goat milk yogurt and Marge Kraft

When I was young(er?), my mother had a good friend/former co-worker named Marge. Marge was very interesting in many ways (more stories of her another time) but there is one that I wanted to share with you today.>>>>>>> Marge liked “funky foreign foods” but didn’t like to cook. She liked to read and collect cookbooks but never made anything from them. Her husband didn’t like “weird food”, having lived the first 60years of his life on frozen chicken pot pies and deli meat sandwiches and other processed food “delights”. >>>>>>> My mom, being a Midwestern mom of two, cooked every day. So, Marge and my mom had a barter/deal worked out. About once every week or two, Marge and she would get together, look through the recipes that Marge had chosen and come to an agreement about two or three of them. Marge would supply the “outstanding ingredients” (not the flour/everyday spices/bread crumbs) that my mother would not otherwise have in the house and the main protein (the chicken/lamb/beef needed), my mother did all the cooking and dividing. They would then split the goodies. >>>>>>> We ended up trying all sorts of fun stuff, sometimes as fancy as “city chicken” (pork kabobs—very “exotic” to Cincinnati!) and pastitsio (Greek lasagne-type dish), often as commonplace as chili or various casseroles with cheese.>>>>>>> Fast forward to today. I have a girlfriend here in Atenas that loves this goat milk yogurt that she buys at the local COOPE (our grocery). The cost for one bottle (yes, the goat milk yogurt comes in individual glass bottles...tres chichi!) is more than the cost of two (2!) gallons of milk. And she eats goat milk yogurt every morning for breakfast, topped with blueberries, granola, nuts, etc. It's her indulgence and starts her day off with a smile. I really wanted to try it too after she so raved about it but couldn't get myself to pay $8 for a bottle of yogurt that i might not like when i make my own yogurt that i love <3 at a fraction of the cost.>>>>>>> So, to review....1. I love to cook and try new things. 2. My girlfriend here in Atenas loves goat milk yogurt. 3. I make yogurt. 4. I’m always looking for a new thing to do, new way to do something that I already do, new adventures. 5. I like to do/give things to people that i like in the hope that i can make them happy or make them like me. >>>>>>> So....i was thinking. What about I go get some goat milk from Coope and make yogurt for us for this week? I invited her to come here, we try to the yogurt, compare to what we are used to (her goat milk yogurt compared to my usual cow milk yogurt). Then, if she loves it, she would take home the yogurt and not have to buy it from the COOPE this week. And, if it was still an inferior choice, she could leave it and i would eat goat milk yogurt for the week. That i wouldn't like it as much is of little concern to me. I have less exacting standards on some things. That the goat milk yogurt is an experiment with a friend would make the yogurt all the sweet enough.>>>>>>> I presented all of this to her...and was turned down. Apparently, she is too busy this week to get together (and doesn't want to try it?). She said that now that the COOPE stocks goat milk, she can make her own yogurt if she wants but will probably just keep buying it. I hope that she really is too busy over the next week but, being the insecure chick that i am (still a five year old, sad to be excluded on the playground!), i think that this may just be an excuse. >>>>>>> Anyway, i have not bought the goat milk to make the yogurt for myself. I really wanted to try goat milk yogurt first to see if i'd even like it but cannot get myself to spend $8...only to take one spoonful and BEURK. So, it may remain a mystery.>>>>>>>Then again, we go out to an "afternoon tea" get-together with friends every other friday (no one drinks tea, they all drink A LOT of alcohol). Hubster feels like we have to buy something there to justify our taking room in the restaurant, so he gets a drink...Fresca/Sprite or coffee. And his two cups of coffee are $8. So, maybe i should just bite the bullet...and nibble the yogurt? >>>>>>> Anyway, this is long enough. Let me know what you think. >>>>>>>

Fort Bragg Macaroni Salad

When Christian was at Fort Bragg for basic training, we went to his graduation. At this event (a whole weekend of fun!), we bought a cookbook of recipes from the families of service members on that base. This is one of those recipes that was a hit with our family too. It looks weird...but is strangely good!! >>>>>>>SWEET MACARONI SALAD<<<<<<< *******1 package (16 ounces) elbow macaroni *******4 medium carrots, shredded *******1 large green pepper, chopped *******1 medium red onion, chopped *******2 cups mayonnaise (i use 1 C and 1C yogurt) *******1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (fat-free sweetened condensed milk has the same calories and tastes like crap) *******1 cup cider vinegar (can use white vinegar but not balsamic or red wine varieties!) *******1/2 cup sugar *******1 teaspoon salt *******1/2 teaspoon pepper *>*>*>*Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water; drain well. In a large bowl, combine macaroni and vegetables. Whisk together remaining ingredients until smooth and sugar is dissolved; stir into macaroni mixture. Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

Hubster and i aren't _completely_ the same.

The Hubster is uniquely skilled for the occupation/calling that he fulfilled throughout his professional life. He was (is?) a pediatric anesthesiologist and he loved it. It matched with his skills and life goals. This is in direct contrast to me but more on that in a moment. How was this perfect for him? Let me explain.>>>>>>> 1. He has to be _the best_ at everything that he does. He will not accept "good enough"...it has to be perfect. He will not do something, no buy something, not go somewhere, unless it is perfect. He chooses the most difficult instead of the easy way out. Being a doctor was the hardest profession available to him on graduating from high school, so that was the one for him. And, being an anesthesiologist (ie. "the one who keeps you alive while the surgeon is putting holes in your body") was the hardest field. Adding the "pediatric"part with another fellowship? Bring it on.>>>>>>> 2. In any situation, there is a solution, a way of doing things. Hubster is never happy with just one solution but always, always is thinking of "Plan B"....and "Plan C""..and the entire alphabet. Surgery with kids, even more so than with adults, can be dicey and things can change rapidly. Hubster was always ready with a back-up plan to address situations that could, maybe, possibly, by-any-stretch-of-potential occur.>>>>>>> 3. Hubster doesn't have to eat..ever. I don't know how many times he would come home to tell me that he didn't get to lunch until 4pm or not at all. That he wasn't relieved for a break or couldn't leave his patient.>>>>>>> 4. Hubster doesn't have to pee. I know! He regularly will go all day without having to use the restroom, which is perfect for someone who is in an operating room for hours on end without a way to just "pop out" on the spur of the moment.>>>>>> 5. Hubster is so gentle with the kiddos and gained their trust (and that of parents) so that the kids were less angry/stressed/frantic when they went back to the operating room. This meant that they often didn't need pre-meds to separate from parents, thus getting less sedation that had to wear off after the procedure and allowing the families to see their awake kids sooner. This was better for everyone. Nurses loved that "his" kids didn't come out asleep for long, long times.>>>>>>> 6. Hubster is never sick. So, in the 20+ years that he worked as an anesthesiologist (including during his training when he got 2 days off a month!), he only missed two days for "illness". One. And that was the day that i delivered Alessandra. The other was the day that he picked me up from the hospital after i delivered Christian. (He had off/traded for the day that i delivered Christian) He worked every other day.>>>>>>> 7. Hubster is the utmost in confident that he can handle any situation, can master whatever life needs from him. This made his work more goal-driven and reassured his associate professionals that he could be relied upon to succeed in whatever situation. So, the surgeon could do his part. The nurses could do their parts. The parents felt more comfortable trusting their child to him.>>>>>>> 8. Hubster doesn't give a rat's a$$ if anyone likes him. He likes himself and that's enough for him. I would never, ever, no, not ever, have been able to do anything but what i did. Certainly not what he did.******* 1. I have to eat every three hours. I had an incident early in my nursing career (that brief period of time that i was a full-time, career-path RN) when i was sent to lunch at 1:30, having been working in the ICU where one cannot leave or eat, since 0645. I took one sip of my soda and fell backwards into a seizure. Low blood sugar. So, not eating for hours on end is not a possibility for me.******* 2. I find what works for me and do that over and over and over, for the most part. When i was in nursing school, i moved to a new apartment which was on the other side of a bridge from my college. Soon after i moved in, the bridge was closed to car traffic for repairs. I knew one way to get to school and one way to get to my parents' house. I would either drive nearly all the way "home" then back to campus or just leave the house an hour early and walk across the bridge and up the hill to campus.....then home in the evening. This continued for nearly a year. Every day. I knew one way to do things and that was how it was done.******* 3. I am the queen of "good enough". I don't have to have the bestest brand of this or that food, the "perfect" piece of clothing, the "perfect" seam when sewing. Good enough is often good enough. I'm not saying that i sew clothes that are noticeably wonky or that i wear bedraggled, stained clothes. But, if the shirt fits but isn't _exactly_ fitted to my body, i make it work. I have never been perfect and rarely make anything perfect. Good enough allows me to remain sane as i know that i'm not perfect...ever...and wanting to be would just make me crazy.******* 4. We won't even talk about my bathroom needs. I have a walnut size bladder and cannot honestly remember a night that i've been able to sleep through the night. I don't make it through a film in the evening either. Ever. I am like those Betsy Wetsy dolls from days of old. Fluid in...fluid out.******* 5. I have been sick before and missed work. Actually, my "retirement" from nursing was a result of my being "sick". I had an injury that prevented my typing or speaking and left me a bit "fuzzy" (closed head injury). I took off for 4 weeks....and just never went back. Sadly, no one from work ever contacted me to see how i was, when i might come back, if i was recovering. It was like i'd never been there.******* 6. I don't have the confidence that i'm "good enough" at anything, really. I've always looked around to make sure that i haven't screwed up too badly, rather than being confident that i was doing the bang-up job that many situations require. I _need_ that reinforcement that what i've done (the recipe that i've made, the dress/scrub pants that i've sewn, the child that i raised) is "good", in the eyes of others. I rarely rely on my own evaluation. Shoot! I go to JoAnn fabrics to choose fabric for a project and find that i ask strangers "which of these two fabrics/patterns do you think is the better?". I do nothing on my own evaluation.******* 7. I _need_ to have people like me and have always, always tried to do what others want/need to "make" them like me. This means often going out of my way to give people what i think that they want although it often is just what i would want for them or if i were them. I have for 30+ years tried to "surprise" Joe with one thing or another, going out of my way, only to find that my sacrifice is for naught. He would have been just as happy with a peanut butter sandwich instead of the bagel that i walked down to the bakery, stealthily bought and hid in the cupboard,then toasted and topped with butter. Then i'm disappointed with my efforts not being "valued" and the "benefit" of the sacrifice is lost. This extends to people that i'm not as close to as well. I joined Mary Kay and did "parties" and gave away a LOT of product to "make" people like me (My director, Barbie Gizzo, told me "when you give people stuff, they like you.... and it will increase your party bookings and sales"). I didn't make director but tried really hard for years and was so disappointed that my efforts and sacrifices didn't work out. I took it personally and ended up feeling worse for myself. So, i'm uniquely qualified to be..... a mom. Not just to my children (who are no longer children, i know) but to my world in general. To do the extra little things, imperfectly!, that make my loved ones feel loved. And to strangers (nice shoes! wow...you're such a good mom! gee, your baby is so cute!). It makes me happy to make others happy and i just had to find a non-professional way to do so. Oh! and to only sew for myself and select items (quilts with scattered designs) for others. Pura Vida.

so...you have beer...and have to do something with it...and it's only monday....

LISA'S EASY BEER BREAD RECIPE>>>>>>> 3C self-rising flour>>>>>>> 1 can beer>>>>>>> mix>>>>>>> add cheese, if you want (dribs and drabs of whatever leftover cheese good here)>>>>>>> dump into pammed/greased 9x5 loaf pan>>>>>>> bake 350 for 50 minutes>>>>>>> let cool in pan>>>>>>> slice and enjoy toasted with butter or cheese or just crumble onto chili>>>>>>> also makes good muffins (easier to serve than slicing bread)>>>>>>> use whatever beer...old beer....that can/bottle that someone left at your house...that beer that you find in the back of the fridge from who knows what old celebration>>>>>>> can use soda instead of beer....ginger ale better than orange soda but any will work>>>>>>>

the good, the bad and the ugly about being with the same person for 30+ years

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MARRIED FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS>>>>>>> I have been married to Joe, the LOML (to use Dedra’s favorite hashtag), for 30+ years. For those who envy that or wonder what that would be like, let me tell you this. >>>>>>> It’s not all easy and rosy, like the beginning of a love affair.>>>>>>> So, let me tell you what it is like to be married for years and years and years. And, to be efficient, I must number them.>>>>>>> 1. Being married to Joe since i was in my early 20’s means that I’ve never been to a restaurant by myself. Yes, i did go to Wendy’s twice (take-away) while on an educational week with my church but eating a baked potato, sitting on the bed in my dorm room doesn’t really make for a “gourmet dining experience”.>>>>>>> 2. I have never bought a movie ticket to see a movie alone....or even with friends. I have been to movies with Joe and with our kids but never without them.>>>>>>> 3. I have only traveled alone once (see: education week with my church) and it was lonely.>>>>>>> 4. If Joe is asleep or sick (like today), i can go the entire day without speaking. It’s that or talk to the cats (see: crazy cat lady).>>>>>>> 5. Joe chose our first home in Charlottesville,VA and has predominantly done so for the other homes that we’ve bought. I have never sought/negotiated a mortgage.>>>>>>> 6. I get up every morning, before Joe, do my quiet/alone yoga and have breakfast. I make his coffee. I make his breakfast. I go in and quietly, gently wake him up. Every morning. For 30+ years.>>>>>>> 7. He cannot make his own coffee...he has me.>>>>>>> 8. He doesn’t know how much cereal he has in the cupboard.>>>>>>> 9. He doesn’t know where in the supermarket to find his “favorite” cereal or which one that is (which brand do I like again?).>>>>>>> 10. He never has to refill the supply of coffee, milk, or cereal b/c he has me.>>>>>>> 11. He doesn’t have to wake up and wonder if it’s time to get up or just roll over and go back to sleep. If I don’t come in, he can lounge, laze, and go back to sleep. Without worry that he’ll be late to the gym.>>>>>>> 12. I have never known what our mortgage payment was, what we paid for houses or cars. I’ve never spent more than $500 on anything except his first iPod...$600 from my Mary Kay account. Every “big” purchase has been handled by Joe.>>>>>>> 13. I don’t speak Spanish and live in a country where Spanish is the national language. Joe does all the translating and interacting to “get things done”. I do “grocery and restaurant Spanish”...basically, i know the names of the foods/veg that i eat and can find those. Beyond that, I rely on him to do everything.>>>>>>> 14. I cook. He does the dishes after lunch/dinner. Every day. >>>>>>> 15. Joe hasn’t done a load of laundry since before we got married. I started doing our laundry before we got engaged in 1990 and have done so ever since. I wash it, hang it on the line, retrieve it, and fold it. He puts his away. >>>>>>> 16. Joe does all the finances. Always has. I’ve never balanced a checkbook, bought or sold a stock or fund, refinanced a house/mortgage, done anything with retirement accounts. >>>>>>> 17. I have never done anything to do with the IRS. He has done our taxes since we got together. Are we getting money back this year? Are we paying this year? Darned if i know!>>>>>>> 18. Joe doesn’t know where anything “goes” in the kitchen cabinets. He does the dishes but, if he empties the dish drainer, puts a stack of “orphans” on the counter for me to put away. We have lived here for 3+ years.>>>>>>> 19. Joe picks all the vacation spots that we’ve been to. Always has. After our many years together, he knows what i would like. I’ve never been on a bad vacation. >>>>>>> 20. I have no idea what my income was any year that i worked. I had automatic deposit and gave the paystubs/receipts to him when i received them. I didn’t manage my retirement withdrawals except to know that i put the maximum into retirement each year. >>>>>>> 21. Joe has no idea when it is time to flea-treat the cats, go to the dentist, get the house sprayed for bugs (necessary living in the tropics!).....my calendar takes care of all of that.>>>>>> 22. I maintain the house calendar to keep track of when the housekeeper is coming, when we are getting together with friends, which date is the doctor/dentist appointment and can we accommodate another appointment or is that day already booked?>>>>>>> 23. I have never sprayed a wasp/hornet nest, climbed up to empty gutters, cut down the big bunch of bananas in the tree or moved heavy furniture. Joe does all the he-man lifting.>>>>>>> 24. I have no nose so i changed the majority of the diapers (he had to do a couple with Alessandra when i was working the first year at night but rarely...never with Christian). And i empty the litter box...and always have. Puking kids? That would be my job too. >>>>>>> 25. Last, but not least, i never have to worry who i will have dinner with, play games with, travel with, and generally do all the fun things in my life. I live with my bestest friend...every day is like a playdate. >>>>>>>

go to your room

When i was young and misbehaved, my mother would do the "wait until your father gets home" thing. Upon hearin of my offense, my dad would always say..."go to your room". Then, he would finish whatever he was doing (eating dinner, watching a TV show, changing clothes, who knows?), and come up to fuss at me. Tell me how disappointed he was with whatever i had done. How he thought that i was better than this. How i was less than he had thought that i was. Often, this was bad enough. Just thinking about it now is making me stomach tense and flip. Anyway, then he would inflict whatever punishment seeme appropriate to him.>>>>>>I am a lot older now but still hate the "we need to talk about this" delay that sometimes comes up in relationships. I have that going on now and have been sick with worry for days...>>>>>>>I had a friend that i saw every week. We had her and her husband over for lunch/games or we went to the their house. We went on walks, just the two of us. But, mostly, we sat on her porch and chatted. It was a good friendship. But, every so often, she would just disappear. We wouldn't hear from her for weeks on end then she would be back with a glib excuse of "i got bogged down with financial stuff" or "we have family coming to visit so i needed a couple weeks to get ready...then their visit....then a month to recover..."(happened three times, even when we entertained the family at our home or hosted them at a restaurant). And, she has friends that don't like me (different story for a different day). So...her ghosting me lately is not an extraordinary event. But it has been over six months.>>>>>>>So, having seen an article in the Washington Post about a friend repeatedly ghosting the writer, i sent it to her and asked what was going on with her.>>>>>>>She responded "we need to talk...and this will be more than a 20 minute conversation...when can you do this?" When i offered that day or the next, i was told.."no, too soon...i might be able to do three days from now...but only in the morning...or any day the rest of that week".>>>>>>>So, essentially... "go to your room...i'll talk to you later"...So,.....i wait....and fret....I honestly don't know what i could have done or said, what i could have not done or said, that would have meritted losing this relationship. I have given up on it being restored...i just want to know what happened so that i don't similarly offend others going forward.>>>>>>> So, Monday afternoon will bring, maybe, some clarity.>>>>>>Maybe.>>>>>>>But at least i won't be as fraught with nerves and nauseated.....maybe. Joe thinks that i'm overreacting (and i am) but i can not just let it go. I want this to be over, one way or the other. I have never outgrown the want/need for "everyone to like me" and that there is someone (not just her but her friends as well) that doesn't like me makes my dread even worse.>>>>>>>Sigh.

Ruby Noodles from Nigella Lawson...and me

RUBY NOODLES is a recipe from Nigella Lawson...that i "improved" and served today, after wanting to make it for over a month. The stars finally aligned and i had an opening in our schedule of meals to shoehorn it in. I am so glad that i did. Both Hubster and i loved it and it is certainly pretty. Fancy and "company worthy"? Maybe not...but definitely going into our rotation..especially as it can be a "desperation dinner"-- what to make when the fridge/cupboard look a bit scanty....>>>>>>>RUBY NOODLES>>>>>>> 8 oz fettucine pasta>>>>>>>1-1/2 C beet juice (used the leftover water from steaming beets in my IP, i always have this in the freezer)>>>>>>>1-2t chopped ginger>>>>>>>1-2t chopped garlic>>>>>>>1T soy sauce and fish sauce (yes!! you _need_ the fish sauce!)>>>>>>>1 lime or lemon, zest and juice>>>>>>>1T cornstart and water slurry (for later, not with beet juice)>>>>>>>topping: 1T sesame seeds...and 1-3 chopped green onions>>>>>>>bring pot of water to boil, add fettucine and cook for ONLY 3 MINUTES, drain and set aside (yes, it is still really stiff and not cooked...work with me)>>>>>>>add rest except the sesame seeds and green onion, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, add parboiled fettucine, cook until done, about 5-7 more minutes>>>>>>>make a slurry of 1T cornstarch and 1T water, dump into cooked pasta to "firm up" the remaining beet juice liquid>>>>>>>cook 1 minute to thickened, serve with topping of sesame seeds and green onion (and dash of sesame oil or plain oil, if you want to be fancy)>>>>>>>i served mine with a side of veg and Hubster's with a side of sauteed sausage. Sosososo yummy! And quick! And RED!! Try it and you'll start saving beet juice all the time just to make this recipe!