Easy Gumbo Casserole Recipe

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup finely chopped onions 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper 1 cup finely chopped celery ¼ pound turkey Andouille or other smoked sausage (the precooked kind), cut into ¼ inch rounds 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 cup fresh or frozen okra, thawed if frozen ½ cup clam juice 1 bay leaf 1/3 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined. 1 cup brown rice Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil on stove top in medium-sized Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add onions, red pepper, celery until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add sausage, broth, okra, clam juice, Cajun seasoning, bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Add brown rice, cover, and bake for 45 minutes. Add shrimp, cover, bake for an additional 15 minutes.

My Birthday Cake

My friend Diana baked this cake for my birthday.  Isn't it great???

Late to the Party Again

I finally got around to watching the 2009 Michael Jackson movie, This Is It. It was pretty great. It made me think about how he really was a musical genius, and how crazy it was that at 50, he was still just as skinny as ever and could still totally do dance moves that shouldn't even be humanly possible.

He also comes across as really nice, gentle, and humble--which is funny considering that this is the same person who spontaneously accepted the fictional "Best Performer In the Universe" award and made videos featuring giant statues of himself. I guess we'll never quite figure him out.

Happy Halloween!

Recommended viewing: Mad Monster Party.

English Sausage Dinner

Guy got inspired to make sausage rolls after a big platter of them appeared at the pub in the plotline of one of his TV shows from the seventies about life in the English countryside.

They turned out great! We used frozen puff pastry from the supermarket so it was easy to prepare. To go with it, I made brussels sprouts in garlic butter (I was trying to think of something English) and Dee's Corn & Tomato Salad from The Joy of Cooking.

For dessert, we had Spotted Dick boiled in a can! It's a moist steamed cake, sort of like a coffee cake.

"'Hey, you're from Yonkers? Do you know Stu Burns?"

"It does if you leave it on the stove long enough."

That's a joke from the "What's a Henway?" era of my childhood.

Anyway, last night I made the best stew ever and I wanted to share it. It's modified from a recipe I found online. I added more bay leaves, switched out some of the potatoes for sweet potatoes, added a shallot and peas, and roasted the vegetables instead of frying them. And I replaced the butter with olive oil. The basic ingredients are:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 and 1/4 pounds stew beef (cut in small pieces)
6 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8 bay leaves
2 large sweet potatoes
1 regular potato
Olive oil (for brushing the vegetables)
1 large onion
1 shallot
2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
1 cup frozen peas

The first thing I did was heat the oven to 450 and peel and slice all the vegetables--except the garlic and peas. (I took the peas out of the freezer to let them thaw.) I loaded up 2 tin baking trays with the vegetables and (very) lightly coated them with olive oil.

I tried out my food processor's slicing feature for the first time. It worked really well but sliced very thin, so I only did about half the carrots, a sweet potato and part of the onion this way. The rest I sliced more thickly.

On the first tray, I put 6 bay leaves and a light sprinkling of kosher salt on top. The other one I left plain (except for the olive oil). After a while, the bay leaves started smoking, so I took them off eventually...but they made the kitchen smell really good.

While those roasted, Guy cooked the stew beef. He heated the vegetable oil in a cast iron pan on medium-high heat before adding the meat, then cooked until brown, about 5 minutes.

I then transferred the meat to our large Le Crueset pot and pushed it to the sides so that I could saute the garlic in the middle of the pot for about one minute. I added the beef stock, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and 2 bay leaves, and stirred. The original recipe said "bring to a boil" but I've noticed that it takes a really long time for anything to boil in the Le Crueset so I just waited until it seemed hot and then reduced the heat to medium-low, covered it and simmered for an hour, stirring occasionally.

At some point, I turned off the oven and let the vegetables sit in the oven until it was time to add them to the stew. After the beef had cooked for an hour, I added the roasted vegetables and peas and simmered the stew uncovered for 40 minutes until it thickened.

Success!

Avocado Plant

Have you ever grown a plant from the pit of an avocado? I've been getting interested in plants lately so I decided to try it. It's a slow process. I got my instructions from www.gardenweb.com:

"How do I do it?"

Open the avocado and remove the pit from the center. You can eat the fruit of the avocado, it's yummy and is full of nutrients!*

Wash the avocado pit under cool running water, you don't need soap to clean it. With your fingers gently wipe away and remove any of the green fruit that might be on the pit. Rinse it well and then blot it dry with a paper towel.

Carefully push three toothpicks into the thickest width of avocado, you want to push the toothpicks into the pit about a 1/2" deep. (It's okay if you push them in deeper or even a little less) The toothpicks will help suspend the avocado pit in water and keep the top part of the pit in fresh air and the fat base of the pit under the surface of the water. Be careful pushing in the toothpicks, they have pointy edges and could hurt if they poke your hands, it's all right to ask a grown-up to help with this.

Suspend the pit over a glass filled with water....the toothpicks will rest on the rim of the glass and hold the pit in place so it doesn't sink to the bottom. Always check the water level in the glass and see that the water is covering the fat base of the pit by about an inch depth. If the water is below that level you'll need to add some more. Slowly and carefully pour in more water from a small cup to avoid splashing.

Place the glass in a bright windowsill. In about three to six weeks the top of the avocado pit will begin to split and a stem sprout will emerge from the top and roots will begin to grow at the base.

When the stem grows to about five or six inches pinch out the top set of leaves. In another two or three weeks new leaves will sprout and their will be more roots.

It's now time to plant the young avocado tree. Place enriched potting soil in a large flowerpot (maybe 8" to 10" across). Fill the soil to about an inch from the top of the pot. Make a small depression in the center of the soil and place the pit, root-side down into the depression. Don't put it too deep...you want to have the upper half of the pit above the soil line. Add some more soil around the pit to fill in any air holes by the roots and then firm it into the soil by gently pushing the soil around the base of the pit. The tree's stem and leaves should be straight and pointing up (like a flagpole).

Give the soil a drink to water the pit. Water it generously so that the soil is thoroughly moist. Water the soil slowly and gently so that when it's poured in it doesn't gouge out holes in the soil. Keep your tree watered but don't let the soil be so moist that it ever looks like mud.

How do I care for my avocado tree?"

Keep your tree in a sunny window, the more sun it gets the bigger it will grow.

Remember to give it frequent light waterings but don't let the soil get muddy. If the leaves turn yellow it means that the plant is getting too much watering, let the tree's soil dry out for a couple of days, then return to light waterings.

When the stem grows six more inches pinch out the top two sets of leaves. This will encourage the plant to grow side shoots and more leaves, making it bushy. Each time the plant grows another six inches pinch out the two newest sets of leaves on top.

"Can my avocado tree ever go outside?"

Yes it can go outside in the summer. If your winters are cold ~ below 45 degrees (F) or 7 degrees (C) ~ you must bring your tree inside for the winter. Otherwise, if your winters are cool and mild, the tree may stay outdoors year round.

"Will my tree ever grow fruit?"

Sometimes they will begin setting fruit after they are three or four years old. It helps to have several avocado trees growing together to aid with pollination.

Dwight Schrute: Quote of the Day

"I just want to be friends. Plus a little extra. Also, I love you."

U-G-L-Y and it ain't got no alibi!

Nuff said!

The "Cleaner"

Today I was looking for good places in our apartment to store the vacuum cleaner. I finally picked a place to the right of the refrigerator but I was worrying that it was an eyesore. Guy asked me if I wanted to get a "vacuum cleaner cozy." Old ladies sometimes put twee coverings over their vacuums to whimsically disguise them as butlers or grannies. See also: toilet paper cozy. These products usually involve crochet and/or yarn (to represent granny hair).

Then Guy came up with the concept you see here: The Ax Murderer Vacuum Cleaner Cozy! He's lurking in the shadows to the right of your fridge, waiting to kill you.

Put Your Paws Up

Hulk's Bumper Stickers

KILL YOUR TELEVISION--NO, I MEAN LITERALLY

MY OTHER CAR IS A GIANT GREEN FOOT

I SMASH FOR BICYCLISTS

Bumper sticker ideas by Guy Foulard

My New Hobby

I'm teaching myself shorthand! It's really fun. I'm using the second edition of Gregg's Shorthand Manual Simplified which is the original 1955 version, including helpful photographs of secretaries and their bosses with captions such as: "The businessman insists that his letters be correctly punctuated and that they contain no spelling errors. This secretary has taken her employer's dictation and checked the spelling of any words about which she was in doubt when she transcribed. Her employer is obviously pleased with the letter!"

From Wikipedia:

Gregg shorthand is a form of stenography that was invented by John Robert Gregg in 1888. Like cursive longhand, it is completely based on elliptical figures and lines that bisect them.^[1] Gregg shorthand is the most popular form of pen stenography in the United States and its Spanish adaptation is fairly popular in Latin America. With the invention of dictation machines, shorthand machines, and the practice of executives writing their own letters on their personal computers, however, the use of shorthand gradually declined in the business and reporting world. Gregg shorthand is still in use today.

Several versions of this system were published. Pre-Anniversary, which includes the first five editions, the first one published in two small paper-covered pamphlets in 1888, the second published in 1893,^[2] the third in book form in 1897, the fourth in 1905,^[3] and the fifth in 1916.^[4] Anniversary, a revised and simplified form published in 1929, called Anniversary because it was to be published on the fortieth anniversary of the system (1928), but there was some delay in publication.^[5] In 1949, Simplified was created, in which many of the principles and memorized forms were removed or simplified due to findings of studies by the publishers and suggestions of many shorthand teachers.^[6] Diamond Jubilee was published in 1963, which simplified the Simplified version.^[7] Series 90 was published in 1978, which simplified it further.^[8] The last version was Centennial, published in 1988, with several similarities to the Diamond Jubilee system earlier.^[9] Besides these main editions, which were designed for the dictation speeds expected of any shorthand system of the time, a number of simpler, personal-use editions were published from 1924 to 1968. These included "Greghand" in 1935, and "Notehand" in 1960 and 1968.^[10]

Dog Day Afternoon

Guy was happy that a recent book I read (Stalling for Time, a non-fiction book about hostage negotiation) made me curious to watch the classic film Dog Day Afternoon. I loved it! I would never have expected to love a movie about a botched bank robbery starring Al Pacino, but after seeing it, I really get what's great about him. He was so funny and interesting in the role. The movie was so New York-y and I loved the deadpan humor of it.

When we watched a "making of" documentary, I was surprised to learn that they actually filmed it in autumn, when it was cold out. The story is supposed to take place on the hottest day of a NYC summer, and I would never have guessed that that wasn't at all the case. The director Sydney Lumet said that they discovered a big problem in that the actors' breath was noticeable in the outdoor scenes. He said the solution for it was simple--you give the actors ice cubes to put in their mouths, which chills their breath and makes it match the temperature outside. Clever!

Weird Flyer

Some friends dropped by yesterday and found this on the sidewalk outside our apartment building! I like the bullet point specifying "not sex or heavy duty cleaning." The idea of hiring this person and then expecting serious heavy cleaning makes me laugh.

The part about "group rates" is thought-provoking as well. And why is the service cheaper for females? I have some theories. But even though "all questions are welcome," I would prefer to leave it as a mystery.

Happy Easter!

Here is a list of songs that I would like to sing next time I do karaoke:

Islands In the Stream
More Than a Woman
Bird Dog
The Look of Love
It Had Better Be Tonight
Catch a Wave
Rock With You
Wonderwall
Butterflies
Ring of Fire
(Living In) The Land Down Under
We've Only Just Begun
You Should Be Dancing
(I'm on the) Top of the World

Islands In the Stream

You know how sometimes you don't particularly like a song--or you even dislike it--but then you hear it in a movie or TV show that you like and it totally changes how you feel about it? That happened to me with Islands In the Stream....after seeing it on Gavin and Stacey, I now really love it! Weird that an English show set in Wales is what helped me appreciate Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. Well, whatever works!

In this scene, two of the Welsh characters perform this song. I can't remember if the actors are actually Welsh or English.

PEEPS

Easter is coming! And we all know what that means--Peeps! Doesn't it seem like Peeps have grown in popularity over the years? Peeps contests are all the rage.

Fishstick's Book

The problem with reading someone's blog (or book or anything similar) is that it has the insidious effect of making you gradually sympathize with them, even if you hate them.

I have experienced this phenomenon with Gwyneth Paltrow. As someone who deeply hated her, I subscribed to her newsletter Goop out of the same impulse with which you would pick at a scab.

Sadly for me, what started out as a nice clean hate gradually morphed into a more complex feeling: still hate but now combined with a certain amount of affection and even empathy. What can I say? She alienates me with her off-hand recommendation that the Ritz is a fun place to stay while in Paris (thanks for the tip, Gwynnie!) and yet...she seems like a well-meaning person albeit extremely over-privileged. She's probably nice to her friends. She now hates Madonna, which I can't argue with. And her recipes are good!

So I know I'll end up eventually owning this book even though the cover repulses me. There she is again, with her self-congratulatory insipid smile, harping on and on about how wonderful her family is, and how she's a daddy's girl--and there's the foreward from Mario Batali, the most celebrity butt-kissing chef in the world. But I bet the recipes are good! Stop me before I buy this book!!

Rockbox

This is a photo of an amazing new place that recently opened in Capitol Hill called Rockbox. It's a karaoke bar with private rooms! This is the perfect venue for people like me who are too shy to sing in front of strangers. If, like me, you feel shy with strangers but hammy with your pals, this is the place for you!

Other great things about it: the food is great--affordable but gourmet; the drinks--same; and the prices are totally reasonable. It's $4 per person per hour during happy hour (and all day on Sunday) and $7 per person per hour the rest of the time. If there are only 2 of you, you get a tiny room. The first time, Guy and I went together. Then we went again and took my mom. Both times were MEGA-FUN.

Oh, also, the rooms are clean and swanky, with lots of wood. The server comes by enough to keep the drinks and food coming, then closes the door! Five stars!

http://www.rockboxseattle.com