Smoky Spanish-Style Pan Roast - made 28 Jun '10

Shawn said "feel free to make this once a week." :-)

1 lb. small red new potatoes, halved
2 T olive oil
3/4 t salt, divided
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper, divided
3/4 lb. shrimp
1/4 lb. Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced
1 lb. green beans, trimmed
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 c pilsner beer
1/2 t Spanish smoked paprika
2 red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1/4 c fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Combine potatoes, oil, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t black pepper in a large roasting pan, tossing well to coat potatoes. Arrange potatoes in a single layer, cut side down, in pan. Bake at 400 for 15 min. or until potatoes are lightly browned.

3. While potatoes cook (if necessary) peel shrimp, leaving tails intact. Devein shrimp if desired, and set aside.

4. Stir chorizo, beans, garlic, remaining 1/4 t salt and remaining 1/4 t pepper into pan. Bake at 400 for 10 min. Add beer, paprika, and bell pepper, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Nestle shrimp into vegetable mixture. Bake at 400 for 10 min. or until potatoes and green beans are tender and shrimp are done. Sprinkle with fresh parsley leaves.

Serves 4.

Dinner and Ruminations 10 May 2010

Thai red curry sauce, thinned out more
less rice noodles
bamboo shoots
fresh basil
big mushrooms

MajohMemory:the smell of red Thai curry slammed me back to standing in the kitchen,
emptying cartons and savoring the smell of food and more to come.

Three Bean Burgers - made 4/28/10

1 (15-ounce) can tri-bean blend, rinsed and drained (black, pinto & kidney)
1 egg
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup bread crumbs
1 1/2 t '21 Seasoning Salute' (from Trader Joe's)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt and white/colored pepper to taste
A few shakes of Tabasco Chipotle sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
6 whole wheat hamburger buns
6 green leaf lettuce leaves
Smokey sharp cheddar cheese slices

Put beans in a large bowl and mash well with hand potato masher. Add egg, onion, bread crumbs, seasoning, garlic powder, salt, pepper and chipotle sauce. Mix well to combine, then shape into 6 patties.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Arrange patties in a single layer (working in batches, if needed) and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to buns, top with lettuce and cheese and serve.

New mom poem from 19 Oct. 2008

between sleep
almost morning
quiet and warm with you, baby
my beautiful little boy
soon our exhausted nights will end
--first poem written w/ my 'Motherhood' magnetic poetry (o:

I know that cars line the streets
but swaying in the dark, urging this boy in my arms to sleep,
the sky and air smell a hundred years old.

1905, standing on my newly-built porch, staring at the dirt street and
listening to the occasional dog howl
Contemplating the yellowing leaves of the trees and the
grim face of the darkened house across the street...

I suppose my petticoat self never thought about drive-bys
Or frowned at cop cars racing 90 down the street.
Instead she might have feared wayward horse hooves
Or street car mishaps - dangers of these downtown suburbs.

But I'm sure we both wished for sleeping babes and a full night's rest
Sweet dreams and a morning sun
And the promise of warmth as the winter whispered hello.

Long-Cooked Pork Shoulder

This is going to be ready in about 2 hours. I finally went to the Asian store by our house (13 block walk to downtown Denver) and was able to find the [Shao Hsing] wine and the double [black] soy sauce, along with some other favorites I haven't bought since my last time in the Falls Church Han Ah Reum.

Long-Cooked Pork Shoulder from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Peter Perez, Senior Marketing Manager for Chronicle Books.

The Pacific Mercantile store is pretty impressive. And it's less than a block away from the Denver Buddhist Temple, which is just uplifting to walk by. Awesome courtyard.

P.S. I love you, Meiji Kinoko No Yama Chocolate mushrooms, sincerely.

Ruminations - 22 Feb '10

I've decided that there is faith in belief that focuses less on what could exist at large, but what will exist (maybe?) in a century or six centuries or 1,000 years from now. Taking the focus off of what has been (or said to be); instead focusing on what can and most likely will be.

At death, does it truly matter that you and your perceived center of the universe disappear? What really matters is what continues to be after you're gone. The belief that things will go on without you, despite you, completely ignorant of you. The belief that things could be going on, intelligently, 800 billion light years away from you. Looking at the scientific and historic record, however, you can accept with great faith that existence, wherever or whenever it may be, will continue. But you can't prove it.

I'm not saying that you can't believe in a higher power or a mischief-making God or an angry God or God transforming the universe with love. Is that the only central question in life? To grapple with other questions, such as:

• Have humans reached their full mental capabilities? If not, can humans reach a higher level of perception/improved use of the mind, or are we at our capacity in current form?
• Do societal pressure and man-made systems slow down our mental progression, and if so, can this be overcome? 
• Can humans save current and forthcoming scientific knowledge for distant generations in a way that is safe and accessible, and easily understandable, should there be a sudden, severe population decimation? Or would great knowledge be lost again?

I am not steady in my faith of humanity itself. I believe that things can and will go on, but not that we could improve ourselves and our consciousness to a level beyond that which has been the norm throughout human history. That will take an extra leap of faith.

Ruminations of Others & Myself - 22 Feb '10

The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up. ~Robert Persin

In my head I hear a loop that meanders: Ha! Dried pitted plums. Delicious, but you can't fool me. PRUNES. Say it. PRUNES. Pssh. “Dried pitted plums.”

I'm not denying that it has a much better ring. A female superhero representing antioxidants on a bag of prunes coupon ad is just sad, though.