I read that the garmentos who make the Pope's schmattas have creatd three identical outfits in Small, Medium and Large for the incoming Pope. Very thoughtful of them, but it made me wonder what they will do with the two rejected outfits. Put them in zippered bags and hang them in a closet somewhere safe for the next Pope?
And the scarlet shoes.... the Pope is the only person in the entire Catholic heirarchy who is permitted -- nay, ordered --to wear them. This naturally inspired me to a personal poll of men that I know. They were all asked to respond to the question, "If the Pope's scarlet shoes were available in your local department store, would you buy a pair and wear them?"
As the responses trickle in, I will tabulate them and report back to you. Should you like to be included, please send your response to racebookwriter@aol.com
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Pop Culture
In a world filled with people, all shouting, "Look at me!" it is amusing to read the "secret" menu at ... are you ready? Inn & Out Burger! H/T to ranker.com for this info....
Here are a few to whet your appetite... or disgust you that anyone would order such as the ...
100 x 100 - 100 beef patties and slices of cheese served on edge. i.e. tipped sidewise. Maybe for a pro football team's appetizer?
Protein style - no bun. Instead the hamburger is wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
Flying Dutchman - two grilled patties, two slices of cheese and nothing else. No bun, no lettuce, no nothing.
Veggie-style - no meat, no cheese - lots of grilled onions, lettuce, tomato.
Animal style over fries - same as an animal style burger, but no bun. Beef patty, what looks like 1,000 Island dressing, lettuce, etc. Over fries, yet. No bun. Don't forget to ask for a knife and fork...
Ask for "Extra Toast, please" which means they leave the bun on the grill for a couple of seconds longer.
4 x 4 - four patties, four slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato.
Mustard-grilled patty - the raw beef is slathered with mustard and THEN cooked.
You can ask for chopped jalapenos on fries or your hamburger.
You can also do all of the above in your own kitchen! I am going to try the mustard-slathered beef patty. That sounds good, especially if the mustard forms a crust on the meat...
Here are a few to whet your appetite... or disgust you that anyone would order such as the ...
100 x 100 - 100 beef patties and slices of cheese served on edge. i.e. tipped sidewise. Maybe for a pro football team's appetizer?
Protein style - no bun. Instead the hamburger is wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
Flying Dutchman - two grilled patties, two slices of cheese and nothing else. No bun, no lettuce, no nothing.
Veggie-style - no meat, no cheese - lots of grilled onions, lettuce, tomato.
Animal style over fries - same as an animal style burger, but no bun. Beef patty, what looks like 1,000 Island dressing, lettuce, etc. Over fries, yet. No bun. Don't forget to ask for a knife and fork...
Ask for "Extra Toast, please" which means they leave the bun on the grill for a couple of seconds longer.
4 x 4 - four patties, four slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato.
Mustard-grilled patty - the raw beef is slathered with mustard and THEN cooked.
You can ask for chopped jalapenos on fries or your hamburger.
You can also do all of the above in your own kitchen! I am going to try the mustard-slathered beef patty. That sounds good, especially if the mustard forms a crust on the meat...
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Slim Pickings for Redondo Voters
Today Redondo Beach residents were sent to the polls to vote on a new mayor, a District 4 City Council member, city attorney or a member of the Board of Education. Four categories, 11 candidates and one Measure.
Very little fuss has been made about this election - a spattering of campaign signs around town - but that would seem to be about it.
In fact this is a nothing election except for Proposition A which has been dividing people left and right. Essentially, it's a proposal for the City of Redondo to go onto privately-owned corporate grounds, tear down the equipment and turn the site into a park. I am absolutely against this. The people who bought homes there knew for certain they would be living next to it. It's hardly invisible and it covers a view of the Pacific ocean. . Now the residents closest to it are whining about it. "Oooh, it pollutes the air!" This is unlikely as there is a steady breeze coming in off of the ocean and all of the fresh air anyone could want.
Let me just step down from this soapbox - someone give me a hand... not as young as I used to be...(ooph)
Richie and I decided to go vote right after the gym and on the way there, I offered a wager on total numbers of voters when we showed up. He bet "Six" and I bet "Eight." After signing in, I asked one of the precinct workers and he said, "I'm handing out the 66th ballot" and did so.
Clearly Proposition A brought them to their feet. I must admit it's all I voted on, too.
And lest I be chastised for not voting on the other matters; in the matter of new members for the Board of Education - we have no children and I had never heard of any of the candidates. Voting on that would have been the essence of a frivolous vote in my book. There is only one candidate for City Attorney and no write-in space even if I did have a candidate.
Votes, ideally, must mean something.
Very little fuss has been made about this election - a spattering of campaign signs around town - but that would seem to be about it.
In fact this is a nothing election except for Proposition A which has been dividing people left and right. Essentially, it's a proposal for the City of Redondo to go onto privately-owned corporate grounds, tear down the equipment and turn the site into a park. I am absolutely against this. The people who bought homes there knew for certain they would be living next to it. It's hardly invisible and it covers a view of the Pacific ocean. . Now the residents closest to it are whining about it. "Oooh, it pollutes the air!" This is unlikely as there is a steady breeze coming in off of the ocean and all of the fresh air anyone could want.
Let me just step down from this soapbox - someone give me a hand... not as young as I used to be...(ooph)
Richie and I decided to go vote right after the gym and on the way there, I offered a wager on total numbers of voters when we showed up. He bet "Six" and I bet "Eight." After signing in, I asked one of the precinct workers and he said, "I'm handing out the 66th ballot" and did so.
Clearly Proposition A brought them to their feet. I must admit it's all I voted on, too.
And lest I be chastised for not voting on the other matters; in the matter of new members for the Board of Education - we have no children and I had never heard of any of the candidates. Voting on that would have been the essence of a frivolous vote in my book. There is only one candidate for City Attorney and no write-in space even if I did have a candidate.
Votes, ideally, must mean something.
Monday, March 4, 2013
This Is Not the Way to Equality
It's racism, pure and simple. I am referring to an article in today's Daily Breeze, page A11.
The headline is: Historically Black College/University Fair (a phrase repeated four more times in the body of the article) to be held at El Camino College.
The apparent purpose of this fair is for black students to learn about transfers to prominent historical black colleges, among them Howard University and Morehouse College.
The article continues, "Later this month, as a general transfer fair" which clearly translates as "all other colors come to the second fair."
Why do these two fairs have to be held separately? What's the purpose other than to intimidate ALL of the students.
Can you even begin to imagine the hue and cry if the word "white" was substituted for "black"?
That's why racism - on all hues of the color spectrum - is despicable. I wish people would calmly sit down, wherever they may be - on a park bench, in a bus stop, on a subway, look about themselves and realize: Hey, these are all real people, just like me -- we're all humans here, no matter the color of our skins. We aren't separate versions of various skin colors. The common denominator is: we're all human beings. So no more labels for "black this" and "black that." No matter how often black people demand this separation. That's racist.
The headline is: Historically Black College/University Fair (a phrase repeated four more times in the body of the article) to be held at El Camino College.
The apparent purpose of this fair is for black students to learn about transfers to prominent historical black colleges, among them Howard University and Morehouse College.
The article continues, "Later this month, as a general transfer fair" which clearly translates as "all other colors come to the second fair."
Why do these two fairs have to be held separately? What's the purpose other than to intimidate ALL of the students.
Can you even begin to imagine the hue and cry if the word "white" was substituted for "black"?
That's why racism - on all hues of the color spectrum - is despicable. I wish people would calmly sit down, wherever they may be - on a park bench, in a bus stop, on a subway, look about themselves and realize: Hey, these are all real people, just like me -- we're all humans here, no matter the color of our skins. We aren't separate versions of various skin colors. The common denominator is: we're all human beings. So no more labels for "black this" and "black that." No matter how often black people demand this separation. That's racist.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
"Gravy" vs. Tomato Sauce
Our friend "D" weighed in on the burning question: Why do Italians call tomato sauce "gravy" and wrote:
My two cents worth is from the Sopranos. In the second season, Tony, Christopher and Paulie (he of the silver wings painted in his hair) head over to Naples. At an evening dinner in a restaurant, Paulie asks the waiter to bring him some "gravy." There is a communication problem - Paulie's Italian is very limited and the wait staff seems not to understand Jersey English. The subtitles in English are very disparaging which leads me to believe the use of "gravy" in lieu of "sauce" is an American-Italian thing. What with "gravy" being a big thing at the American dinner table in the 1800s and 1900s, and the Italian-Americans having their own cuisine, me thinks the Italians just accepted their sauce as gravy, either to fit in or to try to oneup the American dinner table."
Thank you for that scholarly explanation, "D." It makes sense.
Richie's cousin's late husband owned and chef'd at the excellent Maria's restaurant in Cap Coral, FL. His widow writes, "My Gianni never called it gravy -- saucea only. He was brought up in Naples, Italy. My sisters-in-law never called it that. They always added an "a" to sauceA, but I never did - I'm not Italian. To me "gravy" always meant beef or chicken or turkey."
If you have a differing point-of-view, please weigh in at racebookwriter@aol.com
My two cents worth is from the Sopranos. In the second season, Tony, Christopher and Paulie (he of the silver wings painted in his hair) head over to Naples. At an evening dinner in a restaurant, Paulie asks the waiter to bring him some "gravy." There is a communication problem - Paulie's Italian is very limited and the wait staff seems not to understand Jersey English. The subtitles in English are very disparaging which leads me to believe the use of "gravy" in lieu of "sauce" is an American-Italian thing. What with "gravy" being a big thing at the American dinner table in the 1800s and 1900s, and the Italian-Americans having their own cuisine, me thinks the Italians just accepted their sauce as gravy, either to fit in or to try to oneup the American dinner table."
Thank you for that scholarly explanation, "D." It makes sense.
Richie's cousin's late husband owned and chef'd at the excellent Maria's restaurant in Cap Coral, FL. His widow writes, "My Gianni never called it gravy -- saucea only. He was brought up in Naples, Italy. My sisters-in-law never called it that. They always added an "a" to sauceA, but I never did - I'm not Italian. To me "gravy" always meant beef or chicken or turkey."
If you have a differing point-of-view, please weigh in at racebookwriter@aol.com
A Pearl of a Girl
Richie decided to make Jacque Pepin's Beef Stew. The list of ingredients contained "pearl onions." He said, "Are they the ones in the glass bottle?"
"No! No!" I said, "Those are pickled for cocktails! But I saw them at the supermarket the other day so they're in season."
He only used half of the bag and the next day I looked at the bag tag and discovered that he could have perhaps cleaned them more easily if, as the tag instructs, he'd boiled them "as is" for three minutes, then run cold water over them, cut off the root end and pinched from the top - "until the onion slips out." Next time; he's still got half a bag.
Still studying the tag, I began to wonder who "Frieda" was and, seeing that there is a Website - friedas.com - I went to visit.
Frieda is 88 year old Frieda Rapoprt Caplan, who founded the company in 1962 from the LA Wholesale Produce Market. Today she is the founder, her two daughters and now granddaughter run it from a location in Orange County.
Frieda went in for the exotic right from the start and if you like such as kiwifruit, elephant garlic, spaghetti squash, purple potatoes or Habanero chilies, say a polite "Thank you," to Frieda.
"No! No!" I said, "Those are pickled for cocktails! But I saw them at the supermarket the other day so they're in season."
He only used half of the bag and the next day I looked at the bag tag and discovered that he could have perhaps cleaned them more easily if, as the tag instructs, he'd boiled them "as is" for three minutes, then run cold water over them, cut off the root end and pinched from the top - "until the onion slips out." Next time; he's still got half a bag.
Still studying the tag, I began to wonder who "Frieda" was and, seeing that there is a Website - friedas.com - I went to visit.
Frieda is 88 year old Frieda Rapoprt Caplan, who founded the company in 1962 from the LA Wholesale Produce Market. Today she is the founder, her two daughters and now granddaughter run it from a location in Orange County.
Frieda went in for the exotic right from the start and if you like such as kiwifruit, elephant garlic, spaghetti squash, purple potatoes or Habanero chilies, say a polite "Thank you," to Frieda.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Super Sweet
Our friend "T" had us down for dinner recently and it was good! Because he's been making both dishes probably since he was tall enough to see into a pot on the stove, he didn't think they were special at all! My offer to write a guest column fell on bored ears, followed by a dismissive wave.
So once again, all on my own (sigh) I had to take the reins in my hands and forge ahead. (Nobody ever helps me...it's always on my own initiative. It's really not fair...) I found the recipe for Chicken Adobo (Filippino style) at epicurious.com, an excellent site for hard-to-find recipes.
The sweet rice dessert called "Beko" was not elusive - recipes abound for it, but they all had variations - cook the rice separately; no! Cook it in the ingredients. No one could make up their mind. This is not going to be perfect because I didn't see how many ounces the cans of coconut milk contained, but it is "T
s" recipe.
BEKO
1 box light brown sugar
2 1-quart-sized cans of coconut milk
3 cups sweet rice (available in the Asian foods section of your supermarket.)
To prepare the rice - measure three cups of dry rice into a suitable container. Start pouring in water - holding your middle finger vertical from the horizontal rice. wait till the water reaches the first joint of that finger. Stop the water! You've got enough to cook a perfect pot of rice.
To prepare the syrup - stir the sugar into the coconut milk and simmer until it begins to thicken. At that point, keep a close eye on it. Setting aside a cup of syrup, mix the rest of it into the cooked rice, put rice and syrup into a large shallow pan, smoothing out the top. Using the set-aside syrup, glaze the top of the rice and set aside to cool. When ready to serve, cut the dish into squares and plate.
How easy is that? And it makes enough to feed most of the neighborhood, too.
So once again, all on my own (sigh) I had to take the reins in my hands and forge ahead. (Nobody ever helps me...it's always on my own initiative. It's really not fair...) I found the recipe for Chicken Adobo (Filippino style) at epicurious.com, an excellent site for hard-to-find recipes.
The sweet rice dessert called "Beko" was not elusive - recipes abound for it, but they all had variations - cook the rice separately; no! Cook it in the ingredients. No one could make up their mind. This is not going to be perfect because I didn't see how many ounces the cans of coconut milk contained, but it is "T
s" recipe.
BEKO
1 box light brown sugar
2 1-quart-sized cans of coconut milk
3 cups sweet rice (available in the Asian foods section of your supermarket.)
To prepare the rice - measure three cups of dry rice into a suitable container. Start pouring in water - holding your middle finger vertical from the horizontal rice. wait till the water reaches the first joint of that finger. Stop the water! You've got enough to cook a perfect pot of rice.
To prepare the syrup - stir the sugar into the coconut milk and simmer until it begins to thicken. At that point, keep a close eye on it. Setting aside a cup of syrup, mix the rest of it into the cooked rice, put rice and syrup into a large shallow pan, smoothing out the top. Using the set-aside syrup, glaze the top of the rice and set aside to cool. When ready to serve, cut the dish into squares and plate.
How easy is that? And it makes enough to feed most of the neighborhood, too.
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