cheese brat chili cheese dog. It was delicious but I am not a big meat eater. So I  hope they come up with some other ideas.

Next, the movie. Oz The Great and Powerful. It was almost everything I could hope for.

1. I loved the big screen. See above.

2. I loved the spectacle.

3. I loved the animation.

4. I love the many nods to the original, especially the switch from black and white to color when Oz reached Oz.

5. I loved team Oz. Everybody.  Little extra for the monkey.

6.  Loved the witches.

7. I loved the con man wizard. 

8. I am torn about wanting a sequel. Would love to see what they come up with but don't know that they should mess with the original.

9. Yes, I loved the con man Oz but couldn't help wishing it had been played by Johnny Depp.

The Alphas and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Night

Long story, not short.  We arrived at our beach rental in Mission Beach on Tuesday.  The condo wasn't exactly what we had imagined. The pictures made it look bigger and "sleeps 6" translates  to sleeps 3 comfortably but person number 4 is stuck with the small not so comfortable futon.  If 6 people stay there 4 of them better really, really like each other.  The "bay view" requires looking out the bathroom window and the "ocean view" requires leaning out the back bedroom window.

Admittedly, the beach was close and the weather was nice.  And the company was AMAZING.

First problem was that the broadband wasn't working. We put in a call to property management and they dithered.  Finally gave us the account info and we worked with the provider and determined a tech visit was required.   Tech came out the next morning and checked stuff out.  Said it wasn't inside it was outside.  We called the property management and told them to come baby sit while we went to the beach.  Got a text that internet was up.  Only 24 hours after it  was supposed to be available to our people that really needed to check in with work (not me - I'm retired).

The next day we explored San  Diego and then went out to  a nice dinner.  Returned home at 9:30 to discover the keyless entry was broken.  We could not get in.  We saw a patch where a  dog door used to be  and figured the smallest of us (not me) would crawl in.  But removing the patch, we discovered it was not a dog door it was a cat door.   None of us fit.  And sticking an arm in to try and reach the deadbolt did not work.  Sticking an broom stick in to push the  the dead bolt did not work.  Sticking other tools we located or borrowed from the neighbor didn't work. There were realty type key boxes on the stairs that we didn't know  the code to but tried the door code.   No luck.

We had called the property management and texted the property management repeatedly to no avail.  We were working on finding a place to spend the night sans jammies, toothbrushes or the ice cream brownies we'd been planning on.   Eventually a downstairs neighbor peeked out to see why were were fooling around with her lock box.  Luckily, it turned out she knows the owner of our unit.  After several calls the owner says we can break out the panel of the door  to get in. But we are a little  doubtful about that and double check and finally the owner decides to come  let us in.  But she has no  key either.  I suppose because she thinks  the property manager will ride to the rescue in an emergency like this.   So she and her boyfriend come  over, try some old key and then run off to get a ladder.  The boyfriend  climbs the ladder and can't get the screen off one  window.  Tries another window and SUCCESS.  We are in.  Only one and a half hours after we had retuned, hoping to spend an  evening  relaxing, playing cards, drinking  wine and eating brownies in our beach condo.  BLEH!!

Turns out keyless entry systems run on batteries and when batteries die you can't get in unless you've stored a backup key somewhere.  Or have a property management team on call.

The real topper was when the property management texted me at 6:00 AM to check if we'd gotten in.  HELLO!  Can you figure that either we are at another location or we got in but in either case we are on vacation and are probably asleep?

Up side is they refunded us about one night's rate.   Not sure yet if I think that is enough.