Las Brisas, 1969 Artesia, Redondo Beach, is the only restaurant that we've ever been in that has cactus soup on the menu. When, 32 years ago, we first saw it at Las Brisas, we were curious enough to order a cup. It tasted like ... split pea, but with ... something else ... which was the cactus.
The chef explained that the restaurant has a regular delivery of them from a farmer in Baja. And due to uncertainty about the crop, gathering, delivery and so forth, it wasn't always on the menu. It has apparently proved itself to the buying customers though because now it is permanently on the menu along with albondigas and pollo fideo, a variety of chicken soup.
Yesterday we were in Smart & Final, Iris' new store. I was looking for El Pato jalapena salsa (umgotz) and lo and behold! a large glass jar with La Costena Tender Cactus Nopalitos! The cacti contained there in were spineless, pale green strips of tender-looking cactus.
The 29.1 oz. jar sells for $1.99. Any Mercado or Mexican grocery store should have them as well as Smart & Final. Ingredients: cactus, water, onion, coriander, serrano peppers, salt, vinegar.
Thus -- with no further ado --
CACTUS SOUP!
1 can split pea soup with bacon (or not if you're a vegetarian)
10 - 12 strips cactus, drained and diced
Heat soup, toss in cactus and serve.
We have some leftover cooked but naked spaghetti and I am thinking about sautéing some chopped red onions, a few strips of chopped cactus in butter and tossing in the spaghetti for a side to scallops for tonight's dinner. There's more than one reason to strip a cactus.
Later: The dish turned out well; will do it again when all of the signs and ingredients re-occur.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Voter Fraud Doesn't Have to be Inevitable
That is if the rising tide of sewage rushing us through the gutters at a rapidly accelerating speed toward the open ocean to pollute it, too (Calling Al Gore) doesn't deter us from voting on November 8th.
There has been a great deal of noise about how NON-PC it is to demand that everyone with the temerity to actually get up off the couch and trundle their weary way down to the polls to vote has to show a picture I.D. The screams and squawks of such as the ACLU about the ripping away of personal information just to vote have been horrendous.
If you're not voting for the second or third time and you are actually, in fact, alive and not moldering in some quiet Kansas cemetery, what's the big deal? Have you ever tried to board a plane without picture I.D.? Did you turn down having your photo on your drivers license? (Good luck with that one, incidentally.)
As with most things in politics "much ado about nothing at all."
As a fervent and permanently suspicious eyer of the Presidential votes, I plan to bring my passport to the polls and make a point of showing that I did. (Assuming loud voice) "Yes, I really am Nina Murphy and HERE'S MY PASSPORT TO PROVE IT." This isn't going to have much of an impact at our polls, populated as they are with decent (for the most part,) middle-class God-fearing people, but it will quietly make me feel better. .
The other thing I read requires a certain finesse to carry off without getting shot, but with prudence, a good watching place and a cell phone camera, you should be okay. Here's the situation: as you entered the polls, you saw a school bus or minivan parked in the lot. As you vote, you notice several people that "don't belong" (which is any definition you care to use.) As they exit, take a shot of them boarding the bus.
Fire up your old Hupmobile and follow the bus. If it goes to the next polling place and the passengers debark, shoot pictures of it. Notify the police and your local newspaper. It would be prudent to have the dispatcher number and the news desk of the paper on speed dial.
Go home with a happy glow. You've done your bit to stop voter fraud.
There has been a great deal of noise about how NON-PC it is to demand that everyone with the temerity to actually get up off the couch and trundle their weary way down to the polls to vote has to show a picture I.D. The screams and squawks of such as the ACLU about the ripping away of personal information just to vote have been horrendous.
If you're not voting for the second or third time and you are actually, in fact, alive and not moldering in some quiet Kansas cemetery, what's the big deal? Have you ever tried to board a plane without picture I.D.? Did you turn down having your photo on your drivers license? (Good luck with that one, incidentally.)
As with most things in politics "much ado about nothing at all."
As a fervent and permanently suspicious eyer of the Presidential votes, I plan to bring my passport to the polls and make a point of showing that I did. (Assuming loud voice) "Yes, I really am Nina Murphy and HERE'S MY PASSPORT TO PROVE IT." This isn't going to have much of an impact at our polls, populated as they are with decent (for the most part,) middle-class God-fearing people, but it will quietly make me feel better. .
The other thing I read requires a certain finesse to carry off without getting shot, but with prudence, a good watching place and a cell phone camera, you should be okay. Here's the situation: as you entered the polls, you saw a school bus or minivan parked in the lot. As you vote, you notice several people that "don't belong" (which is any definition you care to use.) As they exit, take a shot of them boarding the bus.
Fire up your old Hupmobile and follow the bus. If it goes to the next polling place and the passengers debark, shoot pictures of it. Notify the police and your local newspaper. It would be prudent to have the dispatcher number and the news desk of the paper on speed dial.
Go home with a happy glow. You've done your bit to stop voter fraud.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Now That Was a Funeral!
"Paris Was Yesterday - 1925-1939" by Janet Flanner Popular Library 232 pages $1.25 1972 edition, paperback
Flanner was a young wanna-be writer in Paris when the New Yorker magazine hired her to write a column called "Letter From Paris." It was a roaring success; soon she knew everyone of importance in the arts in Paris. She has a great style, drily witty and a joy to read. To entice you into reading the book, here is her account of the funeral of Marshall Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies in France during the last year of the war.
Marshall Foch, 1851 - 1929
When the catafalque was exposed beneath the Arc de Triomphe, children who had been up all night in trains were held shoulder-high to view the bier. In the jam, orphan girls, tied to each other by a rope whose end was around the waist of an anxious nun, were pulled up and down the curb like Alpine climbers.
Taxis and Rolls circled in an endless gyrating ring around the Etoile, whole families seated on the hoods. Seven thousand mourners an hour passed the bier. Before dusk, 2 million were packed for blocks along the side streets and helplessly broke the police barrage, being swept past without seeing anything but their own fright.
It was estimated that 3 million people saw the procession, but only a fraction could have done it comfortably, well or even at all. Windows in the Rue de Rivoli rented at 5,000 francs. A perch on a lamppost cost 50. Men swarmed in trees, on roofs and sat on chimney pots. (Ed. note - presumably for free)
For the most part, women saw the Marshall's caisson by turning their backs to it while looking into mirrors held aloft.
At his house and at the Cathedral, while thousands waited to pay him homage, the lines were closed from 12 noon to 2 p.m. - in deference to that unflinching French tradition - luncheon - which apparently even death does not alter."
That was what any sane person would describe as a "funeral, by God" while smacking their lips.
Hold on there - it can't compare with the attendance at one C. N. Annadurai, of Chennai, India's funeral. He drew a reported 15 million mourners. Take that, Paris.
Flanner was a young wanna-be writer in Paris when the New Yorker magazine hired her to write a column called "Letter From Paris." It was a roaring success; soon she knew everyone of importance in the arts in Paris. She has a great style, drily witty and a joy to read. To entice you into reading the book, here is her account of the funeral of Marshall Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies in France during the last year of the war.
Marshall Foch, 1851 - 1929
When the catafalque was exposed beneath the Arc de Triomphe, children who had been up all night in trains were held shoulder-high to view the bier. In the jam, orphan girls, tied to each other by a rope whose end was around the waist of an anxious nun, were pulled up and down the curb like Alpine climbers.
Taxis and Rolls circled in an endless gyrating ring around the Etoile, whole families seated on the hoods. Seven thousand mourners an hour passed the bier. Before dusk, 2 million were packed for blocks along the side streets and helplessly broke the police barrage, being swept past without seeing anything but their own fright.
It was estimated that 3 million people saw the procession, but only a fraction could have done it comfortably, well or even at all. Windows in the Rue de Rivoli rented at 5,000 francs. A perch on a lamppost cost 50. Men swarmed in trees, on roofs and sat on chimney pots. (Ed. note - presumably for free)
For the most part, women saw the Marshall's caisson by turning their backs to it while looking into mirrors held aloft.
At his house and at the Cathedral, while thousands waited to pay him homage, the lines were closed from 12 noon to 2 p.m. - in deference to that unflinching French tradition - luncheon - which apparently even death does not alter."
That was what any sane person would describe as a "funeral, by God" while smacking their lips.
Hold on there - it can't compare with the attendance at one C. N. Annadurai, of Chennai, India's funeral. He drew a reported 15 million mourners. Take that, Paris.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Richie Writes to the Editor
Dear Editors, Daily Breeze
Re Stumpf "Retirement"
Q. Why do bank executives always look tired?
A. They sleep on lumpy mattresses - filled with their savings.
Re Stumpf "Retirement"
Q. Why do bank executives always look tired?
A. They sleep on lumpy mattresses - filled with their savings.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Pumpkin Season - Have a Bite of This Cucurbita Pie!
Trader Joe had a big beautiful display of exotic pumpkins and another of the traditional bright orange babies. The exotics entranced me due to their varied colors - a big bronze one, little baby white ones .. dark green ones (!)
Which inspired me to look up pumpkins. A very good source is allaboutpumpkins.com for your further perusal. Until you can get around to it, here are some tidbits.
Types of pumpkins - the Cinderella, so named for Cinderella's coach. It said to have a good flavor.
Baby Boo which are tiny whites to keep in a shaded spot else they will turn yellow in the sunlight.
The Amish "looks like an apple" and is a creamy yellow.
The Fairy Tale which goes from dark green to a mahogany finish. This one originated in France and there is called "Musque de Provence."
How the hell did an American pumpkin wind up in France? Christopher Columbus is said to have brought the seeds in to Europe and in France, they were grown to feed the pigs.
The Latin for "pumpkin" is "cucurbita" but they are called "pepon" in Greek. Originally, pumpkins more closely resembled long-necked squash. Today, growers refer to squash, corn and beans growing together as the "Three Sisters" - something complicated about the bean in-ground chemicals nourish the squash which protects the corn stalks, all very confusing and in the end, good for them, but not very interesting to those without a garden.
Good qualities for a pumpkin that will last longest for display purposes - a hard skin and "handles" (assuming this refers to a stout stem.)
When letting little kids play with the small ones, wash them thoroughly because they will gnaw on them.
A common Thanksgiving illustration shows a woman in a black dress with a white apron proffering a pumpkin pie - crust and filling.
But this is not what was actually eaten all those long years ago. The following was the featured dessert at the second Pilgrim's Thanksgiving:
PILGRIM PUMPKIN PIE Get a medium-size, firm fleshed pumpkin and cut off the top and set it aside - it's going to be the pie lid. Then scoop out the seed and strings and fill with a beaten together mixture of cream, honey, egg and spices (sounds like egg nog, no?)
Here's the hard part for most of us - bury the pumpkin in the ashes in the back of the kitchen fireplace and cook until the shell is tender. The great barbecue artistes that live among us could probably duplicate fireplace ashes so all is not lost. This year amaze your dinner guests - the presentation alone could be worth an admittance fee to the feast...hmmm...
.
Which inspired me to look up pumpkins. A very good source is allaboutpumpkins.com for your further perusal. Until you can get around to it, here are some tidbits.
Types of pumpkins - the Cinderella, so named for Cinderella's coach. It said to have a good flavor.
Baby Boo which are tiny whites to keep in a shaded spot else they will turn yellow in the sunlight.
The Amish "looks like an apple" and is a creamy yellow.
The Fairy Tale which goes from dark green to a mahogany finish. This one originated in France and there is called "Musque de Provence."
How the hell did an American pumpkin wind up in France? Christopher Columbus is said to have brought the seeds in to Europe and in France, they were grown to feed the pigs.
The Latin for "pumpkin" is "cucurbita" but they are called "pepon" in Greek. Originally, pumpkins more closely resembled long-necked squash. Today, growers refer to squash, corn and beans growing together as the "Three Sisters" - something complicated about the bean in-ground chemicals nourish the squash which protects the corn stalks, all very confusing and in the end, good for them, but not very interesting to those without a garden.
Good qualities for a pumpkin that will last longest for display purposes - a hard skin and "handles" (assuming this refers to a stout stem.)
When letting little kids play with the small ones, wash them thoroughly because they will gnaw on them.
A common Thanksgiving illustration shows a woman in a black dress with a white apron proffering a pumpkin pie - crust and filling.
But this is not what was actually eaten all those long years ago. The following was the featured dessert at the second Pilgrim's Thanksgiving:
PILGRIM PUMPKIN PIE Get a medium-size, firm fleshed pumpkin and cut off the top and set it aside - it's going to be the pie lid. Then scoop out the seed and strings and fill with a beaten together mixture of cream, honey, egg and spices (sounds like egg nog, no?)
Here's the hard part for most of us - bury the pumpkin in the ashes in the back of the kitchen fireplace and cook until the shell is tender. The great barbecue artistes that live among us could probably duplicate fireplace ashes so all is not lost. This year amaze your dinner guests - the presentation alone could be worth an admittance fee to the feast...hmmm...
.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Gentleman vs. Lout or Homemade or Store Bought
A Taste of Home, a foodie magazine that purports to transport us back in time to the family dining room table, included the following recipe:
GENTLEMAN'S WHISKEY BACON JAM
1 1/2 lbs. thick-sliced bacon, finely chopped
8 shallots, finely chopped
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
pinch of pepper
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Cook the bacon, drain on paper towels. Toss all but 2 T grease and saute the shallots and onion.
Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat, stir in the whiskey - DON'T LET IT FLARE UP and maple syrup. Back to the fire, boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the vinegar and brown sugar, stir constantly for 3 minutes.
Add the bacon, bring down the heat and cook for 12 minutes
They recommend putting half of the finished product in a Cuisinart and then mixing the pureed with the clumpy and, after it cools, bottle it and label it prettily and give it to close friends. Don't ship it to far away destinations because it only lasts five days in the refrigerator. All three cups of it.
The above is the gentleman's version. Below is the lout's -
Liberate a $20 from you loved one's purse/wallet, go to the nearest Trader Joe's and buy a jar of Uncured Bacon Jam, 8.5 oz. Buy some English muffins to put the jam on and sally forth home to feast. To be less "loutish" it would be good form to invite the person who funded this purchase to join you at the table. Just sayin'...
GENTLEMAN'S WHISKEY BACON JAM
1 1/2 lbs. thick-sliced bacon, finely chopped
8 shallots, finely chopped
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
pinch of pepper
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Cook the bacon, drain on paper towels. Toss all but 2 T grease and saute the shallots and onion.
Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat, stir in the whiskey - DON'T LET IT FLARE UP and maple syrup. Back to the fire, boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the vinegar and brown sugar, stir constantly for 3 minutes.
Add the bacon, bring down the heat and cook for 12 minutes
They recommend putting half of the finished product in a Cuisinart and then mixing the pureed with the clumpy and, after it cools, bottle it and label it prettily and give it to close friends. Don't ship it to far away destinations because it only lasts five days in the refrigerator. All three cups of it.
The above is the gentleman's version. Below is the lout's -
Liberate a $20 from you loved one's purse/wallet, go to the nearest Trader Joe's and buy a jar of Uncured Bacon Jam, 8.5 oz. Buy some English muffins to put the jam on and sally forth home to feast. To be less "loutish" it would be good form to invite the person who funded this purchase to join you at the table. Just sayin'...
Monday, October 10, 2016
A Pre-emptive Strike Against Fat Season
"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness..." first lines of the poem To Autumn by John Keats.
Fat season should have been included, because the opening gun in this American season is scarfing up all of the Halloween candy we can find followed by The Biggest Dinner Of the Year (Thanksgiving) and then the sweet excesses of Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa and Festivus.
It is a sage person (reference to T-Day stuffing! Get it? Get it?) who can avoid gaining excess pounds to love in winter. Thus, out of the kindness of my sympathetic heart, (gratuitous foo-fa-ra; I don't have a heart) here are some tips I gleaned from Taste of Home, suggesting substitutions.
INSTEAD OF TRY THIS
spaghetti spaghetti squash - I tried this once - and it was awful.
mashed potatoes mashed cauliflower
chips and dip fresh vegetables and dip - bonus points, use yogurt instead
of sour cream
French fries carrot fries (?) sweet potato fries are good, but never heard of carrots
lasagna noodles zucchini strips
croutons toasted nuts
cheese crackers Parmesan crisps ( piles of Parmesan cheese baked until they melt into a "cookie" dubious for saving calories
bread crumb coating ground almonds
tortillas Bibb lettuce
These have worked for me in the past and it's nearly time to saddle up again ...
Halloween candy - either buy something that you don't like (candy corn) or substitute something "healthy" like an apple. Win parents hearts and minds by offering their child a snack-sized zip-lock baggie of celery and carrot sticks. Just buy one of those party platters and use it for individual portioning.
Substitute hard candies for chocolate anything.
Eat more protein. I find that with a protein load, the sweet tooth disappears back into the gum.
Try a jalapeno string cheese with a handful of Snyder's Jalapeno Pretzel chunks.
Dip into a bowl of your favorite olives. Not exactly "protein" but definitely not chocolate.
I re-read this and decided that Taste of Home has some nerve with their talk of substitutions...many of their recipes' ingredients are: heavy cream, cream cheese, Velveeta and Cream of Mushroom soup, none of which are in any way "slimming" or "healthful." Apparently this is an example of the classic "Don't do what I do; do what I say."
Reflect on that for a minute while I break out the miniature candy bars I got for Halloween - care for one? The Almond Joys are particularly good this season.
Fat season should have been included, because the opening gun in this American season is scarfing up all of the Halloween candy we can find followed by The Biggest Dinner Of the Year (Thanksgiving) and then the sweet excesses of Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa and Festivus.
It is a sage person (reference to T-Day stuffing! Get it? Get it?) who can avoid gaining excess pounds to love in winter. Thus, out of the kindness of my sympathetic heart, (gratuitous foo-fa-ra; I don't have a heart) here are some tips I gleaned from Taste of Home, suggesting substitutions.
INSTEAD OF TRY THIS
spaghetti spaghetti squash - I tried this once - and it was awful.
mashed potatoes mashed cauliflower
chips and dip fresh vegetables and dip - bonus points, use yogurt instead
of sour cream
French fries carrot fries (?) sweet potato fries are good, but never heard of carrots
lasagna noodles zucchini strips
croutons toasted nuts
cheese crackers Parmesan crisps ( piles of Parmesan cheese baked until they melt into a "cookie" dubious for saving calories
bread crumb coating ground almonds
tortillas Bibb lettuce
These have worked for me in the past and it's nearly time to saddle up again ...
Halloween candy - either buy something that you don't like (candy corn) or substitute something "healthy" like an apple. Win parents hearts and minds by offering their child a snack-sized zip-lock baggie of celery and carrot sticks. Just buy one of those party platters and use it for individual portioning.
Substitute hard candies for chocolate anything.
Eat more protein. I find that with a protein load, the sweet tooth disappears back into the gum.
Try a jalapeno string cheese with a handful of Snyder's Jalapeno Pretzel chunks.
Dip into a bowl of your favorite olives. Not exactly "protein" but definitely not chocolate.
I re-read this and decided that Taste of Home has some nerve with their talk of substitutions...many of their recipes' ingredients are: heavy cream, cream cheese, Velveeta and Cream of Mushroom soup, none of which are in any way "slimming" or "healthful." Apparently this is an example of the classic "Don't do what I do; do what I say."
Reflect on that for a minute while I break out the miniature candy bars I got for Halloween - care for one? The Almond Joys are particularly good this season.
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