Another Wednesday, another year...

...and I've got Italy on my mind - it's already 2009 there.  But I'm here, so let this last day be one spent in joy, in contemplative bliss, in....utter frustration!

My plans were to spend the day reading, journaling, blog writing and maybe sending off a few work related correspondences, which I had every intention of doing.  Until the problems started -- again. 

Trojans, viruses and tracking cookies, and some sort of something that my new best friend, David, of D and D Services  warned me might bad mojo.  David, as it turns out, is a really calm, thoughtful, patient guy.  Unlike me, a tower of wires and silicon chips don't scare him one bit.  I need Rolaids, Tums, or a mild sedative after dealing with these issues and fearing it's going to force me into having a child, just to give up my first born to pay for repairs - and catch up with work.  This isn't how I planned to spend my day.  

I have been blocked from working, or doing any real work due to these viruses and my computer acting all squirrely.  I'm at a loss.  

David installed some antivirus and adware protection, yesterday, and it seemed the problem was fixed, so to speak.  He mentioned one thing he saw, a Root something or other, that he was hoping wouldn't cause more problems.  Well, hope don't get you much these days.  The problem is back today and it's eaten up quite a bit of my time.  

After he left, I was curious about the deal with viruses and did some searching (bad move). I found that all these viruses and stuff are on the rise - the worst they've ever been, and getting worse.  I started noticing problems just before Christmas Eve.  No doubt hackers skulking for credit card information.    

My computer is being hijacked - there is something on there that allows my browser to keep taking me to ghost pages - probably in the hopes of this bozo hacker/scum/thief that someone will fill out the information necessary for him to steal important, lucrative information. 

I feel trapped.  There's a lot I can't do.  I search out stories, links, etc., for my other blog - the one that earns me money - and I'm stuck.  There's much I can do, but still. I'm nervous about the things I can do - because I never know when I'm gonna get 'tagged' again - the bug is in my system and it rears its ugly head when I least expect it.  It seems to be under control for now - David switched me to a different browser.  We're hoping this will hold out until mid January when I can hand over my computer to him for a few days of repairing and restoring.  

But, I won't allow these scum buckets to take much more of my energy.  I've blogged about them long enough.  

The rest of my New Year's eve will be spent as I had planned - working on my pantoum poem I've been wanting to write, that' s been floating around my head (obessively, hence the pantoum form) since the beginning of this year.  And I will read.  And I will drink some cinnamon tea.  And I will drink some wine - maybe even order a pizza and listen to some classical or opera - it feels like that to me.  What the hell - it's New Year's Eve.

Oh, Yeah....definitely opera....I'm missing Italy.  

I was happy to have not ruined my time listening to KCRW this morning, to the re-broadcast of McCabe's Guitar Shop at 50 - what an amazing program.  I love that guitar shop even though I'm not a guitar player - not even air - but it's one of the best places I've ever listened to live music.  Many, many years ago I got to catch Doc Watson perform there.  That place, once you've been there, stays in your blood.  It's a place for people who really enjoy the contemplative side of live music - you can see the process of the performer up there because it's a sort of workshop - a place where musicians go to just be themselves and work things out in their music.  Pure, straigh-ahead music for music's sake.  I love it.  

One of my resolutions is to spend more time at McCabes - I could use good, live music again without flair, lights and loud audiences. 

Here's to keeping more moments our own, doing what our hearts crave, and spending less time with that viruses, trojans and monsters, like Self-Doubt.  Happy New Year everyone! 

Now, back to thinking about Italy...

Mexican Tupperware

I love my family. I really do. I may not see them as often as I would like to, or even as often as I should, because, after all, there's a lot of 'should's' when it comes to family - and I should be doing more of them. (I should stop using should so much - it's such a place holder for 'do nothing.')

For instance, I should visit more often, all eleven brothers and sisters.  I should spend more time with the kids (no reason not to since I ain't got none of my own), I should call more just to say 'hi.' You get my point, rigth?

So, when I get gems like this, it's the next best thing to being in my family's presence - it's so Us.  I also have to document gems like this quickly, in a sort of if a tree falling in the woods sort of way.   Because in my family, we deny things a lot. If I don't memorialize it, it didn't happen.  I know if I don't get this down, my sis will deny it, insist it's just not true.  But here's the proof. I've got the pictures to prove it happened. 

Okay, so short story long, my sister B planned on making our mom's recipe of champurrado for Christmas Eve. My other sister, F, was part of that plan - they were going to make it together.  I was invited, but I stayed home and work on material for my other blog - the blog I get paid to write for.

Short story longer, after a few hours, I'm thinking I should have gone too.  I was getting tired and melancholy.  I should have (see, there's that Should again) so that I could get some of that delicious champurrado - moms recipe is the best I've ever had, and now I'll probably have to wait another year before one of us make it again.  It also would have been nice to catch up with my sisters, to remember mom and dad and, simply, just do anything else than work - but I stayed home instead, like the good little blogger I'm becoming.

Anyway, so F finally gets home really late with a few goodies from the evening.  My neck and arms are aching from spending, literally, the day at the computer (when you're on a roll, you have to stick with it - that's my philosophy and I'm sticking to it) not realizing the day had slipped into night.  My fingers were freezing even though I was bundled in layer, upon layer, upon layer of clothes (because my blogging and writing ain't good 'nuff to make the big bucks that would allow me the free-lancer's luxury of heat).  I'm tired achy and hungry and I'm thinking I could have had some champurrado if I'd gone, when F tells me suddenly, "oh, B sent you some champurrado," and holds out a white plastic bag.

Where ever Cockles are located on the body, mine began to warm at the mere sound of that.

Freezing and shaking I reach for the bag F is handing over to me like.  With one hand, and still shaking, I pull a pot from the cabinet in my best Dickens flair, holding the white plastic bag with champurrado in the other, and place the pot on the stove, still shaking but now anxious to warm up this bad boy so I can have a cup - I reach into the bag, pull out the container...and fall out laughing.  laughing.  F looked at me with suspicion, certain I'd really lost it this time.  

Bless my sister B. I needed this laugh more than anything else.  I instantly knew two things: B cares, and B wanted to make sure this champurrado made it home, to me, and not a single drop be lost, so she pulled out the big guns as far as containers go -- the Mexican Tupperware.

As God, and now you all, is my witnesses, B, you can't deny this one.

And the champurrado - it was delicious, every single last bit of it.  As I polished off the last drop, all I could think of was poor old Ebeneezer Scrooge being warmed right back into humanity, connecting with his truest, deepest self.  (Could this be the cockles?)

That champurrado in Mexican tupperware touched that deepest, truest self place in me - but I think that the only thing there is this funny bone, the other trait in my family: laughter at someone else's expense (maybe this is what led to the denying stuff in the first place?)  

I was moved to laughter so deep - I felt human again.  I think it might have touched my cockles.    
Mexican Tupperware - the container of champions, not for the feint of heart - to be used only for the most serious storage jobs.

Buon Natale a Tutti

So, it's Christmas Eve, and the only people up at this hour are me, the gardener with the ridiculous leaf blower (I thought those things were outlawed. What ever happened to raking?), and the birds. I haven't heard any of my neighbors out for the day. The trash truck did go by - I forget about them; probably the most important men in my life, how could I forget them?

I've been neglecting my bird feeding responsibilities. What with rain and cold, all incentives to go outside are lost. Plus, I don't want to disturb the heat I've managed to gather up in my house by sheer determination - opening the door is out of the question. Bird feeding will have to wait for a sunnier morning.

Well, I have to write about last Wednesday's 'Warm up your Wednesday' recommendation - Cabbage and Potato Casserole. It was FANTASTIC. I ran out to get some pancetta. Not in the mood for driving to a good Italian market, but not wanting to shop at Ralphs or Bristol Farms, I opted for Trader Joe's, which usually has what I need, but of course, not this time. There must have been an early morning run on pancetta, because there was not a single pancetta roll to be found, so I picked up a package of applewood, cured bacon instead.

The dish was easy and quick. I don't have a working oven, so I had to make it on the stove top. This changed how I cooked it a little, and of course, the time: I had to double the time because I kept the heat low to make sure I didn't burn the bottom of the pan. Even with the time doubled, it was still an easy fix.

The long and short - the dish is a fantastic tasting, comfort light meal - even though it does contain some cream and cheese. The amount of these ingredients is negligible in my book.

It was so good, I picked up another head of cabbage from the farmer's market and plan on making it again tonight - hey, what can I say, it's Wednesday.

On another Wednesday note, I found the sweetest blog, and yet another argument for my theory of Wednesday, called The Wednesday Chef, hosted by Luisa Weiss, who cooks the recipes she finds in the NY Times and LA Times, and then writes about what worked, what didn't. I think this might be the central core of the blog, but she also has some entries about time spent with a friend, sipping elderberry syrup and all the memories that brought up for her. It's got some great recipes, like this simple recipe for Irish Brown Bread other great cooking blog links, and some amazing writing - not to mention the pictures.

This find was a great Wednesday find, something (else) to warm my Wednesday with. I was so motivated by Luisa's writings, that I ran to my refrigerator to see what I could create. What luck! It just so happened that I went to my friend's house for a Latke and Draedle bash. I was dispatched at the end of super fun evening with a plateful of Latke's to take home.

Well, I decided to create something all my own - I took the latke's, a slices of the leftover applewood bacon, onion (lots of onion), about 1/2 milk and 4 eggs. And here's what I got:

I browned the bacon, about 7 minutes on a medium heat, then added the onion. I cooked this mixture for about 8 more minutes, until the onions were softened to an almost transparent stage, just as the sugars start releasing, still on medium heat. I salted this mixture just a bit. Then I broke up the latke's (about 5 - some were sweet potato, some were traditional, and others were carrot and yam latke's) and folded them into the onion mixture, blended well - all the while the heat is still on medium then to low. In a bowl, I mixed together the 4 eggs and milk, salt and fresh pepper. I added this mixture to the latke mixture, blend together well. To this I did add a few pieces of thinly cut Monterey Jack cheese.

Then, I took an aluminum foil tray (mine was small enough to fit in my counter-top/toaster oven), oiled it just a bit, added some more thinly cut pieces of Monterey Jack cheese to the bottom of the tray, just enough for flavor, not to be sloppy, poured the mixture into the aluminum tray, placed a few more pieces of the cheese to the top, covered with more aluminum. Set my timer for 45 minutes. Voila! I had a fantastic applewood-latke-quiche-type-thing.

My house smelled delicious for about an hour after -- what a nice little breakfast.

So, my Christmas Eve, you ask? I have a handful of dvd's I rented, a casserole I want to make, and some poetry I hope to create. I'll spend this holiday eve in reflection, which may or may not be a good idea. I'll tell you next Wednesday.

Oh, and I'm tracking Santa - it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Wishing everyone I know and love good tidings, health and lots and lots of blessings.

Warm up you Wednesdays

And so I'll try.

It's been a while since I've been here, but I was reading a listed on my 'Blogs I follow' (being Wednesday and all I thought I'd check out my blog - hoping for the motivation it would take to lay one finger on a key and press, then another and another) and came across "Local Food" a blog by Molly Watson in the Bay Area. It had a delicious nudge of a suggestion to warm up my Wednesday.

This got me thinking about my favorite dishes. Many of them, I have to say, have potatoes and cabbage somewhere in there. How lovely that Molly's recipe today, Wednesday, is a cabbage AND potato casserole - how perfect.

I have all the fixings, sans the pancetta. Since this dish has a vegetarian option, I suppose I could have made this dish today. Except I'd just had dinner an hour before I laid eyes on this recipe (don't ask what I'm doing looking at recipes one hour after eating). Besides, I have issues. Kitchen issues. I don't have an oven and my DeLonghi counter-top oven is too small to make anything of real substance. So I just stood there, letting images of cabbage and potatoes dance through my head.

Kitchen issues and all, this recipe fortified my belief about Wednesday, it's a recipe I can rest my case on: tell me when was the last time you were told you should Warm up your Thursday, or Warm up your Monday. No. I'll bet you haven't. Wednesday is much more poetic, the week's pocket to nestle time for comfort and reflection. And a bowl of cabbage potato casserole is perfectly suited for a Wednesday in my book.

I will stop by the Italian deli tomorrow (I really need to find a good one in my neck of the woods) for some pancetta - I'm going to see what warming up my Thursday feels like. So, if you warm up a Thursday, and there's no one there to share it with, does it mean it didn't happen? Hmmm, I wonder.

I'm not giving up on Wednesday - Wednesday is still my IT day. I'm sure it will make me stronger in my belief. Mostly I'm just cajoling myself into trying this recipe - and I can't wait until next Week. I've got to know. It just sounds so good.

So, now I have my topic for next Wednesday -- my hunt for pancetta and a new recipe.

Cool.