Joy to the World - Welcome Baby Kate

Top of the news, and the best news of all.  This morning our family welcomed its newest member.  Her name is Katelyn, and she is perfect. My cousins Sheryl and Gary have become grandparents for the fifth time, and such very good grandparents they have been and will continue to be. From the bottom of my heart I send blessings and best wishes to Kate's parents, Stephanie and Corey, and her big brother Jake.

With such happy news forming the background of the day, I shouldn't be cranky, but I am. If I was a character in a Harry Potter novel, I would be Moaning Myrtle. With 67 year old grandmother Hillary Clinton having announced her candidacy, I shouldn't feel like an achy old woman, but I do. And with tax season drawing to a close tomorrow, and our cruise just 11 days from today, I shouldn't be irritated, but I am.  There must be a disturbance in the Force.  I know part of it has to do with my continued heightened concern for my cousin in California.  Surely it doesn't help that I've been through an endoscopy and still cannot eat like anything approaching a normal person.  Unless normal people subsist on chocolate, salty snacks, Danish butter cookies and pimento cheese.  Wouldn't that make an awesome basket on "Chopped!"

Yesterday's ducks 

I've been thinking about doing some baking. But first, I need a walk in the sunshine and some music in my ears to clear my head of this annoying negativity.  I'm thinking about baking hamantaschen, and I need some time to decide which recipe I am going to follow.  Yes, I know Purim is long gone, but answer me this - would you really turn down a homemade hamantaschen because it was being offered out-of-season?

Today's cooking

So, I've chosen to make Mama Leah's recipe for hamantaschen, except I'm too tired to even take the flour out of the pantry.  That salad represents the full extent of my cooking for the day.

What a terrific walk!  A beautiful day, a deep blue sky with fluffy clouds and lots of sunshine.  All that Vitamin D cheered me up and wore me down. The two are not mutually exclusive. Very glad I took my hat along, and I got some great snapshots.  I am exhausted, however, and I can't promise I won't start kvetching again.  It's in my genetic make-up.

I have a bunch of papers to fill out for the surgical consult tomorrow, but my head is having one of those foggy moments I so despise.  Worse than that, the head fog thing has seriously, negatively impacted my ability to knit.  There is some research out there to suggest that the act of knitting is an excellent fog-cutter, and while I should probably adopt the slogan, "Knitter, Heal Thyself" and act upon it, I continue to procrastinate.

I walked to the lake taking the "back way", up dirt roads and over a private railroad crossing, eventually finding my way to an Adirondack chair, looking out over the water.  Before I got there, I got photos of some extraordinary houses.         

                           

 

At the end of the day I did pick up my knitting needles while watching "Marvel: Agents of Shield." Glad I did, as it kept me from using my hands to shred my skin.

The Great Pretender

Oh-oh, yes I'm the great pretender
Pretending that I'm doing well
My need is such I pretend too much
I'm lonely but no one can tell

Oh-oh, yes I'm the great pretender
Adrift in a world of my own
I've played the game but to my real shame
You've left me to grieve all alone

Monday, Day 29 - Oh for crying out loud, who do I think I'm kidding?  I am in pain - full body, low level pain that is sucking up my last bit of energy.  Insane itching, fuzzy brain, left hand and arm bordering on useless from numbness and tingling, feeling crabby, and not that sweet, delicious, dip it in melted butter Alaskan King Crab, oh no. If I wasn't already on medical leave, I'd have to call in sick today. The idea that I have to get dressed and leave my room is freaking me out.  I have places to go and people to see, while all I want to do is sleep.  God knows I haven't done enough of that to count lately.

All the way across this great country of ours, in sunny California, land of nuts and berries, earthquakes and forest fires, my cousin is having rather serious surgery. I am deeply concerned and too far away to do anything about it.

Marco Rubio has announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nominee.  That's what we need, another person with very little experience.  Admittedly a little more experience than Ted Cruz or Rand Paul, but those two are going to end up as nothing more than comic relief.

Okay, the day was tiring but productive.  I had to make multiple stops, which I hate doing, but it was the only way I was going to pick up stuff I needed.  Arnold Palmer drink mix sticks, Seabond denture wafers, Hershey's cocoa - how can it be that Target had none of these?  I finally had to stop at a CVS in Celebration (still the stupidest name for a town, which inspired other equally stupidly-named towns, like Reunion and Harmony), and a Publix near Universal Studios.  What a ride!  Most importantly, I picked up the disc containing the films from my mammogram and ultrasound, all ready for delivery to the surgeon on Wednesday.

The Magic lost to the Miami Heat.  Sadly, it doesn't seem the Heat will make it to the playoffs this year.  No home team to root for ...

I also got some photos, including this very neat residence across from the lake, and flowers in odd places (more parking lot buds.) I finally found some ducks who were willing to pose for pictures.  Well, willing may be too strong a word - they followed me back across the street to my car, with menace in their beady little eyes.  I don't know why there are no ducks along the older section of the lakeshore - they used to be in abundance there.  These ducks were sitting around the edge of the big pond in back of my office.

"Hey lady, are you lookin' at me?"

"ARE YOU LOOKIN' AT ME??"

"Let's get her, dudes!"

The Trouble With Tribbles - Raisin Pumpernickel Bread (Bread Machine)

Sunday - The trouble with magnolias - as if something that perfect could even cause trouble - is that the individual blossoms start to wilt and die much too soon.  Each flower is so perfect, I want them to last and last. Yesterday, while pulling into the parking lot at Publix, I noticed that all of their magnolia trees were starting to bloom - so of course I had to park the car and get a few shots.  These are, after all, my first magnolias of the season, and I was pretty excited about them.

I really wish I had stopped to take pictures of the cows and calves in the pasture on Partin Settlement Road, but there was no easy place to park the car.  Those are, in fact, tax abatement cows, which means a developer is going to start building there in the not-so-distant future.

No ducks, Muscovy or otherwise.  Since I couldn't get any pictures of water fowl - not that the Muscovy ducks are gracious about posing - they will walk right up to you and try to eat your camera - I offer the cutest canines around.

Thunder and lightning, very very frightening me ... and them.  Best ear worm of all time, by the way. Last night's noisy storming rattled my babies, especially these two - but they recovered well enough to sleep, whereas I was up every damn two hours. Not sure why, but I hated it and I hate the way I feel this morning as a result. But I think my mood will improve immeasurably when Hillary announces her candidacy.

Yes, you read that correctly. Hillary.  I've been waiting for this a long time. And now it happened and  my mood has improved - that plus a nice brunch with my mother-in-law.  Oh, and I finally got around to booking the shore excursions for our cruise.  Looking forward to the Tequila Tour - hey, oh, Jose Cuervo!  And BBC America is running a Doctor Who marathon.  If my back hadn't started to ache like days of old, the day would be practically perfect.

Today's cooking adventure involves my bread machine and that organic rye flour I picked up yesterday.  I've already made a hash of it, and have no idea if it will actually bake up into a decent, edible loaf of raisin pumpernickel, especially as the raisins were late to the party.  To incorporate them, I had to get a little creative - let's just say that dough has been punched down more times than Muhammed Ali.

Incidentally, Cory did make it back from the Ford Galaxy, safe and sound ... even brought a little friends back with him.

And Borg Tribble said, "You will be assimilated ... resistance is furry."

The bread came out rather good, despite my reservations, and has a really authentic Eastern European flavor and texture. If you have a bread machine and like to use it, I would recommend that you try this recipe.  The only problem I have - and always have when I use the machine - is the really odd size of the loaf.  I've never gotten used to baking bread vertically, and after 15 years, it may be time to invest in a newer model with a horizontal pan.

Raisin Pumpernickel Bread

In a glass measuring cup, combine:
1 3/4 cups water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons molasses

Pour into the bread pan fitted with the kneading paddle and set into the machine.

In a medium bowl, combine and whisk together:  

3 cups bread flour
2 cups rye flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt

Carefully add the dry ingredients to the bread pan on top of the wet ingredients.  With the back of a spoon, create a shallow well in the dry ingredients, and add:

2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Run the machine on the whole wheat cycle, and add:

3/4 cup raisins

at the time indicated by your bread machine's instructions.  I missed the golden opportunity, which is why I had to punch the dough down, add the raisins, and restart the entire kneading cycle.  The extra punch down and kneading did not harm the bread at all.

I also soaked the raisins in boiling water for about 30 minutes, drained them very well, patted dry, and gave them a rough chop as they were extra large.  If you are using regular Sunmaid raisins, you can skip the chop, and if you just opened up a brand new package of raisins, you can skip the soak.

This is a heavy peasant bread, so slice it thin and serve it buttered along side a bowl of homemade soup.  My idea of a Nice Hot Lunch, or even a Nice Dinner.

Schmaltz and Griebenes, a Jewish Love Story - Citrus Jalapeño Chicken and Egg Barley with Shittakes and Griebenes

I love chicken. (And so does he.  Even when he's getting ready to head over to MegaCon.)

There, I said it.  I never tire of chicken.  I like to cook it, I love to eat it.  I don't mind cleaning it or cutting it up.  Chicken is to Jewish cuisine what pork is to Southern cooking.  We use just about every part of it.  We even have cracklings.  Let's face it, chicken rocks.

More about that later, except to mention that my house smells amazing, wish you were here.

Dealing with insane itching today.  Not a big deal, just a gentle reminder that my nerve endings are totally outside my control.  The Yorkies have it worse than I do, but at least they can blame it on the fleas.

Oh, I had a nice day.  My idea of a good time involves walking up and down the aisles in Publix; your mileage may vary.  I picked up everything I missed during yesterday's foray into the Walmart grocery. I got pictures of flowers; hibiscus and magnolias are in bloom.  I saw lots of cows.  I tried the salted caramel coffee from Wawa, and it was good, really good.  The insane itching has subsided somewhat, and I don't hurt too much.  I also had a lovely surprise, a Facebook message from an old friend from my school days in the Five Towns.

Since returning from my aisle-walking (there's my cardio for today) I have been cooking.  The chicken has been marinated, and the marinade is one I puzzled out in my head, with some initial inspiration from this online recipe, but as you will see I made major changes.  Exactly what I wanted, and I don't get to say that very often.

I have been wanting to highlight a side dish, and came up with something a little different and a lot Jewish.  I was able to make use of all the fat I trimmed from the chicken thighs, and trust me, the flavors are awesome. Pork fat may rule in some kitchens, but if you ever had a Jewish bubbe, it was all about the schmaltz.  This is the quintessential Jewish pasta dish, egg barley, which is indeed made from eggs and has nothing to do with barley. We usually prepare it with lots of fried onions and mushrooms, but I kicked this one up just a notch by preparing it with schmaltz (chicken fat) and griebenes (cracklings).  Since the egg barley depends on the trimmed fat from the chicken, it makes sense to serve them together.

Citrus Jalapeño Chicken

5 pounds chicken thighs, on the bone, skin intact, trimmed of excess fat and skin (set aside to make the griebenes)

Marinade:

1 1/2 cups frozen orange juice, defrosted (1 - 12 oz. can)

grated peel and juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup wildflower honey

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper          

2 teaspoons chunky garlic paste

1 small or 1/2 large jalapeño, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons grated onion (use an old-fashioned box grater)

Whisk the marinade ingredients together.  Let it sit at room temperature for 10 - 15 minutes, then taste and adjust the seasoning.  Remember that the herbs will continue to "bloom" during the marinating period.  Place the chicken in a jumbo ziploc bag, pour on the marinade, and place in the refrigerator to marinate for several hours, the longer the better.  I left the chicken in the fridge for eight hours, and the flavor really penetrated the meat.

Set the oven on low broil, and place the chicken, skin side up, on a rack over baking dish (I did this in two batches.) Pour the used marinade into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.  Reduce the marinade slightly.  Broil the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes each side, basting with some of the marinade. Watch carefully, but don't freak out if the skin appears to burn.

Place the chicken into a clean aluminum baking dish.  Using tongs, remove the skin and discard it.  The chicken will have stayed nice and moist.  Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spoon the remaining marinade over the chicken and place in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is done all the way through and the top of the chicken is lightly glazed.

HOW TO MAKE GRIEBENES LIKE A JEWISH BUBBE (GRANDMA)

The main goal of rendering the chicken fat is to obtain schmaltz, but the crispy chicken skin - the griebenes - is the best by-product around.  Onions fried in schmaltz have an extra-special taste that you cannot get from any other cooking fat, including butter and olive oil, and really enhance the flavor of chopped liver, kasha varnishkes, or any potato dish.  The griebenes can be eaten on their own as a snack, or stirred into a dish, or used to top it like bacon bits.

It is easy to do - cut the fat and any attached skin to whatever size you want. I cut these fairly small, as my plan was to add them to the egg barley, so I wanted bits rather than chunks.  Place them in a heavy nonstick skillet, and add about 1/4 cup of water.  Bring to a simmer, and keep simmering for as long as it takes to render the fat and crisp the chicken skin, which may take over an hour.

When the fat is more than halfway rendered (the liquid fat will start to cover the remaining cracklings), add 1/2 of a good-sized onion, chopped. Continue to simmer until the griebenes are crisp and the onion is deeply caramelized.

With a slotted spoon, remove the onions and griebenes from the pan; let the fat drip off and then place in a baking dish.  Don't bother to drain them on paper towels.  Pour the cooled, rendered fat into a small container, and use for the egg barley recipe or refrigerate for some other use.

Egg Barley with Shiitakes and Griebenes

1 - 3 1/2 oz. box of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, caps sliced thin
2 tablespoons schmaltz, divided
1 1/2 cup egg barley
2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
3 1/2 cups boiling water
black pepper to taste
a pinch of dried thyme

Heat 1 tablespoon of the schmaltz in a heavy nonstick pan.  Add the sliced shiitakes and cooked over medium heat till tender and a bit crispy. Add to the dish with the griebenes and onions.

In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining tablespoon of schmaltz; add the uncooked egg barley and stir to coat with the fat.  Toast for a very brief time, then add the two Knorr cubes, broken up, the black pepper, and the thyme. Immediately pour in the boiling water, stir, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until the egg barley is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed. Add the cooked egg barley to the baking dish with the shiitakes and griebenes, and stir to combine.  Taste and re-season if necessary.  If you like, bake the dish, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, to absorb any excess moisture and crisp up the egg barley just a tiny bit.

Robert enjoyed it for dinner, and actually took seconds on the egg barley. The rest is packed up in the fridge for whenever Cory gets home -

Might be a while ... I'm not sure which Universe they ended up visiting ...

Family Ties

Friday, Day 28 - I hit the ground running this morning.  Ouch.  Yes, all the stuff I hoped to do yesterday I did today. All those phone calls, and now, all those appointments.  More doctors.  More lab tests.  More medical records to gather and redistribute.  Now I am dealing with two labs, two surgeons, two psych persons, three lists.  I really have to take full advantage of this burst of mental clarity at the moment it occurs, and I have, and I'm glad.  By this afternoon, I could be a mushbrain once more.

Today I got a get well card from my office peeps and a get well gift from another colleague.  All those cards I've signed for others over the years, and now I know - they really do work.  I feel better for having received them.  I also just got a bunch of emails and messages from folks concerned about my well-being, and those worked as well.  I feel loved and cared about, and that means so much to me.

Today is also National Siblings Day, at least according to Facebook, the arbiter of all things social.  As you might imagine, given my broad-based family disjunction and dysfunction, I have mixed feelings on this topic, which I posted on Facebook:

So apparently today is National Siblings Day.  That's a complicated issue for me, and I feel a blog post in my immediate future - but let me at least wish my sister Nora Speranza a happy siblings day  ;-) and also to Larry, Fred and Patty looking down from heaven - I wish we'd been able to meet.  Someday.  And to my brother Elliot - someday.  And to my cousin Cary Altschuler, my brother from another mother.

It was only two years ago that I found my father Mike's family and learned that in addition to my younger brother Elliot, I had two older brothers and two younger sisters.  No use crying over spilled milk, but I like to think that I would have had a good relationship with each and every one of them, that we would have shared a childhood and a life.

(Big, deep sigh.)

I am now in possession of the paperwork I need to forward to the Nice Lady in Human Resources regarding my medical leave.  I also did some food shopping at the Walmart grocery to get the important stuff - white chocolate covered peanut butter cups, an avocado, and some tender chicken.  Our dinner appointment with friends got reset to next week (Korean food!) so I have a more immediate need to cook the chicken.   Working on a flavor profile in my head.  I want orange but I don't want it to dominate, so I also want lemon and lime.  I want a little sweetness, but not too much, and I don't want Asian flavors.  I don't want just an orange version of my Greek marinade.  I want it herbacious, but no oregano.  I don't feel like firing up the grill, but I don't want to bake it.

I think I've got it.  I'll let you know tomorrow.

Da Bomb, Da Sausage, and Da Cruise Brain - Mussels with Cajun Sausage and Yellow Bell Pepper

Thursday, Day 27 - Earlier this week, responding to a therapeutic inquiry, I identified my upcoming cruise as the event that would (finally) afford me the opportunity to fully absorb and process my Medical Hell Month and its results.  From experience I know that two days into a cruise my body and mind will unkink rather dramatically, although I sincerely hope that I unkink before then as there are still 16 days to cruising.  (But who's counting?) This will be our fourteenth cruise, the thirteenth on Carnival, and the twelfth since December of 2008.  I can only plead Cruise Brain, then, as the reason I was unable to tell my therapist where I was going, other than "someplace" in the Caribbean, possibly St. Maarten.  I finally checked on my itinerary today, and it turns out we will be stopping at Cozumel, Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Costa Maya.  Well, at least I got the Caribbean part right, barely.

In the meantime, today is the day I set aside to make all those phone calls for even more medical procedures because God knows I did not have enough of those this past month.  Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. I also have to call my PCP's office and the HR lady in Tallahassee.  I'd rather have root canal.  Unfortunately I am having a brain fog day; mental acuity is apparently not on today's schedule, and I am getting irritated with myself.  All the coffee in the world is not going to break through this nimbostratus cloud wrapped around my head like a Praetorian Facehugger.

I need to cook something.  I need some inspiration, like the name of this blog, ha ha.  I need to break out of this fog, damn it.

The news was mostly depressing, but there were a few happy notes: Barry Manilow, my all-time favorite male singer, married his significant other - last year.  But the news just came out, and so did Barry. Good for him, and Jim Nabors, too.

The Magic won last night, and that's no Bull.

The framework of the deal with Iran is pretty shaky, with both sides claiming the agreement said something different.  This is good news.  We have no need to deal with the Devil.  Speaking of devils, a jury convicted Dzhokar Tsarnaev of all counts in the Boston terror bombings.

Anti-semitism is flourishing in Europe. And in the U.S.  It is a way of life in the Middle East.  These are difficult times to be a Jew.  It's also a tough time to be gay in Florida; the House just approved a religious exemption law for adoptions.  I thought we were finally past that crap.

Bobby Flay and his wife, actress Stephanie March, are getting a divorce. So is Giada de Laurentiis.  Bad things come in threes, and make no mistake, divorce is a very bad thing.  So who is next?

There's more, but you get the idea.

I got almost nothing done today, unless you count sitting in the corner of the couch with my head down.  I could not make my calls.  I could not walk out the front door.  I did not even prepare my list.  I did fill out a response card for a friend's wedding, and I did come up with a recipe I am going to share, but really, that's not enough.  Not even close.

Okay, the recipe.  I am really pleased with how this worked out.  Frozen mussels are da bomb, and so is Guy Fieri's sausage.  Hey, get your mind out of the gutter and into the kitchen!

Mussels with Cajun Sausage and Yellow Bell Pepper

1 - 12 oz. package Guy Fieri Cajun Style Sausage, thinly sliced
1/2 of a Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup Goya Sofrito (Tomato Base)
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, top and bottom cut off, remaining pepper cut into matchsticks
1 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
kosher salt, ground black pepper, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, dried parsley flakes
small amount of sugar (optional)
2 - 1 pound bags frozen mussels
4 tablespoons cold butter

In a large, deep pan, place the sausage and the onion, and drizzle on several tablespoons of the olive oil.  Set on medium-high heat and cook for about 3 minutes, until the sausage starts to release some of its fat.  Add the garlic, and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.  Stir in the Goya sofrito and cook, stirring, for one more minute.  Add the yellow bell pepper, cook for one minute.  Add the wine, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, parsley, and sugar.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer.

While the sauce simmers, puncture one of the bags of frozen mussels and cook in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.  Repeat with the second bag. Taste and re-season the sauce.  Stir in the butter and when it is melted carefully pour the entire contents of each bag of mussels into the pan. Cover the pan and simmer a few more minutes.

Serve with bread for dipping, or over angel hair pasta.  I removed the mussels to another container and stirred cooked pasta into the sauce, just to heat through.  The pasta with the sausage and peppers is moved into a serving pan, and the mussels are placed on top.  Sprinkle on some parsley for a light garnish.