THE RECONCILIATION OF WORDS READ & WORDS WRITTEN

Note to self:  "Dandre, quit forgetting to remember the words, comments, sights, sounds and gestures that pass through cerebral consciousness via EEIPT blogness!"  


Honestly, I have experienced so many life episodes that I wanted to savor in words (even made little lists on my mac's STICKIES application) but I've gotten caught up in my newest avocation, READING BOOKS. It has diverted my attention away from personal reflection and sentimentality?  I lived two decades without reading more than the DAN BROWN books, Jean Auel's CLAN series, and oh yes, the HARRY POTTER volumes. As I prepared the Shelfari widget supplied by my blog, the website even made mention of my non-reading stature.  In October of 2010, I read two books.  Clicking the SHELFARI widget to the right will reveal them both, proudly displayed on my shelf.


To some degree, I am accessing this need-to-read mentality as a distraction, but on the other hand, I guess I should just make time to do whatever I want to do; no worries.  I've changed a bit from each of these books; the authors facilitating my new perspective.  


Note to self:  "READING vs. BLOGGING....IT'S NOT THE SUM OF THE EVENTS THAT CREATES YOUR LIFE, IT IS EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE IN THAT GIVES YOU LIFE.  SAVOR EACH BREATH AS A GIFT AND REMEMBER THAT GRATITUDE IS YOUR STATE OF MIND." 

ALERT! PUMPKIN DINNER UPDATE!

So my friend stops me in the hall yesterday and tells me that she uses pork sausage and apples in her pumpkin.....I think there is a lot of room for culinary creativity here, depending on the size of your pumpkin (or oven?)!  
BE INSPIRED, make memories to warm your winter.

DINNER IN A PUMPKIN (from The Tecumseh Herald-Treasure Hunting)

This treasure chest is a 5 to 7 lb pumpkin filled with a hot meal for 8.  Spending the day in Toledo, shopping around while waiting on the car to get tuned-up, my mind kept thinking about the warmed-up leftovers and a cold beer for supper.  HMMMMM...It was worth the wait. 


Ingredients:
1 medium pumpkin (5 to 7 lbs with a slightly flattened bottom so it can stand on its own)
2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped red or green peppers
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1 - 15 oz. can pork & beans
1 - 16 oz. can of chopped cooked tomatoes
1 - 16 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 cups cooked rice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper


Directions:
Wash the pumpkin.  Cut a circular piece out the top to form a lid.  Scrape out the seeds and stringy membrane and discard.  
In a large skillet, lightly brown the ground beef, drain off excess fat.  Add onion and peppers and saute lightly/drain again.  Prepare the rice (not instant).  
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix.  
Place pumpkin on a foiled-lined cookie sheet.  Spoon mixture into pumpkin and cover loosely with pumpkin lid.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Remove the lid, reduce heat  to 300 degrees and bake for another hour.  
Set pumpkin on romaine lettuce leafs on a platter. When serving, scoop out part of the baked pumpkin with each portion.  Serve with a loaf of warm crusty French bread. 


Celebrate the fall colors with this festive "dish"!

IT IS GOOD THAT I AM RETIRED OR I WOULDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO GET ALL THE DETAILS WORKED OUT TO BE RETIRED!

I appreciate the opportunity to be on hold for a length of time while trying to work out insurance coverage and coordination of benefits without getting all intense about it being a big waste of time.  I just wait it out and am grateful that details can be ironed out.  It is not possible to squeeze these indeterminate expanses of down time on hold within the demands of the work day. Time is everything and everything gets done in its own time.  Tuesday seems to be my "don't stop calling until you get all the answers!" day. 

SILENT GLIDERS AND ELOQUENT HAWKS

So Saturday, October 9th, provided the exact atmosphere for all things desiring to move silently through the sky, floating on the winds in order to express themselves in beauty to remind all who observe their flights that fighting the current and flailing against the odds only creates awkward and burdensome gestures that inhibit or even deny personal joy and accomplishment. Better to glide and feel the support that buoys you up than to fight the obstacles that place themselves in front of you to intentionally initiate a negative response.
"FIGHT OR FLIGHT?"  HMMMMM.....the flight thing may give you the opportunity to take the high way and enjoy the view!  

STEAMED VEGGIES WITH CHILE-LIME BUTTER please my taste buds!

I discovered this recipe in one of my Pillsbury recipe magazines.  Thank God for pictures of dishes.  I needed something colorful for my luncheon and this provided the perfect colors of cauliflower white, broccoli green and a beautiful carrot orange.  
Ingredients:
2 T. butter
1 clove garlic,finely chopped
1 t. grated lime peel 
1 t. finely chopped jalapeno chile
1/2 t. salt
1 T. fresh lime juice
3 cups cut-up fresh vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower & slice carrots


1.  In 1 qt. saucepan, melt butter over low heat, add garlic, cook and stir about 20 seconds.  Add lime peel, chile, salt and lime juice; mix well.  Set aside.
2.  In 4 qt. saucepan, place steamer basket. Add 1 cup water; heat to boiling.
3.  Add cut-up veggies to basket, cover & cook 5 minutes or until "crisp-tender".
4.  To serve, place veggies in serving bowl.  Add butter mixture, toss gently to coat.  

NOBODY NEEDS TO READ THESE...I WAS CLEANING AND FOUND THEM.

"None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm."  Henry David Thoreau
"Though an old man I am but a young gardener."  Thomas Jefferson
"Age doesn't mater unless you're a cheese."  Billie Burke
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years."  Abraham Lincoln


GREAT....now I can throw away some more stuff!

CHICKEN WITH GOAT CHEESE & BASIL from HOUSEBEAUTIFUL.COM

This chicken dish has lots of flavor and is very moist. 

Serves 4 to 6

6 boneless chicken breasts with the skin on (Good-luck finding boneless chicken breasts WITH SKIN.  Deboning is a drag, but probably worth the effort.  I'm sure it would be good with the bones included;  then it would be super-easy and inexpensive!)

8 to 10 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese, such as Montrachet

Fresh Basil leaves

Good olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degree

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan.  Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving one side attached.  Cut the goat cheese in 1/2 inch thick slices and place on or two slices plus a large basil leaf under the skin of each chicken breast.  Pull the skin over as much of the meat as possible so the chicken won't dry out.  With your hands, rub each piece with olive oil and sprinkle very generously with salt and pepper.  

Bake the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until the skin is lightly browned and the chicken is just cooked through.  Serve hot or at room temperature. 

LEMONY PASTA WITH WILTED ARUGULA from EVERYDAY FOODS (a favorite new find!))

This week I am preparing a luncheon for my husband's colleague in Germany who is retiring next week.  Will he be joining us on Thursday?  Nope....he's in Germany!  But we are still celebrating for him here.  It is the thought that counts.  The menu is the lemony pasta with arugula and chicken with goat cheese and basil.  These are two tasty dishes and if they sound good to you, you won't be disappointed.  


serves 4  with a prep time of 20 minutes (nice!)
Ingredients:
coarse salt and ground pepper
3/4 pound of short tubular pasta (Delallo brand, Gemelli #28, made in Italy)
3 ounces wild or baby arugula (3 cups)
2 t. grated lemon zest plus 1 T. lemon juice (fresh lemons are so nice to have around & I love my "microplane zester/grater!)
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 c. grated pecorino cheese plus more for serving (buy a chunk of it and grate it)


In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine arugula with lemon zest and juice, season with salt and pepper.  Drain pasta and immediately add to arugula along with oil and cheese.  Toss and season with salt and pepper.  Serve topped with more cheese if desired. 


I recommend EVERYDAY FOODS to everyone.  The pictures of the dish are inviting and all the recipes are easy to follow.  Issues include a grocery list with menu for each night of the week.  I haven't tried that yet....BUT I WILL.

RETIRED IS BETTER THAN TOO TIRED

Today I realized that there were never enough hours in the day to touch everything that makes someone feel complete and satisfied.  This morning I drove the lawn mower over to my neighbor's house to borrow her lawn roller.  As I made that trek, the fall day swallowed me up. I have never in my whole life done that before; I laughed because I never knew I wanted too either.  After I mowed lawn, I dug iris out of the flower bed and had enough energy to pick up the debris.  Today was different than any other day in my life.