Sep 30 2008
links for 2008-09-30
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I agree- what I want is a president who is smarter than me, because you know, I'm pretty freakin' smart myself. But see, I prefer to "have a beer with" really smart people, because then we can TALK ABOUT STUFF.
Sep 29 2008
links for 2008-09-29
Sep 23 2008
Ratatouille success
Disclaimer: This is someone else’s ratatouille in the picture. But the one I made last night looked a lot like this, but with no red peppers. I got home later than expected, so I got a late start on dinner, and finally was ladling it into bowls at 9PM. We were hungry, and also Heroes was starting. So I didn’t take pictures.
The ratatouille was a success. It was kind of time-consuming because of the need to salt the eggplant first, but if Tom had been home before I was I could have asked him to get that started for me- once it goes into the oven, it’s a 30-40 minute meal.
The flavor of the ratatouille was a complete success, which I attribute heavily to the pile of fresh herbs called for in the recipe, as well as the fact that two of the three herbs came right out of Tom’s garden and therefore had only been off the plant 20 minutes by the time they went into the pot. Tom loved this dish, and had seconds. I enjoyed the flavor, but found that I was not such a fan of the texture of the eggplant- the flesh was mushier than I expected and I don’t care for eggplant skin at all. But I suspect that if I cut the eggplant smaller next time, I’ll notice less.
We served it with a little French bread- perfect for soaking up the juices with. I was surprised at how full I was after a bowl of this. I’m sure I’ll make it again.
But in the meantime, it only ended up needing one of the two OMG GINORMOUS eggplants we have from our farm box, so it looks like I’ll get to try one of those cheese-smothered recipes this week after all. With roasted acorn squash, no doubt.
Next week we get butternut squash, and also get to pick up vouchers for jack’o'lantern pumpkins. And possibly pick more edamame. Mmm, edamame.
Sep 21 2008
Eggplant Education
In our farm box this week, we got two humongous eggplants. HUGE. And we have no idea what to do with it- Tom has not previously enjoyed his encounters with baba ghanouj, so I didn’t want to go leaping straight to that. Off to the cookbook shelf, then. I pulled down the New Best Recipe Cookbook, The Silver Spoon, Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano, and a random vegetarian cookbook I bought years ago for ideas.
The vegetarian cookbook is kind of useless, as it doesn’t have an index that features ingredients, so I didn’t spend a lot of time with that. Batali’s cookbook had lots of interesting ideas, but most of them seemed like things I’d rather try after establishing once and for all whether I even like eggplant. The Silver Spoon had some interesting but classic-sounding recipes for stuffed eggplant, breaded eggplant, etc. But after noting that we also got a zucchini and some tomatoes in the box, and have lots of fresh herbs growing in the backyard, I think we’re going to try the Best Recipe’s ratatouille recipe. I’ll let you know what we think, and we’ll try some of the other recipes next week if we get more.
We also got a little bag of really delicious apples, most of which were immediately devoured. There are a couple of acorn squash, which will no doubt be roasted later on this week, and perhaps eaten with some of the potatoes we continue to get. Oh yeah, and a little bag of edamame, which will enjoy boiling and consuming probably on Wednesday while Tom is in class.
Sep 18 2008
links for 2008-09-18
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In books and speeches, I have often said that God is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I have contended that to make either party "The God Party" is idolatry. This, however, does not mean that Christians should abandon political activism. It has been said that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Consequently, I have long called for Christians to be involved in both political parties, striving to be the "leaven" that permeates both parties with biblically-based judgments and values derived from Christian beliefs.
Sep 18 2008
distraction
I stayed up way too late the other night finishing a project for work that I am not equipped to do AT work, so I did it at home. Without getting into the details, suffice it to say I was pretty irritated at how the whole thing went down, and I’m still kind of tired from it. Fortunately, Flickr’s Last 7 Days Interesting feature is excellent for redirecting one’s moods. Oooh, pretty….
Tonight I think Tom and I will eat a simple dinner and spend some time kicking pixelated ass with our WoW guild.
Sep 16 2008
At the Associated Press, apparently adopted kids don’t count as much.
Attention, Associated Press:
Senator and Mrs. McCain have four children together, not three-plus-the-adopted-one. Lack of a shared genetic heritage does not make her less than the daughter of the people who raised her.
Morons.
Sep 15 2008
links for 2008-09-15
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The continual dismantling of facts in this campaign is driving me right up the freakin' wall.
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a guide to home canning
Sep 09 2008
po-tay-toes, boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew
We’ve only got a few weeks left on our CSA, and I must say, I’m going to miss it. Our grocery bills have dropped, our food quality has improved, and we’ve been able to freeze/preserve some for this coming winter to keep the deliciousness going.
This past week was the beginning of potatoes at the CSA. I learned that the potatoes you see at the supermarket are generally from last year’s harvest, so they’re about 10 months old by the time you actually get to eat them. That’s perfectly fine- one of the great things about potatoes is how long they keep when stored properly- but it does mean that potatoes from the farm, just over 24 hours since they were dug up, are a much better experience.
I roasted some of our CSA potatoes last night, with some thyme and rosemary from Tom’s garden, and some lemon pepper, salt, and olive oil. Oh My. They were delicious, definitely the best potatoes I’d ever had. It’s a subtle thing, but there is definitely a better flavor- more potato-y, for lack of a better way to describe it.
I am now giving very serious consideration to adding potatoes to my list of Things I Will Never Again Buy At the Supermarket. The list currently includes eggs, peaches, berries of all types, and tomatoes.
And don’t worry, all- I got extra potatoes so I can make potato salad out of them for the bbq this weekend.
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