I watched a fascinating show, today, on the North American Marten, a smallish omnivore that is related to wolverines, skunks, minks, badgers, ferrets, and weasels. The narrator mentioned that the Marten is known as an "indicator species", an animal whose species-health mirrors the health of its ecosystem. The more I thought about this concept, the more intrigued I became about the idea of humans being an indicator species. If beings from another planet came to visit Earth, what would our existence reflect? Just what would other-worldly beings deduce from watching and observing us?
Well, if we were observed this past weekend as an indicator species, the observers would devine that we liked green and yellow, we wore large blocks of cheese on our heads, we screamed while large males slammed against each other.....this after chasing one another, and we regularly waved yellow towels over our heads.
The observers would also see that the section of our country called Hollywood contains humans who preen over themselves in mirrors, embellish themselves in unnatural ways in natural places, collect baubles and bangles that they flaunt shamelessly, make rabbit procreation look like child's play, forget words to important patriotic songs and dance about like puppets on strings. It would be noted that large parts of the earth are covered by either water or snow, that Polar Bears are struggling in their native habitats but the American Bald Eagle is thriving.
They would see that pomp and circumstance is alive and well in Great Britain, that speculation runs rampant regarding ceremonial white dresses, and that commemorative tea cups are in large supply. They would observe large, ocean-going vessels traveling rapidly between Wal-Mart headquarters and China with America imports from Beijing flooding westward but minimal exports traveling east-bound.
As an indicator species, we might communicate to outsiders that while our ecosystem is in jeopardy, we remain blissfully ignorant and disinterested. Perhaps we should take a page out of the Marten's playbook and begin eating squirrels, mice, rabbits, birds, fish, insects, eggs......with the occasional addition of fruit and nuts.
I'm OK with this but I draw the line with ants and cockroaches. No sir.
Ancora imparo
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
First I Chopped, Then I Stirred
I'm in the throes of a culinary classic day. Hopefully not a chaotic culinary day, but the phone does keep ringing and I keep talking while cooking. I've already made one gaffe, leaving out soy flour in the first batch of granola, but this is an exclusion that should not affect the flavor nor ultimate texture. Dodged the cook's bullet on that one.
Early morning efforts resulted in a turkey-vegetable soup simmering in the crockpot, a first batch of granola in the oven, the second granola batch waiting on the counter for the granola-making pan to become available, one cup of butter softening in the sunlight soon to become green and yellow sugar cookies later in the afternoon (Go Pack!), and three bags of Grandpa's frozen asparagus thawing in the dutch oven, ready to become cream of asparagus soup.
A small crisis was averted earlier today when I discovered that Great-Granny's sugar-cookie recipe was missing from my shoe-box-converted-to-a-recipe box. I had to move to Cookie-Plan B, after spending nearly an hour searching for the old recipe. Sugar cookie recipes are not difficult to come by but Great Granny's formula used oil, creating a unique texture not often found in sugar cookies. I'm hoping that some other relative of Great Granny's will have the recipe so that I can return it to my cadre of family favorites.
I'll be anxious to taste the turkey-vegetable soup. I'm becoming more adventuresome with spices and this pot of soup includes three new spice additions to the broth: Tequila-lime seasoning, horseradish powder, and oregano. Hopefully these three will be complementary flavors to my standard choices of dried celery, ground orange peel, and dried basil. I'd love to cook more with garlic but no one wants to get more than ten feet away from someone who has ingested garlic. It is no wonder that garlic is supposed to help keep a person healthy. No one ever wants to get close enough to share their germs.
Lastly, I'm hoping that my Green-Bay-Packer-tribute cookies turn out. I know they will taste good but I've not used yellow food coloring before in a cookie batter. Red and green, yes - yellow - no. Here's hoping for success, both in the kitchen and on the playing field.
Did I mention, "Go Packers"?
Ancora imPackero
Early morning efforts resulted in a turkey-vegetable soup simmering in the crockpot, a first batch of granola in the oven, the second granola batch waiting on the counter for the granola-making pan to become available, one cup of butter softening in the sunlight soon to become green and yellow sugar cookies later in the afternoon (Go Pack!), and three bags of Grandpa's frozen asparagus thawing in the dutch oven, ready to become cream of asparagus soup.
A small crisis was averted earlier today when I discovered that Great-Granny's sugar-cookie recipe was missing from my shoe-box-converted-to-a-recipe box. I had to move to Cookie-Plan B, after spending nearly an hour searching for the old recipe. Sugar cookie recipes are not difficult to come by but Great Granny's formula used oil, creating a unique texture not often found in sugar cookies. I'm hoping that some other relative of Great Granny's will have the recipe so that I can return it to my cadre of family favorites.
I'll be anxious to taste the turkey-vegetable soup. I'm becoming more adventuresome with spices and this pot of soup includes three new spice additions to the broth: Tequila-lime seasoning, horseradish powder, and oregano. Hopefully these three will be complementary flavors to my standard choices of dried celery, ground orange peel, and dried basil. I'd love to cook more with garlic but no one wants to get more than ten feet away from someone who has ingested garlic. It is no wonder that garlic is supposed to help keep a person healthy. No one ever wants to get close enough to share their germs.
Lastly, I'm hoping that my Green-Bay-Packer-tribute cookies turn out. I know they will taste good but I've not used yellow food coloring before in a cookie batter. Red and green, yes - yellow - no. Here's hoping for success, both in the kitchen and on the playing field.
Did I mention, "Go Packers"?
Ancora imPackero
Friday, February 4, 2011
Move Those Gear Shifters!
Our English language has many differing phrases for the concept of change. We alternately hear words such as changing of the guard, new kid on the block, new sheriff in town, changing of hands.....all of which usually refer to an alteration or variance in leadership. As an attendant change in leadership, we often hear phrases which indicate a shifting of atmosphere such as breath of fresh air, change of pace, or change of scenery.
Throughout time and on a broad scale, change has been seen both positively and negatively, has not always occurred willingly but usually has significantly altered the course of history. On smaller and local scales, change has suffered the same fate as its broadly based cousin, often colliding with opposing viewpoints from the moment of inception of the proposed change.
Those who bravely and boldly promote and propose change are not always welcomed within their societal circles and may be viewed with suspicion, disregard, disrespect, or if they are lucky, simple skepticism and resistance. Being a proponent of change can be a lonely road to travel, especially if one is swimming against the established 'rules of the road' or those who have been accustomed to leading without challenge.
What is it within our human psyche that prevents most of us from welcoming change or giving ear to those who would propose change? Are we simply guarding our sandboxes, preventing others from playing the game, or reacting protectively in order to defend 'the way we've always done it'? If we, the followers, never challenge our leader (or leaders) to look at a problem or issue in a different light, then are we not also to blame for hindering real progress? Are ineffectual leaders opposed to change simply because they are stubborn, blind to its possible efficacy or too immersed in their own hubris to be able to consider possible alternatives?
When did considering new options, new opinions and those who deliver them become passe and unacceptable? Can we not hope for objectivity, innovation and inspiration from our leaders? I am not proposing throwing out the proverbial baby with the bath water but I am all for looking at babies of differing skin color, considering differently shaped bath tubs and trying alternative temperatures of water. Who knows, maybe we could become so progressive that we could even evaluate the temperature with a different thermometer?
Let's all move our standard transmissions out of reverse and into forward. Automatic does not get the job done.
Ancora imparo
Throughout time and on a broad scale, change has been seen both positively and negatively, has not always occurred willingly but usually has significantly altered the course of history. On smaller and local scales, change has suffered the same fate as its broadly based cousin, often colliding with opposing viewpoints from the moment of inception of the proposed change.
Those who bravely and boldly promote and propose change are not always welcomed within their societal circles and may be viewed with suspicion, disregard, disrespect, or if they are lucky, simple skepticism and resistance. Being a proponent of change can be a lonely road to travel, especially if one is swimming against the established 'rules of the road' or those who have been accustomed to leading without challenge.
What is it within our human psyche that prevents most of us from welcoming change or giving ear to those who would propose change? Are we simply guarding our sandboxes, preventing others from playing the game, or reacting protectively in order to defend 'the way we've always done it'? If we, the followers, never challenge our leader (or leaders) to look at a problem or issue in a different light, then are we not also to blame for hindering real progress? Are ineffectual leaders opposed to change simply because they are stubborn, blind to its possible efficacy or too immersed in their own hubris to be able to consider possible alternatives?
When did considering new options, new opinions and those who deliver them become passe and unacceptable? Can we not hope for objectivity, innovation and inspiration from our leaders? I am not proposing throwing out the proverbial baby with the bath water but I am all for looking at babies of differing skin color, considering differently shaped bath tubs and trying alternative temperatures of water. Who knows, maybe we could become so progressive that we could even evaluate the temperature with a different thermometer?
Let's all move our standard transmissions out of reverse and into forward. Automatic does not get the job done.
Ancora imparo
Man and Beast - Compadres
Forgive me for spending so much time writing about snow but that has been the big story-maker as of late. I am thankful that we did not receive ice because heavy snow does not, as a rule, create power outages.....unless a power line becomes downed for some un-snow (my word) related reason.
I ventured outside today, the second time since the BLIZZARD. It was a quick scamper to put a letter in the mailbox and to retrieve the newspaper. After my posting about nocturnal plasterers, it was a different landscape than I witnessed before. My neighborhood looks just like the post-snow pictures being shown, both in print and on the small screen, of houses dwarfed by mammoth piles of snow. My favorite pictures are those that have a human or a vehicle next to the drift or piled snow in order to demonstrate scale. There are some impressively tall snow mountains!
The day of our blizzard, when I could see outdoors for any distance from my comfortable and warm indoor space, I was fascinated by the birds. The occasional pair of Northern Cardinals would brave their way to my neighbor's feeders and, as I observed them being shaken about by the strong winds, I wondered how their tiny claws could hold on to anything long enough to grab seed with their beaks. Two doves, or something resembling doves from a distance, huddled together on a tree branch, their feathers all puffed out, undoubtedly attempting to maintain any body warmth they could muster. Earlier that morning when I went downstairs to check out how high the drifts were against the condo, I came, literally, face-to-face with one dove-like bird perched on the brick ledge outside a bedroom window. The bird barely moved, resembling a giant puffball and, at first, I thought it might be either dead or in peril. I squatted down, getting eye level with the bird, who seemed to be oblivious to my presence on the other side of the glass. After thirty seconds, or so, the bird did move its head in a shaking motion, as if to throw off the snowflakes that were trying to make the bird and the snowy ledge one. I stayed with the bird for about three minutes, careful to remain motionless so as to not scare the bird away from its snowy sanctuary, where a giant drift behind it was acting as a wind-buffer. Wanting my SO to see the bird, I left the room but when I returned, the tiny creature was gone. I was able to peer out beneath the ledge and could ascertain that the bird was not lying motionless on the snow below the window.
I thought about that bird all day, feeling guilty for being toasty and safe within the confines of my condo, knowing that wildlife of all kinds were struggling with the winds and snow. Yesterday and this morning, the bird and squirrel activity is back to it normal level and I am preparing to leave to run errands. Man and beast are compadres yet again.
Ancora imparo
I ventured outside today, the second time since the BLIZZARD. It was a quick scamper to put a letter in the mailbox and to retrieve the newspaper. After my posting about nocturnal plasterers, it was a different landscape than I witnessed before. My neighborhood looks just like the post-snow pictures being shown, both in print and on the small screen, of houses dwarfed by mammoth piles of snow. My favorite pictures are those that have a human or a vehicle next to the drift or piled snow in order to demonstrate scale. There are some impressively tall snow mountains!
The day of our blizzard, when I could see outdoors for any distance from my comfortable and warm indoor space, I was fascinated by the birds. The occasional pair of Northern Cardinals would brave their way to my neighbor's feeders and, as I observed them being shaken about by the strong winds, I wondered how their tiny claws could hold on to anything long enough to grab seed with their beaks. Two doves, or something resembling doves from a distance, huddled together on a tree branch, their feathers all puffed out, undoubtedly attempting to maintain any body warmth they could muster. Earlier that morning when I went downstairs to check out how high the drifts were against the condo, I came, literally, face-to-face with one dove-like bird perched on the brick ledge outside a bedroom window. The bird barely moved, resembling a giant puffball and, at first, I thought it might be either dead or in peril. I squatted down, getting eye level with the bird, who seemed to be oblivious to my presence on the other side of the glass. After thirty seconds, or so, the bird did move its head in a shaking motion, as if to throw off the snowflakes that were trying to make the bird and the snowy ledge one. I stayed with the bird for about three minutes, careful to remain motionless so as to not scare the bird away from its snowy sanctuary, where a giant drift behind it was acting as a wind-buffer. Wanting my SO to see the bird, I left the room but when I returned, the tiny creature was gone. I was able to peer out beneath the ledge and could ascertain that the bird was not lying motionless on the snow below the window.
I thought about that bird all day, feeling guilty for being toasty and safe within the confines of my condo, knowing that wildlife of all kinds were struggling with the winds and snow. Yesterday and this morning, the bird and squirrel activity is back to it normal level and I am preparing to leave to run errands. Man and beast are compadres yet again.
Ancora imparo
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Snow Daze
How well I remember 'snow days' when the children were younger. I was always fortunate enough to teach in districts whose snow days coincided with the snow days of the kids. Capt. SO worked in corporate America and I honestly do not remember him ever having work cancelled due to snow or any other of Mother Nature's bag-of-tricks. (One of my spelling asides.....sorry. Did you know that it is acceptable to spell cancelled with one or two l's? One 'l' is considered American spelling, two l's is the British preferred spelling. Oh, the things I learn every day!) Because he traveled a great deal he was probably out of town on most occasions when the deepest snowfalls occurred and it would have been the kids shoveling and me operating my dad's trusty old behemoth of a snow blower.
Our old Sears snowblower was a heavy thing and it had more than a few quirks.....like flooding easily, a broken throttle lever and a Quixotic pull chord (no automatic start) that liked to recoil unexpectedly. That, plus the fact that my arm wasn't quite long enough to pull the chord all the way out, made for many an interesting interaction between it and me. Not to mention the choice words that usually flew out of my mouth when the chord would suddenly retract, trying to take my shoulder socket with it.
Because Dad's snowblower was heavy and had chains on the wheels, it would rumble through most snows easily. It's weight could be problematic, though, especially when blowing a driveway that had a slight lateral pitch to it, which describes our last home's driveway. That driveway presented a continual challenge to me when using the blower because I would have to 'man'handle the behemoth......preventing it from sliding off the driveway, down a slight embankment with me still attached to it. The old machine and I always stayed upright and united - thankfully.
As I type, I can see two roads from my laptop. One, our neighborhood street, has movement on it today, whereas yesterday no one could move because the plows had not been through. The other road is a state highway which, yesterday, had little to no traffic. People heeded the warning of public safety officials and stayed off the roads, perhaps because they could not get out of their front doors, let alone their garages. With the second 'snow day' in a row having been declared, I'm sensing that the thrill is gone and students and adults alike are getting a bit stir crazy. The snow days are quickly morphing into snow daze. Perhaps the students will actually welcome the return of classes....whenever that occurs, which will not be soon enough for the adults of the households, I'm certain.
Stay safe and stay warm. The groundhog did not see his shadow. Spring is a-comin'!
Ancora imparo
Our old Sears snowblower was a heavy thing and it had more than a few quirks.....like flooding easily, a broken throttle lever and a Quixotic pull chord (no automatic start) that liked to recoil unexpectedly. That, plus the fact that my arm wasn't quite long enough to pull the chord all the way out, made for many an interesting interaction between it and me. Not to mention the choice words that usually flew out of my mouth when the chord would suddenly retract, trying to take my shoulder socket with it.
Because Dad's snowblower was heavy and had chains on the wheels, it would rumble through most snows easily. It's weight could be problematic, though, especially when blowing a driveway that had a slight lateral pitch to it, which describes our last home's driveway. That driveway presented a continual challenge to me when using the blower because I would have to 'man'handle the behemoth......preventing it from sliding off the driveway, down a slight embankment with me still attached to it. The old machine and I always stayed upright and united - thankfully.
As I type, I can see two roads from my laptop. One, our neighborhood street, has movement on it today, whereas yesterday no one could move because the plows had not been through. The other road is a state highway which, yesterday, had little to no traffic. People heeded the warning of public safety officials and stayed off the roads, perhaps because they could not get out of their front doors, let alone their garages. With the second 'snow day' in a row having been declared, I'm sensing that the thrill is gone and students and adults alike are getting a bit stir crazy. The snow days are quickly morphing into snow daze. Perhaps the students will actually welcome the return of classes....whenever that occurs, which will not be soon enough for the adults of the households, I'm certain.
Stay safe and stay warm. The groundhog did not see his shadow. Spring is a-comin'!
Ancora imparo
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Nocturnal Plasterers
Today I will write about being plastered. As we all know, becoming plastered, in one regard, could be a lot of fun, although there would be subsequent ramifications such as too many calories, feeling retched - even retching, hung over, and worse yet, the unintended consequences of driving under the influence. So, no, today's posting does not refer to that definition of plastered.
I am, however, referring to the plastering that has occurred to the landscape and our condo over the last eighteen hours. We are covered in white. In fact, I could say that we are 'white as snow', because that is exactly what has blanketed everything. Looking outside I see either flat, deep snow or deep snow and tall snow drifts. The combination of snow and wind blasted against windows has left the windows half-covered in a snowy concoction that resembles a white flour and water paste. As a child, during the holiday seasons, my mother always bought spray cans of this white, gooey stuff that, when sprayed on our doors and windows, gave the illusion of snow. I always got the job of 'spraymaster' and would look forward, each year, to my opportunity to make a condoned mess.
Last night, Mother Nature took over as spraymaster. Not only did she coat the condo windows in my neighborhood, but she brought her plasterers with her and sprayed the sides of our brick condos with plaster....or so it appears. After her plasterers finished their work, she brought in her dump trucks and dumped massive amounts of snow on decks, walkways, and portions of roofs. She even instructed her crews to pile up so much snow at some front doors so as to make opening up these doors impossible from the inside.
Yes, Mother Nature was busy during the night. I can see (and hear) that she is still busy huffing and puffing but her fury with our part of the nation is diminishing. Now if she would just call in her clean-up crews, we could all get to the stores to re-stock our homes with milk and toilet paper. That is, if the stores still have any!
May you all be warm and safe this day.
Ancora imparo
I am, however, referring to the plastering that has occurred to the landscape and our condo over the last eighteen hours. We are covered in white. In fact, I could say that we are 'white as snow', because that is exactly what has blanketed everything. Looking outside I see either flat, deep snow or deep snow and tall snow drifts. The combination of snow and wind blasted against windows has left the windows half-covered in a snowy concoction that resembles a white flour and water paste. As a child, during the holiday seasons, my mother always bought spray cans of this white, gooey stuff that, when sprayed on our doors and windows, gave the illusion of snow. I always got the job of 'spraymaster' and would look forward, each year, to my opportunity to make a condoned mess.
Last night, Mother Nature took over as spraymaster. Not only did she coat the condo windows in my neighborhood, but she brought her plasterers with her and sprayed the sides of our brick condos with plaster....or so it appears. After her plasterers finished their work, she brought in her dump trucks and dumped massive amounts of snow on decks, walkways, and portions of roofs. She even instructed her crews to pile up so much snow at some front doors so as to make opening up these doors impossible from the inside.
Yes, Mother Nature was busy during the night. I can see (and hear) that she is still busy huffing and puffing but her fury with our part of the nation is diminishing. Now if she would just call in her clean-up crews, we could all get to the stores to re-stock our homes with milk and toilet paper. That is, if the stores still have any!
May you all be warm and safe this day.
Ancora imparo
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
"Something To Talk About"
It's something to talk about and something to shop about if you are an adult. If you are a school-age kid, it is something to dream about. What am I talking about? Why, the BLIZZARD, of course. Bonnie Raitt's song, "Something To Talk About" has two lines in its refrain that reminds me of all of this blizzard hype and speculation: "Let's give them something to talk about, a little mystery to figure out." and that is exactly what the BLIZZARD has given our nation. A respite from all of the other pressing national and world issues. Just for a couple of days we can ignore the current Mid-east crisis, we can forget about the "Tiger Mom" or the controversial mother who gave her child hot sauce, the threat of uber gasoline prices, or the market manipulation that causes the stock market to rise and fall so dramatically on an almost daily basis.
Yes, Mother Nature is providing the backdrop for a welcome distraction and the weather forecasters are providing constant commentary on what might happen......emphasis on the word might. Lines are long at grocery stores, filled with bleary-looking shoppers stocking up on anything they think they might be needing in the next two days. Today one Facebook friend posted a comment about going to the grocery store to buy milk and noting that the toilet paper section was empty. Running out of toilet paper in a blizzard could even be more problematic than running out of milk, don't you think? Imagine all of the plumbing and sewer lines that would become hopelessly clogged with facial tissue, paper towels, or industrial-strength work towels. People with infants would be eye-balling their babies' wipes with malevolent thoughts of absconding with the wipes' box. I can imagine arm-wrestling contests between family members over the last bits of toilet paper on a roll. Families could be in chaos throughout all the regions of our nation affected by the BLIZZARD that might happen.
Personally, I think all of this BLIZZARD talk has been leaked and subsequently promoted by the paper mills in the Fox Valley region of Wisconsin. Their sales reps should be absolutely gleeful about now, envisioning empty warehouses that must be re-filled ASAP with toilet tissue.
No doubt about it......this BLIZZARD has been brought to you by the Paper-Products Producers of America. More news at six and ten! Stay home and stay safe......provided you have enough toilet tissue. Otherwise venture out with trepidation and four-wheel drive.
Ancora imparo
Yes, Mother Nature is providing the backdrop for a welcome distraction and the weather forecasters are providing constant commentary on what might happen......emphasis on the word might. Lines are long at grocery stores, filled with bleary-looking shoppers stocking up on anything they think they might be needing in the next two days. Today one Facebook friend posted a comment about going to the grocery store to buy milk and noting that the toilet paper section was empty. Running out of toilet paper in a blizzard could even be more problematic than running out of milk, don't you think? Imagine all of the plumbing and sewer lines that would become hopelessly clogged with facial tissue, paper towels, or industrial-strength work towels. People with infants would be eye-balling their babies' wipes with malevolent thoughts of absconding with the wipes' box. I can imagine arm-wrestling contests between family members over the last bits of toilet paper on a roll. Families could be in chaos throughout all the regions of our nation affected by the BLIZZARD that might happen.
Personally, I think all of this BLIZZARD talk has been leaked and subsequently promoted by the paper mills in the Fox Valley region of Wisconsin. Their sales reps should be absolutely gleeful about now, envisioning empty warehouses that must be re-filled ASAP with toilet tissue.
No doubt about it......this BLIZZARD has been brought to you by the Paper-Products Producers of America. More news at six and ten! Stay home and stay safe......provided you have enough toilet tissue. Otherwise venture out with trepidation and four-wheel drive.
Ancora imparo
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