The Cat-Cane and the Hat - Asian-Glazed Roasted Vegetables

I take a walk everyday, me and my cat-cane and a hat.  The whole idea of the hat kind of tickles me, because I was always of the strong opinion that hats did not look good on me, as I did not have a Hat Head. #spooniegotissues

Many years ago, when I was working for Alexander and Alexander in Melville, I admit to being somewhat envious of my supervisor, Denise Frobey, who always wore a hat with her power suit, and always looked frankly fabulous because she had been blessed with a genuine Hat Head. I wear them now for the utterly utilitarian purpose of keeping the sun off my face.  While Denise looked sharp and professional, I look like Farmer Green-Jeans.

Admit it, that's dreadful

Speaking of hats, I highly recommend you check this link to Primarily Art With Mrs. Depp.  Today's post is all about how Mrs. Depp, an elementary school art teacher and prolific blogger, created the fantastic hat she wore to the community theatre awards dinner.  I don't wear anything this amazing, ever, but then I don't have Mrs. Depp's talent.  

Mr. & Mrs. Depp, en costume

Mrs. Depp, who is my friend Sheryl and my cousin-by-marriage, is blessed with artistic and creative talent from both sides of her family.  Not only that, she's a natural redhead and she has a Hat Head. Quite the combo platter!

Sheryl's spouse, "Steampunk" Gary, and my son's partner in cosplay crime, is featured in the photo as well.  There must be a lot of good humor in that house.  God bless them, and their hats, and don't forget to check out Sheryl's blog.

The vegetable dish that is the subject of today's post is the result of more inspiration from another cooking blog, called Back To Her Roots. It's not always easy to know what to do with 2 pounds of Brussel sprouts and some leftover parsnips.  The idea for the glaze comes from Home Sweet Jones although the original has nothing to do with vegetables and everything to do with chicken. The idea for putting an Asian glaze on oven-roasted vegetables comes from my own fevered brain. The result was okay, maybe a smidge over okay.  Definitely serve over white rice or thin pasta.

Assembling the glaze ingredients 

Asian Glaze:

• 1/3 cup mild balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce 
• 2 tablespoons orange blossom honey
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced (I used the chunky garlic in a tube)
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced (I used ginger-in-a-tube)
• 2 teaspoons dried chives
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

Combine everything, except the sesame seeds, in a bowl and whisk together.  Set aside at room temperature while you prepare the vegetables.

Roasted Vegetables:

• 6 carrots, peeled, and cut into diagonal slices
• 3 large parsnips, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 12-15 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed, but not chopped
• 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, rough chopped
• kosher salt and coarse ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425°.  Combine the carrots and parsnips in a metal colander or steamer insert, and steam for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are barely tender. Separate the carrots from the parsnips, and place in an aluminum baking dish.  Set aside.

Combine the parnsips and Brussels sprouts in an extra large aluminum pan.  Divide the garlic cloves and rosemary between the pans, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the olive oil over both pans,  and toss to coat.  

Place the carrots in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Remove, stir just a little and return to the oven, along with the other pan of vegetables.  Roast for 15 minutes, then remove both pans from the oven. Divide the glaze between the two pans and return them to the oven for another 10 minutes.  Remove the pans again, drizzle the vegetables with some more honey, and sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Return to the oven one last time, about 10 minutes. Combine the contents of the two baking pans.

The color is waaay off, sorry

Taste and re-season as necessary.  I ended up adding more Sriracha and ginger, but your mileage may vary. To serve, spoon it on top of plain white rice or thin noodles; sprinkle with more sesame seed and finish with a dusting of the dried chives.  Not bad.

Color is accurate - and I served it on my fanciest china

So you were wondering what is a cat-cane? Well, since I have to walk with a cane most of the time, I wanted one that would occasionally make me smile.

An Ira cat is sitting just above the orange tabby, and that always makes me smile.  Thank goodness for Amazon.com.

I am sitting on the front steps,  a nervous wreck as my cousin undergoes surgery.  The Pan de Mico is in the oven, I'm drinking iced coffee, and it is late enough in the day that this is now officially a residential neighborhood.  I should be relaxed but I am worried.  Please keep those prayers coming, I know they will make a difference.

Still Hatin' Monday - Arroz Rojo con Chorizo, AKA "Havana Red Rice"

Ten years ago

I was looking through some family pictures, and picked these out because they featured Cary and me together at difference stages of our lives.

This picture is old - close to 30 years ...

Well, this post will be published on Monday, and Monday is the day my cousin Cary is having surgery. This isn't the first or even second surgery he has had to undergo the past few weeks.  Please keep him in your prayers; I know they will help.

... but not as old as this one.  Whoa ... (just ignore the annoying little brother in front)

Rob and I finally got to our little gardening chore before the skies opened this morning.  Our goal was to cage several tomato plants, along with a rogue cucumber.  

Ideally we would have done this a long time ago, but it's all part of the gardening learning curve.  The okra is going to have to stand on its own, I'm afraid.  At this point, no cage can contain it.  The cucumber is another matter, however.

That cucumber plant has a death wish.

My husband was snapping pictures of me while I was manipulating the recalcitrant tomatoes.  Keep in mind that these were not taken in the anarchist wilds of Holopaw, but one block from the courthouse, right outside my kitchen door.  Speaking of kitchens ...

Mi espanol is pretty stinky, despite the best efforts of my wonderful paralegal Brenda.  I've been studying Spanish since 1964, with choppy results.  Apparently I retained just enough to find a Spanish title for this dish.  This is the rice dish I pulled together to accompany those ridiculously easy tamales.  It is based on one of my favorite Paula Deen recipes, Savannah Red Rice.  Look folks, I still adore Paula Deen and both of her sons.  Her brother, not so much.  In my opinion, ol' Bubba started the chain of events that pulled his sister down to the seventh level of hell.  Gratitude, uh huh.  But that's just my opinion.

Because I have a twisted sense of humor, I initially called this Havana Red Rice, not because it has anything to do with Cuba, but because it's a Spanish-language city that rhymes with Savannah.  I know, it's weak, but so am I. Anyway that's how I ended up digging deep into my fractured Spanish memories and christened the dish "Arroz Rojo con Chorizo" - Red Rice with Chorizo.  A dull name, but a mouth-warming dish, and very easy to put together. Thank you Paula Deen, for the inspiration.

1 cup sliced green onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper

4 cloves chopped garlic
2 tablespoons butter
1 - 4 oz. link chorizo fino (La Banderita brand) 
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes, with juice
1 tablespoon Crystal hot sauce
1 cup Goya Tomato-Based Sofrito
1 cup water
2 Knorr chicken bouillon cubes

1 guajillo chili
kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
thyme, fresh or dried, to taste
1 cup uncooked white rice (Uncle Ben's converted)

honey (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the chorizo until it browns and falls apart, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Sauté the onion and bell pepper in butter, then add the garlic. Add back the chorizo and heat until mixture is slightly browned. Add tomatoes, hot sauce, sofrito, water and bouillon cubes. Season with salt, pepper and thyme as needed. Remove the seeds from the guajillo pepper and place the whole pepper into the pan. Stir in the rice and drizzle over a very small amount of honey; stir again. Pour mixture into a greased casserole and bake for 45 minutes.  

Art to Art - Perfect Iced Coffee

Anakin admiring a Linda LeKinff, from her cat series.  

Another LeKinff, musical instrument series, is on the right.

We discovered Park West, the cruise ship art dealer, on our very first cruise in 2001.  It's been a good couple of years since we purchased anything - not because we've stopped cruising, but because we've already gotten quite a lot of good stuff over the years, complimenting a gorgeous collection of needlepoints created by my mother-in-law, and original art from members of my side of the family.

My favorite needlepoint

I've lived in three different houses since 2001, and each one had different amounts of available.wall space. The worst house for available wall space was, oddly enough, the largest of the three houses. Lots of open spaces and glass made it a very modern Florida home, but most of our wall hangings, including my favorite needlepoint, were stored away and unseen for eleven artless years.  I think the best house in terms of wall space was our first house in Hunter's Creek, but this old house in Kissimmee isn't bad at all.  Of course a good part of that space is on the office side of the building, so Rob is going to end up having the nicest accounting office in Osceola County.

For all the years we lived in the second Hunter's Creek house, I had a perfect view of my favorite Tarkay print.  In fact no matter where you stood in the kitchen, family room, dining room, or foyer, you were going to see it.

It now hangs in a place of honor in this house - guests won't see it, but Rob and Cory and I will see it every day, first thing before we even make it to the first floor.  I'm very happy with how that worked out, and I don't get very happy very often.

I have been getting a lot of good advice, and support, and sympathy from family and friends regarding my turtle-paced movement towards state and federal retirement disability.  I have learned a lot from those who have had to follow similar paths.  I am going to try to put it all together and get this thing done.  I will try to consult with a lawyer for whom this is a specialty.  My head still doesn't work and besides, this is an area of law I know nothing about.

Three generations of needlepointers

There are still a couple of recipes I owe from yesterday's post, and I want to get them typed and printed before I move on to today's cooking adventure (Ichiban Caponata!)  The first one is easy, as I am going to link you to the Pioneer Woman's recipe for Iced Coffee, and then call it a night.

The PW is Ree Drummond and I love her just like I love the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.  Both the PW and the BC stick close to home with their cooking, both have adorable husbands, and both do the kind of cooking I am crazy about.  I have all of their cookbooks and I rely on them for a bunch of recipes.  The PW makes this iced coffee, and now that I've made it and enjoyed it these past few days, I might just start calling it caffeine crack.  If you are a caffeine addict, like me, if you need a break from hot coffee, like me, and if you think Starbuck's price are practically confiscatory, like me, you will leave your house NOW - I know it's 2 AM, but Walmart is open 24 hours - to buy the few things you will need. My biggest problem was finding a container that would fit between my refrigerator shelves.  I'm telling you, go to Walmart.  I paid $1.98 for each of these, and they work perfectly.

The PW calls this Perfect Iced Coffee.  I agree, and I even bought new straws to use when drinking this glorious stuff.  I followed her recipe exactly, although it took some complicated (to me) math so that the ingredients would fit in the smaller containers I had purchased.  Basically it works out that for every ounce of coffee (and I weighed the coffee grounds in my little kitchen scale, which I never get rid of because you never know when I might wake up 80 pounds heavier and decide that I need to go back on Weight Watchers), you will need 2 cups of very cold water.  Remember that if you have a 2-quart container, you cannot put a full 2 quarts of water in there because the coffee takes up a good bit of room.

Okay look, math was my worst subject in school, so work this out yourself to adapt to your personal stash of containers.  Also, if you don't have cheesecloth, use paper towels, two pieces which are placed perpendicular to each other.  I like the paper towel method, and also use it for straining chicken soup.

Once you taste this iced coffee, you don't have to thank me.  You might, however, want to thank Ree.

If anyone out there has any extra prayers they would like to use in a good cause, please think of my cousin Cary, who is having some surgery on Monday, and for his wonderful wife Maura. Cary's mother and my grandmother-who-raised-me were sisters - think the Duras sisters from the Klingon Empire - and he is especially dear to me as we go way back (at least as far as my birth - he's 8 weeks older than me) spending weekends together during most of our childhood.  Thank you for your good thoughts, I know they will help.

And a very happy birthday to my godson Peter, and to Iris, daughter of my friends Mark and Sandy.  Iris is nine months pregnant, so next year, we might be wishing happy birthday to yet another.

A cat's a cat, and that's that

Where the Fork is the Cheesecloth? - Iced Coffee, Arroz Rojo con Chorizo, Sprightly Stuffed Artichokes

I'm already in a bad mood.  I should say I am still in a bad mood.  I hurt, damn it.  Here I am on the precipice of retirement, looking forward to 30 years of daily pain.  Hey, it's all been worth it to reach this point! Those two hour trips on the Long Island Railroad, working two jobs, 3 1/2 years in law school, the school loan we got paid off just in time to pay Cory's college tuition, 15 years in the service of the State, working weekends, no overtime, no raises, saving children's lives with no recognition from the public or the Bench that we had done something remarkable under difficult conditions - priceless.

Fibromyalgia is not always an invisible disease

Yes, I am bitter. I am in chronic pain, I am facing impoverishment, and I can't remember the good times because my brain is befogged, and there weren't really any good times to remember.  I worked my used-to-be-enormous ass off my whole life, gave everything I had to give, and got a lot of grief or it. (Thank you very much, what have you done for me lately?)

In my next life I am going to skip all that school shit, and become a plumber, like Josephine.  Using my intellect, such as it is, got me where I am today.  Nowhere.

Got my last paycheck today. Happy happy joy joy.

Screw this. Let's talk about iced coffee.  I love iced coffee. I finally pulled my act together sufficiently to cold-brew a batch, following the Pioneer Woman's  recipe.  Really good, even without the sweetened condensed milk (I am a Sweet & Low kind of gal, and that is not likely to change).  So I've been drinking it all day, practically for free.  Would have cost me $13 in Starbucks so I'm feeling good about that.

Oops, I did it again.  Couldn't sleep, although the pain was bearable after I took some Ibuprofen PM. Decided I wanted a little pickled herring, so I headed downstairs, where I had a brand new cast iron skillet winking at me, calling me to light its fire.  Well, I can't resist that siren song, even after midnight, so I prepared some rice to go with the Midnight Tamales, and I almost ate the whole pan by myself. Okay, maybe I exaggerate just a tad. But really, the flavors I chose came together in a lovely, gently-burn-your-mouth sort of way.  If I enjoyed it, it can't be too hot.

Finally, due to circumstances beyond my control, I was sticking very close to home - actually, to my kitchen.  Work was being done inside and outside, and I needed to be attentive.  It was all good stuff, like pictures being hung (yeah, I know we've been here a year.  I've been busy).  While sorting through needlepoints and prints and deciding where they should go, I worked on my recipe for stuffed artichokes, and they were frankly delicious.

Seeing the pictures on the wall gave me a warm fuzzy that I hadn't had for a long time.  I had forgotten some of the framed prints we had bought over the years on cruise ships, and it was sort of like Christmas in July to rediscover them.  Still have more to do, but still have lots of wall space.

Oh, those recipes?  Maybe tomorrow; there's always time enough for food.

Conquering The Big Tamale - #spooniethatsme

Finally, at long last.  Easy tamales.  I'll post the recipe after my usual (or unusual) rant.

There was a time I thought Planned Parenthood was a great organization. My opinion has changed, because I find the harvesting and sale of fetal body parts to be morally repugnant.

Well first of all, in all honesty, I am in a different place regarding abortion than I was 20 years ago.  Even before Roe v. Wade, my home state of New York had legalized abortion.  I was a kid, a legal minor when the law was passed, and it frankly meant nothing to me. Later on, I adopted and maintained the position that  a woman should be in control of her body.  This was no easy thing for me; once abortion became legal in New York, the availability of adoptable infants plummeted.  By 1979 it was clear that adoption was likely in our future, but I continued to strongly support the right.

Then in 1986, while completing a paralegal course, I had the opportunity - and obligation - to read Roe v. Wade, in its entirety.  This was repeated when I took constitutional law in law school. I knew then that one day the decision would collapse in on itself.  And it has, in a very poignant way.  So let me explain that while I remain pro-choice, I sincerely hope the parents choose life.

Why the shift? Well, it was clear, at least to me, that given ever-increasing scientific achievements of the last 40 years, the day would come that the viability of the tiniest preemies would increase considerably. If you have ever looked at a one-pound micro preemie in a NICU - and I have - you quickly learn to appreciate the miracle of life.  Viability at 23 weeks. Most states permit abortion up to 24 weeks.  Some years ago, I was at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando, a mini-field trip arranged by my employer, and I was shocked to tears by what I saw.  I could have held these tiny humans in my hand. Their little diapers were the size of an old-fashioned menstrual pad. And yet, the law allows them to be aborted, their organs harvested, and their remains casually discarded.  This causes me to cry and makes my head want to explode.  This is reprehensible amoral behavior.

And that is why I don't like Planned Parenthood all that much anymore.

I survived one of those terrible nights last night.  It followed a terrible day.  Lately my pain has been worse than usual, and that is saying something.  I had to take two Benadryl to get to sleep, and that was after 3:30 AM, and after I'd spent hours crying in pain.  This morning I've got the Insane Itching thing going on, which is weird because of all that Benadryl.  Now I am waiting for a phone call from the Very Nice Lady in Employee Relations.  I have a pad and pen ready because if I don't write everything down, I will forget the whole conversation.

From the "what was I thinking of" department: I need a bra that fits me properly.  This has been a problem my whole life, or at least since sixth grade.  We also needed fitted sheets, and Robert was pretty sure that the ones we liked had been purchased in Walmart. So my cane and I headed over to do some shopping at Walmart.  Holy crap, what an adventure!  First, I was there for close to 2 hours, and did not get either of the items I was looking for.  No matter what size I happen to be, I can never find a bra that fits me.  Where were all those 48DDDs I saw today, when I needed them?  Why is there (apparently) no such thing as a 36DD?  Yes, yes, I'll start investigating on Amazon, but why can't I just walk into a store and snag a sling for the girls?

I did communicate with the VNL from ER, and I wrote down what she explained, and she was, as always, helpful and kind.  Thank you VNL!

Gorgeous Globe Artichoke, TBS (To be stuffed)

I want to give you the recipe for the tamales, even though I haven't created the rice dish to go with it (it's in my head, and you know how that goes).  My refrigerator is, as Rob noted, wall-to-wall aluminum pans, which means I've been cooking too much for this audience.  But I've got some coffee being cold-brewed, Mexican chorizo sausage, a gorgeous artichoke and a sharp sharp knife.  Tune in tomorrow.

Easiest Tamales Ever: Midnight Tamales

Filling:
oil for cooking
1-15 oz. can corned beef hash
3 large scallions, sliced thin
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 small red bell pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon Paula Deen's Southern Spice Rub
kosher salt
ground black pepper
dried oregano
1-10 oz. can Old El Paso Mild Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
queso fresco cheese, cut into 2 x 1/2 inch pieces
12 stuffed green olives, halved
zante currants or dark raisins

Masa:
1-18 oz. tube precooked polenta

Wrap - a - wrap - a - wrap:
15 dried corn husks (you will only need 12, but just in case any rip during soaking)
12 pieces kitchen twine, 10-12 inches each
No-stick spray

Paula Deen's Southern Spice Rub - make it in advance; days, weeks, a month or two

2 T. ground cumin 

2 T. chili powder

1 T. ground coriander 

1 T. kosher salt 

2 t. ground pepper

1/2 t. ground cinnamon 

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

You need to soak the dried corn husks for a couple of hours at least.  Place them in your largest pot (the one in which you boil spaghetti, make all your soups, chilies and stews - you know, the one you can't live without.  Mine was part of an engagement present - one of my parent's friends worked for Farberware - and after 41 years of almost daily use, it looks pretty good) and fill the pot 3/4 full of water.  Bring the water to a boil, weight down the husks with a heat-proof plate, cover the pot and turn off the heat.  Leave the husks to soften, up to overnight.

Prepare the filling - heat about 1/4 cup canola oil in a large skillet - add the hash and cooked until it falls apart and browns a bit.  Add the scallions, garlic, and red bell pepper, cooking for a few minutes after each addition. Add the spice rub, salt, pepper, and oregano, and cook for a few more minutes. Add about half of the green enchilada sauce, and simmer for a few more minutes. Set aside and allow the filling to cool to room temperature, or even better, refrigerate in a small square container overnight.  Next day, divide the square into 12 even pieces.

Remove the polenta from the tube; cut off the rounded ends (discard or pan fry for another dish) and slice into 12 equal pieces.

Create the tamales: I work two at a time.  Lay out two of the corn husks, smooth side up.  Hit them with a shot of no-stick spray across the top half of the husk.  Place one slice of polenta, and a one-twelfth piece of the hash filling.  Place one piece of the queso fresco in the middle of the hash filling. Place 2 olive halves on one side of the cheese, and about 5 currants on the other side. Spoon a little more of the green enchilada sauce over the filling.  Wrap and tie each tamales using the twine.  Place the finished tamales, open end up, in a steamer.  I don't own a fancy steamer, so I put on inch or so of water in the bottom of my 41-year old wonder pot, place the tamales in an old fashioned metal colander (older than the pot; my mother gave it to me when I started cooking) and then put the filled colander in the pot.  Divide any remaining sauce over the top of each tamales..   Place the pot on the  stove, bring the water to a boil.  Put the lid on the pot and lower the heat to simmer, and steam the tamales for 50 to 60 minutes.

Serve with Spanish rice (recipe tomorrow, kids), and congratulate yourself on conquering the Big Tamale!  Next time we make the masa from scratch.  It's not overwhelming if you limit the batch to one dozen tamales. I'm game if you are.  Well, even if you're not.