Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
THE HOT DAYS OF ENDLESS SUMMER ARE NOT OVER HERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The hot days of endless summer - heat waves - are not over yet here in Southern California. I'm so done with this weather. I simply long to wear sweaters, and to really enjoy hot cups of coffee in the morning, and to take walks with my dog in the rain. (Who cares if she gets a little wet. I'll shampoo her once we're back in the house.) Here we rarely need or wear coats. Maybe to attend Mass of Christmas Eve, maybe if it ever snows again in the high desert where people still own furs, maybe at the beach when the wind is kicking up.
Yesterday was the Autumn Equinox. From now on the days will get shorter, the nights longer. But there are no leaves changing color or falling here. They are fried, with burn spots, and yellow from water being the answer to heat. I got a plum tree that is barely holding on. My sunflowers even suffered.
The worst thing about the heat is that my productivity suffered, as did my concentration and my willingness to be physical just about anywhere besides the pool.
The pools were open at great expense to the tax payers, as hardly anyone uses them. I went swimming a half dozen times and then, while the heat still seared, they closed.
All summer I tried to shower less, shutting off the water while I soaped and shampooed, and I flushed less too. Yet in my neighborhood there were a number of people who were still out there, against the latest rules, watering every single day. Their idea was that they could afford the water. Their idea wasn't that they need to preserve water for other uses, such as farming and drinking.
While there is always talk about desalinization (removing the salt from ocean water) plants along the California Coast, well, they may as well be talking about more nuclear power plants. Meanwhile the wind farms along the high way out to Palm Springs seem to function on most days, so there still must be some wind cooling things off.
All this said, I reserve the right to complain about too much rain and cold later in the year!
Yesterday was the Autumn Equinox. From now on the days will get shorter, the nights longer. But there are no leaves changing color or falling here. They are fried, with burn spots, and yellow from water being the answer to heat. I got a plum tree that is barely holding on. My sunflowers even suffered.
The worst thing about the heat is that my productivity suffered, as did my concentration and my willingness to be physical just about anywhere besides the pool.
The pools were open at great expense to the tax payers, as hardly anyone uses them. I went swimming a half dozen times and then, while the heat still seared, they closed.
All summer I tried to shower less, shutting off the water while I soaped and shampooed, and I flushed less too. Yet in my neighborhood there were a number of people who were still out there, against the latest rules, watering every single day. Their idea was that they could afford the water. Their idea wasn't that they need to preserve water for other uses, such as farming and drinking.
While there is always talk about desalinization (removing the salt from ocean water) plants along the California Coast, well, they may as well be talking about more nuclear power plants. Meanwhile the wind farms along the high way out to Palm Springs seem to function on most days, so there still must be some wind cooling things off.
All this said, I reserve the right to complain about too much rain and cold later in the year!
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
SLOW COOKING AMERICAN VERSIONS OF HUNGARIAN INSPIRED FOOD!
SLOW COOKERS, previously known as CROCK POTS, are increasingly popular these days. It's so easy to throw your ingredients in, set a temperature (high or low) and timer (6-8-10 hours) and go off to work or shopping, come home hours later to a ready meal, with the house smelling of wonderful cooked food.
Hey, my dog loves it. On days when I slow cook, upon arriving back home, she doesn't just leap up to say hello to me and wag her tail, she almost attaches herself to my ankle as I go from room to room, making sure that I don't forget about her when it's time to eat. And I do give her a small portion of the meat or vegetables that were cooked. It wouldn't be fair to torture her!
Now there are so very many recipes on the Internet and in cookbooks that I'm not going to give recipes here. I'm just going to tell you about some of my versions of Hungarian food, call it Hungarian-American food, that I've been successful with. Some of this may make you laugh!
Trader Joe's, a chain store, has a spice called 24 Seasonings Salute, and I swear by it. It is the only prepared mix of spices I use. According to their web site, "Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute is a smooth blend of onion, black pepper, celery seed, cayenne pepper, parsley, basil, marjoram, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, savory, rosemary, cumin, mustard, coriander, garlic, carrot, orange peel, tomato, lemon juice and lemon oil. Leave the other spices out and add 21 Seasoning Salute to a vinaigrette, sprinkle some on burgers, steaks, or chicken, before you cook them, or add a dash (or several) to soups, sauces, dips, and even scrambled eggs. Need a quick breakfast idea? Mash a scoop of avocado atop a slice of toast, and sprinkle 21 Seasoning Salute atop the avocado. It's always a good idea to sprinkle the blend into your palm first, and then break up the spices with your fingertips to release their essential oils, delivering the best of all the components. We're selling each 2.2 ounce jar for $1.99, every day."
Remember when you load your crockpot that the heat rises inside of it and so the meat should go ON TOP of all your veggies. Also, how thick you should cut a carrot or potato, and other veggies, may also be about how long you plan to cook. So the longer you'll be gone, the thicker the cut.
TRY THESE COMBINATIONS!
Carrots, onions, sour kraut, pork or beef, and (in the last hour of cooking put on top) egg dumplings with caraway or mustard seeds made by mixing flour, sea salt, seeds, and egg.
Kidney beans, Black Beans, and White Beans, green beans, chicken, and tomato.
Mix oatmeal and flour and sugar or brown sugar. Throw some in the pot. Add cut apples. Or Apricots. Or Pears. Throw some more dry mixture on and around the fruits. Cook on a low setting. Serve hot over vanilla ice-cream or yogurt.
Hey, my dog loves it. On days when I slow cook, upon arriving back home, she doesn't just leap up to say hello to me and wag her tail, she almost attaches herself to my ankle as I go from room to room, making sure that I don't forget about her when it's time to eat. And I do give her a small portion of the meat or vegetables that were cooked. It wouldn't be fair to torture her!
Now there are so very many recipes on the Internet and in cookbooks that I'm not going to give recipes here. I'm just going to tell you about some of my versions of Hungarian food, call it Hungarian-American food, that I've been successful with. Some of this may make you laugh!
Trader Joe's, a chain store, has a spice called 24 Seasonings Salute, and I swear by it. It is the only prepared mix of spices I use. According to their web site, "Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute is a smooth blend of onion, black pepper, celery seed, cayenne pepper, parsley, basil, marjoram, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, savory, rosemary, cumin, mustard, coriander, garlic, carrot, orange peel, tomato, lemon juice and lemon oil. Leave the other spices out and add 21 Seasoning Salute to a vinaigrette, sprinkle some on burgers, steaks, or chicken, before you cook them, or add a dash (or several) to soups, sauces, dips, and even scrambled eggs. Need a quick breakfast idea? Mash a scoop of avocado atop a slice of toast, and sprinkle 21 Seasoning Salute atop the avocado. It's always a good idea to sprinkle the blend into your palm first, and then break up the spices with your fingertips to release their essential oils, delivering the best of all the components. We're selling each 2.2 ounce jar for $1.99, every day."
Remember when you load your crockpot that the heat rises inside of it and so the meat should go ON TOP of all your veggies. Also, how thick you should cut a carrot or potato, and other veggies, may also be about how long you plan to cook. So the longer you'll be gone, the thicker the cut.
TRY THESE COMBINATIONS!
Carrots, onions, sour kraut, pork or beef, and (in the last hour of cooking put on top) egg dumplings with caraway or mustard seeds made by mixing flour, sea salt, seeds, and egg.
Kidney beans, Black Beans, and White Beans, green beans, chicken, and tomato.
Mix oatmeal and flour and sugar or brown sugar. Throw some in the pot. Add cut apples. Or Apricots. Or Pears. Throw some more dry mixture on and around the fruits. Cook on a low setting. Serve hot over vanilla ice-cream or yogurt.