Been Feeling a Bit Blue...

...so of course I need some music. All of these songs make me happy, although maybe not dancing-round-the-house happy.  But better. I'm sure they will help with my blues. Now I just have to remember to play them.

The Good and the Bad by The New F-O's (This was the background music at the party in the TV show Wilfred, episode 11, "Isolation."  I've been puzzling over what F-O means.  Don't know--perhaps I'm naive.)

The Golden Age by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour  (heard this on a recent Heineken commercial)

Till IGet There by Lupe Fiasco (from the album Lasers)

My Foolish Heart by Jazmine Sullivan  (now, of all places, I heard this in Ross.  You know, Ross Dress for Less?  One never knows where one might hear good music, does one?)

All Night High by Lisa Shaw

Solitude Charmante by Cafe Americaine

Good Night Good Morning by Beth Ditto (There are terrible National Enquirer pictures of who looks, uh, not so good in a bikini, and this name always comes up.  Never knew who she was until I came across this song, which is really good. And not that I read the Enquirer. Well, not very often.)

Season's Trees by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi  (This is from an album called Rome, which was made as an homage to Italian movies of the '60s. Really good.)

Antenna by Zion I

Out Go the Lights by Spoon  (I'm always surprised Spoon doesn't get more play.  They are one of my favorite bands, ever.)

Use What You Have Cooking

[caption id="attachment_751" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="My well-stocked but somewhat untidy pantry (with art)"][/caption]

Well first of all, you have to keep your pantry and freezer pretty well stocked.  When the cash flow is, uh, flowing  and I see skirt steak on sale, I buy a couple extra ones to freeze.  Favorite wine on a really good sale?  Several bottles now live in my fridge.  See a good price on the 28 oz. cans of pureed or whole peeled tomatoes?  Toss them in the shopping cart.  Prewashed spinach in the giant plastic box for less than $3?  I'm on it.   When I was feeling flush and bought lots of boneless/skinless chicken?  It's what's for dinner.  There is pesto I made when basil was cheap, and zucchini bread I made for the same reason.  I've got enchilada sauce frozen, as well as refried beans I made.  You see, the austerity measures at our house have reached sort of epic proportions, so I am trying to buy as little food as possible.  After all, I've gone to the trouble to stock my pantry and freezer.  Isn't this exactly when I should be trotting out all that food?

Of course I'm still going to buy milk and fresh fruits and vegetables.  But I'm buying cheese, milk, and half-and-half at Costco (where it's so cheap that I prefer not to think about the aspects of factory farming that are no doubt in practice), and I'm looking at peaches for 88 cents a pound, not grapes for $2.50 a pound (and prebagged so you can't just buy a pound; rather, you have to buy the three pound bag so your grapes are now $7.50.  $7.50!!).  But besides the dairy and the plants, it's whatever is in the freezer and pantry.

This week, my shopping list is pretty small.  Milk, cream, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, beef broth, orange juice, ground beef, ground pork, mushrooms, basil, pine nuts (well, depending on how much they are--otherwise I'll just toast and chop some slivered almonds), and red onions is about it.  And baby aspirin for the dog (his hips are bad and he loves St. Joseph's orange chewables).  By taking a little time to go through my cookbooks (which, I must confess, I love doing, so it doesn't feel like work) and to check on the contents of the freezer and pantry, I have come up with thirteen dinners.  And there is always flour and sugar on hand to make cookies, etc.  So we're good to go, and I don't feel too terribly deprived.  Worried, yes, but not deprived.

So what's on the menu?  Well.  --Now wait.  I thought of giving you all the recipes I use, but first of all that would take forever, and secondly, you can just as easily find a recipe online that works with your supplies.  Okay, back to the menu.  Spinach and mushroom quiche.  Macaroni and cheese (not Kraft or Velveeta--the real kind you make with a roux!). Beef tacos with guacamole, with refries on the side.  Chicken and mushroom crepes (my favorite dinner as a child of the '80s).  Gyros.   Mandarin beef with bok choy.   Chicken with balsamic vinegar.  Stir-fried pork with garlic.  Lemon chicken.  Meatballs in tomato-herb sauce. Smoked salmon quesadillas (smoked salmon is an unopened package left over from a party--not usually on the menu).  Breakfast burritos (with egg, sausage, cheese, and potatoes they make a great dinner).  And barbecued burgers.  So they don't suck, foodwise, these austerity measures.  But it only works if you take the time when the money isn't quite so tight to stock up, and to do some cooking ahead of time.  I could add enchiladas to the week.  Or pasta with pesto.

I heard on the news out of Sacramento the other night that people were talking about how they can't help it that they eat so much fast food, because it's so cheap.  That made me mad!  It's not because it's cheap (because it isn't--you only get one meal), it's because people are lazy!  And while I'm ranting, I'm so mad that they are healthying up McDonald's Happy Meals.  Fast food should be a treat, once a month or less, not a way of life.  Happy Meals should still have french fries in them and not have to contain carrots or apples or whatever, because french fries are a treat, not something you should be downing a couple times a week!  So by putting in "fresh" fruits and vegetables (and who are we kidding--how long have those apples or carrots been floating around?) we are encouraging eating fast food, as though it is a healthy choice!  No!  It's a treat.  Do you go get an ice cream sundae with two scoops and sauce and cream and...and...every few days?  No, because it's a treat.  Be responsible about your family's well-being!  Oh!  Excuse me.  Got a little carried away.  I digress.

So back to the matter at hand.  If your family struggles with money, it's important that when you do have cash, you need to stock up on the food (and not stock up on cute shoes) so that you don't get caught in the fast food trap.  Of course it's good for you physically, but it's just so good for you psychically, too.  There are a lot of things you can't control, but you can control what you eat. It's a good feeling to know that you are doing right by your family.  And now, sadly, I have to get back to looking for a job.

Great Stuff Made in USA

I feel like I should phrase it "made in the US of A."  Seems flag wavey-er.  But you know what?  Waving the flag is exactly what we should be doing.  We need to make stuff in this country again or we're never going to get out of the mess we're in.  And not just cars.  Everything.  You know, like it used to be?  When you saw "made in Japan" or "made in Taiwan" and you knew the thing was junk?  Not like now, when you have to resign yourself to just about every electronic item there is, and anything made of plastic, being made in China.  This was in the news recently with some reports of Diane Sawyer's, but it seems to have faded away again. I have to tell you that I've been on a not-made-in-China kick for a long time. About 10 years ago I noticed that just about every non-food item sold in Target was made in China, so I stopped buying those items.  If you limit yourself to only buying things that are not made in China, I guarantee your mindless throw-it-in-the-cart-it's-cheap way of life will stop.  You'll save money!  You'll stop filling your house with worthless crap! Due to the lousy products we have accepted as a way of life, thanks to Wal-Mart, Ikea, and Target, the antique stores of the future will be empty.

C'mon!  Do your part!  If you can buy something made somewhere besides China, do it!  And if you can buy something made in USA (excuse me--the US of A), that's best of all.  If there is any choice (which sadly with computers, TVs, etc., there doesn't seem to be), you must choose the item produced domestically.  I wandered around my kitchen for, like, two minutes and found some great products that are well made, reasonably priced, and made HERE.

Lodge cast iron serving kettle; Le Creuset spatulas; Ball collection elite canning jars; Anchor Hocking cracker jar; Swing-a-Way can opener; Edlund stainless steel locking tongs; Cuisipro microplane grater

Some of My Favorite Bookmarked Sites

www.NOAA.gov    I am a little bit weather obsessed, and this site caters to that.  You type in the name of your city and state, and it gives the seven-day forecast, as well as any special updates. In our neck of the woods, the summer forecast consists of slight variations on the theme of hot and sunny.  Nevertheless, I probably check it almost daily (because frankly, you just can't be too careful).  In the winter I'm checking it at least once a day.  Okay, so maybe I'm more than a little bit weather obsessed....

www.astrologyzone.com  What can I say?  I love reading my horoscope--it feels like I'm reading all about me me me (and trust me--in real life it's never all about me me me).  On the first day of the month, AstrologyZone does a huge prediction for every sign, and it's just a lot of fun.

www.makeupalley.com  I usually resist, kicking and screaming, any time I have to register for a site just to browse it.  But I've never got any spam from them or apparently because of them, so I guess I don't have a problem with it.  Makeup Alley's best feature is the product reviews, written by the site's users, which include drugstore makeup, department store makeup, shampoo, fragrance, hair color...everything beauty related.

www. hookedonhouses.net  Addictive.  You look at MLS listings gone awry,  information about houses in movies and on TV, before and afters, celebrity homes (Jennifer Aniston's house--too museumy and cold.  Sally Field's house--I loved it)....  I have to literally make myself turn off the computer--I can't stop!

www.whatshouldireadnext.com    You enter the title of a book you enjoyed, and it gives you suggestions for similar books.  Sometimes the recommendations are a bit out of left field, but most of the time it's pretty good.

Naturally I didn't mention Amazon or Zappos or things like that--everybody knows about those.  But I'm sure I'll think of a whole bunch more sites as soon as I post this....

Quick, Summery Hors d'Ouevre

Well all right, yes, it is just bruschetta.  But I'm usually disappointed in most bruschetta I try.  The tomatoes are too wet or the bread is soggy or the garlic is too assertive or there is too much basil or not enough salt.  So this has become my go-to hors d'ouevre this summer.  If you come to my house for drinks and snacks, act surprised. 

VH Bruschetta

1 skinny baguette

softened butter

3 or 4 medium tomatoes (doesn't matter what kind, just that they are nice and ripe)

3 or 4 medium leaves of basil

garlic powder, salt, pepper

Preheat the broiler.  Slice the bread into 1/2" thick slices.  Very lightly butter the bread, being sure to get the entire sliced surface covered with a skim coating of butter, on both sides.  Place buttered slices on baking sheet. Broil bread, watching very carefully, until toasted.  Remove baking sheet from oven, flip pieces over, return to oven and broil the other side until toasted as well.  Let slices cool.  Toasts (or excuse me--crostini) can be made a day or two ahead, if you let them cool completely then store them airtight.  Deglop and quite finely chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl.  Stack the basil leaves, then roll them up lengthwise so you kind of have a basil cigar.  Very finely slice the leaves crosswise,  into a chiffonade.  You can chop them up even more finely if you want.  Add the basil to the tomatoes. Lightly sprinkle the tomatoes with garlic powder.  Add about 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper (no, it doesn't have to be sea salt or freshly ground--whatever you have on hand is fine!) and gently fold everything together.  Get a spoon and taste the concoction.  Enough basil? salt? garlic powder? pepper?  When you're happy with your product, spoon it into a serving bowl and serve with the sliced baguette.   And by the way, I'm very pleased with my bread serving vehicle--it's an old enamel tray for developing photographs!

A Few Things I Love (not in any order)

First and foremost, any book by D. E. Stevenson.  Her books are characterized as "romance," which dismays me.  While, yes, there is romance, there is no bodice ripping, no Fabio on the cover, no heaving bosoms.  These books take place in England and Scotland and they are gently funny and truly uplifting.  Lots of talk about redoing houses,  stopping for tea, and economizing.  But even in light of all that, they are not sappy in the least.  Beautifully written (after all, Robert Louis Stevenson was her father's cousin), they take place any time from the 1930s to the 1960s.  Oh please read one! My favorites are all the "Mrs. Tim" books, Bel Lamington and its sequel, Fletchers End, Amberwell, and...well, I love them all, really.

Brawny Pick-a-Size Paper Towel.   Annoying at first, because whenever I wanted a big piece I invariably got a small piece, or vice versa.  Now I've got my yank velocity down, and I easily get the size I need.  It's so handy!

Always Infinity Pads.  Let's just say, if you remember Stayfree pads from the 1970s, these are nothing short of a miracle.  I am totally serious.  Life changing.  Light colored pants all month long is no longer a pipe dream. And it has to be the Infinity kind, not just the regular ones.

Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc.  It's inexpensive and very tasty.  There is even a hint of effervescence.  It's absolutely acceptable for guests, but cheap enough that you don't feel guilty drinking it out of a plastic cup while floating in the pool.

Lancome Virtuose Mascara.  I like my eyelashes to look thick and feathery, not spiky.  This mascara delivers. It has a curved brush, which I think is instrumental in making the lashes fringey, not spidery.  Not cheap, but worth it.

Nature's Gate Tea Tree Body Lotion.  I have sensitive, easily irritated skin.  This is the only lotion I can use on my legs.  It's got the usual pungent smell of tea tree oil, but the scent dissipates very quickly. I even use a teeny bit on my face if I have dry patches.  The tea tree seems to calm any skin irritations I have.  Very inexpensive.

Smashbox Photo Finish.  Sometimes I am willing to work a bit harder than usual to look put together.  When I want my makeup to look particularly good, I break out the Smashbox Photo Finish.  It's great.  It's like gap-filling paint that smooths out my pores and wrinkles, leaving my skin looking much smoother than usual when I apply my foundation on top.

Okay, well, that's enough for now.

Community Supported Agriculture

I've subscribed to a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm. It's called Eatwell Farm, and it's in Dixon.  I love it!  While it's not particularly cheap, the quality is well worth the cost, and I do get very fresh, locally grown produce.  I mean, look at this picture!  I just quickly unpacked the box (note the messy paper towel), and it's like something out of a Dutch master still life!  I've been using a lot more vegetables, and I know we're eating better.  Eatwell Farm drops off here in town, so I pick up a crate of fruits and vegetables at a Vacaville business every other week.  I could do every week, but I know me and I'd get stressed out trying to use all those veggies in a week.  So the every other week plan works well for us.  The picture above is of my first box, and I was very impressed.  Yesterday I resubscribed for four more weeks, and this time I'm going to try out  farm-fresh eggs with my weekly box order.

I find I get a little more creative in order to work these veggies into our diet.  Two nights ago, after I picked up the crate,   I threw together this salad for dinner, and it was delicious.  The box had arugula and mixed lettuces, which I washed, dried, tore up, and put in  a salad bowl.  There was also a nice, tight little head of cabbage, about half of which I shredded and added to the bowl. There were also little Tokyo turnips, which I had no idea you could eat raw.  The turnips I peeled, very thinly sliced, and tossed in the bowl.  I also had some leftover grilled chicken thighs, some blue cheese, and heaven knows I've got lots of apricots.  I cut up the chicken, the cheese, and the apricots and they all went into the salad too.   Finally, I made Martha Stewart's Shallot Vinaigrette (substituting olive oil for grapeseed oil, and omitting the walnut oil and increasing the olive oil to compensate) and tossed everything together.  It was very tasty and took all of about 20 minutes to put together.  So healthy, and totally satisfying because it was so flavorful.  I guess you can call me a convert to the local food movement.