Creamy Zucchini Salad Dressing

Ok, this dressing feels like a miracle, because you put a whole zucchini in the Vitamix and out comes this delicious dressing that you would never guess had a vegetable base.  I know that almost every recipe that I am posting recently has a zucchini component to it, but tis the season.All I can say is that I am still happily eating zucchini and have yet to have zucchini pancakes, which are one of my favorites.

1 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1/2ccup extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons water, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Put it all in the blender or food processor and blend until it is creamy.  It is good on a green salad, but I might also try it on other chopped raw vegetables.  Delicious!

Lady in the Van (2015)

Maggie Smith is a homeless woman who single handedly brings down property values wherever she goes.  She believes that she killed a man on the road years before and she has been trying to escape both the guilt and her life in general since then.  She has taken up residence in her van, which is without proper toilet facilities, and she has literally been living on the street in her car.  The largely liberal residents of Camden are both appalled by her and moved to charity, in a small sense, and so she survives, ending up in the driveway of an author for upwards of 15 years prior to her death.  Maggie Smith pulls this role off well, with the imperiousness that the British are so well known for in the face of adversity. It is clear that she should have social services involved, but she has no intention of letting that happen, and so it does not.  The film does not gloss over the grittier aspects of homelessness, and while the content sounds grim, the movie is really a very dark comedy that is well done.

The Sport of Kings by C. E. Morgan

This is a novel of epic scope, which you know immediately because the dust cover says that it contains an account of the tendrils that slavery has woven into our culture.  Even weighing in at 550 pages, it doesn't seem like enough space to sort that out.  That said, the novel is as satisfying as it is ambitious, the best book that I have read in a while.
The Forbes family is an ambitious Kentucky family who settled the land as the first white people there, and they relied on slaves to grow their tobacco and their fortunes.  Henry is unapologetic about that history.  He even goes so far as to dismiss it, focusing instead on the glory his family gained.  He rebels against his father and transforms their land into a race horse operation, and his ambition is so blind that he literally destroys his only daughter in the process.
Parallel to the Forbes is the story of an African American family with flaws and talents commensurate with the Forbes but with very different resources and therefore a very different trajectory.  Their stories intermingle so that their ultimate tragedy is a shared one.

Roasted Zucchini with Tahini Sauce

This is a stunningly pretty and very delicious zucchini side dish, adapted from Zahav, Michael Solomonov's cookbook.

4 zucchini, quartered and sliced the long way
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tsp. fresh herbs, including parsley
Pinch of salt

1 c. Tahini Sauce
2 anchovy fillets

1/4 c. fresh sheep milk cheese or feta
2 Tbs. Toasted chopped nuts

Preheat the broiler.
Toss sliced zucchini with oil, half the lemon juice, herbs and salt.  Broil until the zucchini is charred, 10-20 minutes.
Combine tahini sauce, remaining lemon juice, and anchovies and puree in food processor until smooth.  Spread on a platter, put the zucchini on top, then crumble the cheese and toasted nuts (I used peanuts, the original recipe called for hazel nuts, and I think it would be good with almonds or walnuts too).

Tahini Sauce (4 c)
1 head garlic
3/4 c. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups tahini
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Put unpeeled garlic into blender, add lemon juice and 1/2 tsp. salt, blend.  Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.  Discard solids and add the rest of the ingredients in blender, then add ice water (1-1 1/2 c iced water) until sauce is smooth, thick, and creamy.

Before We Go (2015)

Amazingly I have watched two movies this week that remind me of "Before Sunset", and both of them are streaming on Netflix.  Two people meet by chance and spend the night wandering around the city, in this one it is New York City, and get to know each other.  The introduction in this film takes place in the train station.  Brooke has just had her purse stolen and missed her train, so she is stuck in the city with little in the way of resources--oh, and her phone broke as well.  Nick is in the train station playing trumpet and he takes her under his marginally improved over her wing.  She has nothing and he has only a little bit more, so they spend the evening trying to raise the cash to get her home.  Why the urgency?  She has left a vitriolic letter to her spouse about his affair, and on second thought she wants to recant, and she needs to beat him home, so that he won't read it.  Well, this is not compelling to me as a driver of the plot, but despite that I enjoyed the movie.  It is light but not painful, and a pleasant diversion.

Innocents and Others by Dana

This is an unusual book, which I read because it was on the New York Times Notable Books list for 2015.  The thing that is best about it, besides its quirky characters and interesting storytelling style, is that you can really imagine these people.  Sometimes I love a book, but I can't picture the reality of the characters--not so in this book.  The thing that is most challenging about reading the book is that the relationships between the major characters is a bit obscure, and can be hard to follow the meaning of the interactions described.  The real strength of the book is the friendship between two filmmakers.
The is best at describing the relationship of Meadow and Carrie, the serious documentarian and the Hollywood hit maker. Working in the tight space of this relatively slim novel, the author explores the remarkable species of sisterhood that survives jealousy and disappointment and even years of neglect. The tension between artistic purity and commercial popularity may tax their affection, but nothing can blot out their shared history, their abiding devotion, the great wonder that is a true friend.

Exerpts from The Federalist Papers

Alexander Hamilton's reputation has been resurrected, ironically by another immigrant son, Lin Manuel Miranda.  They share Caribbean roots and flashes of brilliance.  On this anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I am reflecting on things that Hamilton said in The Federalist Papers about democracy that I really need to reflect about this election season.  I bristle at the notion of "originalisnm" as framed by Anton Scalia, a man who had a conclusion in search of the data to support it, but I do think those smart and daring men of the American Revolution saw a lot of tyranny both at home and abroad.  They learned a lot and we can still learn from them,

“It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country to decide, by their conduct and example, the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force.”


“When occasions present themselves in which the interests of the people are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of the persons whom they have appointed to be the guardians of those interests to withstand the temporary delusion in order to give them time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection. Instances might be cited in which a conduct of this kind has saved the people from very fatal consequences of their own mistakes, and has procured lasting monuments of their gratitude to the men who had courage and magnanimity enough to serve them at the peril of their displeasure.”


“On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty; that, in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government. History will teach us that the former has been found a much more certain road to the introduction of despotism than the latter, and that of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants."

Thai Cucumber Salad

Yet another cucumber salad, but in my book you can never have too many of them, especially this time of year.

Dressing

• ⅓ cup rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp  sugar
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Salad

• 2 large cucumbers
• 3 green onions
• ¼ cup chopped peanuts 
• Cilantro to garnish

1. In a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and salt. Set the dressing aside to give it time to blend.
2. Peel and slice the cucumber using your favorite method (see photos below for my technique). Place the sliced cucumbers in a large bowl.
3. Chop the peanuts into smaller pieces, if desired. Slice the green onions.
4. Add the dressing, peanuts, and green onions to the sliced cucumbers. Stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat. Give the salad a brief stir before serving to redistribute the dressing and flavors.

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong (2015)

The best reason to see this movie is that you love "Before Sunrise" and want to see something just like it.  Or you love Hong Kong, and want to watch two people roam its streets so that you can remind yourself of what you love about it.  Never having been to Hong Kong, it made me want to go--what is not to love about sketchy neighborhoods, lots of neon, and great dim sum?
The story is a random meeting between two people, a night together that reveals a special connection, and then the revelation that one of them is currently involved with someone else.  The end, until they have a chance meeting again a year later.  They are both involved with other people, but the conversation revolves around the things that they easily have with each other that they lack with their significant other.  The story is an old one, but the back drop of Hong Kong made it nice for me.  Tourism without leaving home.

A History of Art in Africa by Monica Visona

I do not have much in the way of experience with the study of art.  In fact, my only experience is that I have been reading the course material for two art history courses out loud to my auditory learner.  I also have not had a longitudinal interest in the art of Africa, but this book really changed that.  The breadth and depth of the art in Western Africa, which is largely wood carving and painting, but included bead work and textiles, is both fascinating and beautiful,  The color reproductions in the book are well done, and the text is understandable to a non-art history reader.  Through the reading, I gained a better understanding of the cultural context and meaning of art from Africa.