Cave Ranunculum

Sunday Brunch

2006-09-17T00:33:00.000-07:00

There is something magical about brunch. Slow-paced and leisurely, preferably served on a terrace, veranda, or porch. A place with morning sun and a fresh breeze to enjoy. Books, coffee, newspapers, and casual conversation to pass the time. I always preferred working brunches. Lunch is routine, dinner is often stressful with it's extra layers of expected formality, but brunch is a treat, an indulgence. The brunch palette is sensual: flaky butter croissants, sweet,earthy maple syrup and rich hollandaise. The atmosphere is relaxed and people savor their food and their experience. It is a most satisfying meal to prepare.

I thought I'd share a couple from the notebooks:

Healthy Banana Bread French Toast
I had the pleasure to be the lead cook and recipie maven at 'The New Leaf', the first vegetarian cafe in Springfield, IL. One of our more popular brunch items was Banana Bread French Toast. I wish I had known then what I know now about oils, maple syrup and whole grains. The recipe would have looked more like this:

Healthy Banana Bread
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 5 x3 Pan
Mix together in medium-size bowl:
½ cup coconut oil (softened if necessary)
½ cup maple syrup
Beat these together with hand or electric beater until fluffy.
Add:
3 eggs
beat well.
In a separate dish combine:
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Combine dry ingredients with butter mixture. Blend well.
Add:
1 cup ripe mashed bananas
½ cup yogurt (greek-style kefir)
1 tsp. sour cream
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Pour in pan and bake for 1 hour, until a cake-tester
comes out clean. Turn out onto rack to cool.

Allow 1 1/2 eggs per 2-slice serving, add dash of vanilla, whisk until slightly frothy. Soak cooled bread in egg mixture for about a minute. Fry on medium heat until egg turns golden and bread is cooked thru. Serve with your choice of butter, jam, maple syrup, etc.
...Of course, the bread is delicious plain as well.

Pancakes are another favorite at brunch. At one restaurant, we struggled to find a good recipe. We wanted something fluffy and crunchy, not the rubbery discs that pass for pancakes in many establishments. Finally, a woman who worked in the kitchen brought in her grandmother's recipe. Simple yet perfect!. These are thick yet delicate, they take a bit longer to cook through, but are well-worth the extra time. No mix can compare...

Mary's Grandma's Pancakes
In mixing bowl combine:
2c. Flour
2Tbsp Sugar
2Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt

In another bowl combine:
1 1/2 c. Buttermilk
1/4 c. oil
2 eggs

Mix together. Let stand for a couple of minutes to get the buttermilk going. Fry on medium heat until golden with a good dollop of oil to make the outside just a little crunchy. These will puff up quite a bit. Serve, of course with the usual condiments. We also would make variations by adding various fruits and berries, coarsely grated chocolate, and one of my favorites, pecan, by adding a tsp of pecan extract and a 1/2 c. of finely chopped pecans to the mix.

Please feel free to add your favorites!
Bon Appetit!

What Dreams May Come....

2006-08-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

When my sister and I were kids, one of our favorite pastimes was something we termed 'getting hyper'. We'd stay up way too late on weekends, drink a bunch of soda that we'd bought from the local Stop-n-Go without our parents knowledge and bounce off the walls while watching horrible old horror movies. All of this happening while our parents were safely tucked into their little beds dreaming whatever parental dreams they had (more on that in a mo...). And the shows; there was the 'monster rallye movie', no host but the titles weirded us out because the E's had four prongs rather than the usual three, they usually played old Godzilla flicks and 'big bug' movies. Then there was 'Mister Mephisto', the midwest's low-budget version of Elvira who usually hosted old Hammer movies mostly starring Chris Lee. At some point TV changed, now turn on a channel at 2 AM and if you're lucky enough not to have paid infomercials, you're still stuck with some stinky dramatic film that has been chopped for commercials and isn't even funny. Kids these days are deprived, I tell ya...Years later, I started watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 because the show not only brought back the horrible old movies, but that giddy 'hyper' joy of being silly in front of the TV. One of the first things I discovered on this recent voyage into downloads was that all of the episodes of this show were availible for download and that I had missed about 40% of them in original release. As a result I've tied up my bandwidth for a bit to try to collect 'em all, which between my research into P2P and my now sluggish internet, I haven't strayed far afield for a few days. Heck it was hard just getting here to do this, but here I am (yay) and here we go...
First off, I stumbled onto this article about dreams, which also touches on our discussions of gender:

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=17588386&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=men-and-women-dream-differently-name_page.html

Now what really puzzled me is that I don't dream about any of what they claim either women or men dream...and I almost never have 'bad' dreams. I wanted to solicit your opinions, dream stories and experiences to see how we all 'fit' in (if at all, we obviously are too well-moneyed and brilliant to be into astrology, huh? *wink, wink*).

And I will leave you with an interesting and hopeful article:

A feature article from the Press Republican (NY) by: Robin Caudell, PR Staff Writer
August 18, 2006
LINCOLN, Vt. — Post-polarity shift of the Earth, Native American prophecy says the first 1,000 years will be peaceful in the Age of Indigo.
Precursors of these changes include the Grand Cross of August 1999, Harmonic Convergence of August 1987 and Harmonic Concordance of November 2003. Last December, the Earth lost its wobble. This year, there is a possibility of land loss.
"If that does occur, that will start the motion and it is not stoppable," said Michael Bastine at the 22nd Annual Native American Elders Gathering at Odali Utugi "Hope Mountain" in Lincoln, Vermont recently.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami were a wake-up call.
"All the islands where the native people had little contact or change from the outside world, they went up to higher ground. There was no loss. You get in places with contact with civilization and industrialized nations, there were major losses."
Elephants felt the shock waves and trumpeted.
"Humans lose this ability due to the influence from the system that distracts us so much it interferes with our ability to detect this. Villages in the back country were told many, many years ahead. They were told to look for certain things."
Right now, nothing is stable and things will continue to destabilize. The X factor in this cycle is human behavior that can mitigate or accelerate events. The new wars are part of the polarization. Bastine urges people not to pray for peace because doing so negates that peace already exists.
"You have to be careful. You may have a nut sitting at a button and another nut at another button, and they get a bright idea. When the dust settles, you will have peace. I don't think we want to achieve it in that manner. Be careful what you send out. Send prayers to Mother Earth. Send prayers to the Creator and the guides in other realms that do something we call divine intervention."
The transition doesn't have to be difficult, painful and hard.
"But it will be because of the resistance. I don't know how many hearts and minds are going to open up in the next six months. No one knows the day or time. These things can happen in the twinkling of an eye."
Humans can work with the changes or let the Earth do it on its terms. For example, global warming.
"For humans to think they have the power to cause this is a fallacy. Industry may contribute but it's not the cause. Scientists are tracking magma in the oceans. Larger masses of magma are moving faster than it ever has. It's warming the oceans. The Gulf Stream is being impeded. The Arctic people and the North Pole are showing dramatic changes."
Bastine's mentor, Mad Bear, a Tuscarora medicine man and activist, spoke of this coming Fourth World. For some Native Americans, it is known as the Fifth World of Illumination.
"Human beings assume they can and will move into the next realm. Native Americans come into this life and are taught by their elders when you want to do something, ask permission. Be polite. Be respectful to all the rest of creation. Ask permission to go into the next world."
Many prophets, ancient and contemporary, say things are going to be bad during the last days.
"I say things are going to get good. Things are all in place. That's how we should understand it. That's how we should live with it. Don't get scared. Don't over prepare. You can build bunkers and think that can save you. What is coming is for our benefit. We should welcome it and talk to it and say don't hurt too much of this life. Don't wipe out so much that it hurts people's hearts."
The Earth Changes correct imbalances — environmental, physical, spiritual and ethereal. While there will be loss and conflict, people should embody compassion. Pure love.
"That's why we should be welcoming these changes," Bastine said. "Don't fight it. Don't try to stop it. This is a relationship we're going through. It's a sacred relationship not only with each other but the life force. As things clean up and things move on, we're able to move on. We know the Earth is moving in conjunction with all the other elements. It is what the Creator wants and Mother Earth wants. Everything you need is provided."
Hugs and smoochies for all, Juno

An UpDate

2006-08-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

As I commented before, the complications have complications... at this point we're sanding everything down and painting. Not my favorite cure and one I would rather not have to do, but c'est la vie, I guess when we re-fi we'll tell 'em we want new cabinets too:). I'll post a pic when we are done (finally)...
Thanks all for the encouragement and camarderie...so we're not just artists, but DIY homekeepers as well, how cool! Tseka, your story reminds me of the houses my ex and I bought in Springfield, Il for $12,000 for both. Falling apart internally from neglect...all the neighbors were rooting for their demolition, but the 'bones' were southern yellow pine, a nearly extinct species that was prized because the sap hardened into a concrete-like substance. After the work he's done on them, those houses will stand for another hundred years....I just don't get the 'that's old, tear it down' mentality...

In the meantime, to relieve the tension, I take breaks and go out to my garden to talk to the zuchini and offer encouraging words to my cactus and the tomatoes which are FINALLY showing some infant fruit after half a summer of bloom. I hope the neighbors don't notice when I throw the slugs in their yard:)...

And the moles here are outrageous, hills all over... They are strangely cute tho...One of my favorite stories about my dad:
I was living at home, expecting my son, Eric. As I was driving along, I saw a small creature in a busy intersection, rolling/waddling excruciatingly slowly. I jumped out of the car and scooped the small animal up in a T-shirt (my family has a history of rescuing turtles, frogs, snakes, etc from the street). Turns out it was a little mole, it's paddle feet more suited to 'swimming' underground than crossing the street. I took it home, figuring we'd take it out and release it in the country somewhere. When my dad came home, he looked at it and said, "Put it in the backyard, just don't let the neighbors see you"... When people ask me about my parents I just smile and say it was like growing up in the Addams Family....

Just a Moment...

2006-08-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

The big push this next week... the harvest gold kitchen we gutted last spring will become the kitchen of the future...OK I'll settle for kitchen of 2006...A gross of T-shirts and a meeting with the accountants...All work and no play for moi for a few days, I'll stop by the old familiar places if I have time, but I won't be posting anything new for a few days...that's OK, jm posts enough for 3 people, I'm sure she will entertain us...:)

Of Fettucine and Garden Gnomes

2006-07-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting, it would suck to throw a blog and have no-one show! And Neith! How did you know I would read under the covers! I also used to put my dad's old transistor radio under my pillow and listen to horrible pop rock (and the occasional bit of 'good stuff') of the sixties and seventies late at night when my parents thought I was asleep :). I've always wonder what they made of the fact the batteries in the flashlight were dead every time they wanted to use it....and AA's just dematerialized into the ether...

First things first, there have been a rash of inexplicable disappearences in France and other places in Europe, police are puzzled...

http://www.nthposition.com/gnomeliberation.php

Are they victims of kidnap or are they actually convinced of their superiority over humankind and are secretly massing in the woods for an eventual take-over?...All I know is the pic of the forest full of 'freindly' gnomes looks a little intimidating to me, but then, I was also scared of clowns as a kid....:)

Ahh now to the main course, Fettucine Alfredo...
I have a special fondness for this dish as it was one of the first 'gourmet' dishes that I was ever exposed to. As much as anything else, it led me into cooking, something that I hadn't really been exposed to at the time...My mother's food was edible but pretty bland mid-western stuff (although thank the gods, she didn't boil or fry absolutely everything) and neither of my parents ever developed any taste for spice...or even garlic. Fettucine Alfredo was from the first bite, a revelation, a sudden knowledge that this was what people talked about when they said the word 'food'. It opened a world for me, and not just culinary... My tastebuds and worldviews have been constantly changing as they've been challenged over the years by odd foods and the odd people who cook them. I have finally even aquired a taste for goat cheese in my old age...but fettucine stands alone, my first love...

Here's the recipe, it's a little vaugue in places, but it isn't exactly a 'precise' dish, you do a bit of adjustment 'to taste' as you go along. The recipe given is for at least 4-6 people, feel free to half the ingredients for a little less. Don't worry about leftovers. With this dish they almost never happen, and there is a certain joy in finding enough left in the fridge for lunch the next day...

Fettucine Alfredo (Traditional Style)
Bring to rolling boil:
12c. Water
1Tbsp. Oil (olive or grapeseed)
1 tsp. Salt
When boiling, add 1 lb pasta of one's choice. Lower heat to medium and simmer pasta approximately10-12 minutes until al dente.
In Large skillet melt on medium-high heat:
½ to 1/3 stick butter (about ¼ to 1/3 cup)
Add:
1 Tbsp. Finely minced shallot
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped garlic (about a whole head)
½ tsp. White pepper
½ tsp. Salt
Saute for a minute until garlic begins to release it's aromas.
Stir in:
2 ½- 3 C. half and half
Bring cream mixture to boiling, reduce heat to low simmer, stirring occasionally (watch out! if the heat is too high the cream will boil over, which is messy!). As the mixture cooks, thick cream will form on the sides of the pan, stir this back in as this thickens the rest of the sauce. Cook for 12- 15 minutes or so - until cream mixture has thickened enough to coat the bottom of a spoon.
Remove from heat and stir in:
¾-1 C. shredded or grated fresh parmesean cheese
Adjust salt and white pepper to taste.
Serve with pasta, makes 4-6 servings as a main course, 8-12 as an appetizer or side dish.

This is a variation that I sometimes serve my family:
With Ginger Shrimp....
Over medium-high heat melt:
1-2 Tbsp butter or coco oil
Add and sautee for a moment until aromas are released:
1Tbsp minced garlic
1Tbsp grated fresh ginger
white pepper
salt
dash sriracha or 'rooster' sauce (optional)
Add to pan, sautee until pink:
½ pound shelled raw shrimp
Set aside, add to alfredo sauce after cheese.

Of course, once you have the basics of this sauce, there are several variations that can be made...
Use Gorgonzola, Goat Chevre, or Brie instead of Parmesean
For a lighter, more preservable sauce use milk or broth for part of the cream (less than half tho, otherwise it might not thicken enough)
Add lightly sauteed veggies for 'pasta primavera'
Add raspberry vinegar to the sauce with the cream for a raspberry-cream sauce that is great with seafood...

There you go, Bon Appetit!

Honor Day- Aug 20

2006-07-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Just testing this, really, but here goes.... This is the painting we'll be using for the Honor DayT-shirt art .... www.honorday.org ...... Take care, all Juno