You know, when do you’re doing the most boring, mundane things, that’s when ideas start to ramble. That happened this morning as I was pulling the delicates out of the washer.
I think constantly about how I should share more on this blog. What better way to find new friends than to share about things that I like or love. I mean, so very many of us like to write about things that we hate, or ‘cilantro’ as Andra would say.
Tomorrow, I’ll share about my most favorite thing.
Ok, so I voted. So there.
Now, my thoughts. And, only mine.
Voters around the country issued a mandate yesterday for personal freedom. And, in Colorado and Washington, residents ultimately sent a message to the drug cartels.
Don’t judge–I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats. As recent as yesterday.
Now, time to move on. Time to focus, time to debate, time to make progress.
Think I posted the wrong photo? I did not. It’s of the cross that sits atop Mount Davidson. To me, it symbolizes perfectly the separation of church and state, that the two may co-exist peacefully. If you are in San Francisco, it’s worth the hike. And, the view on a clear day is divine.
My parents are serial walkers. They don’t just take simple strolls around the block. They take WALKS. LONG WALKS. I appreciate that they do this and that they made me take LONG WALKS with them.
Yesterday morning, I received the following in an email from my dad. It made me smile. I hope it makes you smile, too.
Julia and I attempt to take a fairly long walk almost everyday. Most of the time we just walk around the neighborhood. Sometimes, we drive to O’Hara and walk around the beautiful little park and sometimes we go to North Park and sometimes go to Hartwood Acres. We often go the Highland Park water reservoir and do the one mile walk around the lake. We use to walk the two miles from the apartment there and back which makes the total walk 5 miles long. Now, we don’t do that since we are older. We drive and park on the hill behind the lake. This day we had our walk around the lake and were walking up the lane to the car. We approached a new black Chevy and a beautiful young smiling girl, maybe 25 years old, was sitting in the driver’s seat. As we got closer she said, “When I grow up I want to be exactly like you two!” I said, “My goodness, you want to be old and ugly?” She said, “No, I want to be old and beautiful!” So, what could I say? I said, “Thank you. You are already half way there. You are very beautiful and, I think, being old is a long way in the future for you.” Julia and I got into our car and drove away feeling much better about ourselves and a lot better about all people in general.
I can not forget that encounter at the lake and it confirms what Tom Hanks said in the movie, Forrest Gump: “My momma always said, Life was like a box of chocolates. You, never know what your gonna get.” I say most of the time the candy is good and sometimes, judging from some of the great people Julia and I have met just by chance, the candy is delicious.
While flipping through the pages of the latest edition of Departures this morning, something caught my eye. Now, please don’t judge me by my reading material; the magazine comes as a part of the very generous annual fee I pay to American Express for some great travel benefits.
And, let me be clear…almost all of the outlandish escapades covered in Departures are way beyond our budget. But this one is not. It’s a very simple recipe that would be baking in my oven right now if I had bacon in my fridge. It’s a good thing I didn’t.
Bill Blass’s Caramelized Bacon
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Dredge individual bacon slices in brown sugar, patting sugar down on both sides to make it stick. Place the bacon slices on a heavy baking sheet. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bacon is caramelized and crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool. Break them into bite-sized pieces to serve as hors d’oeuvres.
Thanks, Bill.
(a post from Jasmine)
Hi. Jasmine here.
I thought I’d pick up where Carol left off since she’s been quite the slacker the past few days…well, really, the past week or so. You humans and your habits. Hard to break bad ones, hard to keep good ones. Us dogs? Not an issue. For us, there’s no right or wrong. Instead, its a cinch. You guys tell us what’s right and what’s wrong. And, we get treats when we get it right! We understand you. Well, we understand what we want to hear. It’s not all this, like you think.
Now, about Kona…that little b—-h and her fancy bowl. Enough already. She gets her own special dining room, too. And then she has the gall to growl at me from within her abode when she’s done eating. B—-h. And a whole post about it? Really?
She’d better be glad she’s here because it was gonna be just me. I picked out the boy first. And then Ken picked out Kona. And then Carol decided she would come home with us.
That’s okay. Because I’m the top dog, the Getter of All Things. Need a dish towel? Got it. Looking for a shoe? No problem. A sock? Absolutely. I even clean up after Kona when she’s decided to bring dinner back up for a second round (I’ll keep it at that since you humans don’t appreciate canine gourmet).
Anyway, just wanted to chime in about me. What you see is what you get. No shame. Now, if I could just get my humans to let me sleep in the bed with them. And, I don’t understand this waiting-until-it’s-light-to-get-up-and-eat-breakfast thing.
Ken and I are pretty adventurous eaters. A stop at the local Asian mega mart may be a journey into an alien world for some, but it’s on our tour of regular grocery-shopping stops. One of our favorite exotic veggies in stock there is the bitter melon. When we go through the check out line, we typically get that “You do know what you’re buying, right?” look. Once we assure the staff that we know exactly what we are doing, we are offered recommended preparations and old family recipes.
Some of you may already know that bitter melon requires a very acquired taste. As Ken states, those who love a really hoppy beer may enjoy it. I’ll leave it to other sources to tout its medicinal benefits. I know that I always feel healthy and refreshed (and full) after consuming it!
Our preferred way to eat it is rather simple: stir-fried with dried black beans. We use Grace Young’s recipe in The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing. I have omitted the flank steak, as we typically do, for this recipe:
2 medium bitter melons (1 1/4 pounds total)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon finely shredded ginger
1 teaspoon rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon thin soy sauce
1 teaspoon plus 5 tablespoons vegetable oil (we usually use far less and substitute with olive oil)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon Chinese dried black beans
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Cut the bitter melons in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Slice into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Place in 1 quart of boiling water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Allow the water to return to a boil. Then, drain and rinse the bitter melon under cold water and set aside to drain thoroughly.
Rinse the black beans in several changes of cold water and drain. In a small bowl, mash the black beans and garlic with the back of a wooden spoon until it resembles a paste.
Heat a flat-bottomed wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add oil, bitter melon, black bean paste, corn starch, ginger, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and pepper. Stir fry for one-to-two minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Christian began middle school yesterday. It was different from any other “first day” we’ve experienced. For all of the others, he was a little boy. The changes from year-to-year were not so extreme.
He began this summer as a fifth grader, still in elementary school, shorter, with curly, blond hair. He had never been to a sleepover camp. He had never once discussed girls in that way.
When I started middle school, I felt awkward in a foreign land, having spent my first five years of school in not quite the Outback. But, Christian was enthusiastically autonomous as he prepped Tuesday night, as he strode off to the bus stop alone Wednesday morning. It means a lot to his parents that Christian had such a great day–we had a great day. Middle school seems to suit him: It’s a bit rough around the edges, there’s more diversity, less rules, old friends, new friends. That’s all I may share. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.
(queue sentimental moment)
As I think of Christian growing up, I often recall this song by my favorite band EVER. Though it is intended for a daughter, it pretty much sums up for me the experience of seeing my son grow up before my eyes, how fleeting time is even though I am right by his side, almost every single day.
(queue needle scratching-across-a-record sound, interrupting said sentimental moment)
Christian would rather I consider a tune on today’s Top 40 list.
(queue blank thought)
Off he goes!
As I passed through the living room on Saturday, I noticed Kona snuggled on the sofa with her bowl. Well, her substitute bowl. Recently, she broke her beloved ceramic one as she toted it from the powder room to the sofa. Dropped mid-prance as she just had to see what her sister was up to. That’s right, I said the powder room. Kona eats in “private” since her little yet larger sister Jasmine thinks any food in any bowl is hers to eat.
It seems since Kona’s beloved blue bowl cracked and went the way of the trash can, she has become even more possessive of its simple makeshift replacement. I teased that perhaps we need to take her shopping to Petco to pick out a new one. Just Queen Kona and her humans.
Poor Kona generally puts up with her strong, confident, alpha sibling pretty well. But, gradually, she’s figured out the food thing. The BOWL thing. And, she no longer tolerates being bullied. So, this weekend, she stood her ground. Follow the play-by-play here:
Snuggling on the sofa
Jasmine sits up from under the dining room table when she notices Kona on the sofa. With THE bowl. She must claim it. Kona notices Jasmine.
Uh oh. Jasmine decides to approach. Kona clinches the bowl and lets out a slow guttural growl, “Back off, bitch.” Literally.
The human intervenes and diverts Kona’s attention. Crisis averted. There will be plenty of time later for gnashing teeth, high pitched yelping, and flying fur.
My master chef came up with a simple soup today for lunch, to accompany chicken salad with homemade mayonnaise (more about that later). Simple because he used what he could find in the fridge. Simple because it took no time to make. No name, just simple.
2 cups of chicken broth, homemade is best but this brand will also do
1/2 cup of cooked jasmine rice
1/2 cucumber, sliced 1/8″ thick
3 baby bok choy, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
white pepper to taste
Ladle the boiling chicken broth into two bowls, then evenly disperse the other ingredients. Serve immediately.
i am chuggins 