Three Good Things

Today I was...what?  involved with? user of? three very good things.

First of all, I finished the book What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.  Imagine getting a do-over of all the snarky, testy things you've said to your spouse (and spouse has said to you), and getting to see with fresh eyes the situations that led up to those comments.  Alice falls down at the gym, hits her head, and gets amnesia.  She awakes, thinking it is 10 years previous.  Imagine her shock, finding out that she's thin and in terrific shape, finding out that she has three children, and finding out that she and her beloved husband are divorcing.  It's an interesting take on an old idea, and I really enjoyed it.  What Alice Forgot is a wistful look at the way lives unexpectedly turn out,  and it's even a bit funny in spots.  I recommend it.

Secondly, I wore my new shoes when I went out for coffee this morning.  For some reason, I had a yen to get some moccasins to wear this fall.  Beaded moccasins.  What's that saying, "The heart has reasons of which the mind knows nothing"?  Well, beaded moccasins may not be what whoever said that had in mind, but, well,  there you go.  So anyway, I went to Zappos way back in July and got my mocs.  They are by Minnetonka, called Thunderbird Suede Boat Sole, and they are sooo comfy!  Now, no, they are not the most glamorous footwear I own, but they are comfortable, cozy, and fall-y, which is just what I wanted.  And they have a Top-Sider-type sole, so you could actually wear them in adverse conditions.  Or when you go boating (what, in your birchbark canoe?).

Finally, furthering my sartorial autumnal agenda, I put on my corduroy pants from L.L. Bean for the first time today (can you tell the weather was much cooler than it has been in ages?).  Once again, back in July I decided I wanted corduroy (hey, did you know that comes from the French corde du roi, meaning cord for the king, which is to say that this corded fabric used to be only worn by royalty?  I'm telling you, the things you learn, hanging out with me--I'm like Cliff Clavin) pants for fall.  Sooo, since LL is my new favorite store, I got a pair there.  I love them!  They are called Saturday Pants, they are boot cut, and I got them in the curvy fit.  Comfy and well-fitting right out of the gate, and very little skwiff-skwiff noise (you know, the noise corduroy sometimes makes when you walk?).

So now you have a good book to read and some comfy (apparently the word of the day) clothes to wear.  Yay Fall!

Gainful Employment

It's finally happened.  The Vacaville Housewife has begun climbing the corporate ladder.  Well, the corporate step stool at any rate. And it is, may I say, absolutely no fun whatsoever.

[caption id="attachment_859" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The raw material"][/caption]

I get home after everyone else is home, and I'm beyond tired, and I still have to make dinner.  I know, I should have spouse or offspring do it, but  I'm not willing to do that.  I still feel adamant that dinner (and food in general) is my responsibility and I will persevere!  I didn't want to go back to work yet, but needs must, and so here I am.  When I was growing up my mother worked, but she was home by about 4:00, and we had housecleaning help.  If that scenario was on deck, I'd feel much better.  But sadly, it's not, so I content myself with planning my exit strategy, fantasizing about flinging down my papers and shouting, "I quit!"

Until that dramatic day, however,  I am left juggling grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry.  On the weekend, I make three lists of dinners:  make-ahead (to, uh, make, you know, ahead) quick and easy (to make on work nights), and regular (to make on weekends).  And as far as baking goes, well, there just isn't a lot of time for that.  Which makes me sad.  A quick and easy cookie that my mother used to make has always been one of my favorites, and it is also one of my children's favorites.  They are called Valley Cookies (though I'm not sure why, since they look more like little hills.  I also make what my children call Cave Cookies, so we have all the landforms covered.  But more on those another time.), and you don't even have to bake them.   You make them on top of the stove, leave them in the fridge to harden, and they take literally five minutes to make.  Do it before bed, and you'll have cookies for lunches tomorrow.

Valley Cookies  makes about 3 dozen

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk (I use whole milk)

1 stick butter (4 oz.)

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

4 Tbl. Hershey's unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

3 1/4 cups oats (quick cooking or old-fashioned--I use old-fashioned)

[caption id="attachment_861" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Miss Congeniality cookies"][/caption]

Place butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat.  Add sugar and milk.  Increase heat and bring to a boil.  Boil for one minute.  Remove from heat. Quickly add the peanut butter, cocoa, and vanilla, and mix well.  Now add the oats (no dilly-dallying--you don't want the mixture to set up before you get the oats all mixed in).  Cool mixture slightly, for just a few minutes.  Drop mixture by tablespoons onto a greased or Silpat-covered baking sheet. You can also cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap, and drop the cookies onto the plastic.  Put the uncovered baking sheet in the fridge and let cookies harden.  When hard, remove from sheet and store tightly covered in the fridge.  They won't win any beauty contests for cookies,  but they sure are tasty.  And they get tastier when you think  how it took you about five minutes to make them.

So Much Fantastic Non-Fiction!

[caption id="attachment_847" align="alignleft" width="140" caption="Doesn't Dorothy Emily Stevenson look like a nice person?"][/caption]

I am not a person who likes to impress others with her challenging reading choices.  My most favorite books are by D.E. Stevenson.

I think reading should be fun.  If I happen to learn something along the way, well, that's a nice bonus.  But it's certainly not essential to my reading enjoyment. Does Mira Sorvino really expect me to believe her favorite book is Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time?  Um, okay.  And Gwyneth Paltrow curls up with Crime and Punishment? Really now.  Nobody ever cops to a Danielle Steele or a John Grisham, so how on earth do these amazingly prolific writers sell all those books?  I guess it's all of us poor slobs who aren't feeling the Dostoyevsky this week.  Okay, well, whatever.  I'm getting off track.

This summer I've gotten involved with a few non-fiction books.  I'm only going to give you a very brief gist of these works--you can look them up on Amazon.  But I have really enjoyed all these books, and they are well worth reading.  They would be good for a book group, too.

First up:  Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller.  Autobiographical account of the English Fuller's childhood in Africa.  And there is the second one, mostly about Fuller's mother (which is really a sequel because there are a fair amount of references back to the  first one), called Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness.  A lot of tragedy in the Fuller family, but a lot of humor, too.  (The mother waves her arms around and cries, "Nicola Fuller of Central Africa is experiencing a drought," with increasing urgency, whenever she needs a new cocktail.  I am considering taking up this little habit.)

Next, we come to In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.  I was reading this and marveled to my children that here I was, reading about Woodrow Wilson and isolationism, and I was enjoying it!  Larson is some sort of magician in this way.  This is the story of the American ambassador, William Dodd, who was appointed to Germany in 1933, just as Hitler's power was really being felt.  So of course the historical period is a fascinating one, but Larson makes it all so compelling, even things like Wilson and isolationism, or the political procedure by which Dodd was appointed to his post.  This is the story of an American family living in a most extraordinary time. It helps that a lot of the story revolves around the ambassador's daughter.  I always like to hear about things from a woman's point of view.

Fourth is The Psychopath Test  by Jon Ronson.  Starts off with a strange puzzle that Ronson is asked to help solve, the purpose of which I found to be a bit confusing.  But stick with it just a few more pages and things get going.  It's incredibly interesting stuff. Ronson interviews various individuals that display the degrees of psychopathy. He chronicles his experiences quite wittily, but does not minimize the terror these individuals are capable of stirring in others.  There really is an actual psychopath test, with about 24 personality traits characteristic of psychopaths.  You read this list and, first of all, worry that you yourself are one.  But the mere fact that you are worried that you are means you aren't.  As you read, however, and ponder individuals you have known, and may still know, you begin to see that perhaps there are more psychopaths floating around than you'd care to admit--think CEOs and politicians.  And that guy you dated.

So I guess it's only four non-fictions I'm passing on to you.  Seemed like more, probably because I've been reading more non-fiction than fiction lately.  But really, these are all as entertaining as fiction, and educational to boot!  Maybe I'll give A Brief History of Time the old college try next summer (yeah, right).

It's Coming... (along with some pumpkin muffins)

Fall, that is.  You know, autumn.  Even though it is still, to put it delicately, stinking hot during the day, when I go outside first thing in the morning it is quite cool.  Verging on crisp even.  Even the leaves that face east are starting to turn, as you can see.  I don't know why this is, but I am sure there is some folkloric explanation for it of which I am unaware.  Here it is, September 1, and I feel so much better!  It is my reverse seasonal affective disorder--I get crabby and depressed when it's hot for too long, while most people get crabby and depressed when it's cold and gray for too long.  Not me!

Vacaville in autumn is lovely.  Look for more pictures in the weeks to come.   In recent years, cities (and even CalTrans--have you seen the trees at the Midway Rd. on-ramp to Highway 80 east in October, November--amazing!) have been more aware of their choices with regard to tree planting and fall color, thus making for gorgeous leafy shows.  Downtown Vacaville in November could rival an Eastern city, with regard to the trees' display.

So as I get ready for fall to officially arrive in a few weeks, I will make these pumpkin muffins, which are quick and easy.  Nothing says fall (or fall pending) like pumpkiny spices.  The muffins started out as a Katie Lee Joel recipe and morphed from there. May I say I wanted to hate her cookbook, The Comfort Table?  (Did she and Billy Joel really think they had a love connection?  And not that she was a young hottie looking to get a career boost, and that he was marrying her for reasons other than her scintillating conversation? I mean, please.  Although I must confess I did not actually hang out with them at any time, so perhaps I am mean and cynical and they were a match made in heaven.)  But ANYWAY, I really like Katie Lee's (as she is now known) cookbook, The Comfort Table!  It's good weeknight food.  Give it a whirl.  But here are the Vacaville Housewife Lee Joel (I don't want you to feel used, Billy--I'm keeping the Joel.  I'm here for you, Billy.) pumpkin muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins  makes 12


These muffins keep really well, staying fresh for a few days after you make them.  Also, the batter does seem to be mounded up very high in the muffin cups, but don't worry.  It is very dense and it keeps its shape, not overflowing everywhere.  But you could put the muffin tin on a cookie sheet if it makes you feel better.

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line twelve muffin cups with paper liners.  In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  In a bigger bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Add the pumpkin puree and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tins.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let muffins cool in tin for about 10 minutes, then remove to a rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  An easy breakfast, and so good with coffee!

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