I had to turn off the Trump fountain of falsehoods. At least for a few days so I can feel peace in my heart again. But before I quit, I read a quote from my Republican congressman, who said with regard to Epstein, he didn’t know and didn’t care. Well, now, surely he needed to hear from a constituent about that.
So, yes, I called his office and spoke with one of the gang who answers the phones. I was polite. I was! I said his quote disturbed me because aside from political theater, there are victims here. Young girls were trafficked and abused, and if Congressman McClintock doesn’t know or care about that, then something is wrong with him.
All they ever say is thanks, we’ll share this with the congressman. Right. But I feel better for having said it. While there are lots of groups being marginalized, as a woman, I can only speak of my own experience, and it feels like we have been relegated to the trash heap of history.
I said I was over it, but news … I can’t quit you.
We’ve had gorgeous weather, and I’m planning to do a nice long walk today. When I was younger, I defaulted to cardio, because I was always worried about my weight and thought that was the best way to burn calories. Strength training was never a priority, and that has definitely been a bite in the ass as I’ve aged.
Now I default to strength training and fit in cardio where I can. I’ve made remarkable progress in a year and a half. And I’ll go out on a limb here and say it’s possible my shoulder injury is improving. This has been going on since March.
The physical therapist and the sports medicine doctor agreed I needed to do resistence exercises through the pain. This is another idea that caught me by surprise. I figured if it hurts, stop. Depending on the injury, there is some truth to that, but current thinking seems to be strengthen as you heal, and eventually strength will win.
I might actually be on the cusp of winning. We shall see.
What I’m eating
Bread and tomatoes. Is that the secret to happiness? The tomatoes are getting better and better. We had Greek salads again. When we ate them in Crete, the wine was always served in what looked like a small juice glass. We still do that! You know, for atmosphere. Although we no longer drink Domestica. Not that there was anything wrong with it …
Dale made bread to go with the Greek salads, so he whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches the next night. He makes a killer grilled cheese. A mix of American and Cheddar with a schmear of yellow mustard on the inside of the bread. The outside of the bread is buttered well and then grilled in a cast iron pan until golden brown and delicious. We usually serve it with Kosher pickles or pickled cucumbers Dale makes from scratch.
I sometimes feel embarrassed about how much bread we eat, but I took an oath to share the unvarnished truth. Here it is …
We had paninis the next night. We didn’t want the tomatoes to go bad. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.
Dale bought some ciabatta rolls for the paninis. Whole milk mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and fresh basil for the filling. He schmears the inside of the bread with balsamic vinegar and the outside with olive oil. I know – lots of schmearing going on. Simple but fantastic.
Tonight I’m making a variation of an Indian dish called Kheema. The recipe I use is from Indian Instant Pot by Urvashi Pitre. This is one of my favorite cookbooks. This particular version doesn’t use peas, but I’ve seen a lot of Kheema recipes that do.
She uses ground beef, but I use ground bison. The dish is loaded with garlic, ginger, onions and spices, along with spinach, tomatoes and coconut milk. Almost like a stew. That should take care of this week’s tomatoes. I will also make naan to go with. More bread drill sergeant!
What I’m watching
I finished Ballard, and I liked it a lot. Harry Bosch was in a few episodes, and when I see Titus Welliver in that role, I feel such respect and gratitude for what actors can do. He’s the perfect Harry Bosch. Anyway, the show ended with a cliffhanger, and that always annoys me.
PBS Masterpiece has a new show called Patience, which is an English version of Astrid, the French show featuring an autistic detective. I like them both, but I’m thinking I preferred Astrid. I read the actor who played Astrid is not autistic, but the actor who plays Patience is. Might just be me, but I think Patience is a little more mainstream, and perhaps that’s what they wanted to show. I guess that’s why they call it a spectrum.
What I’m reading
I just picked up Carl Hiaasen’s Fever Beach from the library. It’s pretty funny, as all his books are, but still, kind of depressing. It’s about incredibly stupid young white nationalists in Florida, and the unlikely folks who seem to be their undoing. I love where this is going, but it makes me mad to think there are douchebags out there like that.
New word…..schmearific! It’s all yours.
Always thinking of your friends first.
I love sandwiches and grilled cheese in particular! I do use mayo on the outside as it crisps up the bread so beautifully. Might be time to make my favorite sandwich: the Cuban! When times are tough we might as well eat sandwiches.
Dale is a traditionalist and hasn’t tried the mayo even though he’s curious about it. We are definitely eating more sandwiches than we used to. Comfort in times of stress!
I’m with you. I watched the Astrid series and just loved it. Even though the actor in Patience has a form of autism, I think the depiction in the Astrid show fits more into the series and how really different and isolated that character was. Also I think her support group was better depicted in Astrid. But I am still watching Patience and enjoying it.
Funny coincidence. I am also reading a Carl Hiaasen book now, the one called Squeeze me: a novel. I have read so many of his books and it’s pretty hard to be unhappy and depressed with his wacky humor and the way he ties all the characters together in the end is so hilarious in all of his books.
Also, I am iron deficient a bit along with most everybody I know and the other day I just decided that I should be using my cast iron pan for most cooking instead of my usual fry pans. It makes life more difficult, it weighs a lot and it’s difficult for me to pick it up and just pour my goodies onto my plate and other things that are more complicated but I think it will be good for me.
Exactly. I liked Astrid better, but I like Patience, too.
I haven’t read a Carl Hiaasen book in a long time. Now that I’m further along in Fever Beach, I’m over being annoyed that I have to read about such douchebags. Damn, he is funny. And he totally skewers the the right-wing nut jobs and all those who enable them. We love you, Carl!
Well, I haven’t had my iron tested lately, so I guess that’s one more thing to worry about. My annual is at the end of August, so I presume all will be revealed. I read that cast iron is particularly good for tomato-based sauces. I guess more iron gets into the food. We have a steel plate for pizzas that puts cast iron to shame. I think it’s 25 pounds. I just leave it in there until Dale gets around to taking it out. It’s good for him.
Honestly, bread and tomatoes are the food of the gods. Well, when the bread and the tomatoes are good and, let’s face it, there are so many ways that bread can be done and done well, and tomatoes when ripe can’t help but be *chef’s kiss*
I spotted some reference to Astrid the other day and assumed it was Scandi. I like Scandi, but French sounds even more appealing. I shall see if we can find it, as we’re looking for new things to watch. We’re currently watching Ballard and I’m pissed at the thought it will end on a cliffhanger, but it was ever thus with shows like that. It helps when you find them late, ‘cos you can transit into the next series without waiting. I seem to remember that The Bridge (the Swedish/Danish version) had a lead character who displayed behaviour traits which indicated she could be on the spectrum, but they intentionally never specified. If you’ve not seen it, I can recommend. A bit gory, but good.
The food of gods — I wish I had written that!
I like the Scandi stuff, but the French shows are pretty great, too. I love that we have all this available to us. Makes up for all the crap going on in the world. Oh, and I forgot to mention that even though I loved Ballard, I thought there were too many gatuitous shots of her tiny butt. Just saying.
Ha ha! I couldn’t agree more 😀 😀