tIdes of March

We're going out of town for a long weekend.  This morning rushing to do the last minute things to get out the door, I realized that I'm cleaning.  Curious. Cleaning is generally a good habit, but in the rush, it slows things down.  I'm cleaning because the cat sitter is coming.  No, that's not exactly it.  She's seen the whirlwind of dustbunnies and piles of books before.  It's that this time, SHE IS GOING TO CLEAN THE APARTMENT.  Ick. 

It brings to mind when I worked as a housekeeper after college.  I remember the harried mom with two privileged bratty children.  They never put away a single toy.  She always apologized for the endless loads of laundry (always dumped in the laundry room, so that one had to wade through the doorway), the week's worth of dishes covering all of the counters.  I restored order,  but always wondered why she couldn't just put the dishes in the DISHWASHER instead of on the counter.  How this would seem to give one blip of order in her chaos.

So here I am cleaning for the cleaning lady.  Go figure.

Happy Bloomsday

Yep, Bloomsday.  June 16, the celebration of James Joyce's life and work.  It is the anniversary of his first date with mate/muse/common law wife Nora Barnacle who served as his inspiration for characters including Bertha in Exiles. You may assume I am a devotee of Joyce.  I'm not.  But the name "Barnacle Bertha" is something I remember being called, growing up, as a reference to a loud, brash woman of questionable morals. It was meant as an insult, but as a budding feminist, I considered it an honor.  A term that described a wild woman.  A reference to Joyce?  Who knew?

In the weird randomness of the online universe, OtterB received an email notification about Nora and Bloomsday because she signed up for notifications of updates to this blog.  Thanks for sharing OtterB :D


Wikipedia- Bloomsday
Remembering Nora Barnacle

Autumn Vegetable Soup with Matzoh Balls

Last night I made vegetable matzoh ball soup for dinner. Matzoh balls are a comfort food here in Barnacle-ville.  You may recall Summer Vegetable Matzoh Ball Soup, which was a simple water based version.  Last night I made it with homemade chicken stock that was in the freezer..  Chicken stock is pretty easy.  Bill loves rotisserie chicken so I save the bones to make the broth. I like that nothing is wasted from the chicken.   Respect the chicken.  I admit that I use a pressure cooker, which speeds up and simplifies the process.  You can save up the bones in the freezer until you have time to make it.  You can use other bones or veggie scraps instead.

Barnacle Broth

yield 1 quart of broth concentrate

1 carcass from a rotisserie chicken

1 quart water

Place carcass (include skin if you wish) and water in the pressure cooker, and bring to a boil.  Bring up to pressure and simmer 45 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally.  Drain the soup, discarding bones.  Pour the cooled broth into a quart sized container and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, remove the yellowish layer of fat from the top of your broth, (which may be jellied).  This golden disc is schmatz.  Use it like bacon grease, or instead of oil in your matzoh balls. If you wish, freeze the stock and the schmaltz for later.  When you use the broth, thin it with about 1/2 - 1 quart of water or to taste.

Autumn Vegetable Soup with Matzoh Balls

1 T olive oil

2 leeks, thinly sliced

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 red pepper chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 bunch of swiss chard, stems chopped, leaves chiffonade

1 tomato, chopped

1 qt Barnacle Broth

1 qt water

1 tsp salt

Matzoh Balls

1 C matzoh meal

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C seltzer

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

black pepper

Make the matzoh balls: mix all ingredients into a thick batter and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Saute leeks, celery, pepper, carrots, and chard stems (reserve leaves) in oil.  When golden, add broth and water.  Bring to a boil, cover and allow to simmer while you make the matzoh balls.   Divide batter into 8 portions and roll into balls.  Drop into soup, cover and simmer 20 minutes.  After 20, add reserved chard leaves, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes. 

Dish Bitch

1 glass 1 quart measuring cup

1 c measure

1 teaspoon

knife

cutting board

pot 

wooden spoon

Yikes Time Flies

I can't believe it's October.  I can't believe that I haven't posted since July.  There was a convergence of events (health, motherboard crash, heat and shift my focus on getting back to work)  that required a lot of attention, thus I neglected my postings. 

I'm still having pain from injuries sustained last fall.  I'm back to work and I've faced the patient who assaulted me.  The patient is still in bad shape, but cognizant enough to apologize.  This person is not a killer or a criminal, just someone who was having a really bad day.  I am grateful.  I know, WTF?  But considering some of the injuries sustained by coworkers, inflicted by people who express their intent to maim and kill, I am lucky. But, I've been questioning my own sanity in my choice to return to this environment.

One of the things I've noticed since I'm back at work is the number of my colleagues who are practicing Roman Catholics, mostly from Haiti, Latin America, and the Philippines. 

I was surprised to see a scapula poking out of my colleagues' shirt.  I said, "your scapula's showing" which seemed natural as breathing (flashback to high school?).  She seemed amused and a bit awkward, and responded that she was trying to hide it.  I smiled and put my hand on my chest " I hear you, no atheists in foxholes."  She laughed and squeezed my arm. 

Although I'm not RC, I was raised RC.  As crazy as it seems, in times when I'm faced with sudden fear (like a deer jumping in front of the car on a dark night) , I might spit out a Hail Mary in Latin (thank you Dr. Fossa).  I feel strong connection to Liberation Theology and the Catholic Worker Movement.   Meaning, justice, collective work, and communal/ community experience that I sought, is present in this environment.  So I'm sticking to it for a little while longer.

It's 3 AM and Bill's making Ratatouille

Seriously.  It's approximately 86 degrees in the apartment.  I'm being kind of stubborn about the air conditioning.  It's expensive and consumes a great deal of resources.  It wasn't that bad today, with fans going and windows open.   And we hit the city pool in the evening (thank you Robert Moses).    For dinner, I made no cook wraps: mesquite turkey, pepper jack, red and green leaf lettuce, Bill's pesto on Trader Joe's habanero lime tortillas and my favorite Polar Orange Dry soda.

It's been a bit unbearable though.  I'm feeling exhausted and utterly depleted this summer.  Natsubate is the Japanese term for "summer lethargy."  I didn't even photograph that sexy vegetable share on Thursday.  It is a gorgeous haul:  basil, beets, green beans, dandelion greens, lettuce, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, spring onions, tomatoes (cherry and 1 beefsteak), peaches, chard.

Tomorrow is going to be 100 degrees or something.  In order to avoid heating up the apartment during the day when things are at their worst, I usually do any cooking early in the morning.  For example, it's the perfect time to cook up a batch of yogurt or boil pasta for a salad.  Bill is a night owl.  He likes to cook late at night, and many times I have awakened to the whirr of the food processor as he whips up a batch of pesto at an ungodly hour.

Right now the house smells heavenly.  The kitchen fans is exhausting all of the loveliness into the courtyard, where I am sure it is causing my neighbors to salivate in their sleep.

I have given up though.  I am retreating to the bedroom.  I'm going to turn on the a/c and try to get some sleep, assured that I will be enjoying some variant of ratatouille for breakfast.

Bill's Midnight Summer Stew
olive oil
onions
garlic
zucchini
yellow squash
green beans, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths
carrots, peeled and sliced
tomatoes
basil

Saute the vegetables, then cover and stew for a few minutes until everything is cooked to your liking.  Eat hot or cold, with pasta or rice, on toast (bruschetta), rolled in a tortilla or straight out of the fridge with a spoon.  Make a very large batch and eat it for days.

Pattypan Masala

It was a hot and swampy night, with the fog rolling in from the harbor.  Her name was Pan, Patty Pan, and she wore her dark green cloak like a second skin, and her perfume filled the air with the exotic scents of India.

Pattypan Masala with Rice and Naan

2 C basmati rice
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 t garam masala
1 large pattypan squash
2 large carrots, large dice
1/4 C water
14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 T brown sugar
salt to taste
4 pieces of masala naan, toasted

Cook rice using a rice cooker or your preferred method.  Heat a large pot.  Add olive oil and butter.  When melted, add onion and saute until golden.  Add garlic and garam masala to and continue to cook until you smell the garlic and spices.  Add squash and carrots and stir until coated with aromatics and oil.  Add water, stirring to scrape up the bits from the pan.  Add tomatoes and brown sugar.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and let stand to finish cooking, until ready to serve.  You may serve this at room temperature or reheat if desired.

To Serve:
Gently pack rice into a custard cup and unmold onto a plate.  Surround rice with squash and naan.


Cucumber Lhassi
1 1/2 C yogurt
1 large cucumber, trimmed and cut in chunks
salt to taste (start with 1/4 tsp)

Blend everything on high speed in a blender.  Serve over ice.

The Verdict
It was delicious, spicy and had a bit of heat.  The squash is similar to eggplant texture, but a bit more firm. The garam masala spice blend was purchased at an Indian grocery, and the masala naan from Sahadis, one of the best things about living in Brooklyn.

Dish Bitch
knife
cutting board
pot with lid
wooden spoon
rice paddle
rice cooker
custard cup (to mold rice)
blender

CSA Share - 3rd pickup

First Tomato of 2010

From left to right: scallions, cucumber, tatsoi, dandelion, red chard, cucumber.

Bok Choy and Beets with greens

Patty Pan Squashes

Lettuce and Broccoli

Peaches

Sunflowers!