Everybody was kung fu fighting...

Wow, seems the world's in a fighting mood, although W, for once, is trying to keep the economic peace by today's announcement of an auto industry rescue package. For the very short term, that should keep some southern lawmakers quiet. I'm sure he's wanting a little holiday peace, after a true surprise during his unannounced trip to Iraq:

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Further south however, say in Mexico, lawmakers are even less able to peacefully agree (on infrastructure legislation), and let fists fly:



There is still youth (and other) unrest in Greece, and South Korean lawmakers apparently can't all just get along either.

Such recent events seem to suggest that many folks are having a difficult time behaving better than animals, since we're fighting worse than cats and dogs, whose fights are usually akin to insignificant scraps like this:


Collection Of Fights Between Our Corgi And Our Kitty - The best bloopers are here

Christmas sparkle, green edition...

The Internet is brimming with tips on green gifts, entertaining, and the like. Of course, it helps to have your place decked out, the better to get in the mood for seasonal festivities. There's no need to empty an already-thin wallet or further foul the planet to make your abode all sparkly for the season.

Reuse

I was walking, walking down the street...and spied something nice on the ground--a lovely winterberry branch--which I promptly took home to stick in a vase.

[Cost=zero, or the cost of picking up the branch off of the ground.] Also free for the snipping, boughs of (evergreen) holly which I have in the yard. Both the wintergreen and other hollies will keep about a week or so indoors.

It doesn't hurt to retrieve a few free finds left over from the year before (or the year before that), such as:

[Cost=zero. However, my chances of finding the above (hickory?) nuts this season would also be zero, because they have been AWOL in this part of Maryland this year!] (Neither have I seen the usually plentiful acorns.)

Recycle

A live tree for a small house--the solution--a small tree! You get the pine aroma throughout the house, but in a size where you can get the tree in the house. (And have a choice as to where in the house to place it.)

When the holiday season is over, this little pine will be broken into small pieces and scattered over the ground to decompose.

[Cost=$10, at Whole Foods. Because I had my own decorations, I was able to stay away from Whole Paycheck's obvious sucker bait, such as the bags of cinnamon-scented pine cones.] However, I wish the store had the little rosemary trees, which appear fuller.

The tiny decorations were purchased last year, from Dollar Tree, which is cheaper than too-chinchy-to-pay-for-security Walmart. (Also, while both chains sell scads of made-in-China trinkets, Dollar Tree has a larger selection of Christmas decorations). Go figure.

All other decorations were saved from the year before--purchased at Target the day after Christmas, at a massive discount, so I spent no more than $6.

Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!

Sign of the times...

Now, I've seen all manner of feathered critters in the Washington area over the years--the blue heron (at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and perched over the Suitland Parkway), heard and saw a woodpecker here and there (Capitol Hill and Bethesda), as well as the ubiquitous comeback kid, the crow, a wild turkey, off I-295, a thrush, and even a hawk, right near the playground.

But, today was the first time I've ever seen vultures. And not one or two, but about six or seven, on the side of the road heading to FedEx Field, eating from a red fox carcass. Ugh! Of course, I had to look (but not too close, because who wants to get close to vultures?), so an attempt at document their roadside uniqueness (also a bit scary because they seemed persistent--I mean, as soon as a car zoomed past, they resumed their meal--nothing was going to keep them from that!) was less than successful, trying to keep my distance and all:

That black spot in the street near the curb was one of the crafty critters. (The others jumped over the guard rail for a bit.) Again, ughhhhh.

Figures I'd see one of these buggers for the first time during this economic downturn, when industries such as banks and financial services firms have been ravaging the economy for years!

Friday Follies (aka dogblogging)

With the refusal of southern Republicans in the Senate to ratify the auto industry bailout loan package, snarling about the high wages of its unionized workforce (while not complaining about the humongous Wall Street bailout approved previously on top of those extravagant executive salaries), it really makes you wonder, as Hale "Bonddad" Stewart muses in the Huffington Post, whether "The Republicans Want a Depression."

Visible proof of such ridiculous, circular behavior, also exists in the canine kingdom (which at least has the virtue of being humorous when practiced in the house):

What--no white Christmas?

The adorable little snowflakes that plinked down last night were, admittedly, a lovely distraction, at least once I got off the road. (Hmm, how do folks not realize to slow down in blowing snow? Thankfully, it didn't last long, but still.)


Sadly, today's wind was enough to blow much of that little bit of snow away, although there was still a bit on some plants close to home, such as this beauty:



That (ill?) wind, however, apparently blew the wind off some lovely winterberry plants, which I am dying to see covered with snow, as they are the only deciduous holly plants--that's right, their leaves drop off in the fall, leaving clusters of beautiful red berries on the stalks, for people to view and birds to eat.

The beauty below, a winterberry, is showing off, as its leaves have dropped, so those berries seem almost huddled together--



Hope there's a chance of another dusting before Christmas. It would do Washington's landscape a world of good!

(The above winterberry photo is from Oikos Tree Crops.)

Attacking the air? (aka dogblogging)

Perhaps the holiday season is a slow news time, particularly in the transition between presidents--not that that's stopped criticism of a President-elect who's not even in office yet. An apt visual interpretation of such sniping is rendered in the video below, only the perpetrator of its foolishness is cuter than most.

For a few dollars more (about the Walmart trampling tragedy)

Still struggling to think what could possess grown folk to first stand in line, in the cold, in the dark, to save money on, exactly what? Toys for the children, and just as often, shiny electronic toys for the adults. Because, let's face it, the Black Friday sales, like the one where the temporary worker at the Walmart was trampled, are not for boring necessities like food, diapers, or other sundry items. No!

This frenzied crowd behavior is all the more disgusting because it's in contrast to recent events, such as the giveaway of Thanksgiving turkeys and toys at FedEx Field, where, as far as I'm aware, people were behaving civilly, although there weren't even enough turkeys for everyone, because of increased turnout this year. And yes, although apparently there was also a higher than average turnout at the Washington DC Convention Center for its Feast of Sharing this year, there were no reports of beastly behavior there, either.

How sad. Americans have come to the point where we seem unable to distinguish between wants and needs--and will fight to the death over them.

Tuesday Tips (the real deal!)

In trying to be environmentally minded today, I not only took a hot drink with me today in a Starbucks tumbler, then I used the same mug for another cup of tea at a vendor--I asked him to fill the mug up instead of using a paper cup, and he knocked 25 cents off the price of the tea, making it an even buck! Now, this was not at Whole Foods or some other organic emporium, but at the kiosk at a medical center. Small victories!

* * *

Accompanying a relative for a medical procedure, an MRI, I knew that everything metal had to be removed, etc.

What I was unaware of, and even the staff, cordial and helpful as they were, didn't clue me in on just how loud the noises coming out from this modern marvel would be--even with the soft foam ear protection that's provided.

Wikipedia gently alludes to the noise potential in its MRI entry, but I was in the room with the Thing as it was doing its thing (and the lights were on in the room--I might have sworn that I saw fireworks if the lights had been turned off) and, whoa, the noise level was similar to a construction site, with jackhammer sounds, firecracker-like loud popping sounds (the fire swamp, anyone?), and other sound effects, for ten minutes of eternity! Of course, the patient must keep still through this Universal Studios theme park ride, but even I was exhausted after that, and I was there for moral support! (It would seem that anyone with a heart condition shouldn't even be considered for such a test.)

Oh, all's well...

Post-Thanksgiving "Feed" (aka dogblogging)

Yesterday's yummy Thanksgiving feast (followed this morning by the greatest breakfast in the world, a slice of sweet potato pie!) just might mean that today becomes a small timeout from the gorging, a mini-detox, if you will, for the system.

Of course, any true detox course will include plenty of water--assuming that you drink most of it! (Shorty below seems have forgotten the basic need to drink for a few moments. Oh well...)

More Pre-Thanksgiving Prep...to put some pep your holiday step!

Having people for Thanksgiving--been there, done that. Actually, I enjoyed having people over, but then, I planned ahead. Probably what kills many people is trying to do everything in too short a period of time, like the day before as well as Thanksgiving. A more rigid schedule for cooking on Thanksgiving week is listed on FoodieView, but my less structured schedule is below.

Note: One type of modern technology that comes in handy, particularly when cooking on Thanksgiving itself, is the alarm clock feature on your cell phone!

If I'm a cookin' for Thanksgiving, my (extremely rough) schedule resembles:

• Sunday--the bulk of the shopping is done today; the only Thanksgiving cooking to be done this evening is making the cranberry sauce. Even if I'm not hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I'm making the sauce tonight to take to the host!
• Monday--if having homemade rolls, make them today, and refrigerate them until the big day. (Storebrought bread for that day already be refrigerated [if yeast bread] or frozen if some other type of bread.)
• Tuesday--purchase or make desserts today. The great thing about desserts (besides the yum factor) is that they can be stored away from the other foods--in a cake pan or something, as most pies don't require refrigeration for a couple of days--so they don't take up refrigerator space, which will be at a premium this week! If cooking a turkey carcass, you should have bought it by now, so that you can begin to defrost it in the fridge.
• Wednesday--prep day! This is the day to either bake most of your side dishes (except for mashed potatoes and greens), or cut up vegetables for dishes to put together quickly for tomorrow. For instance, roasting and cutting up pumpkin if making, say, a pumpkin soup (and cleaning out the seeds beforehand to have roasted pumpkin seeds--umm, umm, good!), making macaroni and cheese, which can then be cooled and reheated on Thursday. If cooking turkey, the deceased critter should be in the process of thawing out by now. Any non-turkey entree should be in the process of being prepared today (thawing out overnight in the fridge, if necessary, etc.).
• Thanksgiving Thursday! Begin cooking at around 10:30 am--preheating the oven, preparing the main event, setting out the desserts and decorations, etc. If cooking greens, they should be in the pot on top of the stove while the entree is in the oven. After the turkey or other entree comes out of the oven, the other baked items should be put in the oven. Also, cut potatoes should be put in boiling water during this time, so that they can be ready to be mashed in 20 to 30 minutes, as fresh mashed potatoes are best made soon before eating. Begin to make the gravy around this time, as well. (This is where your cell phone's alarm clock feature comes in extra handy--to allow you to nap during the time the entree is resting and the sides are baking!)

Whew! What an accomplishment--a great feast, good company, as well as some rest and sanity.

Easy pre-holiday prep..the sauce!

Homemade cranberry sauce is akin to a chutney, and is just as versatile, post-Thanksgiving, because it's easy to handle--just spoon away! It's also easy to make (takes only about an hour to prepare, then let it cool off), doesn't require precision, and is even better after sitting overnight in the fridge. This makes it great if you are doing the holiday cooking, because you can make it a couple days ahead, sparing yourself much aggravation. If you're going to someone else's home, it makes a great gift for the host. Its jewel-like appearance, with chunks of fruit, makes it a grown-up holiday delight!

* * *

Um, thus is born this cranberry sauce "recipe," if you will...a new family favorite! The following makes enough to take some to your host, and some to keep for yourself as well.

• 2 12-ounce bags cranberries (it's OK if you froze them beforehand; no need to defrost frozen ones before cooking, but give a quick rinse first, to remove any stems)
• 1/2 cup or more juice
• an orange, lime, grapefruit, or lemon (zest the fruit first; add the rest of the fruit to the sauce, if you prefer)
• 2 1/2 cups sugar (may need to add more after tasting)
• ground coriander (or ground ginger, ground cardamom, or ground nutmeg--cinnamon, allspice, or cloves are too overpowering to fruit flavors, in my opinion)
• one pear or apple

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, over medium heat, add the juice, the rinsed cranberries, sugar, then stir. If mixture seems a bit dry, add more juice--any juice is fine.

Add the citrus zest, then chop up the rest of the fruit, and add it to the sauce, if using the entire citrus fruit, then add the spice(s), and stir some more. Finally, chop the pear or apple and add it to the sauce, and stir again.

Stir the pot occasionally to keep it from sticking. The sugar should soon begin to melt within the sauce; after you see this, the berries should soon start simmering, and popping open. (You can assist the process of popping those berries with a wooden spoon, if you're impatient!) Turn down the heat a bit, to keep the sauce from spilling out of the pot.

The sauce is done when it's noticeably thicker than when you began; dip a spoon in it--some of the sauce should remain on the spoon. Taste it at this point; if you think it needs more sugar, add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup, and stir again until this sugar is fully melted into the sauce.

After turning off the heat, let the sauce cool in the pot another hour before spooning it into glass jars and refrigerating; theoretically, it keeps a few weeks, although it's usually eaten up within a couple of weeks!

Fall's last stand

Today's windy, practically freezing chill amidst flurries, seemed the perfect day to go gleaning some of the leftovers from the harvest at Clagett. It seems surprising which crops do last as long as they do, such as:

This broccoli raab looks quite good, as did some of the kale and collards also left, in addition to the mixed lettuces. I can't wait to cook down all those greens!

* * *

Although many herbs are quite weather hardy, I was unaware that so many could, and do, survive chilly weather. This is quite fortunate for the coming holiday season, as it means that many fresh herbs will be available for holiday cooking and decor, such as sage, that favorite for dressing and other fall dishes:


Note the parsley field behind the sage; both the flat-leaf and curly parsley were out in force! It's great that highly nutritious parsley lasts so long during the growing season, as it comes in handy for making soups. (The dried version of this herb is so tasteless as to defy explanation as to why anyone thinks it's worth the effort to dessicate.)

The big surprise in the herb field, because this herb had previously died out, and has apparently come back to life (but not before I harvested some tasty seeds!), is--


This is most surprising, because I assumed the cilantro would be as dead as the basil (which suddenly passed after the first frost) at this time of year, but it recently rebounded (as did the dill). I suddenly hear fresh salsa calling me...

* * *
In addition to the other volunteers and staff at the farm, I will also miss Clagett's canine mascot Cassie, always ready for a belly rub (after running alongside us in the truck or van).

Friday Folly (aka dogblogging, Where's the Love?)

While many people misunderstood Bush's non-public glad handling of other world leaders at the recent G20 summit (because it sure 'nough did LOOK like a snub, even if the reality is different; I mean, how else is not publicly shaking folks' hands going to be perceived? Duh!).

Of course, there is minor miscommunication as well, not just between people. For instance, how did this guy manage to have his dog only respond to him when he's doing a bad Ringo Starr impersonation? Funny though it is, it can't bode well for order at his home...

More good news from the Obama camp!

Today's news about Obama makes me feel even better about our next President. According to the Wall Street Journal online, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has apparently accepted the position as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Daschle, a confidant of Obama's with a strong interest in and commitment to health care reform (he's co-author this year of a book on health care titled, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis) as well as a Hill veteran, is an excellent choice for the job.

* * *

Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, is stepping up to the plate, as well. He recently challenged business leaders to support the new administration's efforts toward universal health care, at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council last Tuesday night. Video below of some of Rahm's remarks:



What more is there to say other than: Go Team O!

We'll be in good hands...

Over a month ago, in the second debate with John McCain, now President-elect Obama stated that health care should be a "right," not a privilege. (Video from The Nation.) That alone is a great reason to breathe a sigh of relief that Obama is our next President, because with an incoming Democratic Congress, there's now a window of opportunity to pass universal health care legislation in the U.S.

To that end, Sen. Ted Kennedy said that he will advance a bill in early 2009 calling for universal health care, according to today's Washington Post. For some reason, however, the article's writer seems to believe that health care legislation is unrelated to our economic woes. Wrong!

The lack of universal health coverage in the U.S. is a prime reason for the cashflow problems that the auto industry is experiencing--and its executives have known this for years! Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington state, a physician and longtime proponent of universal healthcare, has put in the public record, as well as on his website, a 2002 letter sent separately by Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and the auto workers union to the Canadian government, imploring that government to keep its public healthcare system strong! Makes you wonder why the lavishly paid upper echelon of Detroit hasn't been lobbying the U.S. government for universal health care along with bailout cash, when it knows that healthcare costs are one of the reasons for its current mess. (In addition to their outrageous salaries, and unwillingness to build a wide enough selection of high quality fuel efficient cars, that is.)

Friday Follies (dogblogging)

Now that we have a new President-elect, we still have folks attacking him in a nonconstructive manner, with tired, specious arguments (exhibit A: Ms. Palin's comments at a Republican governor's conference, showing that she's still bitter). Such behavior is about as useful as:

Friday Folly (more dogblogging)

Unfortunately, too many of our Republican friends have forgotten that we are one America, and instead of being proud of our country and happy for our President-elect, are engaging in pointless infighting and other behavior, instead of joining with us in solving our many ongoing problems.

Hence, their failure to be constructive is similar to the odd doggie behavior below--and this guy isn't even the current Presidential pooch:

Mind-Blowing Post-Election "Advice"

If the reality of our new President, Barack Obama, hasn't yet settled in, please take some advice (with tongue firmly in cheek) from David Rees, in his most recent Huffington Post piece, "What To Do When It Finally Hits You and Your Mind: A Safety Guide."

In the meantime, enjoy a classic from the ever-cool (like the new President) Delfonics! That is, if Obama didn't blow your mind already!

Time to celebrate the new President!

Woo hoo! He did it! We did it! America did it! We have a new president, President O--and it won't take a lawsuit to settle it, either! The race is over!

I almost feel as jubilant as the little guy below!

This one's for "Toot"!

So sad to hear that Obama's grandmother (aka "Toot") passed away late yesterday. From what the Senator himself relates, he got much of his practicality and steadfastness from her. What a tribute to her, and to the country, to make sure that her dearest grandson makes it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January 2009.

***

In ongoing paranoia to make sure that my vote will count, I went to the Maryland board of elections site to find a sample ballot, as the state was too cheap to mail more than one this year. (And none were to be found at the library, either.) At least the website makes a sample easy to obtain, as its Frequently Asked Questions section has a question, Where can I see a sample of my ballot? After clicking it, it has prompts for first name, last name, zip code of registered address, and date of birth, after which you click on the "Find voter registration information" button; a PDF of an appropriate sample ballot will appear, ready to be printed and taken along to the polls for handy reference. (And in my case, to be signed and dated tomorrow, along with the votes filled out. Just in case, the camera phone is coming along, as well.)

The other two local jurisdiction board of election sites, Virginia and DC, don't make it easy to find a sample ballot. (Perhaps considering the problems that DC is having with its early voting, maybe it's just as well.)

* * *

Remember to get your post-voting tall coffee from Starbucks on the 4th--good for staying wired through the upcoming tense night! (Thanks to wisebread.com for this and other good freebie tips!)

Time to get some shut-eye, for the potentially dragging, er, long day and night ahead.