new blog site

Am now posting at "blogfromlillie.blogspot.com"

It never occurred to me that I would still be blogging, and instead of creating new blog sites when I go back and forth from France, have decided to just TRY TO stick to one. Let me know if it doesn't work; lillie.crowley@gmail.com

best, lillie

yet another ecclesiastical rant (I suppose that's what one should call it...)

Okay, so I'm a "recovering" Texas Southern Baptist (the "recovering" part has meant a great deal of grief from some parts, actually, as it means I left the Texas Southern Baptist church...). I married into a serious Roman Catholic family; my father-in-law, whom I adored, was a Texas Baptist who became a Roman Catholic, so this is all complicated...

HOWEVER, there are actually problems.

Longstanding. I love the liturgy, but have some problems with the Catholic hierarchy...

and yesterday, I heard a story on All Things Considered (that liberal Left-Wing Dem station...) about a Roman Catholic woman in Arizona. She is 24 or 25 or so, mother of four, pregnant with her fifth child, 11 weeks pregnant. Is admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital, a Roman Catholic hospital in Phoenix, AZ, seriously ill. She was desperately ill, with heart failure (cause(s) and symptoms not explicit, other than the consensus that she was dying), and all doctors involved were of the opinion that (a) she was dying and (b) she MIGHT survive if (IF) she had an abortion and (c) both she and the baby were going to die IF she didn't have an abortion. The Roman Catholic nun on the staff, also the liaison with the local diocese, at the hospital gave approval to her medical staff for her to have an abortion, as both would die otherwise. So she had an abortion, and is evidently on the road to recovery, so she can (we assume) now tend to her four live children...

The bishop got wind of this, and what did he do? Notwithstanding all the allegations/admissions/convictions of pedophilia, etc., few followed even by de-frocking, and NOT A SINGLE ONE followed by excommunication...what does he do? he EXCOMMUNICATES the Roman Catholic nun who approved the abortion...

And Rand Paul is now the Republican nominee for Jim Bunning's seat in the U.S. Senate...go figure. Rand Paul thoroughly thumped the McConnell-anointed successor to Bunning, Trey Greyson. Like I said, go figure...

Cheers, Lillie

more random thoughts

I am actually not going to say anything here about the blow-out in the gulf of mexico...

some of the folks who were here on Saturday at the graduation gig (not sure there were any actual graduates involved this year...I don't ask these questions anymore, though)...it was pretty much a success, and the only reason I think I may actually do it again next year is because I got SO MANY compliments on the food and drink as well as the setting, etc. Unfortunately, the setting wasn't ideal this time, as it was not typical mid-May weather this time. It didn't rain, but it was too cold, too windy, etc. I had a seriously large number of very large potatoes to use with the potato guns, but nobody used them because it was too cold to do anything much outside. bummer. But what the **** does one do with 30+ pounds of potatoes?!? toss some of them, cook some of them, give some of them away...

Many thanks to Eula, as well as Gretchen and Charles Tremoulet, for helping out at the party. Lots of interesting people to talk to; I was unfortunately so tired from staying up so late cooking on Friday night that I confess I didn't enjoy it much. Evidently pretty much everybody else did, though. I did the planning, shopping, prep, and cooking; Eula did kitchen support (with compensation...); Phil and Martin did the yard work and set-up; Gretchen and Charles did a ton of the rest of the work; and Eula cleaned up everything that nobody else had afterward...

I will at least consider continuing the tradition, and I admit I enjoy a lot of it, but it's a LOT of work...and I also admit that I've become much better at it, so there...

I wish I had done our tax returns...

At least I don't feel so bad now; Elena Kagan is as short as I am now...

My new problems with my back and knees have me seriously worried...

It's even colder in the Dordogne right now than it is here...AND there's this problem with the volcano in Iceland...we may not actually be able to get to France in a couple of weeks...

Cheers, Lillie

food and parties

So yesterday was the fourth (fifth? third? sixth?) annual "graduation" party out here at the farm. I have lost count, and I am not at all certain that any of the graduate students who were here yesterday were actually graduates. I suspect not; but it has at any rate turned into a tradition (although I'm not sure how long it will last, as I am seriously TIRED!).

Evidently the food got a "10", or close to it, at any rate, although the weather did NOT. It was windy and cold, COLD. Not sure it got up to 60 degrees yesterday. And we couldn't put tablecloths on the serving tables, because of the wind. It was COLD.

Menu included but was not limited to:

Mint juleps

Pop

beer

wine

Smoked salmon rolls (rolled around goat cheese, EVOO, fresh ground pepper, chives) more or less invented by yours truly

Charred bell peppers (not green!), with VG mozzarella, red onion, served on romaine lettuce, with a vinaigrette containing anchovies as well as garlic.

Bruschetta topped with tomatoes briefly cooked in a great deal of EVOO that had a great deal of chopped garlic not cooked in it for very long, smeared or spread on the bread, topped with shaved Parmesan cheese

Country ham and sausage meatballs baked in brown sugar, vinegar, and Dijon mustard in it.

Roast chicken salad (?) actually supposed to be made from bar-b-qued turkey legs purchased (very good, I might add..) at the WIndmill Quick stop or whatever it is in Raisin, Tex, between Victoria and Goliad.

Roast pork (spiced with Chinese stuff, served with Wasabi Mayo), was not a huge hit, at least in the a limited group with no prejudices about either mayo or Wasabi. So there..

That's not all, but hey, it's late...

wisteria

First the really, REALLY good news...

ever since the first time I saw the wisteria blooming on that huge wall at Hampton Court (where Henry VIII wooed and seduced Anne Boleyn, et al.), I have wanted to see blooming wisteria at my house/on my house/on our fence, or whatever.

I think that first time may have been in 1983 maybe.

At any rate, almost as soon as we moved to the stone house on Cochran Road in 1984 (I think, and it seemed pretty much English, although Hampton Court was dark red VERY OLD brick), I have been trying to grow wisteria.

It is gorgeous when it is blooming, it smells good, and the plant is graceful. So I planted some "wisteria" at the base of the stone wall on Cochran by the patio. Turned out it wasn't actually wisteria; it was wygelia (wigelia?) something like that. although I had purchased the plant from a "reputable" garden center. It was (and probably still is) a lovely plant, though, with very nice flowers in the spring, which while they are not ACTUALLY wisteria flowers, are not really UNLIKE wisteria.

So then I planted actual wisteria plants both by the curved wall in the living room at that house (very near the Wygelia plant), and on the back, by the back bedroom. Despite all my best efforts, doing everything (EVERYTHING) anybody told me to do, NONE of these plants every bloomed. They did basically grow like weeds. Had to be cut back frequently, which I have on good authority is common.

But I gave up hope of ever having actual wisteria blossoms on my yard and/or land.

But last spring when we were doing work on the back yard in preparation for Sarah and Aaron's wedding, I got Clif Maehr to put in a wisteria vine up next to that fence, on a whim. And a MIRACLE occurred this past week: the ****** thing is BLOOMING! Amazing.

I suspect that I should not get used to it; the superstitious person inside me suspects that this will be the ONLY year the wretched plant will actually bloom.

I should take photos. Like tomorrow; it may not last...

Cheers, Lillie

Various rants

1. Airline travel. Volcanic ash...this is a natural event/"disaster" and one can't fault the governments and airlines for worrying about it. But how about if they quit assuming I'm a terrorist (late middle age American female, Ph.D., Caucasian, slightly disabled, usually carrying a computer, hard-to-remove shoes with custom-made industrial-strength inserts so I can actually walk without much difficulty, never, NEVER have set off an alarm, no arrests, much less criminal record, although a few tickets for speeding and failure-to-obey-stop-signs over 45 years of driving)? I ALWAYS get searched. My luggage ALWAYS gets searched. I am always thirsty, and now I can't carry anything liquid onto a plane. The latest insult is that on international flights I can no longer have my glass of Scotch before dinner without shelling out real money for it.

This summer I plan to take onto the plane, if, IF they will let me, a couple of those little bottles of Scotch you can purchase for an outrageous price (albeit less than they will charge me if I buy it from Delta) onto the plane is a Ziploc bag. Stay tuned.

2. The oil spill in the Gulf. Evidently BP is claiming today that they are not "responsible" for the spill, because the company (whoever it is) they outsourced something or other to is actually responsible for the failure of whatever it is that caused the explosion/blowout/whatever that resulted in the spill.

Give me a break. BP is the company that drilled/owned/whatever the well, and has been making buckets of money of late from this offshore drilling. As far as I'm concerned, BP is responsible for whoever or whatever company they outsource whatever to, and also for whatever results from same. The oil companies have gotten a free pass for far too long for whatever they did so we can have cheap oil/fuel here in the US. They can sue the company that screwed up if they want, but I'll bet they gave the contract to the company, whoever it is, who made the lowest bit, which they were able (probably/possibly) to do because they cut corners on safety issues. BP is ultimately responsible, as far as I'm concerned. And BP should be held responsible not only (NOT ONLY) for the damage done or inflicted, and clean-up of same, but also for lost wages and income of all those people put out of work by the damage from the spill. And they should be responsible not JUST for the cleanup, but also for whatever expense is incurred in restoring the marshes and wetlands that appear to be likely to be destroyed to viability.

Katrina was a natural disaster. All or most of the destruction in New Orleans was directly traceable to the Army Corps of Engineers. But problems in the delta and marshlands, etc., was NOT caused by the Corps of Engineers. This oil spill, however, and all the damage it will cause, is caused by negligence on the part of BP, and BP should be held accountable.

So there.

Cheers, Lillie

random thoughts on Derby Day

Weather is wretched for the Derby. Rain. Lots of it. We will probably go to a Derby party anyway. Sarah and Aaron are having a Derby Party for friends of theirs in NYC. Including mint juleps, etc. 14 people. Aaron evidently discovered a basketball game he had scheduled this morning, so Sarah is left to prepare for the gig. She phoned a couple of times, and commented that preparing for a party is a LOT of work. I allowed as how I am well aware of this. And I have yet another graduation party I'm working on right now, but that's not really as tough as the parties we used to do for seminar speakers. They were always, ALWAYS on Thursday evenings; I was working full-time; and we had two kids in school.

Some of these hats at the Derby are not just gaudy, but appalling. And if you are at Churchill Downs, you can pay $1,000 for a mint julep. I assume you get to keep the sterling silver julep cup. It's a fundraiser, of course.

I think BP should have to pay the ENTIRE cost associated with cleaning up this oil spill, and I mean ALL of it, including replacing income lost by all those fishermen down there in the Louisiana delta. There is blathering in the paper whining that the government should have done more. This disaster is totally different from the hurricane in N.O. The government was actually responsible (Corps of Engineers, folks!) for soooo much of the damage. That was a natural disaster aggravated by government incompetence. This disaster is caused by corporate incompetence and corporate greed.

crisis averted

The cat is found...he has come out of hiding. Martin is no longer worried...all is well...

Do I care? only because I no longer have to listen to worries that he's lost...

Cheers...

This and that

I suspect that in May and June, central Kentucky is probably the most beautiful place on earth. (October is usually lovely, too). It also has the highest pollen count in the world during May and June. I guess you can't have everything.

I don't like cats. Martin loves cats. I just spent most of the day going with him to adopt a new cat. Since we need an outdoor cat, we had to get an older one. Came home with a brown tabby male. Had lived in the shelter all his life (he's a year old), and was clearly terrified at doing anything different. So Martin set up a litter box, food and water in the other room in his cabin (not his bedroom), took him out of the cage and put him on the litter box, and went outside to put away the mower and gas cans before leaving for rehearsal. When he went back in, the cat was (and is) nowhere to be found. He is either so freaked out that he's hiding somewhere in the cabin where Martin can't find him, OR he managed to slip out unnoticed when Martin opened the door.

So Martin is distraught. He asked me how likely it is that we'll find him. I said that, if he's hiding in the cabin, it's 100% certain we'll find him. If he got out, who knows...

I am really, really, REALLY tired of being a grown-up.

So there...

thoughts on things in general

Am I the only person who has decided that virtually everyone involved in state or federal government, politics at almost any level, university politics, and/or pretty much ANY position of influence or power is virtually by definition compromised, e.g., fundamentally crooked, or has at the very least "sold out" to some sort of power structure?

I do hope the duck breast prosciutto I just peppered and hung out to dry is good...

the pancetta I made is (!) mediocre.

Life is short.

One should eat well, spend time only with genuine friends, relatives one loves, let go of grudges (thank you, Judy!), drink well...SO THERE..

Cheers, Lillie

Charcuterie, once again

Turns out my pancetta is okay. The mold on it doesn't mean it's gone bad, especially since it otherwise looks and smells really, really good. I'll cook some tomorrow, and we'll see...

Gretchen asked me about the smoker...huh? I haven't cranked it up yet, although I did buy a bag of charcoal and some mesquite chips and a can of starter fluid...will report after I do something with it.

Cheers, Lillie

My career as a charcutiere

This is an update....

I have twice (three times?) now made duck breast prosciutto using that recipe in Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie book. It has been GREAT. After I take it down and start slicing it to eat, it doesn't seem to keep well, e.g., sliced, but the stuff is really, really good.

My first batch of cured salmon using their recipe was also very good, although Phil didn't like it that much because it tasted too much of fennel. It did have a whole fennel bulb, fennel seeds, Pernod, and a few things like that in it. I liked it.

So the next time, I made it with dill weed and dill seeds instead. It was underwhelming. I have in the past made gravlax using (more or less) Julia Child's recipe, and this stuff wasn't as good. And I frequently make salmon tartare, which is always a hit. and yes, I made that one up...

I used the Charcuterie book method for making sauerkraut. It was, shall we say, not just NOT a success, but seriously not a success. I threw it out.

I have had several plans to make sausage of various sorts, purchased a meat grinder attachment to my Kitchenaid mixer, also a sausage suffer gizmo, and lately have purchased a charcoal smoker thing. I have also on a couple of occasions started sausage, but haven't yet worked up the nerve to actually DO it. Stay tuned.

My latest effort is a serious (I think) disappointment. Pancetta. You "cure" this pork belly like you're going to make bacon, for a couple of days, season it some more, roll it up, tie it, wrap it in cheesecloth, tie it up some more, and hang it in a cool place for awhile, until the texture changes. And then you have pancetta, e.g., un-smoked, WONDERFUL Italian bacon. All of us were thrilled when I discovered this stuff. It's great.

So I made some. Did all the stuff it said, let it hang in the pantry for awhile (the pantry in our house, where the washer, dryer, extra fridge, freezer, and food storage are, is seriously far from the reach of both the boiler and heat pump, so in the winter, is SERIOUSLY cold, like frequently near freezing, sometimes for long periods of time). Today I worked up the courage to cut it down and take a serious look, with the intent to use it in pasta for dinner.

There was a big problem. Fortunately, I had also purchased some commercially made pancetta at Kroger. The stuff looks great, smells great, except there is sort of a serious amount of mold in the middle, and I don't exactly know whether or not it's safe to eat. So we didn't.

Any advice would be welcome...

And I do still intend to actually stuff sausage, crank up my smoker, and get busy...

Cheers, Lillie

this and that

I've decided that reading political stuff and agonizing over it is bad for my blood pressure. and makes no difference in the long run. So I am ignoring most of it. This unfortunately means I don't get to pay much attention to my favorite newspaper and online sources, but so be it...

Have spent the last several days trying to get all the bits and pieces of paper, not to mention a great deal of much-postponed filing, in folders. This is not just boring; it is also traumatic. And the next time the orthopod at Lexington clinic tries to talk me into letting him do surgery on either of both of my knees (and also offer to pray about it, overdose me with acetaminophen/tylenol, and relegate me to try to get around on crutches with my badly damaged arthritic shoulders and hips...but hey it was all in the official protocol), somebody out there PLEASE STOP ME!!!

I found Christmas cards with lovely photos of beautiful kids that I hadn't managed to open (lots of this from just after the ghastly surgery, that, folks, did NO GOOD...). Also of course there were bills, etc., that have been ignored. I'm trying very hard to get things under control AND to drag myself, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century...

On another front: the duck breast prosciutto is very, very good. Haven't tried the pancetta yet, but it may be very good, too. It's about ready.

And another thing, I bought a charcoal smoker from Lowe's the other day when I bought the new, very sophisticated (compared to the other ones we used to own that were supposed to be not just wonderful, but also indestructible...), grill/outdoor cooker that uses a propane tank. We'll see.

I hate baseball. Even more than I hate basketball...so there...

I'd rather be sewing, cooking, making sausage, etc., and cooking than dealing with boring paperwork. So there...

Cheers, Lillie

food and other things

I finally laid my hands on some more cheesecloth, rolled up the pancetta, and started another batch of duck breast prosciutto (two pieces, one whole breast). They are all hanging now in the pantry. We'll see how it goes. I do need to make some bacon, don't I.

My pal Gretchen is on a real anti-Mitch McConnell trip, and is trying to find a Ditch Mitch bumper sticker for her car. Problem is, he just (barely) was re-elected to yet another term in the Senate last year, so everybody who hates him has given up on trying to make him unemployed. She is having a difficult time finding a Ditch Mitch bumper sticker, so is making one herself. If I hadn't thrown them out, I would give her my old Ditch Mitch yard signs, but I fear they are history.

Cheers, tomorrow is April Fool's Day.

cars

So now Ford, the only American automobile company we the taxpayers do NOT own, is selling Volvo to somebody in China. I remember when Ford acquired Volvo. For awhile at least, Volvo suffered from the new owner; what on earth is going to happen when it's owned by Chinese?

I am seriously not suited for the 21st century.

taxes, tea baggers, and state budgets

I realize this is an anathema to lots (LOTS) of my friends and relatives, but there is something that I have never understood about taxes.

Some things have sales tax on them and others don't. Some of these things I understand. Like clothes, shoes, computers, birthday cards, etc., being subject to sales tax, but food and drugs NOT having sales tax.

The list of things subject to sales tax and the list of things exempt are both extensive, and both vary from state to state. Okay.

However, at least in Kentucky (and I think Kentucky is typical), services are not subject to the sales tax This results in some seriously bizarre situations (and people like lawyers will probably not agree with my logic here...). So if I wash all my own clothes and sheets and towels, etc., and iron my own clothes and shirts, etc., I have to pay sales tax on the following: the washer and dryer; the ironing board; the iron; the detergent, stain remover, bleach, fabric softener, starch, etc., required to do a decent job of washing same. I can probably think of a few other related items if I work on it. HOWEVER, if I take ALL my clothes and laundry to a cleaner who also does laundry, I can get all my clothes cleaned and washed and ironed, and all my linen laundered, ironed, and hung, so long as I can manage to pay their bill, and there is NO SALES TAX to pay. On top of which, I assume that the company that does the cleaning, washing and ironing not only does not pay sales tax on the equipment and products they use, they also deduct these expenses as well as the wages paid to the people who take care of my laundry, AND write off all the taxes, insurance, interest, depreciation, etc., on their equipment and buildings...

This makes no sense to me; it seems only reasonable that I should have to pay sales tax on the bills to get these good people to do my laundry and cleaning for me when I have to pay sales tax on everything required to do all the work myself.

Another example of this: I do not cut my own hair, although I wash it and dry it myself most of the time. I also no longer care for my toenails, etc., although I used to. I do still take care of my fingernails.

But why is it that I must pay sales tax on shampoo, conditioner, dye (although I do not use it, at least not yet!), chemicals, etc. for permanents (don't use them, either, at least not yet!), scissors, mirrors, etc., if I take care of my own hair (my husband used to be my hair-cutter, back when I was young and it was long and straight), but if I get somebody else to take care of it, there's no sales tax on what he or she charges?!? Sorry, folks, it makes NO SENSE to me. I also don't have to pay sales tax to get the guys at the local shop to give me a pedicure, where they provide all the equipment, etc., needed, including little things like nail polish and cream. But if I purchase the products, I must pay sales tax. This makes no sense to me.

UK Basketball -- huh?

HELLO!!! Nobody has told me to score, and as I mentioned earlier, I was banished from the den as I was deemed to be bad luck. Appears it didn't matter. Phil just told me they went down the drain. Martin is not speaking to me...

C'est la vie. C'est le jeu de basketball a Kentucky. Do you think John Calipari should be looking for another job? This seems to be the normal course of events?!?

On the other hand, this was a VERY young, very immature team, etc...

So there.

At least the brackets I chose aren't any worse than those of anybody else in the family...

Cheers, Lillie

food

About the duck breast prosciutto. Have made it twice before and it was really, really good. The stuff I made yesterday needs to be hung wrapped in cheesecloth in the pantry (it's still pretty cool in there, what with not being very warm outside, and the pantry being so far from any heating that it doesn't get actually hot until late summer...AND there's a thermometer on the counter in the room). The problem is that I started this pancetta from pork belly, which wasn't ready to hang before I left for Texas, and should have been dealt with, washed, dried, rolled, peppered, tied and wrapped while I was down there. But it wasn't because I wasn't here (it was in a zip-lock bag in the fridge). So yesterday I washed it, dried it (maybe it was Thursday), peppered it, rolled it, tied it (perhaps not all that well...this is not exactly my forte), wrapped it in the rest of my cheesecloth, and couldn't figure out how to actually hang it on the rod in the pantry where it's cool. It is on the laundry drying rack, which means there is air on all sides, so it can cure, or whatever it is it's supposed to do.

Makes it a bit awkward for hanging clothes on the drying rack.

Also means I need more cheesecloth for the duck breast prosciutto.

ALSO, I was making sauerkraut. From a cabbage. Was not exactly a success. Had to throw it out. Will try again later.

Lillie

trip to Texas

Just got back from Texas last Tuesday. Shorter trip than I'd planned, because my life has been hijacked by my rheumatologist (what exactly is wrong with that word? this editor does NOT like it), who talked me into trying yet another of the biologic drugs, hoping to find a magic bullet to deal with my RA. This is the second. I've already tried Enbrel for several months, and it didn't do squat.

It would be really nice if one of these were to work; it would be lovely to be able to get out of bed at a reasonable hour, and get going asap, etc. I realize that nothing is going to cure the joints that are already rotten, or make my spine 20 years old again, which would also mean that I would once again be almost (ALMOST) 5'5" instead just barely over 5'2". This at least gives me a reasonably good excuse to be short, fat in the mid-section, etc. But I do still have skinny legs, right?!?

And while I'm basically lonely and bored, and not intellectually stimulated like I was when I was working, AND am bored with having to deal with all these chores at home that everybody has been ignoring for > 6 years, I am optimistic. I WILL manage to get re-engaged. I WILL get rid of a whole slew of books we have that NOBODY will ever look at again, which will relieve the pressure to acquire yet more bookshelves. I WILL get the family financial books, home inventory, appraisals, etc., under control. AND I WILL do it while making pancetta, duck breast prosciutto (SOMEBODY please, PLEASE tell me where to get cheesecloth around here for a reasonable price?!?).

Also, while I was in Texas, San Antonio to be exact, specifically Central Market, the high-end grocery store owned and run by HEB, the Texas version of Kroger, I talked to a couple of the folks working there about making cheese. They make their own Mozzarella. I came back with three cartons of their Mozzarella curd. Yesterday I actually worked up the courage to make some Mozzarella from one of them (need to use them all SOON, as the stuff doesn't last very long once you open the package and expose it to air and whatever...she suggested a week, but it's already been longer than that). The boys loved it. I think I left the stuff too long in the brine (salt and water), but must admit it was good.

Stay tuned...

Cheers, Lillie

Kentucky basketball, etc...

So I have been banished from the den because evidently I bring bad luck to the UK basketball team in its effort to beat W. Virginia and get itself in the final four.

The real problem is that they (UK) were actually ahead early in the game and figured it was going to be a blowout. HOWEVER, given that they can't hit 3-pointers, are basically a bunch of very (VERY) talented 13 year old back lot basketball players who are actually 18 and 19 year old UK players, they are actually probably going to lose (unless they get their act together REAL FAST) to a really inferior college team. Notwithstanding the seriously expensive UK basketball coach they now have, John Calipari, with the multi-million dollar pad on the most expensive block of Richmond Road in Lexington, and the serious multi-million dollar "renovations"/"additions" he's doing there. If you aren't familiar with Lexington, Henry Clay's house and what's left of his estate is a block down the road, and Calipari's pad is probably in Ashland Park (all of Ashland Park used to be part of the Henry Clay Estate, which is called Ashland...also, disclaimer here, our house in Lexington on Cochran Road was at the edge of the Henry Clay Estate and was therefore in the Ashland Park subdivision...although it sorta wasn't in the same league as the mansion Calipari inhabits)

The only problem with the UK basketball team at the moment is that, although they are seriously talented, they are sorta immature (is it okay to say that?!?)

I may have to leave and take a LONG vacation in France if they lose tonight, as Martin may be insufferable...

so there...