Exile and The Button - It Could Drive You to Drink

I've been away - forced into exile - intellectual and creative exile. I've been wandering, lo these many days,  in the barren, lonely desert of a no man's land called:  No Computer.

For Love of the Spud! Potato Pancakes

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In light of the fall potato harvest fast approaching, I decided to repost this recipe for the glorious potato -- and the best potato pancake you've ever tasted.  Also, my big laptop is in the shop with most of my images on it.  That means that I was bad and didn't back-up my Mac.  So, I'm forced to use my old powerbook which is slow and has a much older operating system on it.  My oldie but goodie has its limitations. I'll just re-hash (pun intended) a few posts -- at least until I get my fast baby back...

Ah, the potato.  That globe of goodness. That versatile tuber that readily lends itself to so many culinary interpretations.  From baked or mashed with butter and cream, to simmered in soups; from gratin to chips, hash browns and home fries to candy -- the potato rules as the culinary starch of choice -- at least in the western cultures (with the exception of the Southern Italians, who are very partial to their pasta - for good reason).

Last of the Summer... Beans

The days grow shorter.  The sun rides lower in the southern sky. No more birdsong cacophony in the morning.  All that breaks autumn's silence is the chirping of a multitude of crickets - more background noise than nature's song.  No more cicadas droning on... Summer is past. It's time to harvest the last of the summer garden.  Time to finish off the beans.

London Broil When it Sizzles

Here in land of sticky summers it's been hot -- hot, dry, and insect-laden. We haven't eaten outside much. Haven't had many bonfires nor done many of the things we so look forward to during the dead of winter when the snow is two feet deep.  We did float around the pool a fair amount, which definitely helped with the heat. But not much grilling.

Last Chance to be Corny

With all the High Fructose Corn Syrup rants out there, it's hard to know what to do.  I believe the research that says that HFCS does not provide sweetness satiety to the human brain.  When people doubt this, especially those who knew me as a child, I like to remind them that never was there enough pecan pie to satisfy me!  And, pecan pie is LOADED with corn syrup.  While my Pecan Pie gluttony has abated over the years, this year's Thanksgiving Pecan Pie is going to be made with Lyle's Golden Syrup.  It's a pure cane syrup (no this is not a plug).  It's my own little experiment.  I wanna see if it makes a difference in sugar satiety. Not that I can eat whole pies any longer -- probably shouldn't even eat a single wedge.  At this point if I don't lose some pudge there won't be any pecan pie around here at all. But that's another story...

It's the Simple Things...

Sometimes I just want to curl up and hole up, escape.  But a few days at the beach is out of the question.Too much going on.  Too little time.  Too many commitments.  Too long a list.  Too full a plate.  Just much too much.

So, when things get a little overwhelming, I just shut down for a morning hour or two and take it easy - at least mentally -- with a tiny little breakfast in bed.  It's probably a colossal waste of time for some, but it works for me.  I regroup, recharge, ready to face the world again. Breakfast in bed (really more of a little nosh)  is a great way to slow down just a bit, to chill out -- a little luxury of time that I squirrel away for myself.

I'm Bad -- But La Bodega -- It's Good!

It's been a long hot summer and I've been neglecting my literary responsibilities in favor of gardening, sweating, swimming, sweating, canning and preserving, sweating, watering and watering and watering my black-spot-ridden heirloom tomato plants.  Suffice it to say that summer has been long and hot. My only excuse is that I decided to take some time off from writing in favor of reading -- books!  No web, just books for one glorious summer. But all good things must end so I'm back in the literary saddle again.

Just after we built the garden beds in spring.

My no-till garden has been a fun experiment that turned into a wonderful gardening success. Yes, it's true. We built ourselves a no-till garden, on a lark mind you, and it was a resounding success.  A success that provided organic veggies for the summer table all season long. But this too will be covered in a soon-to-be-created post.