Best. Green. Ever.

That would be kale. Mom and I hit the Tuesday farmers’ market today and each got a mess of kale. I was channeling my inner Samurai when I got home, so I just CHOPPED IT ALL UP instead of pulling the leaf part off the stem part. Charlie likes the stems, too, so he’s a-gonna get ‘em. I put it all in a pressure cooker with an onion, some salt and some garlic olive oil.

Didn’t put in enough water, alas, so it didn’t steam. I caught it before it scorched, added water, and put it on the heat again. Brought it up to where the pressure is jiggling the stopcock, then turned off the electric burner and let it cool down and depressurize by itself. Tasted some. It doesn’t taste SCORCHED, exactly, but it definitely has a little extra je-ne-sais-quoi to it. The guy who sold it to me said he fries it in a pan, and that’s what it tastes like–like it’s been pan-fried a little bit. So I’m going to pretend that’s what I MEANT for it to taste like.

Now here’s a little song for kale:

Kale! Kale! How I love kale!
Nothing is better except a big sale.
All other greens are too strong or too pale–
It’s perfect, most perfect, pluperfect! It’s KALE!

Okay, that’s enough of that.

I posted this morning on Fatal Foodies on the subject of Who Killed Flapjack? It’s a mystery with no solution.

MA

writing prompt: Oh, by the way, do you like my new blahg design? Okay, writing prompt: Write a romantic meeting at a farmer’s market stall.

In a Twist

First, to get your knickers in a twist, for those who don’t know, means to get bent out of shape–to become irritated and a bit resentful of someone or something.

Second, if the worst thing I ever have to face is twisted knickers, I’ll consider myself lucky.

Third, having one’s knickers in a twist is not a pleasant sensation, but metaphorical twisted knickers are a lot less unpleasant than actual ones.

Fourth, being AWARE of one’s state of twisted-knickerness–or knickers-twistedness, as you prefer–takes some of the chafing out of it.

Here, then, are some of the things that twist my knickers:

When my DH (dear husband–I don’t have a “hubby”) goes out without telling me he’s going out and then the phone rings and it’s for him and I look all over for him and can’t find him.

When I forget something I really really wanted to remember, like a tv show I meant to watch or a birthday I wanted to send a card ON TIME for, or I go to the library to work on the high-speed connection and find I’ve not brought the flash drive containing the material I wanted to work on.

When somebody says something that might be a joke or might be rude, and I think it’s a joke and then I realize it isn’t. Then I get twice as irritated, because I thought he/she was displaying friendship and I was wrong.

Any time I have to do something unfamiliar on the computer.

When I’m looking forward to some uninterrupted time to work on my writing…and get interrupted.

These are a few of my least favorite things.

MA

writing prompt: What gets your knickers in a twist? Use that–or at least the feeling–in your writing.

Free Day–LaLaLa

Church this morning, but I like church, so that’s a freebie. It’s a small congregation, and Disciples of Christ are next door to anarchists, so it hangs pretty loose there. I love the hymns, I love the socializing, and God’s there as much as anywhere else. And if I don’t agree with something in the sermon… well… I’m DofC–I don’t HAVE to agree with it. We do Christ, we do conscience. Cool.

I say the day is free, but I hope to use it to work on my Culinary Chronicles for World Wide Recipes. If I can get them all done today, the whole week is free. THAT would be something to lalala about.

Mom and I went to an open house for supper last night, so I didn’t get to cook. The other night, I boiled some our-garden potatoes and farmers’ market cabbage and had plenty left over. Tonight, I think I’ll reheat that and put some smoked sausage (store-bought, alas!) with it. Maybe make some more cornbread.

I would love to bake some more bread, but it’s been so ungodly HOT! It’s supposed to cool down this week, so maybe I can get up and bake in the morning.

There was a piece in the paper this morning about bloggers pulling down $800/week by touting products. I wish. Sometimes I SOUND like a commercial, but here is official notice that I’m not: I WISH. I just stand on the ground and watch my money sprout wings and fly away and shout, “Hey! Where you goin’? Hey!! Come back here and answer me when I’m talkin’ to you! HEY!” So if you ever see some crazy lady standing around shouting at nothing you can see, it’s probably me calling after my long-lost cash.

MA

writing prompt: How do your main characters spend Sunday? If you have no main characters, invent one and follow him/her through a Sunday, typical or not typical for him/her.

Another busy day

I’m running sideways to keep from flying today. Mom and I worked at the Friends of the Library Book Box (book sale room) this morning. We went to the farmers’ market first–still only three vendors. We hope it’ll pick up as the season goes on. I was disappointed not to find any lettuce or spinach or other greens. A friend showed up and got some turnip greens as a byproduct of turnips, but that was about it.

We got some green tomatoes and green beans and I got a little head of broccoli. Hope there’ll be more at the Tuesday market.

Then we came home and programmed our route into the GPS for the open house we’re going to tonight for a couple of friends’ renewal of marriage vows.

Now we’re going to our #1 daughter’s to visit with some friends from Louisville.

Yesterday evening, we went to Colokial, where they had music, food and lots of company. The food wasn’t free, but it smelled divine. We had expected snackies, so we had already eaten, but we visit with our friends who were there and, of course, shopped. Mom bought me a gorgeous embroidered thingy–like a shawl, only a long rectangle. I told them I didn’t need it in a bag, but they insisted. So here is a picture of the bag as well as a picture of the shawl.

They’re working on a website, but don’t have one yet.

Now I have to go and do some doin’s.

MA

writing prompt: What’s embroidered on your main female character’s shawl? If she doesn’t wear shawls, give her one from somewhere or other.

My Fav-Rave Store

Everybody who knows me, knows that my favorite store ever in the whole wide world is Ozzie’s. They have the coolest stuff–scarves, purses, jewelry, house decorations, cards, garden stuff…. And now they have a web site, so here’s a link to it: Ozzie’s.

Tonight, Mom and I are going to Colokial, another shop in Corydon. On the last Friday of the summer months, the owner is having an open house, with free refreshments and music. I’m hoping to score some horchata. In case you don’t know, horchata is a milky, sweet drink with coconut milk and ground rice and vanilla and this and that and it is purely DELICIOUS, although my mother does not like it one bit. That leaves more for me. ha!

Meanwhile, I’m wrestling with the wordpress.org software, which I can’t get to do what I want. WordPress.com is a dream, but the “pro” gear assumes a lot more savvy than I posess. Oh, sweet Jesus, not another learning curve….

MA

writing prompt: Send a character to an open house and have him/her overhear something intriguing.

Soup 4 Lunch

So I still have a mountain of Swiss chard from Saturday. Charlie had one of his brothers over for a visit, and I decided to make some sort-of posole. It was pretty easy.

POSOLE FOR MORRIS

• salted water
• fresh greens
• green onion
• fresh tomatoes
• can of hominy
• can of black beans with cumin and spices
• frozen black-eyed peas (or canned or cooked fresh)
• ham (or sausage or bacon or no meat)
• olive oil

I chopped the greens and put them in salted water and brought them to a boil. Then put in a whole green onion so I’d have the flavor but Charlie could eat around it. Peeled and cored the tomatoes, cut them up and put them in. About 1/3 can of hominy, with the liquid in it, about 1/3 can of beans with liquid, some black-eyed peas. Cut up a couple slices of ham and added a little olive oil for richness. Turned the heat down to simmer and cooked it for about 30-45 minutes.

Morris loved the soup. Said, “Charlie, do you eat like this every day?”

Charlie: “No.”

Wouldn’t it just be simpler to look at me and say, “Darling, I have a death wish.” ?

MA

writing prompt: Have a character say something in all innocence that another character takes badly.

Market Supper

I got SO MUCH Swiss chard at the Saturday market! Also got a couple of little turnips. I cut one up and boiled it with some of the chard, seasoned with chunks of fatty ham, some lemon basil and a little salt. Also made some fried green tomatoes, the Queen of Foods. Here’s how I do that:

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

• green tomatoes, sliced
• salted cold water
• flour
• Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Salt
• cooking oil

Soak the sliced tomatoes in the salted water for a few minutes. I don’t know if this does any good, but my late mother-in-law claimed it took the bitterness out of the tomatoes and she was one of the best cooks ever, so I do what she said. Blend the flour and the Jane’s and heat the oil. Dredge the tomatoes in the flour, making sure to coat the sides, too. Fry until crisp and browned on both sides, turning as often as necessary. Drain on paper towels.
Then Charlie said, “I like cornbread with greens. Would it be too much trouble to make cornbread?”

Well, of course it isn’t!

CORNBREAD THE WAY CHARLIE LIKES IT

• about 1/2 cup yellow corn meal
• about 1 cup buttermilk
• about 1 tsp baking powder
• about 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• a little butter

Melt the butter in a skillet with a cover. Mix everything else and put it in the low-medium hot skillet (on an electric range, about a 4). Cover the skillet. Check every so often. When the surface of the cornmeal is dry and nothing woobles when you shake the pan and the pone (the cooked cornbread) comes loose when you shake (gently!), slide the pone out onto a plate. Turn it back into the pan with the browned-side of the pone up, put it back on the burner, cover the pan and turn off the heat.

So I made everything and put it in a rimmed plate (I don’t “plate the food”. I don’t bowl the soup or glass the wine, either). Then I julienned the other turnip and poured the pot likker over the greens and cornbread. By the time I took the picture, the cornbread had sopped up most of the liquid, which is kind of the idea.

Good supper, if I do say so myself.

MA

writing prompt: How would your character react to being asked to make something unplanned for supper at the last possible minute?

Soda Fountain

Somebody said they wished I had put up pictures of the soda fountain at Butt Drugs, not just closeups of the cherry phosphates. So I took some snaps the last time I was in.
In addition to the soda fountain–oh, yeah, and a pharmacy–Butt Drugs has local and non-local wines, shirts and hats imprinted with Corydon and Butt Drugs logos, food/cooking gifts, and these rather expensive bulk candies. I can’t afford them, but I like to look at them.

I really don’t work for these people, but I’ve spent quite a bit of time there, what with one thing and another, and it really is a cool joint. Like just about every place in Corydon, you go in there enough and you and the folks who work there and other regular customers get to know each other. You swap restaurant reviews and tell each other what stores have what on sale this week or where to find such-and-such.

But, of course, the coolest thing is the soda fountain. You can order your own mix, if you want to. Ice cream, some of this syrup, some of that syrup…. Don’t like your milk shakes too thick to go through a straw? Tell ‘em how you want it, and they’ll do it. Very nice.

So there it is. A real, honest-to-goodness local soda fountain.

MA

writing prompt: Make yourself a milk shake. That’s an order. Then write about how GOOOOD it was.

Thanks 2 Deb

Deb is one of my longest-term friends. We’ve known each other since college, when we were roommates. She’s my third-longest-term friend, actually. Beth is longest–we met the summer between junior and senior high school. She introduced me to Jane. Then Deb, then Pat, my Midwest Writers Workshop pal, whom I’ve known for about 30 years. I guess, technically, my mother is my longest-term friend, since she’s known me since before I was born, or maybe it would be God. Deb is my third-longest-term friend who isn’t a relative or, you know, the Deity.

Anyway, Deb sent me a cookbook put out by her church, and I made a dish out of it. I won’t reprint the recipe, because I didn’t exactly follow it. The recipe was called:

PASTA WITH SHRIMP (or not) AND VEGGIES

• pasta
• shrimp
• veggies

Obvious enough, so far, eh? The pasta I used was vermicelli, which is thin spaghetti. Never mind what “vermicelli” means in Italian–trust me, you don’t want to know. The shrimp I used was tiny pre-cooked frozen shrimp, defrosted. The veggies I had on hand and felt like using were mushrooms and broccoli. I toasted the sliced mushrooms in a dry non-stick skillet, then added the crisp-tender broccoli and some white wine. Meanwhile, I made some pesto, but you could use pre-made pesto or open a jar of spaghetti sauce or Alfredo sauce or use whatever sauce you like. Then I added the shrimp and stirred the veg and shrimp together until it was all hot, then put it in a bowl with the spaghetti and pesto and mixed well.

You could leave out the shrimp and have just pasta with veggies, or you could substitute ham or bacon for the shrimp.

So thanks for the cookbook, Deb!

MA

writing prompt: Have a character make a dish from a recipe given him/her by an old friend.

The Market Has Begun!

Mom and I went to the farmers’ market today. Got there at 8:30 and, sure enough, some clever little pig had been there at 8:00 and bought up a bunch of the stuff.

There were only three canopies there, and not a lot of produce, but we did okay. Got three green tomatoes, one for Mom and one for Charlie and one for me. We will have fried green tomatoes tomorrow. I got a couple of little turnips, and these were the largest left. Got this HUGE mess of Swiss chard for 25 cents! I’ve never had this before, but I have plans for it. It was only the greens, alas, though the stems are supposed to be good. Don’t know what that’s about, unless the farmer likes the stems and not the greens and kept the stems for him/herself.

One of the pavilions was meat only–organically raised beef and pork. Charlie doesn’t eat red meat, and the only pork they offered was sausages. Another one, people Mom and I know, also had beef and pork on offer, but they had everything from brats to roast. I got a package of brats and an order form. Charlie and I don’t eat a lot of meat, and are eating less and less as we read more about the obscene ways food animals are treated and fed. This fresh and organic meat is so strong, so flavorful, I don’t WANT much of it and don’t NEED much of it for the taste to season anything it’s in. So we decided we would see if we could pick up some chicken and pork and not have it often. The expense would be less than cheap and toxic meat.

There’s still a long way to go to the greening of America–although everybody had Farmers’ Market reusable bags for sale, and although I brought my own reusable bags, I could not persuade the vendors to just pop that produce down in my bag. They all wanted to put stuff in plastic and THEN put it in the reusable sacks. Of course, I reuse or recycle the plastic, but still. I’m just sayin’. I told one guy, “If the dirt on your vegetables is so bad I don’t want it in my bag, I don’t want it on my food.” He laughed, but he just couldn’t bring himself to get my nice bag all dirty. Next week, I’ll line my bag with plastic, and maybe we’ll all be happy.

MA

writing prompt: Have a character try to convince a salesperson to do something he/she hasn’t been trained to do.