Week of March 8
Oops, so much for weekly entries
I�ll just report here that we did finally get to Bistro Wasabi, and it was excellent, though *very* loud. I don�t understand how deafening noise levels ever got to be trendy. People were literally shouting to each other across the tables.
We also met Lenore�s former swimming/lane-sharing buddy, Blanche, for breakfast. She�s probably in her 80s but very spunky and upbeat and, I suspect, has more speeding tickets than both of us combined. We went to the Wagon Wheel Inn which usually has excellent stuffed French Toast, but this go �round it was a disappointment, as was the oatmeal. Oh well...next time maybe we�ll go to Egg Harbor.
More Dinners...
We had Hedy and Steve out to my place for a sort of belated birthday dinner for Steve and a preliminary going away meal before they leave for England. It was fun and, as an added benefit, Lenore dusted and vacuumed for me in addition to helping with dinner and cleanup duty. We served spinach lasagna, petite brussel sprouts, homemade corn bread (I know, it�s not very Italian, but we had a craving) and had ice cream and cookies for dessert. This weekend we may do a repeat performance (since the house is clean!) for Roland�s birthday, although he�s weighing the menu options and is due to report in soon. It will be a birthday weekend because Sunday we�re going to his place for dessert and to see the STAUBACHS!! I�m so excited! I may have to document this event with a photo in the blog, which I have not done thus far.
Aging Gracefully
I saw quite a few friends from high school and even grade school this past weekend at a wake and funeral for the mother of an old friend. The circumstances were of course sad, but it was nice to see old friends again. It�s kind of funny, but now that I and my friends are pushing 40 (and beyond), I am struck by how old everyone is starting to look. Everyone except me of course. :)
A Letter to the Editor
Today, I had to vent a little more publicly. "Leadership" is fast becoming a term we must use very loosely. The idea of amending the consitution to discriminate against a group of citizens is so very wrong. And, hey, now we've got legislation ensuring that people who get fat eating fast food can't sue McDonald's or Burger King as a result. Is this how our "leaders" are spending their time? Debating ways to veil discrimination and legislate common sense? So here's what I sent. The question is, will the general public get my sarcasm? Probably not. Oh well.
The Bible has a lot to say about how we�re supposed to live our lives, although I question whether it should be viewed as a legal document. However, if we are going to persist in using Biblical passages as a basis for drafting constitutional amendments, then maybe we should also pass a constitutional amendment banning gluttony and be done with it. Think of the court costs we could save, not to mention the health benefits. Who needs separation of church and state anyway?
More Mouse Tails It appears Ryan�s domestic sanctity has also been invaded by a mouse. Or, in this case, perhaps a whole unruly gang. They ate three whole squares of his chocolate bar. Incriminating poo was left behind, but no thank-you note. Or, maybe that�s their way of saying thanks.
You Say Tomato, I Say Sauce
I�ve been busy researching the best way to make homemade spaghetti sauce out of frozen tomatoes. I froze a buttload of Italian tomatoes from the summer�s bumper crop with no real tomato-based plans. The method (recommended from a friend of mom�s) was to pick them with the little green jester collar intact, wipe them gently and freeze whole in zip-lock bags. We�ll see...
Week of March 15
�Til the Cows Come Home
It was a weekend of food...and the sauce turned out pretty good. The procedure was as follows: Lenore chopped a bunch of onion and green pepper and we skinned two bags (about 15 per bag) of the frozen tomatoes the night before by running them under warm water. The skinned fruits were then left to thaw overnight in a large pot in the sink. A lot of water came out of them by morning, so that got dumped a couple of times. Then I whirred the tomatoes in the blender for a couple of seconds. Meanwhile we cooked the onions, pepper and some garlic, then dumped the tomato puree in and two cans of tomato paste (Italian seasoned) and cooked the whole mess for an hour or so, maybe more. I also added some sugar (to cut the acid) spices to taste � salt, pepper, basil, oregano and a little Penzy�s pasta sprinkle for good measure. Then we let it cool in the very cold garage. Before serving, I broiled some turkey sausage and threw that in, and also some turkey meatballs from Trader Joe�s. The only thing that I was disappointed in was the pasta. We bought whole wheat (Creamette brand) corkscrew noodles, and they had an odd texture...kind of sandy almost. Bleah.
Later that Same Day...
So...dinner was salad (by mom), spaghetti w/homemade sauce, homemade Italian bread (with a little help from the bread machine) and baked apples with ice cream for dessert. I got that recipe off the Food Channel � the apples were stuffed with a sort of apple crisp topping made from oats, flour, spices and butter (which I halved so as to cut the fat and calories). They turned out very nice in my humble opinion. We were all stuffed.
Later that Same Weekend...
Dessert at Roland�s was a hoot. Amy, Elke, Chris and the girls were there as well as the Staubachs, Jueurgen and Toni and my parents. The kids were so funny, and Sabine gave a magic show. Amy ordered the cake which was terribly sinful chocolate with Bavarian creme and that divine artery-hardening bakery butter creme frosting. It was so great to see Walter and Marianne again.
|
|
| Here is Cora diligently supervising the lighting of Roland's birthday cake candles. | Walter and Marianne enjoy the fruits of the bakery's labors. |
Climbing the Walls Sunday we went to lunch and indoor wall climbing with LOG at Indoor Summits . We had 6 for lunch and 5 to climb because two of the ladies just came to socialize but then another gal joined us at the gym later. So it was a fun outing and we stopped off for Caribou Coffee after. We may go on a hike at Volo Bog this weekend w/LOG if the weather holds. It�s supposed to rain, but it�s only Tuesday, so that could change several times by the weekend.
Academically Speaking
I got a 95 on my Karate mid term. Silly that I missed the question I did. It was the correct answer for Isshinryu, but not for Shotkan. Oh well.