Sir Ulric addresses the crowd @ Medieval Faire joust
Check out my Facebook
Carpe Diem?
A Rave About Writing. Or Not.
I’ve never been good at seizing the day. I’m more of a weigh-the-pros-and-cons-then-make-a-list kind of girl. But that changes in the summer.
Part of it has to do with the leftover idea that summer vacation is a time to relax. And, of course, living in northern Ohio has an effect on one’s attitude toward sunshine. As in, there isn’t nearly enough to go around, so you’d better enjoy it while it’s here.
When we get an average of sixty-six sunny days a year (according to World Facts and Figures, http://tinyurl.com/yel2mc5), can you blame me for trying to make the most of them?
After all, I’ve got 202 cloudy days to do all those important things are lurking like a dark cloud on the horizon. And for further motivation, let’s not forget the sixty-one inches of snowfall that will be here before you know it. How can I not — to use to use a well-worn but apt expression — make hay while the sun shines?
My point (and I do have one, in case you’re wondering) is that The Great Myth Conception is not going so great. At this moment, it stands at a piddling 6,556 words.
I’m finding it difficult to settle down to the business of writing. Sigh.
Well, first, you see, there was that trip to Hawaii, and, really, who can blame me for slacking off then? Then, before you could say “firecracker,” it was the 4th of July and then my daughter’s sixteenth birthday, followed my big author panel program at work. Next, my not-quite-eighty-year-old mother moved and broke her hand the same week.
Excuses, all of them. Valid excuses, but excuses nonetheless. Yes, it’s been a busy summer, but they’re all busy. The real problem has stemmed from finally attempting to write the book that’s been on my mind for two years, and discovering I wasn’t sure where to go with it.
This is the one that has real marketable potential if I just do it right. Yikes! Scary thought.
Happily, I think I’ve finally figured it out. I’ve found my groove. And, as for the sunshine? I can write outside on my porch.
Flying the Ford
Originally uploaded by ladywriter47
Raving
Cleveland, low and slow from the air via the Ford Tri-motor. What a beautiful flight.
Raising money for the International Women’s Air and Space Museum at Burke Lakefront Airport.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged EAA, Ford Tri-motor, International Women's Air and Space Museum, pilot, Rand Siegfried, Tin Goose
Leave a comment
Up Close and Personal with the Radial Engine on a 1929-era Airplane
Originally uploaded by ladywriter47
Raving
View from left side of Ford Tri-motor airplane over Cleveland – Rand Siegfried, pilot
This was a great way to see Cleveland. It was a bonus to be piloted by Rand, an acquaintance of ours from Oshkosh.
Cathy’s Corn and Black Bean Salsa — Yum!
Raving — Salsa and Salad!
Last week’s CSA included fresh basil and cilantro and inspired me to make Caprese Salad and Cathy’s Corn and Black Bean Salsa. I’ve concluded that a big part of Community Supported Agriculture is what your share makes you want to cook.
You can guess from the name that this isn’t my recipe originally but no event at my library is complete without someone bringing this salsa.
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup minced onion (supposed to be half green onion and half red — I use whatever I’ve got)
Mix those up. Then whisk together 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I never have fresh limes so I use bottled) and 6 tablespoons oil (I use EVO) and pour over veggies. Chop 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or parsley (Cilantro is best; a mix is fine. I’ve even used dried but it doesn’t look as pretty) and add it with 1-1/2 teaspoons of cumin. Mix and refrigerate for at least an hour or two. Serve with tortilla chips. I recommend Shearer’s Margarita Lime if you can get them.
I love this so much that I can eat it like a salad. And it’s good for you! No bad ingredients unless you eat too many chips!
Enjoy!
Cathy’s Corn & Black Bean Salsa
Caprese Salad
Raving — The Salad Part of Salsa and Salad — Caprese Salad
This is even easier and there are zillions of recipes. All you need are tomatoes, (beefsteak would be good but they’re not in season in Ohio yet), basil and fresh mozzarella cheese. And olive oil. Some people say vinegar but I’ve read that no real Italian uses vinegar. I’m not Italian so I don’t know but I use EVO.
Slice the tomatoes.
Slice the cheese.
Layer them with basil leaves.
Drizzle olive oil over the layers and season with salt and fresh ground pepper. If you can restrain yourself from eating it immediately, refrigerate or let set for 30 minutes or so the flavors can mingle a bit.
I love this salad and used to feel bad that neither my daughter or husband like it. Now, I just make them something else and eat it all myself.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Caprese Salad, Community supported agriculture, CSA, healthy recipes
Leave a comment
Ohio Scottish Games
Rave
Scenes from the Ohio Scottish Games
More pipes and kilts than you could shake a stick at. Pretty cool day out. (Not literally though. I got sunburned. <grin>)
See link below if you want to catch it next year.
Kale Chips?
Raving
You’ll notice I changed the title of this blog to include “raving.” I mean that word in the context of being extravagantly flattering rather than that party thing they do in England and hopefully not like a raving lunatic, but that will be for you to decide.
Yesterday, we got our weekly CSA portion and it included spinach, dill, cilantro, leaf lettuce, cauliflower, sugar peas, yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, and kale. I was particularly excited about the kale, a vegetable most frequently seen adorning restaurant salad bars. Now, however much I wish it were so, leafy green vegetables rarely bring joy to my heart. That’s part of the reason we do a CSA — to find new and exciting healthy food! That my family and I will like!
Anyway, back to the kale — and vegetables don’t get much greener or leafier than kale — you’re probably wondering why I was so excited. Well, move over Frito-Lay, baked kale chips are here.
Yes, I know. It sounds absurd, like something only a raving (there’s that word again) vegetarian would eat, but an article I read swore that she baked kale into chips and, not only were they edible, her kids loved them.
This, I had to try. And guess what? They were good. Okay, they’re not really going to replace Pringles or Doritos on your grocer’s shelves, but for a healthy snack, they’re surprisingly un-horrible. In fact, I liked them. And so did my mom. I didn’t attempt to try them on my daughter.
Now, if I could just figure out what the heck to do with that kohlrabi.
If you’re interested in making your own kale chips, just search “baked kale” on your favorite search engine or follow the directions I did from “Smitten Kitchen.” http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/03/baked-kale-chips/. It really couldn’t be easier. You wash and dry the leaves, remove the thick center stalk and tear the rest into small pieces. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake for about 15 minutes until crisp. Cool and eat. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged baked kale chips, Community supported agriculture, CSA, healthy recipes, locavore, Vegetables
Leave a comment
Girl in Translation
Reading
Since I finished Ready or Not (cue cheering) and haven’t really gotten into the work on Great Myth Conception (all scolding welcome and deserved), I’ve been back to reading and it’s been lovely.
One book I was finally able to get to was Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok.
One of the blurbs on the cover compared it to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Scoff if you like. I did too until I read it. The comparison is apt. The brilliance of Tree is not the plot line about a girl growing up poor in Brooklyn with a drunk for a father but in Betty Smith’s voice and the characters of Francie Nolan and her family. Girl‘s magic is similar. Kwok’s description of the lives of Kimberly Chang and her mother, and their experiences after immigrating from Hong Kong into a life of dire poverty in New York rings true.
Kwok’s story transcends the usual divisions of adult and teen literature. My daughter and I both enjoyed this and my eighty-year-old mother is now reading it. Although a quick read, this book will stay with you for a long time.
Check it out at your library or bookstore and let me know what you think.
Reading, Writing, Ranting and Raving 