Silver Bracelet

There it sits, my silver cuff bracelet. About three inches wide with cut out circles all around the band. If I do not wear it for a long time it gets tarnished.

I see it everyday, in the visible place where I keep some of my favorite jewelry. Sometimes the power of my thoughts about it are very strong, sometimes not. My furthest thoughts, while not acknowledging its presence, can stir something in me. That faded away day, when I purchased it several years ago, rings strong inside stored away memories.

It is not so much the bracelet itself. It is more the event surrounding its acquisition. The woman, a perfect stranger in the store, began to speak to my sister and I about living in Manhattan. I was intrigued by the idea of that. I once lived in the village of La Jolla and know what it is like to live among tourist and locals. I believe I could have, at some point in my life, lived in Manhattan. Experiencing all the wonder and taste of that fine city. She spoke to me in many ways. Not knowing what an impact she and that unforgettable conversation in a Manhattan boutique, would hold for me.

Lets start with me walking outside of the store, on a perfect fall day in Manhattan. I have my glossy, fancy bag with red velvet handles, dangling from my wrist. The pretty purple tissue paper peeking out the top, surrounding my newest bauble.
My sister, waiting for me outside, was also witness to the perfect stranger. The three of us sharing a bond in a small time frame of life.
Oh! The joining of my sister outside the store is also a vivid snapshot. This is why I digress from the main point of my story. Equally memorable but not in the same way.
Sissy has a sort of befuddled look upon her face. As if dumbstruck. She is pointing to a tall good looking young man who is walking away from her. He turns back to us with a smile and I see he is chuckling to himself. I only caught a glimpse of him as she pointed and stammered abut the man walking away with the amused look on his face.
So, she says she thinks she just, literally, bumped into Josh Grobin. She is only kind of certain and tells me when she ran into him, she looks up at his face and tries to say something to him but no words come out of her mouth. He does not say anything either. He just steps out of her way and keeps walking. He is also looking a bit sympathetic towards her. A slightly off balance moment for all of us.
By the way, it is Josh Grobin. Not only did I get a good look at him. I find out, later in the day, he was on The Today Show that morning. Which just happens to be right around the corner of where this random act took place.
Sissy and I discuss this light hearted incident. We go back and forth about, "could it really have been him"? "Naw, impossible, it wasn't him". She is not as certain as I am. Even to this day, I know it was him.
After exhausting the Josh Grobin possibilities, we make our way back to reality of the day. We begin to talk about the lady we met earlier, inside the boutique.
I was trying on the silver bracelet. The woman next to me spoke and admired it along with me. She said I should buy it. We began chatting a bit. Sissy came over and joined in. It was agreed upon by the three of us. The silver shiny thing looked pretty on my wrist.
We began to find out a little bit more about this stranger. She seemed to be someone we would sit down with for lunch. Kind and easy to speak with. A feeling of kinship developed in those few moments in time.
She lived near by and grew up in the surrounding neighborhood. This interested me and made me curios about her life there. I learned all I could in that brief conversation. Her parting words are what have stayed with me all these years. Seven words that made a poignant statement, having both a question mark and exclamation point at the end of her sentence. "You know, they tried to kill us".
She gave us a small snapshot of being in Manhattan on September eleventh two thousand and one. Not just there in the city but there in her home. Devastating and frightening beyond conception of what transpired right here. A place where herself, neighbors, families and friends made their safe place to be.
We were parting ways, none of us said anything more. Sissy walked outside, I paid for my bracelet.
The Josh Grobin incident placed us in a different reality but when it subsided, we both spoke about her lasting words. We wished we had asked her to lunch.

Barefoot Girl

When I was a child we wore our shoes as little as possible. We lived in the east county of San Diego. It was there we ran around our acres of avocado groves. Some days we would make a picnic of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. When our long day of fun came to an end we would gather up a bunch of peach scented wildflowers for our Mother.
Being barefooted in those groves could be treacherous at times. Especially if you did not pay attention to where those feet were stepping. Lots of trial and error with stubbed toes, a rusty nail and a cactus or two. Actually, I think twice was the number of times I stepped on one of those cacti. I can remember how hard it was to get the stickers out of my foot. The little fuzzy ones would just stay there until after a few days they seemed to have disappeared.
I also learned to listen for rattle snakes. In the stillness of long hot summer days, we could hear them off in the distance. Once, as I was just getting ready to step down with one little barefoot, I glanced down to see one slithering right under that foot. Rattler straight up, making that undeniable warning sound. The closest, that I know of, to ever being bitten. Since that not happen, I just went along my merry way. Thankful for what ever force saved me that day.
It was the carefree 1950's. The charmed life of this little girl will never be forgotten. Oh! It was not "Leave it to Beaver" perfect but what wonderful memories I have of that time.
My sister Anne-Marie and I were not all that well supervised. Someone was always around but they let us run around from sun up to sundown. We would go to our friends houses whenever we wanted. Some of those friends lived miles away. I have memories of hearing my friend's mother say to her, " be back in an hour". I often wondered why my Mom never said that to us. I did feel a bit jealous in odd sort of way but never knew why. A few words having a nice ring to them. It sounded more like, "Be back ina nower". "Nower" sounded so caring. Just a simple statement with some run-together words.
One of our favorite spots was what we called Rock Candy Mountain it was right near The Giant Foot. Oh! We had some fine times there. I will never forget the time my sister brought a box a Jell-O with her. She sprinkled it over the rocks and we licked it off....Hey, nobody died! We drank from garden hoses and chewed on black tar. Go figure.
We were well loved by our family and I never doubted that for a second. We were just little survivors walking through our childhood. We enjoyed that freedom. Now that I know what we lived through , I know we most certainly had angels on our shoulders.

In the Kitchen

What is going on in my kitchen today? It is still early morning but there is a half of a Chabatta bread that needs to be used up today. Else wise....it's croutons.
There is some leftover pesto, from the home made Potato Gnocchi I made the other night. Gnocchi was fabulous! Light as a Feather Gnocchi*
So, I sliced the Chabatta lengthwise. Spread it with the left over Pesto on one side. Other side, spread with a new recipe I found for Parsley Sunflower Seed Spread.* Opened a jar of Trader Joe's Caponata*....it is the best! Added a few spoonfuls of that with some chopped green olives and "mooshed" it all together with a fork. Spread the Caponata mixture over the parsley sunflower spread. Then I placed a few slices of Provolone cheese, some crumbled feta and thinly sliced red onion on top of that. Took the pesto side and placed it on top. I wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge for later. If you like a crispy crust you can use a Panini maker to toast the bread a bit but try not to heat the filling to much.

Parsley Sunflower Seed Spread

2 cups parsley leaves (1 bunch)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds (soaked overnight)
about 1/4 cup olive oil
1 mashed garlic clove
1/2 of a juiced lemon
pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper

Stem the parsley only using the leaves. Rinse and pat dry on paper towels.
In a food processor pulse parsley to a smooth even consistency, scraping down the sides. Add sunflower seed, garlic, lemon juice and half of the oil. Blend and add the rest of the olive oil and pulse until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread onto assorted Cru De Ta...sliced cucumber, celery, red bell pepper and best of all.....red cabbage leaves cut into bit size pieces. Extremely yummy!
I always wanted to make my own Gnocchi but was afraid it was out of my expertise. Wow! Was I wrong....it is soooo easy and you can freeze what you do not used.

Light as a Feather Gnocchi

2 large baking potatoes
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
about 2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt

I microwave my potatoes until a toothpick can pierce them easily. When they cool take off the skins and put them in the fridge. They must get very cold. I use the shredding side of a box grater to cut them.

When you grate the cold potatoes on a floured board keep them light and fluffy as possible. Beat the eggs cheese and salt together.
On your work surface gently spread out the shredded potatoes, sprinkle the flour all over like a light dusting of snow. Make a bit of a well for the egg mixture. Start to gather it together into a ball and knead it a bit. If it feels to sticky add another light dusting of flour. If it feels to dry, wet your finger tips. When you bring it all together in a ball divide into four smaller balls. Keep you board lightly covered in flour so it does not stick. Roll into long finger size logs. Place them side by side. You can use a Sharp knife to cut them into half inch pieces. I use a one of those flat stainless steel pastry scrapers to cut them.
Place the cut Gnocchi in a single layer onto a floured cookie sheet. Also, lightly sprinkle four on top, just so they won't stick together. Use or freeze right away. When freezing put the tray directly into the freezer. Once frozen, place the Gnocchi into plastic bags.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some salt. When Gnocchi floats to the top they are ALMOST done. Let them boil a few more minutes until they look nice and puffy. Contrary to popular belief, they are not done when they first float to the top. An underdone Gnocchi can be as heavy as a overcooked one.
Add any type of sauce you like. I made a Bechamel and added a little pesto to it. Sprinkle lots of Romano cheese on top and serve!

I keep hearing how we are eating foods that are not only making us unhealthy but also fatter. Some are saying fat people should take responsibility for what they put into their body and make healthier choices for themselves.
I do not believe it is as simple as that. With fast food being so cheap and available we have changed a whole generation of American eaters.
When the economy was booming...no one was looking back. Just eat and run. No time to shop and prepare meals for ourselves or our families. No time to SEE where our food really comes from. We are completely disconnected from THE SOURCE and I do mean that in any and all terms you would like to apply to that.
Do you know what is in a Chicken Nugget? According to http://www.michaelpollan.com/ it is made up of thirty-eight ingredients. Thirteen of those are derived from corn, starting with the corn-fed chicken itself.
The Nuggets also contain a few synthetic ingredients that come not from the corn field but from refineries or chemical plants. YIKES! If that is not alarming enough how about an ingredient called TBHQ? Also called butylhydroquinone, an antioxidant derived from petroleum. In layman's terms it is simply called butane AKA lighter fluid.
It is either sprayed directly onto the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in "to help preserve freshness."
"According to A Consumer's Digest of Food Additives, TBHQ (lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use it sparingly". Which is a good idea because ingesting a single gram of TBHQ can cause nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, a sense of suffocation and collapse. Ingesting five grams of TBHQ can cause death.
I find that alarming because many people will continue to eat products at fast food outlets, simply because that is what is offered to them.
I am fortunate enough to not have to eat fast food. I have the time to shop and prepare my own food at home....that is another story on my journey to find and prepare healthful foods...not always an easy task.
At least give the public an easier path to eating food that is not adulterated with ingredients that we can not pronounce the names of. Also, can we please help the people who do not have the where with all to make those choices. Yeah, they are out there. I hear a lot of noise in my ears about it being their own fault and to take responsibility for themselves. Easy to say and I could not disagree more.
We have let industrialized food consume the consumer. What ever we may have to say is drowned out by mega corporations not willing to let us even see how our food is processed.
America's food corporations, few that they are, have huge political power. Politicians who are bought by this industry, safeguard the CAFOs. You may ask, "What is a CAFO?" It stands for: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. They would prefer we did not know they exist. Thanks to journalists like Michael Pollan and others trying to do investigative reporting, we are hearing more about how our food supply has become industrialized to the point of no return.
The next step for these giant corporations is to find cheaper and further away places to supply us with food. Be it plant or animal they will find a way to make more profit of that. I personally do not think Mother Nature intended our bodies to live that way.

What is a Brick Sandwich?

A Brick sandwich is something good to pack for a picnic or to keep in the fridge for a few days to "nosh" on. http://www.marthastewart.com/good-things/brick-pressed-sandwich You can put anything on it you like. I made mine with just veggies and Provolone Cheese. I also made my own Olive Tapenade and Hummus....they are easier to make than you might think but Trader Joe's carries a good Olive Tapenade as well as Hummus spread.

Since my Chabatta bread was a day old and a bit dry, I refreshed it by putting it in my Pannini maker for a few minuets......just enough to heat the outside crust before wrapping it up and putting it into the fridge.

Tapenade
1 cup Green olives, pitted
2 cloves garlic, peeled, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine olives, garlic, in a food processor and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

I like to use the green olives with pimentos. You can also use Kalamata olives or any other kind you like. I only use enough of the olive oil to make it a spreadable consistency.

Easy Hummus

1 (15-ounce) can chick peas, drained
1 lemon
1 sprig fresh oregano, leaves chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
handful chopped parsley

Combine chick peas, juice of 1 lemon and oregano in food processor. Add garlic, oregano and parsley. Process hummus until smooth (add a splash of olive oil if too thick)

Some things to put on a Brick Sandwich: Sliced Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper and thin slices of Zucchini. I like to take my vegetable peeler for long flat Zucchini slices.

You can keep stacking it all up. With the Hummus spread on both sides of the loaf you can add your vinaigrette before pressing it all down together. I find that it all melds together nicely and will not be soggy.

Also, here is a recipe for a good Basil vinaigrette

Sweet Basil Dressing

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons honey (add more if you like it sweeter)
3/4 cup pure olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 basil leaves, chopped
Whisk together vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Salt and pepper, to taste, and then add the basil.

Here are my Green Beans with a friendly soul upon it's leaves. My first Ladybug of the season.

As you can see my Radishes are coming up nicely.
They will need to be thinned a bit. I am hopeful the little critters who like to chomp on tender greens will stay away. So far so good.

Yesterday I was able to pick some of the Read Leaf Lettuce for my sandwich. Very tasty!

Vegetarian Chili

I made a really great Chili the other day. Not only is is low in fat and calories, it is simply delish! The secret ingredient is......Sweet Potato!
I sauteed a chopped onion in olive oil. Added minced garlic. Then I peeled and diced up a medium sweet potato. Also, a finely minced half of a green Anaheim chili pepper. When everything was almost soft I added small can of tomato sauce and some jarred salsa. If I would have had a can of diced tomatoes I would have used that but....I had to improvise.
One can of red kidney beans, drained. You could use any kind of canned bean you like. This is what was in my pantry. For spices I used cumin, cilantro and chili powder. If you like it hotter you could add some red pepper flakes too.
I let it simmer for about 40 minutes then added some frozen corn. When I served it, I grated some cheddar cheese on top along with chopped green onion. WOW! It was amazing.
It is the simple things in life that make me happy!