Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Turning Down the Volume in 2020


What am I missing?  


Nature whizzing by as I fly past a neighbor’s yard, her azaleas in full glory.  No time to stop.  A beautiful full moon peeking from the trees as I hurry to a meeting, always running late.  Maybe next month. 


The frogs, the cicadas, the lonely horned owl, all lost to my ears, singing and calling out in vain as I leave my car and hurry to the back door.  Oh, how lovely to sit outside for a few twilit moments, but the patio chairs are covered in pollen. 


Hours pass, another dawn, the morning chorus of songbirds drowned by the alarm on my phone and then the TV news.  An absolutely beautiful morning, I might think, yet I hurry to feed the feral cats before returning to my windowless den for coffee and Kindle. 


No time to prepare the porch for a long morning of reading a dog-eared book with the sun moving closer and warmer, or for sitting still, with that mysterious calm descending at dusk… the hypnotic quality of day becoming night felt by every living creature to walk the earth who was not too busy to notice. 


And what of those first days of warm weather?  Those days that arrive without pretense and do not wait for me to finish my scrolling, my texting, my driving here and there to purchase this and that, made in a distant land. 


Six weeks into confinement now.  First went the purchasing, then the driving.  Then I just got tired of looking at a screen all day. 


What am I missing?  

I discovered what I had forgotten.



Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Mid-Mystery Sleuthing

“Where did you say we were going?”  Lydia had barely closed the passenger side door and belted herself in before she grabbed the rearview mirror and adjusted it to frame her lower face.
“I didn’t say.  Yet.  And I’m going to need that mirror.”  Della felt a hot rush of blood to her face, so she took a long breath and tried to think about that intriguing book she had glanced at while waiting for Mr. Webster to come out of the attic with the Castleton Dolly Madison dessert plate the day of the murder.  Or death, if it wasn’t a murder.  A bizarre title that promised to explain the mysteries of the universe.  Everything is vibrating.  Yes, the theory of relativity is outdated and now we have strings and vibrations and… what was the word? 
But the diversion didn’t silence the pawing sounds coming from her friend’s purse as Lydia searched for her lipstick.  Della couldn’t bring herself to look over and check if it was just lipstick lacking or the whole masterpiece, the beautiful masque.  The jealousy was unwelcome.  I have a right to be upset.  I’m not the selfish one here.  And I would never get in someone else’s car and just take over the driver’s rearview to apply make-up!  
“Sorry.  I was on the phone with Jake and then I had to feed Hadley and Zelda and—”
“It’s okay.  Look, I’ll fill you in and you can let me know when you’re done.”  Della had softened at the mention of the feral kittens.  “How are the babies?”
“I think they’re going to make it.  Zelda is still a bit thin and Hadley is skittish, but they’re on solid food now.  I don’t know if I can part with them, but I really do need to find homes.”  Lydia paused.  She had made the transformation from girlfriend to friend.  But the work of art was in progress and must be completed.  The eye liner came out of the handbag.
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Della said.  I will not be guilted into taking on two more cats!  “So to fill you in.  We’re going to upper Cantrelle to talk to Tabby’s niece and to some of the others on Parish Road 15.  You’re the one who said we needed to do that, remember?  That they may know something about the deal Sandra was trying to make to sell the old Gautreaux mansion?”
“Yes.  I want to know who lives in the house right across from the turn-off to Sandra’s.  You said it was an old lady?”  Lydia was becoming even more beautiful with the application of mascara.
“She’s in her nineties, but still lives on her own and still drives,” said Della as she wondered how many women put their lipstick on before doing their eyes.  Was there a reason?  Della wanted to know but couldn’t bear to divert the conversation now that she had it back on the mysterious death of the stranger at Tabby’s Kitchen last week.  Would their sleuthing pull up anything worthwhile?  As Lydia returned the crème blush to her make-up bag, and Della took back the rearview mirror and tried to put it back the way it had been, a heavy silence descended on the women.  Della felt a slight queasiness and wondered how the two of them would be able to spot anything nefarious behind them on the route.


and later, in another dimension...

Lydia:  Well?  How’d we do?

Della:  Not sure.  I can’t see her anymore.  She faded out.  Last I saw she was looking up whether it’s ‘passenger side’ or passenger-side.’  Or ‘passenger’s side.’  At least that’s an easier problem to solve than whether the punctuation marks go inside or outside the apostrophes and quotes.

Lydia:  Whatever.  That’s HER problem.  And remember she decided I’m a French teacher and not an English professor.  Dieu merci!  So... if I’m not needed for the time being I’ll just go home and get ready for Jake.  He just texted he’s leaving the hospital. 

Della:  Yes.  Well.  I can’t tell you when you might be called back.  I’ll have to wait till I can see her and right now she’s got the news on. 

Lydia:  Have you figured out what year it is?

Della:  No, it fades in and out, just as she does.  There’s some sort of virus spreading over the planet and they all have to stay indoors and wear masks when they absolutely must go outside.

Lydia:  I did not sign up for this!!  You told me this woman was attempting to write a cozy mystery set some time in the recent past.  I hate science fiction and you know it!  I don’t need to know where she is now, just get me out of this woman’s mind!  I have a whole life to live.  I’m going to be so happy if I ever get out of here!  What’s wrong?  Why are you biting your lip?  What do you know that I don’t know?  Is it about Jake?  Don’t look away!

Della:  I’m so sorry Lyddie.  Don’t cry.  I’ll make us some tea.  We can go to Tabby’s for scones.  Won’t that be nice?

Lydia:  Don’t condescend to me Della Francis!  I am a real character, even if I don’t have a last name. 

Della:  Of course you are real.  I can tell you this.  Might make you feel better.  I’ve seen some notes for the next story in the series, and YOU are the main character.  In other words, you’ll have to solve the murder, uh, and I hope you don’t mind, but Jake will not be in the rest of the series.

Lydia:  (!!!!!)

Saturday, September 20, 2014

What is a Marlboro Cake???

Well, the recipe was in the Houston Chronicle this week, and it looked so easy and so decadent that I just had to try it.  It's not very often you can say something is both easy and decadent.  The easy part:  you just mix everything together in a 9 X 13 sheet pan.  The decadent part:  well, the Marlboro part is the decadent part, right?  This recipe is apparently from a cookbook put out by Marlboro, the cigarette company.  I'll have to look up more about that, as it's just crazy.  But it sure has "1950s" written all over it, so is probably true.  Maybe there is a Lucky Strike candy recipe?

Anyway, said cake is in the oven and I shall return with a photo and critique....

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Coconut Pound Cake..... well, with a little variation

I just made this cake for a church picnic tomorrow.  The problem with cakes is that you can't taste-test until show time.  I hope it's good.  It did turn out of the pan nicely.  This recipe came from the March/April 2011 issue of Southern Lady magazine.  What did I change?  I used vanilla extract instead of coconut flavoring (in both cake and glaze), and I used half a package of Baker's sweetened coconut instead of a can of flaked coconut.

Well, it looks like we'll have to wait for the photos until I can get back on my computer.  See you later.

Back on 9/16 to add the photos.






Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Pralines aux Amandes

I had some ingredients I needed to use up, so I concocted this variation yesterday, using Mother's tried and true praline recipe as a guide.  What I changed:  almonds instead of pecans (and I had about 1 1/2 cups total - mostly blanched and chopped but some blanched and slivered mixed in); a few drops of almond extract instead of the teaspoon of vanilla; and almost two cups of super fine sugar in the milk and sugar mixture - the rest was regular, and I used regular to caramelize.  I also, and this might have been my downfall, added a pinch of soda right after (or was it right before??) I added the caramelized sugar.  Boy did it boil up!  I had to turn the heat down so low to keep it from coming out of the pot that I ended up putting my computer chair in the kitchen so I could sit and relieve the back pain that, strangely, only comes when I cook.  But then I decided I didn't want to spend my Labor Day watching the candy pot, so I divided it - put maybe less than half in the pot with the glass lid.  I cooked this new mixture a little less - and used the old-fashioned drop in a cup of water to determine soft ball stage.  These actually turned out quite well.  They look creamy, but I wanted to get them dropped before the other pot turned too hard, so I poured part of it in an aluminum pie plate (I'll call this 'caramel almond fudge').  The first pot I cooked to nearly 234 degrees, but I guess there was more of it (?) and it took a long time to harden.  But it did harden before bedtime, and this morning it all looks pretty good.  So far no white spots that are the bane of the praline maker.


Note the swirly rivers of (I'm guessing) butter?  Milk?  Yes, nice rivers of cream rather than those vile splotches I usually get.  Maybe I can remember and repeat, but you know I always want to change multiple things.

The taste is another matter.  I think it might have been better with vanilla extract instead of almond.  But I'm really eager to try almond liqueur, if I can just find a very small bottle.  And next time I should toast the almonds a bit.

Just wanted to get this down so I'll know what I did when I want to do this again.

And while I'm here.... I really want to learn to make - is it called couverture?  The chocolate covering for truffles.  I bought some hatch chili truffles at CM and so now I'm back on truffles...

Update at 5 pm.  They really taste pretty good.  Maybe the flavors just needed to meld.  Or maybe I just needed to be hungry and in need of a sugar fix.

This was fun.  I hope to see you again soon....

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Blondies

I made some of these for the book club tomorrow night.  I used a 9 x 13 Pyrex and lowered the oven to 325 degrees.  It took a little longer than the twenty minutes the recipe calls for.  I used blanched slivered almonds instead of pecans.  Verdict to come later.

This is my aunt's recipe.

Blondies

3/4 stick butter
1 c brown sugar
1 egg, beaten well
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter and stir in sugar.  Allow to cool, then add egg and vanilla, and then remaining ingredients.  Stir until smooth and put in dish and bake 20 minutes or until done.

Verdict:  Very good, and the texture was fine (not too crisp, but cooked enough).  It might need a little more flavor, though - maybe next time I'll add a little almond extract along with the vanilla.  (They are all gone now, so I guess others liked them too!)