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This entry doesn't really have much to do with the autumnal equinox...
other than, of course, we reached that point today... and September 23rd
will have more night than day... and so on for the next three months, less
light every day... downward into the depths of darkness... Oh, okay, so
actually we will have nice crisp autumn weather with leaves turning to
yellow and gold and red and orange and brown and crimson and fluttering
to the ground and we'll have Halloween and Thanksgiving and then it will
be time to get a Christmas tree and decorate it and we'll have the winter
solstice and Christmas and ever so slowly the ratio of dark and light will
change again...
When I posted some pictures of my desk, Jeanene wanted to know if I had tidied up before taking those pictures. I replied (in my comments area):
There is a stack of two or three manila file folders out of sight
on the floor next to my desk (with hardcopy printed pages from the courses I am working on this week) and my laptop carrying
bag and two library books are on the floor (also out of sight) next to the futon. I didn't tidy up -- but I did move a sweatshirt
that was on the futon.
Traditionally I have usually been much sloppier than this -- but this summer Nancy and I put a lot of  |
work into this room, completely reorganizing it -- had it emptied (except
for the desk which is too big and heavy to move around on a whim -- but
had emptied all six of its very deep drawers) -- and then organized and
arranged things. For the first time in my life I now have places to put
things! That paperwork on the floor will be thrown out by the end of the
week because I will be finished with it.
I don't know if I can keep it organized -- but I've managed to keep it fairly straight for almost two months now!
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Of course, sometimes a curious (or sleepy) feline takes over my desktop....
And Bonnie's Tuesday entry was about (among other things) Saladmasters and various appliances by
Black & Decker and Hamilton Beach and Kitchen Aide that slice and dice
and with much whirring and humming turn large pieces of food into small
pieces of food. I commented that I used my chef's knife to slice and dice.
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This is my pride and joy -- my chef's knife -- kept very sharp -- and used
on a daily basis.for more than twenty years. And it is how I slice and
dice and chop and cut just about everything (well, all vegetables plus
melons, etc.).
Nancy and Jill are very hesitant about using it, preferring to use smaller
knives even though I tell them that it is much safer |
Jeremy will use it sometimes (working in a restaurant, he understands about
chef's knives but he also understands that he must take proper care of
it).
So since I was taking pictures of my favorite knife, I thought I would
take a picture of a green pepper it had cut up (well, half of one) to be
used in preparing tonight's dinner... a pasta sauce. |
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Put some ground turkey into a skillet and begin browning it. (It was somewhere
between a pound and a quarter and a pound and a half.) While that cooks
(with occasional stirring and mixing), heat a couple tablespoons of extra
virgin olive oil in a heavy pot. Cut up (dice) and toss into the pot to
sautee a bit: one (quite large) onion, a zucchini, half a large green pepper,
half a large red pepper, a stalk of celery, and some garlic. By the time
all that is cut up and sizzling in the pot, the ground turkey should be
cooked. Toss that in with the vegetables. Stir. Open three large (28 oz.)
cans of ground tomatoes and add to the pot. There was room and it seemed
quite thick so I also added a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce. Keep stirring
every few minutes. Bring a pot of water to a boil (adding a tablespoon
or so of olive oil) and add a box of mini penne noodles. Cook the pasta
for about 9 or 10 minutes after it returns to a boil (or whatever is appropriate
for the size and shape of pasta you are cooking). While the pasta is cooking,
add seasoning to the sauce (some basil, some oregano, some garlic pepper,
some Italian seasoning, a little salt and some fresh ground pepper. How
much? How much do you like? Grab a little spoon and take a taste. Adjust
as required.) While the pasta is cooking and the sauce is simmering, set
the table, maybe put out a plate of veggies (tonight I did carrots and
broccoli and strips of red and green pepper) with a little dip. Slice some
nice crusty interesting bread (I had a multigrain baguette). Some ground
Parmesan cheese. (I would have liked to have made a salad but I didn't
have time. I'll definitely do that for tomorrow night when we'll have a
pasta and sauce rerun.)
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So... here's the pasta sauce simmering....
I had an okay (inexpensive) Australian merlot (Banrock Station) -- one that we are quite fond of for a regular table wine. Nancy didn't join me in drinking wine because now she's not feeling well -- a very bad sore throat not unlike what Gillian had (apparently this is something that is "going around") except Nancy had her tonsils out when she was a kid (have I every told you about how five or six of the kids in her family all had their tonsils out at the same time?). I'm hoping somehow to avoid this bug. (And I've not had tonsils since 1948.) To which end I am having another glass (or two) of wine because of the magical powers of grape juice.
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I've read some books (especially Bozoette's
Girl Clown) that I would like to tell you about and the other night Nancy and I watched
Kill Bill 2... but that would make this entry too long and besides which
the medicinal qualities of the magic mystical grape at this point might
impair the clarity of my literary disquisition. So I think I shall finish
scrubbing down the kitchen and try to get to bed before midnight so I can
sip some more wine and read a little bit in the book I am currently reading
(The Xpresident).
Arrgh! I just remembered I had some mushrooms I could have put in the pasta
sauce. Oh well, Jill ate dinner with us and she prefers fungus-free food.
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