House Hunting - again

Well - after the inspection, it was determined that the wood siding was in bad shape and needed to be replaced, as well as the roof. That was big dollar bad. On top of that - they had an ejector pump installed with no way to access it unless you took out a sink and part of a wall. Le sigh.

Upshot - we could not come to a final dollar agreement. So - on with the search!

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with honey and spice rub

I remembered this recipe recently due to the fact that some friends of mine had their first harvest of honey late this summer and were kind enough to share. The recipe is from "The Olives Table" by Todd English. If you have this cookbook, it can be found on page 145.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Honey -and-Spice Rub

Serves 4

Honey and Spice Rub

1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp finely chopped peeled ginger or 2 tsps ground ginger
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 head cauliflower, leaves intact
1/2 cup to 1 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

To make rub:  Place all rub ingredients in a small bowl and mix together until well combined. Set aside.

Place the cauliflower, leafy side down, in a baking pan just big enough to hold it snugly, and drizzle the rub over it. Place the cauliflower in the oven, and bake until golden brown, about an hour. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan, and cook until the cauliflower is well browned and soft, about another 30 minutes. Check occasionally to see if the water had evaporated, and if necessary, add more water.

Remove cauliflower and slice it. Pour the cooking liquid over the slices and serve.

My notes: I never leave the green leafy part on the cauliflower and it works just fine. I also have never added more than 1/2 cup of water. I do vary the spices from time to time, but this method produces a nice dish, just a bit different from the normal style.

Enjoy!

The joys of house hunting

so - you find a house and that should be it, yes? Not so fast my friend. FIRST one must have the home inspection. This little feature tells you everything you need to know , but don't necessarily want to know, about the home you think just might be it.

insert large le sigh here. very large.

I am not certain we are going to be able to work out the price and the necessary fixes so they are compatible. Fingers crossed.

Healthcare - STILL

Can anyone believe that the republicans are anything but against whatever works? Surest way to one party rule I have ever seen - and that is not a good thing - well - unless you have so called pundits like Rushbo as your leader - or God forbid - palin.

EEEEEK!

Healthcare reform - again

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/15/AR2009091502978.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

We better pay attention to the so called "Gang of 6". They are frigging everything up.

banks

ahhhh- I hope folks who are screaming about monies pay attention to what Pres Obama wants to do, and that they get on board.

Beautiful Day

At last.

Gorgeous weather to live in. Took 4 months, but this is very nice.

spent the weekend looking at homes in Mass, and may just have found exactly what we want. We'll see.

A true conservative

If only these were the folks we dealt with today. I could agree with them.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/214253

9/11 and the like

I will never forget where I was that morning in 2001 - and I am sure it is the same for every American. I am remembering all of the victims and their families today, and I always will.

That same selflessness that was evoked under such terrible circumstances seems to have faded away. so sad.

How did we go from that moment to things like shouting at Town Halls and actually heckling a sitting president within the halls of congress? How many of those same folks are flying their flags proudly today?

How many of their them, their parents, their children, etc., were involved in that shameful place and time in Arkansas? Or places and times like it?
http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/central/central1.html

I see these folks as the same type of hateful people - no thinking, no caring, etc.

It is sad that it takes a tragedy such as 9/11 to make them rise above themselves, and an even bigger tragedy that they go back to their old ways so quickly.

waiting to hear what Pres Obama has to say

in his address to congress. I am hoping he gathers the reigns on all of the various proposals and pulls a rabbit out of the hat, per se.

If anyone can do it, I am convinced he can

farmer's market, dogs

went to the raleigh farmer's market today. Man oh man - so many stalls, all have the same thing. What is a wolvie to do? buy cukes here, peppers there, eggplant over that a way, etc. and Le sigh.

Did get some great peaches for the peach salsa tho. and if you like german johnson tomatoes, i suggest you come on down (or up) to raleigh - they are LOADED with them.

On another note - watching my doggie get older by the day - at least sometimes it seems that way. poor old boy. no hip dysplasia , pain, or even detectable arthiritis, so I am pretty well certain we are experiencing Degenerative Myelopathy, or something very like it. I had a shep go down with this a few years back, and Grady's symptoms are awfully similar, especially with all his blood work being spot on, and good x rays. I am hoping it's just general weakness, but we will just have to see. He stumbles a lot, and absolutely can no longer pivot on either rear leg. makes for some interesting (but scary) interactions on the stairs with the kitties. I think I am going to have to gate the stairs soon. He fell pretty damn hard the other nite, scared the S**T out of me. Grady of course, just got up and gave the floor a dirty look. ;-0

Labor Day cooking

so I am wondering what to make for the holiday weekend. My eyes and thoughts are always huge - but I do need to scale back, as I will most likley only be feeding 3 people. How does one train oneself not to go bonkers? Or is it too late for me?

On another note, I will be making a big batch of peach salsa today. :-)

Healthcare reform

Well - I for one think that I may have over reacted to , or been affected by, all the hype over the summer. This article from the washington post made me think - which is never a bad thing. ;-)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/31/AR2009083102913.html

So - if the reform we get is just a first step - I think I can handle that. Especially if these ingredients are in the recipe:

1. Insurance co's can not deny anyone coverage for a preexisting condition

2. Insurance co's can not deny coverage for folks who already have a policy and get sick and need immediate care - and they must cover preventative procedures and the like, and mental health needs. No more insurance company "death panels".

3. Medical records must be modernized so that crucial information about a person's medical history is available within minutes or hours, not days.

4. Doctors should be paid for care, not by procedure. The biggest piece to reform on this right now is Medicare.

5. People who can not afford care must be able to receive it. No one should be denied access to health care, especially in an emergency, nor turned away because of lack of insurance

6. Families should not be penalized and bankrupted when their insurance companies refuse to pay for treatments. As the new regs are rolled out, something must be put in place immediately to assure that this happens until #'s 1 & 2 are in place. Too many people have lost their homes , etc., trying to pay outrageous balances that ought to have been covered.

the weather outside is frightful

uh huh - we were supposed to have mid to low 80's and low humidity all this week. yah. instead, only mid to high 90's and friggin humid enough to curl my hair as I go out the door. le sigh.

this is why we are leaving NC - 4 solid months of this hell. I don't mind a few days, even a couple of weeks, but come on.

So a buddy of mine

Who shall remain nameless , hasn't bothered to pick one tomato from the plants I drove a few hundred miles to give her. LOL - something is definitely wrong with that picture.

She does say she waves at them as she drives by everyday. Man oh man - i should go and raid a garden.

newest political musings

YES!! Dump the republic of no and move on with healthcare reform.

After healthcare, we can finally finish the wall street debacle. My word. Get those regulations in place boyos.

schedules, schedules

Whoa!

Just try scheduling time with my pal Ruth of lemonade and kidneys fame. No way Jose.

whew - that is one busy family.

halloween anyone? ;-0

well - we are going to make an offer on a property in PA this weekend - 6 acres and a house with good bones, in need of updating, but nothing that has to be done this instant.

now - to find a place to sell my plants. :-)

where oh where has rationality gone? oh where oh where could it be? with its tail cut off and its head clogged up, oh where oh where could it be.(tune little dog gone)

someone, PLEASE. someone has to be able to bring rational thinking back to this america. Of course, the nut jobs like Palin would say this means we want jihad.

I wonder if the people who yell and swear at all these supposed demonstrations would like what they see if a mirror was held up to them. Would it give them pause?

How many of these folks want their "grannies" to lose their single payer health care. you know, Medicare? I don't even want to guess how many actually had cards for it in their back pockets whilst yelling.

America has dumbed down alright. A sad , sad, episode in our history.

I read a piece in the Parade Magazine today ( you know, that little insert mag in the newspapers - you guys still get newspapers, right?) with Bill O'Reilly.

Now, normally I wouldn't be able to say that man's name with out a flame retardant nearby, but - his piece in this mag today makes him sound...reasonable...human even. He praised Obama.

The thud you heard around noon today was me falling off my chair. Will wonders never cease?

Did he start with mood modifiers or something? Is there hope for any fox news viewer or commentators? What next - Ann Coulter admits she does it all for money? Rofl

setting up

just getting started with this here blog, it will get better as I learn more.

I have to say, in my very first post, that I believe Sarah Palin is an absolute disgrace to womenkind. You betcha.

Whew - had to get that set out first. If you don't agree with me on this one, chances are extremely good that you won't like anything else, either.