It's Right in Time, With Me

Women's Day Monkey Bars

This little recipe, along with a few others from this famous magazine, has saved me on more than one occasion.  This is basically banana bread but seems simpler and transformed when cut into bars.  You can change it up a bit, using different flours. I put more banana for extra moistness.  I also added toasted walnuts.  This is satisfying for a quick, not so fatty dessert and also a great snack in lunch boxes.  It's never not a great time to make these! 

I Ain't Quiet, Everybody Else is Too Loud

Chicken Stew exists in the world and praise be for that!  There is a time and a place for almost every soup and stew.  This one is for right now, it's quiet food time.  Creamy white potatoes, soft carrots, real just made chicken-ey broth with kale and peas. Salt and pepper are the only spices needed.  A bowl of this soup should be eaten in silence, preferably with candles burning.  Sshhhhhhhh, slurp.

It's good to remember when you get back on the dietary good foot, that pizza, or some home cook's version, can be made any day, with any ingredients, and should be, often. 

Nice creamy scrambled eggs, bacon and hash browns for a biggie girl breakfast!

Lunatic Fringe, We All Know You're Out There

Thanksgiving 2022

A very non-traditional Thanksgiving day was had this year.  Nothing feels the same or normal anymore, so how could we make a turkey and pretend?  A drive to the desolate Coney Island in the early morning to give thanks at the water and to try to feel something real in this life, far away from cell phones and laptop screens.  

A giant metal bug on a wall

Horses in Brooklyn

And finally my seascape dream, Coney Island in winter

As advertised

The longer you're hear, the more the world starts to feel topsy turvy and mad.  The word lunatic always comes to mind in this place.

Once home a nice bounty of delicious offerings from Oh!Dumplings here in my Brooklyn neighborhood.  What a surprise how exceptional every item was and all new to me, especially these Chinese Burgers.  

P met a man on the beach that had just taken an icy plunge into the waters.  We gasped as he came out, admiring his chutzpah.  Refreshed, he claimed he was spiritually uplifted and God urged him to do it, to make a fresh start.  A few minutes later, I see P looking onto the water seeking answers as well.  I turned around and he was stripped down to this underwear and running into the frigid sea as the Jamaican cheered him on. It was actually quite uplifting.  Even though this stranger had just done it, for him to inspire P on the spot, was moving.  They both experienced something bigger that day and I felt a little jealous I didn't have any such calling.  After his own awakening, P put back on his clothes and we continued our boardwalk jaunt.    

Inspiring breakfast bagel from La Bagel Delight earlier on another pier.  I felt a divine presence myself sitting in the sun, guarding my meal from the diving seagulls. 

What Do You Know About If That's Real

New Cacti to replace the one I killed

Not wanting to prune my tall cactus, I found it bent over one morning with bright green aloe vera looking flesh exposed.  I was so scared that another of my long time cacti friends had bit the dust.  I grew this from a baby that traveled through 5 states face down in the backseat of P's car.   Stunned too early in the morning to react properly, I quickly reattached it and leaned it against the window hoping it would heal itself. Much to my surprise it did and now has two babies growing on the seam! 

Keeping with the Southwestern theme, I ordered Chile Verde Tamale and Stewed Chicken Tacos Supreme.  I spoke about this is a previous post, that when you load up soft taco shells, things tend to get soggy.  This one does,but it also tastes so good, that the sloppy mess is forgivable and part of the eating experience.  I believe this is the perfect combo from Maya Taqueria, as the other tacos are too dry and not as flavorful.  Whoever makes the tamales has the Goldilocks factor and should be worshiped.  You'd be surprised how hard it is to find a well seasoned shredded chicken taco too. 

So by all logic, this chicken taco should not work, but it does.  It so does!  Similarly, my plant maybe should have died but instead it fixed itself and lived!  It just goes to show you that we know so little about life.  Sometimes things turn out okay even when you think they're broken.