My Commonplace Book

I had a nice day today, but I'm worn out!

This morning I went to momomom's annual New Year's brunch. It was great! It was good to see various members of her family I don't see very often (especially what_evaa, who's away at college in California most of the time), and even though I didn't know most of the people there, everyone was friendly and I never sat alone by myself.  The food was wonderful and the drinks were great (especially the mimosas and the Mexican hot chocolate!).

Then I came home and finished my soup. The other day I took the bone and fatty section of the honey-baked spiral-sliced ham I made for Christmas dinner and a package of Toni's Ten Bean Soup from the Women's Bean Project (ingredients: barley, anasazi beans, lentils, red lentils, green split peas, yellow split peas, black eyed peas, black turtle beans, red and white beans). I cut up two big onions, several stalks of celery, several carrots, a couple of potatoes and a couple of cloves of garlic, put them all in my biggest stock pot, and filled it the rest of the way with water. I don't use recipes for soup -- I just throw in whatever's around. About four hours later I put in the contents of Toni's spice packet and some other seasonings, and after another hour or so of simmering I strained out the solid stuff, put that and the broth into big containers and put them in the fridge.

Tonight I scooped the fat off the top of the soup, then picked through the solids to take out the bones and fatty parts. Then I put the rest back together and ladled out a bowl of it to test it. Ahhhh! Beautiful soup! Actually it's practically stew -- some of the veggies and beans disintegrated and made a the broth extremely thick and hearty, which is just the way I like it! It was delicious!

Tomorrow when I have more energy I'll divide it up into sections and freeze it. Then I shall look forward to plenty of beautiful soup evenings! Maybe I'll invite some people over for a big bowl of thick, hearty Bean and Ham Soup, a salad, and some fresh crusty bread ... yum!

It's very important to clean out your freezer occasionally ... because there may be something good back there!

I cleaned out the bottom shelf of the refrigerator freezer the other day, and waaay in the back I found (1) a ziplock bag with three Lu cookies -- the kind with the thick layer of chocolate (almost like a small chocolate bar) on top -- and (2) a package of Lindt extra-dark chocolate truffles!

They both had a slight "freezery" smell (like ice cubes get if you let them sit too long), but dipping in coffee solved it nicely for the cookies, and the truffles taste fine when you bite into them. :-)

Every year in November my neighborhood has a "progressive hors d'oeuvre party". It was originally planned as a progressive dinner party, but there were too many people so the format was changed to allow everyone to participate.

There are three open houses, with appetizers at the first two have appetizers and desserts at the last one. Everyone who wants to come is told which house to bring something to -- I was assigned to bring an appetizer to Janet and Bob's house (the second house). I dropped it off before the party began, came back home and finished getting ready, and then went over to the first house.

These are mostly not light appetizers -- they're more than hearty enough to be a full dinner. Janet had told me what others were bringing and we decided cheese and crackers would be nice in case some people wanted something to nibble on rather than chowing down.

After an hour at the first house they ring a bell, and we all take our drinks and troop over to the second house and eat some more. After an hour there the bell rings and we walk over to the third house for dessert.

It's really fun because you can see how other people with the same style townhouse decorate theirs. (There are only two styles of house in the subdivision -- a larger model and a slightly smaller model.) These houses are going on 30 years old, so most of them have been substantially updated, especially the kitchens. I always drool over them, because mine hasn't been updated at all. I replaced all the windows about 17 years ago, but that doesn't affect the appearance, and everything else is still the way it was, including the dated dark-brown kitchen cabinets.

I don't see my neighbors that much -- I know them to wave to or stop to chat in the street, but I don't socialize with them. So I enjoy these parties because I can get to know them better.

But I ate too much! It's so easy to do when you can't control portion size because you're just nibbling a piece of mushroom pie here, a stuffed potato skin there, a cocktail meatball, a spanakopita square, another mealball, and so on. There were so many things to try, and for dessert there were two cheesecakes, a gooey trifle, fancy pastries, apple pies, and several other things.

=burp=

Massive Frozen Pizza Recall

414,000 Cases Affected
Health Risk: High

Public health officials are urging consumers to throw away any Totino's or Jeno's brand frozen pizzas that contain pepperoni in the wake of a multi-state outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections.

( Specific products, refunds, and more info )

OMG, am I exhausted!!!1!!111!!  It was a very hectic weekend, but it was all good.

( Saturday )

( Sunday )

But I ate waaaaaaay too much this weekend! Three all-you-can eat meals-- two big potluck dinners and an extensive salad bar. Ohhhhh. I was stuffed!

So I was on the go the entire weekend, and now I'm exhausted. I haven't done much all day. Tomorrow (Tuesday) I have an appointment to have my teeth cleaned in the morning, and I have to decide what to do in the evening.

( Choices and poll )

... but not from the sky. From the hose with the leaky fittings.

With no meaningful rain in weeks, I finally had to get out there and water the garden. We're under water restrictions, so I had to do it by hand, standing there with the hose -- sprinklers are not allowed unless they have automatic shutoffs.

The last time we had more than a tenth of an inch was on July 10, when we had 1.87 inches. There was just over a half inch on July 4 (of all days! We watched the fireworks in the rain!). In June the only day that had any rain worth talking about was 1.91 inches on June 3. In May we had a total for the month of 0.94 inches. A normal May is 3.89 inches. The occasional sprinkles of a trace to a half-inch in between haven't been enough to penetrate the ground, and there haven't been very many of them. It's very unusual for this part of the country.

I've been putting off watering because it's been unremittingly hot. A temperature in the low 90s with reasonable humidity is uncomfortable, but not horrible, for most people. (Although it will be horrible for the next few days.) But this year when I spend any time outside -- even 20 or 30 minutes -- when it's above 90º, it seems to be making my fibromyalgia flare.

But yesterday there was a light cloud cover in the afternoon, and the pachysandra was starting to look dangerously droopy and I didn't want to lose it, so I figured it was time to drag out the hose. (Which was easier than it used to be since I got a hose reel cart from freecycle!) Unfortunately, my hose nozzle is old and rusty, and refused to do anything but spray, so I had to turn the flow way down so it wouldn't blast everything away. Meanwhile, while I was spraying the plants, the hose was spraying me. The hose itself is fine, but the fittings leak at both ends (or maybe it's the cart that leaks at that end!). But at least at that end it just soaks the ground under the cart, while the fitting just below my hand sprays in several directions!

But the sprays, though strong, are very fine, and they kept me cool while I stood out there, so I didn't really mind it getting drenched from head to toe. (Except windshield washers on my glasses would have helped.) The pachysandra perked up nicely -- except for the areas that got Round-up on them when I sprayed the poison ivy .  I apparently splashed more than I thought I did. Oh well, it will just have to fill in again -- that's the only way I can weed any more, since I can't kneel or bend.

The rest of the garden has been standing up to the drought pretty well, but it does look better now. The ceratostigma (dwarf plumbago) looked fine, but had few flowers -- it looks much happier today. A few weeks ago I almost lost the small-leaved basil that momomom gave me, because I forgot to water it for just two days and it started to dry up -- it's just a baby and doesn't have much of a root system. But I remembered in time and it greened right up and fluffed out, and I've been very mindful of it since!  A generous sprinkle of fresh basil has really perked up my favorite my summer salad of sliced heirloom tomatoes (sometimes with sweet corn or cucumbers) drizzled with vinaigrette.

Of course, since I watered, it rained about an hour later! But it was less than a tenth of an inch, so it wouldn't have done anything for the plants, and it left the area under trees completely dry -- and the pachysandra is under the canopy of the dogwood. So I needed to water anyway. But I've been totally lethargic and out-of-it all day today, just kind of wandering around the house in a daze. I have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow, and I'm hoping that Karen will be able to make me feel better.

Last week sleepingwolf and oniricwolf came to visit while they were in the area. It was great seeing them again! I gave oniric the two big bags of fabric I had gotten from freecycle for her, made a picnic lunch, and we went up to Patapsco Valley State Park for a hike.

The forecast was for a high around 80 with comparatively low humidity but "considerable cloudiness" and a chance of showers, so we packed umbrellas. But after lunch (in a pavilion with a spectacular view of the valley), when we were ready to hit the trail, we ended up leaving them in the car because there wasn't a cloud in the sky -- what pilots call "severe clear." It was delightfully pleasant for late July, especially after several weeks of unbroken heat and humidity -- a perfect day to be outdoors!

It's always fun hiking with sleepingwolf and oniricwolf because, like me, they love to stop and examine everything interesting along the trail. I have only one other friend who enjoys that -- most of my friends prefer paved paths and just walking. Oniric is very knowledgeable about insects and plants, and very alert to anything interesting below eye level, so she spots lots of things that I often miss because I'm busy looking up watching for birds! (I love to look for birds, bugs, flowers and interesting rocks as I walk along, but I've found that it's not possible to look down and up at the same time while walking without losing my balance and tripping!)

I had a marvelous time! We stopped at an overlook that looks out over a beautiful section of the valley, and then made our way down the very steep, serpentine Union Dam Trail. We went to see the entrance to the turn-of-the-20th-century railroad tunnel, looked for rocks and bugs on the wide "beach" behind the dam, and then ambled down the unnamed trail along the riverbank. We're in the midst of a drought so the river is lazy and slow -- a perfect setting for a warm lazy summer afternoon.

After a few hours of walking through the woods, collecting river rocks, looking at interesting flora and fauna -- especially great close views of a Wood Thrush pair and a beautiful Blue-fronted Dancer damselfly (see pic!) -- having a couple of interesting adventures, and struggling back up the steep trail, we were happy but tired and hungry. Sleepingwolf and oniricwolf remembered that I had mentioned an authentic Mexican restaurant (owned and operated by a Mexican family) and wanted to go there. We had a great meal, then drove back to my house and enjoyed chatting late into the night.

( Photos and interesting stories )

Most of the rest of the photos are in the new gallery Nature in Summer - July 2007

Press releases from the FDA and the CDC are warning about botulism contamination in chili and chili sauce products sold nationwide. The CDC has found four cases of illness so far:  two children in Texas and an Indiana couple. Botulism was found in samples of hot dog chili sauce taken from their refrigerators.

Check the label and "Best By" date on the bottom of the cans and discard any of the following:

• 10 ounce cans of Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce  (UPC 3030000101)
• Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce (UPC 3030099533)
• Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce  (UPC 1111083942)
• Morton House Corned Beef Hash, 15 oz can (UPC 7526665830)
• Cattle Drive Chili with Beans, 15 oz can (UPC 3030001515)
• Southern Home Corned Beef Hash, 15 oz can (UPC 0788015360)
• Meijer Corned Beef Hash, 15 oz can (UPC 4125095229)
• Castleberry’s Chili with Beans, 15 oz can (UPC 3030001015)
• Castleberry’s Barbecue Pork, 10 oz can (UPC 3030000402)
• Bunker Hill Chili No Beans, 10 oz can (UPC 7526604112)

... with "best by" dates from April 30, 2009 through May 22, 2009

The "best by" date is on the top or bottom of the can.

Also discard any cans of the recalled product with missing or unreadable “best by” dates, foods that may have been prepared with a recalled product, and any canned hot dog chili sauce of an unknown brand.

Consumers may return the label to the location where the product was purchased for a full refund.

If you use any of the recalled products, see these links for more information:

CDC FAQ

CDC press release

FDA press release

Castleberry's press release

I don't eat any of that, but I was notified of the problem by an email from the Emergency Email and Wireless Network, which sends customizable alerts from local, regional and national government sources. They're infrequent, and usually important (except when Homeland Security sends something that came out of Chertoff's gut). I recommend it.

[singing] Summerti-i-i-i-i-ime, and the eating is yummy....

What I've had to eat so far today:

Breakfast: a bowl of Kashi Good Friends cereal with blueberries, blackberries and mulberries, topped with a few chopped almonds.

Lunch: a big soup bowl filled to the brim with chunks of freshly-picked Sugar Baby watermelon, and a piece of the Breadery's whole grain 5-seed bread with a little peach jam.

Supper: two ears of freshly-picked Silver King corn on the cob, and a salad made with mixed greens, vine ripened tomatoes, green pepper, baby cucumber, baby carrots, and a few small flowers, topped with a little grated cheese and some fat-free Asiago and garlic dressing.

The only things that didn't come from the farmer's market were the cereal, the almonds and the carrots.  The guy who sells the fresh peas wasn't there yesterday, or there would have been some peas in the salad too.

I love summer eating! I just gorge on berries. I only put in half a bowl of cereal so I can fill the rest with berries. This morning when I was trying to decide what kind of berries to have with my cereal a phrase floated into my head ... Berry Fantasy ....  I have no idea where it came from, but I loved it, and it told me what I wanted! So I put in all three, happily thinking Berry Fantasy all the while. I spent $17.75 on berries yesterday (3 pints of blueberries, 2 pints of blackberries and a half-pint of mulberries), and I'm planning to eat them all by next Thursday and then buy some more. The trick is to make the berries and the week come out even, so they neither get too old nor run out and leave me with no freshly-picked berries at all for a day or two!

I rarely cook with farmer's market stuff -- it's too wonderful! I love fresh fruits and veggies, and I'd much rather eat it that way, with as little processing as possible, to get the full flavor.

Later on -- when I have some room after eating that wonderful supper -- I'm going to have dessert: a homemade brownie with chocolate chips (brought over by the friend who came over to go to the fireworks with me on Wednesday), warmed in the microwave then topped with low-fat triple chocolate ice cream, with some Cool Whip on top.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

I missed spring! It must have been during the 11 days I was away, because it was chilly until shortly before I left, then pleasant -- and since I came back it's been HOT -- highs in the upper 80s and 90s and very humid.

But the farmer's market opened while I was away. I couldn't go last week, so today I went for the first time this season. Mmmmmmmmmm!  The Early Girl strawberries straight out of the basket taste like they've been sugared -- I bought three quarts! I've been dreaming of strawberries and I plan to gorge on them! 

I also got two quarts of plump sugar snap peas and munched on them all the way home, with plenty left for snacks. (I rarely cook or bake with farmer's market produce -- it's too yummy, I usually just eat it fresh!) I picked up a strawberry quick bread, too -- I haven't tried it yet, but "strawberries" was the first ingredient and it didn't rise too well, so I think it's going to be very strawberry-y and very good! They had them on special, probably because they didn't look nice and puffy fluffy like the others -- but I don't care what it looks like, I'll just use a fork or a spoon if it's too mushy to slice!

ADDED: Yum! The strawberry nut bread is wonderful! It doesn't look very good because the top fell, so I got a great bargain because it tastes wonderful! Here are the ingredients: Strawberries, sugar, butter, eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, milk, walnuts. Mmmmmmmm. I love farmer's market season!

On Monday, someone posted a message on my church's discussion group. His wife had an unexpected business trip and he was going with her, so they wouldn't be able to attend the Australian Dinner they had purchased at the church auction last fall. It was this Saturday, March 24 -- would someone like to go in their place?

Yow! I had bid on that, but the price rose very quickly -- Cynthia and Duncan put on a different international dinner every year, and their events are well known to be wonderful -- so I had to drop out. It ended up going for $60 a person. I quickly dashed off a note, and I soon got a note back saying that I could go!

Cynthia and Duncan put on a fantastic feast, and I am stuffed! This was the menu:

Hors d'ouvres (sic):

Yabbies (Crayfish)
Shrimp on the Barbie
Peter Hehmann Semillon (Australia)

Entree:

Meat Pies
Marlborough Pinot Noir (New Zealand)

Main Course:

Australian frenched lamb ribs
Mixed vegetables
Mixed salad
Shoofly Shiraz (Australia)

Dessert:

Pavlova
Jacob's Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut-Cuvee

It was all absolutely delicious! It was a large dinner -- 18 people -- and Cynthia went all out with the food and the atmosphere. She even had a selection of Australia-related coffee-table books on the coffee-table and Australian music (well, Waltzing Matilda was playing when I got there, and once the living room got crowded and noisy I couldn't hear it any more). The food and everything else was terrific!

The hors d'oeuvre course was interesting because nobody -- including the hosts -- knew how to eat yabbies! (The name is derived from the word yabij in the Aboriginal Wemba language.) They look exactly like tiny, 3-inch long lobsters -- and even big lobsters are hard to eat! Fortunately Cynthia and Duncan have a friend who'd grown up in Australia, whom they'd invited to the dinner. She said to just eat the tail because there isn't enough meat in the rest of the yabby to worry about, and showed us how to break off the tail and pull the shell off with our fingers. She said the claws were good too, and they were, but there was so little meat in the teeny-tiny claws you could hardly taste it. The yabbies were delicious, but seemed rather wasteful! The huge grilled shrimp were marvelous too.

The lamb was served in small racks of 3 or 4 ribs each, and it was amazing! It just melted in your mouth! (I can't even imagine how much it must have cost!) The "mixed vegetables" weren't the kind that comes in the packages of "mixed vegetables" -- it was a wonderful melange of fresh broccoli, cauliflower, squash and carrots, roasted in the oven.

And the pavlova ... oh, the pavlova! I'd never had this traditional Aussie dessert before, and I never knew what I was missing. Pavlova (pronounced pav-LOH-vuh, not accented on the first syllable as in Russian) is very simple -- just a big meringue with real whipped cream and fruit -- and absolutely scrumptious. Cythia's looked just like this (except with strawberries and kiwi slices, not pomegranate seeds) and she'd made three of them, so we each got a huge wedge.

The wines were great too. I didn't care for the shiraz, but the others were very good. By the time we got to the sparkling dessert wine, though, I'd had enough and only had a few sips. I wasn't driving -- my friend Linda had gotten the other ticket and offered to pick me up -- but I'm not a big drinker and I just didn't want any more wine.

The company was enjoyable too, but the dinner was really the star of the evening!

I ventured out yesterday for the first time since the sleet storm started on Tuesday.

( Chocolate )

( Birdseed )

( Hiking boots and Yaktrax )

I tried them out, and they're great! I highly recommend YakTrax to those of you who get snow and ice!

When I got home I found that my strategy of shoveling two strips in my parking space worked perfectly! I put ice melt in them before I left to get rid of the residue I hadn't been able to remove, and when I came back I backed the car in, and not only did the wheels fit right into the strips of clear pavement, I had a few inches on the left side to walk (well, sidle) in. I was very proud of myself for not only shoveling exactly the right places, but also for backing in so perfectly. I used to be terrible at backing up, especially after I stopped being able to turn my head and had to do it with only the mirrors. But I've gotten much better at it over the years.

The MoveOn.org house party I signed up for was cancelled --  not because of the weather, but because the host said something had come up that afternoon and she had to do something else. I was half disappointed because I really wanted to go, and half relieved that I wouldn't have to go out with the parking lot still so icy and worry about the condition of parking at the host's house. So I just stayed in and stayed cozy.

This morning eudyptes came over to pick up his Yaktrax, and while he was here he brought in the birdseed and filled the feeders for me. (Thank you, Ken!) They've been empty for months so I asked him to scatter a bunch of it on top of the snow, both for the ground feeders and to show the birds there was something there. Unfortunately the squirrels found it first -- within 15 minutes there were four of them sitting in the front yard going to town on the seeds.

( Good Deed for the Day )

I've been absolutely thrilled with the way my car has been getting in and out over the ice! I was apprehensive yesterday about whether I could even get out of the parking space -- the plow had shoved some snow in the way, and it had frozen solid. But the CR-V barely even hesitated, and went right over the big slippery lump! Backing in was the same, as was going out today, so I felt confident enough to pull straight in tonight instead of backing in. I'm glad I didn't pay the extra $1200 for all-wheel-drive. Since I'm retired I usually just opt not to go out when the roads are bad, and on the rare occasions I may have to (or choose to), it looks like my front-wheel-drive car will do just fine!

So I got a lot accomplished in the last few days and I'm feeling good about that!

If you have any Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter in the house, check the product code on the lid. If it is "2111" do not eat it.

Hundreds of people have been sickened by Salmonella, and that batch of peanut butter appears to be the common link.

If you've already used some and anyone in the house has an upset stomach, save the jar for testing and go to the doctor. Otherwise throw the whole thing out.

It has already been identified in the 39 states colored blue:



But both brands are sold nationally, so peanut butter from that batch in any state could potentially be contaminated.

More details from the CDC here.

I don't use this peanut butter myself, but I want to make sure my friends are safe.

I only buy freshly-made peanut butter from the health food store. It has nothing to do with disease -- I just dislike the taste, texture and nutritional negatives of commercial peanut butter. Did you know that commercial peanut butter is only 90% peanuts? The other 10% is salt, sugar and hydrogenated oil.

If you've never had fresh peanut butter, you don't know what you're missing! Find some or make some and give it a try.  I've made it by just putting shelled roasted peanuts in the blender or the food processor (with a bit of salt and a couple of tablespoons of peanut or safflower oil) and blending until it turns into peanut butter. There's more information at the link above.

I just buy it nowadays. You have to stir it a little bit before using because the oil rises to the top, but it's not that hard and it's sooooo much richer and more flavorful, as well as much healthier.

I am not feeling well. I don't know what's going on, but I've been having hot flashes for the last couple of days. I am waaaay beyond hot flashes, so I don't know what's going on. I've also been feeling weak and out of sorts, so I assume I picked up a bug somewhere.

I haven't gone out at all since Wednesday, but tonight the Welcoming Congregation movie is Kinsey, and I don't want to miss that.

I'm a little conflicted about whether I should eat any of the pizza since my stomach has been a bit upset this afternoon, though. I guess I'll see how I feel when I look at it. Right now the thought of pizza isn't particularly appetizing to me (so I must be sick!), and if I still feel that way when I see it, I'll pass. If it looks good, it probably means I'm okay enough to have a slice. I rarely eat pizza since I switched to a healthy diet a few years ago, so a slice of free pizza at the Friday Night Movie is my once-a-month treat.

I finally got my act together and gathered everything I need to apply for my passport, and I'm going to the Post Office tomorrow! (All of you world travelers stop laughing at me, this is my first passport and I'm excited about it, because it means my trip next May is really happening!)

( Luncheon )

( Passport photo )

( For gadget freaks only )

woofiegrrl had sent me a wonderfully helpful email with links to each Web page I'd need, and I found that you don't have to print the application out and fill it in by hand -- they have a page where you can fill in a form on the computer and it generates a pdf file to print out with the info already on it. So I have the form filled out and printed, my birth certificate, and the photos, and my picture ID (driver's license) and checkbook are in my wallet. So tomorrow I'm going to the Post Office and hope I did everything right!

I hope they don't look askance at the fact that I'm only going to Canada. The idea of needing a passport to go to Canada still feels silly to me. I've been in Canada several times (though only once for any distance -- most of the visits were at Niagara Falls, where the touristy stuff is mostly on the Canadian side) and each time we just went back and forth with barely a pause at the border. "How long were you in Canada?" "About three hours, we just looked around Niagara Falls." "Do you have anything to declare?" "No." "Okay, go on through." So I feel almost like I'm getting the passport under false pretenses because I'm not going to an actual foreign country ... just Canada!

And on top of that I'm only going to be in Canada for a few hours, because I'm actually not going to Canada, I'm going to Alaska, which, last time I heard, was still part of the US. But virtually all large cruise ships are foreign flagged, so they have to dock at a foreign port some time during the cruise. (A cruise ship remaining in US waters the entire time must be US flagged, which means not only paying more taxes, but also complying with the US's pesky safety and personnel regulations.)

So we're docking in Victoria, BC for six hours, and I'm told I'll need a passport to get off the ship -- even in Canada. And I want to see the city, and I'm especially looking forward to meeting ms_interpret, who lives there!