Tomato Shadow?

 
Every afternoon, I have gone into my bedroom and noticed how the hanging tomato plant is casting a pretty shadow against the closed blinds. Today, I finally grabbed the camera and took a picture of it.

My husband was at the home improvement store back in May and they were selling out some 'upside down' tomato plants for 25 cents. He purchased a couple of them and the tomato plants actually seem to thrive that way. The plant in the picture already has a huge tomato hanging off it. Interesting to look out in the morning and see a ripe tomato at eye level.

Gingerbread Shortbread

I ran out of shortening and the results with using butter were a spicy cookie with a shortbread texture. No one is complaining!

After spending a couple of hours just doing my own sewing stuff, I decided to close down early and make the family a treat. My son isn't feeling well so I figured some ginger in his life (and stomach!) wouldn't go amiss.

As you can see from the pictures, my baking sheets are very, very old friends and show their wear. I wouldn't trade them for the world as they do such a good job of baking for me. I like the fact that they have rims which makes them double when I want to bake a batch of bar cookies or make a sheet cake.

It's funny what becomes a favorite in your life as you grow older!

California ideas . . .

I heard on the radio news that there have been objections to the DUI checkpoints that are put up to catch drunk drivers especially during 'drinking' holidays. Statistics show that this does prevent more car accidents and deaths when the drunken drivers are caught before they do damage to others or themselves. Well, in all their collective wisdom (and I ain't saying a word here!), it has been deemed profiling because many of the people going through these checkpoints don't have valid drivers' licenses. Huh? Isn't it the law to be registered at the Department of Motor Vehicles? Would traveling in another country give us this much respect if we didn't have proper documentation there?

This is not a matter of profiling but upholding the laws that let us drive on the roads. Driving is not a right but an earned privilege that comes with responsibility. If you don't bother with proper documentation for operating a vehicle, what are the chances you have insurance in case of a mishap? Another benefit of the checkpoints is that criminals are sometimes discovered, parole violators, etc. Seems like a good system to me. Not to some areas of California, however.

To further reduce the effectiveness of protecting us on the road, it has been suggested that the police notify the cities where and when there will be DUI checkpoints. In case one forgets, signs might be posted to warn you that if you do not turn at this corner, you will be stopped at a checkpoint at the next one.

One person actually said that she is working, does own a car, but can't afford insurance but is sure people will understand that she is a hard worker and doing her best. Not sure I would if my insurance had to cover me when she comes up uninsured. In fact, my college daughter learned how to drive but can't drive because we can't afford insurance for her while she is in school. Driving is not an entitlement program.

If you have nothing to hide, this checkpoint shouldn't bother you. If you are drinking, this checkpoint situation might save your life. If you are an innocent driver, having a drunk stopped at a checkpoint could well extend your own life. If people breaking the law are caught . . . Sigh . . . still can't see the problem here.

Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken soup is the cure-all for colds but when the cold/flu season hits, it can get pretty tiring. Since the simmering of the chicken is the key to helping us over what ails us, why not go Asian? To me, nothing is more comforting than a hot bowl of Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup. You can always freeze containers of the broth and add vegetables and stuff at a later date.

Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup
2-3 pounds of chicken pieces
Approximately 3 quarts of water
1/4 cup soy sauce
8-10 shiitake mushroom, soaked in water for ten minutes before use
4 slices of fresh ginger, slice lengthwise and about 1/4 inch thick
Salt to taste

Bring the water and chicken to a boil, add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add a sprinkle of salt to taste. Let the broth simmer for an hour or more until the chicken is tender. Drain the broth into another pot. Bone the chicken and add back to the broth. Taste for salt.

You now have a beautiful pot of chicken soup with an Asian flare. What to do next?

Ideas . . .

Sprinkle with freshly diced green onion and serve in mugs.

Slice up some wonton skins or Spring roll skins into noodle-sized slices and simmer until just done - noodle soup!

Add some slivers of carrot, celery, and green onion and pour it over cooked rice in a bowl.

Beat a couple of eggs and drizzle into simmering soup while gently stirring so as to form 'strings' - egg drop soup.

Ladle soup over a bowl of cooked, angel hair pasta with a dash of chili flakes.

*Ginger is usually readily available in the vegetable section of most grocery stores. It is the funny, light brown root.

*Shiitake mushrooms can be found in the Asian aisle or, if you are blessed, at an Asian market.

Sort of a miracle . . .

I have four quilt tops that require lots more work to join the ranks of completed. Usually, when I hit this point, I discover I don't have enough of any one color to provide the necessary backing for the quilt. Much to my surprise, I found that I not only had enough backing fabric for all four but it even matched. For me that is a minor miracle. More often than not, my quilt tops get put away for a payday that can support a fabric expenditure. For some reason, the family prefers I purchase food befor fabric!

Sigh . . . Making four more quilts has provided me with more scraps! I can see that it is time to design another scrap quilt. Actually, they are my favorite as they are entirely 'mine' in that anyone else would be hard put to copy it.

Meanwhile, morning Mass calls and I have to gather up my altar boy and head out. It is a long two-minute drive, you know!

Bonus day for great quotes . . .

"Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others."
       -- Jules Renard

 

"My favorite thing about the Internet is that you get to go into the private world of real creeps without having to smell them."
       -- Penn Jillette

 

"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance."
       -- Will Durant

 

"In this business you either sink or swim or you don't."
       -- David Smith

Funny but so true . . .

To wear your heart on your sleeve isn't a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.

Margaret Thatcher

Simple explanation . . .

“The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner He wills it; and thirdly to do it because it is His will.”  ~St Elizabeth Ann Seton