Benjamin Buttons

The first time I took this quiz, I got "29." Then next time, I got "27." Check out my current results.

You Act Like You Are 25 Years Old

You are a twenty-something at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

Is there need for concern?

Crippled

There are so many things that I'd love to discuss with y'all but they don't fall within the parameters that I set from day one of this blog. So I'll leave y'all with that. There's a lot of stuff going on. And more than likely, it will unfold itself over food.

That said, I am finally heading to my dad's tomorrow. And I plan to bring food. Like this lovely dish I whipped up tonight. It's Lima Beans with Wild Mushrooms and Chard. Three of my favorite foods brought together.

I'd love to share more but I'm pretty drained at this point. Oh, and sorry for publishing an incomplete post earlier. That just shows where my mind is.

Too much TV?

When I first received the February issue of Bon Appetit, I was not feeling too thrilled about the recipes. This changed last night when I found myself at the hairdresser (Nothing exciting. I have a standing appointment every two weeks.) and realized that I had forgotten to pack reading material into my bag. I rummaged around and came up with the Bon Appetit.

As I leafed through, recipe after recipe called out to me. And it wasn't because I was hungry. Because hello. I went to Arby's for lunch. Then I happened upon the one for Moroccan-Spiced Scallops and Lentils. Quick and easy to make. And perhaps I was in need of something different after three consecutive nights of braised short ribs. I could stop at Andronico's on my way home for ingredients -- and cat food. It was tasty.

More importantly were my thoughts while cooking. I found myself thinking, "Hmmm. Moroccan spices are not that much different from Indian spices." My next thought was, "Oh no! Indian spices and scallops? I've been watching too much Top Chef!" But the dish was tasty.

Jealous no more

This morning I happened to be perusing the internet, updating my private wishlist (Things I wish I had and intend to buy for myself one day), when I discovered the Pier One was having a huge clearance sale. And one of the items on my list was something like 75% off. I decided that meant an early lunch. And then I decided to check to see what restaurants were near the store.

Imagine my elation to discover that there was an Arby's nearby. Some of y'all might not understand but sometimes I get real jealous hearing David go on and on about his Arby's feast. See, I thought they were no longer in the area.

I used to be a roast beef sandwich with horsey sauce and curly fries dipped in Arby's sauce kind of girl. Today I ventured out. I tried the jalapeno bites and the loaded potato bites. Next time I'm going to skip the jalapenos and go for a larger order of the potato bites. Now if you're not familiar with those little mouthfuls of loveliness, they are like a small deep-fried hash brown triangle -- that have been stuffed with cheddar cheese and bacon. I think I have found my new fast food favorite.

Oh, and I'm no longer jealous of David, because I can get my Arby's on all the time now.

P, b.

Old friends

First of all, a confession. My energy level is in the toilet these days. I use up all of my energy each week going to work Monday through Friday. By Friday night, I don't want to move off the bed or couch until Monday morning. Seriously. Most weeks I stop off to do grocery shopping Friday evening on my way home. Because the thought of heading out on Saturday or Sunday is just overwhelming at times. So I'm trying baby steps. My limit is about two hours right now and I might need a nap when I get home. I'm really hoping that my trip next month will be enough to break this cycle. Because this crap has been going on since about end of October/beginning of November.

As a result, the cooking has been rather sporadic. Fortunately I had a freezer jam-packed with all kinds of goodies -- like earlier this weekend was leftover coq au Riesling that I had over egg noodles. And I'm starting to see some space in the freezer once more. I'm thinking that my trip will coincide with the point in time at which there will be loads of space available in the freezer.

Tonight I decided to re-visit some past favorites -- braised short ribs, saffron risotto, and green beans with pine nuts and mint.

Beef Short Ribs with Coriander and Cardamom

8 5- to 6-ounce 3- to 4-inch long beef short ribs (about 2 3/4 pounds total)
Coarse kosher salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
l large leek (white and pale green parts only), chopped
8 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 750-ml bottle dry red wine

Preheat over to 300 F. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large ovenproof pot over high heat. Add ribs to pot and brown on all sides except bone, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to plate. Add carrots, onion, and leek to pot. Cook until browned, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, saute 2 minutes. Add flour, coriander, and cardamom to pot; stir 1 minute. Stir in wine; bring to boil. Return ribs to pot in a single layer, meat side down. Cover.

Transfer pot to oven; braise ribs until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Uncover; cool. Chill uncovered until cold. Cover; chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spoon fat from sauce. Transfer ribs to 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Bring sauce to boil. Strain into medium bowl, pressing on solids; pour over ribs. Roast until heated through, about 20 minutes.

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The last time I made this, it was a two-day affair. This time I just couldn't be bothered so I cooked the ribs in the morning. Then I removed them from the fridge in the evening for the second stage. They were still tasty but I know that they'll be even better tomorrow.

That kind of girl

You Are Boyish Sexy

You're the kind of girl who gets along with all the boys Whether it's holding your own in a game of touch football... Or kicking some major butt while playing Xbox. You hang with the guys easily, while still keeping your girly sexiness.

What Kind of Sexy Girl Are You?

80s/90s kind of chick

Yeah. I'm a day late on the media post. But yesterday was damned special and deserved something else. So here goes.

I was inspired by Monday's post. Back in the day I was a huge Paula fan. Today I give you some of my favorites of her stuff. But then I remembered something else as well so let's start there.

Ofra Haza is a Yemenite Jew. Musically she has somehow managed to bridge the world between Israel and the Arab countries. She died in 2000 -- possibly from AIDS related complications. I've been in love with her music since the late 80s. Do I know what she is singing? Nope but the melodies are always so infectious (No pun intended.) that the words really don't matter. At least to me. Of course, most of the folks I know will recognize the song as being part of the mix in this song.

But back to the Paula.


I guess if I had to pick a fave from her first album, I'd go with this one. The video was so Fosse.


If you watch carefully, there's one point when you can actually see the wires. I fell in love with this song about the time that the damage to my heart (emotionally speaking) was just setting in. And now I've kind accepted that that damage was so severe that I'll probably be single for life. Because that damage, on top of the familial damage, would take many more years of therapy to repair. And I just don't have that kind of commitment in me currently. One of my favorite quotes is, "Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive."

And then in my days with the boys in the Castro, this song came out.