I just finished reading the new play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. The new play by Rajiv Joseph.
How to describe...hard to answer so I'll do my best in a brief synopsis. It is set in Baghdad in 2003. Two Marines are guarding an old, but hungry tiger. After taunting him, the tiger bites off the hand of one of the Marines (Tom) and the other mortal wounds the tiger.
Kev is then haunted by the tiger, who can speak. The tiger after dying is enlightened, but plague by his own guilt.
Tom is given a prosethic hand and visits Kev, the other Marine, who is now hospitalized after having a break-down. Tom wants his gold plated gun back, but by this time Kev doesn't have it.
Kev kills himself because he's feeling guilty about a lot of things.
There is an interpreter -Musa. He is haunted by the ghost of Uday Hussain, who walks around carrying his brother Usay's head. Musa ends up with the gold plated gun. By the way, Musa is feeling guilty about bringing his sister to the garden where he works, because Uday and Usay attack her there and Musa kills her.
Eventually, Musa takes Tom out to a lepers' colony where he kills Tom and leave him to die.
This isn't a play for those who are faint of heart or don't like hearing the f-bomb dropped every couple of lines. There isn't one truth,but many it is what each individual takes away themselves.
I liked the play; I wasn't overly fond of some of the choices, but I think there is more truth than fiction. I don't think this is probably a play that will be a hit in community theatres, but I can see regional theatres doing this and being successful.
This play was nominated for a 2010 Pulitzer Prize.
A Renaissance Woman's quest to live a clean, green, intellectually stimulating life. Starting over and doing it right. Plus - the snippets of life that make me so totally unique
Monday, May 23, 2011
Mayonnaise
Tonight in culinary class we learned how to make mayonnaise. Yeah, the real stuff, not Miracle Whip, which I prefer. First off, mayonnaise is dangerous. You use raw eggs and if you don't use pasturized eggs, you could be eating...salmonella. So if you're going to try this - get pasturized eggs and still be careful. Homemade mayo doesn't store well. 2-3 days in the fridge. Personally, I'd throw out any leftovers.
Second, don't expect your mayo to be white in color - it will be yellow, possibly bright yellow. I thought it was a bit frightening.
Ok, so how do you make mayo?
Carefully crack 3 eggs and separate the yolks. Throw everything but the yolk away. Whisk or use a blender/food processor to froth. Add a bit of olive oil, slowly to the eggs, keep whisking; add some more oil - up to about a 1/4 cup and whisk until your arm falls off and so do the arms of 3 other people or until the yolk/oil mixture thickens. If you add the oil too quickly - the two liquids separate and you have to start over. Once the two starts to thicken you're past the oopsy stage. Next mix in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or white vinegar)beat like crazy. 1-2 tablespoons of dijon mustard (although I made mine with 1 teaspoon of dry mustard)and beat some more.
That is your basic mayo recipe. Tonight my group made two very different flavors - Jalepeno and Blueberry.
For the jalepeno, add a teaspoon of jalepeno juice and a pinch of white pepper. More if you want more zing than zip.
For the Blueberry - stop wrinkling your nose -it's quite tasty. Chop up about a quarter cup of blueberries, whisk. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 squirts of vanilla paste and a table spoon of sugar.
I took them to my parents' house after class and we dipped crackers in the jalepeno mayo - yum! and we drizzled the blueberry mayo over fruit - even better.
Will I do this again? Yes, but only if I can use a food processor - this beating by hand is terrible.
According to helpwithcooking.com "Mayonnaise is one of the five French "mother sauces", which means that is it the basis for a range of other sauces including garlic mayonnaise or "aioli", tartar sauce or thousand island dressing."
Second, don't expect your mayo to be white in color - it will be yellow, possibly bright yellow. I thought it was a bit frightening.
Ok, so how do you make mayo?
Carefully crack 3 eggs and separate the yolks. Throw everything but the yolk away. Whisk or use a blender/food processor to froth. Add a bit of olive oil, slowly to the eggs, keep whisking; add some more oil - up to about a 1/4 cup and whisk until your arm falls off and so do the arms of 3 other people or until the yolk/oil mixture thickens. If you add the oil too quickly - the two liquids separate and you have to start over. Once the two starts to thicken you're past the oopsy stage. Next mix in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or white vinegar)beat like crazy. 1-2 tablespoons of dijon mustard (although I made mine with 1 teaspoon of dry mustard)and beat some more.
That is your basic mayo recipe. Tonight my group made two very different flavors - Jalepeno and Blueberry.
For the jalepeno, add a teaspoon of jalepeno juice and a pinch of white pepper. More if you want more zing than zip.
For the Blueberry - stop wrinkling your nose -it's quite tasty. Chop up about a quarter cup of blueberries, whisk. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 squirts of vanilla paste and a table spoon of sugar.
I took them to my parents' house after class and we dipped crackers in the jalepeno mayo - yum! and we drizzled the blueberry mayo over fruit - even better.
Will I do this again? Yes, but only if I can use a food processor - this beating by hand is terrible.
According to helpwithcooking.com "Mayonnaise is one of the five French "mother sauces", which means that is it the basis for a range of other sauces including garlic mayonnaise or "aioli", tartar sauce or thousand island dressing."
Oops!
Four weeks ago I decided that I didn't have enough to do so I went back to school. Hmmm...at the moment I'm teaching one 3 credit class, substitute teaching a couple of days a week plus taking care of the house and starting my gardens so why did I think I'd have time to take 6 credits??? I'm a mashocist I guess.
So for the next three weeks - I'm going to be persona non-existent, unless I find time to squeeze in some writing here and there.
So what am I taking - for some reason I thought I should learn to cook. This summer I'm taking culinary skills - we're learning to use our knives. It does take practice and for some, namely me - some luck. So far, I haven't taken off a finger. This class is 7.25 hours long and runs for 15 weeks. I'm tired just thinking about it.
My other class is SafeServ - it's a test prep class for taking and passing the food SafeServ test - it's a national certification and once you take it you're certified for 5 years. The other test is for alcohol and the certification is good for 2 years. I'll be taking both of these tests in the next couple of weeks - the class only runs until the end of June.
So for the next three weeks - I'm going to be persona non-existent, unless I find time to squeeze in some writing here and there.
So what am I taking - for some reason I thought I should learn to cook. This summer I'm taking culinary skills - we're learning to use our knives. It does take practice and for some, namely me - some luck. So far, I haven't taken off a finger. This class is 7.25 hours long and runs for 15 weeks. I'm tired just thinking about it.
My other class is SafeServ - it's a test prep class for taking and passing the food SafeServ test - it's a national certification and once you take it you're certified for 5 years. The other test is for alcohol and the certification is good for 2 years. I'll be taking both of these tests in the next couple of weeks - the class only runs until the end of June.
Two for the Dough - book review
Why did I wait so long to start reading this series? My husband doesn't know what to think when I'm reading, I'm scared one minute and laughing so hard that I nearly pee my pants.
Part of me thinks I am Stephanie Plum. I'm pretty clumsy and somewhat incompetent, especially if I was a bounty hunter. It's so easy to see myself in this character. Morelli and Ranger are both hot and dangerous - I'm leaning toward Ranger being her love interest...he reminds me a lot of my husband. Always there in the background watching and protecting.
And while I'm not from Jersey and we in the mid-west don't have the same fascination with funerals, I could appreciate Grandma Mazur and her friends. Hysterical.
I'm devouring this series and I'm several book reviews behind.
In a nutshell, slimy undertaker, missing coffins, arms dealers, bad guys and of course Stephanie is in the middle of things being blown up, shot up and driving the 53 Buick.
Part of me thinks I am Stephanie Plum. I'm pretty clumsy and somewhat incompetent, especially if I was a bounty hunter. It's so easy to see myself in this character. Morelli and Ranger are both hot and dangerous - I'm leaning toward Ranger being her love interest...he reminds me a lot of my husband. Always there in the background watching and protecting.
And while I'm not from Jersey and we in the mid-west don't have the same fascination with funerals, I could appreciate Grandma Mazur and her friends. Hysterical.
I'm devouring this series and I'm several book reviews behind.
In a nutshell, slimy undertaker, missing coffins, arms dealers, bad guys and of course Stephanie is in the middle of things being blown up, shot up and driving the 53 Buick.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Did you rinse?
A few years ago, my son and I spent a week in Northern Michigan on Torch Lake. It was my first non-working vacation in many years and I was looking forward to spending time with friends.
Besides my son who was 13, my friend Beth had her two boys, who were slightly younger and her 13-year-old nephew. Beth's two brothers were also in and out as they came and went from work.
Beth and I were in charge of cooking and the boys were in charge of clean-up. The first day was great. We made pancakes for breakfast and afterwards everyone headed out to the lake. The sun was shining and it turned into the most beautiful day, except for one thing.
Beth and her brothers asked if I'd watch the kids while they took off for some family bonding. Not a problem. The boys were good and I wasn't worried. While the kids were playing on an inflatable raft, I rowed out past them in a small boat. I was probably 300 yards from shore, when the first stomach cramps hit. There was no warning cramps, the first one nearly doubled me over, followed by one that left me weak. I looked at the shore and the kids and knew I had to try to make it back.
I would row two or three strokes and then double over in pain. It felt like eternity before I reached the shore. I yelled out to the boys that I was going to run up to the cabin for a few minutes. Another powerful cramp hit from behind and I sunk to the ground, sweating and shaking. Somehow I managed to make it to the cabin and the bathroom.
By the time Beth and her brothers made it back, I was feeling much better, but I wasn't going to take a chance on the water yet. So I was sitting in a lawn chair, reading a book when they returned.
Beth and I cooked up dinner and the boys did the dishes and swept the floor. Beth's brother Pete and I were dating at the time and we took a stroll out on the pier. He asked if everything was all right, I seemed a little quiet. And told him of my late morning illness and laughed it off as sea sicknees.
The next morning was another beautiful day, I got up early and put on a pot of coffee. I knew the kids wouldn't be up for awhile so I grabbed a cup of coffee and went outside to enjoy some quiet time. Pete joined me a little while later with his own cup of coffee and soon Beth was awake. It was nice, just the three adults sitting outside drinking coffee and watching the lake.
We had nothing planned for the morning so we lounged around on the beach, reading and watching the boys play in the water, when once again I was hit with a massive stomach cramp. I made my way up to the cabin only to find that Pete was in similar distress. A few minutes later Beth came in complaining of stomach pains. Luckily for us, they passed after a couple of hours and we didn't have any bathroom accidents.
Day three was a repeat of the first two days. The adults got up early and had coffee, followed by breakfast for everyone and the boys doing the dishes; except, this time Pete helped with the dishes. A little later, the cramps returned. As I lay on the couch in agony, Pete said he thought he discovered the source of our ailments. While he was helping the boys, he noticed that they weren't rinsing the cups very well. He remember a story a friend of ours told about dish soap in a pie and put two and two together. The boys were poisoning the adults every morning with cups that still had traces of detergent. From that point on, the boys were under close observation to make sure the dishes were rinsed. Of course, they thought it was hysterically funny.
Besides my son who was 13, my friend Beth had her two boys, who were slightly younger and her 13-year-old nephew. Beth's two brothers were also in and out as they came and went from work.
Beth and I were in charge of cooking and the boys were in charge of clean-up. The first day was great. We made pancakes for breakfast and afterwards everyone headed out to the lake. The sun was shining and it turned into the most beautiful day, except for one thing.
Beth and her brothers asked if I'd watch the kids while they took off for some family bonding. Not a problem. The boys were good and I wasn't worried. While the kids were playing on an inflatable raft, I rowed out past them in a small boat. I was probably 300 yards from shore, when the first stomach cramps hit. There was no warning cramps, the first one nearly doubled me over, followed by one that left me weak. I looked at the shore and the kids and knew I had to try to make it back.
I would row two or three strokes and then double over in pain. It felt like eternity before I reached the shore. I yelled out to the boys that I was going to run up to the cabin for a few minutes. Another powerful cramp hit from behind and I sunk to the ground, sweating and shaking. Somehow I managed to make it to the cabin and the bathroom.
By the time Beth and her brothers made it back, I was feeling much better, but I wasn't going to take a chance on the water yet. So I was sitting in a lawn chair, reading a book when they returned.
Beth and I cooked up dinner and the boys did the dishes and swept the floor. Beth's brother Pete and I were dating at the time and we took a stroll out on the pier. He asked if everything was all right, I seemed a little quiet. And told him of my late morning illness and laughed it off as sea sicknees.
The next morning was another beautiful day, I got up early and put on a pot of coffee. I knew the kids wouldn't be up for awhile so I grabbed a cup of coffee and went outside to enjoy some quiet time. Pete joined me a little while later with his own cup of coffee and soon Beth was awake. It was nice, just the three adults sitting outside drinking coffee and watching the lake.
We had nothing planned for the morning so we lounged around on the beach, reading and watching the boys play in the water, when once again I was hit with a massive stomach cramp. I made my way up to the cabin only to find that Pete was in similar distress. A few minutes later Beth came in complaining of stomach pains. Luckily for us, they passed after a couple of hours and we didn't have any bathroom accidents.
Day three was a repeat of the first two days. The adults got up early and had coffee, followed by breakfast for everyone and the boys doing the dishes; except, this time Pete helped with the dishes. A little later, the cramps returned. As I lay on the couch in agony, Pete said he thought he discovered the source of our ailments. While he was helping the boys, he noticed that they weren't rinsing the cups very well. He remember a story a friend of ours told about dish soap in a pie and put two and two together. The boys were poisoning the adults every morning with cups that still had traces of detergent. From that point on, the boys were under close observation to make sure the dishes were rinsed. Of course, they thought it was hysterically funny.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The first American Musical the brief version
One of the classes I teach is Introduction to theatre. So a few quick notes on what is considered the first American musical.
First, musicals as we know them today have evolved over a couple hundred years. They are not the off-spring of operas. Actually, operas are the off-spring of classical theatre. Musicals are related to European operettas.
This is not going to be an academic piece...just a few notes.
First, my definition of a musical is a story with spoken dialogue with singing and dancing. Oftentimes using a chorus.
With that in mind...it was late summer of 1866 when William Wheatley was producing a convoluted melodrama by Charles Barras. Not far away, a Parisian ballet company was readying their own show when a fire destroyed their theatre. The ballet company's manager came to Wheatley and the two decided to collaborate.
Barras wasn't happy with this arrangement, but Wheatley appealled to the man's greed and $1500 shut the guy up.
The production was called The Black Crook. The story was based on a Germany tale where a crook-backed man makes a deal with the devil to live one more year if he provides the devil with a fresh soul each year. This first person he tries to send to the Devil is Rudolphe. Rudolphe saves a dove who turns out to be a fairy queen who helps him get away. There is a minor love story involved and in the end the bad guy is sent to the devil, Rudolphe gets the girl and everyone is happy. Not a great storyline, but oh well.
The production opened on Sept. 12, 1866 at Niblo's Garden. A theatre seating 3,200 people. Now imagine if you will, this play being performed when every so often a 100 fleshy, under-dressed ballerinas dance across the stage to songs like the March of the Amazons or You Naughty Naughty Men. This was at a time when women covered everything and these dancers were in flesh-colored tights. For shame! And no one even cared that the show ran for a butt-numbing 5-1/2 hours.
The play was decried from puplits and newspaper editorials, but that just made people want to see it more. It was a smash success grossing over a million dollars and running for 475 performances, an unheard of number considering that a good run was about 15 performances. The show was revived 8 times on Broadway and various tours popped up across the country.
A few years prior to the success of the Black Crook another similar play hit the stage, but no remaining copies of it remain that I am aware of and it didn't have the staying power of the Black Crook.
So what made this so successful? The war. Women had been working in the hospitals, running businesses and working the war effort. No longer did they feel restricted to their homes. They had tasted freedom and weren't going to give it up. Also the Civil War forced the railroad system to improve and after the war, the railways continued to run more efficiently moving people and productions.
Personally, I think the scandal of under-dressed women on stage was a huge draw. Women dressed in pants and tights -feminine legs- something that hadn't been seen before. And that was a highly intoxicating drug.
First, musicals as we know them today have evolved over a couple hundred years. They are not the off-spring of operas. Actually, operas are the off-spring of classical theatre. Musicals are related to European operettas.
This is not going to be an academic piece...just a few notes.
First, my definition of a musical is a story with spoken dialogue with singing and dancing. Oftentimes using a chorus.
With that in mind...it was late summer of 1866 when William Wheatley was producing a convoluted melodrama by Charles Barras. Not far away, a Parisian ballet company was readying their own show when a fire destroyed their theatre. The ballet company's manager came to Wheatley and the two decided to collaborate.
Barras wasn't happy with this arrangement, but Wheatley appealled to the man's greed and $1500 shut the guy up.
The production was called The Black Crook. The story was based on a Germany tale where a crook-backed man makes a deal with the devil to live one more year if he provides the devil with a fresh soul each year. This first person he tries to send to the Devil is Rudolphe. Rudolphe saves a dove who turns out to be a fairy queen who helps him get away. There is a minor love story involved and in the end the bad guy is sent to the devil, Rudolphe gets the girl and everyone is happy. Not a great storyline, but oh well.
The production opened on Sept. 12, 1866 at Niblo's Garden. A theatre seating 3,200 people. Now imagine if you will, this play being performed when every so often a 100 fleshy, under-dressed ballerinas dance across the stage to songs like the March of the Amazons or You Naughty Naughty Men. This was at a time when women covered everything and these dancers were in flesh-colored tights. For shame! And no one even cared that the show ran for a butt-numbing 5-1/2 hours.
The play was decried from puplits and newspaper editorials, but that just made people want to see it more. It was a smash success grossing over a million dollars and running for 475 performances, an unheard of number considering that a good run was about 15 performances. The show was revived 8 times on Broadway and various tours popped up across the country.
A few years prior to the success of the Black Crook another similar play hit the stage, but no remaining copies of it remain that I am aware of and it didn't have the staying power of the Black Crook.
So what made this so successful? The war. Women had been working in the hospitals, running businesses and working the war effort. No longer did they feel restricted to their homes. They had tasted freedom and weren't going to give it up. Also the Civil War forced the railroad system to improve and after the war, the railways continued to run more efficiently moving people and productions.
Personally, I think the scandal of under-dressed women on stage was a huge draw. Women dressed in pants and tights -feminine legs- something that hadn't been seen before. And that was a highly intoxicating drug.
How to boil water
The college where I teach now has a culinary arts program run by a great chef. I decided that this summer I had the time and the interest so I signed up for culinary skills.
During the first class - we learned how to boil water. I laughed when I heard the topic. Come on, how hard can it be. Put some water in a pan, put it on the stove until it bubbles right? Wrong! Boiling water is a skill if you're going to do it right.
First, why are you boiling water? Poaching, simmering or boiling. Poaching is gentle ...for delicate foods like eggs or fish. Simmering is a bit hotter with little tiny bubbles. Boiling is when the liquid is as hot as it's going to get and steam rises and evaporation begins to take place.
Never put a lid on a poach or simmer otherwise it might get too hot and actually boil.
When filling the pot with water, use cold tap water. My mom always told me this when I lived at home and I thought there was something wrong with our water heater. When I moved into town, I've been using hot tap water thinking it will boil faster. It won't. Plus the hot water will loosen up any contaminants in your pipes. If you look at the hot water when it begins to boil, you'll see all sorts of nasties or the water will change color. Nasty!
Adding salt doesn't make it boil faster. Actually, salt raises the boiling point, but it doesn't take that much longer to boil - a few seconds longer is all.
Make sure your pan is big enough so that it can bubble. When you put the pot on the stove, turn the heat to high. If you cover the pot it will boil a bit faster. Once the water is boiling turn down the heat. High heat will just cause it to evaporate faster.
Those little bubbles at the bottom are air bubbles and don't necessarily mean the water is boiling.
And it really doesn't matter if you watch it or not - it takes the same amount of time to boil water whether you watch it or not.
During the first class - we learned how to boil water. I laughed when I heard the topic. Come on, how hard can it be. Put some water in a pan, put it on the stove until it bubbles right? Wrong! Boiling water is a skill if you're going to do it right.
First, why are you boiling water? Poaching, simmering or boiling. Poaching is gentle ...for delicate foods like eggs or fish. Simmering is a bit hotter with little tiny bubbles. Boiling is when the liquid is as hot as it's going to get and steam rises and evaporation begins to take place.
Never put a lid on a poach or simmer otherwise it might get too hot and actually boil.
When filling the pot with water, use cold tap water. My mom always told me this when I lived at home and I thought there was something wrong with our water heater. When I moved into town, I've been using hot tap water thinking it will boil faster. It won't. Plus the hot water will loosen up any contaminants in your pipes. If you look at the hot water when it begins to boil, you'll see all sorts of nasties or the water will change color. Nasty!
Adding salt doesn't make it boil faster. Actually, salt raises the boiling point, but it doesn't take that much longer to boil - a few seconds longer is all.
Make sure your pan is big enough so that it can bubble. When you put the pot on the stove, turn the heat to high. If you cover the pot it will boil a bit faster. Once the water is boiling turn down the heat. High heat will just cause it to evaporate faster.
Those little bubbles at the bottom are air bubbles and don't necessarily mean the water is boiling.
And it really doesn't matter if you watch it or not - it takes the same amount of time to boil water whether you watch it or not.
Nancy Drew wanna-be
Growing up, I wanted to be Nancy Drew. I wanted to have a cool convertible, best friends who would totally back me up and a boyfriend who was the quarterback of the college football team as well as being handsome. Plus, Nancy didn't have a job, but she always had money. She was nice and everyone loved her.
Well, it turns out I wasn't so much a Nancy Drew as I was Stephanie Plum from the Janet Evanovich series. I'm beginning to think maybe Evanovich has been tailing me to write her stories.
Anyway, the economy turned bad and I needed money and so did my friend Laura. We both loved solving mysteries albeit in our jammies sitting in bed. Laura was a whiz on research and so she decided that would be her job. I was supposedly more athletic so I'd do the leg work. Ummm...I should explain I'm 5'2" and was weighing in at about 180 at the time. I was also in my uhhhh...ahem...mid-40s. Not exactly Dawg the Bounty Hunter.
We asked around about what it would take - licensing, gun permits, DBAs. It seemed like a lot of red tape. Now, according to my husband, I haven't got any street smarts and not much in the common sense department either. It's a good thing we weren't a couple yet.
I was at my local watering hole talking about how I wanted to be a detective and bragging about how I had tracked down my birth-parents. Ok, so I left out the part about getting some help and I didn't actually find them, my searcher did, but that part of the story didn't lend itself to my credibility.
Well, wouldn't you know it. Someone actually listened to me and the next thing I knew, I had a case. Yep, an honest to goodness case. I had to track down this woman's boyfriend and find out if he was cheating and with whom.
I figured it shouldn't be tough - I figured wrong. I did my homework, got a name, googled an address and mapped it out. The problem was it was a ways away - out in the middle of some cornfield and the only time to catch him was at night and I have a mild case of night blindness.
My partner had backed out, so the woman who wanted me to track down her boyfriend went along for the ride. She wanted to catch him in the act I guess. My car was an old beat up bright blue Buick with a very distinguishing dent in the door. It also was a gas hog. So before we left town, we stopped at the gas station and filled up. We also got a few snacks and cigarettes and a couple of sodas. Sodas and stake-outs don't mix.
We drove out of town and into the blackness of a country night. The further we drove the darker it got. Finally, the asphalt gave way to a dirt road with very deep ditches on both sides. I figured it would prevent deer from jumping out at us if nothing else.
Now part of being a detective is being sneaky. The house was the only one on this stretch of road that basically went no where. I'm pretty sure people just don't cruise this road and my car was the only one we'd seen in miles. So I figured I'd better shut off my headlights. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to do that. This car had a sensor so that when it got dark, the lights came on. I stopped the car in the middle of the road about 1/4 mile from the house I was suppose to be checking out, turned on all of the interior lights so I could see if there was a switch or a nob to turn off the lights. I pushed this one and my hazard lights flashed. Then I flicked another and the bright lights beamed to life. Yep, I was definitely in covert mode. Finally, I figured out how to turn off the lights and crawled down the road to the driveway, praying that I was driving straight enough not to land us in a ditch.
Now what? Turn in, sit out on the road, drive past? We sat there staring at the farmhouse that sat about 300 yards off the road. We both lit a cigarette and smoked. I had to pee, but outside of knocking on the door, my only other option was to find a spot and squat. I tried not to think of the pressure building.
"Well, what do you think?"
"I don't see his truck."
I sucked on my cigarette feeling very Columbo. I thought to myself, I need a trenchcoat and dark glasses. I was assessing the situation. I could sneak up to the house and peek in a window. If I saw the guy I'd run back and get her or I could just snap a few pictures and she could show him the next day as evidence. It was really dark outside and who knows what could be lurking out there.
"Do you want to get any closer?"
"Nah", said the woman. "He ain't here. He's back in town. I just wanted to know where the bitch lived."
She could've told me that sooner, like back at the gas station. I would've drawn her a map. My bladder was now closer to bursting and it was a half hour drive back into town.
I put the car in drive and pulled away. Yep, I was a real Nancy Drew - I solved the case and everyone loved me. And just like Nancy I didn't get paid cash - I got a couple of free beers. I just can't wait until my next big adventure.
Well, it turns out I wasn't so much a Nancy Drew as I was Stephanie Plum from the Janet Evanovich series. I'm beginning to think maybe Evanovich has been tailing me to write her stories.
Anyway, the economy turned bad and I needed money and so did my friend Laura. We both loved solving mysteries albeit in our jammies sitting in bed. Laura was a whiz on research and so she decided that would be her job. I was supposedly more athletic so I'd do the leg work. Ummm...I should explain I'm 5'2" and was weighing in at about 180 at the time. I was also in my uhhhh...ahem...mid-40s. Not exactly Dawg the Bounty Hunter.
We asked around about what it would take - licensing, gun permits, DBAs. It seemed like a lot of red tape. Now, according to my husband, I haven't got any street smarts and not much in the common sense department either. It's a good thing we weren't a couple yet.
I was at my local watering hole talking about how I wanted to be a detective and bragging about how I had tracked down my birth-parents. Ok, so I left out the part about getting some help and I didn't actually find them, my searcher did, but that part of the story didn't lend itself to my credibility.
Well, wouldn't you know it. Someone actually listened to me and the next thing I knew, I had a case. Yep, an honest to goodness case. I had to track down this woman's boyfriend and find out if he was cheating and with whom.
I figured it shouldn't be tough - I figured wrong. I did my homework, got a name, googled an address and mapped it out. The problem was it was a ways away - out in the middle of some cornfield and the only time to catch him was at night and I have a mild case of night blindness.
My partner had backed out, so the woman who wanted me to track down her boyfriend went along for the ride. She wanted to catch him in the act I guess. My car was an old beat up bright blue Buick with a very distinguishing dent in the door. It also was a gas hog. So before we left town, we stopped at the gas station and filled up. We also got a few snacks and cigarettes and a couple of sodas. Sodas and stake-outs don't mix.
We drove out of town and into the blackness of a country night. The further we drove the darker it got. Finally, the asphalt gave way to a dirt road with very deep ditches on both sides. I figured it would prevent deer from jumping out at us if nothing else.
Now part of being a detective is being sneaky. The house was the only one on this stretch of road that basically went no where. I'm pretty sure people just don't cruise this road and my car was the only one we'd seen in miles. So I figured I'd better shut off my headlights. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to do that. This car had a sensor so that when it got dark, the lights came on. I stopped the car in the middle of the road about 1/4 mile from the house I was suppose to be checking out, turned on all of the interior lights so I could see if there was a switch or a nob to turn off the lights. I pushed this one and my hazard lights flashed. Then I flicked another and the bright lights beamed to life. Yep, I was definitely in covert mode. Finally, I figured out how to turn off the lights and crawled down the road to the driveway, praying that I was driving straight enough not to land us in a ditch.
Now what? Turn in, sit out on the road, drive past? We sat there staring at the farmhouse that sat about 300 yards off the road. We both lit a cigarette and smoked. I had to pee, but outside of knocking on the door, my only other option was to find a spot and squat. I tried not to think of the pressure building.
"Well, what do you think?"
"I don't see his truck."
I sucked on my cigarette feeling very Columbo. I thought to myself, I need a trenchcoat and dark glasses. I was assessing the situation. I could sneak up to the house and peek in a window. If I saw the guy I'd run back and get her or I could just snap a few pictures and she could show him the next day as evidence. It was really dark outside and who knows what could be lurking out there.
"Do you want to get any closer?"
"Nah", said the woman. "He ain't here. He's back in town. I just wanted to know where the bitch lived."
She could've told me that sooner, like back at the gas station. I would've drawn her a map. My bladder was now closer to bursting and it was a half hour drive back into town.
I put the car in drive and pulled away. Yep, I was a real Nancy Drew - I solved the case and everyone loved me. And just like Nancy I didn't get paid cash - I got a couple of free beers. I just can't wait until my next big adventure.
One for the Money Janet Evanovich
I must be one of the only bookies on the planet who loves mysteries and hadn't read any of the Plum series. What was I waiting for? Growing up, I wanted to be Nancy Drew. She was so perfect and everything always worked out and she drove a convertible and had a cute boyfriend. Well, Nancy Drew, move aside; I didn't grow up to be you. No, I grew up to be Stephanie Plum.
Much like Stephanie, I lost my job and was desperate for work. My friend and I decided to become P.I.s. She backed out; I had a case. But alas, it didn't last long and I realize now, after reading One for the Money - it's probably a good thing.
Evanovich captures reality. Who hasn't been so desperate for a job, you take whatever comes along? I know I have. Stephanie is what a real woman is - she wants to be brave and tough, but unlike Nancy Drew, she has faults. She's a bit reckless; she is afraid, but yet, she fumbles on.
This is the first of the number books. We meet Stephanie, get her background, meet her family. I know they're Italian, but everyone has a Grandma Mazur - the granny who's just a bit off. We also meet Joe Morelli - who she had sex with once back in high school and then a few years later ran him down with her father's Buick and broke his leg. Every woman has fantasized about doing something similar to an ex. Joe ends up being a cop who's wanted for murder and has skipped out on his bail bond. It's Stephanie's job to bring him in. He's streeet smart and mean, she's not.
While she's hunting him, he's busy saving her from a psychopath boxer who rapes and tortures women. The boxer is a key player in the mystery surrounding Morelli.
This should be a warning book to all of us Nancy Drew wanna-bes; PI work is dangerous. Stephanie meets some pretty bad people - she's nearly raped, blown up and gets shot in the butt. But in the end - she gets her man in more ways than one.
Like a good teacher - I looked up the book on line and see that Katherine Heigl will be playing Stephanie Plum in the movie version which is set to come out in January 2012. Can't wait - in the meantime I have a lot more Stephanie Plum stories to read.
Much like Stephanie, I lost my job and was desperate for work. My friend and I decided to become P.I.s. She backed out; I had a case. But alas, it didn't last long and I realize now, after reading One for the Money - it's probably a good thing.
Evanovich captures reality. Who hasn't been so desperate for a job, you take whatever comes along? I know I have. Stephanie is what a real woman is - she wants to be brave and tough, but unlike Nancy Drew, she has faults. She's a bit reckless; she is afraid, but yet, she fumbles on.
This is the first of the number books. We meet Stephanie, get her background, meet her family. I know they're Italian, but everyone has a Grandma Mazur - the granny who's just a bit off. We also meet Joe Morelli - who she had sex with once back in high school and then a few years later ran him down with her father's Buick and broke his leg. Every woman has fantasized about doing something similar to an ex. Joe ends up being a cop who's wanted for murder and has skipped out on his bail bond. It's Stephanie's job to bring him in. He's streeet smart and mean, she's not.
While she's hunting him, he's busy saving her from a psychopath boxer who rapes and tortures women. The boxer is a key player in the mystery surrounding Morelli.
This should be a warning book to all of us Nancy Drew wanna-bes; PI work is dangerous. Stephanie meets some pretty bad people - she's nearly raped, blown up and gets shot in the butt. But in the end - she gets her man in more ways than one.
Like a good teacher - I looked up the book on line and see that Katherine Heigl will be playing Stephanie Plum in the movie version which is set to come out in January 2012. Can't wait - in the meantime I have a lot more Stephanie Plum stories to read.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The day I got beat up by a little old lady
September 11, 2001 wasn't a good day. It started out good, but by 2:30 in the afternoon, I was a basketcase. I worked as a radio news director. We watched the Twin Towers come under attack. My news monitor was going crazy as was my afternoon guy. The man showed up in fatigues and boots with a crazed look in his eye. All I wanted to do was pick up my kids from school and hug them tight.
My girls were in junior high at the time so I picked them up at 2:30. The sun was shining and if you didn't have the radio on in the car, it was a perfect fall day. We didn't talk much about the national disaster, but the girls knew that I would probably be at the office a lot until the crisis passed.
My son was attending elementary school and was dismissed an hour later. I knew that fighting the crowds of parents on a normal day was hectic and with all that had happened today it would be worse. So the girls and I headed to the school early so I could get a parking space.
I hadn't told Seth I was picking him up so the girls offered to run up to the building and wait. They wanted to say hi to some of their old teachers anyway. So the girls hopped out of the car and headed up the sidewalk. That's when I first heard the honking. I didn't think too much of it, someone honking hello to someone they knew. I knew I had about 20 minutes before school was out and since I was parked just past the school I knew I wouldn't have a problem getting out. Parents were starting to line the street, waiting for their children. I picked up a book I was reading and settled in while I waited for the kids to return.
The honking continued. Weird, I thought. I turned the page. The honking was more insistent now. I glanced in my rearview mirror at the van behind me. The woman was gesturing at me. I looked around. I was parked correctly; I noticed that she had enough room to park behind me or in front of me for that matter. There were still some parking spaces across the street (it was a one way street with parking on both sides). I went back to my book. The honking continued and I, continued to ignore her. She couldn't possibly be honking at me, I hadn't done anything wrong.
Just then, the woman appeared at my window, which was down because it was a warm day.
"Didn't you hear me honking?"
"Yeah."
"Then why didn't you move?"
"Because I'm parked legally and my kids know where I am."
"You need to move."
"No," I said, and went back to reading my book.
"You bitch!" Screamed the woman. At the same time, she reached through the window of my car and punched me full force in the mouth. She then spun around and marched back to her van.
I jumped out of my car and raced back, fully intending to get her license plate. I realized that I had positioned myself between my car and her van and at that moment, my life passed in front of my eyes as I envisioned the woman ramming her van into me pinning me between the vehicles. I jumped to the safety of the sidewalk.
She sat in her van scowling at me for a minute longer and I stood stunned, blood dripping from my split and now swollen lip. I figured I'd better get some ice for it and started walking to the school. About that time, a man yelled across the street at me to come over to his car. He told me that he had witnessed the assault and had called the police.
"Oh great," I groaned. I knew almost every cop on the force. I was hoping they sent someone I didn't know well at least. Three police cars came racing down the street lights flashing, but thankfully no sirens. They skidded to a stop in front of us because my good Samaritan was waving to them. Now a small crowd had started to gather. My lip was throbbing and still bleeding.
"Look," said the man, "that woman injured her."
I glanced at the cops surrounding me and grimaced. Two of them I knew well, the third one I had seen on ocassion. This was such an embarassment. I looked down and noticed that I had dripped blood on the front of my shirt. My eyes were glassy from shock. No one expects to be punched in the face while reading a Harlequin romance novel in their car in front of an elementary school.
Great role model for the kids. They were doing a big thing at this school on tolerence and solving problems with words not violence.
"So what happened?"
The good Samaritan told the cop how he saw the whole thing from across the street. How I was just sitting there when this woman popped me in the face. He explained how he saw her go into the house in front of where her van was parked. John, one of the cops who I had known for years, sauntered over to the house and I watched him knock on the door. I hadn't even seen her get out of her van.
The second cop asked me to relate my side of the story which I did, with a speech impediment as my lip was now double in size. All I wanted was some ice and some water.
The third cop went over and looked at the vehicles. The dismissal bell rang and the kids began pouring out of the building. From where I stood, I could see my kids heading to my car. I watched as their eyes grew large when they saw the cop and they started running toward the car. I knew they feared the worst. They told me later that they thought I'd been arrested. See, not even my kids expected me to get punched in the mouth. Obviously the officer explained that I was ok, I was just talking to another cop and I'd be right back.
I saw John heading back across the street, grinning. "So why did you tick off that 70-year-old lady?"
"What? I didn't...70?" I wasn't making any sense but neither was he.
"Yeah, she said you told her no, with attitude."
"I told her no I wasn't moving my car and then ignored her. She's 70?"
"Yeah, you got beat-up by a little old lady." and he laughed. "I thought you were suppose to be tough."
"I am, well sorta...you just don't go around hitting people for no reason. There were plenty of parking spaces."
"She said she wanted yours and you wouldn't give it to her."
"I was there first." I think I whined a bit on that one.
"Well, we'll be in touch if we don't have any more questions. And don't be ticking off grandmas the next one might give ya a black eye." John chuckled and I walked back to my car, my lip throbbing with each step.
The kids laughed about it. By the time I returned to work, the rumor had it that I had been slashed by a crazed woman and had to have stitches in my face. Not true, a bag of ice took the swelling down quickly, a little salve took away the sting and I was as good as new in a half hour.
I wish I had a morale to this story - but I don't.
As for a resolution - I am tough. She wrote me a letter apologizing and dropped it off at my house. I found it stuck in my door when I came home from work one day. Of course I freaked. The cops had written the report up using the name they knew me by - my radio name. My address/phone number were listed under my married name. Can you say stalker? I bought some pepper spray and I pressed charges for assault and battery and stalking. That little old grandma had to go to anger management classes and do community service as well as pay a fine. I heard she got two years probation too. So I guess the morale is, if you want a parking space, don't mess with me!
My girls were in junior high at the time so I picked them up at 2:30. The sun was shining and if you didn't have the radio on in the car, it was a perfect fall day. We didn't talk much about the national disaster, but the girls knew that I would probably be at the office a lot until the crisis passed.
My son was attending elementary school and was dismissed an hour later. I knew that fighting the crowds of parents on a normal day was hectic and with all that had happened today it would be worse. So the girls and I headed to the school early so I could get a parking space.
I hadn't told Seth I was picking him up so the girls offered to run up to the building and wait. They wanted to say hi to some of their old teachers anyway. So the girls hopped out of the car and headed up the sidewalk. That's when I first heard the honking. I didn't think too much of it, someone honking hello to someone they knew. I knew I had about 20 minutes before school was out and since I was parked just past the school I knew I wouldn't have a problem getting out. Parents were starting to line the street, waiting for their children. I picked up a book I was reading and settled in while I waited for the kids to return.
The honking continued. Weird, I thought. I turned the page. The honking was more insistent now. I glanced in my rearview mirror at the van behind me. The woman was gesturing at me. I looked around. I was parked correctly; I noticed that she had enough room to park behind me or in front of me for that matter. There were still some parking spaces across the street (it was a one way street with parking on both sides). I went back to my book. The honking continued and I, continued to ignore her. She couldn't possibly be honking at me, I hadn't done anything wrong.
Just then, the woman appeared at my window, which was down because it was a warm day.
"Didn't you hear me honking?"
"Yeah."
"Then why didn't you move?"
"Because I'm parked legally and my kids know where I am."
"You need to move."
"No," I said, and went back to reading my book.
"You bitch!" Screamed the woman. At the same time, she reached through the window of my car and punched me full force in the mouth. She then spun around and marched back to her van.
I jumped out of my car and raced back, fully intending to get her license plate. I realized that I had positioned myself between my car and her van and at that moment, my life passed in front of my eyes as I envisioned the woman ramming her van into me pinning me between the vehicles. I jumped to the safety of the sidewalk.
She sat in her van scowling at me for a minute longer and I stood stunned, blood dripping from my split and now swollen lip. I figured I'd better get some ice for it and started walking to the school. About that time, a man yelled across the street at me to come over to his car. He told me that he had witnessed the assault and had called the police.
"Oh great," I groaned. I knew almost every cop on the force. I was hoping they sent someone I didn't know well at least. Three police cars came racing down the street lights flashing, but thankfully no sirens. They skidded to a stop in front of us because my good Samaritan was waving to them. Now a small crowd had started to gather. My lip was throbbing and still bleeding.
"Look," said the man, "that woman injured her."
I glanced at the cops surrounding me and grimaced. Two of them I knew well, the third one I had seen on ocassion. This was such an embarassment. I looked down and noticed that I had dripped blood on the front of my shirt. My eyes were glassy from shock. No one expects to be punched in the face while reading a Harlequin romance novel in their car in front of an elementary school.
Great role model for the kids. They were doing a big thing at this school on tolerence and solving problems with words not violence.
"So what happened?"
The good Samaritan told the cop how he saw the whole thing from across the street. How I was just sitting there when this woman popped me in the face. He explained how he saw her go into the house in front of where her van was parked. John, one of the cops who I had known for years, sauntered over to the house and I watched him knock on the door. I hadn't even seen her get out of her van.
The second cop asked me to relate my side of the story which I did, with a speech impediment as my lip was now double in size. All I wanted was some ice and some water.
The third cop went over and looked at the vehicles. The dismissal bell rang and the kids began pouring out of the building. From where I stood, I could see my kids heading to my car. I watched as their eyes grew large when they saw the cop and they started running toward the car. I knew they feared the worst. They told me later that they thought I'd been arrested. See, not even my kids expected me to get punched in the mouth. Obviously the officer explained that I was ok, I was just talking to another cop and I'd be right back.
I saw John heading back across the street, grinning. "So why did you tick off that 70-year-old lady?"
"What? I didn't...70?" I wasn't making any sense but neither was he.
"Yeah, she said you told her no, with attitude."
"I told her no I wasn't moving my car and then ignored her. She's 70?"
"Yeah, you got beat-up by a little old lady." and he laughed. "I thought you were suppose to be tough."
"I am, well sorta...you just don't go around hitting people for no reason. There were plenty of parking spaces."
"She said she wanted yours and you wouldn't give it to her."
"I was there first." I think I whined a bit on that one.
"Well, we'll be in touch if we don't have any more questions. And don't be ticking off grandmas the next one might give ya a black eye." John chuckled and I walked back to my car, my lip throbbing with each step.
The kids laughed about it. By the time I returned to work, the rumor had it that I had been slashed by a crazed woman and had to have stitches in my face. Not true, a bag of ice took the swelling down quickly, a little salve took away the sting and I was as good as new in a half hour.
I wish I had a morale to this story - but I don't.
As for a resolution - I am tough. She wrote me a letter apologizing and dropped it off at my house. I found it stuck in my door when I came home from work one day. Of course I freaked. The cops had written the report up using the name they knew me by - my radio name. My address/phone number were listed under my married name. Can you say stalker? I bought some pepper spray and I pressed charges for assault and battery and stalking. That little old grandma had to go to anger management classes and do community service as well as pay a fine. I heard she got two years probation too. So I guess the morale is, if you want a parking space, don't mess with me!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Cowboy Casserole
Since I'm starting my new...oh let's call it what it really is...hobby du jour...I'm pulling out some of my favorite recipes complete with my comments because a recipe is just a starting point to a really good dish.
Prep Time: 5 Min
Cook Time: 20 Min
Ready In: 25 Min
Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 (15 ounce) cans baked beans with pork
1/3 cup barbeque sauce
1 (7.5 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough
a few suggestions - the refrigerated biscuits are ok, but I like to use drop biscuits like Bisquick with a dash of garlic salt added.
Also I add a bit of seasoning to the ground beef while cooking.
Some chopped peppers adds a nice flavor and if you like mushrooms add those with the baked beans.
Directions
1.Cook bacon in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain, and cut into bite size pieces. Set aside. Add hamburger and onion to the skillet, and cook until no longer pink, and the onion is tender. Drain.
2.Stir bacon, baked beans and barbeque sauce into the ground beef, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, and place biscuits in a single layer over the top of the mixture. Cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the biscuits are done. Place two biscuits on each plate, and spoon beans over.
This is simple and tasty. I found the original recipe on Allrecipes.com and then played around with additional ingridients.
My rating system - hubby has one serving - it's edible
hubby has two servings - it's ok to pretty good
hubby has three or more servings - it's fantastic
This one scored 3 servings.
Prep Time: 5 Min
Cook Time: 20 Min
Ready In: 25 Min
Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 (15 ounce) cans baked beans with pork
1/3 cup barbeque sauce
1 (7.5 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough
a few suggestions - the refrigerated biscuits are ok, but I like to use drop biscuits like Bisquick with a dash of garlic salt added.
Also I add a bit of seasoning to the ground beef while cooking.
Some chopped peppers adds a nice flavor and if you like mushrooms add those with the baked beans.
Directions
1.Cook bacon in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain, and cut into bite size pieces. Set aside. Add hamburger and onion to the skillet, and cook until no longer pink, and the onion is tender. Drain.
2.Stir bacon, baked beans and barbeque sauce into the ground beef, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, and place biscuits in a single layer over the top of the mixture. Cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the biscuits are done. Place two biscuits on each plate, and spoon beans over.
This is simple and tasty. I found the original recipe on Allrecipes.com and then played around with additional ingridients.
My rating system - hubby has one serving - it's edible
hubby has two servings - it's ok to pretty good
hubby has three or more servings - it's fantastic
This one scored 3 servings.
Mortal Danger, Ann Rule
I took a break from the Nancy Drew books, but still didn't change the genre. I love mysteries and true crime fits right in.
With that said, this is the best Ann Rule book I've read. I felt that in her other true-crime books, her writing was stilted and dry. It was hard to get involved in the stories and worse yet, hard to care about the people. This one, feels more like she's telling the stories of the victims. I worry about women in the first story - Mortal Danger. This may be because the first victim survived and could tell of the horror she faced. But the storytelling continued throughout the book. This book like most of her previous books is based on true crimes from the Northwest; She has selected several stories all but one are about lone women who are abused and killed. One involves a couple. Like life, sometimes the why of the crime is revealed and sometimes it's not.
The title story - Mortal Danger, seemed to drag in places and is lengthy. I think some of the lesser details could have been omitted in order to keep the story moving. The next story was about a couple who were found murdered in their home. This story was move concise. There are several more, But I think Rule's best is one of the shorter stories - "If I can't have you" - it was particularly chilling. A woman marries a man in the Netherlands, after the wedding his domineering side comes out, she leaves and returns to America but he stalks her to her home. Eventually, he kills her.
I'm so glad that Rule has become a storyteller as well as a reporter. I'm looking forward to reading her next book.
With that said, this is the best Ann Rule book I've read. I felt that in her other true-crime books, her writing was stilted and dry. It was hard to get involved in the stories and worse yet, hard to care about the people. This one, feels more like she's telling the stories of the victims. I worry about women in the first story - Mortal Danger. This may be because the first victim survived and could tell of the horror she faced. But the storytelling continued throughout the book. This book like most of her previous books is based on true crimes from the Northwest; She has selected several stories all but one are about lone women who are abused and killed. One involves a couple. Like life, sometimes the why of the crime is revealed and sometimes it's not.
The title story - Mortal Danger, seemed to drag in places and is lengthy. I think some of the lesser details could have been omitted in order to keep the story moving. The next story was about a couple who were found murdered in their home. This story was move concise. There are several more, But I think Rule's best is one of the shorter stories - "If I can't have you" - it was particularly chilling. A woman marries a man in the Netherlands, after the wedding his domineering side comes out, she leaves and returns to America but he stalks her to her home. Eventually, he kills her.
I'm so glad that Rule has become a storyteller as well as a reporter. I'm looking forward to reading her next book.
Culinary Notes
I have to read 5 chapters before next week, from the book Professional Cooking 7th ed. by Wayne Gisslen. I'm going to highlight the chapter hopefully I'll remember it better if I share it with someone else.
A History of Modern Food Service:
Cooking is as much a science as an art. cooking techniques aren't based on rules that chefs made up, but they're based on the understanding of how different foods react when heated in various way, when combined in various porportions and so forth.
The Origins of Classical and Modern Cuisine:
I found this section really interesting. I learned that modern food service is said to have begun shortly after the middle of the 18th century. Food production in France was controlled by guilds and people held licenses to prepare specific foods. In 1765 a Parisian named Boulanger began advertising he served soups, which he called restaurants or restoratives - which meant fortifying. The guilds challenged in court but he won.
The French Revolution in 1789 also changed food service. Up til then, the great chefs were employed by the nobles, after the revolution they found themselves out of jobs and the revolutionary government abolished the guilds so these chefs opened restaurants.
An important invention - the stove changed the organization of kitchens in the mid-eighteenth century. The kitchen was then divided into thirds - the rotisserie - the meat chef; the oven under the control of the pastry chef and the stove run by the cook who was in charge of the whole kitchen.
Careme
the greatest chef of the period following the French Revolution. His many books contain the first systematic account of cooking principles, recipes and menu making. He was the first real celebrity chef - he was famous as the creator of elaborate, elegant display pieces and pastries.
He emphasized procedure and order. His goal was to create more lightness and simplicity in his dishes. The same principles are still used by professional cooks around the world today.
Escoffier (1846-1935) the greatest chef of his time. considered the father of twentieth-century cooking. He made two main contributions.
1) the simplification of classical cuisine and menus. he called for order and diversity and emphasized the careful selection of one or two dishes per course. Those dishes that followed one another harmoniously and delighted the taste with their delicacy and simplicity. Lerning cooking according to Escoffier, begins with learning a relatively few basic procedures and understanding basic ingredient.
2) he reorganized the kitchen reulting in a streamlined workplace.
Modern Technology:
today's kitchen look very different than those of Escoffier day in though our basic cooking principles are the same. The process of simplification and refinement is ongoing, adapting classical cooking to modern conditions and tastes.
I never thought of food service as having much of a history, but there's more and I'll find some highlights. I have to know this stuff in a week so hang on and I'll share with you what I learn.
A History of Modern Food Service:
Cooking is as much a science as an art. cooking techniques aren't based on rules that chefs made up, but they're based on the understanding of how different foods react when heated in various way, when combined in various porportions and so forth.
The Origins of Classical and Modern Cuisine:
I found this section really interesting. I learned that modern food service is said to have begun shortly after the middle of the 18th century. Food production in France was controlled by guilds and people held licenses to prepare specific foods. In 1765 a Parisian named Boulanger began advertising he served soups, which he called restaurants or restoratives - which meant fortifying. The guilds challenged in court but he won.
The French Revolution in 1789 also changed food service. Up til then, the great chefs were employed by the nobles, after the revolution they found themselves out of jobs and the revolutionary government abolished the guilds so these chefs opened restaurants.
An important invention - the stove changed the organization of kitchens in the mid-eighteenth century. The kitchen was then divided into thirds - the rotisserie - the meat chef; the oven under the control of the pastry chef and the stove run by the cook who was in charge of the whole kitchen.
Careme
the greatest chef of the period following the French Revolution. His many books contain the first systematic account of cooking principles, recipes and menu making. He was the first real celebrity chef - he was famous as the creator of elaborate, elegant display pieces and pastries.
He emphasized procedure and order. His goal was to create more lightness and simplicity in his dishes. The same principles are still used by professional cooks around the world today.
Escoffier (1846-1935) the greatest chef of his time. considered the father of twentieth-century cooking. He made two main contributions.
1) the simplification of classical cuisine and menus. he called for order and diversity and emphasized the careful selection of one or two dishes per course. Those dishes that followed one another harmoniously and delighted the taste with their delicacy and simplicity. Lerning cooking according to Escoffier, begins with learning a relatively few basic procedures and understanding basic ingredient.
2) he reorganized the kitchen reulting in a streamlined workplace.
Modern Technology:
today's kitchen look very different than those of Escoffier day in though our basic cooking principles are the same. The process of simplification and refinement is ongoing, adapting classical cooking to modern conditions and tastes.
I never thought of food service as having much of a history, but there's more and I'll find some highlights. I have to know this stuff in a week so hang on and I'll share with you what I learn.
Nancy Drew #4 The Mystery at Lilac Inn
The fourth Nancy Drew book in the series and so far my favorite. Our heroine is stumbling into one mystery after another while trying to just enjoy a little vacation with her friends. Premise: Nancy and Helen visit their friend Emily who is getting married soon. Em and her fiance, Dick, have bought an old inn and are renovating it, but a series of unfortunate accidents could cause the opening to be delayed. Diamonds are stolen, the cabin Nancy is staying in is blown up, Helen is knocked unconscious...it is one tragic event after another - not to mention that there is someone impersonating Nancy back in River Heights. Nancy trails a maid, gets kidnapped and is nearly killed - although nothing happens to her more seriously than a bad scare. Bad guys were nicer back in the 30s and 40s I suppose. In the end Nancy solves the mystery that has little to do with the Inn and more to do with her and her father and an angry ex-con.
The story is a bit far-fetched, but it was written in a different time for a much different audience than today's young adults. No wonder I wanted to be Nancy when I was growing up - solve mysteries, out smart the bad guys, drive around in a cute little convertible all while looking good and telling eligible young men that I am just too busy solving mysteries to be bothered going out.
I've already purchased book #5 and will start it shortly. Long live the Nancy Drew books.
The story is a bit far-fetched, but it was written in a different time for a much different audience than today's young adults. No wonder I wanted to be Nancy when I was growing up - solve mysteries, out smart the bad guys, drive around in a cute little convertible all while looking good and telling eligible young men that I am just too busy solving mysteries to be bothered going out.
I've already purchased book #5 and will start it shortly. Long live the Nancy Drew books.
Nancy Drew #3 The Bungalow Mystery
In my quest to read (re-read) all of the Nancy Drew mysteries this year, I have just completed The Bungalow Mystery. I remember reading this one when I was a kid. Once again, it boggles my mind how dependent I've become on my cell phone. Every time Nancy goes off to investigate or sleuth as she calls it, I keep thinking - use your cell phone. Her car breaks down, today she'd be whipping out the cell phone and calling Triple A or using her GPS. Because Nancy doesn't have these modern day devices, it heightens the suspense. I have to chuckle at the language. I teach college English and Communications and wonder if any of my students have ever used "bade" or sleuth for that matter. Considering these are young adult novels, the language is above what most kids read today.
Once again "Carolyn Keene" uses a lot of description of food, clothes and is light on descriptions of other things. It is apparent that these books were meant to appeal to young ladies who were going to grow up to be housewives and cook beautiful meals for their husbands and they'd do it all in high heels shoes while wearing pearls.
The story is good and keeps me reading. I won't go into detail about the story line; I'll just say that once again Nancy stumbles upon someone needing help and comes to the rescue. This is the second book where Nancy rescues an orphan.
Once again "Carolyn Keene" uses a lot of description of food, clothes and is light on descriptions of other things. It is apparent that these books were meant to appeal to young ladies who were going to grow up to be housewives and cook beautiful meals for their husbands and they'd do it all in high heels shoes while wearing pearls.
The story is good and keeps me reading. I won't go into detail about the story line; I'll just say that once again Nancy stumbles upon someone needing help and comes to the rescue. This is the second book where Nancy rescues an orphan.
Nancy Drew #2 The Hidden Staircase
One has to wonder how much editting was done to make this series seem plausible in today's technological world. I looked at the copywrite date 1930, and wondered - did women really have this much freedom then or were they patted on the head and patronized? Did people have phones in their homes? There is never any mention of TV, but the radio plays a part in this book. Would they drive convertibles? Why doesn't Nancy have a real job? So are these books a meshing of several generations?
I think because Nancy doesn't have a cell phone or a computer to help her out, she appears smarter and more resourceful. The books are creepier because you know she's all alone, no cell phone to call for help. And if she did, the mystery wouldn't be as intriguing.
This book finds Nancy helping her friend Helen and her aunt and great-grandmother find a "ghost" who's haunting their family home. Meanwhile Nancy's father has been kidnapped and Nancy must find him.
As with all Nancy Drew stories - these are melodramas. The good guys win and the bad guys are justly punished. The bad guys are caught without anyone getting hurt - no shoot out, no chase and once they realize they've been caught, they 'fess up and go off with a police officer.
One thing that I find comical is the description of the meals - the whole menu is described from the fruit cup appetizer to the entree and dessert. I wonder why so much detail is placed on the food when barely a mention is made of her clothes - a skirt or a white blouse. Nor is there a lot of place description in comparison.
I do like how there is just enough suspense to make me catch my breath, but not enough to scare me so I can't sleep at night.
My quest is to read all 61 Nancy Drew novels in 2011. I started a bit late in the year, but I can read them in a day or two so I shouldn't have any problem unless I run out of money. I am reading them on my Nook.
I think because Nancy doesn't have a cell phone or a computer to help her out, she appears smarter and more resourceful. The books are creepier because you know she's all alone, no cell phone to call for help. And if she did, the mystery wouldn't be as intriguing.
This book finds Nancy helping her friend Helen and her aunt and great-grandmother find a "ghost" who's haunting their family home. Meanwhile Nancy's father has been kidnapped and Nancy must find him.
As with all Nancy Drew stories - these are melodramas. The good guys win and the bad guys are justly punished. The bad guys are caught without anyone getting hurt - no shoot out, no chase and once they realize they've been caught, they 'fess up and go off with a police officer.
One thing that I find comical is the description of the meals - the whole menu is described from the fruit cup appetizer to the entree and dessert. I wonder why so much detail is placed on the food when barely a mention is made of her clothes - a skirt or a white blouse. Nor is there a lot of place description in comparison.
I do like how there is just enough suspense to make me catch my breath, but not enough to scare me so I can't sleep at night.
My quest is to read all 61 Nancy Drew novels in 2011. I started a bit late in the year, but I can read them in a day or two so I shouldn't have any problem unless I run out of money. I am reading them on my Nook.
Nancy Drew myster #1 The Secret of the Old Clock
I loved Nancy Drew when I was growing up. We didn't have a lot of money and the books were hard cover so they were a lot of money. My goal now that I'm older is to read all of the series. I just finished my first one - The Secret of the Old Clock and I must say I still at my age - got a little nervous for Nancy.
These books will take the reader back to a day before computers and cell phones so getting locked in a closet was a real danger. I love her convertible and wonder if my husband might have made it. LOL
She may be a bit too nice and too friendly - but it was a different era and people were friendlier and nicer. It's on to the Hidden Staircase now.
4-1/2 stars out of 5
These books will take the reader back to a day before computers and cell phones so getting locked in a closet was a real danger. I love her convertible and wonder if my husband might have made it. LOL
She may be a bit too nice and too friendly - but it was a different era and people were friendlier and nicer. It's on to the Hidden Staircase now.
4-1/2 stars out of 5
Book Reviews
I used to be a voracious reader. I'd read anything and everything. I'd wake up in the morning and read thecereal box if there wasn't anything else to read.
When other kids got in trouble, their parents would make them read or wouldn't let them watch TV. Not mine, my punishment - no books! Once they even punished me by making me watch TV with them.
But life has gotten in the way. I have papers to read and grade. Lesson plans to prep, textbooks to read and plan from and so reading for fun has fallen by the wayside. I've decided to change that.
After our local bookstore closed and the nearest bookstore was a 45 minute drive, I figured it would be cheaper to invest in an e-reader. I bought a Barnes and Noble Nook which I love. If I finish a book and I'm still not tired - no worry, just go shopping on the device, find a book and download it. An added plus, I can change the size of the font so my eyes don't get tired any more.
So this has been my introduction to my book reviews.
When other kids got in trouble, their parents would make them read or wouldn't let them watch TV. Not mine, my punishment - no books! Once they even punished me by making me watch TV with them.
But life has gotten in the way. I have papers to read and grade. Lesson plans to prep, textbooks to read and plan from and so reading for fun has fallen by the wayside. I've decided to change that.
After our local bookstore closed and the nearest bookstore was a 45 minute drive, I figured it would be cheaper to invest in an e-reader. I bought a Barnes and Noble Nook which I love. If I finish a book and I'm still not tired - no worry, just go shopping on the device, find a book and download it. An added plus, I can change the size of the font so my eyes don't get tired any more.
So this has been my introduction to my book reviews.
Culinary Day 1
I love to create and I love food, so going into the culinary program at school seemed logical. Plus it was free because I already work there. Ok the books weren't free and even with my discount came to $200. OUCH! I don't think I'd sell back the culinary skills book anyway - it's a how to manuel with recipes and lots of diagrams and pictures.
We met the teacher; I think he's like 12 and fresh out of culinary school himself. Sometime in the next two weeks, I have to go buy my culinary uniform - white jacket, black pants and hat. What's wrong with that picture??? Me and white don't work - EVER. I'll spill something on it, cut myself and bleed on it, catch it on fire...white is a bad idea. Black pants...also not a good idea. I have two white cats. There is cat hair every in my house and car. I don't care if I vacuum constantly I'll still have cat hair on those black pants. The hair gets in the dryer; it's on my clothes and so it gets in my car...another bad bad idea.
I never thought I'd say this, but thank you Wendy's. I knew most of the stuff we covered today because of the 12 years I spent working for that company. I had to take various tests to get into management and not a lot has changed in the past 16 years.
This class is going to focus on - cutting! Yikes! To pass the class I have to cut up a chicken - gross. I suppose it could be worse. I could have to pluck and gut it. Let it be known that chicken terrifies me. It's full of really nasty bacteria, it's slimey and it stinks. I don't want to touch it. I'll eat it, if it's breaded in a sandwich from McDonald's or I get a bucket from KFC, but I don't want to be responsible for possibly killing someone.
Another thing we're going to do is cook a banquet featuring a diabetic menu. That will be interesting I suppose or dull. I listen to my diabetic friends complain about what they can't eat - no breads, no sugars, those are my mainstay.
We're also going to focus on soups, sauces and vegetables. Hmmm...I'm just glad I'm not eating this stuff. I'm not a big fan of soup. The only sauces I use are spaghetti sauce and that's easy - go to the store, buy a jar of Ragu and put it in a pan. Voila - the only sauce needed. A for vegetables -gross. I don't eat no stinkin' vegetables - maybe corn once in a while. I hope we don't have to eat this stuff or I'll be vomiting regularly.
I did learn one thing - the broiler is not meant to cook food - only sear it quickly - hmmm...I'll have to remember not to cook my steaks in that.
Next week we have a test over appliances so I'm going to go make some flashcards so I can practice identifying them.
We met the teacher; I think he's like 12 and fresh out of culinary school himself. Sometime in the next two weeks, I have to go buy my culinary uniform - white jacket, black pants and hat. What's wrong with that picture??? Me and white don't work - EVER. I'll spill something on it, cut myself and bleed on it, catch it on fire...white is a bad idea. Black pants...also not a good idea. I have two white cats. There is cat hair every in my house and car. I don't care if I vacuum constantly I'll still have cat hair on those black pants. The hair gets in the dryer; it's on my clothes and so it gets in my car...another bad bad idea.
I never thought I'd say this, but thank you Wendy's. I knew most of the stuff we covered today because of the 12 years I spent working for that company. I had to take various tests to get into management and not a lot has changed in the past 16 years.
This class is going to focus on - cutting! Yikes! To pass the class I have to cut up a chicken - gross. I suppose it could be worse. I could have to pluck and gut it. Let it be known that chicken terrifies me. It's full of really nasty bacteria, it's slimey and it stinks. I don't want to touch it. I'll eat it, if it's breaded in a sandwich from McDonald's or I get a bucket from KFC, but I don't want to be responsible for possibly killing someone.
Another thing we're going to do is cook a banquet featuring a diabetic menu. That will be interesting I suppose or dull. I listen to my diabetic friends complain about what they can't eat - no breads, no sugars, those are my mainstay.
We're also going to focus on soups, sauces and vegetables. Hmmm...I'm just glad I'm not eating this stuff. I'm not a big fan of soup. The only sauces I use are spaghetti sauce and that's easy - go to the store, buy a jar of Ragu and put it in a pan. Voila - the only sauce needed. A for vegetables -gross. I don't eat no stinkin' vegetables - maybe corn once in a while. I hope we don't have to eat this stuff or I'll be vomiting regularly.
I did learn one thing - the broiler is not meant to cook food - only sear it quickly - hmmm...I'll have to remember not to cook my steaks in that.
Next week we have a test over appliances so I'm going to go make some flashcards so I can practice identifying them.
Lots going on
Yesterday my baby girl graduated from Adrian College. *sniffle* more on that later. I'm writing quickly because there is so much going on. I'll go into detail in later posts.
This afternoon I start my culinary arts classes. I really hope that I don't cut anything off or blow anything up, but I know myself and that's being overly optimistic.
I have much to say on the bin Laden death - later
Hubby got a permenant job - yeah
The classes I'm teaching start on Wed. - more on that later
I want to start adding book reviews on here - more on that later too.
I still have a lot of stuff to do - bills to pay, supplies for class etc. so much, so little time.
I'll write after class.
This afternoon I start my culinary arts classes. I really hope that I don't cut anything off or blow anything up, but I know myself and that's being overly optimistic.
I have much to say on the bin Laden death - later
Hubby got a permenant job - yeah
The classes I'm teaching start on Wed. - more on that later
I want to start adding book reviews on here - more on that later too.
I still have a lot of stuff to do - bills to pay, supplies for class etc. so much, so little time.
I'll write after class.
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