They took you for a working boy, Kiss them goodbye - Creamed Southern Greens

Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on

Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on

In violent times
You shouldn't have to sell your soul
In black and white
They really really ought to know

Those one track minds
They took you for a working boy
Kiss them goodbye, you shouldn't have to jump for joy
You shouldn't have to jump for joy

I have no idea of what to talk about today.  Perhaps we could go over my bucket list, wouldn't that be fun?  Okay, here goes:

• Cruise and Land Trip through Alaska.
• Travel to Israel and spend a couple of weeks there.
• Drive cross-country, following the route that takes you through each of the Lower 48.
• Drive to Brooklyn, stopping to eat barbecue and see friends and family along the way.
• Finally get to meet all my Osher relatives
• Have the Doctor pick me up in the TARDIS and travel through time and space.
• Finish all my unfinished knitting projects.
• Be able to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" like Whitney Houston.

FUN FACTS APROPOS OF NOTHING:

• Bill O'Reilly from Fox News has a TARDIS iPhone case (didn't see that coming).
• Alton Brown would rather binge-watch Doctor Who over any other TV show.  That makes him a Thyme Lord.
• Both Queen Elizabeth II (not to be confused with Queen Elizabeth I, who actually married the Tenth Doctor) and Patrick Stewart are great fans of the show. Hail Britannia! Or is that Pandorica?
• Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) played a priest gone astray in the 1986 mini series "Lives and Loves of a She-Devil."
• The Fifth Doctor's son-in-law is the Tenth Doctor.                                            

REALLY GOOD NEWS:  Welcome to the world Easton Michael, second child for my Number 1 Niece and her husband, and new little brother to Bailey!  Happy family!

Funniest thing I've seen in a long time, posted by my son:

If you dune get it, I can't help you

I am officially investigating disability retirement.  I did not know such a thing existed; I thought it was one or the other,  I guess that means I am about to get an education.  Possibly a rejection.  I have issues with rejection.  But I have to Do Something - being in Limbo these past three months has been enlightening, if only to show me, once and for all, that I am not invincible.

I think I mentioned that I was unimpressed with Trader Joe's, the one that just opened in the Dr. Phillips/Bay Hill area. It reminded me of shopping in the grocery section of a Super Target.  It did not help that I was in the middle of a fibro flair; for once, walking around a food store did nothing to improve my mood.  I did not walk out empty-handed, however, but the bag of mixed greens and bottle of garlic olive oil were slim pickins indeed.

I initially planned on cooking the greens as I usually cook collards (you may ask: what is a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn doing cooking collards?) with some sort of smoked meat in the cooking liquid, but once I got them home, I started thinking about creamed spinach.

Creamed Southern Greens

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons roasted garlic olive oil
1-16 oz. bag Trader Joe's Southern Green Blend (Mustard, Turnip, Collards, Spinach)
1 very large clove garlic, chopped

Melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, add the greens, gradually, as they wilt.  Season with a small amount of kosher salt and black pepper.  Lower the heat and cook the greens, stirring often until the stem pieces are tender but not mushy.  Remove the green from the pan and set aside while you make the sauce.

6 tablespoons butter
8 tablespoons flour
3 medium shallots, halved and sliced
3 - 5 cloves of garlic, depending on size, chopped
1-10 1/2 oz can Campbell's chicken broth
1 soup can of half-and-half

salt, white pepper, ground nutmeg, cayenne, granulated garlic

Melt the butter in the same pan.  Add the shallots and garlic and cook on medium high until just starting to show golden color.  Add the flour and cook, stirring well, for several minutes.  Add the chicken broth and the half-and-half, and stir until the sauce is thick.  Add a bit more half-and-half if too thick.  Add the cooked green and stir well to totally incorporate into the sauce.  When you adjust seasoning, don't go hog wild with the salt - the chicken broth is already somewhat salty.

Unbelievably good