what i did not get for xmas, part 1

ok, so.....these are available on-line.....knowing my luck, if i owned them i would forget to wear them, or be unable to locate them at onion-slicing time....

whoo......

ok, so this from cnn.....NEW YORK (AP) -- A Long Island teenager has earned all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. Oceanside resident Shawn Goldsmith earned his final badge -- for bugling -- in time for his 18th birthday in November. He far surpassed the 21 badges required to achieve the elite rank of Eagle Scout.

He said he took about five years to earn his first 62 badges and then nearly doubled that number in a matter of months. He did it with the encouragement of his grandmother, who died shortly before he reached his goal.

The Binghamton University freshman was awarded his final badges on Dec. 19. He said he hopes to become a businessman and politician.

mm notes: i have fond memories of my days as a brownie, a cadet, and then a full-fledged girl-scout.....the girl scout leader doubled as the 4-H leader...but that is a bit of unrelated trivia.....i can recall searching through the girl scout handbook for the easiest to earn badges.....the notion that a girl could earn every badge listed never crossed my mind....i am in awe of this incredible achievement....

last night of channakuh

ok, so...we invited guests for supper last night, and were pleasantly surprised when our guests arrived at dusk, brought out their menorah, and asked if we minded if they lit the candles and said the blessings....it was a sweet prelude to saying grace at the table......

a nice touch of irony

ok, so......i was forced by our lack of milk (soy and cow varieties) to get dressed and venture out into the world after basically doing nothing of substance on christmas friday save walk on the treadmill.....and listen to my children read aloud snippets from the newspaper account of my promotion...the article was not so bad.....but the file photo used is at least 5 years old....from my restaurant days.....if one looks really close one can see that i am wearing an apron despite the newspaper's efforts to crop the photo to a head-only shot......and so i was greatly amused to hear my name called aloud as i perused the aisles of the aldi.....'hey-there's_______, that new health department director!".......my presence noted by a couple of local caterers who can fully appreciate why one might get into, and then out-of the restaurant lifestyle.....i did respond aloud.....by adding that i was also a reformed restaurateur.......i will one day go back and actually read the article, written by a fellow who was in the group of 8th graders i escorted to paris and strasbourg over a decade ago.....he is a talented writer, and surely portrayed my career, such as it is, a respectable light......

run, lola, run.....

ok, so.....i bought this film on dvd from half.com because it was german, and my eldest was returning from a german-speaking country and i thought it would be fun to watch with him.....we never got around to watching the film while he was available...so last night my spouse and i watched it by ourselves.....i should say, we enjoyed it greedily without distractions....by some fluke i purchased a fine indie film that is refreshingly simple in its plot and starkly filmed....and ripe with existential questions.....the story opens with lola receiving a frantic phone call from manni, her boyfriend.....she had failed to pick him up after he did a test-run for his mob boss....and he lost the money owed to his boss when he left the shopping bag full of cash under his subway seat.....lola, whose motorbike was stolen earlier in the day, has 20 minutes to come up with the necessary cash and run it to her boyfriend, who is calling from- a yellow phonebooth in some berlin square......so far, so predictable....except that the story line is told three times over, with lola running the basic course through increasingly familiar streets each time, but turning out differently each time......one turns off the dvd player wondering if, like groundhog day, lola ran more times than we were shown.....so perfectly timed was the last go-around of the film.....from the wikipedia writeup i learned that the film is chock-ful of cameos by german celebrities...who knew?...i also learned that the english subtitles lacked many of the nuances important to the plot...ah well....i will fully admit that the original lure of the film was the star, franke potemte....who was in the first 2 bourne films.....i will gladly watch the film again if the notion arises before our german speaking child flies back to europe.....

ok, so this precious cat and muff tableau is from gawker.....i just love a sweet cat photo......

ok, so.....the obama santa says it all....

xmas day vegetarian option

ok, so....this is a variation on a recipe i have copied onto a file card years ago- but cannot find at this moment in time...

Torta Rustica

One recipe for pizza dough
¼ cup olive oil, mixed use..you may not need this much
1 Onion, chopped
8 Ounces mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons
dried oregano
2 Large tomatoes, sliced, or 2 c marinara sauce

1/2 tsp salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 lb fresh, cleaned, spinach
1 lb eggplant
1 lb red peppers
1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese

1/2 lb mozzerella, sliced

Cut eggplant lengthwise in ¼ inch slices. Soak in salt water for 20 minutes.Pat the slices dry with paper towel, line baking sheets with parchment paper, brush eggplants slices with olive oil and bake in a 425F preheated oven for 10 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool.

Saute the onion, peppers and garlic in 3 tbs olive oil until tender.
Reduce the heat to medium add mushrooms, basil, oregano, and salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions and mushrooms are limp .

Preheat oven to 400F.

Roll out ¾ of the dough to a 16inch circle, approximately ½ inch thick. Place the dough in to a 9 x 3 spring form pan allowing a 1 inch overhang all around the pan. Layer each ingredient in the pan as desired, or dump them all in at once. Spinach does not need to be cooked prior to putting in Torta. Roll out the remaining dough into a circle to fit the top of the Torta Rustica. Lay it over the top and fold up the overhanging dough, crimping them together to seal the edges. Make 4 small slits in the top to let steam escape and brush with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Place the Torta Rustica in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. Let cool to room temp before cutting and serving, serves 12.

flashbacks redeemed....

ok, so....i fully admit that i have given scathing commentary in the past over films and fictional works that have leaned far too heavily on flashbacks to move the plot forward......it is refreshing to see a marvelous film that successfully weaves flashbacks into a plausible plot.....in slumdog millionaire danny boyle's character jamal's correct quiz-show answers can be traced back to a series of childhood perils......oliver twist forced to put up with an older brother and far too many fagan-types..........and something that oliver didn't have to sustain him through these wretched times.....the certainty that he would be re-united with the love of his life.....a fine film.....sad that we were 2 out of maybe 8 folks at the early show.....

spam?

ok, so this from the huffington post...On Sunday a New York Times pool reporter disclosed that Barack Obama ordered "spam musubi" for lunch during a golf outing in Hawaii.

Mainlanders may be unfamiliar with the local delicacy. According to the pool report, "spam musubi, a local luncheon specialty, consists of spam and a fried egg on a bed of rice, all held together with a dried seaweed wrap. (Visualize a very big sushi role, slightly larger than a Hostess Ho Ho.)"

Here's a little history on the Hawaiian love affair with Spam, sometimes referred to as "The Hawaiian Steak." According to Wikipedia, Hawaii consumes the most Spam per capita in the United States, and it was first introduced to the island during World War II.

shirtless....

ok, so this composite photo of shirtless presidents from gawker......

helping hands during hard times....

ok, so....a two-kleenex op-ed piece from the newyorktimes....

a real bookstore fan

ok, so this from the nypost.... TOM Hanks makes his living in movies, but he loves books. The star braved a nasty LA storm the other day to help his local, cash-strapped, independent shop, cozy Village Books in Pacific Palisades. There was a bodyguard to his left and right, plus another at the front door and two police officers outside in a patrol car, as a very friendly Hanks sat at a small table in the back signing everything put in front of him. Hanks teased a little girl about her shyness, and joked that the store staff should ring a bell with each sale. He stayed a half-hour beyond his scheduled two-hour appearance - "until the last person," said Village Books owner Katie O'Laughlin. Thanks to Hanks, she added, "We're catching up on the rent." He signed Post correspondent David Finnigan's Penguin paperback copy of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," scribbling, "Hit the road!"

latkes and omelets....

ok, so i have the day off....and after a cozy sleep-in i rallied to make our current version of potato pancakes-the one with red, yellow and sweet potatoes......yummy with sour cream and a bit of salt....i do have other frying pans, but i prefer the copper omelet pan from dehillerin for frying latkes.....which makes the pan is suitably hot for the perfect omelet..... ahhh.....life is good....

exact change

ok, so.....one of my many holiday pet peeves involves exact change, or rather...those who would hold up a long check-out line fumbling around in the bottom of one's purse for spare change so as to not get more change to unceremoniously drop in the bottom of one's purse.....i was tempted at the big lots this afternoon to hand the woman 13 cents, because i lost confidence that she would find the dime/nickels/pennies that could add up to the necessary amount.....in the end, she handed the cashier a quarter, and received 12 cents in change-which she tossed into her open purse.....but in this season of charity i can not leave out those who carry actual coin purses......these folks can be just an annoying as they try to come up with the exact coins by the braille method...coin purses tend to be too small for a good visual......the lady in front of me at the salvation army had such a coin purse.....and she also ended up handing over an extra dollar to cover the change she thought she had but could not find....i fully admit that i have change clanging about at the bottom of my purse, as well as change in the zipper pocket and the outside pocket......and when i have not visited the atm recently i may dip into my change to come up with the $1 for my powerball ticket.....i make a point of counting it out before i go into the store, so as to not be just another counting customer......

18th child?

ok, so...this from the www......After welcoming a 7-lb., 3 oz. daughter via C-section on Thursday to join their 17 other children, the proud papa tells the Associated Press: "We both would love to have more." The Duggars now have 10 sons and eight daughters, ranging in age from 17 months to 20 years, all with first names starting with the letter J, including the newborn addition, Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar.

'we would love to have more'......this is a guy truly tempting fate.....or at least statistical likelihoods....that a woman who has survived 18 pregnancies/c-sections could make it through the 19th go-around......i suppose he might croon a different tune if he had to raise all 19 as a single father......

new job, just like the old job.....

ok, so nearly 11 months after taking on the director's job in an interim capacity, i have been actually hired to do the director's job....i guess my starting day has already come and gone.....

close.....

ok, so...my eldest arrives tomorrow morning...the boy who used to be my baby that i have not seen since 7/31/08.......

forced marriage

ok, so this from jezebel...

Dr. Humayra Abedin, who, as we posted earlier, had been held captive by her parents in Bangladesh, who tricked her into visiting and were attempting to force her to marry, has finally been released.

Abedin, who had been studying in London and had planned to begin a residency in August, returned to Bangladesh after being told that her mother was seriously ill. This turned out to be a lie designed to lure Abedin back home for the purposes of forcing her to marry against her will. Abedin protested, and the London High Court, using the Forced Marriage Act, demanded that she be released. A Dhaka court agreed, much to Abedin's father's dismay: he "collapsed from shock after the ruling." Abedin will fly back to the UK at some point this week. ""We're delighted with the result, the rights of a Bangladeshi woman have been protected as they should be," says Abedin's lawyer, Sara Hossein, "Dr. Abedin looks very relieved, she's a very brave woman."

green onions

ok, so yesterday i made my usual three-store loop.....big lots/kroger/aldi....in record time as i had a very short list of needs/wants...it is now my custom to bring in my own reusable shopping bags....the bringing in of bags is still a novelty for many check-out clerks, despite the fact that each of the stores on my circuit sell reusable bags at the check-out...go figure.....at the kroger i opted for the self-check out option, as the other lanes were overflowing and i had only a handful of items....but when i carefully positioned my kroger shopping bag in front of the plastic kroger bags beside the scanner unit....the electronic message kept repeating- scan the first item before putting it in the bag....yikes- i paid for this bag months ago, and it is suitably worn enough to pass muster from a scrutinizing store manager if necessary.....so the self-check clerk came over to see what was happening, and she reset the machine.....and then we came to the green onions....which i had to look up as the tinyband that holds the bunch together lacks a upc code.....i put them in the bag, only to be told to take them out and scan them before putting them in my bag.....the self-check clerk again reset the machine...but only after she took them out of my bag and took them to her master register to make sure that i had actually entered in the cost of the green onions......an exhausting kroger experience.....fast-forward, if you will, to suppertime, when i opened the refigerator to find the green onions that had caused so much difficulty....not in the drawer, not hiding behind the boxed-up leftovers, not in the trunk of the car...not in the pantry with the crackers or the mac and cheese boxes....nowhere......could the clerk have gotten so distracted with all of the malfunctioning self-checkout machines that she is still clutching my $.68 bunch of green onions?.....maddening, as this was the single item that drew me inside the krogers in the first place.....if the aldi were to carry green onions i might be able to pare my saturday loop down to 2 stores.....i suspect that i will find the green onions in their clear plastic bag in some random location in this house- and it is my wish that i find them before they start to wilt and/or ooze.....and that i am able to conceal my brief senior moment from the rest of home-for-christmas crowd....

sausage stars

ok, so....i had these once at a brunch...i am going to make them over the holidays using soyburger....

HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH SAUSAGE STARS

2 c. (1 lb.) cooked crumbled sausage
1 1/2 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. prepared Hidden Valley Ranch
Original Ranch Salad dressing mix
1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced ripe olives
1/2 c. chopped red pepper
1 pkg. fresh or frozen won ton wrappers (or egg rolls wrappers cut in 4ths)
Vegetable oil

Blot sausage dry with paper towels and combine with Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, salad dressing, olives and red pepper. Lightly grease a mini (or regular) muffin tins and press 1 wrapper in each cup. Brush with oil, bake 5 minutes until golden. Remove from tins, place on baking sheet and fill with sausage mixture. Bake 5 minutes at 350 degrees or until bubbly. Makes 4 to 5 dozen.

on tape.....

ok, so....there are many global happenings caught on tape of late, but the incident of most concern to is not in Chicago, or in Mumbai....but at eku/d-ville....i ran by at 5:00 pm to give the final a day early to a fellow with lots of mitigating circumstances...and while i waited for him in the staff area, the tech guy and the desk lady were going over the video-feed from the hidden cameras....seems a lady reported a book stolen from the computer lab....and the camera not only recorded her setting it down at the pc station along with other assorted stuff, but also showed her dashing off with her purse out of the room, another student approaching her stuff and student leafing through up her textbook, then putting it back down..... and the same student coming back in moments later and putting the textbook in between her own stack of books.....it was surreal to watch the tech guy slow-mo the feed to get the best possible full-face image of the thief...and to see him email that image to those who deal with security issues.....up until this evening, it had never occurred to me that there may be security feeds in my classroom.....and that should the health folks want to know exactly what time time call it a night- generally before the official quitting time..it would all be there on tape......on the bright side- should i need a record of a brilliant turn-of-a-phrase.....i will know who to call....

interview process....

ok, so..i finally had the chance to interview for my own job yesterday.....a bit awkward as i have done the job as interim for 10 months.....at one point in the 'script' they asked me if i wanted a tour of the facility.....i have a second interview on friday...keep me in your prayers, gentle readers......

2 pound stash....

ok,so somehow i missed this story last week...from msnbc..

Stash for the afterlife: A photograph of a stash of cannabis found in the 2,700-year-old grave of a man in the Gobi Desert. Scientists are unsure if the marijuana was grown for more spiritual or medical purposes, but it's evident that the man was buried with a lot of it.

raising chickens?

ok, so there was a short piece in the huff-post about raising chickens in the backyard....or in our case...the side yard.....they eat your leftovers and you eat their eggs....which sounds a bit gross, but as i already eat eggs i could see myself eating the eggs of my own chickens.....and since we are zoned ar-1...i could do it legally.....hmmm......

lazy and shiftless.....

ok, so.....yesterday i can count the useful things i did with one hand.....i had good intentions of numerous projects, but after the mail brought my copy of a year in provence on dvd, i kinda dropped everything to watch it.....yeah, it is old, but it is charming and that suited me just fine on a cold dreary day.....

carolyn to replace hilary?

ok, so...wow!....the ap is reporting that carolyn kennedy has approached the governor of new york about being his choice to replace hilary's soon-to-be empty senate seat.....this is the seat once held by her uncle robert....

a star-studded video against prop 8

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

ok, so....

last lecture

ok, so the last lecture for this semester's class at eku/d-ville is this evening, to be followed by the final exam next thursday. student projects are due today, and i am hopeful that each student will actually turn in a project......some in the past chose to take the d-grade that comes with so many missing points...their parents will be horrified when they figure out how their precious children nearly flunked a health class.....but this is not my problem.....my problem will be to locate on-line randy pausch's last lecture to show the nature of a good death- one with dignity and closure....

the ultimate mac and cheese

ok, so this from the nytimes...

Macaroni and Humboldt Fog Cheese

Adapted from John DeLucie, Waverly Inn, after a recipe from Zingerman’s Roadhouse

Time: 40 minutes

FOR THE MACARONI:
Coarse sea salt
1 pound cavatappi, preferably De Cecco brand
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion cut into 1/3-inch dice
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cups (1 pound) Humboldt Fog goat cheese
3/4 cup chopped roasted peppers, half red and half yellow (bottled is fine)
1 to 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce, more as needed

For the topping:
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces Humboldt Fog, shaped into four disks about 1/2-inch thick, chilled
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs or panko
1 tablespoon butter, for frying.

1. For the macaroni: bring a large pot of water to a boil, and add 1 to 2 tablespoons salt. Add cavatappi and stir well. Cook until al dente, then drain well and set aside.

2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, melt butter (do not brown) and add onions and bay leaf. Sauté until onions are soft, about 5 minutes, then discard bay leaf. Add flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk, then cream. Simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mustard, Humboldt Fog, roasted peppers, black pepper, 1 teaspoon Tabasco and salt to taste. Stir pasta into cheese sauce; adjust seasonings, if necessary. Cover, remove from heat, and keep warm.

3. For the topping: in a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Coat each disk of Humboldt Fog with egg mixture, then bread crumbs or panko; set aside. Place a small heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, and melt butter. Add coated cheese disks, and fry until golden, turning once, about 1 minute a side.

4. To serve, place equal portions of macaroni in four wide shallow bowls. Top each with a disk of fried Humboldt Fog, and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings.

from crooks and liars...

ok, so....

condi's palace concert

ok, so this from the huffington post....

The outgoing US Secretary of State was accompanied by Louise Miliband, the wife of Foreign Secretary David Miliband, and three members of the London Symphony Orchestra in her performance of Brahms.

The stateswoman – who is a concert level pianist – was allowed to use a music room at the palace after expressing a wish to play for the Queen before leaving office at the end of the Bush administration in January.

The Queen listened to part of the performance, and afterward presented Miss Rice with an audio recording of the recital as a gift.

Miss Rice started playing the piano as a child and planned a career in music, originally enrolling at university to study the subject before switching to political science. At 15 she performed Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, as a prize for winning a student competition.

She was taught the instrument by her mother, who was a music teacher, and regularly performs private chamber music recitals with four friends, leading to her be described as the world's most prominent amateur musician.

Miss Rice was visiting London before heading for Brussels to attend a meeting of Nato leaders. Earlier in the day, she met Gordon Brown and Mr Miliband.

ashes and austen...

ok, so this from the daily mail..... The 17th-century cottage, with its quintessentially English garden filled with flower beds and herbs, has long been a place of pilgrimage for devotees of Jane Austen.

Now it seems increasing numbers are choosing the author's former home, which has become a museum in her honour, as their final resting place.

Museum staff have been shocked to find mounds of human ash around the grounds, left by relatives creeping in to honour the final wishes of loved ones.

But the management of Jane Austen's House Museum has moved to halt the practice.

In an open letter to the Jane Austen Society, collections manager Louise West wrote: 'While we understand many admirers of Jane Austen would love to have ashes laid here, it is something we do not allow.

'It is distressing for visitors to see mounds of human ash, particularly so for our gardener. Also, it is of no benefit to the garden!'

cuctom-knitted cozies

ok, so this from jezebel...."I decided on making cozies for empowering objects which happened to be very hard, masculine, recognizable objects. The covers kind of softened them up and changed their determined roles," explains extreme knitter Teresa Honeywell. She was, of course, inspired by a toilet-paper cozy at a flea market. "It kind of made me a little sad to see someone's handmade craft discarded and being sold for pennies, but it mostly saddened me because it was such a bizarre and useless object. I pictured a sad housewife with nothing better to do then knit up a cozy for a roll of toilet paper. I knew then that I wanted to use that same lonely technique, and meaningless process, to cover up an object that I wouldn't ever need or have the opportunity to use again in my new role as a housewife."