Begin Again by Edward Glaude

This book may be short in length but it is long on meaning.  Especially when reading this on the heels of The New Jim Crow, which addresses the systematic racism of a caste system to keep African Americans at the bottom, by violence if other means fail.
Glaude writes that Baldwin’s voice is uniquely resonant in this moment.  As we live through the current administration’s assault on civil and human rights and its aversion to telling the truth, and as we make our way through a long summer of Black Lives Matter protests and a largely unchecked COVID pandemic, we may feel that we are struggling to hold on.  Glaude reminds us that we are not the first.
James Baldwin articulated the problem with clarity, going back over 50 years, and without much hope for eliminating the problem.  He noted two things that really resonated with me.  The first is that he gave up on himself specifically, or blacks in general solving the problem of systemic racism in America.  He realized that whites had to want to change it in order for it to happen, and as a result he sought out another country for shelter.  The second is that he identified the anger that racist white feel towards blacks serves to diminish them, they have less happiness, less ability to experience good because this oppression of others comes at a cost to them too.  This is less a how to book than one about how to be the change that you want to see in the world.

Roasted Lemon and Tomato Salad

We have reached the time in the summer when I am starting to look for new and better recipes for tomatoes.  And where better to look that Ottolenghi?  He is the master of all things vegetable, and has possibly the best assembly of salads ever.

• 2 medium lemons, halved crosswise, seeds removed, and cut into paper-thin slices (9 oz)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp superfine sugar
• 8 sage leaves, finely shredded
• 2 2/3 cups baby tomatoes, yellow or red or a mixture of both, halved
• scant ½ tsp ground allspice
• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• ½ cup mint leaves
• Seeds of 1 small pomegranate (2/3 cup)
• 1½ tbsp pomegranate molasses
• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
• Salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil, add the lemon slices, and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain well, place the lemon in a bowl, and add 1 tablespoon of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, the sugar, and the sage. Gently mix and then spread the lemon mixture out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, until the lemons have dried out a little. Remove and set aside to cool.
In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, allspice, parsley, mint, pomegranate seeds, pomegranate molasses, onion, the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Add the lemon slices, stir gently, and serve.

Sesame Peach Crisp

We were visiting friends who cook in the Tetons, and while the views were obscured by the northern California fires, the company and the food were exceptional.
It is funny how you can just click with people, and for me, a common love of cooking is a very good start.
Our last dinner was a joint effort, and our hostess made this exceptional peach crisp from the cover of Bon Appetit.  I cannot emphasize enough how great the sesame flavor married with the peaches.  So so good!
As a side note, I think this would do well with GF flour as well.

• 2½ lb. peaches (6–7)
• 1 lemon
• ⅓ cup plus 1¼ cups sugar
• 1¾ tsp. kosher salt, divided
• ⅓ cup raw white sesame seeds
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ⅓ cup tahini
• 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
•  1 tsp. (or more) cornstarch (optional)

Place a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 375°. Now prep your peaches. 
Slice 2½ lb. peaches (6–7) in half with a chef’s knife. Using a paring knife, slice the peaches.   As you go, transfer peach slices to a 13x9" baking dish.
Zest 1 lemon into a medium bowl; set aside.
Sprinkle ⅓ cup sugar, 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (from the zested lemon), and ¾ tsp. salt over peaches. Toss to gently combine, then let sit while you prep the topping—aim for about 20 minutes.  
Spread ⅓ cup raw white sesame seeds on a rimmed baking sheet or in an ovenproof skillet. Toast, tossing halfway through, until golden brown all over, 12–15 minutes.  Immediately transfer to a large bowl (so they don’t keep cooking on hot baking sheet).
Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and remaining 1¼ cups sugar and 1 tsp. salt to bowl with seeds. Whisk to combine.
Add ½ cup (1 stick) butter and ½ tsp. ground cinnamon to medium bowl with lemon zest. Microwave until butter is melted, about 1 minute. Add ⅓ cup tahini and 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil and whisk to combine.
Pour tahini-butter mixture into dry ingredients, then mix until dry ingredients are incorporated and mixture holds together when you squeeze it in your hands
Assemble! The peaches should look juicy. And now you determine whether you’re using 1 tsp. (or more) cornstarch. If peaches are not-so-ripe, skip it entirely. If they’re perfectly ripe, use 1 tsp. And if they’re really juicy, use 2 tsp. Gently toss to combine.
Using your hands, squeeze crumble topping into big hunks, then break off uneven pieces and scatter over peaches.
Bake crumble until topping is well browned and firm and peaches are tender with bubbling juices, 50–70 minutes.

Shaya's Red Beans

A few years ago we ate at Shaya, a New Orleans restaurant that was truly fabulous.  There was a wood fired oven in the back of the restaurant where someone was continually making fresh pita, and the food was out of this world.  I was so happy that our friends had brought their daughter and future SIL, so that we could order more  choices to try.
They are famous for their red beans and rice.

• 2 pounds dried red beans, soaked overnight
• ¹/₄ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces bacon, chopped
• 2 yellow onions, divided
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 dried bay leaves, divided
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• ¹/₂ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large smoked ham hock, or shank
• 1¹/₂ quarts chicken stock
• 1 pound smoked pork sausage
• 4 teaspoons Morton kosher salt, divided
• 4 teaspoons Tabasco sauce, plus more for serving
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ¹/₂ cup canola oil
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 pound jasmine rice
• 3 cups water, or more as needed
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced

Method

• Drain the beans, and set them aside.

• Warm the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally to break it up, for 6 to 8 minutes, until it’s golden.

• Meanwhile, chop one of the onions. When most of the bacon’s fat has rendered, add the onion to the pot, along with the celery, bell pepper, and one of the bay leaves, stirring well to coat everything with the fat.

• Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the celery and bell pepper just start to soften. Stir in the paprika and cayenne, allowing the spices to toast for a minute or so.

• Add the beans, ham hock, and stock. Increase the heat to high to bring everything up to a boil, then skim any foam from the top of the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cover with the lid. Let it cook, low and slow, for at least 3 hours, until the beans are falling apart. It’s not a soup, but there should be enough broth so that you see some movement in the pot; top it off with more stock if you need to.

• Fish the ham hock out of the pot, pull all the meat off the bone, give it a rough chop, and add it back to the pot; slice the sausage about 1/4 inch thick and add that, too. Season with 2 teaspoons salt, Tabasco, and sugar. (Yes, sugar—it might seem odd, but it gets all the ingredients to play together nicely.) Continue to cook, covered, over low heat, for at least another ½ hour, until it all starts to pull together. At this point, if you prefer, you can leave it alone for a couple of hours, returning just to stir occasionally.
• While that happens, make the rice

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Absent of sentimentality, full of love and humor and wisdom, this is a tale about how much fun two people can have in the middle of nowhere, when they are practicing social isolation in earnest. It is pure loveliness.
The book distills the essence of the summer.   It tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with care. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. 
Tove Jansson, the author, also wrote the Moomintroll comic strip and books .  She lived for much of her life on an island like the one described in the book, and the work can be enjoyed as her closely observed journal of the sounds, sights, and feel of a summer spent in close contact with the natural world.

How To Build a Girl (2019)

Wow, this is so charming in an offbeat sort of way.
At the outset, the main character, Johanna Morrigan, asks "What do you do when you build yourself, only to realize that you built yourself with the wrong things?” That’s the question at the heart of this entertainingly ramshackle coming-of-age story, adapted by screenwriter Caitlin Moran from her memoir.
This is the story of a poor working-class Wolverhampton teenager who lands a job writing for the London music press.  It’s an improbable, cautionary yet empowering tale about following your dreams, even when they occasionally veer off course.  For a movie involving a teenager who is having sex with older men, it is not as crine worthy as you might expect.
At its center is an irrepressible soul who learns at some cost that spiteful criticism is easier to sell than honest enthusiasm, and she does it with flair and humor. It’s a theme that will strike a chord with anyone who’s ever experienced the empty thrill of a vicious put-down, or been ridiculed for simply loving something without reservation.  So it speaks to something that everyone can relate to on some level, and the handcuffs that class can impose are well laid out.  Recommended.

Cabbage Slaw

This is from Salt Fat Acid Heat and it is a very bright take on cabbage salad.  I made this for a short rib dinner and it was a great accompaniment.

Quarter, core and thinly slice crosswise:
1 small head of red or green cabbage, about 1 1/2 lbs (680g)

Place sliced cabbage in a colander and season with:
2 generous pinches of salt 

Toss the sliced cabbage with your hands. To catch any water that gets drawn out by the salt, set colander inside a large bowl or pot. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine:
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup lemon juice

Set aside for 20 minutes to macerate and take the bite off the onions.

After 20 minutes, drain any water the cabbage may have given up (it's fine if there's not much), then place in a large bowl along with the macerated onions (but not the oniony lemon juice, yet). Add to cabbage and onions:
1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Using your hands, toss well to combine. Take a pinch of cabbage and taste. Adjust, adding the macerating lemon juice and salt as needed. Finally, gently combine with the slaw:
  1 apple, cored and sliced into matchsticks, a couple of carrots shredded

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

When Obama asked where all the black fathers had gone, Michelle Alexander answered that they had gone to jail.
The tenth anniversary edition has a 40-page forward that sums up what has happened since the book was written, which at the time was basically a summary of how it has if anything gotten worse.  This is the book that you should hand to anyone who says something negative about Black Lives Matter protests and the subsequent graffiti, have them read this book and get back to you.
The police are a part of the incarceration of people of color.  They charge more people of color with crimes, whereas whites are more likely to break the law.
This is a stunning indictment of a society that, since the 1980s, has been complicit in the explosion of its prison population from around 300,000 to more than 2 million. Drug convictions have largely fueled the increase, and an extraordinary number of those new felons have been black. This is not coincidental.  Additionally, the legalization of marijuana in many states has not led to opening prison doors to those convicted of that as a crime.
In the years following the civil war southern legislators designed laws to thwart the newly emancipated black population, notably curbing voting rights. Under the laws, black people also, increasingly, found themselves incarcerated and put into work camps.   If Jim Crow was an effective means of controlling the black population, then modern mass incarceration, is its successor.
The figures are extraordinary. A decade ago in Chicago, for instance, 55% of the adult black male population had a felony record. In quiet yet forceful writing Alexander, a legal scholar, outlines how the Reagan government exploited the hysteria over crack cocaine to demonize the black people so that “black” and “crime” became interchangeable. It was a war – not on drugs – but on black people.
It really is time to look at the 185 billion dollars spent on incarceration and shift it to job creation, affordable housing, and healthcare.

Crushed Architecture As Art

Those of us living in Iowa were reminded last week that climate is a very powerful force indeed.  I flew over the most devastated part of Iowa from the derecho that came through two weeks ago, and saw from an aerial perspective just how much damage had been done to both fields and woods. 
It is not hard to imagine that a storm with winds that could crush these silos would bring down trees, wrecking havoc with above ground power lines, and leaving thousands of people without power in its path.
It is moments like these that I really mourn having a government for the people and by the people.  Preventing further damage to the climate, updating the power grid, advocating for clean energy, those are the things that we should be doing.  Instead, the rich are richer than in the belle epoch and we are left without regulations for clean air, clean water, or clean living.  This must end in November.  Vote.

Roasted Muchrooms Gremolata

I made an impulse buy at the Framer's Market I was at in the Teton's last week of oyster mushrooms, and this recipe was simple and spectacular at the same time. From the great Josh McFadden!

• 1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms (a combination of cremini and wild or wild-cultivated)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves—2 smashed and peeled, 2 chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs (recipe follows)
• 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, drained, and chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Heat the oven to 400°F.
Brush or rinse off any bits of debris from the mushrooms and trim off any dried stems or spoiled bits. If using shiitakes, discard the stems. Cut or tear the mushrooms so they are all approximately the same size.
Pile the mushrooms into a bowl, then add a glug of olive oil and the smashed garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss everything really well, massaging the oil and seasonings into the mushrooms.
Spread them in an even layer, no overlapping, on one or two baking sheets. Roast until they are browned and crisp around the edges; either flip them or otherwise scoot them around the baking sheets during roasting to promote even browning. Depending on the moisture content of your mushrooms, this should take between 10 and 25 minutes.
Toss the roasted mushrooms (and roasted garlic) with the chopped garlic, lemon zest and juice, breadcrumbs, capers, and parsley. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper.

Straight Line of Sight Decorating

I do love this because of how closely I resemble it.
The one casualty of the pandemic at my house is that we simply leave things as they are.  The impetus to clean up for company has completely evaporated.  My front porch is more cleaned up than my kitchen.  The porch is likely to host a socially distanced cocktail hour.  I have added small tables to pods of two chairs and our neighbor brought beautiful cone flowers as a center piece.  Citronella tea lights provide a bit of hugge.
The kitchen on the other hand is pumping out many meals a day and is in overdrive when it comes to production.  The inland hurricane that ran through our state could easily have cause the damage to be seen.  So when you see my lovely bookcase back drop on my Zoom call, be aware that all of the spring cleaning boxes decorate the table in front of the space I carved out for my laptop.

Divorcing Fossil Fuels

It was a year ago, more or less, that I made the break away from a car that solely depended on fossil fuel. 
At that moment, I was thoroughly tired of how inadequately our country and government had moved to protect our future, not just as a nation, but the existence of humans on the planet.  As I am fond of saying, there is no planet B.  We have to save this one.  Not for me or my parents, it will last our lifetimes.  We need to save it for our children and grandchildren.
So I took a tiny baby step, and bought a plug in hybrid.  I was not ready to go all electric.  I had a very hard time finding one.  the dealership had to trade for it, and I waited a month to get it.  Now looking back, if I had it to do over again, I would have gone a step further, but this is now, and then I couldn't do it.
Over the course of the year I have used about twenty gallons of gas all told.  Heat seems to burn through it at a rate of about a gallon every two weeks, but since March I have used only about a gallon and am now thinking for the summer, I should just have a small amount of it in the tank.  The next step would be solar panels I think.  Spend the money I would have spent traveling conserving energy instead.

And Then There Was Ramen

Necessity is the mother of invention.
One thing that we have learned through COVID and our need to fend for ourselves is that when given time and incentive we can make almost anything.
In April it was pizza, perfecting it all the way to but not including an outdoor pizza oven (I am still hoping for one of these).  This month began what I suspect will be a love affair with ramen.  One Saturday not too long ago my youngest son work up and decided to make it, noodles and all.  I awoke to a nearly perfect bowl of it, save a great meat option, and felt that we were off to an excellent start.  We will soon add this to the recipes for the perfect burger bun and the best queso and the ideal marinade for flank steak that we have been amassing during these months we have been forced by a pandemic to cope with it all within the four walls of our homes.  May we take what we have learned from it into the future.

Gender Racism On Display

It is particularly striking in the aftermath of AOC's take down of a fellow Congressman for his overt disregard for a co-worker, where he was so confident in his superiority that doing it in front of witnesses did not faze him in the least until he was blisteringly humiliated by her on the floor of the House.  She skewered him artfully, pointing out that the mere existence of his wife and daughters did not a decent man make.  Indeed it does not, and while her response was not absolutely flawless, it resonated for me and I am sure for many other women. 
So now we have the beginning of the misogyny and racism lens being focused on Kamala Harris.  Having just finished Ibram Kendi's book How To Be An Anti-Racist I am struck by what would he say about this?  If I read him right, he would say we need to focus on the woman herself, not on the "race" she is.  Race doesn't exist.  It is irrelevant to the conversation.  She is the daughter of a Tamil Indian and the descendant of Jamaican slaves.  Those are the cultures that she springs from.  That is how we push back against the ugliness.  Give them no power.  Give her power.

Ama's Deviled Eggs

These are incredible!

8 hard-boiled eggs, cooled, peeled and halved lengthwise

3 tablespoons mayonnaise, more if needed (preferably Kewpie brand)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoon chopped red onion

1 teaspoon chopped capers

2 tablespoons chopped celery

 1 tablespoon chopped Calabrian peppers

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/2 teaspoons chile powder
3/4 cup chopped bacon to sprinkle on the top. 

Place the egg whites on a serving platter, and combine the yolks in a bowl. Mash the yolks using a ricer or a fork until finely crumbled. Add tall but the bacon and mix well. Add additional mayonnaise, if desired, for a creamier consistency.

Divide the yolk mixture among the egg whites. Sprinkle with bacon and cilantro before serving.

Motherless Brooklyn (2019)

I do not know why this got mixed reviews, but I think it is a terrific movie.  Populated by great actors and the pace and content of the screenplay are outstanding.  It is a who done it and why look at New York City Board Authority corruption.  Edward Norton wrote, directed, and acted in this adaption of Jonathan Lethem’s bestseller about an unlikely New York private detective with Tourette syndrome. He moved it back in time to 1957, which apparently upset those who are attached to the book, and splashed his film noir with period details.
Norton brings all his considerable talents to the role of Lionel Essrog, a rebel gumshoe plagued with involuntary tics that cause him to blink, jerk his head, and blurt out words he doesn’t intend to say, like tits. He is pitch perfect in his portrayal.  This leads to him being underestimated by strangers who have no idea about his photographic memory or how expert his mind is at untangling the puzzles the world puts before him.  He goes about uncovering a huge scandal while trying to avenge the death of his friend and protector, and falls for the girl.  Very well done.

A Quarter of a Century

My youngest is a quarter of a century old today. which means that my days of taking care of my babies is long behind me!
There have been moments in the last 23 years that I though he might not it to see this day, and once he was more or less out of the woods from his cancer diagnosis, there was mine to contend with and I thought I might see this day.  But here we are, able to enjoy it together.
We have such an atrociously bad national response to the pandemic, with so many people my age and older who have died as a result of our inability to do the right thing, to stop the virus from wrecking havoc, leaving us with the worst of both worlds: an economy in wreckage, an inability to open schools for our children, and a mounting death toll that continues unabated.  So today I take a moment to marvel that neither he nor I would be here to celebrate this day if we did not have access to great medical care, and the health insurance required to receive it.

Dickensian America

What a week it has been.
The pandemic in Iowa continues to rage on, and we continue to have everything open, no mask mandate, a governor who will penalize school districts that don't open and who threatens communities who apply simple infection control measures for defying her.  May her karma come home to roost, but in the meantime she has blood on her hands.  Had the pandemic been handled appropriately, three quarters of those dead could have been avoided.
Then there is the inevitable hand of climate change.  Sure, we have been using almost no fossil fuels, the bottom has fallen out of the oil industry, and yet, those are short term gains and the long term problem of carbon emissions and the sever and unpredictable climate it engenders is here to stay.  We had a derecho that left the majority of the state without power, and countless weeks of clean up and recovery.
Then we get to the federal government.  The twin insults of the Senate going home without any pandemic relief in sight for the millions of people on unemployment and looking for rent relief.  That coupled with the president dismantling a constitutionally mandated service because he thinks voting by mail will hurt him.  Never mind the people who depend on the mail for their checks and their medicines.  Again, he is the most Dickensian of them all.  Figure out how you are going to make your vote count this fall, because your life really does depend on it.

The Tick (2016-2019)

Having come off watching the six seasons of Schitt's Creek, where one is strongly considering giving up on the series up until and including the end of the second season, but look back upon it as a tour de force, it is a hard act to follow.  Luckily, The Tick filled that gap nicely.
This is a quirky saga, with the namesake himself as inherently likable as his name is absolutely unappealing. The big blue superhero of inexplicable origins and incredible strength is more like a lovable puppy than the bloodsucking arachnid found on them. He’s instantly endearing, and the more time spent with him, the more love is felt for the good hearted and largely clueless crusader.
His companion in fighting evil is Arthur, an accountant by trade, with a traumatic past that haunts him.  His whole family has bubble wrapped him and you can see why, but when push comes to shove, Arthur is braver than I would be but without super powers to back it up.  They combine their talents and fight the good fight.  This is a very enjoyable diversion leaving you smiling every time.

Al Derecho

I learned a new word this week.  After months of learning things like convalescent plasma and proning, and figuring out how vaccine development and strategies work, now i know a word that means an inland hurricane.  A derecho.
We had a storm roar through the center of Iowa and into Illinois, flattening nearly everything in its path.  A clinic we have had the air conditioners blown right off the roof.  Trees were downed, on top of houses, on top of cars, and occasionally on top of people.  The 100 mile an hour wind was accompanied by fierce rain, and power lines were down for days.  Fiber optic cable was severed, and I finally got a taste of what it was like in New Orleans after Katrina.  Climate change couldn't take a vacation for a pandemic. 

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi

This is literally the play book on how to get this right.
I have read parts of four non-fiction books on the subject of working against systemic racism, and this one is the most thorough in laying out the multiple layers of racism and then being very prescriptive about how to approach pushing back against them.  When everyone is talking about building a scaffolding upon which to combat a deep and wide problem in our country and in the world, it is very useful to have a playbook, and that is what this feels like to me.
The author divulges a lot about his own process of breaking down his own racism.  I think it is easy to forget that we all live within this racist structure, no matter the color of our skin, and so just as women can feed directly into the patriarchy, people of color can hold the same prejudices as white people do.  The structure oppresses from without and from within, and he really breaks it down into the component parts and helps build up ways to think about and combat and to a certain extent to talk about how to be an advocate for an antiracist change in the world.  Read once, read twice, read with chicken soup and rice.  It is worth savoring and thinking deeply about.

Jimmy's Hall (2014)

This watches like a love letter, an affectionate realist portrait of individuals fighting against state and religious oppression.
The story is about a man who tried to tried to create community, to bring joy to people's lives at a time of misery.  Jimmy Gralton has returned to his home in Ireland’s County Leitrim after a ten-year exile, and while away he’s been working in New York, and soaking up the culture. That culture is some of what he imparts to the community when he’s inspired to reopen a meeting hall he helped create ten years before. As it happens, it was that hall, opened during the Irish Civil War, which played a part in Jimmy’s self-imposed exile. And now that he’s back in a cozy cottage with his mother, a local legend to the kids, who, starved for both entertainment and enlightenment, beg him to reopen the hall.  The opposition comes from the church, who see it as challenging their authority over every aspect of the community, and the town government see it as a bid for socialism.  if people learn and experience things, they will be less controllable, and they want to avoid that at all cost.  You can imagine who wins, but the story is lovingly told.

Tomato, Chickpea, and Cucumber Yogurt Salad

This spectacular salad from Josh McFadden's book Six Seasons is really three salads in one.  The tomatoes are sprinkled with spices and layered on the bottom.  Next comes a tiny chopped cucumber salad with yogurt--this is a great way to use up cucumbers that remained hidden in the garden and are enormous.  The final salad is chickpeas and red onions in a vinaigrette.  So good!

For the yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 or 2 small cucumbers
• kosher salt
• 1.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from about half a lemon
• 1 clove garlic minced
• chopped herbs (mint is classic)

For the salad:

• 1 teaspoon sumac (see notes above)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and black pepper
• 3 to 4 large tomatoes and some small ones too

• 1/2 red onion diced or sliced
• 1 cup chickpeas
  
• 1 handful of arugula (optional)
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• whole herb leaves (optional)

---

1. Grate the cucumber coarsely on a box grater. In a medium bowl, stir the cucumber into the yogurt, along with the garlic and the lemon. Season with salt, starting with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, adding more by the 1/4 teaspoon to taste. Add more lemon to taste as well — this sauce should taste nicely seasoned. Spread this yogurt sauce onto a large platter or do the tomatoes first and the sauce on top (this is what I prefer).
2. In a small bowl, stir together the sumac, coriander, cumin, and dried chile flakes.
3. Slice the tomatoes and arrange over the yogurt sauce in an even layer. Season all over with the spice rub. Season generously with sea salt (kosher salt is fine, too). Season with freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
4. In a large bowl, toss the onion and chickpeas with a good pinch of flaky sea salt, pepper to taste, and the olive oil and vinegar. Taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Add the arugula if using (can go without). Spread this salad atop the tomatoes and the yogurt sauce.

Celery, Cucumber, Apricot and Nut Salad

I am trying new cucumber salads this summer as our garden is bursting with them, and really liked this one.  Josh McFadden makes it with pistachios, but I think whatever you had on hand would work.

1 1/2 pounds cucumbers

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 medium celery stalks (leaves reserved)

1/2 cup dried apricots, quartered

1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup pistachios, lightly toasted (see below) and chopped

1/2 cup lightly packed mint leaves

1/2 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves

1/2 cup lightly packed celery leaves (if you have them)

1/4 teaspoon dried chile flakes

Extra-virgin olive oil 

 

Peel the cucumbers if their skins are tough or waxed. Trim the ends of the cucumbers, halve lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Cut the halves crosswise on an angle into very thin slices.

Put the cucumbers in a colander and toss them with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Set aside for at least 20 minutes to extract their water and give them a “quick-pickled” flavor.

Meanwhile, cut the celery crosswise on an angle into very thin slices and soak in ice water for

10 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and pile into a serving bowl.

Put the apricots, garlic, and vinegar in a small bowl. Let the apricots plump for 10 minutes.

Pat the cucumbers dry and add to the celery, along with the pistachios, mint, parsley, basil, and celery leaves (if using). Remove the garlic from the apricots and discard it. Add the apricots and vinegar to the bowl, along with the chile flakes and 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with black pepper, but don’t add more salt yet because the cucumbers will have absorbed a bit. Toss, taste, and adjust the flavors with more salt, vinegar, chile flakes, or black pepper until it’s bright and zingy. Finish with another drizzle of olive oil. Serve right away.

Toasted Pistachios

Quantity is up to you

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Spread the nuts on a pan in a single layer. For a small quantity, a pie plate is good; for more, use a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until you smell the nuttiness and the color is deepening slightly, 6 to 8 minutes for most whole nuts.

When the nuts are done, transfer them to a plate so they don’t keep cooking on the hot baking pan. Determining doneness can be tricky, because the final texture won’t develop until they’re cool, so at this stage, you’re mostly concerned with color and flavor. To be safe, take them from the oven, let cool, taste one, and if not done enough, pop them back into the oven.

Shrimp, Corn, and Tomato Salad

This is spicy from the ginger, and a wonderful summer salad.  I broiled the whole thing--over cooked the shrimp a bit, so I would do 2 minutes, twirl the pan 180 degrees and another 2 minutes, or as described by the great Yoam Ottolenghi below.  Delicious!

1 lb. shrimp. shelled
1 tsp olive oil
Salt
1 small red onion, sliced or wedged
1 c. frozen sweetcorn, defrosted
2/3 c.  cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp picked marjoram (or oregano)
For the ginger, lime and sriracha dressing
3/4"  piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp sriracha
1½ tbsp olive oil
Finely grated zest of 1 lime (1 tsp), plus 1½ tbsp lime juice
¼ tsp sugar

In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt.
Put a char-grill on a high flame and ventilate the kitchen. While it’s heating up, mix the prawns with the olive oil and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. Griddle the onion wedges for five minutes, turning them every so often, until charred and cooked, but still with some bite. Transfer to a large bowl, then grill the corn for two minutes, until charred. Add to the onion bowl, then grill the tomatoes for three minutes, turning regularly, so they’re charred all over, and add to the bowl. Griddle the prawns for four minutes, turning them halfway, until charred and cooked through. Add to the bowl with the marjoram and dressing, toss gently, and serve at once.

Pandemic School Bell

The issue with school and the pandemic I think speaks volumes about what is happening in America.  If we really wanted to have children safely in schools this fall, we would have kept everything closed, so that we had a hope of safely sending children to school.
When the narrative is that there is nothing to worry about, that a Federal response is unnecessary because this is either a hoax, or the flu, or a plot to defeat the Republicans, that was the moment that we failed our children.  We did not do our very best by them.
So those of us who are staying home and wearing masks and washing our hands and staying apart, we are demonstrating that we care about children and our future.  Unfortunately there are just not enough of us to carry the day.

Vietnamese Steak Spring Rolls

The marinade for the steak is delicious, and instead of a peanut sauce we served these with  Nuac Cham, which was delicious.
I had forgotten how fun it is to roll spring rolls.  I got a big enough pan for the wrappers to be wet flat and then used a napkin to lay it out, fill and roll up.
So easy and we had it on a weeknight.
The only issue to getting a 2 hour marinade on the steak.

Prep Time

30 Mins

Chill Time

30 Mins

Grill Time

4 Mins

Yield

Makes 4 to 6 servings

By Tri La and Tri La

April 2005

RECIPE BY Southern Living

Houston is home to a large Vietnamese population and the Kim Son Restaurant. Adapted from their house specialty, this top-rated recipe is a meal in itself--so don't let the long ingredient list stop you from trying it. The grilled, marinated flank steak also makes a great main dish on its own.

• 2 pound flank steak
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon chopped lemon grass
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup fish sauce

• 16 (6-inch) rice paper spring roll wrappers (bánh tráng)
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/8- x 2-inch matchsticks
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce or green leaf lettuce, shredded

Stir together 2 tablespoons sugar and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add meat, stirring to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Remove meat from marinade, discarding marinade. Sprinkle steak evenly with salt and pepper.

Grill flank steak slices over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) until done. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Pour hot water to a depth of 1 inch in a large shallow dish. Dip 1 spring roll wrapper in hot water briefly to soften; pat dry with paper towels.

Combine carrot and next 4 ingredients. Place 1 slice of beef on one side of wrapper; top with 1/3 cup lettuce. Place about 1/3 cup bean sprout mixture on lettuce on wrapper. Fold sides of wrapper over filling, and roll up, jelly-roll style. Serve with Nuoc Cham for dipping.

Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian

This book about a man manufactured stab at a pandemic is strangely tight on point given what we are living through right now, and quite diversionary, in that it is largely a novel of suspense that quickly picks up your interest and carries you through to the end.  I had borrowed it from my mother and before I knew it, it was due in four days.  Oh no!  But not to worry, I finished it in two days and had I had more time on the first day, would have been a one sitting book.  That propulsive.
The story is about a man who is not what he seems and his girlfriend, who slowly dawns to that fact.  The book opens in Vietnam, with Austin going off for a day of biking alone to visit the site where his uncle went missing, and Alexis waiting for his return in their hotel room in Danang.
Austin does not return, the reader knows why, but Alexis does not, and the rest of the book is about her looking for answers as to who and what Austin was all about.  Alexis is nobody's fool.  She is calm at all times, examines things cautiously, and doesn't assume that things are as they seem.  Good pandemic reading.

Yogurt Lemon Poundcake with Cardamom Glaze

My husband made this cake from Shaya for my father's birthday, and it is quite delicious.

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
3 ½ cups cake flour, plus more for the pan
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
3 ½ cups sugar, divided

1 lemon

1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt, room temperature, plus more for serving
4 eggs
6 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup water
1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
8 cardamom pods, crushed
2 cups blackberries, halved 

1.  Heat the oven to 350 ̊F. Generously grease and flour a Bundt or tube pan. 

2.  Sift the cake flour, and combine it with the baking powder and salt. 

3.  Add 2 ½ cups sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Grate the zest of the lemon and rub all the zest into the sugar; reserve half of the lemon for the cake soak. 

4.  Add the butter and yogurt to the mixing bowl, and cream everything with an electric mixer or the paddle attachment of the stand mixer on high speed for 5 minutes. You want the mixture to be light in color, with plenty of air in it. 

5.  Add the eggs and the yolks one at a time, mixing between additions, followed by the vanilla. Don't worry: the batter will look broken and curdled, but that's okay. Gradually add the flour mixture, and beat on low until just incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Lift the pan a couple inches off the counter, and let it drop evenly; do this a few times, to get rid of any air bubbles in the batter. 

6.  Bake on the center rack for 50 to 60 minutes, rotating the pan once, after 30 minutes. The cake is ready when a knife comes out clean. 

7.  While the cake bakes, make the soak: Combine the remaining cup of sugar with the water and olive oil in a saucepan. Squeeze the lemon juice in, and drop in the lemon with the cardamom pods. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then cover and remove from the heat until the cake is ready. (The oil and water will stay separate, which is fine.)
8.  Once you've pulled the cake from the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes; strain the syrup, and discard all the solids. 

9.  Use a thin knife to cut about sixteen deep slits all over the 
cake, then gradually pour the syrup all over, 1⁄4 cup at a time, pausing between pours to let each one soak in. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before inverting it onto a cake plate or cutting board. Serve each slice with a dollop of yogurt, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pile of fresh berries. 


Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)

As my youngest son said, there is so much wrong with everyone in this movie, and if you wanted to look at how family's affect themselves, this is a gritty look at that.
Minnie is fifteen, it is the mid-1970's in San Francisco and her mother is drugging and drinking and openly sexual with her boyfriend in front of her teenage daughter.
This has exactly the outcome you would expect.  The daughter has been raised by a mother who craves attention, but cannot shower it upon her own children.  They grow up thinking the way people show they love you is by having sex with you.  You get the picture.
There are many cringe-worthy scenes, a few that are terrifying, both as a former teenage  girl, a parent, and a grandparent.  There are so many elements of human behavior that are on display here, all of them ring true, and it is beautifully acted.

Signs Preceding The End of The World by Yuri Nerrera

This novella takes the crossing of a border and all that that entails, and makes it into something of mythical proportions, all in about one hundred pages.  Please do not miss this gorgeous rendition of the experience of immigrants on our southern border, all the while keeping an eye on how we treat our own.  It doesn't detract from that one bit.
The book opens with Makina, our heroine, surviving a lethal sinkhole that swallows a man, a car, and more,  in a generic silver-mining town in Mexico.  Sh is a smart and intuitive young woman who survives the sinkhole as she does every pitfall in the book, thinking of herself as “the door not the one who walks through it”.  She  runs the switchboard with the only phone for miles around, speaking three languages – an Amerindian “native tongue”, Spanish, and English.  She is a medium of sorts, a messenger.
She is sent by her mother to bring back her more gullible brother from across the US border, where he has been lured by the false hope of land from a long-absent father, she journeys through Mexico– and thence by bus to the Rio Grande, crossing the roiling green river in an inner tube and running the desert gauntlet of people-smugglers, vigilantes and border patrols.
What she finds in the end is not what she expected, but everything in between is exactly as she thought it would be.  Luminous.