TOO MANY NICE DAYS!

Seriously, I never thought I would say this, but this summer and fall we have had one perfect day after another, and FINALLY, today is drizzly and cold, so I give a sigh of relief that I can stay inside and not be guilt ridden.  It comes from when I was a child and trying desperately to hole up in my room and read, only to be told to get outside on this beautiful day, or help my mother or whatever.  It is amazing how those childhood admonishments stick with you.

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

Aside from the continuous nice days, I have managed to read several really good books lately:

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles   I loved this book.  I was right there in that grand hotel with the Count.  I read they are making this into a movie.  This book lead me to his former novel....
The Rules of Civility, which I also enjoyed.

The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Everybody's Son by Thrity Umrigar
I read the above two books as well as seeing the very good movie "The Lion", if you asked me to tell you the plot of each, I would have great difficult as they are all similar plots, but all excellent.

Guesswork by Martha Cooley - A new author for me, but a very good one.
How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton - a friend had given me this book which I thoroughly enjoyed.........which then lead me to his novel The Course of Love, which my book club is doing this month.  I would love to give this book to every couple embarking on a serious relationship.

In This Grave Hour - Jacqueline Winspear (a Maisie Dobbs Mystery)

And speaking of books..........my beloved daughter, Julie Falatko's second book is out.  It is a sequel to her first book SNAPPSY THE ALLIGATOR (Did Not Want To Be In This Book).  The second one is SNAPPSY THE ALLIGATOR and His Best Friend Forever (Probably).  Check out her website at juliefalatko.com.

I am not quite sure how she does all this with 4 kids (14, 11, 9 and 7), 2 dogs, and a house renovation that they are doing themselves. She has a wonderfully supportive husband.

*The flower bouquet in the above picture is from the CSA (Left Field Farm) I joined this year. 

MY RANT DU JOUR

I recently had to buy some more face cream that I use.  After wrestling and hack sawing my way through the packaging, I got to the product, only to discover that they had put on a new cap to cover the cream.  This cap had a tiny knob on it that you lifted to get at the cream, which only someone with long, manicured (well, I added that part) nails could lift. I have to use tweezers.

I emailed the company and complained and quickly got a reply saying they had to change the packaging to prevent tampering.  Tampering?????  Someone would really, really want to mess with this product to get through the packaging and lift this tiny little knob to do whatever they would do to the face cream.  They are sending me a $10. coupon.

Ah, I feel better now.

RECIPES, RECIPES

I am not a vegetarian per se, but find myself more and more going in that direction.  I have several friends who are vegan, which I would find a real challenge, but vegetarianism I can grasp.  Below are two recipes that  are both quick to make.  As you can see we like spicy food, but you can easily adjust that. 

I recently found this recipe in Real Simple magazine and it has become a favorite.

JAPANESE CABBAGE PANCAKE

This is an incredibly easy and delicious dish.  We make it frequently.  A great brunch dish.

INGREDIENTS

3 Scallions (I have often just used cut up onion and chives from my garden)

4 cups shredded green cabbage (I have used red also) about ½ small head

½ tsp. fresh grated ginger

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 T. tamari, divided (I used Braggs Liquid Amino)

2 T. canola oil

Sauces

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. sriracha

2 tsp. water

Mix above in small bowl and set aside

____________________________________________________

¼ cup ketchup

1 T Worcestershire

1 T. tamari

Mix the above in another small bowl

1.      Slice scallions, separating white and green parts

2.      Stir together cabbage, white scallion, flour, ginger, eggs and 1 T tamari.

3.      Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add cabbage mixture; press to flatten and cover the pan.  Cook until bottom is golden (about 8 minutes).  Carefully flip pancake (I ask for assistance on this one!) and cook uncovered until bottom is golden (about 5 minutes).  Transfer to a service place (I often leave in the skillet and serve from there).

4.      Drizzle sauces over pancake and sprinkle with green scallion.

 SPICY CASHEW CRUNCH STIR FRY

INGREDIENTS

STIR FRY SAUCE

·         ¼ cup soy sauce

·         1-2 Tbsp chili garlic sauce 

·         2 Tbsp brown sugar

·         1 tsp grated fresh ginger (I use the ginger paste that I got at the Indian Grocery)

·         ½ tsp toasted sesame oil

·         1 Tbsp cornstarch (I don’t bother with this)

·         STIR FRY

·         2 Tbsp vegetable oil

·         1 crown broccoli (about 1 lb.)

·         2 carrots

·         1 red bell pepper

·         1 yellow onion

·         1 cup cashews

·         2 green onions, sliced, for garnish (optional)

·    4 cups cooked rice

·    INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Prepare the sauce by combining the soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Use a small holed cheese grater to grate about 1 tsp fresh ginger into the bowl. Stir to combine, then add the corn starch and stir until it is fully dissolved.

2.     Cut the broccoli into small florets. Thinly slice the onion, red bell pepper, and carrots (I do all this in the Cuisinart).

3.     Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil to the hot skillet and tilt the skillet until the bottom is coated in oil. Add the vegetables to the skillet, then stir continuously as they cook. Cook the vegetables only until the broccoli turns bright green and the onions just begin to soften (3-5 minutes). You want the vegetables to retain some crunch in the center.

4.     Finally, add the sauce and cashews to the skillet. Stir until everything is coated in sauce and heated through (1-2 minutes). Serve immediately over rice. Top with sliced green onions if desired.

NOTES

*Start with 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce. Add more to the skillet at the end if more heat is desired (I used 2 Tbsp total). .

 MOVIES

We rarely go to the movies anymore.  I will look at what is playing and find nothing to my liking.  There are a couple in the theaters now The Battle of the Sexes and Victoria and Abdul that I would like to see, but otherwise we stick to Netflix, Acorn or Amazon.  We are thoroughly enjoying the new Season of Poldark.  I remember liking the old one years ago.  Love to hear any recommendations.

THIS BLOG

I am sending this via email only at the moment, not posting on FB.  If you know someone that would enjoy reading it, please pass it on.  I look forward to comments.

I am not very tech savvy so will have to have someone help me with different features to make it a more attractive blog. (As I type this out of the blue music starts playing and I have no idea why or how to stop it. Ugh!)