It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

OK, Enough is Enough

It was in the 30's today.
I am living in Argentina, people ! It is supposed to be sunny and warm or at least warm-ish. Not New York cold..
I am sitting here in my new uniform. Black zip turtle neck fleece top from REI .. I love that store and miss it so much.
Black fleece pants that are too big but they are the warmest thing I have .
Long wool sweater.
Thick socks and shearling lined clogs. ( Merrels from REI ... sigh)
And I am cold.

Yes, we have heat. Modern heat. But the cold has already made its way into my bones and only a week or more of warm weather will make it go away.

Poor Pup .. he waits and waits, hopefully watching for anyone who might go near the door .. .Time for a walk ?? No.... too cold.. hold it... please.... oh OK.. let's go for a walk.
So we take him to the park, stand in the sunniest spot we can find and huddle under all of our winter clothing, scarves, gloves and boots and grumble.
Oh yes, we smile and think the dog is cute and the pigeons are funny because they know me now and gather around if I stand still too long. Pretty soon, I will probably freeze in place and people will see me, standing there... not moving ... pigeons on my shoulders.
Then we scurry home and have gallons of hot tea and scones and sit under shawls and throws and heaters going and wonder How Long Is This Gonna Last ??
Pup just gets happy if we walk him so I guess the temperatures mean nada to a Pup.

Tomorrow he goes to the Groomer.
This is his last day of being a shaggy dog... a medium sized brown sheep ... a small brown curly haired bear.
Happily it is his last day of smelling like a dog.
But I feel terrible about it because he will be cold.. with a short haircut , I will have to knit him a sweater, better yet, buy him a coat. If he waited til I learned to knit and make him a sweater, he will be too old to go outside.
I feel terrible because he hates being groomed.. who wouldn't .. this guy with arms like The Hulk grabs him up, puts him on the table, combs out all those mats and tangles and bathes him and dries him and cuts his hair .. for hours.. the poor thing comes home and eats dinner and sleeps for about 14 hours after.
But he will look beautiful again, like the pretty Poodle that he is and he will once again, smell like a flower.
But with shorter hair. Right now his nose is square, tomorrow it will be all pointy again. 
Weird.. I get a haircut and my nose stays exactly the same.
So we walked to EST for coffee. We buy freshly French Roasted Brazilian coffee from these people. Then we went to the market where I bought fusilli and then we picked up the dog and took him for his park time.
I got a recipe from Jamie Oliver and decided I would adapt it to our taste .. so we went to the butcher and got chicken hamburgers..which I sauteed and crumbled up instead of sausages. Coming home and preparing to boil the fresh fusilli, I found that it was moldy. I really wanted to march back to the store and throw it at someone but 1- it was too cold 2- I am not in a hurry to see how the accommodations are at the local police station jail. So I threw them in the garbage instead and made it with penne. It was delicious and I will post the recipe here. It was also extremely easy to make. 
I will now go sit on the sofa and see if any of the husbands body heat wafts over my way, maybe I will convince Pup to sit with me on the sofa .. you can always tell me how warm it is where you live. Remind me of how much I complained this past summer about the endless heat .. a vague memory at best right now.




 Proper Blokes' Sausage Fusilli adapted from Cook with Jamie
Serves 4.
First make the sausage:
  • 630g (22oz) ground pork
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seed, freshly ground
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, freshly ground
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Mix everything together and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour. Alternatively you can use 630g of Italian sausages, squeezed out of the casing.

  • olive oil
  • 2 heaped teaspoons fennel seeds, coarsely crushed in a mortar
  • 2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 240g (1 cup) white wine
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 630g (22oz) fusilli or penne
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • a couple of knobs of butter
  • a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
  • small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, add a splash of olive oil and add all the sausage meat in, breaking it up and crushing with a spoon. Let it fry for a few minutes, until colored. Add the fennel seeds and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat about 10 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Add the oregano and the white wine and let it reduce to half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Reduce the heat to low.

Cook the pasta according to package instructions (al dente). Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water, then dump the pasta into the sausage meat, tossing. Add butter, Parmesan, and parsley, and a few spoonfuls of the reserved cooking water. Taste and season with the salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately with some more Parmesan.

 http://manggy.blogspot.com/2010/03/proper-blokes-sausage-fusilli.html#ixzz0vaNdUvhX

10 comments:

  1. Nice, now I am hungry and I want a hair cut.............

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ohh, I know the cold you speak of, Candice! Thermals and tea, thermals and tea... And, oui, hubby's body heat!

    Hang in there. xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. C~ you are so funny! (Weird.. I get a haircut and my nose stays exactly the same.) I laughed out loud.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous, you don't want the hair cut he is getting, really.

    Sweet Freak .. thermals, tea, whine, thermals , tea, whine.

    Mym ... thank you ! ( but it is true !!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. 1. Now I'm hungry.

    2. A standard poodle is a very handsome dog.

    3. 30 degrees? Fahrenheit? Yikes! Take the pup for a walk and then treat yourself to a nice hot bath and a good book. Hot water's the key -- doing the dishes is, of course, a last resort.

    Love from Minneapolis,

    Pearl

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pearl ... the handsome pup is at the groomers, tragically torn from his moms arms.. dragging all four feet. Casting back forlorn looks as if to say, "Why are you doing this to me ????"

    I have no feeling in my knees ( the only part of me not totally covered in coat/boots etc and my nose froze and fell off already.

    I will be kind to my husband, who must be cold too and let him do the dishes .. yeah, that's the ticket :)

    Are you doing your Beer Tasting exercises?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Pup's nose looks so cute squared! Looking forward to seeing the new "do"...and the new coats, natural and store bought!

    Wishing you warmth... J~

    ReplyDelete
  8. If it makes you feel better it's pretty cold in Scotland and it's the middle of summer...

    Pup shall look divine after his haircut.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for the recipe, I will try it in a few months when it cools off here.

    ReplyDelete
  10. If I were living in Scotland.. I would not expect anything else and would have days of surprise and delight when the sun shone... here, I expect it, it is my due, my right !! to have warm sun. Or so says I.
    And not only does pup look good, he feels gooood.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome..Thank you.

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