History of Limes

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

Anyone craving limes? It’s that time of year.  February!  Time to start turning the food dial.  You know what I mean, ditching those heavy casseroles and replacing them with something lighter, more flavorful, something limey.

Ever thought of the history of limes.  It happened like this:

Sailers. They had that dreaded scurvy, which is quite simply a lack of vitamin C.  Lucky for us, British Physician Dr. James Lind, realized this and starting using a mix of limes and rum as a sure fix. Well, thank you Dr. Lind!  A mojito sound lovely.

But, even if it wasn’t for scurvy, limes would have come our way.  I’m sure of it.  Used originally in Mexican, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisines, I am astounded by the impact of the lowly little citrus.  I simply love the punch it packs! So, I’m thinking it might just be time to mix up some Margarita’s and make some homemade salsa and start pretending to be in the Caribbean.

Yes, the lime.

One of my favorite limes recipes came from my friend Gretchen.  It’s called old clothes in Spanish, but don’t be deterred.  Check it out:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/ropa-vieja-recipe/index.html

The funny thing is that I’m the only person in the world that squeezes limes all over this puppy.  Fools, you must try it.

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The Release of Stinger ~ A Photo Essay

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Related Posts:

http://www.une.edu/research/msc/marc/index.cfm

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Zombies, Who Knew?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by

I spent yesterday with Zombies.  You heard me, Zombies.  I don’t like Zombies, nor do I enjoy spending too much time with gray brain matter, cartilage, genetically modified DNA, or shot guns.   It grosses me out.  But, a writer from my writing group brought me into that world and I simply couldn’t look away.  He nailed the Zombies!

The weird thing is that the writer just casually whipped off this work for fun, in a mere month and a half.  He created something out of nothing and it completely rocked my reading world.  Let’s discuss this.  I’ve worked on my novel for three years.  Guess what, still working.  It’s fascinating this writers body of work has funneled into something totally different.  It’s like all the work he did before is percolating in a new pot.  The new work has the best of it all.  So crazy and good.

It’s fun to see the writers around me moving to new dimension of writing stardom.  I have no doubt in my mind that this novel is going somewhere and I bow down to the hard work it took to get there.  Joe, you are a Zombie wizard.

You get my teacher two stars of  Zombie goodness.  Can’t wait for more…

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Homemade Egg Rolls

Posted on February 15, 2012 by

If you are looking for a late afternoon snack or a light Sunday supper make egg rolls.  I know what you are thinking, they are too difficult and too time consuming.  That’s what I thought.  Guess what, not true.

I used a bunch of stir fry stuff from the fridge:  green onion, savoy cabbage, carrots, and shitake mushrooms (still trying to get the kids to like these!).  Then I stir fried it all up with some fresh ginger and garlic.  I seasoned with soy, sesame oil, and rice vinegar and let cool.

Then I had the kids wrap the the rolls and I flash fried them in an inch of peanut oil in my cast iron skillet.

We had a couple of different dipping sauces, though they do look just the same! Simple tamari in one and a thicker teriyaki sauce in the other.  We also served it with an Thai chili sauce for a kick.

Healthy? Well, not so much.  Fun, definitely.

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Portland Valentine’s Day Bandit

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

As promised Valentine Bandit photographs for you…

Okay, this might not be from the bandit, but I like the gorilla.  Seriously, who doesn’t like a gorilla?

This architecture is amazing, check out the detail.

I’ve always wished that I had red hair.

Hug a soldier!

Such a cheery way to spend a day.  Look closely at the masks in the background.  Love them!

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

This is nothing better than a box of chocolates first thing in the morning.  You can open it up and start munching on chocolate with your coffee and pack it in lunch boxes for a special treat.  You can also sit around and ponder what’s underneath all of the creamy goodness and that can take up an entire day.

So, thank you for that!

I really love consumable gifts.  They are good for the environment and the local economy.  It’s a Valentine’s win-win situation.  This year for my teacher gifts I made these:

I bought everything at Skillin’s Greenhouse.  They are simply a paper white bulb nestled in white stone in a colorful planter.  The kids decorated them with red heart shaped chocolates and a wishing turtle.

Little tokens…

Just love them.

PS- I’m heading in town for lunch… will take pictures of Valentine Bandit’s work.  Can’t wait!

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Inspiration

Posted on February 10, 2012 by

I’m resting my novel right now.  That means that I’ve essentially stuck it in a virtual drawer so I can give my brain a rest.  By doing this, I will be able to look at the work with fresh eyes before I start yet another revision.  I know, you are saying to yourself, just how many revisions does this puppy need! Yes, it is an ambitious project and ambitious projects take time.  I’m learning.

What’s weird is when you are resting a new novel it is time when you basically sit around and think about other ideas.  I’ve been doing this for two weeks.  Yes, I know I need to revise my middle grade, but I’m kind of searching for something new, something I can sink my teeth into that hasn’t been done before.  I need the creating process not the fixing process!

Yet….

Inspiration is a sneaky thing.  It doesn’t just come when called like some genie in a bottle.  So, I’ve been mucking around this house with no original ideas for two weeks now and it only took one extended round of vomit for the idea to come.  That’s the thing, you just never know what’s going to spark your imagination.  Fickle thing!

So, non-fiction here I come.  I’m looking forward to your sensibility and straight-forward nature.  This should be interesting.

Where do you find your inspiration?

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