All Hallows' Eve

It's Halloween here in Australia, and thankfully it isn't a huge a event, though it's getting bigger.  I blame that on the Americanization of the world -- a process I abhor, and I AM an American!

All the same, I have made no preparation and the only candy I have in my house is hard-to-find and too-precious-to-give-to-children US import candy (Junior Mints and original Skittles).  Dearest has to work late tonight so I will be on my own.  Were I in the US, I'd go out to dinner with my family and once home turn off all the lights and head upstairs for a night of DVRed guilty pleasure tv.  Here, I plan a similar evening, though I won't be going out to dinner.  I'm planning on drawing all the blinds, turning off all the lights and spending the night with some guilty pleasure tv (gotta love Hulu!)

What I really don't understand is when Halloween became an adult holiday.  When I was a child, children dressed up, had classroom parties, carved jack-o-lanterns, and went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.  That was pretty much the extent of it -- except for the candy-induced sugar highs that had the potential to last until Thanksgiving.

All of a sudden Halloween is all about adults.  I see mixed-drink recipes for adult parties everywhere, complemented by monster- or gore-themed finger foods.  I cannot load a web-page without getting banner ads for adult sexy costumes.  Apparently as the Generation Xers have grown up, Halloween has grown out of being just a bit of childhood fun.

I don't know why we, as a society, have to keep everything from childhood well into adulthood.  And why, after having kept it, we feel the need to sex everything up.  The Playboy Bunnies of my childhood Halloweens have given way to sexy kittens, sexy witches, and even sexy Big Birds.  If 60 is the new 40, will Generation Xers still be dressing as sexy cops when they are 60?  Do we really need to see 60-year old sexy nurses at the door with a jack-o-lantern bucket begging for candy?

The time has come to put a stop to this madness.  Halloween is a childhood celebration.  It should stay there.

Weekly Menu Round-Up

This week's menus were planned mainly with the intention of using up some leftovers or ingredients purchased for recipes that for whatever reason never got made.

Wednesday:  Taco Pizzas

Thursday:  Spanakopita Sandwiches and Deviled Eggs

Friday:  Middle-Berry Scones, Oatmeal, and Fruit Salad

Saturday:  Velvet Chicken over Rice and steamed broccoli

Sunday:  Vegetarian Schnitzels, Polenta-Style Corn Casserole and Peanut Butter Cookies

I don't plan meals for Mondays or Tuesdays; I have an evening tap class on Mondays and dearest has late classes both nights.  Lately, we have been sharing dinner at McDonald's on Monday before we go our separate ways -- I make no apologies for this.  And I plan to have a do-it-yourself dinner for Tuesday, though some days I'll fix a quick dinner to share with dearest.

Wednesday:  Taco Pizzas

I had half a recipe of homemade pizza dough in the freezer.  I also had about half a pan of Taco Sloppy Joe filling and about half a recipe of homemade bean dip.  To round out my halves, I had half a package of shredded pizza cheese blend in the fridge.  Thinking it all out, I had dinner in one dish, with very little cooking!  I thawed the pizza dough, rolled it out and pressed it into my round cookie sheet.  I baked the crust for about 5 minutes, then topped it with the bean dip and the sloppy joe filling, before sprinkling a fresh tomato and the cheese on top.  I popped the whole thing in the over for 10 more minutes and dinner was done.

In retrospect, I could have baked the pizza crust a bit longer.  It was slightly underdone and I prefer a crisper crust.  But on the whole it was a great way to use up leftovers.

Thursday:  Spanakopita Sandwiches and Deviled Eggs

Dearest calls himself a "reforming omnivore."  At some point he would like to go completely vegetarian.  I support his desires and try to plan at least three vegetarian meals a week.  So far, this arrangement has worked well.  I have tried out some new recipes, and even practiced making some of my favorites vegetarian by either removing the meat, or swapping it out for a vegetable protein source.

This was a new recipe to try.  I love spanakopita and when I found a recipe with the same flavours in my Favorite Brand Name Vegetarian 3-Books-in-1cookbook, I decided it was a definite to try out.  I purchased the croissants, only because they are too much work to make from scratch.  The filling was a  bit bland on its own, but was much better once stuffed in the croissants and topped with melty cheese.  It was a good starting place, but the recipe needs tweaking.  I'll have to think about what to change before I make them again.

I felt we needed something other than the sandwiches and I had a bit of Greek yogurt leftover and decided that Deviled Eggs would make a great pairing.  I mentioned before that I do not like mayonnaise; in this recipe (and egg salad), I substitute Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise.  The eggs come out beautifully; if you didn't know there was no mayonnaise, you would not know.

Originally, the weather indicated it was going to be warm on Wednesday, but it actually turned out to be overcast, cool and windy all day, with on and off misty showers.  The more I thought about dinner, the more I thought spinach sandwiches and deviled eggs would not be enough, so I added a packaged noodle side-dish (cheese and black pepper flavour).  I'm glad I did, the packet was just two nice side-dish servings and added just enough to the meal.

And dearest surprised me by bringing home some carrot cake from the office, so we had dessert as well.

Friday:  dinner out while shopping

The meal planned for Friday was pushed back as dearest and I decided to have a shopping adventure on Friday afternoon and we had dinner out at an Italian restaurant at the shopping center.  It was a decent enough meal, but not one that needs to be repeated.  For an appetizer, we split an order of wedges which were served with more sour cream than anyone could ever use.  Then for the main dish we had a gourmet sun-dried tomato pizza.  This was the most disappointing part of the meal -- the sun-dried tomatoes were just dropped on the top of the pizza after it was cooked.  It was nice, but could have been so much better.  We were too full for dessert then, but we did indulge in a chocolate bar on the way home -- dearest had a Flake and I had a Twirl, which is really just a smaller Flake dipped in chocolate.

Saturday:  Middle-berry Scones, Oatmeal, and Fruit Salad

This was my first attempt at baking with whole-meal flour.  And I am very pleased with the results.  Middle-berry scones are a recipe I found in my Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook.  They are whole-wheat scones filled with strawberry preserves and topped with sugar.  They were light and delicious -- no doubt from the cream and butter, and the preserves melted into the scones beautifully.  As delicious as they were warm fresh from the oven, they were dense, cold and flavourless cold when I had one from breakfast the next morning.

I had planned oatmeal with this meal, but dearest is not a big fan of porridge oats and I like him to enjoy the meal, so I decided to introduce him to Cream of Wheat.  There is really not a hot cereal I do not like, but Cream of Wheat and Malt-o-Meal are my favourites.  I made it with half water and half milk, and then dropped a bit of butter and brown sugar in to finish off the cereal.  Dearest is still not sure what to make of the Cream of Wheat, but I think he's willing to give it another go.

I am dangerous with fruit.  I love fruit and really never know when to stop in making a salad.  Cold fruit is one of my super indulgences -- I can just eat and eat and eat, I really cannot stop myself.  I suppose there are worse things in which to super indulge.  I made this salad from half a box of frozen forest berries (blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and baby strawberries), two pints of fresh strawberries, a can of pineapple slices, and two Granny Smith apples.  Yes, it was more than the two of us could finish for that meal, but I knew I would nibble it all day and any leftovers were sure to be finished in no time.  I sugared the frozen berries as they were thawing with about two teaspoons of white sugar and then added the remaining fruit and a tablespoon each lemon and lime juice.  It was great, though both the apples and the pineapples ended up a lovely shade of purple from the berry juices.

Sunday:  Velvet Chicken over Rice with steamed broccoli

After the unexpected night out on Friday, everything as pushed back a day for the remainder of the week.  But that's okay.  I try to plan one meal a week with non-perishables or frozen foods so that if one has to get cut, I am not wasting fresh food.

Velvet Chicken is more a technique than a recipe as such -- chicken breast is cut into bite-size pieces and coated with cornstarch, before being quick-fried and then tossed with vegetables in a sauce made from broth thickened with cornstarch.  This particular version was chicken with mushrooms and onions with a bit of garlic for flavour.  I have made it before, but this time I wasn't thinking and added all the cornstarch to the chicken, so I my chicken ended up crispy-fried and I had to add additional cornstarch to the broth to thicken it.  It wasn't bad, but it was a bit different than usual.

I served the Chinese-inspired chicken dish with broth simmered rice (rice cooked in chicken broth) and steamed broccoli.  It was a good, filling dinner.  I always feel good when I put a meal on the table that reminds me of the meals my mother made as I was growing up.  This one was definitely something we would have had, though we may have topped the Velvet Chicken with a few crispy chow mien noodles.

I have pushed Sunday's meal forward to next Wednesday, so I can't report as to how it turned out just yet.

Topping the Table

Today, dearest asked if I wanted to head out to spend a gift card we got as a gift from his office last Christmas.  The gift card was to an office supply store.  His bosses knew we were in the market for bookshelves, and at the time our best option was to be found at the office supply store.  I need bookshelves to be functional rather than decorative.  I need shelf space for actual books that I either have or intend to read.  I tend not to keep knick-knack-y dust catchers on shelves that could better be served housing books.  Dearest needs shelf space for cds, dvds, and lps.  The bottom line is we need a good deal of functional shelf space.  We thought our best option was a set of adjustable shelves at the office supply store, and we were grateful for the gift card.  When we decided that shelving units from Ikea would be a better fit for us, it meant we had the gift card to use at the office supply store.

We had been putting off using the gift card, because we didn't need anything in the way of office supplies.  I shipped over more pens and pencils than a single person could ever use, and dearest had his own to add to the stock.  I have more notebooks than I could ever use, and more paper products too.  We could use a hanging file rack, but it was hardly an urgent need, and that one item would still leave us with a fair amount on the gift card to spend.

I had been idly looking for a side table to put near my end of the sofa.  I needed a place to put a glass of tea, to put my custard cups of snacks, and to drop my book or phone, or other things necessary to daily life that need a hard, solid surface on which to rest.  I checked out the office supple store's website and found a table that I really liked -- small enough to fit in the space and with two wicker drawers for additional storage space.  And it fit our gift card budget!!  Score!

So off we went to the Homewares Center in Cranbourne to find the perfect side table.  We were successful -- and it was on sale -- which meant that we had to find other things to round out the total amount of the gift card.  I contributed a pen (as if I needed another, but this on is thin, girly and decorated with a sparkly blue crystal!), and some removable dry-erase labels for out tea tins.  Dearest found a document wallet for travelling, a storage ottoman (another item on our furniture wish list), and a set of dry erase markers (ostensibly for the labels I found).  We snagged the other items we wanted to purchase and checked with the helpful clerks about purchasing the side table.  The clerk went to check the store-room and came back to inform us that they had none in stock and could not find another one at any of the other stores in the area.  But he said they would be willing to sell the floor model.  We agreed to that and the clerk offered to carry the table to the checkout counter and then to our car.

Purchases made, we decided to wander through the Homewares Center to see what else was on offer.  We stopped in the storage and home organization supply store and JB HiFi, but we found nothing we couldn't live without and nothing we needed to live with -- though dearest did check out surround sound systems and may have narrowed the choices down a bit more.

As we were out for the afternoon, we decided to have dinner out as well.  After weighing our options, we decided to have dinner at La Porchetta an Italian cafe in the Homewares Center (it sounds like a Mexican restaurant to me).  We opted to share an entree and mains and well as a pitcher (jug) of Coke.  For our entree (appetizer) we selected the ohh-so-Italian Bowl of Wedges, served with sour cream.  For our mains (entree) we selected a Sun-Dried Tomato Gourmet Pizza.  The Coke came first as was decent as far as pitchers of Coke go, though I find Australian restaurants in general to be a bit skimpy with ice.  The appetizer was good -- the wedges were well fried, with a nice crispy coating.  They were served with a vat of sour cream, it was at least an entire 8-ounce container, certainly more than any table of people could ever use for a bowl of wedges.  I had high hopes for the Sun-Dried Tomato Gourmet Pizza.  They were not met.  It was a decent pizza, a good idea, but poor execution.  The pizza was made with a base of a nice fresh tomato sauce, a sliced fresh tomato, and a good amount of mozzarella cheese, topped with sun-dried tomato halves.  It really did have potential.  But I would have made a few changes.  First and foremost, I would have removed the stem end of the fresh tomato before I sliced it and put it on the pizza.  Second, I would have diced the sun-dried tomato halves and put them under the cheese, instead of just tossing them whole on top of the pizza, after it was baked.  As dearest noted, it's not really a gourmet pizza if all you do is toss sun-dried tomatoes on a basic margarita pizza.  Calling something "Gourmet" implies that it is in some significant way different, and better, than the regular pizzas.  I had been considering splitting a dessert with dearest, but we were both full from the pizza and wedges.  We paid the bill, and having done everything we needed to, headed on our way home.

I'm not say I'll never go to La Porchetta again, I probably will.  It's a known quantity and convenient if we have shopping to do in the Homewares Center.  But the next time I go, I will make different choices from the menu.

We made it home before the heavy rains began and settled down for a cozy night in.  All in all it was a good Friday afternoon out.  And I have a new side table!

Lining the Shelves

I have mentioned before that I am a book-a-holic.  Since moving to Australia, I have had to seriously curtail my book buying -- lack of funds and expensive books put a damper on my habit.  It has made me more judicious with my book choices though; I find myself seriously weighing whether I will actually read a book before I buy it, rather than just plunking the book down on the counter without a second thought.

Even so, I have managed to expand my library since I have arrived.  I have even discovered a few new authors.

Real Books:

• The State Counsellor, Boris Akunin
• The Coronation, Boris Akunin
• She Lover of Death, Boris Akunin
• He Lover of Death, Boris Akunin
• Holly Blues, Susan Wittig Albert
• Mourning Gloria, Susan Wittig Albert
• The Secret Life of Evie Hamilton, Catherine Alliott
• The Amber Room, Steve Berry
• Whitethorn Woods, Maeve Binchy
• Murder in the Museum, Simon Brett
• Royal Blood, Rhys Bowen
• Hiss of Death, Rita Mae Brown
• And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie
• The Thirteen Problems, Agatha Christie
• Girl in a Red Tunic, Alys Clare
• The Alpine Uproar, Mary Daheim
• Murder in Burnt Orange, Jeanne M. Dams
• Crunch Time, Diane Mott Davidson
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernierers
• Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
• The Edge of Madness, Michael Dobbs
• Sheer Folly, Carola Dunn
• A Wee Christmas Homicide, Kaitlyn Dunnett
• A Week in September, Sebastian Faulks
• A Stranger in Mayfair, Charles Finch
• A Burial at Sea, Charles Finch
• One of Our Thursdays is Missing, Jasper Fforde
• The Woman Who Died A Lot, Jasper Fforde
• Murder on the Ballarat Train, Kerry Greenwood
• Flying Too High, Kerry Greenwood
• Death at Victoria Doc, Kerry Greenwood
• The Green Mill Murder, Kerry Greenwood
• Blood and Circuses, Kerry Greenwood
• Ruddy Gore, Kerry Greenwood
• Urn Burial, Kerry Greenwood
• Cooking the Books, Kerry Greenwood
• Buffalo West Wing, Julie Hyzy
• Affairs of Steak, July Hyzy
• Duchess by Night, Eloisa James
• The Treacherous Teddy, John J. Lamb
• The Silver Locomotive, Edward Martson
• Grand Days, Frank Moorhouse
• A Corpse in Shining Armour, Caro Peacock
• The Devlin Diary, Christi Phillips
• SuperChef Australia, Ben Pobjie
• The Fallen Angel, Daniel Silva
• Agent 6, Tom Rob Smith
• Perfume:  The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Suskind
• Murder on Sisters' Row, Victoria Thompson
• Behind the Lines:  The Year's Best Political Cartoons, Therese Weber
• The Betrayal the Blood Lily, Lauren Willig
• The Mischief of the Mistletoe, Lauren Willig

e-books:

• The Amersham Rubies, Rhys Bowen
• A Nose for Justice, Rita Mae Brown
• Outfoxed, Rita Mae Brown
• Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly
• An East End Murder, Charles Finch
• Heavenly Pleasures, Kerry Greenwood
• Devil's Food, Kerry Greenwood
• Trick or Treat, Kerry Greenwood
• Forbidden Fruit, Kerry Greenwood
• The Gentleman's Walking Stick, Ashley Gardner
• The Necklace Affair, Ashley Gardner
• A Death in Norfolk, Ashley Gardner
• The United States of Arugula, David Kamp

I need to get reading.  There are just too many good books out there.  Even with my self-imposed limits on book buying, I have way more books on my to-be-read list than I may ever finish.  I think I may have to impose stricter limits on myself.

I keep track of how many books I read a year, and it averages 36.  That's about 3 books a month.  Including the books I have bought since arriving in Australia, I own 198 books that I have not read.  (All told I own 929 books.)  At an average of 36 books a year, I have 5 1/2 years of books to be read.  And that number does not include the next-in-series books I know I will buy as they come out, or the books I know I will re-read because I want visits with old friends as much as I want to make new ones.

Despite telling myself that I should not buy new books until I read the ones I have, I will buy new ones as I find ones that look appealing and interesting.  And next year, I will count up the number of newly bought books versus unread ones and have this debate with myself all over again.

This debate came about because my dearest and I are getting serious about buying bookshelves and finally unpacking the 8 boxes of books that have been in boxes since I packed them up in December 2010.  As I look at the boxes and envision overflowing shelves (knowing that I will have to share shelf space with not only dearest's books, but his cds and dvds), I think more and more about only putting books on the shelf which are worthy of being there.  I wonder if my books need to earn a home on the shelves.

But can I bring myself to permanently evict the ones that don't make the cut?  Each book I consider giving away tears a little bit of me from myself.  Each book is a memory -- I kept the last book I read before Hurricane Katrina, not because it was a great book, but because it was the last book I finished before a life-changing event.  Picking up a book the other day, I found a folded piece of hotel stationery in it.  I remembered being in the hotel when I finished the book.  Even though I remember reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles on my first ever trans-Atlantic flight, I judged it not worthy enough to be kept.  Each time I see the book at a bookstore now, it brings back memories of the flight and the adventure that came after, and I seriously consider re-buying a book I previously judged not worthy of keeping.  I stop myself, because I have read the book.

There is no real answer to my quandary.  I know that I will not stop buying books and I know that I will not stop worrying about the wasted shelf space.  I'm sure we all have things that cause us to ponder these kinds of unanswerable questions.  But when I come back next year and complain about my book habit, please remind me of what I have said here.  And tell me it's okay to have an unfinished to-be-read list.  Thanks!

Winning Peasants

A couple of weekends ago, Sunday turned out to be much more a fall day than a spring one.  It was cold, wet, drippy, grey, overcast and damp all day.  When I made my weekly menu plan last week, I planned Beef & Noodles for dinner tonight.  I could not have picked a better day for that dish this week if I had tried.

The recipe for Beef & Noodles I used creates a rich, delicious beef stew, thickened with the starch from the homemade-style noodles.  The basic recipe calls for beef, onions, garlic, beef broth and noodles.  I had a couple of carrots that needed to to be used, and I thought "it's beef stew, carrots won't hurt," so I added those as well.  That was an excellent addition, the sweetness from the carrots accentuated the sweetness from the onions and it produced a fantastic stew.  It was definitely one of the the dinners that makes me think I'm a good cook.  It was so good, dearest had to take the Dutch oven from which I was licking the last bits of gravy to wash it.  It was that kind of dinner.

As I savoured the stew at the table, I commented to dearest that meals such as this made me feel sorry for the royal classes in Medieval times.  Stews are considered to be "peasant food" and were not suitable fare for the landed gentry class.  I always feel sorry for the landed gentry -- they do not know what they missed!  There is something undefinably good about a stew.  Perhaps it's the way the meat is cooked until it is falling apart.  I tell dearest all the time if I could find a vegetable protein source that mimics the taste and texture of roasts that have been cooked until they are literally falling apart, I would happily become a vegetarian.  I don't have roasts often, but when I do I remember what is so good about them.  Perhaps the innate goodness in this particular stew comes from the noodles absorbing the flavours from the beef broth, and then give up some of their starch, which helps transform the broth into a rich, thick gravy.  (Aside:  the difference between a gravy, and a sauce, is that gravies are created from the pan juices/drippings of the meat with which they are served, while sauces are made in a clean pan with ingredients that have no connection to the dish with which they are served.)  Whatever the magic is, this stew is something that you should not pass up.

Beef & Noodles
1 pound boneless beef round steak or chuck roast
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups beef broth
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces homemade or frozen noodles

• Trim separable fat from meat and cut into 1-inch cubes.
• In Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil.
• In two to three batches, brown meat on all sides in hot oil, removing beef to small bowl when brown.
• Add remaining tablespoon butter, onions, garlic and carrots to Dutch oven, cooking over medium heat until soft.
• Return all meat, and any juices, to pan.
• Add broth and pepper.
• Bring to boil over medium heat.
• Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender.
• Return stew to boiling and add noodles.
• Cover and simmer for half an hour, or until noodles are soft and gravy has thickened.
• Serve in shallow bowls with bread and butter, if desired.

Adapted from:  Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 2007 Celebrating the Promise Limited 14th Edition

My observations:

• I adapted the recipe by adding the carrots and by not dusting the beef cubes in flour.
• I used dried homemade-style noodles.  The recipe definitely needs noodles and not pasta; do not substitute pasta for the noodles.
• My noodles absorbed a good deal of water, and I had to add about a cup of water during the simmering.  Even with the additional water, the starch from the noodles thickened the gravy to a lovely consistency.
• I tend not to salt dishes unless the recipe calls for it, but you may feel this recipe needs a bit of salt.
• This recipe makes 4 main dish servings.  I would not try to stretch it further than that; if you need more than 4 servings, increase the recipe accordingly.

The Cost of Being Loved

After my dearest proposed to me, we began the process of shopping for an engagement ring. I knew from the beginning that I did not want a diamond as the main stone in my ring. My decision for not wanting a diamond had nothing to do with the political and ethical complications of mining the precious stones. I simply do not like the way they look. I would not have been happy looking down at a diamond as an outward symbol of my dearest’s love for me for the rest of my life. I wanted something that I would look at and think of my dearest, not how much I wish it were something else. I was very excited when, after 18 months of internet shopping and less than 18 minutes of window shopping, I found the perfect ring for me. I was pleased with my decision and, I think my dearest was too. I like the way it sparkles and catches the light; I like the colors the stone is in different lights; I like the setting, the shape of the stone; I like the milgrain edge detail. In short, I like everything about it. It is perfect for me and when I look down at it, I see my dearest's love for me and remember how we found it (which is an adventure in and of itself). In sum, it is the perfect ring for US.

As happens, I began to show it off to my friends and co-workers.  And I started to run headlong into the problem with being a system bucker. I got sniffs, head shakes, and “oh, isn't that nice?” comments.  My ring was not what was expected and as such it was not to be admired.  It was almost as though, in their eyes, my dearest does not love me as much as they are loved -- with the ring of my choice, I was settling for less than expected because my dearest does not love me enough give me what society says I  really wanted.  I could not believe it.  The thought that I truly wanted that ring and truly adored it never occurred to them, or if it had, was dismissed immediately.  Society has dictated that every girl wants a diamond and to get something less is unfathomable.  I must be dreadfully disappointed and hiding it well.

Restyle Your Ring Event

From Thursday October 18 to Sunday October 21, Long’s in Burlington
will be hosting a Restyle Your Ring Event with a huge assortment of
diamond ring styles to choose from, all at special values.

RESTYLE | REDO | REFRESH | REDESIGN

Choose from thousands of mountings & anniversary bands
Explore our expanded collection of diamonds & gemstones
Reset your diamond into a custom designed masterpiece

It’s ok to admit it. After wearing your original engagement ring for years, you’d love a new look. So come to Long’s Jewelers Restyle Your Ring event October 18th to the 21st in Burlington. For four days only, we’ll have thousands of rings for you to see, so you can reset your diamond into something new. There are lots of ways to restyle or upgrade your ring, so come to Long’s and we’ll show you how!

We will have an expanded selection of styles from which to choose. There are many options when restyling your jewelry. The only limit is your imagination!

Perhaps it's because I love my ring so much, but I cannot imagine wanting to "Restyle, Redo, Refresh, or Redesign" my ring.  I cannot begin to imagine a situation that would make me want a "do over on my engagement ring.  While technically I have had my engagement ring for year; it's not even been a decade.  I didn't pick a trendy setting, and it's not the sort of ring that will look dated in a decade.  I simply cannot fathom ever wanting to re-do it.

When I was window shopping for my ring, before I found it, I noticed one of my co-worker's engagement and wedding ring set.  It was a simple, but nonetheless beautiful set.  I made a point of asking her about because I admired it so much.  Not long after I got my ring, I was noticing the same co-worker's left hand.  She had a completely new engagement and wedding ring set.  I asked about it, remembering the simple set I had admired.  She explained that her husband had gotten her a new set for a milestone anniversary.  I dutifully made approving noises about her new set, but the whole time I was somewhat disappointed for her.  Her original set was so pretty and the new one was, to my eyes, a bit gaudy and over-flashy, dripping with diamonds.  I suppose it is to that group of consumers that Long's Jewelers in Burlington, Massachusetts "Restyle Your Ring" event is marketed.

Does the cost of the item indicate how much love is conveyed? Does the fact that my dearest allowed me to select something I knew I would like mean he loves me more than someone else selecting something with no input from the intended recipient? More importantly, does it even matter? I have never believed that my life is a contest. There are no prizes at the end for the person who was loved the most. All I need to know is that my dearest loves me. I know that.

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
(Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats)

***For the record, I much prefer the "before" ring to the "after" in the quoted advertisement.

Dining on History

I post regularly on several message boards -- a couple of which are food and cooking related.  While browsing the boards, I have noticed a change in the world of cooking.  And it's a change I think may be more dangerous than fad diets and CSPI recommendations.

More and more I have noticed that it seems people no longer own cookbooks.  Home cooks are more and more getting, and posting, recipes to food blogs.  Understand, it is not the sharing of recipes I think is the problem.  I think the problem is that as recipes are uploaded to blogs, the original sources are lost -- maybe not intentionally, but lost nonetheless.

As a person who considered her 900+ volume library too important to leave behind when I began my life in Australia, I mourn any loss of paper books.  But the loss of actual paper cookbooks is not even my main concern here.

The problem is that as people share the recipes, the culinary history behind them is lost.  I have a recipe for an excellent Chocolate Snack Cake.  I got it from my mother, who got it from a magazine.  This progression of trusted and favourite recipes is never going to be lost, whether it's from a cookbook to a friend to the friend's daughter or from a grandmother to granddaughter to a neighbor's blog.  I do not worry about that.  But I do worry about the loss of knowledge that went with the recipe.

The recipe for Chocolate Snack Cake is as follows:

1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Baking Cocoa

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 Tablespoons Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

In one mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl, combine water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients and mix until just blended.  Pour into a greased 8" square pan.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until pick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool slightly before cutting.  Makes 9 servings.

It makes a moist cake that can be served without any frosting or filling, though a light dusting of powdered sugar, sliced, sugared strawberries, or a healthy dollop of whipped cream are not unwelcome.

But there is something about this recipe, something that someone with a knowledge of culinary history will notice right away.  This recipe has no eggs, it also uses relatively small amounts of sugar and fat.  While those facts result in a recipe that is conveniently vegan, that is not what a culinary historian would notice.  A culinary historian would notice that this recipe, with the lack of eggs and small amounts of sugar and fat, is a war-time recipe, designed to make the most of precious, rationed ingredients.  The fact that the resulting cake is moist without the addition of a sugar laden frosting or glaze only adds to its war-time pedigree.

I mourn not only for the loss of well-worn cookbooks, but for the stories and history they provide.

I have a number of what would now be considered "vintage" cookbooks.  My mother bought them second-hand for me to have in my kitchen.  They are copies of the same cookbooks my mother used while I was growing up.  Most are Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks, but a couple are brand-name recipe books, the kind that were popular during the 50's, 60's and 70's.  While many of the recipes in the books are no longer in fashion, most can be easily adapted to fit today's culinary tastes.

I have a cookbook that is a collection of Amish & Mennonite recipes.  These are perfect for the return to wholesome, fresh, in-season cooking that is in vogue.  I suppose at some point, someone will "rediscover" these recipes and post them to their blogs, but will they understand the history behind them?  Will the blog readers believe the author is imaginative or innovative?

I suppose it's no different than people not recognizing references to classic books or movies, or not knowing classic works of art when they see them, but somehow it just seems worse to me to share the recipes without understanding the history.