Monday Musings

Our hard working instructors

I thoroughly enjoyed my cooking class on Friday evening:  Global Flavors: Cooking Under Pressure.

I was the only one in the class (8 of us) who uses a stove top cooker pressure.  Everyone else uses an electric plug in pot that sits on the kitchen counter.  I think they are called "Instant Pots."  Just like a stove top model, except that everything is programmed, and you can walk away from it and it will automatically shut itself off when cooking is complete.  That's handy for busy cooks who are perhaps juggling babies, children, homework or any other sort of distraction.  For the 'retired' cook, such as myself, I can afford to stick around and keep an eyeball on the pot.

In the space of two hours, our teachers made Aloo Gobi (a curry dish involving potatoes and cauliflower), Basmati Rice, Shawarma Roast Beef (yum), Hummus and lastly, and bestly, Lemon Cheesecake.  Yes, cheesecake!  And it was delicious!  Cooked in small ramekins, this particular recipe was not overly sweet and the texture was lighter than the dense cakes I often find commercially.  I found I prefer it lighter in texture.  The hummus was also the best I've tasted.  It was cooked from dried beans, which, according the the instructors, makes all the difference.  Apparently so.  I've always made my from canned and have never been super wild about it.

One of the best tips of the night was the link to Hip Pressure Cooking website for all things related: conversion charts, tips, recipes, advice and history of the pressure cooker.

All modern stove top pressure cookers are safe.  They are not going to blow up on you.  People are scared of them (I was) but there is no need.  One of my favorite uses for the cooker is to make soup stock, both meat and vegetable.  It is so fast and easy, and the results are an extremely rich stock that can be used in a variety of ways (soups, risotto, gravy and cooking rice).  Today I am making a cream of asparagus soup because I bought a huge amount of asparagus at Costco and I want to use it all while it is fresh.  I will use the veg stock I made in the pressure cooker last week.

Just about anything you can cook, you can cook under pressure.  But not diary or liquor.  Diary clumps and should be stirred into the dish when it is finished cooking.  Liquor will stay in the pot as steam and could ignite when you release the pressure valve.  Good to know.

And cooking garlic?  Not with this method.  It will lose all its flavor.  Add it in at the end after cooking.

There were some tips that were new to me, and wouldn't make sense unless you are familiar with a cooker.  Such as -- do not "quick release" the pressure in most cases following cooking.  Allow the pressure to reduce naturally before releasing the valve.  I did not know this.

One of the funniest parts of the class was when all the older gals talked about how the printing on the Instant Pot buttons was so tiny none of us could read it!  They need to make models for old eyes like ours.  You know, like those telephone key pads that are writ large.  The electric pots can be pricey because they are all the rage right now, and I don't like the complicated electronic settings.  They are also HUGE and would take up valuable storage space in the kitchen.  My pot fits in right next to the large pot I use for boiling pasta water.

There are many different ways to skin a cat, er, cook a meal.  When I was a working mom, the Crockpot slow cooker was my best friend.  Prep the night before, turn it on it the morning, go to work without a worry, and walk in at 5:30 to a finished and ready dinner.  Now, it's the pressure cooker, which allows me to cook my favorite dishes in a fraction of the time.  I've also discovered that cooking under pressure will often enhance the flavor of the food over conventional stove top cooking.  For instance, adjust spices when pressure cooking, or the spice will overwhelm the dish!

If you are PC curious, browse the internet.  Plenty of resources.

Bon Appetit!

TGIF

Today could not have been more beautiful.  The roses are going gangbusters and the sun has been out all day. 

We began the day by successfully getting rid of our old (but very much still working) washer and dryer.  Sold them on a local Buy/Sell/Trade site to a very nice couple who are expecting a baby soon.  They got a great deal, and we got rid of excess stuff.  We promptly spent our earnings at Costco in the afternoon.

Friends are coming tomorrow for the weekend.  I know it's Easter, but I could not care less.  Or, as my daughter would say, I give zero fucks about it.  I bought big ass steaks, and a ton of asparagus to feed people.  Oh, and wine.  And gin, and assorted other alcohol.  (Did I mention we just sold our washer and dryer?  Steve said, "We've turned it into wine!")

I also discovered that today marks 7 years since the little Lucy dog came into my life.  Best dog (best animal) I've ever known.  That girl makes me happier than a pig in shit.  And that's the truth.

This week also brought news that my daughter and her family have secured housing in Ft. Collins, CO. and will be moving July 1.  I'm a little shaky, as I have never been further than 140 mi. away from the 'kids.'  But I'll breathe through it, because it's going to be a great move for them, and an adventure, and a way that they can thrive financially.  Their current town's average home price is $800k.  Forget about it.  They are joining the on-going exodus to enjoy affordable living.

Tonight I'm attending a class at our Food Co-op on Pressure Cooking.  I've fallen for the pressure cooker, especially for making broths and soups.  It cooks artichokes really well, too.  I'm looking forward to learning how to convert regular recipes into PC recipes.

So, I'm intentionally skipping any world news, because it is so dismal and I can't bear it.  Can you?  I didn't think so.  Better to stick to the garden and everyday mundane tasks that keep body and soul together.

Off to my class!

Have a lovely weekend.

Monday Musings

On Thursday we had our first personal training session at the gym in 5 weeks.  I felt GREAT afterward. So, I did stuff this weekend:  My husband and I worked in the yard.  I sorted through paperwork.  I cleaned up my desk.  I made the beds.  I made a yummy soup.  We did grocery shopping.  I visited mom and took her on a walk.

My husband cut roses from our abundant bushes and put them in vases all over the house.  I love him for this (and other things).  I got drunk on strawberry lemonade and vodka.  I pet the dogs and appreciated them for the loving beings that they are.  People who have personal relationships with animals know what I mean.

I read two essays by Anne Lamott on aging.  They are miraculous, and funny, and give me great peace.  She's deeply committed to Jesus, and that's okay with me.  If this is where she wants to assign her great love and equanimity, so be it.  I'll go with it.  It's  her rock, and I appreciate that she feels this way.

I listened to Judy Collins sing Amazing Grace.  A gift from God, or the universe, or the Great Goddess.  Whatever.

It was a few days filled with action to counter the craziness that is this existence in this world, at this time.

After weeks of deep and pervasive lethargy, this energy feels good.  

As I write this, I gaze at two photographs of my daughter: one when she was 8 weeks old, in her father's arms, and the other when she was 3, dressed in her Easter dress as she discovered the treats in her Easter basket, her blond ringlets hanging loosely around her face. 

Like a honey bee, buzzing around a glass of sweet Chablis, I experienced the best that life has to offer.  

That's the key: to notice and to appreciate when good things happen.  They happen all the time if you know how to be open to them.  They seem especially sweet when they follow a period of low energy and lack of enthusiasm for anything.  The Weight is heavy for many of us right now.  There is much to fret about, and we do it, with great gusto (I'm thinking Facebook).  I get so weary with it all.  The list of evil characters grows longer by the day and so I must look for the people who inspire.  The writers, the artists, the musicians, the humble and the spiritual.  Those who delight in a walk along the shore, or through the redwood forest, or by watching the birds at their feeders.  The people who share their garden photos -- the spectacular cacti in Arizona and the palm trees of Los Angeles.  The chickens running loose in the far north of California and the splashing waterfalls of the Sierra.

I hope you are finding your moments.

At Great Pond
the sun, rising,
scrapes his orange breast
on the thick pines,
and down tumble
a few orange feathers into
the dark water.
On the far shore
a white bird is standing
like a white candle ---
or a man, in the distance,
in the clasp of some meditation ---
while all around me the lilies
are breaking open again
from the black cave
of the night.
Later, I will consider
what I have seen ---
what it could signify ---
what words of adoration I might
make of it, and to do this
I will go indoors to my desk ---
I will sit in my chair ---
I will look back
into the lost morning
in which I am moving, now,
like a swimmer,
so smoothly,
so peacefully,
I am almost the lily ---
almost the bird vanishing over the water
on its sleeves of night.


Mary Oliver

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Musings

File this under "Mind Blow."  My mother gave me a packet today that contains her newborn baby clothes, delicately embroidered dresses and bonnets, and the hospital packet from Berkeley general in 1935.  Also included were pamphlets on breast feeding and baby care.

I know I bitch and moan about how much STUFF mom and dad have saved over the years, but this, oh this is a treasure!

I've never seen these before.  I'm not sure she remembered having them.  But wow.  These things are 81 years old.

The clothes are in extraordinarily good shape.  The embroidery on the clothes is beautiful.  The extensive book from the hospital entitled "Your Baby's Care" is quite comprehensive, as is the pamphlet on breast feeding.

That my grandmother, and then my mother, was able to keep them in such good condition is a marvel to me.

I want to put the bonnets on my grand daughter and photograph her in them! 

I am touched and honored that my mother gave these to me for safe keeping.

Talk about the passage of time, the arc of a life, and all that stuff I mentioned in my previous post.  These things have really blown my mind.

TGIF

My health was good enough early in the week for a quick trip to visit my daughter's family for a couple of nights.  What bliss holding that baby girl!  I held her when her mom needed a shower.  Or when she needed to make a cup of coffee.  Or wanted a much needed nap.  I watched that baby's ever changing facial expressions and wondered what physic or physical storm was passing through her as she grimaced and turned beet red.  I watched her face in the most peaceful repose when a deep sleep took hold.  What is it about a new born baby?  So fragile and yet so tough (yeah, getting born is tough!).  Completely ageless and timeless.  I look down at her and see the images of my grandmother as a baby, 105 years ago, being cradled by her own loving mother.  I see my mother. I see my daughter. I see the entire arc of a life spinning in front of my eyes.  Sadly, I see all the unlucky babes throughout the world who, innocents though they are, have had the most horrific acts done to them in war, and famine, and just plain mundane everyday cruelty.  Why do they suffer while my grand daughter is allowed to flourish?

Holding this baby is an emotional roller coaster of love, faith, and trust juxtaposed with terror, fear and dark apocalyptic scenarios.  I breathe out the fear and hope for the best.  It's all any of us can do.  I wish that, when dealing with other humans, we could all remember that once we were some parent's most beloved child: all hope and possibility in front of us.  We were cherished (if we were lucky) and had somebody to watch out for us and teach us.  Not all possibilities end well.

But here's one of the miraculous things about holding my grand daughter in my arms: my hopes soar.  My love swells and fills my chest and I believe in all good things.  The universe is infinite and wondrous.  Maybe she will be the one who solves world climate change.  Or discovers the cure for disease.  Perhaps she will find her purpose in poetry, or photography, or in helping children or the elderly. 

For now, I just know that she is the yin and yang of it all.

Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth!
That’s what it said
as it dropped,
smelling of iron,
and vanished
like a dream of the ocean
into the branches
and the grass below.
Then it was over.
The sky cleared.
I was standing
under a tree.
The tree was a tree
with happy leaves,
and I was myself,
and there were stars in the sky
that were also themselves
at the moment
at which moment
my right hand
was holding my left hand
which was holding the tree
which was filled with stars
and the soft rain –
imagine! imagine!
the long and wondrous journeys
still to be ours.

--Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me, by Mary Oliver

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Musings

Blah.  Blah blah blah blah.

Goobity goo goo goo.

That's how I'm feeling right now.  Drained.  Confused.  Difficulty forming thoughts and words.

I did manage to get out into the yard both days this weekend to do some much needed clean up.  I took it very slowly as I am still building my body back up after my month long cold.  This cold really knocked the stuffing out of me.  Not only did it make my body feel lousy, it was not good for my mental health.  I've been anxious, cranky, unhappy, down in the mouth, you name it.

On the upside, Lucy had her tumor removed and her teeth cleaned.  She is doing well, running around like nothing ever happened.  That knocked the stuffing out of my bank account, but it needed to be done and now, hopefully, she will be around for  years to come.

The other upside, the Lilac is starting to bloom!  Daffodils may be had at Trader Joe's for a mere $1.49 a bunch!  And the parents are now in their new home in the retirement community of their choice, enjoying their neighbors and the amenities.  They've already watched the movie Sully in their auditorium,  something they missed when it was in theaters because it's too difficult for mom to get out to a movie theater.

So, yeah, I know there are good things out there.  Just not feeling it as much as I would like.  I will get down to visit with my new grand daughter soon, hoping that will restore me and provide some company for the new mom, who needs her grown up time more now that ever.

I don't have anything profound to say about sadness.  We've all been there and we will be there countless times more in our lifetime.  It helps me just to keep doing.  To get out of my head.  To notice the feelings.  Cry if I must.  Understand that this is the nature of existence.  And then, to turn, and see the purple flowers bursting out of their dark green leaves.

Wordless Wednesday

TGIF

Happy Friday!  We returned home a week early.  It was just not in the cards for us to stay in Santa Cruz with me so sick.  Happy to report I am getting better, sad to say that I'm still fairly ill.  I'm just tired of it all.  Everyone around me is tired of it all.  Whatcha gonna do?

My parents have now moved into their apartment at the University Retirement Community.  We joined them for dinner tonight, a well done buffet with friendly residents introducing themselves.  This is not our grandparents' retirement home.  My dad took great care with the remodeling of their living space, and duplicated the design of cabinetry, windows, fixtures and color schemes.  It looks just like their former home, but in miniature.  It's quite nice.

I'll go over tomorrow to help with unpacking, but will only do as much as I can.  Easy does it.

On International Women's Day, I wrote a tribute to my mother, and read it to her while she was visiting.  She was very touched, and asked me to print a copy for her.  Here's what I said.

My mother has my full appreciation and support, always, but especially today on Women's Day. She was the oldest of 5, editor of HS yearbook and a sports writer for the HS newspaper, attended UC Berkeley, had to quit because she started her family with my dad. Had three children by the age of 25 ( ! ), kept a beautiful house for an exacting husband, went back to the job market, kept the family on track financially, returned to college when kids were in Junior High/High School to get her BA and while dad was in graduate school.

She would never call herself a feminist. Didn't believe in it. But she does believe in all the things that feminists have fought for. So, go figure.

She is often the unsung hero of the family, because she is modest. There are many chest thumpers and horn tooters in our gang, and she isn't one of them. 

 But I do believe she's the strongest among us.

Today, mom, I want you to know: I see how important your life has been. I've watched your struggles and accomplishments. I'm so glad you are mine. 

 I'm lucky to have to in my life. I'm grateful.

It was a touching moment when I read it to her.  I managed not try cry, just by a hair.  Her appreciation was palpable.  I tucked the printed copy away in her wheelchair pocket.

Though I often did know it,  especially when I was younger,  she really was a kick ass kind of gal.  I know that now, and I 'm glad she's still around so I can tell her so.

We talked a bit about how difficult it was for a woman making her way in the 1950s era.  Never taken seriously, undervalued, options limited.  She was a smart woman, and learned to hunt game from her father, loved sports enough that she was the sports editor of her high school newspaper, and still looked ladylike in her pearls and loafers.  She quietly went about her business and did what she could.

She had good friends in high school and college, some of whom she still keeps in touch with.

She provided a good example to her three daughters:  learn well, work hard, and try not to get into too much trouble.  We did what we could.  She's been a fantastic wife, keeping my dad well cared for, catering to his (often demanding) needs, helping him stay financially strong, stroking his ego, and being his helpmate over the many decades.  He had a very unstable childhood, and she became his rock.

How did  you celebrate International Women's Day?  Did you think of your heroines?  Who are they?

(My dad snarkishly asked if there was a International Men's Day.  I said, "YES.  Every damn day."  But truth be told, there IS one!  Read about it here.)

Have a good weekend.  Women and Men and Other Identified, alike.  Cuz baby, we all part of the HUMAN RACE.