The Last Centurion - Spiralized Garlic-Paprika Sweet Potato "Fries" (link)

If I didn't know better, I'd swear I had the flu. And I never get the flu. But every muscle aches, and creeping out of bed was not a pretty sight. But I managed it, and also managed to play with my spiralizer while preparing a salad for Cory. A carrot, a radish, a shallot. Such pretty edible tendrils. And yes, those tomatoes are all from my garden.

I woke, as I almost always do, to the sight of The Last Centurion, guarding me from ... well, whatever. Romeo Lee Rothfeld, AKA Puppy, spends his days guarding me.

For my little man, it's all about Keeping Mommy Safe. He has certain spots in each room, from where he watches out for anyone or anything that might bring harm to Mommy. He barks like mad when Cory comes close to me, regardless of how many times we tell him that Cory is as safe as can be. If someone happens to walk towards me or near me, Romeo rushes over to my side.  Because I can't get out of bed at the same reasonable hour as Robert, Romeo will often forego his morning treats to stay with me. Even if he does follow Rob downstairs for treats, he runs right back upstairs to stay with me. 

Romeo has abandonment issues. He lost his first human mommy to cancer, and lost his puppy sister when she was adopted by a different family. Just like a little human, these experiences marked him for life. Not only does he watch over me, he is also very protective of his "new" sister, Chelsea.

Doggies. God's gift to the human race.

Finished my latest flower mandala, already started a new picture. 

I have a new coloring book on the way and I am very excited about it. Actually Robert got it for me, putting it on preorder.                

Gathering all my blue pencils in anticipation ...

I decided to play with the spiralizer again, before I call it a day and send this off to the publisher. This recipe for Spiralized Garlic-Paprika Sweet Potatoes is also from the "Inspiralized" website. I ramped up the seasoning with McCormick's California Style Garlic Pepper (instead of the plain garlic) and the addition of some sugar. Just plain old white sugar, nothing to overwhelm the other savory flavors.

These have a good taste, but I need to practice my spiralizing.  I've got at least 3 different widths from the same blade, which makes separating the strands a bit dicey, and messes with the cooking time. I'm not sure I'm crazy about the whole shoestring thing (which I might like better if my spiralization skills were up to snuff) so next time I will probably work with the medium blade instead.

Definitely medium blade next time. Okay, these are ridiculously good, although they remind me of French's French Fried Onions (which I love) rather than shoestring potatoes.

I bet these would be glorious on top of a casserole. For now, stick a fork in me, I am done, really overdone. I sat next to the oven while these were baking so I didn't have to walk back and forth, but my back still hurts and I feel like I ran a half-marathon. Ha ha ha ... me running a marathon ...

Today is Martin Luther King Day, a good day to reflect on the lessons of Dr. King.

Peace.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Thus Spake Bill The Cat - Korma Curry Chicken

Ack!

My heart is pounding, the light is hurting my eyes, and ... oh crap, you don't want to hear my litany of aches and pains yet again.

I'm cooking chicken today. Simple chicken, brushed with butter and spices, then broiled, then finished with a commercial Indian simmer sauce from Patak's and baked until perfectly done.  I happen to have some coconut rice in the refrigerator so I don't have to worry about preparing the "right" side dish. 

My mother used to do a lot of broiling - steak, lamb chops, chicken, steak - we ate a lot of steak - but broiling at home seems to have fallen out of favor. I still like to broil, especially when it will help me avoid pan-frying chicken thighs which is a messy proposition at best; fat splattering everywhere, including my clothes and hair and kitchen ceiling. Let's face it, the broiler is in the oven, and the oven is self-cleaning, one of the most beautiful phrases in the English language.

Korma Curry Chicken

10-12 chicken thighs, skin and bone intact

1 stick butter

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 green bell pepper, sliced

2 jars Patak's Original Simmer Sauce - Korma Curry

Place chicken on metal racks set over 2 aluminum baking dishes. Preheat oven to its "low" broiler setting. (Throughout the entire recipe I am cooking the chicken in 2 separate pans, and putting them into the oven one pan at a time.)

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, spices, and sugar. Set the saucepan over medium low heat just until butter is melted.

With a kitchen brush, gently mix the spices and butter together and brush the chicken over the entire top (skin-side up). Broil for 10 minutes. Let chicken cool, then turn over, brush more of the butter and spices on the chicken and return to the oven for 8 more minutes.

Remove the chicken from the rack, turn it right side up, and arrange in the pan, on top of any butter that has dripped down. Add half of the green pepper slices around the chicken. Spoon one jar of the sauce around the chicken and on top of the green peppers.

Change the oven setting to 400 degrees bake. Repeat with the second pan of chicken. Cover both pans with aluminum foil and place both pans in the oven.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the pans from the oven and uncover them.  Stir the sauce around the chicken. Check that the green pepper is tender. Brush the tops of the chicken with any remaining butter and spices. Turn the oven setting back to low broil, and return the uncovered pans to the oven. Broil for a few minutes until the chicken skin is evenly browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve with Coconut Jasmine Rice. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro or parsley.

If you have the time, remove the chicken from the sauce, combine the sauce into one pan, and refrigerate it until the excess fat (butter and chicken fat, yum) rises to the surface and hardens. Remove the hardened fat and either 1) discard it, or 2) use it to fry some potatoes. Guess which option I chose?

I Sure Do Love You My Escargot - Andouille and Mixed Greens with Creamy Dijon Sauce

Good morning and ouch. Here we go again. I am in pain. Nu? Having taken my tai chi class and completed a rather speedy food shopping episode, I am home, in my corner of the living room, considering a nap.

Can't do this now - pain is overriding everything. Later.

And later -

I brought all my play things downstairs - my knitting, my coloring book and colored pencils, iPad and iPhone, which is full of fun game apps. And what did I do? Well, after a handful of Advil, half a handful of Zantac, and some very flat diet ginger ale, I went out to pick tomatoes for salad, and realized I was going to have to Do Something with those greens that had somehow survived a less than spectacular growing season.

I started cutting mustard greens, gorgeous collards, and even snagged a bunch of turnip greens with a cute little turnip root attached. After digging through my freezer and checking the internet for a creamy Dijon sauce, I put together this dish which is, may I say, quite tasty.

The sauce recipe is (mostly) from Emeril, so you KNOW it's good. The greens are all from my garden, so young and tender that I used all of the leaf and stem. I don't get to say this often, but I'm happy.

Andouille and Mixed Greens with Creamy Dijon Sauce

1 tablespoon each butter and bacon fat

about 12 cups mixed cut greens (collard, mustard, turnip)

1 large onion, chopped

Kosher salt

ground black pepper

smoked paprika

crushed red pepper

1 - 14 oz. package Johnsonville andouille smoked sausage (mine was frozen)

1/2 cup chicken stock

(1 small turnip root, peeled and chopped)

1 - 10 1/2 oz can Campbell's chicken broth
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon whole grain Dijon mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

In a large covered skillet, melt the butter and bacon fat together over medium high heat.  Add the greens, onion, and seasonings. Stir to separate the greens. Cook until the onion starts to soften.  Add the sausage and cook for a few minutes each side.  Add the chicken stock (and the chopped turnip), cover the skillet, and lower the heat to medium low. Cook for 30 minutes.

Remove the andouille and set aside to cool slightly. Raise the heat to medium high and cook the skillet contents so that most of the excess liquid evaporates. Set aside. When cool enough to handle, slice the sausages on an angle, 4 to 5 slices from each sausage.

In a small saucepan, combine the chicken broth and the mustards. Bring to a boil and cook on medium high for 12 minutes, until the sauce is reduced to about 1/2 cup.  Take the saucepan off the heat and slowly stir in the cream while whisking.  Put the saucepan back on medium high heat, bring the sauce to a boil and cook another 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter until completely melted, and remove the saucepan from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, but only after you taste it - I found the sauce to be plenty salty on its own from the canned chicken broth. I did add pepper.

Combine the sliced andouille with the cooked greens and then add the sauce. Stir to combine, and either serve from the skillet or move to a casserole dish. Pick your side dish and enjoy.

I'm so tired I could scream, but before I send this off to the publisher I want to show you who made an appearance as I was sorting and washing my mustard greens:

Isn't he cute? I took a whole bunch of photos

and then returned him, still on his mustard green leaf, to the garden. Run wild, run free, my little escargot!

Cruz On Back To Canada - Oodles of Broodles

Have I mentioned lately just how irritated I am with the Florida Bar? I can't wait until the net billing cycle, when I can change my status to "inactive." Maybe they will finally leave me to retire in peace and tranquility. This time, they are hocking me to pay a fine because I didn't file my ethics form in time. That damn form is something we state attorneys have to fill out certifying our earnings and sources of income, as well as major property owned and any substantial loans. You're correct, this is really none of their damn business, but the process is supposed to keep us honest or something. Since I was having a nervous breakdown during the time I was supposed to be filling out and mailing this POS form, I am a little ticked off. Especially as it was the Florida Bar that dicked around with that complaint against Judge Nasty, which allowed her to be sworn in, at which point the Bar could wipe their hands of her, declaring that it was now the JQC's problem because she was a judge! And we all know how THAT turned out, don't we?

Of course I'll pay the damn fine. To do otherwise would look terrible on my Permanent Record. However, after almost 25 years I am tired of the Bar, the damn persnickety CLE requirements, the annoying record-keeping, the exorbitant Bar dues (which in all fairness were paid by my employer. although that hardly made up for not getting a raise in over 8 years.) When you are a Professional Procrastinator like me, all this time-sensitive junk stresses you out, and everything with the Florida Bar is time-sensitive, except, of course, their handling of the matter of Judge Nasty. Had to get that in, yes I did.

I am in the process of playing phone tag with the firm handling my SSA disability appeal, but that's okay because they are pretty good about following up, and there is something downright relaxing about being the client instead of the attorney.

Holy crap, the weather has gone nuts. I tried to capture it in photos, but if you are reading this from a safe, dry place in Central Florida, you already know.  It's hurricane weather out there, meaning there's a hurricane forming somewhere out there, and these high winds and buckets of rain are part of the fringe effect. Okay, we are not strangers to hurricanes here but this is January, folks ... hurricane season ended back in November.

This is all because of El Niño, who has, in my mind's eye, now taken on the persona of that extraordinarily annoying Peter Pan from the GEICO commercial.

I have to admit I am eternally grateful, at this moment anyway, that I do not have to go to work. A walk to the courthouse, all of a block and a half, would surely leave me soaking wet, chilled, and miserable. If you are one of the many who have had to trudge through the messy weather for any reason, I feel your pain. Or rain. Try to stay dry. What ever happened to galoshes, by the way? I always had a pair of galoshes and a pair of ugly but absolutely waterproof snow boots when I lived at home with my parents.  Did the fashion police ban galoshes when I wasn't watching?

These are the ones I grew up wearing:

So that's what these are! I thought they were swimming pool shoes!

Want. These. Now!

So I mentioned the other day that I'd purchased a spiral slicer at BJs, and was planning on trying it out real soon.  Yesterday, I practiced spiralizing a carrot and an apple. The carrot was rather thin, and did not play well with the spiralizer, but the apple formed lovely edible curls.  Clearly the key is the width of the vegetable or fruit.

What I really want to prepare is a variation on a dish I call Spaghetti Marco Polo, broccoli florets and crosscut stem pieces cooked with butter and olive oil, along with a substantial amount of garlic, served over spaghetti and finished with toasty pine nuts and grated Romano cheese. The variation will be substituting broccoli noodles - broodles? - for the cooked pasta.

I did some online research and immediately came across a food blogger who has devoted all of her creative energy to food prepared with a spiralizer. Her name is Ali Maffucci, and you can find her website, Inspiralized, by clicking on <==== this link.  She works primary with zoodles - zucchini noodles - but has branched off into other vegetables, including broccoli.

Since she has already done the hard part of developing and testing the recipe, I decided to try it first. No need to reinvent the wheel. Except for one thing (you knew this was coming): I am going to blanch the broccoli first for a few minutes, then shock it in ice water to stop the cooking.  We prefer a softer broccoli, and I can't eat anything that calls itself "al dente" because, well ... as you know, I'm lacking in the dente.

But first, I am going to blanch my delightfully misshapen okra, to start preparation of the Ultimate Okra Fritter, one of my crowning achievements combining three of my favorite activities - blogging, gardening, and of course, cooking. I was happy to harvest what I did, because this season's garden has been sort of disappointing. Turns out that this soil and climate, along with the actual location of my garden, are best suited to grow okra, cherry tomatoes, and ichiban eggplant.  No zucchini or yellow squash or cucumbers. No bell peppers, although I managed to squeak out a few jalapenos. Parsley and rosemary. I am getting some kumquats (the lemon tree appears to be hibernating) and the blueberry bushes look hopeful. Since this is essentially a winter garden, I have been able to grow collards and turnip greens, but I haven't felt well enough to go out there and properly tend to the plants so that I can harvest enough for a meal. After I get these okra fritters done, I am going to gather the cherry tomatoes and make a fresh tomato sauce. But slowly, slowly ... sort of tai chi cooking.

Last night's tai chi class was wonderful. New forms, done ever so gently. I may not be the most graceful person in the class, but who cares? I am deriving physical and emotional benefits without having to take addictive medications. Tai chi is cool, like a fez. Or a bow tie.

"Dickhead of the Week Award" goes to Ted Cruz, that reactionary idiot, who lashed out at The Donald with this inflammatory statement: "Donald comes from New York and he embodies New York values."

Whoa. Ted, you asshole, you just insulted my birthplace, my hometown, my roots, my whole infrastructure. Insult Donald if you think you're up to the task - you're not, by the way - but leave New York alone. As it happens, the best part of who Donald Trump is comes from the greatest city in the world (and it's NOT Bumfuck, Iowa) - New York!! Ted, f* ck you and the Canadian moose you rode in on.

Back To The Broccoli: I blanched the spiralized stems and the florets for 4 minutes, until the broccoli turned bright green.  This may have been a bit too much, as once I shocked the spirals in the ice bath, they mostly broke up into smaller spirals, or dare I say, broccoli elbows (which is still pretty cool. Next time I will cut back the blanching time, checking after two minutes, but in any event, not going past 3 minutes. (Although now that the dish is done, I have to say the texture and tenderness are perfect for me.)

This recipe from the Inspiralized site is frankly delicious, and I recommend that you check it out and try it on your own.

If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium

Pain all over. Exhaustion. Depression. Palpitations. Irritability. Ha! It must be Wednesday!

Actually pain is hovering around a four, although I feel a spike coming in my left arm. Today's official fibromyalgia bugaboo is exhaustion.  I feel like an overused mophead. Just squeeze me out and get it over with. Pah!! There goes my back; this is now officially a six.

The exhaustion has been a huge problem the past week or so. Getting out of bed, washing up, creeping downstairs - simple, normal activities wearing me out, knocking me down and then kicking me in the chops. I pressed the Keurig's  "on" button, and I'm ready for a nap. But there's no time for a nap - I have an appointment with He-Who-Preserves-My-Sanity; now all I have to do is remember how to get to his office. Damn, I must have lost my sense of direction in the divorce. Seventeen years with the same therapist and I run the risk of getting lost. WTF is that? I always had the best sense of direction, back to when I was a kid in Brooklyn. The first and only time my mother drove to my Aunt Ceil's house in Bellmore, I was her navigator, despite the fact that I wouldn't be eligible to get a learner's permit for 8 more years. Mom had NO sense of direction; she once got lost driving in our own neighborhood (really, how can you get lost on Hungry Harbor Road?) My beloved husband has many talents, but navigation is not one of them. For all of our long drives, I always played Pavel Chekov to his Hikaru Sulu. Apparently my navigating talent has disappeared into the same fog as my splendid vocabulary, awesome spelling, and sometimes-photographic memory.  All I can say is CRAP. I'm too tired to even dig out my best profanity.

The big news is that I bought a spiral slicer, aka The Spiralizer. Now I can make spaghetti noodles out of carrots and zucchini. I already have a recipe in mind; stay tuned.

But now it is Thursday, and I woke to learn that we did not win the Powerball lottery and that actor Alan Rickman has passed away. As much as I loved the Harry Potter books, I could never get into the movies (cognitive overload), and I always disliked Snape, but I remember Alan Rickman from fun movies like Dogma and Galaxy Quest, in which he got to play good guys. As to the Powerball, I'm only sorry we are finished playing the game "what will we do with all that money?" Until next time ...

Oh, and congratulations to my niece Rachel, who actually won something.  Uhh, okay, she still has to go to work tomorrow. But winning even a small amount of money is better than a slap in the face with a wet flounder. Gotta put things in perspective.

All the trees are brown, and the sky is gray, which matches my mood. Maybe I'll just stay in bed today. Maybe I'll give Chelsea a bath; poor little widget has a terrible skin condition and the bath helps. Maybe I will knit ...

Nope, I haven't forgotten these socks; in fact, I finished the leg section and the heel, and I'm ready to start turning the heel, a process the Yarn Harlot refers to as "mythical." I just think it's very cool.

Maybe I will do some coloring; I finished a couple of projects just before the cruise, and I'm working on a new flower mandala.

Early stages picture; it's almost done now.

My iPad is acting strangely, freezing up for no good reason, failing to save what it said it saved, that sort of thing. This iPad is my window on the world, the way I stay connected to the rest of humanity, and any sort of cyber-illness makes me slightly crazy. As if I need anything else to push me over the border.

I really needed to feel useful today, so - THE WINNER IS:

Chelsea Rose Rothfeld, de-fleaed (at least for the next hour), clean and fluffy, her poor wretched skin disorder temporarily under control.

Today was, relatively speaking, the kind of day where I could definitively say, "It didn't suck." I hope your day was as good as mine.

The Meme, The Meme's The Thing ...

... wherein we'll catch the conscience of the King. Or the Queen, eh?

Yes, indeed. 

Fellow Whovians, remember this scene? The Dalek begs for mercy from a well-armed River Song, relying on the universal knowledge that the Doctor's companions are, like the Doctor, merciful in their treatment of their enemies.  Well, except for the War Doctor. But that's another story.

Yes, I remember what Rose did to all of the Daleks in "Parting of the Ways" but that was really Bad Wolf, right? And l haven't forgotten the most unmerciful Captain Jack Harkness during his tenure at Torchwood. So maybe this Dalek was misinformed, which is why River Song tells him to check his records just before she blows him up through his eyestalk. 

You go, girl! River Song, that badass woman - that's who I'm feeling like just now, at least regarding my capacity for mercy. I know I should feel bad about not feeling bad over someone else's problems, but there's a karma thing going on here as well, and I just need a moment or two to savor the knowledge. After all, I'm only human.

Being human and afflicted with the Evil Fibromyalgia, I am huddled inside my poorly-insulated circa 1925 house, enjoying a day without excruciating pain (meaning I'm a five instead of a ten) but with a heightened sensitivity to cold. I have tai chi class tonight which is A Good Thing, but that also means I have to leave the house. I hope I don't freeze to death.

Ahhhh, it was chilly but worth it. I love my tai chi classes, even though I am struggling to remember forms (I think I sang the same song when I was taking tae kwan do). They do help me to relax physically and mentally (which is something tae kwan do never did). In some way, tai chi helps me to remember who I really am, an ability that fibromyalgia tries to steal away, as if the pain wasn't bad enough.

I did not watch the President's State of the Union Address. Actually, I haven't watched any of them, or those of George W. Bush. I'm not sure I watched any of Clinton's, but I might have caught 1 or 2 during his 8 years. Reagan? Sure, a few of them.  Carter?  No way. Nixon? Probably, I always had a soft spot in my heart for Richard Nixon.

Why do I, sarcastic political watcher that I am, avoid the SOTU address regardless of who is occupying  the Oval Office? Because of Rule Number One:

The Doctor lies. And so does the President.