Bring Up To Date

Today I was stuck at home without a car, so I decided to tackle some long-overdue blog maintenance. The first task was updating the sidebar blog list.  Every couple of months I  take a look at the list, add my new favorite blogs, and delete those who've stopped publishing on a regular basis.

This is the way it works. On the design screen you click the Edit button, which brings up a popup called Configure Blog List. Close to the bottom of this popup is an Add to List link. That shows a box to put the URL in. You save it, then voila!, the changes show up on the blog.

However, today when I clicked on the Add button nothing happened.  I tried several times, and got the same result.  When I searched the Blogger Help forum I found out I wasn't the only one having the problem.  I added my comments to a discussion, and over the course of the day several more people chimed in complaining about the same issue.  Finally, late in the day I heard that the Blogger team was working on the issue, but it might not be fixed until next week.

I guess I have no choice but to wait.

Five years ago today: Glassy

"I Live In A World Of Wonders‏"

Those words were part of a reflection that showed up today on my daily meditation calendar.   I read them, thought they were nice, then moved on with my day.  After a chiropractor appointment I was dropping my car off at the shop to get some work done.  My plan was to walk home (about two miles, which would also take care of the day's exercise) then tackle a list of things around the house.

It's been raining for days, but when my alarm went off the sun was shining and I thought maybe we'd get a chance to dry out.  However, by the time I left the house at 8:45 it was drizzling again.  I grabbed a backpack from the closet and threw a travel raincoat and a water bottle in it.  I put my drivers license, charge card, and a couple of dollars in one shorts pocket and my cell phone in the other.  As I left, Son Donald told me to call him if I decided I wanted a ride home.

The rain was still coming down in a steady drizzle when I dropped off my car at the shop, but that didn't stop me.  I put the  raincoat and started  on my way.  It only took me a couple of minutes to realize that the coat's plastic coating that kept the water out kept the body heat in.  Since it wasn't raining hard I took the coat off and let the drops fell where they would.

I took a shortcut through a park, and listened to some kids having a great time playing in the rain.  As I walked under some large trees I was surprised to see that the ground underneath them was still dry.  I exited the park, went down a hill, and turned left onto a large street.  At first this street is lined with houses fronted by nicely-tended yards, but it quickly changes to a new section they installed fifteen years ago  (when they removed  two 90 degree turns and a narrow bridge over a small creek from the original road).  The new section has sidewalks, a long concrete retaining wall, and a modern bridge.

In this section the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street morphed from nicely tended to natural.  Because I was walking instead of driving I was able to notice all of the wonders.  The green was a mixture of crabgrass and annual weeds, with some of the weeds showing their colors.  There was white clover and red clover.  I passed a few dandelions and the tiny yellow pompom flowers of black medic, and saw some lovely Queen Anne's lace and my first chicory blooms of the year.  If I hadn't been paying attention I would have missed the tiny red fruits of wild strawberry weed and the pink blooms of smartweed.

After I passed the retaining wall and went over the bridge I walked by a section bordered by a tall chain link fence on the left.  There was a small wild grape vine winding its tendrils around the links, and another mature one drooping over the top.  A large trumpet honeysuckle was covered with beautiful coral blooms, but some aggressive bush honeysuckle was right next to it.   Once I passed the fence the landscaping went back to suburban.  I turned off into my subdivision and finished the trip home.  The temperature was in the mid-70s, but the humidity made it feel much warmer.  When I got home my clothes were damp, as much from sweat as from rain.  However, it was all 'wonder-ful'.

Little Seed Of Squash

On the way home from the gym today I stopped at a produce market to get some inspiration for dinner.  I grabbed a beautiful head of lettuce from a local grower, but nothing else called to me until I saw a display of butternut squash, with a sign that said it was only 99 cents a pound.  After I paid for my items and left the store, I realized I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to incorporate both ingredients into a meal, but I was confident I'd come up with something.  I always do.

When I got home I did an internet search.  There were a lot of good-sounding recipes, but I ended up using Martha Stewart's Chili-Lime Roasted Butternut Salad as a springboard. Her recipe called for romaine lettuce, Cotija cheese, and pepitas (pumpkin seeds). I used leaf lettuce and roasted chickpeas in place of the cheese, but I was at a loss for a substitute for the unavailable hulled pumpkin seeds. There were walnuts and almonds in the pantry and sesame seeds in the spice cabinet, but none of them came close.  It wasn't until I was cutting up the squash that I had an inspiration. Squash and pumpkin are similar, and I've substituted the flesh of one for the other a couple of times. I wondered if squash seeds would be any good?

I decided to try.  The first step was a quick internet search, which gave me several different options.  I decided to follow the steps in the first link.   I put the seeds in a coffee cup, covered them with water, and nuked them for 30 seconds in the microwave.  Next I drained them, then rolled them in a towel to dry them off.

When I started the hulling process I realized that it might have been a better idea to toast the seeds first to crisp them up, but I worked with what I had. I used the 'sunflower seed' technique--hold a seed between your thumb and index finger, then apply pressure to the most prominent part of the edge until the pointed part of the hull splits open. However, unlike sunflower seeds the squash shells were soft and peeled off in small pieces. But come off they did.

When I was finished I put the seeds into a small skillet and toasted them on the stove. They made a nice accent to the top of the salad.

Pepitas are hard to see, but they're there

Messy No More

Last Saturday I was in the middle of typing up a work report when the batteries on my cordless keyboard gave out.  I spend a couple of minutes rooting around in the mess of our electrical junk drawer (and comping up empty handed) and decided it was past time for the drawer to get a good cleaning.

Today was the day.  Over the years the drawer has become the landing spot for old phones and chargers. all types of batteries, the cats' combs and nail clipper, and miscellaneous bits of things.  The first step was a 'before' picture:

The photo doesn't do justice to the mess!

I dumped everything into a laundry basket and started sorting.  Batteries went into a bowl.  Cords got thrown into a roasting pan.  Cell phones were piled off to the side.  All of the miscellaneous items went into their own stack.  Next I paired up as many cords as possible with their item, then laid everything out for an inventory.  There were four bar and flip cell phones with chargers, five extra chargers, and two car chargers.  It all went in a bag for Hubby Tony to take to the next municipal electronics recycling.

When the purging was done I repurposed some boxes to make drawer organizers until I can get to the store and get something nicer.  Here's the final result:

Much better!

Five years ago today: What A Deal!

Hoopla And Hoop Blah

This is celebration season at our house.  Between June 11th and July 2nd three people in the family turn a year older.  Add Father's Day to the mix and there's a lot going on.

Years ago, we made a big deal out of birthdays.  The guest of honor got to choose a special meal and dessert, and then they opened their presents after dinner.   Now that the the boys are grown up and two of the three live out of the area, things ave changed.  We have one large celebration (the past few years have been on Father's Day) devoted to presents, but each person still gets a meal in their honor on or around their day.

Hubby Tony's day was Thursday. He gave me some general ideas of what he wanted for his dinner, then I pulled up a few recipes online and on my computer (where I save any "keeper" recipes I've tried that I want to make again). He liked all of them, but I ended up making Teri's Ethiopian Lentils. Dessert was decadent ice cream and fresh cherries.  There was enough lentils for leftovers on Friday, and I finished off the remainder yesterday.

Son Donald turns another year older tomorrow, but tomorrow will be busy so we scheduled his meal for today.  He requested "Mom fried rice", which  is a made-up concoction I came up with years ago when my wok wouldn't hold the quantity of rice I needed to serve the whole family.  Although the dish turns out slightly different every time, the basic framework is easy.  I toss brown rice (cooked the day before, so it's cold) with a little oil and soy sauce, then put it in a large pan and place it in a 425 degree oven. I stir it every 15 minutes or so, and at the 45-minute mark pour a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (thawed) on top and stir it again. Ten minutes later I add beaten eggs and stir them in. When the eggs are done it's dinner time!

Donald has been telling me all week how much he was looking forward to his dinner.  This morning when he was rooting around in the refrigerator at breakfast time he saw the bowl of rice I'd cooked yesterday and came out with a big smile on his face.  Mid-afternoon, though, he said his stomach was hurting.  At dinner he ate a small amount of rice,  then said he was going to lay down in the family room (where he promptly fell asleep).  I sealed up his special dish so he could enjoy it later.

Five years ago today: Flag

First Place On The Right

Hubby Tony left for a boy's road trip this morning, so today and tomorrow I'm on my own.  This afternoon I went to church, then started thinking about where I wanted to go for dinner. (The Saturday night tradition is to eat out, and I didn't see any reason to change that just because I was solo.)  I didn't want to drive too far, but none of the neighborhood 'usuals' sounded good.  I wanted something different.

As I left the church parking lot I came up with an unusual way to find a restaurant.  I would go west on Manchester and eat at the first place on the right that was new to me.  I drove for about three miles.  During that time I passed:

• two sit down Mexican restaurants 
• a sit down wing restaurant
• a sushi restaurant
• a Chinese carryout 
• a pizza carryout 
• a deli
• a smoothie store
• an ice cream place
• and six fast food places

None of them met my criteria, though.  Just when I was starting to wonder if I'd have to change the rules of my game I saw the St. Louis Taco and Pita Grill.  The restaurant, which is housed in a building that used to be a KFC, has only been open a few months.  Success!

I skipped the drive through line and went inside and took a look at the menu.  There was something for everybody... predominantly Greek and Mexican items, but you could also order hamburgers, hot dogs, seafood, or wings. I  asked the man behind the counter if he thought I should get a gyro or a Mexican item.  He recommended the gyro, so that's what I ordered.  I got my food to go, then drove to a nearby park where I sat in my car and ate.

The restaurant had put the sauce on the pita before they added the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, feta, and meat, which helped make it less messy, but I've never gotten through a gyro without something falling out.  Sure enough, this time I had a large piece of sauce-coated onion end up on my shorts. 

It was worth it, though.

Five years ago today: (It's) For The Birds

"Distractions", Indeed!

This afternoon I was supposed to be cleaning the kitchen, starting with the kitchen table.  However, when I picked up the newspaper to put it in the recycling bin the puzzle page (including this Wonderword puzzle) beckoned.  I decided the cleaning could wait.

Please Pass The Mustard

Last month I saved a section of the food section of the newspaper that had recipes for homemade condiments.  We don't use much ketchup or mayonnaise, but everyone in this house is a big fan of mustard.  I thought it would be interesting to make it from scratch; this week I did just that.

I had most of the ingredients for Classic Dijon Mustard in the house, and the others were easy to find.  The recipe was time consuming but easy, except at the end when I was supposed to press the cooked mustard through a fine-mesh sieve to make it smooth.  I discovered my sieve was falling apart so I chose to leave it grainy.  The pieces of seeds will make it more spicy, but we like it that way.

We had some of my creation at dinner tonight, mixed into a stir fry.  It tasted almost like a Chinese mustard, but according to the recipe will mellow after several weeks.

Classic Dijon Mustard (Yield: About 1¾ cups)

1½ cups brown mustard seeds
1 cup mustard powder
1 cup water
1 cup distilled vinegar
¼ cup dry white wine
7 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon mace
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. In a nonreactive (non-aluminum) pot or jar, combine the mustard seeds, mustard powder, water, vinegar and wine. Cover and soak for 48 hours, stirring once per day. Add additional water, vinegar and wine in the correct proportions if needed to maintain enough liquid to cover the seeds.

2. Pour the seeds mixture into a food processor, add garlic and process until the mixture turns to a creamy mixture flecked with seeds, about 5 or 6 minutes. Add additional water, vinegar and wine in the correct proportions if needed to keep the mustard very creamy during processing.

3. Add the mixture to a slow cooker and cook on low heat, covered, for 3½ to 4 hours. Stir the mixture about 3 times the first hour (beware of the fumes, which are quite strong), then whenever you think of it for the remaining time. Do not allow the mixture to come to a simmer, which will create a bitter flavor.

4. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, allspice, sugar, salt, turmeric, white pepper, mace and cinnamon. Run through the food processor again, and then press through a fine-mesh sieve. The flavor will become softer and more mellow over the first 3 to 4 weeks. Mustard may be kept in airtight jars in the refrigerator for several months.

Recipe from “The Mustard Book,” by Jan Roberts-Dominguez

Five years ago today: Watch This

Aid And Assist

Tonight after dinner I was working a crossword puzzle.  One of the Across clues was "Mayday!"  My first thought was that the answer was SOS, but the word I was looking for had four letters.  It only took a couple seconds for me to figure out the answer was HELP.

While I wrote in the answer I realized I had no idea where the word mayday had came from, and decided to do some research.  Wikipedia provided the answer:

The word Mayday originated in London in 1923. Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior radio officer, was asked to come up with an easily-understood word that would indicate distress in an emergency. Since much of the traffic at the time was between Croydon Airport and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, he proposed the word Mayday (from the French "m’aidez" which translates to: help me!). Before the voice call "Mayday", SOS was the Morse code equivalent of the Mayday call.

Got it.  But then I wondered where SOS had come from, so I turned to Wikipedia again.

The SOS distress signal was first introduced in Germany in 1905. It was specified as a continuous Morse code sequence of three-dits/three-dahs/three-dits (· · · – – – · · · ). There was no mention of any alphabetic equivalents. However, since in International Morse Code, three dits comprise the letter S, and three dahs the letter O, it soon became common to refer to the distress signal as "SOS". It does not actually stand for anything, and is not an abbreviation.

Now I know.

Five years ago today: Easily Entertained

What Would You Call It?

Today I was filling out a form that had several questions about a salesman I'd talked with at a store.  A couple of the questions were about his description.

I could look the man in the eye, so I knew he was about my height.  It was pretty easy to estimate his age range, but when it came to his hair and its color I was stumped.  I had a drop-down list to choose from, and the selections were pretty standard.  The choices for color were Blonde, Brown, Red, Black, and Grey.  I could pick from Short hair, Long hair, or Bald.  However, this salesman didn't neatly fit any of the choices.

The gentleman was bald on top, but there was a nice thick fringe of hair on the sides.  I could tell that he had originally been brown,  but now there was plenty of grey mixed in.  

I know some men are sensitive about their hair, so I didn't think Bald was a good answer, but he certainly didn't have a full head.   And would he take offense at being called Grey?  I consulted with Son Donald, and he thought that the best answers would be Short and Brown.  That's what I went with.