Stuffed Peppers

Pancetta, cooked to crisp and brown and crumbled, ricotta, parmesan, fresh almost embryonic baby peas that took forever to get out of their pods, caramelized onion diced like only with someone with OCD can do. I can hardly wait to bake these beauties.

I Don't Often Rant

First it was church, then White Spot hamburgers (my passion), then my life-long newspaper subscription, then my car—that was huge—then my landline and now I think I am going to give up cable. The news is killing me. Last night I watched the news on PBS and was reminded of how elegant and intelligent news reporting could be. But I want local news and local broadcasts appall me. To me, they have become grotesque.

I find Dawna Friesen and Wendy Mesley particularly revolting. They are probably lovely humans, but their professional selves sicken me. I have no idea of knowing whom to blame. Is it them? Is it their directors? Are we to blame? Do we demand this kind of infotainment?

“A family of 12 were killed in Pakistan today. How? Find out after this message. We’ll be right back.”

(Heartfelt) “That was a sad, sad story, Christie. And now, here’s something you’ll enjoy. The expression shouldn’t be henpecked, it should be penguin-pecked and here’s our nature correspondent, [couldn't catch her name], to tell you why.”

And who decided “news” is bad news. Why is news virtually exclusively about disasters, immorality and crime? Who decided that would be how things would be? Why does only this kind of information interest us? It doesn’t interest me to the exclusion of enlightening and uplifting news. We perpetuate the activities we abhor by celebrating them in the news and we fail to mirror and celebrate positive behavior. WTF?

And while I am at it… how have we allowed faith been hijacked by zealots who care more about rules and exclusivity that inclusivity, acceptance and understanding?

Now I understand why I recreationally peruse island and rural real estate. The world is too much with me.

Lorangini Completed

Today I did the hat and cane and now I am done. Kim is cool with the costume change for the curtain call. I am thrilled to have a "joke" built into the call.

Spice Rack

I cleaned every surface—every bottle top, every shelf. I took everything off and then put it all back. This spice rack is my pride and joy.

Arrachera Marinade

Lots of oil and almost as much soy sauce, plenty of lime juice, lots of garlic, a large onion, a whole chipotle pepper, cumin, salt, brown sugar: You blend it until is is pureed and then marinade skirt steak in it overnight. I am going to broil it, but ideally you bar-b-que it.

I had it in Mexico and loved it even though it's meat. (I believe in guidelines, not rigid rules.) I am serving it with a fresh salad of corn, cilantro, lots and lots of tomato and green onion, jalapeño that I serve on diced iceberg lettuce and I top it with crushed taco chips. Mmmm.

For warm veggies, I am serving really small peppers that I am stuffing with a mixture of ricotta and parmesan cheeses, fresh snow peas and pancetta. More mmmmm. And, of course, flan for dessert. I live for flan.

Thursday Shopping

Going shopping in preparation for making dinner night's dinner, I passed some glorious blossoms.

I cannot believe the colour of these Magnolias.

The beyond-believably fragrant Edgewaria is
in full glory now.

Wednesday

Last night I went to bed at 8:00 pm. I woke up at 1:00, ready to go, but took a sleeping pill and went back to sleep. I got up at 5:00. I wake with a summer mindset because it is continuously so gloriously sunny and warm. February was 1/10^th of a degree short of breaking a heat record for the month; March may be warm as well.

Warren avoids me. Clearly he has not yet read my Monkey script. We haven’t seen an Option Agreement for our screenplay to sign so far either.

Chambar, with Nicola, was fabulous. I would easily and happily go back again. A lot of the pleasure of the evening came from our server, Ronan: Tall, lithe, dark-haired and with a lush beard, perhaps 25, articulate, passionate about food, liltingly Irish and handsome as all get out.  He engaged in a way one doesn’t at Hawksworth. What a wonderful night.

I am walking to The Flame tonight. I only expect to last through the first half because it is about spiritualism—an entirely unappealing topic to me.  But you never know…. I am going with an open mind (and good friends). Besides, I love the people and atmosphere at The Flame and I am performing in it in May.

Friday night I am making arrachera. It’s a dish I had last year in Mexico and this meal continues my menus of recipes learned from the delightful restaurant we patronized in Sayulita. I am making it because one of my guests does not like seafood. Can you imagine that?

Arrachera is skirt steak. It's delicious, marinated in lime juice, cumin, soy, lots of garlic and chipotle chilli. And the peppers are stuffed with ricotta and parmesan and I'll be using sweet small peppers.