Happy Independence Day!

We're in our living room watching "A Capitol Fourth" with Sutton Foster, Christopher Jackson (of Hamilton), and others, and will later flip back and forth with the Macy's fireworks on NBC--our traditional July 4th activities!

We're not much for celebrating (being too cynical for most jingoistic patriotism--especially this election year!--and too averse to hot weather to for beaches and barbecue), but this year saw us do more than usual.  On Saturday, we attended a wonderful lakeside picnic at the summer home of one of Bud's kung fu buddies.  There was a lot of tasty food--pasta salad, baked ziti, roasted corn, my Tex-Mex chocolate sheet cake, lasagna, various catered Indian curries and dishes, a fresh fruit salad (complete with cored and halved cherries!), this great couscous salad with pine nuts and dried fruits (I hope to get this recipe later), etc etc etc--and we all had our fill.

I talked with various other guests--two women owned horses and compared notes with Sis, one couple had a new 10-week-old baby, others went to a private school that Mama and I have our eyes on, one dad had left our kung fu school a couple of years ago and had stories to tell.  A nice group.

Best of all, the kids got to hang out with some of the older kids (from 14-18 years old.)  They went swimming in the lake together, playing on the standing paddle boards and the water trampoline.  The kids were like fish!  And, while there were life jackets to be had, they didn't need them.  Mama and I sat on the dock in the shade watching them, the ducks (Mr. and Mrs. Mallard), the Canada geese, the Red-Shouldered hawk screeching overhead most of the day, the various birds flitting back and forth, and the sun glinting off of the green water while the trees swayed in the light breeze.  It was a beautiful day.  Later, the kids made music together inside, each showing off various piano pieces and singing karaoke together.  Then they hung out upstairs, exploring the nooks and crannies of the old house.

After the party, we stopped for ice cream at our favorite local place.  The lines were long, but it was worth the wait.  Black raspberry.  Coffee.  Cherry Vanilla.  Toasted Almond.  A chocolate milkshake. Mmmmmmm!

Then we went to play putt-putt!  It was a lovely little course surrounded by shrubs and a stream.  It wasn't kitschy, just some good old fun.  We were pretty wiped after that, grabbing some burgers on the way home that night.

On Sunday, Mama and the kids went to NYC for dim sum with the grandparents, while I went to lunch to celebrate the birthday of Mama Teacher.  Then, we spent the evening together watching "The Great British Bake-off."

Today, we celebrated Mama's birthday belatedly by going to see Finding Dory at the fancy theater with the reserved and big reclining seats.  It was a cute film--especially those otters and the two whales.

Which brings us full circle to the 4th of July tv shows right now, while real fireworks are going off in yards around town.

Happy Independence Day!

And may we continue to be the land of the free . . . . with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.


-=-=-=-=-
And so we finished more of our list in one weekend:

1. Putt-putt golf
2. Celebrate 4th of July--we've been invited to a picnic.
3. Celebrate Mama's birthday--we're doing it this coming weekend!

And let's add to the movie list 

    4.  See Finding Dory

-=-=-=-=-=-

From “ Field of Greens” cookbook:

Couscous Salad with Apricots, Pine Nuts and Ginger

1 cup instant couscous

1/2 cup water

1 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tablespoon vinegar (I usually use some kind of fruity vinegar, but basically anything works)

8 dried apricots thinly sliced

2 tablespoons dried raisin, cherries, currents, cranberries (whatever you have around)

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

Salt

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

2 Tablespoon pine nuts

Pour couscous into small mixing bowl.  Mix water, orange juice, olive oil and vinegar in saucepan and bring to boil.  Stir in dried fruit, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; immediately pour over couscous and then cover bowl and let sit for 20 minutes.

Bring small pt of water to boil and drop in red onion for 15 seconds.  Drain.

When couscous is ready, fluff it with fork and then add pine nuts and onion.

Summer Fun: Happy Fourth!

54.  Celebrate July 4th


It's an odd holiday this year, on Wednesday, smack in the middle of the week.  Sis wasn't even be home because she had GS camp (I know, odd; it was a quiet day for us and I missed being part of a big gathering of family, friends, food, and fireworks).  So we saved our big meal for late in the day, which is just as well because Mama took Bud on a sushi date, an early birthday present for just the two of them (you won't believe what they inhaled: squid, octopus, tuna, salmon, ikura/salmon roe, tobiko/flying fish roe, sea urchin, freshwater eel, unagi and anago/fresh and seawater eels, shrimp, jumbo sweet shrimp, crabstick, salmon skin handroll . . . and dessert for his birthday, a tempura ice cream!).  I stayed home, making food and hanging out.  When Sis got home at 5 pm, we started with nachos and later had our indoor July 4th picnic, including:

• Shish kebabs, actually just the chicken because the kids weren't up for the rest and we were cooking indoors
• Oven fries--we ate two whole trays of this!  And that's without Bud's help.
• Sumi Salad--Bud's favorite red cabbage slaw, from a recipe at our new church
• Pasta and Bean salad--very good with red kidney beans and tri-color penne
• My adaptation of the mint iced tea we had at the Greenmarket last weekend
• Strawberry Soda Ice Cream--Wow!  This was the best strawberry ice cream I've ever had
• Chocolate sorbet--this didn't freeze well because we overworked the machine but since it's just chocolate sugar-water, we're gonna try again tomorrow.  Sis likes the mix, though.

To mark the occasion, we talked about patriotism (love of country vs. nationalism, belief in your country's exceptionalism and superiority) and what was special about the USA--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to gather, votes for women, some state legalization of same-sex marriage, the new changes in healthcare law and immigration (that executive order that resembles in part the Dream Act), the gumbo (not melting pot) of diverse religions and ethnicities, the beauty of the land, the rich history--but also noted that many other countries have such rights and resources (cue "Finlandia" here--"But other hearts in other lands are beating/with hopes and dream as true and high as mine"), mentioning though the countries that didn't have such freedoms (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uganda, China, etc.  We also talked about things that we wished we could change about our country, desiring full nationalized healthcare, federal same-sex marriage rights (like Canada or Denmark), maternity leave, the full Dream Act and other issues.  More than that, we wished for peace at home and abroad, more equality (racial, gender, economic) and compassion.  

Then we ate ice cream.


The kids are in bed and we're watching some of the televised celebrations, just enjoyed John Williams conduct (I saw him once conduct his famous movie scores in Houston), was touched by Javier Colon (a local CT boy, whom we saw open for the Indigo Girls a few years back) singing "Stand By Me," and looking forward to Megan Hilty (oops, missed her in the opening and saw her on DVR--great!) and Amber Riley.  


And to waving at the crowd at the Macy's fireworks in NYC, somewhere within which is dear Mrs. S.!


(Maybe next year, we'll cover the myths of July 4th!)
-=-=-=-=-


Authentic Texas Nachos
bag of corn chips
block of sharp cheddar cheese
jalapeno slices, if desired

Spread chips in single layer across a large cookie sheet.  Put a single, thin slice of cheese on each chip and a jalapeno slice, as desired.   Do NOT dump a bag of grated cheddar cheese on top of the chips.  (And if you want cheese sauce, well, that's queso and a different recipe--melt a lb. block of Velveeta with a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, eat with chips . . .or a spoon!)

Broil until cheese bubbles and turns slightly golden.

Eat immediately, careful not to burn yourself on the edge of the tray.

Mommy Hungry


Shish Kebabs

2 pounds meat (peeled shrimp, chicken, or beef)

1 dozen cherry tomatoes

16 oz. pineapple chunks

1 dozen small fresh mushrooms

2 green peppers cut in 1” squares

½ cup chopped parsley

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

            Place in a mixing bowl with the oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper, and mix well.  Add the meat, pineapple, mushrooms, and green pepper, and mix well.  Let it marinate for one hour, stirring now and then.  Mount everything on skewers, which have been soaking in water.  Leave a little space between them so the heat can circulate; otherwise something may come out raw.  Place over hot coals for five minutes, basting them with the marinade now and then.  Turn them over, baste some more and cook for five minutes more.

Gommie Hungry

Oven Fries
Slice into strips washed, but not peeled, potatoes.
Place potato strips in ice water in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
Drain water. 
Toss 1 tablespoon of oil in potatoes, totally covering.
Place potatoes on greased (Pam-sprayed) cookie sheet. 
Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes or until brown.
Sprinkle with Lawry’s season salt.




Sumi Salad

3-6 oz. packages shredded red cabbage, or 1/2 head of firm cabbage, chopped
1 package Ramen noodles, crushed while in package (save the seasoning packet)
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 tablespoons rice vinegar, plain, not seasonred
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt

In small pan, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.  Add sesame seeds and almonds.  Brown, stirring constantly.  don't let burn.  Set aside.  Chop scallion, using tops as well.  Combine crushed Ramen, scallion, and cabbage in a large bowl.  Mix together. In another bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, 1/2 cup of sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, seasoning packet, salt, and pepper.  Combine all, stirring well.  Store covered in refrigerator overnight.  Stir a few times during the day before serving.  (*I'm working on using less oil and substituting olive oil in this recipe).

Church cookbook




Pasta and Bean Salad (Seed Savers' Heritage Bean Salad)

1 1/2 cups dried beans (I've used a mixture of heirloom beans from Laurel Hill; Seed Savers calls for Lena Cisco's Birds Egg)

1 box pasta, cooked al dente according to directions (any shape, I used tri-color penne)

Vinaigrette -

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 t. Dijon mustard (I used spicy brown)
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Cook dried beans (I soaked them overnight in salt water) by bringing to a boil for five minutes and then simmering for about 1 1/2 hours.  Cook pasta al dente.   Prepare vinaigrette. Add dressing ingredients while beans and pasta are still warm. Chill for several hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Add corn, red onion, chunks of fresh mozzarella, red/yellow bell pepper, celery, olives, or whatever sounds good.

Mommy Hungry via Seed Savers

Mommy Hungry's Greenmarket Mint Tea
2-3 cups mint leaves
2-3 tablespoons sugar, to taste
juice of 1/2 large lemon

Steep mint leaves and sugar in 2 cups hot water.  When water is much cooler or even room temperature, add cold water to fill pitcher (1 liter+) and lemon juice.

Mommy Hungry




Strawberry Soda Ice Cream
Just saw this in Food Network Magazine and it reminded me of the Big Red soda we made at camp (sans strawberries)!  It was delicious.  We also made root beer ice cream at camp, which was also awesome.  This recipe, below, makes about the best strawberry ice cream I've ever had.
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
3/4 cup red cream soda (Big Red!) or regular cream soda
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and mashed


Whisk the condensed milk, half-and-half, cream soda, cream and strawberries in a medium bowl.  Churn in ice cream maker.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.


Laura Duckworth, Food Network Magazine




Chocolate Sorbet
2 cups water

1 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened (or Dutch process) cocoa powder

Combine the water and sugar in a heavy saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the cocoa and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat and pour through a fine strainer into a bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Stir the cool mixture, then freeze in your ice cream maker. When finished, the sorbet will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer sorbet, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.


Bruce Weinstein, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book