Three Rats

This morning I jumped when I came upon a dead rat on the sidewalk. I was walking my 2 dogs and I immediately crossed the street and after a few steps we came upon another dead rat on the sidewalk. I kept walking and crossed to another street. I was relieved that we did not encounter any more. 

This afternoon I spotted a 3rd dead rat on the sidewalk in front of my neighbors building. Three dead rats all on the same street.

My husband said it's a spell. All of the drug dealers were hit with a secret City Rat Ray Gun and turned into rats. I like it. So far that explanation works for me. They perished, not knowing how to be proper rats.

Being alone on Thanksgiving is rather wonderful, like not attending a party that you didn't want to go to and where no one will realize you're not there.

 John Thorne

Baking Two Pumpkin Pies for my Husband's Birthday Tomorrow

Pumpkin Pie re-posted from my blog The Insomniacs Kitchen, March 2012, adapted 10/27/2021 and DOUBLED.

I just made pumpkin pie for the first time and it came out great! I put it in front of the tiny fan so it would cool off fast so we could eat it. I am so excited. I think pie is my new friend.

This is a delicious whole wheat crust and the pie is light like Indian Pudding and not too sweet. This is an adaption of the Libby's Pumpkin pie label recipe and the One Pie brand label recipe. I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin ice-cream, pumpkin everything!!

Ingredients and instructions for 2 pies (9-10 inch) or 6 mini pies (6 inch)

Pie crust:

2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn oil
3/8 cup (6 Tbs) white or brown sugar (the sugar is the glue holding the crust together)
2 teaspoon Kosher salt (less if using regular salt or white flour)
1/4 cup water

Mix ingredients with fingers so it is pebbly. Press into pie pan with fingers. Prick dough on the pan bottom with a fork. It can be sticky and hard to handle but hang in there, it will be delicious.

Bake at 350° F for 5-10 minutes. Then let it cool.

Tip from Once Upon a Chef Jenn Segal: Press the crust into the bottom of the pan with the back of a measuring cup.  This will make sure the crust is in the pan nice and firm, so that it won't fall apart when you cut this for serving.

Pie filling:

1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup of dark molasses
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (half if using regular salt)
2 teaspoons ground ginger (I used freshly finely grated frozen ginger root)
2 teaspoons vanilla (homemade)
4 large eggs
1 large can of pumpkin puree (29 oz.)
2 cans of evaporated milk (12 fl. oz.)

Mix sugar, dark molasses, cinnamon, salt, ginger, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl. Whisk in pumpkin puree and evaporated milk. 

Pour into the pre-baked, cooled pie shells.

Bake pie in preheated 425° F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F; bake for 40 to 50 more minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Some bakers use sweetened condensed milk so I tried it but I discovered that it is cloyingly sweet and drowns out the pumpkin taste compared to a pie made with evaporated milk and 1/4 cup sugar (per pie). The evaporated milk pumpkin pie is much more like Indian Pudding and tastes like a food!

 

sooner or later if he walks down a dark street, fate will slip out with a stuffed eel-skin and get him.

The cat sat on the mat is not a story; the cat sat on the dog’s mat is the beginning of an exciting story, and out of that collision, perhaps, there comes a sense of retribution. Now you may call that God, or you may call it the presence of fatalistic forces in society, or you may call it man’s inhumanity to man. But, in the immortal words of P.G. Wodehouse, what it boils down to is that if your character does something wrong, sooner or later if he walks down a dark street, fate will slip out with a stuffed eel-skin and get him.

JOHN LE CARRÉ

The Singing Lady

For years I have heard the singing lady. She sits in the alley between my house and the apartment building next door. I wave and say hello when I am walking by with my dogs. She's a large woman. The phone is always propped up on a tripod in front of her when she talks. I have seen her out there under a big black umbrella in the rain. She sings wildly out of tune. When I am in bed or in my office I'll grumble and run my box fan to blot her out.

The other day I saw a woman coming down the sidewalk in a motorized wheelchair. I noticed she had a missing leg cut off at the calf. And she was singing wildly out of tune. It was her! The singing lady!

A dead bishop’s behavior is back in the spotlight

 Boston Globe Headline Today

Bumpersticker

 

Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon a tall man with a radio voice would drive to our house and offer to take us for the day. Supposedly this was our father. He was on his second of 3 sets of kids. We were the first set and the second set were waiting in the car with the third wife. We were driven to his apartment in Yonkers to celebrate his birthday. His brother Seymour was there with his 2nd wife, a short woman built like the Tasmanian Devil with a strong Hungarian accent. All I remember is Seymour throwing my father's Yorkie across the room. The dog's shoulder was dislocated but wife number three popped it back in place.

Don't just see family on holidays. Healthy relationships rely on regular, low-pressure contact throughout the year rather than waiting for forced holiday gatherings.  Why Year-Round Connection Matters:  Low-pressure bonding: Regular phone calls, quick weekend check-ins, or casual coffee meetups build genuine familiarity without the high stress of a massive family reunion. No sole window for connection: Healthy dynamics do not treat a single holiday as the only chance all year to maintain a relationship. Reduced holiday resentment: Spreading out time together stops you from trying to fix a year's worth of communication gaps across a single dinner table. Simple Ways to Stay Connected: Micro-interactions: Send a quick text, a photo of something that reminded you of them, or a funny meme on a random Tuesday. Low-stakes visits: Plan a casual lunch, a walk in the park, or a phone call while you commute instead of an all-weekend obligation. Set clear boundaries: It is okay to skip a holiday gathering if the dynamic is toxic, provided you are intentional about how and when you choose to connect the rest of the year.   

A man who does not understand the benefit of suffering does not live a clever and true life. Leo Tolstoy 

When I read my story aloud, I convert myself from being a writer to being a reader. And the better reader I am, the better writer I can become. Avi

Bon anniversaire!

 In French, a birthday is called un anniversaire. 

etiquette

etiquette /ˈedəkət/ Etiquette is a system of conventional rules, norms, and customs that regulate acceptable social, professional, and public behavior.  

Core Principles  According to guidance from the Emily Post institute, etiquette is divided into two parts: manners (the actions) and core principles (the foundation).

 • Respect: Acknowledging the worth of others through punctuality, open-mindedness, and self-respect.

 • Consideration: Practicing empathy and thoughtful behavior to help and positively affect others. • Honesty: Acting with sincerity, tact, and benevolent truth.

https://parade.com/living/how-to-politely-decline-an-invitation

My observation over the years is that couples who cook together tend to have the happiest marriages. Perhaps it should be mandatory that before a couple weds they must take a cooking class together. George Bilgere

Lentil Potato Tomato Gloop!

Learning to cook in restaurants in my 20's has been one of the best gifts of my adult life. One of the hazards is I still make everything in 10 gallon pots! I do make use of the freezer.

Tonight I cooked a pound of lentils with some carrots that I chopped and a huge red onion chopped. I added the leftover German potato salad I made the other day* and added a splash of Chianti and Adobo and some more olive oil and a 1 pound bag of frozen spinach. It cooked for 30 minutes in the instant pot and tasted AMAZING, like it simmered all day. Now I am making Royal brown basmati rice to go with it. 

*(with Yukon gold potatoes and red onion and red bell peppers) 

All writing problems are psychological problems. Blocks usually stem from the fear of being judged. If you imagine the world listening, you’ll never write a line. That’s why privacy is so important. You should write first drafts as if they will never be shown to anyone.

ERICA JONG

 https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-nutrition/how-much-calcium-do-you-really-need

Overheard

They care about is the image of family, not the actual relationships. It’s about appearances not an actual connection.

Every muscle is sore from swimming, dog walking, and raking leaves. I'm making Irish oatmeal cooked with raisins and declaring today a snow day. Sometimes the body needs a rest.

“I continually get told by everybody from 90-year-olds down to nine-year-olds that the sharing part of my experience, sharing part of my story, has helped them,” Harry said. “And as long as that’s the case, then I’m always going to try and make it easier for other people. It doesn’t matter whether it’s one or a million.” Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex