The Good Things in Your Past

CopyCat Zuppa Toscana

A friend had emailed about the past, during a particularly joyful time in our lives.  If you're lucky, there are many of these, although I always admit I would have told you I was miserable through all of them. 

There was another time when eating lunch at Olive Garden in Times Square, which in itself is quite an odd pairing, with a group of music buyers and paid for by label representatives was a regular occurrence.  This soup, along with several pasta dishes was a favorite discovery. Making it now with potatoes, sausage, carrots and kale is a no-brainer, feel-good meal.  Guaranteed to make you less miserable. 

Very Superstitious, Wash Your Face and Hands

Low Carb Lettuce Taco Buffet

I loved the old buffet restaurants back in the day when people weren't gross and could be trusted hovering over vats of hot food.  We weren't too worried about someone hocking a luggie in our wonton soup or lime jello.  There were even overseers of the smorgasbords, chef-looking, apron-wearing men and women standing like soldiers ensuring no one acted uncivilized with portion control or put the wrong ladle in the soup.  

Aside from the germ worry, the great thing about a buffet is the variety.  It can act as an art project so that each diner can create their own masterpiece. 

This was a mini lettuce taco buffet featuring carne asada, ground turkey with cumin and black beans.  You could add guacamole, salsa and sour cream (not shown) to your tacos.  More a child's finger paint set then a oil painting but it was fun. 

One party crasher crashed out early

Yesterme, Yesteryou, Yesterday

Lunch from Deniz Restaurant

I was to get my haircut on this day at the hipster salon.  I go early so as not to be shamed by the youth.  Avoiding the glaring looks from young, plump-fleshed girls who have their whole lives in front of them.  My stylist is ten years under me but she is getting there, so she also faces the challenge of being in this place, this older than normal place.  You can't gauge it by your aunts or mothers.  Life at 62 was so different then.  I don't know how to go forward anymore than these 20 year olds sitting in these same chairs, cutting their abundant locks.  My hair is thinning and acts up all summer.  I remember thinking, when I was their age, that all women my age now looked on the verge of breakdowns.  Stressed, tired, and frantic. Worry lines dominated their facial expression, like mine does now.  Their smile had a tentativeness to it. Where did it go, that glow that I once knew?  My mother in law says she feels the same way inside as she did at 30 and I feel the same.  We get shocked sometimes when we look in the mirror, how our body and face do not match our mind and heart.   You can only hope the live experience can emanate the real soul lurking inside these aging vessels. 

I came in armed with my few internet pics that my stylist always glances at but she is more concerned with getting her hands in my head and decided which way to go feeling her way around. 

A Haircut and a shag, or in this case, just a shaggy haircut.

You Must Have Known that I was Lonely

The ducks are diving to catch fish out by the pier and it's so impressive to see them pop out of the water and fly away.  Try that alien technology! 

Each year I get uber excited when the little baby fish arrive in droves around the docks behind work.  They symbolize new beginnings.  I'm a sucker for the promise of spring.  Standing at the water at the end of winter with all my gear, imagining a day like today when I wear only a helmet and the sun is shining on the water.  The grey surroundings are replaced with hints of color and the baby fish magically appear.  I always believe that new opportunities will come. 

As promised, my dinner was even better the next day for lunch.

Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing

Roberta's Frozen Pizza dressed up with American Cheese (sacrilege!) and assorted leftovers.  P made dinner again as I dealt with my growing flu-like symptoms after work.  

A good dough can carry almost any topping to new heights.  This is crispy and has that coal oven crackery yet chewy texture.  We argue whether its worth the extra bucks to get this instead of a much lesser quality frozen dough, or spend a few more and get real slices.  Pizza has many faces.  Sometimes you want it right out of your own oven, crispy and hot. Sometimes you need to let your mate decide which way to go. 
 

You'd Best Believe She Hardly Gets a Penny

Brooklyn Hospital Staffers take a knee for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the African American Medical worker killed by police in Kentucky 

These scenes are powerful and especially during the Pandemic and by these city hospital heroes caring for us under these outrageous conditions.  Braving desolate streets at night, the subways and buses, fear of carrying the virus home to family members, seeing so much death, all for low pay and long hours. 

I find myself very torn lately, feeling so blessed that we didn't die from the virus and no one is sick (knock wood) yet in my family or friend circle.  A time of celebration.  Of course I feel terrible that amidst all of this hardship that this community is hit with these new examples of brutality and injustice.  I can only be silent, holding back a big lump in my throat looking at these ladies, I'm assuming many of them mothers.  I remember I had wondered where were all the women during the protests and this reminds me, they're working.  From these images, you feel so much, the history, the misery of it all.  

I was thinking to be any kind of defender I need to research each of these occurrences for myself and get educated on all of the details, some of which become murky.   I hate that this is happening to our cities, to the black community, to good cops, to innocent people.  I sincerely want to help but hate virtue signaling.  I didn't make time to read about each of the shooting deaths in these last weeks following George Floyd, only Breonna's.  I'm still sick from the Floyd footage.  I never thought we'd wake up and watch Instagram videos of a man dying in real time.  I don't want to do it again.  I don't think it's healthy for us to get desensitized like that, however, it was necessary this time, I suppose. 

But I may have changed my mind about the responsibility to bury myself in all the minutia.  I don't think that helps anyone in the end.  In these photos I see good, hard working people taking a pause, which helps me to understand the importance and complexity of this issue, much more than a hundred newspaper articles.  I hope the honest, respectable cops and folks living in those affected communities  can get together and discuss what needs to be done.  I will be right there if anyone should ever ask for my help or to get involved, but there are more than enough social justice warriors in this town right now, armed and ready.  

I was greeted after work with a Chopped basket featuring unripe pears, baby peppers, boneless chicken thighs and spinach.  I roasted and stuffed the peppers with pepperjack and pepperoni as an appetizer.  I made a nice stir fry with the chicken, pears and spinach and brown rice.  I figure living a good life is as good a service as anything I can contribute right now. 

Cause I'll Be Standing On the Side When You Check It Out

Zucchini egg breakfast burrito

Zucchini!  Always available, cheap and versatile.  Zucchini is that round the way girl of the vegetable world.  She's not trying to be anything but helpful, there when you need a quick but healthy meal.  Every market has zucchini right now.  Sauteed zucchini and scrambled egg is divine! 

Ready to go in oven overnight..pork shoulder

Birds acting like they're starving.  They must miss all the scraps the restaurants normally provide.

Neighborhood Cherry Blossoms

Okame Cherry Tree?

A Ribbon in the Sky for our Love (Handles)

Beef Stroganoff with Veggetti Ribbons

This was most satisfying and came while in a food rut.  I reworked this recipe from the country cook website: https://www.thecountrycook.net/beef-stroganoff/

My Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 cup yellow onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced (about 1-2 cloves)
• 1 pkg of portabello mushrooms
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 teaspoon thyme leaves
• squeeze of lemon
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup yogurt, a dash of almond milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• veggetti ribbon noodles 

Instructions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown ground beef along with the onions,garlic & mushrooms until thoroughly cooked.
2. Drain ground beef to remove excess grease from pan.
3. Put pan back on stove over medium heat (don't add the ground beef back in yet.)
4. Add butter to pan and let it melt.
5. Then add flour to pan, stir and let it absorb butter.
6. Now add beef broth and whisk vigorously to remove any lumps, turning the heat up to high, bringing it to a boil for 2-3 minutes until you see it thicken slightly.
7. Bring temperature down to medium and whisk in yogurt 
8. Stir until mixture is thoroughly incorporated.
9. Add salt & pepper. Keep tasting mixture until it is seasoned the way you like.
10. If it gets too thick on you, just add a little almond milk
11. Add ground beef back to mixture until reheated.
12. Saute the veggetti noodles in a large pan for about 3 minutes add the thyme leaves, salt and pepper and serve with a squeeze of lemon.

If you're jonesing for pasta but your fat belly tells you to lay off, then this is a great alternative and it's really satisfying.  The yogurt gives a velvety slightly tart taste and you don't miss the sour cream.  A dash of soy sauce also helps.

In the spring, this will fill with a brilliant green waterfall and look fabulous in the middle of the block. I've admired it for years. I don't believe I've seen it in the winter before though.  It's a bit unsightly.

It's an actual tree at it's base, which is surprising and some of the branches are very thick.  There's no turning back with this weird experiment.  The birds are crazy for it by the sound coming from that side of the street though.