Weaponless Warrior

I was interviewing a medulloblastoma survivor recently and while my goal was to figure out if he would be a good fit for our advocacy committee, he made me think.  One of his interests is in the language that we use to talk about illness in general and cancer specifically.  He is particularly bothered by the battle imagery that implies that you are in some way able to fight the cancer, and if you lose, that somehow you are a failed warrior.  Or if you are cancer free that somehow you have prevailed.  The reality is so much different than that.  We are using medicines and therapies and surgeries in order to eradicate something that is actually a part of us gone terribly wrong rather than some foreign invader.  If the cancer is eradicated, it is accomplished by the treatment and not something that we the survivor has done.  We show up.  That is about all that we can control.  Implying otherwise puts an undue burden on both those who survive and those who do not.  That is what I did.  I showed up, month after month, and I am hoping for the very best.

B&G Oysters, Boston, MA

This is a wonderful seafood place, chosen for it's lobster roll, which was indeed delicious, but it had so much more to offer.  We had dinner on a recent trip to Boston with a number of different people from different walks of life.  We didn't have a reservation, but were told that the outdoor seating was often available and the forecast was for clear skies so we should be okay.  The fun thing about hosting a number of people is that you can order something, like the enormous seafood platter that you wouldn't ordinarily have enough people on board to finish, and that was an excellent choice here.  The crab salad was perhaps the best I have ever had, and the octopus ceviche with a hint of grapefruit was also a highlight.  We did not venture off the fruits of the sea in our meal, so I cannot comment on other dining options, but we had a memorably excellent meal.

Berry Pilaf

This recipe comes out looking just this good, and it is very delicious.  Do not be put off by the number of steps, and we soaked the rice more briefly and it worked out fine.

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 3 tablespoons very hot milk
• About 1/2 cup barberries or dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and halved lengthwise, then sliced into fine half rings
• 1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 5 cardamom pods
• 2 1/2-inch cinnamon sticks
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cloves
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Wash the rice in several changes of water. Put in a bowl, cover generously with water, then set aside to soak for 3 hours.
Meanwhile, in a mortar and pestle, combine the saffron and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Pound together to create a fine powder. Transfer to a small bowl, then stir in the hot milk. Set aside for 3 hours.
Toward the end of the 3 hours, rinse the berries several times, then leave to soak in water for 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

In a medium skillet over medium-high, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until they start to brown. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until they are reddish brown. Add the drained berries and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir once or twice, then remove from the heat.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Bring about 10 cups of water to a boil. Add the salt, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cloves. Stir once, then add the rice. Let it cook in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until it is three-quarters cooked but still has a thin, hard core. Drain in a colander.

Working quickly now, spread 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in a medium baking dish. Spread half the rice over it. Spread another tablespoon of the butter, plus half the saffron mixture and half the onion-berry mixture and some of its oil on top of the rice. Spread the remaining rice on top of the first layer. Pour the remaining tablespoon of butter over it, followed by the remaining saffron mixture and onion-berry mixture.
Cover tightly with foil and a lid and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Toss the rice gently to mix before serving.

Honor by Bernard van Orley (1525)

This is the upper left quadrant of the Honor tapestry.  It was the central tapestry in a series known collectively since the sixteenth century as The Honors. The series presents an allegorical guide to the qualities of a successful ruler in the face of unpredictable Fortune: Prudence, Virtue, Faith, Honor, Fame, and Justice. In Honor, a male personification of Honor is about to be crowned above his two-tier tribunal of honorable men and ladies from history, the Bible, and secular legends. At the center, a scribe checks the list of those honorable enough to be granted entry to Honor's pavilion. In the foreground, a wonderfully unruly mass of dishonorable legendary protagonists tries to scale Honor's walls.  One of only two sixteenth-century editions known to have survived, this set was made sometime after 1525 for Charles V's trusted advisor, and one of the most powerful men of his generation, Cardinal Erard de la Marck, prince-bishop of Liège.

The Year Has Begun

It is once again a time of reflection and renewal.  I like to think about all the things that are good and beautiful about life on this amazing planet of ours.
I started out the new year a bit under the weather, so not the most joyful beginning, but I was able to have apples and honey and since I have a good job with good benefits, I was able to take the time I needed to recover. 
And that is not a given in the United States.  Something that has been true for a very long time, our whole time as a country, in fact.  The thing that briefly fooled us into thinking that we might have progressed in a significant way as a society was that our legislators passed laws that made a very flawed system of insurance available to a broader group of Americans who previously could not afford health care and did not get it through their jobs.  We are a strange people, where the majority of people want health care, and they want to retain it for themselves and their family, but they do not realize that in doing so, many of them require government help to do so.  There is yet another threat in the Republican run Congress to dismantle health care coverage for most, and hopefully this is not the year where we take a giant step backwards.

Monitoring Carbon Emissions From Space

 Carbon emission treaties have basically been on the honor system, but do they have to be?
Could power plannt emissions be tracked from space? The short answer is probably, to some degree, with more help.
 Researchers have shown that observations by Earth-orbiting instruments can be used to estimate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from individual power plants. NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2, which was launched in July 2014, was designed to monitor the movement of CO₂ in and out of ecosystems worldwide. Despite the satellite’s generally broad focus, its sensors are able to measure CO₂ concentrations in the air to within about 1 part per million in areas covering 3 square kilometers or less. When the team combined OCO-2 data from selected passes over certain power plants in the United States with computer models of how emissions plumes would disperse, its estimates of those plants’ emissions were within 17% of actual emissions those facilities reported for those days.
The question then becomes, does that help?

Chicken Tandoori

We did a big Indian cooking extravaganza and this was one of the new recipes that we tried that worked well.  No red dye, and no tandoori oven.

• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 2 -inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 teaspoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 3/4 teaspoons hot paprika
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

Preheat the broiler. Make shallow cuts in the chicken thighs with a sharp knife. Toss the chicken with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl.
Pulse 2 tablespoons yogurt, the vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, coriander, cumin, 11/2 teaspoons paprika and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor to make a paste. Toss the chicken in the mixture and let marinate 15 minutes.
Place the chicken on a foil-lined broiler pan. Broil, turning once, until slightly charred and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 165 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/4 teaspoon paprika, the cilantro and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Top the chicken with the yogurt sauce

Coffee Shop (2016)

I usually refrain from reviewing movies that I am not recommending, but I am making an exception for this one.  The reason is that Netflix recommended it for me, and I thought it sounded like a light romantic comedy that I have a tendency to enjoy (even though I know that they are neither realistic nor enlightening in most cases).  In other words, my bar for enjoyment of this sort of movie is pretty low and realistic of what to expect from the genre.  And yet I find myself disappointed.
Three things did not work for me.  The first is that the dialogue is stilted.  I like the setting in a coffee shop, the shop itself is really nice, the philosophy of customer service, quality, and community is one that I really like, but it all fell pretty flat.  The story itself was a little bit clunky, with some unnecessary turns--this is not, after all, a murder mystery.  We know who is going to end up with whom, and no need to complicate it.  The third is that there was a little too much "by the grace of god" for my taste.  One thing I did love, besides the coffee shop itself, was the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Indian Curried Hard Boiled Eggs

Here's the thing.  It is often hard to find a good vegetarian filling appetizer that is not cheese and crackers, or hummus and vegetables.  Both of which I like a lot, and I have often used deviled eggs in this role (for the non-vegans).
When making an Indian meal recently, I delved deep into Madhur Jaffrey's Vegetarian India.  These need ALOT of spice in order to be flavorful, but they are pretty and easy to make.  Then I made egg salad with the left overs and that was delicious.

Hard boiled eggs
Tumeric
Chili Powder
Black Pepper
Salt

Melt butter and oil in equal parts in a frying pan.  Add the spices in the intensity that you want (don't skimp on the turmeric, because it is largely what colors the eggs).  Slice the eggs lengthwise, not so deep that you hit the yolk, and repeat around the circumference, about 6 times for each egg.  Add to the mixture and toss repeatedly until covered, then remove from the heat and serve.  I actually served them room temperature.

School of Beauty, School of Culture by Kerry James Marshall (2012)

This spectacular work exemplifies an extraordinary career of painting African American subjects and history in a manner that both reveres and revises the Old Masters. Born in Birmingham before the Civil Rights Act and having witnessed the Watts rebellion in Los Angeles in 1965, Marshall has long chronicled the African American experience. His large narrative paintings feature only black figures–defiant and celebratory assertions of blackness in a medium in which those subjects have too often been invisible–and his exploration of art history stretches from the Renaissance to twentieth-century abstraction and beyond. The result is a visually stunning body of work, both intimate and monumental.
In Marshall's paintings, black residents occupy spaces that are full of bloom and sunlight–a bucolic look that references the positivism that spurred the development of these sites and also contradicts contemporary associations of despair and destitution that are commonly associated with large housing projects.

Carrie Pilby (2016)

This is a movie that, in the absence of having cable, i would never have come across.  So thank you once again Netflix for having an assortment of these sorts of movies.
Carrie Pilby is the smartest person in the room at all times but she’s too miserable to enjoy it. She is super smart, skipped three grades, went to Harvard as a child, but she never really recovered from her mother dying and her father ceasing to cope.  She has trouble dating and making friends but she’s never at a loss for words. And while she has incisive analysis on the ready, regardless of the situation, she has a harder time understanding herself.
She’s clearly lonely, despite the bravado she exudes to hide it, and a little bit broken from an affair she had with a college professor when she was sixteen. So her therapist makes a to-do list for Carrie to help her emerge from her alienation and find joy in the world: Make a friend. Go on a date. Do something you enjoyed as a child.  What ensues is a very enjoyable exploration of what being smart and different but not asocial looks like.  Highly recommended.

Cassini's Photographs of Saturn

In the era of science doubters, or those who take what they like and leave the rest, it seems like a good time to celebrate some science. I'll call it Science Monday. Taken with Artist Wednesday, with will be a nice balance.

Here are some images taken from the spacecraft Cassini "moments" before it crashed into Saturn on Friday (which is space time means is was more than 300,000 miles away.

Before Cassini, we had only brief glimpses of the discoveries awaiting us at Saturn. Pioneer 11 and Voyagers 1 and 2 conducted flybys decades ago, taking pictures, measurements and observations as they zoomed past. These missions shed new light on Saturn’s complicated ring system, discovered new moons and made the first measurements of Saturn’s magnetosphere. But these quick encounters didn’t allow time for more extensive scientific research.

Cassini changed all that. It began the first in-depth, up-close study of Saturn and its system of rings and moons in 2004. It became the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, beginning a mission that yielded troves of new insights over more than a decade. The Saturnian system proved to be rich ground for exploration and discoveries, and Cassini's science findings changed the course of future planetary exploration.

 These images are startlingly beautiful, making the planet palpable and ethereal at the same time.

Indian Stir Fired Cabbage

Indian cabbage is somewhere between raw and cooked.  It still has the chewiness that raw cabbage has, but the advantages of cooking as well.  This can be served hot, room temperature, or cold.  Versatility plus!

• 1 1/2 pounds green cabbage shredded
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 18 cup chopped green chilis
•   salt to taste
• 1/8 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1. Put the oil in a wide, preferably nonstick or cast-iron pan, and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the cumin, fennel, and sesame seeds. As soon as the sesame seeds begin to pop, put in the chilies and cabbage.   Stir and fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until browned a bit.
2. Add the lemon juice and garam masala. Stir to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Anger and Trauma

I am someone who is more prone to sadness when trauma strikes rather than anger.  Both when my youngest son faced a life threatening illness and when I myself have been here of late, I am more likely to resort to tears than rage.  So in general I have a hard time relating to those who react with anger to stressful and overwhelming life events.
However, since the November election, I have been very angry.  And realistically, that was a pretty long time ago, but I still find myself uncontrollably angry at quite a large number of people who wither voted to put us in this situation, or simply did not care, or were somehow convinced that this wouldn't be so bad.  Or that somehow if you weren't progressive enough we all deserved a government that actively makes it not just possible but probable that the very rich will get richer and the rest of us are fated to do more poorly with each successive generation.
One of my sons asked me recently how this helped.  It doesn't help at all.  I am not advocating it.  I cannot get over it however.  I am still incredibly angry.  I have no desire to talk with anyone who votes Republican.  Not at all.  I have nothing in common with them.  There is nothing to compromise with them on.  Being a Democrat is the only compromise I am willing to make.  I hope for a candidate who has the charisma of Barack Obama and the politics of a progressive who can form coalitions with more moderate candidates and make positive change.  And hope I live long enough to let go of some of my deep seated resentment of those who continue on a path of what is essentially overvaluing what once was the status quo.

Walk Hard (2007)

This is a really very well done rock mockumentary.  My youngest son is taking a college improv class and the improv artist that he has been assigned to present is Christopher Guest, who did the classic rock mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap.  But the fact is that you have to be into the genre to fully enjoy this, otherwise it comes off as dumb.

John C. Reilly plays Dewey Cox like he has been rehearsing for the role his whole life.  In childhood he has a tragic accident where he kills his brother, and his father never forgives him.  He leaves home as a very young man to make his way as a rock and roll star, and he is largely successful in the money and fame sense of the word.  He cheats on his wife, becomes multiply addicted to drugs, goes through musical phases that come and go in popularity, and somehow in the end doesn't end up dead or broke.  The movie really doesn't delve into the seamy side of the music business, preferring to skim along the surface of the lifestyle. Diversionary fun with surprisingly good music.

Red Fin Crudo + Kitchen, Providence, RI

Wow, this was an unexpectedly great find around the corner from our hotel in Providence.  It was mid afternoon, we were going to a wedding that started at five, but just how long the whole thing was going to take was a bit up in the air, and the event itself was taking place at a library, so clearly it was going to be catered in, so not going to be a cut above wedding food as it was (which was an erroneous assumption as it turned out, but that was where we were going with a snack just a couple hours before we were scheduled to eat again).
This place is well worth searching out, if only for the octopus dish.  The plates are small and designed to be shared.  The portions are reasonable compared to the prices, and give you a chance to try a number of things.  The braised octopus is out of this world.  It is cooked at a low temperature for 6 hours, and then skinned, and then sauteed at high heat when it is ordered.  Tender, flavorful, and memorable.  Everything else was good as well.

Sachihongo Mask, Zambia

This mask demonstrates more of the incredibel wood carving skills found on the African continent and the role that masks play in greater society there. It comes from a region in Zambia that borders both Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The mask bears traces of influence from its northern and western neighbors: the Luba, for its scale and circular shape, and the Chokwe, for its intense focus on the area of the eyes and the teeth. There, multiple rows of incised lines above and below the ocular apertures define the cheeks, eyelids, eyebrows, and wrinkles of the forehead.
Known as Sachihongo, this mask represents a cultural archetype, a hero hunter revered as an ancestor. It was part of a masquerade called makishi performed in conjunction with the initiation of young boys and their entrance into adulthood. Its performative appearance constituted the climax of the rituals, as it marked the return home of the new initiates after a period of seclusion. The mask's dynamism epitomized this moment of transformation, central to Mbunda society. What remains here is the wooden core of a larger masquerade ensemble: its appearance, fully costumed in knit raffia, holding a bow and flywhisk and moving to a rapid tempo, conveyed the vitality and supernatural powers of the ancestral hunter. The circumference of the mask still bears the holes that would have held a beard of fiber and a crown of feathers.

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

The story of James Baldwin, yet another prominent, vocal African American who was a prominent and eloquent spokesman for what it was like to be black in America in the 1960's told against the history in which he lived.  He lived outside the United States with some frequency throughout his life because of his treatment as a second class citizen in his own country.  I really like how he framed what he spoke about, especially the lack of narrative about the role of the African American slave work force in the building of our new country, that black Americans are not given their due respect for what they contributed to the new country, albeit against their will.  Somehow that lack of freedom has been used to diminish their contributions in a way that belittles them further.  What we cannot admit about our history comes back to bite us, literally centuries later.
I would potentially have missed this documentary, which largely tells the story of his life in his own words, and in the words of his contemporaries, if not for the fact that it was nominated for Best Documentary in 2016.  Of the three nominees that dealt with race, this is my second favorite one, following 13th.  The winner (OJ:Made in America) comes in third, which is not to say that I did not like it.  These are three powerful commentaries on the current state of race in our country.
The bottom line is that there is an awful lot of room for massive improvement, and the footage from Charlottesville this year is almost identical to the marches of whites against civil rights in the 1960's.  No, we have not made very much progress at all.  This movie will seem like it happened yesterday and not 50 years ago.

History Shifted

Sixteen years ago two things happened.  There was an attack on American soil that shifted our thoughts about ourselves and our country once again.  It happens every half century or so, and this is the one of my generation, the post World War generation which had up until then really not had that personal an attack on our country, right in our very own yard.
The second was that my youngest son finished chemotherapy.  The lessons I learned stemming from that day are deep and wide.  The short story is that there really isn't much joy in the end of chemotherapy because it is the beginning of the waiting and worrying about recurrence part of recovering from illness.  With many cancers, my son's and mine included, you really only get one chance at cure.  So while there are numerous instances where chemotherapy just doesn't work from the get go, the waiting and the months and years to come are something to learn to cope with.  It is hard and important, because if you live like you are going to recur, then you are not fully enjoying the time that you have.  That is just plain wasteful.  Not to mention that it does no one any good.  However, it is hard to accomplish. So every year, on this important anniversary, I reflect on doing what is hard and why it is important to try to do it right.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

It has been a difficult time for Americans internationally.  We have a long history of being a country of immigrants who once settle in their new land want little to do with the outside world.

This is the story of Tom McNulty, which begins in the Irish famine of the 1840s. His family has died. He has stowed away on a ship crossing the ocean.

For a living he becomes a teenage saloon entertainer, dressed as a woman to dance with gold rush prospectors. Another skinny boy got up for the dancing was John Cole, fleeing famine in Massachusetts. They are friends by day and lovers by night.

What Tom has observed among the Sioux is that men can choose to dress as squaws at home but, in battle, still be warriors. This thought becomes his guide. He feels at home in a dress but, as a soldier, follows orders even when they are treacherous, learning that there are good men and bad on any side. He survives even when captive in Andersonville.

America, seen through the lens of the Indian Wars and the Civil War, does not come off well, but at the same time the story is as real and believable as it is gritty and shameful.

Mi Rancherita, South Sioux City, IA

My son and daughter-in-law live in western Iowa, so it is a location that we will be spending more time in this year and next, and exploring the restaurant scene is clearly something that is a big plus about a new location.
We have a Mexican restaurant that we like, but lots of people we talked to noted that the preponderance of Sioux City inhabitants of Hispanic heritage live in South Sioux City, and so we tried one on our way out of town.  There were three things that were very encouraging. The first is this triumvirate of pickled carrots, fresh salsa, and cooked salsa was on every table.  The second was that we were the only people of non-Hispanic background in the restaurant, and the third is that they had menudo on the menu.
We may not have ordered perfectly, but I found the enchiladas to be exceptional, they have puposas that are very good, and it is definitely a place that we would try again.

Miss Sloane (2017)

Jessica Chastain is exactly what you think a ball busting, highly competent and careful lobbyist who will do what ever it takes to win would be like.  She is gorgeous, wears red lipstick that emphasizes her luminous complexion and she somehow remains unattractive because of her inhumanity.  Her entire life is consumed with the chess game of lobbying for her side.  She is plotting several steps ahead, if Plan A doesn't work out then there is a Plan B.  And Plan C.  And so on.  She is all over it, and very very careful to bend the law until it is unrecognizable rather than out and out break it.
She is equal parts terrifying and remarkable in her perfection.  She shocks everyone when she takes on lobbying for a bill that would restrict gun laws.  It is a long shot and she is not known for taking long shots.  What rolls out next is exactly what you would think with an unexpected ending.  Really quite good, even though mid movie you might question that assessment.

Collard Green Melt Sandwich

I have struggled with making collard greens.  I have some good kale recipes, I have come to love swiss chard, and spinach is something that I skip in the summer because you can get it all winter long, but is another fave.
Here is a sandwich worth greening for.

-->

Collards

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (such as Zatarain’s)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 10 cups (packed) torn collard green leaves (from about 4 bunches)

Slaw

• ¼ head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
• ¼ small white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon (or more) distilled white vinegar
• Kosher salt

Russian Dressing

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup chopped pickled hot cherry peppers
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon ketchup
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Assembly

• 12 thin slices caraway rye or whole wheat bread
• 8 thick-cut slices deli-style Swiss cheese

Collards

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vinegar, sugar, Creole seasoning, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and ¼ cup water. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Add collards, tossing in liquid to wilt. Cover pan, reduce heat to low, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until collards are dark green and very soft, 2½–3 hours. There should be very little liquid left—just enough to coat greens. If there is too much, cook uncovered until you have the right amount.

Do Ahead: Collards can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

Slaw

Toss cabbage, onion, mayonnaise, pepper, and 1 Tbsp. vinegar in a medium bowl to combine. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Season with salt and more vinegar if needed just before using.

Do Ahead: Slaw can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Russian Dressing

Mix mayonnaise, cherry peppers, hot sauce, ketchup, and pepper in a small bowl to combine.

Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Assembly

Heat broiler (rack should be in highest position). Place 8 slices of bread on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, checking every 30 seconds, until golden brown, 1–2 minutes. Turn and toast second side until golden brown, 1–2 minutes. Top each toast with a slice of cheese and broil until melted and starting to brown, 1–2 minutes. Transfer to a work surface.

Place remaining 4 slices of bread on same baking sheet and toast, checking every 30 seconds, until golden brown, 1–2 minutes. Turn and toast second side until golden brown, 1–2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

If collard greens are cold, reheat in a large skillet over medium until hot, about 5 minutes.

Divide 2 cups slaw among 4 cheesy toasts. Top with remaining 4 cheesy toasts. Using a slotted spoon (or you’ll end up with a soggy sammy), divide collard greens among cheesy toasts. Generously spread one side of plain toasts with dressing and place dressing side down on collard greens to close sandwiches. Cut sandwiches in half diagonally and serve with lots of napkins.

Fish Market by Joachim Beuckelaer 1568

This scene of everyday life may appear commonplace, but so much more is going on. Beuckelaer's painting is among the earliest examples of an evolving category of Northern Renaissance painting. The fish are faithfully rendered and recognizable as salmon, carp, cod, herring, and pike.  Such portrayals of everyday life, or genre scenes, rejected customary religious themes in favor of purely secular content–in this case, celebrating the growing importance of the fish industry in Flanders.  The fishmonger looks longingly at the woman across the table from him, while she signals back her unavailability is a step away from the religious and a plunge into everyday life.

The History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

This book, long listed for the Booker Prize, is a bit disturbing.  If you want something straight forward and well mannered, this is not it.  As is true on many of the nominees this year (I have read all or part of seven of the thirteen nominees and there is not a breezy read int he bunch).
This is disturbing because of the complexity with which Madeline aka Linda, the 15 year old main character of the novel, is portrayed.  She is at once predator and prey, hunter and hunted, mature woman and  naive child.  She is real, vulnerable, unlucky, and unprepared for the situations that she lands in.
Madeline is drawn to Mr. Grierson, a substitute history teacher, who she notices pays a lot of attention to Lily, a nubile cheerleaders.  So when Linda impulsively kisses Mr. Grierson in his car after her presentation on wolves at a local history competition, the reader  both can empathize with her jealous competitiveness with Lily and fear the consequences.  When Grierson is later discovered to be a pedophile on the run from a school in California, and Lily accuses him of molestation, the reader’s suspicions are confirmed even if Linda feels deceived.
Her next brush with disaster comes when she is hired on as the governess to a young boy, Paul, by a neighbor couple.  We get glimpses of the tragic turn of events throughout, with flashbacks and lints within the present and past.  It is gritty and real life and surprising and really well written.

Labor Day, 1894

The Federal holiday celebrating the American worker dates back to 1894.  The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.
I myself am actually working on Labor Day, and I also did what I have done in years past, which is to spent the long weekend canning, as it is also the peak time for garden harvesting.  Fifty seven quarts of marinara sauce this year, enough to supply our extended local family for the year.
The important thing to remember and celebrate on this day is the vital force that labor adds that materially raises America to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known.  May we be brought closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy, rather than going the direction the current administration is bent on taking us in.

Shrimp with Onions and Peppers

I added some corn that I had taken off the cob earlier in the week to make this even more focused on the season, and while I opted not to add the four okra that I had on hand, that would have worked as well.  This is a dish that is very easy to make this time of year!

• 1 ½ pounds medium-size shrimp
• ½ pound onions, peeled
• 1 pound sweet peppers, preferably a combination of red and green peppers
• 3 ripe tomatoes, preferably plum tomatoes, about 1/2 pound
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt to taste if desired
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• ¼ teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• ¼ cup white-wine vinegar
• ½ cup finely shredded fresh basil

1. Shell and devein the shrimp. Set aside.
2. Cut onions in half lengthwise. Place each half cut side down on a flat surface and slice thinly. There should be about 2 1/2 cups. Set aside.
3. Cut away and discard cores from the peppers. Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Remove and discard seeds and veins. Place each pepper half on a flat surface and cut each half crosswise into thin strips. There should be about 4 cups. Set aside.
4. Cut way and discard cores of the tomatoes. Cut tomatoes into small cubes. There should be about 2 cups. Set aside.
5. Heat oil in a heavy skillet and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, until wilted. Add pepper strips and bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper and dried pepper flakes and stir. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring, and add tomatoes. Cook 1 minute. Add wine and vinegar. Cover and cook about 5 minutes.
6. Add the shrimp and stir. Cover and let cook about 2 minutes. Stir in the basil and serve.

Autumn by Ali Smith

Whenever I read and Ali Smith book, which is a surprisingly frequent occurrence because of her propensity to be long listed for the Booker Prize, I feel like I am not quite smart enough to read her.  I enjoy her, none-the-less.  The first part of that is that her prose is so engaging, and her dialogues so real and so funny that I wish I were in the room with the characters who are bantering back and forth.
Speaking of back and forth, the book ricochets from past to present throughout in a way that reveals more than it annoys.  The present is post-Brexit  Britain and reveals what the future holds through the relationship between Elisabeth and Daniel Gluck, a much older neighbor with whom she formed an immediate friendship as a child.  Daniel is remarkable and Elisabeth correctly places him in an important place in both her intellectual life and her personal development.
The jumps back in time serve both to put modern history in context and to construct the remarkable friendship between Elisabeth and Daniel, who becomes her babysitter of sorts while her mother leaves for possibly unsavory pursuits. Daniel introduces her to the work of Pauline Boty, another central figure in the book, and a real Pop Artist who died in 1966, at the age of 28.  The book is a quick read that will keep you thinking long after you close the cover.

Harvey's Calling Card

Hurricane Harvey has deposited an epic amount of rainfall onto the city where oil has been king.  Is this a message from the gods that those who ignore climate change are doomed to perish at the hands of what comes down from above?  Or, more likely, the poor pay the price of the rich reaping their gains and ignoring what the science says.  It happened with big tobacco, but the stakes were lower.  Exxon is in the business of damaging the planet that we need to sustain us.
 There is a flood myth in every ancient religion going back to the cuneiform, the first written language, and the Sumerians.  There is something primal and fearful about water water everywhere.  When I saw photo after photo of what 50+ inches of rain in one place at one time looks like, I have no trouble imagining why that might be.  The consequences for ancient man would be drowning or starving.  Today it is a homeless city, but what if we can't heed these warnings and start making dramatic changes in the way we use and make energy?  Time will tell.  But this is no canary in a coal mine.  These are coal miners in the coal mine saying it is time to change.