Just a few more.

Have you ever gone on vacation or visited someone, come home, unpacked, done the requisite 18 loads of laundry, but still feel like you never left? Your head is still back there, stuck in that visited place days or weeks after the rest of you called it quits. I've been back from visiting the homestead for well over two weeks, but here I sit, still perusing the pictures I took, yapping incessantly about this mundane detail or that. I don't know what's come over me. I'm not worried mind you, it will pass soon enough. But you? You, my lovelies are now going to have to slog through one last post involving the trip home. The worst kind of torture, the blog equivalent of a vacation slide show. Muwahahahahaha (queue menacing music).

Actually, it's not all that bad. No really, I promise, just a few pictures I took walking around the yard. Like this one. This little fellow is a baby osprey (he's not really that little, nor do I know if he is actually a fellow, but just run with it), his parentals were busy all week trying to teach him to fish for himself.

He was not happy about the prospects of self sufficiency, you could hear him crying from his perch most of the day. Much like I was when my parents cut the financial apron strings. "What do you mean you're not going to pay for my fifth year of college? So what if I'm still a sophomore."

Moving on. Here's one I surreptitiously shot of my brother and his "mini-me". The Niblit may have blond hair ,and eyes like his mother; but this whirling dervish,from his endless energy and mischievous curiosity, down to his infectious cookie monster laugh, is my brother all over again.

Hang in there guys, you're half way through.

Here's a shot of the dock my dad had built, and the boat lift he insisted on installing for the boat he swore he was getting ten years ago. Where's the boat you ask? Good question. I think the money the Old Man of the Sea would have to shell out for a boat has left him on dry ground. Of course, now that the Niblit has visited and talked about his other grandpa's boat, my father has finally started shopping around for his own. Ahh the joys of grandparental one-upmanship.

More importantly, however, is what comes from out at the end of the dock (boat-shmoat). One of the all time best perks to coming home in the warmer months are these; what I like to call Tidewater comfort food.

Blue Crabs; the quintessential "session food". My brother pulled the pots that evening, cleaned all the gross stuff out of the crabs before he boiled them in water, a little beer, a little Malt Vinegar, and a lot of Old Bay. From river to table in less than an hour. It does not get any better that this. We sat for hours picking crab, drinking beer, and talking. It's better than General Foods International Coffee for celebrating the moments of your life!

There! You made it! The blurb at the end of the post. The final phrase that tells you there are no more boring vacation pictures to wade through. We are now moving on. Give yourselves a pat on the back, you deserve it.

Yay! That's the end!

The First Five

I've been thinking a lot since my last post. Specifically I've been thinking about what you guys had to say about my last post; about having to like yourself, right now, not in a year, or 50 lbs from now. So over the past few days I've been pondering,plumbing the depths, getting my introspection on, and trying focus on things I like about myself. It's been harder to do than I thought it would be. I don't know if that's because I'm uncomfortable saying out loud the things that I like about myself (it feels like bragging, or being snobby and shallow), or that when I say those things, they ring hollow, and I don't really believe what I'm saying. Conundrum!

So I tasked myself to come up with 5 things (physical or otherwise) that I genuinely like about myself. My old therapists would be so proud. It's taken a week, and I'm still not sure how I feel about putting them out there, out here, but here it goes:

I like my eyes. They're kind eyes. Blue, but they change in intensity depending on what I'm wearing or if I'm pissed off, and sometimes they look kind of green. They remind me of the colors of the ocean, which is kind of cool because my name means 'star of the sea'.

I'm a really good listener. I feel honored and needed when someone trusts me enough to unload. It happens a lot, I think I put people at ease( that might be considered another "thing", but I think it's part of what makes me a good listener) Even if I can't offer any advice or solutions, I find it easy to empathise with people, and I can tell that they feel better for sharing whatever it is they have on their mind.

I like my hair. It's long and naturally curly, and while it's thinner than it used to be it's still really full and thick. I even like the color; a kind of reddish brown that with a little help from Loriel, can go a deep auburn. A friend once told me I had "princess hair". I know, it's totally vain, and I feel extraordinarily silly and sheepish writing about it, but its the one part of my physical self that I feel like I can flaunt.

When I put my mind to it I am a pretty good cook. I learned from watching my father, he did all the cooking when I was growing up, still does as a matter fact. He does amazing things with food. We haven't always had the best relationship,so the affinity I feel with him when I cook is very important to me. I don't do it very often, but I love getting in my kitchen and experimenting with different recipes. This past winter the Tapdancer and I had a ball dunking homemade cranberry orange biscotti(my own variation on my grandmother's recipe) into thick dark melted chocolate. Watching people enjoy what I've made is very satisfying. It feeds my soul. Perhaps I should do it more often.


I like my sense of humor. I'm funny dammit! Okay, so it may not come across here, but trust me, this is funny stuff. I love to laugh, and when I'm the one who's made the funny, all the better. I love those rare giggle fests, the ones where you laugh so hard you can't catch your breath, tears are streaming down your face, and you might even snort. I can be bawdy when the situation arises, and I pride myself on being able to hang as the only woman in my department. I get all the tasteless jokes and emails, and it is a constant source of amazement to my co-workers that I don't get offended. Bonus points if I can shock the hell out of them.


So there it is. The first five. I don't know if this little exercise actually helped or not, but it did bring to light just how hard I am on myself, all the time. That little voice loop that runs in my head is almost all negative. I don't know who gave the mic to the critical bitch in my head, but damn, she needs to shut the fuck up.

Culinary Adventures

While this weekend was not the productivity fest I had hoped (such is the case with all my weekends, Hmmm, I'm sensing a pattern), I did get a chance to play in the kitchen tonight. This evening's attempt at vegetarian cooking was this little dish.

Zucchini fritters with Pasta Portobello
(... and I don't think it came out half bad, if I do say so myself..)


For the Fritters.
Grate 2 medium zucchinis and 1/2 sweet onion onto a clean dishtowel. Wrap tightly and squeeze all the moister out with your hands.

My original attempt with this was a paper towel. Kids, don't try that at home. My paper towel got soggy and ripped at the bottom and I had to then transfer my zucchini to the dishtowel I should have used in the first place.

Once drained, transfer to mixing bowl.
Add:
Two beaten eggs
4 tbs flour
2/3 cup really good pecorino Romano cheese. (grated)
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Mix it all up into a consistent "batter" and spoon into your hot skillet.

Heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan over medium to medium high heat. I suppose you could use any kind of cooking oil like sunflower or canola, but I'm half Italian, I use olive oil on instinct. Besides, I think it adds a great flavor, and it's really good for you.

Spoon a healthy plop of zucchini mixture into the pan and gently work it into a relatively round patty. Cook about 3-4 min on each side or until golden brown. Cook fritters 3-4 at a time depending on the size of your pan. Remove to paper towel (those guys again) or a cooling rack placed on a cookie sheet. Salt immediately and keep warm in oven as you prepare the rest of the fritters, and your pasta. (I used a 250* oven).

For the pasta
1/2 lb of pasta. ( I used Pene, but you could use whatever floats your boat)
1 pkg sliced Portobollo Mushrooms
1/2 coarsely chopped Sweet Onion
1 good handful (about a 1/2 cup)of Romano Cheese.
1-2 tsp Dried parsley. If you have it you could use fresh, just be sure to up your amounts, fresh herbs aren't as strong as dried.

Once your fritters are going, you can start your water for the pasta and cook using the specifications on the box. Now would also be a good time to coarsely chop your mushrooms and onions.
I used portobello mushrooms because, to me, they have the taste and heartiness of steak, but you could probably use any other type you wanted (or even a mixture of mushrooms. Go crazy!).

OK, your fritters are done, they have been salted and are in a warm oven staying happy. Now drain the oil out of your pan (leave all the tasty bits, and the residual oil), and place back on heat, reduce heat to medium. Throw in your mushrooms and onions. Do not salt your veggies at this point, this will cause your mushrooms to release all their moisture and it will make them kind of soggy and tasteless. Saute in the residual olive oil (you can add more if you need to) until onions have started to brown.

Add a pat of butter to the mixture and stir it in right before you add your pasta. *this is optional, but it does add a richness in flavor*.

By this time your pasta should be done. Drain your pasta, but reserve a little of the water, ohh say about 1/4 c. Throw the pasta and reserved water into your skillet with he mushrooms and onions. Mix well and add a hand full of Romano cheese. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with one or two of the fritters.

How's it look?

Calling all Veggies

After the last beef recall I made the mistake of going online to watch the video of the mistreatment of cows being processed through a slaughterhouse. It was horrific, and I don't recommend watching it if you enjoy a cheeseburger now and again. I then fell down the rabbit hole and started to link my way through more and more horrific tales of industrial/corporate farming. I will spare you the details, they are out there if you want to read up, but its not for the faint hearted. I do, however, recommend reading up on the ecological impact these large industrial farms have on the environment.

Once I resurfaced and quelled the bile rising in my throat I decided to go vegetarian for a while. Just to see if I could do it. I've given up red meat, pork, and all poultry (lamb goes without saying). I still keep organic dairy, eggs from local free range cage free chickens , and fish (wild, not farm raised) in my diet. Some might say that's not really being a vegetarian, but dude, I'm so not givin' up my dairy! I have to say it's been easier to stick to than I thought it would be. Probably because my decision has nothing to do with my own dietary needs, but out of my personal sense of ecological and moral responsibility. It's too bad there is no ethical dilemma in chocolate (and if there is, shut up, I don't want to know!).

I have toyed with the idea of being a vegetarian since my pseudo hippie days in college(yes, I was one of those), but have always loved a good cheeseburger or meatball every now and again, so have been hesitant to give up meat. But the more I hear about how we raise our livestock and process them for slaughter, I become more and more neurotic as I walk through the grocery store. I pick up a package of chicken, gross myself out, then put it back down. A package of hamburger? Ditto. I have to put it down again. I look like freekin' Rainman pacing back and forth down the meat section picking up things, muttering to myself, and putting them back. It's not pretty people.

Now I know, local organic meat is a responsible option, and I may do that at some point, but it is so prohibitively expensive, I don't think I could afford it, and I can't even begin to imagine how someone could afford to feed an entire family that way. It's sad really, that only the well off can afford to feed their families quality foods that haven't been so pumped full of poisons and chemicals that you can no longer even call it food. The cheap crap is just that. Crap. Whew! Don't get me started on that soap box, I'll never get down.

So now I'm having a big time digging around cookbooks and the Internets looking for groovy vegetarian dishes, and trying out different ways to rework dishes I always cook. The Stuffed Peppers the Tap dancing Queen posted the other day were a direct result of such digging. She added chicken, which is great, but it tastes just as good without.

OK, here's where you guys come in. I need ideas, recipes, general vegetarian tips. (Yes, I know, the minute anyone asks you for a recipe you draw a blank - I'm lookin' at you Miss B). So if you have any good ones, post em in the comment section. Maybe I'll start posting my culinary attempts here, complete with pictures.

Now I'm hungry.

Solstice

Hello! This is not your usual hostess of the Trapped Realm - she is "away from her desk", at this time; on her way home to her family for Christmas. I, the Tapdancer, have shimmied my way over here to get these pictures up for you viewing pleasure. The first part of these pictures can be seen over at Tapdancing on the Edge of Reason.
This first picture is of the fun we have with Christmas crackers- its awfully hard to be grumpy with a silly paper crown on your head (although none of these dopes are wearing crowns - hmmmm).

Bea, aka Chanda made an incredible Baked Ziti for dinner, accompanied by a lovely green salad, dressed with gorgonzola, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar. The equally astounding homemade bread was made by Dave-man, who is renowned for not only his kick-ass BBQ, but his KA bread as well. Are you hungry yet?

We open the Christmas crackers at the table before dinner, to keep the "kids" busy. Look how well its working! Here Grandma translates one of the jokes that are written in French - I thought she might have been deigning to read fortunes, but alas, she was not that drunk at this point.

Here I am, the Tapdancer, with my sister-in-love, mugging for the Trapped One. I am a bit glassy-eyed here, but happy! That has to count for something in times like these.

This is my beloved niece, Nickel (I'm not telling you her real name - she's a celebrity in actuality, so we try to keep it low-key, so the fans will give her a break) - isn't she lovely? And she is as sweet on the inside as she looks on the outside, which a rarer and more wonderful gift than a pretty exterior. Sniff - i just love that girl!

Once we had demolished the appetizers, and the dinner feast, we brought out the big guns - dessert! Here you see the cookie tier and a beautiful old dish full of Bea's incredible biscotti. she made her grandmother's traditional anise-flavored ones, but then she created her own recipe for Cranberry Orange Biscotti, which we dredged in Scharffenberger's Semi-sweet chocolate. OMFG, they are orgasmic - I think they should be her signature recipe, they are just perfection!

The Piece de Resistance of the evening was my mother's Buche de Noel - a chocolate roll cake filled with coffee ganache and frosted with her famous chocolate chip frosting. Its an awesome cake; one that I am always trying to get her to make (I had a version of it for a wedding cake), and what makes it truly an artform, is the little meringue/chocolate mushrooms that decorate it. They look real enough to fool your more "groovy" friends, but they melt in your mouth, and you can't get arrested for possesion of them...I don't think. She made extra mushrooms to garnish with, which was greatly appreciated by everyone - it can turn ugly with a limited supply of 'shrooms.

so there you have it - the Solstice Party, in two parts. (Don't forget, the other half is over here, at Tapdancing on the Edge of Reason). Bon appetit, and Happy Christmas!