Genius

 

I have a Dutch/Kiwi friend affectionately called Matt van O (because Oudenaaren is just too long to enunciate).  He left university to serve as a math teacher in an elementary school. He is one of those friends who do not use the internet and has a brotherhood with beer. The last I heard of him was his complaints on the little scoundrels he tries to educate every day.

Ah, I got carried away. I found the perfect birthday card for him as shown above. I am pretty proud of myself for that!

Caesar Salad with Poached Egg

I do love a good Caesar salad. I love them plain, I love them with grilled chicken, I love them with shrimp. I am brimming with love for Caesar salad. I am also brimming with love for poached eggs, as those of you who have read this blog for a while already know. So when Caesar salad meets poached eggs...heaven.

This recipe calls for a couple of slices of bread as the base, and luckily I had a few slices left over from my baguette baking, but you can use any kind of country-ish bread you have on hand. Next comes layers of romaine lettuce, and unlike the standard Caesar salad, I leave these whole, just because it looks so fancy that way. Next...oh happiness!...comes the poached egg. There is one in the picture above but if you want to go really crazy, you can use TWO! Drizzle with the quick Caesar dressing in recipe, then grind some pepper over the top, and finally finish with a scattering of really nice Parmesan cheese. One of my friends gave me a big wedge of Parmesan that she brought me back from her vacation to Italy, and it is so unbelievably good that I am practically doling it out shred by shred. I'm not sure what I am going to do when it is gone and I have to go back to my usual Parmesan cheese, now that I have been so incredibly spoiled. That's the cheese I used for this recipe, because a great Parmesan makes a big difference in this one.

Anyway. That's all there is to this one, but it makes a great light meal, and if you poach the egg just right, when you cut it open the egg will mix with the dressing, and you will eat the whole thing with a blissful smile on your face. I promise.

CAESAR SALAD WITH POACHED EGG

Serves 4

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup olive oil plus extra for drizzling
• 4 slices country bread, lightly toasted
• Romaine lettuce leaves
• 4 to 8 poached eggs, depending if you are using one or two per salad

1. Put mayo, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons cheese in food processor and blend until smooth. Add oil in a steady stream until creamy and emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Lay bread on plates. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Lay lettuce leaves on top of bread, and top lettuce with egg or eggs.

4. Drizzled dressing over all. Grind pepper on top, and scatter remaining cheese over eggs. Serve immediately.

Big Brother says: Get a Swine Flu Vaccine or Else!

A week or so ago a relative of mine told me that her employer informed all personnel that they would be required to get the H1N1 vaccine or they would be fired. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, this sounded to me to be something directly from a dystopian science fiction novel and now I just finished reading more incredible news about forced vaccinations at Dr. Castro's blog.
Why should we be forced to make a decision between earning a living and our right to make our own decision about what enters our body? Vaccines take years to test and the H1N1 vaccine has been rushed in only a matter of months. I would choose NOT to have this vaccine because of the lack of long term study that would determine if there are harmful side-effects from the adjuvants or other ingredients used in this vaccine.
As I have begun to read articles about this vaccine, I see the term "Orwellian" pop up a lot. I feel that George Orwell in his science fiction novel, "1984" knew exactly what he was writing about and I feel that the USA has just about completed the triangle described in his book known as The Party and there being the inner party, the outer party, and the proles( or as we are more commonly known as the working stiffs that pay taxes and try to live a decent life!).
Also a phrase from the book that rings a bell loud and clear to me is this one:
"War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength."
I am going to include a clip of the movie based on the novel 1984. I have not seen the movie I have only read the novel so I hope it contains the very dark message the novel has and that is our rights to choose can be taken away from us very easily.

Original movie vehicle from Land of the Lost...

Will Ferrell stars in this 2009 movie remake of the original 1970's children's Land of the Lost TV series.

Actual Land of the Lost movie vehicle

His character, 'Dr. Rick Marshall' uses this vehicle for his unorthodox scientific expeditions.

Land of the Lost movie poster

This car was on display at Universal Studios Hollywood as part of the behind-the-scenes Studio Backlot Tour on August 27, 2009.

Buy the DVD in the USA: Land of the Lost

Boeuf Bourguignon, or Julia and Kate

If you haven't yet seen the movie JULIE AND JULIA, turn off the computer, stand up, and proceed directly to the nearest movie theater. Just make sure you eat something first, because this movie is not one to see when you are hungry. We saw it the weekend it opened, late Sunday afternoon, and it was pretty much 2 hours and 15 minutes of sheer heaven for me. Julia Child, Meryl Streep, food blogging, cooking, pounds and pounds and pounds of butter. I think now I understand what my tolerant Southern husband means when he rhapsodizes over Star Wars. THIS is a culinary Star Wars, and if Meryl Streep doesn't win her millionth Oscar for this, the Academy is going to have to answer to ME. (That should scare them.)

Anyway, the only thing I wanted to do when I walked out of the theater was make Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. And because it was 7pm on Sunday, and I didn't have Julia Child's recipe, nor any of the ingredients, nor the five hours needed to make it, we went out to eat instead. And I pouted all week long until the weekend rolled around again and I had a clear window of time to shop, and cook, and cook, and cook.

Which is good, because this recipe takes FIVE HOURS. Which always injects just a teeny bit of pressure, because you really, really, really want to come out with something great at the end if you are going to spend FIVE HOURS making it. Not to mention the huge laundry list of ingredients that we needed to assemble first, including a chunk of unsliced bacon with which to make the "lardons" that go in this dish. Yes, I now know what "lardons" are. So there. And by the way, you can get a chunk of unsliced bacon at the deli counter. I think ever since this movie came out the deli counter guy is used to doling out unsliced bacon chunks.

Anyway. This is now the time where I have to admit that I did make one major departure from Julia's recipe, because one of the major ingredients in Boeuf Bourguignon is mushrooms. And, for me, mushrooms are the enemy. You may be friends with them, and I wish I could be, but I just...can't. And this recipe calls for a pound of them, and for all I know Boeuf Bourguignon translates into "beef dish that absolutely must be made with mushrooms," but there is only so far I can go, even for Julia, and mushrooms are not one of those places. So I am so sorry, Julia, but I substituted baby peas. Mea culpa, but there you have it.

OK, so I had my chunk of bacon, and my baby peas, and my bottle of Burgundy, and my five hours, and off I went. I even had some more dough from my baguette-making experiment of the day before, so in the midst of the Boeuf Bourguignon I also made another one of these to go with it:

Because that is just the kind of all-around French chef that I am.

So, to make an already too-long story short, after 5 hours of chopping and braising and simmering and baking and straining and stirring, all with my faithful and ever-hopeful dog by my side (she did eventually get the bacon rind, which I think in her doggie mind made the whole 5 hours worth the wait)...I was done! Moment of truth. I ladled it out, surrounded it with a ring of parsleyed rice, poured a glass of what was left of the Burgundy to fortify myself, and we dug in.

Oh my. Oh Julia.

Worth every last second of those 5 hours and more.

Recipe link below. Thank you, and good night.

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Lunch and Brunch Unfit to Munch

Last week, Better Homes and Gardens helped us decorate our swingin' pads with eye-bleeding paisley, fluffy yarn centerpieces, and Robot Victorian style. This week those halcyons of the household take us into the kitchen to show us why breakfast is the most important meal of the day...

Largely, because it's what you should have before coming to one of their brunches or lunches...


Our journey begins here. You've heard of the Trojan Horse? Now meet the Trojan Chicken...


Inside this distracting blue glass hen lurks the dangers of eggs slathered in cream sauce. The egg whites lie in wait at the bottom, underneath the sauce, primed for their cue as second wave support, armed with pointy, pointy toast spears.

While the egg yolks have been sieved into a platoon of granular egg soldiers, ready to surge forth the moment the chicken's cracked open, and conquer the taste buds. They will fight your digestive juices all the way down.

Breakfast has never been so exciting!

Now-- what if you're a single person, without a smiling face to chat with over the breakfast table? No problem! You can create your own, with this "glamourous" eggs benedict.

Sure, it looks like ol' Benedict there is cross-eyed and suffering from some sort of eye infection. But you're single. And you're not getting any younger. You really shouldn't complain.

In fact, if you weren't so picky in the first place, you wouldn't be spending your life alone, would you? But no, you always have to find some little fault with your dates. It's always "This one has weeping eye sores. That one's a mortician and stinks of formaldehyde. This other one taxidermies chipmunks for fun."

It's always something with you. So just sit here with your new friend Benny and try to find something to talk about. No arguments.

But, if things really don't work out between you two, then maybe you'll enjoy this theme brunch instead. I call it the "Mayo Melee"...
Yes, indeed, from the mayoed egg salad to the halved and stuffed to-mayo-toes, you'll say it's a sure case where cholesterol is more!

Maybe you can even squeeze some mayo into those whipped desserts, what do you think? Imagine the surprise they'll get to find that whipped cream is actually packed with mayonnaisey fun!

Ah, but stand back-- I think this next dish is just about ready to blow...

You'd think the retin A would have cleared that up by now, wouldn't you? But, then, Mary had to keep touching it. And it just got bigger. And redder. And it sprouted cherry clusters.

Eventually, it grew into this-- ring around the rosy, bubonic plague style...

Don't you hate it when you start breaking out in tomato aspic? Because once you see those raised aspic bumps, you know the dripping potato salad is soon to follow.

Well, that about dishes up today's post! But I'm sure you'll want to all run off, make one of these mouth-watering creations and share it with the ones you love...

Or, y'know, family.

And don't forget to knit up a floral bouquet for your centerpiece!

• If you missed last Wednesday's Treasure Box post, full of thrifted goodies, click here.
• If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking abour regarding the yarn bouquet, click here.

And otherwise, I hope to see your smiling faces this Wednesday when I tell you about a very unexpected thrifted find!

Lunch and Brunch Unfit to Munch

Last week, Better Homes and Gardens helped us decorate our swingin' pads with eye-bleeding paisley, fluffy yarn centerpieces, and Robot Victorian style. This week those halcyons of the household take us into the kitchen to show us why breakfast is the most important meal of the day...

Largely, because it's what you should have before coming to one of their brunches or lunches...


Our journey begins here. You've heard of the Trojan Horse? Now meet the Trojan Chicken...


Inside this distracting blue glass hen lurks the dangers of eggs slathered in cream sauce. The egg whites lie in wait at the bottom, underneath the sauce, primed for their cue as second wave support, armed with pointy, pointy toast spears.

While the egg yolks have been sieved into a platoon of granular egg soldiers, ready to surge forth the moment the chicken's cracked open, and conquer the taste buds. They will fight your digestive juices all the way down.

Breakfast has never been so exciting!

Now-- what if you're a single person, without a smiling face to chat with over the breakfast table? No problem! You can create your own, with this "glamourous" eggs benedict.

Sure, it looks like ol' Benedict there is cross-eyed and suffering from some sort of eye infection. But you're single. And you're not getting any younger. You really shouldn't complain.

In fact, if you weren't so picky in the first place, you wouldn't be spending your life alone, would you? But no, you always have to find some little fault with your dates. It's always "This one has weeping eye sores. That one's a mortician and stinks of formaldehyde. This other one taxidermies chipmunks for fun."

It's always something with you. So just sit here with your new friend Benny and try to find something to talk about. No arguments.

But, if things really don't work out between you two, then maybe you'll enjoy this theme brunch instead. I call it the "Mayo Melee"...
Yes, indeed, from the mayoed egg salad to the halved and stuffed to-mayo-toes, you'll say it's a sure case where cholesterol is more!

Maybe you can even squeeze some mayo into those whipped desserts, what do you think? Imagine the surprise they'll get to find that whipped cream is actually packed with mayonnaisey fun!

Ah, but stand back-- I think this next dish is just about ready to blow...

You'd think the retin A would have cleared that up by now, wouldn't you? But, then, Mary had to keep touching it. And it just got bigger. And redder. And it sprouted cherry clusters.

Eventually, it grew into this-- ring around the rosy, bubonic plague style...

Don't you hate it when you start breaking out in tomato aspic? Because once you see those raised aspic bumps, you know the dripping potato salad is soon to follow.

Well, that about dishes up today's post! But I'm sure you'll want to all run off, make one of these mouth-watering creations and share it with the ones you love...

Or, y'know, family.

And don't forget to knit up a floral bouquet for your centerpiece!

• If you missed last Wednesday's Treasure Box post, full of thrifted goodies, click here.
• If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking abour regarding the yarn bouquet, click here.

And otherwise, I hope to see your smiling faces this Wednesday when I tell you about a very unexpected thrifted find!

The Deathmobile movie car from Animal House on display...

This is the infamous 'Deathmobile' from the 1978 frat-boy comedy Animal House, which stars John Belushi.

National Lampoon's Animal House movie poster

The Deathmobile was made from the wreckage of a 1966 Lincoln Continental and this movie car was photographed on display at Universal Studios Hollywood on August 27, 2009.

Side view of the Deathmobile

National Lampoon's Animal House film poster

Buy the DVD in the USA: National Lampoon's Animal House

i can't tell

I can't tell if this is an expression of cuteness or insanity. But because I have only known her for less than a day when this photo was taken, I will assume both.

Sure beats looking at the other sheep around her though!

PS: Also, Happy Birthday to you Francis darl! I am missing your craziness to bits! Please don't kill me for this.

Stormin' Norman Go-Kart from The Little Rascals movie...

This Go-Kart featured in the 1994 movie The Little Rascals and is now on display at Universal Studios Hollywood as part of the Studio Backlot Tour.

Actual Stormin' Norman Go-Kart from The Little Rascals movie

The Little Rascals movie poster

Stormin' Norman on display beside other movie

picture cars at Universal Studios Hollywood

Buy the DVD in the USA: The Little Rascals

Mini movie car from Mr. Bean's Holiday...

This British Leyland Mini was featured in Mr. Bean's Holiday, the 2007 sequel to the 1997 comedy Bean.

Both films star Rowan Atkinson as the bumbling British Mr. Bean and the second movie follows the titular character's adventures in France.

Original movie car from Mr. Bean's Holiday

It was on display with other movie picture cars at Universal Studios Hollywood on the Studio Backlot Tour on August 27 2009.

Mr. Bean's Holiday movie poster

Buy the DVD in the USA: Mr. Bean's Holiday (Widescreen Edition)

5G Warfare

I have come across the term 5G Warfare a lot in recent weeks and found the topic thought provoking. 5th Generation Warfare was discussed by Umair Haque in his blog , describing how someone would engage in this style of battle and he lists 10 rules that would accomplish the mission. You can read the rules on his blog but I would like to comment on this idea of information warfare. It is true that we are bombarded with a lot of information these days; it is everywhere you turn: the radio, the television, texting, and the internet. There is so much information floating out there and especially on the internet, that in order for it to be useful to you as an individual, you must apply critical thinking skills to decide which information is valid. For example, I live in Mexico and it was not so long ago that all these "news" stories were being told about the "war on drugs" in Mexico. I do not think I have read so many lies and so many false reports on the television news in my life. Since I live precisely where they were "reporting" about, I knew the majority of the reports were out and out lies. For example, I read online and saw on tv that the citizens of Mexico would step out of their houses each morning only to find headless bodies in the gutter or a sack of chopped off heads on the curb or that gun battles happened right in front of everybody in populated areas. These were all shameless lies by the media and then parroted by whoever felt this type of story fit into their agenda. This has made me look at all types of reporting with extreme skepticism and I would rather get my information from eyewitness accounts or what I experience in my own life. Lately, there is a lot of "news" about how the economy is recovering even though people tell me their hours are being cut back or they are losing their jobs, I see for "For Rent" signs everywhere, and businesses that are open are practically empty. It feels like I am reading science fiction shorts when I look at some of the stuff that is put out as "information" these days, a lot of it is very creative!
The point is, with so much info out there, including this story about 5G Warfare, it is important to put to use our critical thinking skills and determine what is true and what is propaganda.

book review: sophie's world by jostein gaarder

I am finally finished with this book! Dad bought this book for me five years ago and I've only ever gone partway with reading it. My excuse? Education got in the way. Joblessness is a blessing in disguise.









From the back cover:

One day Sophie comes home from school to find two questions in her mail: Who are you? and Where does the world come from?Before she knows it, she is enrolled in a correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre and beyond, with a mysterious philosopher. But Sophie is receiving a separate batch of equally unusual letters. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up in Sophie's world?To unravel this riddle, Sophie must make use of the philosophy she is learning. But the truth is far more complicated than she could have imagined...

The mysterious philosopher first engages Sophie into the course by describing adults who are comfortable and accepting of this world as it is, as microscopic insects, buried deep down inside a rabbit's fur - and how philosophy is like climbing up this fur to its tip, and viewing the world from there.

This course is then covered in chapters on philosophers such as Democritus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Berkeley, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Marx, Darwin, Freud and philosophical ages such as Hellenism, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, the Enlightment, Romanticism, up to own current era. Their correspondence also discusses concepts such as fate and influence of cultures towards the history of philosophy.

If you feel intimidated - don't. The book has been well-written in concise chapters (say 5-12 pages each?) with any monotony broken with intermittent distractions. Any part of this book that would have made it a hard read was simplified by the use of ingenious examples that are relevant to our everyday lives. I will now refrain from adding excerpts of my favourite parts of the book so as to make this entry no longer than it already is.

On the contrary, I had my issues with Sophie. Sophie was suppose to be a fifteen year old. Although, she is rather rude and obnoxious and seemed a little too enlightened on the works of religion, history, geography and philosophy for a fifteen year old. But maybe Norwegian kids are born smart, or have excellent school syllabus. This may be the reason Gaarder plots his story as so, and then uses the plot to make up for its own flaws.

And poor Sophie, sometimes I feel as if she was just a character thrown into the book to keep the reader awake through the boring bits by intercepting conversational lectures with "I guess it does" or "Tell me about that". There are even times when Sophie asks directional questions, just to break long paragraphs up, as well as to lead focus to other aspects on a topic, such as " Does that mean that Kant's philosophy is nevertheless more right that Plato's?" or "Explain that, please".

On top of all that information to digest, the first half of the book was as confusing as it gets. The storyline drew a near borderline for me. I was so close to just throwing the book down and giving up in spite of my curiosity. But that wouldn't be me. In addition, the storyline gets a bit fluffy (in comparison to confusing) towards the end of the book, however the same can't be said about its substantial content.

All in all, a twisted book right from the start (in a good way). It will contort and refresh all you have ever thought about humanity. Yes...those thoughts you had about the world when you were once little are legitimate philosophy. A book that I can see myself reading again in a few years, just to make sure I'm at the tip of the rabbit's fur. I will just have to resolve my issues with Sophie in the near future.

invisible mouse

I kid you not. This was what I saw when I was doing my glasshouse duties in the animal house the other day. There was indeed no living creature in sight. If there was, it was truly invisible.I am still wondering if this was:

A. A failed experiment, resulting in a dead rodent
B. A successful experiment in an invisibility experiment by the collaboration of my university and the NZ Military Force to infiltrate other continent's military defense
C. An attempt of a joke made by a sad, mad scientist

I wish I could take your bets on this but I myself am not too sure of what the answer is. Although I would most likely circle C.

Insight: I work at the university glasshouse where I water plants. I also look after animals involved in "research" but shhhh...its supposed to be a secret.

A Cook's Paradise, aka JK Adams!

Some people's idea of a vacation destination is Disneyland, or the Caribbean, or maybe they like a nice cruise. My favorite vacation destination is beautiful Vermont, and one of my favorite Vermont destinations is the amazing JK Adams, kitchen store extraordinaire, in Dorset, Vermont. I held out an entire 24 hours after arriving in Vermont before heading over there, showing extreme restraint on my part. I have been there enough times to have the joint fully cased, and I know there is absolutely anything that any serious home cook might want in the way of pot, pans, utensils, tools and a whole lot of fun ingredients as well, but I still never get tired of roaming around like a kid in a candy store.

Because they have these. Yes, those are as many La Crueset pans as one person can look at and still stay sane.

They also have these, in rainbow colors. I have a perfectly good white one at home on my kitchen counter right this minute, but it took extreme self-control not to put three of these in my basket. They are just so very beautiful...

If you need a medium size baker's pin, they have it. Giant muffin cups? Got it. Mini-muffin tins? Check.

Maybe you need a wooden spoon.

You can't have any of these candles, though. I bought them all. (Actually, I think I left you the red ones). I fill up pretty juice glasses with sand, sink the candles halfway in, light them every night at dinnertime and it makes me ridiculously happy.

I was also delighted to see that they carry a variety of things by the wonderful Sissy Hicks, who was the subject of my post "Sissy's Kitchen" a few days ago. If she makes it, it is GOOD.

This is the main floor (there are THREE heavenly floors). That cooler on the right is full of Vermont butter, and Vermont cheese. Oh yes.

These are the last things I saw before I left. I now own that round one. I NEEDED a round cutting board, I truly did.

There aren't a lot of things that would make me want to dance on the roof of a car, but a trip to JK Adams is one of them. (And just for the record, that is not me. That is the teenager. Who dances on the roof of a car just because she is sixteen, and full of beans.)

Here's the website for the best kitchen store in the world.

JK Adams