Free Time

I am getting some quality blogging time in because we are THIS CLOSE to turning in our second proposal for the renewal of the project, otherwise known as my job. And by "this close" I mean we've sent it out for final comments.

Now back to "everything else that must be done before Sunday".

No more feeling sorry for you, Gov. Palin!

Thanks Daily Dish.
Rebecca Traister doesn't feel bad for Palin:

Sarah Palin is no wilting flower. She is a politician who took the national stage and sneered at the work of community activists. She boldly tries to pass off incuriosity and lassitude as regular-people qualities, thereby doing a disservice to all those Americans who also work two jobs and do not come from families that hand out passports and backpacking trips, yet still manage to pick up a paper and read about their government and seek out experience and knowledge.

When you stage a train wreck of this magnitude -- trying to pass one underqualified chick off as another highly qualified chick with the lame hope that no one will notice -- well, then, I don't feel bad for you.

When you treat women as your toys, as gullible and insensate pawns in your Big Fat Presidential Bid -- or in Palin's case, in your Big Fat Chance to Be the First Woman Vice President Thanks to All the Cracks Hillary Put in the Ceiling -- I don't feel bad for you.

(Hat tip: John Cole)

Bootcamp

Eleanor and Ofer went on vacay to places that are really, really far away from here, and so for those three weeks their Dalmatian/Dane mix, Rigley, went to Boot Camp for Dogs. El and I discussed her trepidation about this when I was in Chicago on my vacay, but it seems that all went quite well, he had a blast and wore himself plum out, and now doesn't pull on the leash at all. The caveat is that they've trained him with the pinch collar, which he doesn't like (but respects, now), and is this a good method, especially since it causes El no small anguish when stronger corrections result in some yelping.

But still, he walks so nice on a leash now, she says!

Let us now shift the scene to Baltimore last night on Guilford Ave. Edith invited over her med school classmates and the family of the girl a group of them tutor, and this family has in addition to the middle school girl, girl twins who are about 6 or 7. Probably 7. This was, oddly, the second set of twins I had met that day, the first ones being the kids of a woman I work with on malaria database stuff. But whatever, back to my story.

Kima, not surprisingly, sniffs out the girls' nervousness and begins to bark menacingly. In a "what the hell are these creatures, clearly they mean me great harm" kind of way. This scares the girls even more but amazingly, their mother is nonplussed. She hasn't had her walk yet so I take her out, agonize again over how these problems are incompatible with my not too distant future, in which children (possibly my own, and definitely those of my friends) will be in my house. While I'm going over this she's pulling ahead as always, and so I take out my phone and dial the number of a trainer some friends of ours have worked with.

Shane will be coming over on Thursday, just before the VP debate (gah! but it must be done), to work with us. His website outlines his strategies which are aligned fairly closely with the Cesar model - the owner has to be the pack leader, need to get control, etc. He uses e-collars for training, when appropriate. I expect he'll probably advise me to get a prong collar for walks, although I'm not sure he actually said that, because during half the conversation I was walking Kima and getting cornered ON ALL SIDES by other dogs, like in Indiana Jones when the spiky doors are closing in on him.

So, kids, what happens when worrisome things happen to me and I have to make decisions? That's right, anxiety dreams! Not only did I dream I had to remember my passport number in order to get out of Switzerland to Claire's wedding (related to my meeting next week), I dreamt I was walking Kima with a prong collar and she wasn't responding no matter how hard I yanked, in a terrible Milgramesque sort of situation.

When I woke up I realized everything was ok, however. Kima has a ton of potential as already demonstrated by her being able now to sit consistently at intersections and wait till I give the ok. I'm sure she will impress the hell out of Mr. Shane, both for that and for her crazy dog fears. She's a piece of work!

Going Up

Some people are not daunted by the housing market, like the folks who live across the street from us.

Butternut Squash and Sausage

Are like rice and beans. They love each other. Also, this dish reminds me of midwestern casserole/hotdish and makes me nostalgic.

Butternut Squash and Sausage Bake
- serves six to eight-

Ingredients
1/4 pound Italian sausage
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
3 onions, quartered and sliced
5 thyme sprigs
2 teaspoons dried sage
salt and pepper
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1/2 cubes, (about 6 cups) seeds and scrapings reserved
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup shredded smoked mozzarella
3/4 cup chicken stock
3 slices white sandwich bread, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons melted butter, optional, plus a little extra to prepare baking dish

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9-by-12 inch baking dish.

2. Remove sausage from its casing and cook in a large skillet over medium heat until just browning, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Remove cooked sausage and refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Add enough olive oil to the rendered fat in the skillet to equal two tablespoons, and then add the onions, thyme and sage. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen brown bits. When onions are thoroughly soft, remove and set aside.

4. While the onions cook, simmer the squash seeds and scrapings in the chicken stock for 10 minutes, strain and keep the stock warm over low heat.

5. Add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Toss the squash with the flour and arrange in a single layer in the skillet. (If the skillet isn’t big enough, you’ll need to do this in two batches.) Let the squash brown, undisturbed, for 4 minutes then stir the squash as it cooks for the next 4 minutes. Season liberally with salt and pepper and set aside.

6. To assemble the casserole, layer the onions in the buttered baking dish. Dot the onions with the sausage bits evenly, and then top with the squash. Sprinkle the smoked mozzarella over the top, and the pour the stock into the baking dish. Press the top of the casserole with a spatula to evenly distribute the liquid. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

7. While the casserole bakes, pulse the bread crumbs with the melted butter (if using) in a food processor until you have coarse bread crumbs.

8. After 30 minutes, pull the baking dish out of the oven, remove the foil, top casserole evenly with breadcrumbs and bake uncovered an additional 20 to 30 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the top is nicely browned.

Black Bean Tomato Quinoa

this looks pretty good. The only drawback is that it's touted as 'diet food'. Whatevs! Thanks Serious Eats.

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa
- serves 4 -

Ingredients
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup quinoa
1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Procedure
1. Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

2. Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

3. Cook quinoa in a medium pot of boiling salted water (1 tablespoon salt for 2 quarts water), uncovered, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in sieve, then set sieve in same pot with 1 inch of simmering water (water should not touch bottom of sieve). Cover quinoa with a folded kitchen towel, then cover sieve with a lid (don't worry if lid doesn't fit tightly) and steam over medium heat until tender, fluffy, and dry, about 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and remove lid. Let stand, still covered with towel, 5 minutes.

4. Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Too Lazy. Or Something.

I made the carrots for dinner tonight and then munched on crackers and a nice Trader Joe's cheddar that Edith seems to have forgotten about. I meant to go to the grocery store TWICE this week and so far, haven't left the house once I've gotten home except to walk Ms. Kima. This means I am making funny little dinners (ok, tonight was funny - last night's risotto with pesto and sauteed um fried-in-olive-oil chicken was DELICIOUS) to use up things that are sitting around.

Work is nutso this week with proposal and partners dropping in and out and in and out and me being all responsible for the freaking 14 million dollar budget (responsible as in, I have to MAKE THIS SHIT UP). Not that it's not all going to change 100% next week, and then after we present the whole idea to the donor, who is involved with some computer software you may use every day, and who want to put different partners together so that they can Control The World.

Also I've been enjoying ThursdayNightSmackdown WAAAAAY too much and now am starting to blog like her. So sorry Moms about the swearing.

Also, the Couric interview with Palin is making me sick to my stomach. And also gleeful. Oh, schadenfreude...

Eggs and Goat Cheese? Yes Please

Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese
- serves 6 -

Ingredients
16 extra-large eggs taken out of the fridge at least a half-hour before using
1 1/4 cups milk or half-and-half
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
6 ounces fresh goat cheese (I like Coach), crumbled
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Procedure
1. Whisk the eggs in a bowl with the milk, salt, and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saute or omelet pan. Add the eggs and cook them over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the desired doneness.

2. Take the pan off the heat and add the goat cheese, chives, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir and allow the eggs to sit for 30 seconds, until the cheese begins to melt. Serve hot.

Carrots

I think I'll make this tonight. Maybe Whole Foods has saffron I can get on my way home from work. Another Tanis recipe:

Saffron Carrots
Serves 4

1 tablespoon butter
Pinch of saffron, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 ½ pounds carrots, peeled and sliced into thin coins
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet fitted with a lid, melt the butter over medium heat. When hot, add the saffron, garlic, lemon zest and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the carrots in the butter to coat. Add ½ cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.

OMG my phone knows where I am

This really shouldn't be that surprising!

I just downloaded a bunch of directions for Sean and Marin's wedding this weekend, and on the printout there's a "get googlemaps on your phone" URL. So I go and download the thing for my blackberry and as it's setting up it's telling me "this is your location". And there's a little map of the Inner Harbor. Spoooooooooky. And like duh, all at the same time.

Now I'm really psyched that I didn't spend 300 bucks on a GPS for my car!

I can get directions AND traffic, although it says, rightly (and in very small print), that I shouldn't use it while driving.

Awesome.

Rennet En Route!

I've been asking people all over town (even in DC!) where to buy rennet locally, and no one knows. So I've used the magical internets to provision me with enough cheesemaking supply to make 40 pounds of mozzarella.

More importantly, at the farmer's market this morning I identified a local dairy whose gallons of whole milk are a) not ultrapasteurized and b) only $3.50!

Basement, toute seule!

I spent a long time, about half an hour (eons in dog time) in the basement, where Kima has traditionally been too afraid to go by herself (stairs appear too steep, and also don't have sides). When I was done and almost up the stairs she looked like she really, really, wanted to hang out with me, so I retreated down and called her - and she came on down!

Now she's a total pro, and I have to worry about someone accidentally shutting her into the basement. This is unlikely - she always prefers to be around us - but still. Worst Case Scenario.

The basement project, you ask? Well, I broke down all of our empty cardboard boxes, dramatically improving our junk-to-space ratio down there, and in the process, found my headlamp I had given up for lost.

Accidental Arrabiatta

From Food

So that pepper/tomato sauce I made last night was pretty good - especially because the peppers were a lot more spicy than anticipated! It went great with this locally made pasta I got near where I park my car, and there was enough leftover for Edith and Khaliah to enjoy as well, plus lunch today.

Tonight, I reattempt granola, with Nick's excellent suggestion of baking it more gently.

You Can Confit All Kinds of Shit

Um, I kind of just fell in love with this food blog, and then fell EXTRA in love because she's a girl!

thursdaynightsmackdown.com/

Or perhaps this is a better use of the pepper

From Bitten:

Here we have the same old August/September ingredients, but, lordy, what a difference 25 seconds in the food processor can make.

Over gentle heat, cook a minced clove of garlic in olive oil until soft; if it burns throw it out and start again. You could put in half a small chile, like a serrano, too, and you should certainly sprinkle it with salt. As it cooks, cut a big, sweet, ripe red pepper (or two smaller ones) into strips and chop up a big, sweet, ripe, red tomato. Don’t peel either.

Pluck three or four sage leaves from the bunch your friend Frances gave you from her garden. Add the pepper to the cooked garlic, re-salt, raise the heat to medium, and cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to smell divine. Add the tomato and the sage leaves and simmer for, I don’t know, 10 minutes — it will depend on how wet everything is. You don’t need it cooked down too much, but the peppers ought to be tender.

Puree the whole thing in a food processor or a blender; I got a good cup and a half of red-pink sauce that tasted so rich I’d have sworn it had meat stock in it.
Boil some spaghetti, reheat the sauce and serve; this amount of sauce is enough for three main-course servings of pasta. I tried a forkful with grated parmesan, but that was a waste of a cow’s energy. It needed nothing, not even pepper, although I did drizzle some extra olive oil on my portion. Jackie said it was “refined,” not a daily word in our table-talk vocabulary, but let’s just say that if you were served it in a fancy restaurant and they charged you $22 for it you wouldn’t feel cheated.
Refined or not, I take back what I said about that raw tomato thing being the best dish in the world: this is.

Roasted Pepper Salad

I have two red peppers waiting to be dinner - fortunately this recipe just showed up in my inbox:

ROASTED PEPPER SALAD
- makes enough for a small crowd -

Adapted from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis.
Ingredients

12 large sweet peppers, preferably a mix of yellow, orange, and red
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, smashed to a paste with a little salt
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
Red wine vinegar
Olive oil
1/2 cup Niçoise olives, rinsed
Basil leaves
Procedure

1. Roast the peppers over an open flame, either a wood fire or on the stovetop, or under the broiler. Try to get the peppers as close to the flame as possible so their skins will blacken and blister quickly. Turn the peppers frequently with a pair of tongs so they roast evenly.

2. Spread the peppers on a baking sheet so they can cool to room temperature. Some cooks will tell you to cover the just-roasted peppers, or put them in a bag, but I believe too much steaming overcooks the flesh.

3. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, split them top to bottom with a large knife. Scrape the seeds from the insides, then turn each pepper half over and scrape away the charred skin. When all the peppers are scraped, slice them into 1-inch-wide strips and put them in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss well. Add the garlic, capers, and a teaspoon or two of red wine vinegar.

4. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Toss again. Don't refrigerate the peppers—it'll kill their delicate flavor. Leave the salad at room temperature until ready to serve, up to several hours.

5. To serve, taste and adjust the seasoning, then mound the salad on a platter. Garnish with the olives. Drizzle with a little more oil. Decorate the salad with basil leave.

Who doesn't love Bean Soup, because Ham Hocks are awesome

This cookbook sounds like yum city so I'm glad Serious Eats is posting recipes from it all week.

Zuppa di Fagioli with Rosemary Oil
- makes 8 to 10 servings -
Adapted from A Platter of Figs by David Tanis.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 bay leaves
4 cups (2 pounds) dried white beans, preferably new-crop, picked over and rinsed
2 pounds smoked ham hocks
12 cups water
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, ground fine in a mortar or spice mill
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Rosemary Oil (recipe follows)

Procedure
1. Warm the 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook gently until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaves and cook for a minute more.

2. Add the white beans and smoked ham hocks. Cover with the water and bring to a boil. Skim off any surface foam and turn the heat to low. Simmer gently for an hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the ground fennel, red pepper flakes, and a good spoonful of salt. Continue cooking for 1 hour more, or until the beans are quite tender and the smoked pork has begun to fall apart.

4. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature, the refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.

5. To serve, reheat the soup over a medium flame, stirring frequently. Thin with water if it has thickened too much overnight. Check the seasoning and adjust.

6. Drizzle a teaspoon of Rosemary Oil on top of each bowl of soup.


Rosemary Oil

To make the Rosemary Oil, warm 1/2 cup of olive oil in a small saucepan. Chop about a tablespoon of fresh rosemary and stir it into the oil. Turn off the heat.

Bikey bikey

The new Surly got a great test ride this weekend on streets, bike paths, gravel and mountain bike/horse trails. It may be time to try a different saddle but the bike is fast, the tires are strong, and it held up great over a variety of terrain. Just what I wanted! The NCR Trail, C&O Canal towpath, all roads are open to me.

Exploring the difference between hammered, fluted, and fluted-hammered fenders just now, I found Velo-Orange, a guy in Annapolis who is the second incarnation of Grant Petersen.

I'll post pics of the Surly once I remove the ugly decals with the hair dryer tonight.

Also, I had a great weekend.

Poor Googling Skills

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213806.php

Talking Points Memo has an explanation for what the hell that mansion was last night behind McCain. Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, CA.

Not Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which might have been, um, a little more appropriate?

Fleur

Photographs of Flowers by Edvard Koinberg, a tribute to Carl Linnaeus.

Wreaking Havoc

That's me. Always on the path of destruction.

Oopsie

You know, when you forget to bring an important undergarment with you while biking to work, it's nice to know that Filene's Basement is right across the street to make sure you can be decent for the rest of the day.

Guiliani

The tone of his speech is "ridicule".

Food Weekend

I had a very nice weekend.

Highly highly highly recommend Peter's Inn in Fell's Point. Best food in Baltimore that I haven't eaten at Edith's house. Casual bluegrassy cozy atmosphere. Watermelon in the water and grrrrreat wines. We got there at 7:25 on Friday just before the rush. Scallops with black lentils that tasted like 3 whole ham hocks had been cooked in; lamb chops too delectable to not pick up and gnaw the bones; pot de creme with coffee ice; to-die-for mosaic beet salad with yellow beets cut into stars and itty bitty red ones cut into circles. Not to mention the toasted goat cheese.

Saturday was pizza with the Hazan tomato sauce, mozz from somewhere in Belvedere Square (where we could not find rennet), and sauteed mushrooms.

Sunday, bbq at the Spindler-Ranta-Richardson's, bringing ginger-peach crumble from the Figs Table cookbook, which goes something like this:

Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup sugar (I used brown)
1 tsp ground ginger (used fresh)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces, cut in after you've mixed all the other ingredients.

Inside:
5-6 large peaches, cut into large dice
2 tbl fresh ginger
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbl sugar
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

combine the inside stuff in a buttered 8x8 pan, put the topping over it and smooth it out. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. My topping didn't turn out as nice and brown as I expected but perhaps I didn't cook long enough. Oh well. It was soooooper tasty.

At the BBQ we also encountered Megan's Grilled Peaches, which are nice fresh peaces, cut in half and pitted, placed skin side down on the grill. Mix up some rum, brown sugar, nutmeg, and baste it on. Grill till yummy.

There was also Sundar's carrot halva and some yummy bratwurst made of chicken.

Monday we grilled again with the veggies obtained from the Farmer's Market, a nice striped eggplant and some zucchini, and a delicious flank steak! Edith made a wonderful arugula salad and this totally amazing Trader Joe's vanilla cake.

Gourmet's Casual Entertaining | September 2001
Random House

3 lb flank steaks
1/3 cup white-wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Lightly pierce steaks all over with a sharp fork or knife. Whisk together remaining ingredients and transfer to a large resealable heavy-duty plastic bag. Add steaks and seal, pressing out excess air. Marinate steaks at least 6 hours or up to 1 day.
Prepare grill for cooking.

Grill steaks on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals, turning once, about 12 minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Thinly slice steaks diagonally across the grain.

Cooks' Notes:
• Since flank steak is thicker on one end, the thin end will be cooked medium.

Please note a long carving knife is now on my christmas list. :)

Stained Glass

A better picture of the WhollyTerra glass piece I got at Christmas last year (thanks Grandma!).