Category: Food & Drink

Chocolate and caviar

While I am doing reasonably well with my strategy to disengage from the news, some things can’t be overlooked. For example, when the president of the United States calls for annihilating a civilization, it’s time for even drive-by citizens to speak up.

I’m calling my three legislators every day or at least until I poop out telling them Trump must be removed from office one way or the other. He is stark-raving mad.

But we all have ways of coping. Chocolate and caviar. But not together.

Dale and I had one tiny tin of really good caviar left over from New Year’s, which we didn’t celebrate due to our unfortunate turn of events. The tin was tightly sealed, but I said, you know now, it’s not getting any younger.

It was last night on the eve of destruction that I dragged it out and suggested we have one last pleasure before it all went up in smoke. Dale agreed, but then my sister called to tell me there was a two-week cease fire. So, we ate it anyway to celebrate the possibility of better times ahead.

For the record, we no longer make a pretense of eating caviar with accompaniments. We each have a mother-of-pearl spoon (nonreactive). I open the tin and we pass it back and forth until gone. Don’t worry. It’s over quick.

I have found that trying to restrict what I write about doesn’t do me any good. I think it’s better to write a little more frequently and let it roll. Hopefully, I will keep trying and find the right balance.

We are both doing well recovering from our injuries. Dale is amazing. I don’t think they thought a 76-year-old man would bounce back like he has from a fractured pelvis, but there you have it. I’m closing in on week 11 since I fell and broke my proximal humerus.

I’ve been referring to it as a broken arm, and I was surprised to find the whole thing so painful. But then I read this particular fracture is sometimes referred to as a broken shoulder, and for some reason, the pain level made more sense to me. It’s all in the branding.

The physical therapy hurts, but I am improving significantly, especially my range of motion. I have started to sleep better. Still not quite what I need for a happy snooze, but I do think it’s within sight.

For awhile there, I couldn’t keep weight on. It was scary, but I ate more, and now I have to pay attention to what I eat or the pounds creep back on. I sort of miss all that extra eating. It was fun while it lasted. But now, even being careful, I refuse to give up my evening cookie. I won’t say we eat one every single night, but most nights, yes.

I keep a stash of homemade cookies in the freezer. Two kinds of chocolate and an oatmeal. It’s the perfect treat – high in taste but not ultra-processed and built-in portion control. There’s a coconut sheet cake featured in a recent King Arthur email that looks absolutely enticing, but I feel like that’s a slippery slope. 

I’ve been using really good quality chocolate baking chips. They are expensive but worth it, in our opinion. They also make delicious fudgsicles. And as our weather warms up again, I can see putting them back on the menu. It’s fun to eat one outside after dinner. I don’t know why it feels special, but it’s a simple pleasure we both enjoy enormously.

If you’re into making popsicles or fudgsicles, I recommend hard plastic molds like these. I tried the silicone, and they were worthless. My baking chocolate is from Dick Taylor.  It’s a great place up in Eureka, where my sister lives. We toured the factory one time when I was up there for a visit. Very fun! This is their recipe for fudgsicles:

I haven’t done any of my art because I didn’t think I could sand the board. But I’m feeling pretty frisky and might try it today. My entire recovery strategy is to push hard enough to get things done and improve but not so hard as to interfere with my sleep. You might be surprised to learn that is a fine line. For me, at least, the pain always comes later.

As soon as I can predictably sleep through the night without a mountain of pillows, we are going to take some sort of a little road trip. We like Morro Bay. It’s a longish drive, so we might need a little more time before embarking on that particular journey. But we are ready to get back into life.

Baking saves lives

Manchego cheese muffins with Spanish chorizo and roasted red peppers. Oh, and sour cream.

For most of my life, I played by the rules. I served my country in uniform. I stayed informed, I worried about all things big and small and checked the boxes of what a “good citizen” is supposed to do.

I’m not saying a broken arm is a good thing, but since I fell down and went boom, I’ve had plenty of time to read a lot of wretched news and rethink pretty much everything. Whatever I thought I knew doesn’t seem to be true anymore.

This I do know — whatever it is going on out there leaves many of us feeling anxious, divided and powerless. We didn’t choose it, and we can’t control it.

While I’ve tried hard to disengage from all this noise in the past, I always felt guilty for not paying attention. It’s my duty! But it has occurred to me we can redefine what it means to be a good citizen. It does not mean we have to save the world one doomscroll at a time.

For me, it means being peaceful and kind. Mastering the art of the micro-joy. Helping my neighbors. Supporting my community. I think that does more for the world than being angry and miserable.

I mean, hell, yeah, I’m still going to vote, do what’s right, speak up, pay my bills and follow the law, but at age 70, I want to focus day-to-day on my happy retired life – the one filled with art, cooking, walking, chocolate and other simple pleasures … the life I started to write about eight years ago but got sidetracked by political drama.

This is my way of saying I’m returning to my roots. You will read less about politics and more about the experiences of a retired person observing life and just trying to be happy. The biggest news will come from my kitchen. Or maybe from my workshop in the garage.

It does feel as though the world is spinning out of control until you realize you aren’t in control anyway. I do not believe it’s a cop-out to disengage a bit. I do not believe it makes us bad citizens. Quite the opposite.

Those of us who choose happiness over hysteria are not part of the problem. Call me crazy, but I like to think we are actually part of the solution. Perhaps living simply and living well is resistance in its finest form. Proof good people can flourish, and peace is still possible.

As for the picture, I was baking yesterday. Baking saves lives. And yes, I think I’m getting my mojo back.

Have you seen my mojo?

I’ve been waiting to be inspired by something joyful before posting again, but there’s not a lot of joy in Mudville these days. We are both healing well and have forged an even stronger bond through all this personal trauma, but recovery is a slow uphill journey.

I lost my mojo. If you see it anywhere, let me know.

At first I thought, well, if I can’t say anything funny or happy just say nothing, but then I felt bad for giving you the silent treatment. I started to write a post explaining that I was not going to write for who knows how long, but it sounded so pathetic. So, here I am.

In addition to my broken arm, I got doomscroll wrist from reading the news on my phone. I had to quit doing that, and my wrist is much better. I bought a cool little tool that solves the problem. It’s also very handy for watching TV on my Kindle in bed.

It would be impossible to itemize the list of all things horrible going on out there, so I will instead share one observation. What Cesar Chavez has been accused of is vile, but I’ve been sort of surprised by how quickly he’s being erased.

Too bad that doesn’t apply to other men of ill repute.

For example, the president of the United States has actually been found guilty of sexual misconduct, and he gets a pass? Nobody is in a rush to scrub his criminal carcass off the windshield of life.

I think I’ve read one book since Dale fell, and then it was hard to hold a book after I broke my arm. I’m proud to say I just finished another Maisie Dobbs novel, and it felt great to read again. She’s a psychologist and investigator in England following the first world war.

Now that I’m back in the saddle, I will mosey on over to the library and stock up on new reading. Probably not tomorrow, though, as I am committed to making beef stew. I usually like to save that for a cold rainy day, but we seem to be experiencing early summer. I’m making it anyway. If my starter behaves, I will also bake a loaf of sourdough bread to go with.

I’m starting to call 2026 year of cheese. It’s like we can’t get enough. And at this point, I don’t care. My arm must have been a little shaky on this blurry picture, but I made turkey enchiladas from the breast we froze at Thanksgiving. I actually made two pans this size, so we got some nice freezer food.

Then, of course, El Rey de Pizza produced another spectacular monument to deliciousness. This one was topped with whole milk mozzarella, pepperoni, hot Italian sausage, pickled jalapeños and green olives.

But life is not all cheese. My neighbor gave me a huge bag of lemons from her tree. I juiced them yesterday along with fresh ginger – prepping the lemons was a little hard on the arm, but I was careful and Dale helped some. I added simple syrup and froze quite a few six-ounce bottles of tasty lemon-ginger juice.

So, even though my arm still has a ways to go, we are able to cook, and that’s a great thing. We’ve been pretty hard on the cookies, too, so there more work to be done.

Rebound

I visited the ortho yesterday for follow-up x-rays and a progress report. The bones are healing properly, and I don’t need surgery. He said to ditch the sling permanently and use my arm gently as much as possible but no lifting over five pounds. I start PT next week.

So, yay. What a relief. He even said I could putt and chip a little, but no more than that until I see him again in two months. I believe whisking, chopping, stirring, frying and sautéing count as gentle exercise! Sadly, so does cleaning the house, but I’m actually eager to take it on as I am able. Slow and gentle. I am not going to do anything stupid.

Although I am sickened by all things political, I feel optimistic here on the homefront. Next on the agenda – get back to writing about something other than broken bones. Walk more. Get back to reading, which I haven’t really done since this whole shitshow started. I’m referring to our personal shitshow not the national example of shitshows gone wild.

I’m thinking about food and what I can make. I was going through old cooking magazines looking for a specific pasta recipe we seem to have lost and stumbled onto a recipe for coconut cream pie. I definitely see that in my future.

Dale took out the last hunk of his homemade corned beef and is making corned beef hash tonight. We always top it with a fried egg. He made white bean and sausage soup the other day. I always love that with toasted French bread brushed with garlic-infused olive oil. Two batches of that went straight to the freezer.

Our freezer food is the best. It has been mostly depleted since the fiesta began with Dale’s accident in December, but we’re back on the job. We still have the whole breast from our Thanksgiving turkey, and it will probably end up as enchiladas. It’s always nice to have enchiladas in the queue.

I’ve got my starter, Gollum, cranking up for sourdough. Dale has been asking for my little homemade baguettes, so they need to go in the rotation. Yeast is so easy compared to sourdough. We make a charcuterie board with Italian cold cuts, some kind of runny cheese, nice, bitter arugula and some cornichons and just have that for dinner with the bread.

With regard to politics, I do call my senators and congressman, but both my senators are Democrats and so far don’t need prompting to do the right thing. The Republican is another story. Maybe he was dropped on his head when he was a baby.

It’s hard to find anything to say to him that might resonate, but I do call every couple of days to remind him I am opposed to him rubber stamping everything Trump says and does, and I want him to join with other members of congress to provide independent oversight.

That is, after all, what these yahoos were elected to do.

News from the mediverse

I actually predicted Trump would do something horrible in Venezuela on Christmas Day, because that’s how he rolls, but I guess he couldn’t get it done on time. What a despicable act by our country, but hey, we’re not thinking about the Epstein files anymore.

Except we are. Because we are not stupid, and we are not looking away from any of these crimes. I called my Republican congressman this morning and left a message. Not that he has a spine, but you never know.

Let’s see. News from the mediverse. Dale is doing much better. I don’t think they ever succeeded in getting ahead of his pain, but the pain finally subsided enough for the meds to work effectively. Ha – caught you, you sneaky bastards.

One evening Dale texted me that the meds didn’t put a dent in the pain. I was ready to go to bed, but I flew down to the facility (on my broom) and explained the situation to the charge nurse. We went together to his room, where he was resting comfortably. She asked him where his pain was on the scale, and he said a 2.

The look on her face. The look on my face. I wish I had that moment captured on film. I’m like, you dragged my ass down here for a 2? I’m sure she was thinking the same thing. Anyway, by the next day, the pain mitigation was working well. We shall pretend the other thing didn’t happen.

He has lost close to 10 pounds. While he welcomes the weight loss, this particular diet sucks.

Dale moves about quite nicely with the help of the walker and the physical therapist. He can get in and our of bed with minimal assistance. Sitting still hurts quite a bit, but even that might be improving. Dale is not exactly Communicator of the Year. I had to have a little talk with him about being his own advocate. I’m still there for him, of course, but he has to speak up if he’s in pain or needs something.

The plan is to bring him home Thursday. Lots of moving parts, but I’m confident this whole thing will work. His sister is coming from Maine to help. We like each other a lot, but you know. Family can be hard. We talked about it, and we’re just going to get over it for now. Too many other things to worry about.

I’m really glad she’s coming. She and Dale have a strong bond, and she’s a retired nurse. I will need reinforcements, and she’s exactly the right person to help.

Medicare covers some of the home health assistance, and I am planning to supplement that with private help, at least for a couple of weeks. The risk of fall is still pretty high, and we want to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Since he fell off an extension ladder and is flat on his back in a nursing facility, watching the clock to see when the next pain pill arrives, hoping the meds don’t cause a complete bowel obstruction, listening to his roommate cry and peeing into a bedside urinal, I suggested we get rid of the ladder.

He said, oh, no, that’s a good ladder. I know what I did wrong.

Dude, are you smoking crack? I said you would actually get on that thing again??????? He said yes, of course. So, I asked my buddy at ChatGPT what to do. The bot said to respect his autonomy but find another place for the ladder until he’s capable of making a rational decision. I was going to ask a neighbor to store it in his garage, but everybody around here maximizes their garage space.

Instead, I found a hidey hole in our garage. Mostly out of sight. You hardly know it’s there. May it rest in peace.

What I’m watching

I’ve been watching The Diplomat on Netflix, but I’m not sure I’ll continue. We worked in an embassy in Cairo, so the diplomatic setting is nostalgic, and of course, I love all the relationship stuff, but the politics is kind of exhausting and maybe a little too relevant right now? Still, I do think the British foreign secretary is hot. Seems to me the ambassador agrees, and I’d like to be there when that happens.

Last night I switched to BritBox and saw there’s a new season of Shetland, so I watched that. I like Vera, but she sort of wears on me at times.

What I’m reading

I had a nice stack of books from the library and returned them all. I just can’t concentrate right now.

What I’m eating

Not much, I will tell you that. I left the facility a little early yesterday and had time to cook something other than a quesadilla or burrito. I was planning to stop at the grocery store, but it was pouring rain, and I wasn’t up for it. It was like an episode of Chopped. I found enough stuff to make my favorite Indian comfort food, Keema. It’s basically a spicy ground meat and spinach stew in coconut milk.

I found bison in the freezer. I ran out of spinach the night before, but I had a tub of the spinach-arugula mix. I didn’t have fresh tomatoes, but I had a can of fire-roasted tomatoes. I had all the spices and one can of coconut milk. I was missing fresh jalapenos but went out in the rain to Dale’s dying jalapeño plant and found a couple in good shape. I even had homemade naan in the freezer.

That’s the best meal I’ve had since this whole thing went down. Drank a beer with that, sucked down a bunch of water, popped a half of a sleep gummy and was asleep by 7:30.

What to do if you’re not destroying public property

I guess Trump could bulldoze the East Wing because there’s no HOA at the White House. If I even look at my driveway sideways, somebody will poke my eye out. Seems like Congress is the equivalent of an HOA. I can’t imagine why they didn’t intervene.

Oh, that’s right. They are spineless. And they’re “working from home.” Where are return-to-office mandates when you need them?

Here’s my desperate hope. You may call it a conspiracy theory or even a wild-ass guess. Maybe Trump knows his days are numbered, and he’s like a cat, peeing all over the place to mark things up with his scent before he is escorted out of the building upright or otherwise.

Fortunately, there are lots of things to do if you’re not busy destroying public property. People like us, we have the time to eat good food, read great books and even watch a few shows on TV.

What I’m eating

No kings at our house, but food continues to rule. People are often surprised I’m so into food yet I’m slender. But I wasn’t always. Somewhere along the line my body just changed, and this is how I ended up. Lots of things in life have gone the other way, so you know what they say. If someone gives you a putt, take it.

I’m living up to my name, Pekar, which means baker in several languages. My bread is getting better all the time. It’s fun to work hard at something and actually improve. Unlike golf. Not that I’m bitter.

We got our first cold snap a couple of weeks ago, and I made stuffed cabbage. I use bison instead of beef. Years ago, we started eating venison and bison and never went back to ground beef. Bison is more expensive, but Costco has it for a good price.

I made rye bread to go with, and it was fantastic. We save all the juice from dill pickles and use it instead of water in the bread. Maybe two-thirds pickle juice and one-third water.

Dale made pork curry, and I made raita and naan to go with. We have a small outdoor pizza oven we hardly ever use for pizza, but it’s great for naan.

Then we had a little rain, so I wanted something soupy. I made shrimp and corn chowder with my sourdough on the side. The chowder was delish. The bread was amazing. For awhile there, I was struggling with my starter. It was thin and weak, so the bread didn’t rise like it’s supposed to.

Part of the problem is that I was retaining too much of it. For one loaf a week, I only need to keep about 50 grams. I also learned to give it more flour. I was using equal parts water and flour to feed it, but for some reason, mine needs to be on the thick side.

I also made rigatoni with sausage and fennel pollen. We love fennel, and it comes through loud and clear in this dish. But I think a teaspoon or two of the pollen would improve just about any pasta sauce.

Fennel pollen can be hard to find. Of course, Amazon has it. I got mine at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa. That sounds so snotty. But here’s the truth. Even though I’m originally from California, I left shortly after high school to join the Army and earn a living. Twenty-three moves later, I never counted on returning, and it’s still kind of shocking we pulled it off.

What I’m reading

I just finished the new Thursday Murder Club book, “The Impossible Fortune.” I absolutely loved it! Reading the latest installment after seeing the movie made me feel a little kinder toward the casting. I could see them all as I read, and it was fun.

If you’ve read the series, you’ll be familiar with the drug lord Connie Johnson. Her character is becoming more interesting with each book. Now I’m starting to think about who would play her in the movie. That could be a great role for someone. But who?

I just received a notice from the library that my new Walter Mosley is ready! “Gray Dawn” is the latest in the Easy Rawlins series. Easy is a black PI in Los Angeles. The series started just after World War II and has progressed to the 70s. I feel like I’m in another world when I read these novels, and that is a welcome feeling these days.

The jury is out on whether I will purchase the new Lincoln Lawyer book or wait for it at the library. That would be “The Proving Ground” by Michael Connelly.  

What I’m Watching

I’m still hooked on “Shetland” on BritBox. I’m close to running out of episodes, so I will switch to one of the excellent recommendations ya’ll shared with me earlier. I’m also ready to try “The Diplomat” on Netflix.

In what might be a pre-Christmas miracle, it’s possible I’ve found a streaming option for “Young Frankenstein.” I’ve been looking for ages … to no avail. I downloaded the Retro Movie and TV app through the Roku Channel, and it looks like I’ve hit pay dirt.

I’ve come to loathe Halloween. We close the blinds and eat Dale’s homemade pizza. “Young Frankenstein” will be on the docket if it’s actually available. I anticipate getting some sort of error – it was too easy.

Maybe we’re not so divided after all

Here I am with not much to say but plenty of words in the hopper nonetheless. It feels like I’m just going through the motions, writing about this or that while democracy burns. Then I think, some people aren’t bothered by any of it, and they go about their merry lives. I would like to be one of them, but I am not.  

So, I come bearing a small gift. As I’ve described in previous posts, I limit my exposure to Substack and avoid shining examples of misinformation, but I continue to read a few quality newsletters on that platform. One such newsletter is “Need to Know” by David Rothkopf.

He recently wrote that a vast majority of Americans agree on a wide array of issues, but political leaders largely don’t address those issues and political analysts would rather talk about how divided we are.

Rothkopf sees it differently. Most of us want the same things, and what we want is not radical.

“The majority cares about being able to make a living, being able to afford the basics of life, being able to send their kids to a good, safe school, having access to clean water, clean air, healthy food, medicines, being able to see a good doctor when they need it, being able to afford care when they are sick, having a dignified retirement, knowing that their communities are safe, knowing that law breakers will be punished, living in a society in which they and those they know have the opportunity to get ahead, not having the government interfere in their lives in ways that limit their freedoms, living in a democratic country they are proud of.”

You can read his piece here. I felt a little better after reading it. Maybe you will, too. If Trump doesn’t rig the next election, and enough people come to their senses, we might have a chance.

What I’m Watching

I finally subscribed to BritBox, and I am on a “Shetland” binge. I’m on season four, and there are nine total!

The series is based on the novels by Ann Cleeves, who also wrote the books the show “Vera” is based on. “Shetland” features detective Jimmy Perez, who investigates crime in the close-knit Scottish island community of Shetland.

I’ve been so wrapped up in “Shetland” that I haven’t even looked around to see what else I might like. Any other BritBox suggestions?

What I’m Eating

If you’ve heard of the singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt, you might be familiar with what might be the saddest song in history – “Marie.” It’s about a homeless guy and his partner, Marie. I know, I know, what does this have to do with food?

Well, part of the song goes:

Summer wasn’t bad below the bridge

A little short on food, that’s all

Now I gotta get Marie some kind of coat

We’re headed down into fall

Yes, we are headed down into fall! Dale and I always quote that song, in honor of Townes. I’ve made a monster list of all the things we want to make, and we are starting to put a dent in it.

Dale made navy bean and sausage soup. I think turnips are the key to this soup – they cook in the stock with the rest of the aromatics and add a big punch of flavor. He toasts slices of French bread under the broiler and brushes them with garlic-infused olive oil. The magic happens when you dunk the bread into your soup.

I made pumpkin seed dip, one of our old favorites from a Diana Kennedy cookbook. Our version is off-the-charts hot. You will probably not make it, but I will describe it for those who like to live vicariously. We’ve made this dip for parties, and some people can’t touch it. Others can be found in the corner, licking the bowl after everyone else has left.

You start with a cup or so raw shelled pumpkin seeds, and toast them on the cooktop in a dry cast iron pan. Once they’re browned, let them cool. Then you buzz those up in a spice grinder with salt to make a fine powder. Now you need a couple of good tomatoes, two or three fresh habanero peppers and a couple of jalapeños, and you put them on a broiler pan with a rack.

Those go into the broiler to blacken. You kind of have to keep your eyes on them. The peppers blacken up fast, but the tomatoes take longer. That gets whizzed up in the blender with a little water if you need it. Mix the powder with the liquid and add chopped chives and cilantro. Serve with tortilla wedges that have been brushed with oil and crisped in the oven.

We eat it as an afternoon snack or appetizer before dinner. If you can hang with the heat, it’s absolutely addictive. I suppose you could leave the peppers out, but they add a ton of flavor. Maybe just cut back a little?

My favorites from the “headed down into fall” list include, kabocha squash curry, stuffed cabbage, miso seafood chowder, chicken pot pie and venison meatloaf. I have a new slow cooker recipe for chicken and wild rice soup that sounds yummy. I also have a shrimp and grits recipe I’ve been eager to try. Dale’s not a grits fan, but when you add bacon, cheese and shrimp, something tells me he’ll go along with the plan.

What I’m Reading

I am still enjoying the Inspector Erlendur series by Arnaldur Indriðason. The setting is Reykjavík. The genre is Nordic Noir. He’s sort of a dark character, which somehow appeals to me. There’s subtle humor, great story lines and interesting characters. I’ve read six now, and I believe there are 11.

Not exactly recreational, but I’m also learning how to use Google Drive and reading all I can about best practices. I used a shared drive when I was working, but that all went out the window when I retired. The group I volunteered to help uses Google Drive, so that’s my motivation. It’s not hard, but like most things, it takes time to figure it all out.

Breaking bread

Can you stand one more picture of sourdough? I only wish I had taken one after Dale and I tore it apart like animals. I’ll leave it to your imagination. Sort of like breaking bad only we’ll call it breaking bread.

Yes, I violated the bread rules and am I ever glad I did. When I make sourdough bread, I always let it cool for several hours, and then we either eat it with dinner or save it for toast the next morning.

My bread came out of the oven around noon, and it was a really beautiful loaf. My last one had issues, so this came as a pleasant surprise. Dale was hovering over it, raving about how good it looked and said he was trying to decide if he should cut into it.

Although it had only been cooling for about 20 minutes, I said, go ahead, have at it! So he sliced off an end, and we both tore that hunk apart with our hands. First we ate it plain, and then we tried it with a little butter and salt. The crust was perfectly crisp, and the bread was soft and warm and dare I say fluffy on the inside. Then there’s that tang of sourdough.

I’m glad I didn’t die without eating sourdough bread right out of the oven. And with the way things are going on the political front, this may become a regular thing. In times like this, we need more cowbell.

My birthday has come and gone. I’m officially 70 and damned glad I made it this far. We had company, and I got caught up in events, so I didn’t make the cake, but it’s on the docket for tomorrow.

As I previously explained, I usually make chocolate cake for Dale’s birthday in May and coconut for mine in September. This year I’m making one cake  and going with chocolate because we both missed it. I like the idea of one cake for both birthdays. We seriously don’t need two cakes. I will cherish every piece.

I mentioned politics, but I’m trying hard not to dwell on it or let it defeat me. I’ve been talking about this for a long time, but I have finally stepped up to help out an organization that is fighting the good fight. I’m on the mailing list for our local Indivisible chapter, and they had a call for volunteers, so I sent them a note.   

Looks like I will be joining their communications team. Even though comms is my professional background, they have writers and right now the co-chair needs back-office support, so I volunteered to help her out for starters. She and I are going to meet this weekend to see what she actually needs done and whether I can do it right out of the box or will need training.

I’m feeling quite positive about the whole thing. And I actually think this will be good for my other side hustle, which is being on the board of my golf league and becoming captain next year. Somehow, I feel there’s symmetry between the two. I’ve been retired eight years and have enjoyed having no real responsibilities, but there’s a part of me that still needs a little something.

Of course, I’m still a professional goof-off, but I like to think these two roles fill a gap in my retirement resume.

Zoomies for bakers

My back is better. While the exercises don’t keep it from occasionally acting up, I recover much quicker since I’ve been doing them. I call that a win. It’s kind of sad in a way, I mean, what happened to that daredevil who could do anything, but I now think of building and maintaining strength as one of my most important retirement jobs. I can feel a difference going up and down the stairs, which is a low bar, but it’s important!

Something about the light in September changes how I feel about food. Even though it’s still quite warm here in Northern California, I’m thinking about the end of summer and the beginning of fall food. Such a beautiful transition.

This week I got the bakies – not unlike the zoomies, when our pets sprint about the house like circus animals on speed.

There are those who would say baking is bad. Cookies won’t make America healthy again! Yes, even when it comes to what we eat, it seems like everyone is fired up about this, that or the other thing. While Dale and I eat little to no processed food, we kind of give ourselves a free pass if we make it at home. Good food is pure pleasure.

And cookies might make America happy again.

While others may be spurning sugar or gluten, we say bring it on. In moderation, of course. We like to keep a batch of homemade cookies in the freezer. That’s usually a toss-up between peanut butter chocolate chip or black pepper cookies. I wanted to try something different, so I went with these iced oatmeal cookies from the NY Times.

I tweaked them by adding one-half cup dried cherries. I wanted sour cherries, but all I could find was sweet, so that’s what I went with. I also added orange rind to the icing, along with a little of the freshly squeezed juice from the orange, a pinch of Kosher salt and a tablespoon of Jack Daniels.

Oh, hell, yes.

It’s not beef tallow, but dag, these cookies are good. Dale and I each had one after dinner that night. I enjoyed another one the next day and then they went straight to the freezer. But it makes me happy to know they are there. Not as happy as I would be to see RFK Jr. voted off the island but happy enough.

Then I went with the original plum torte, also from the NY Times. You can find it here if you can’t get past the NY Times firewall.

I first had something similar to this in Germany, where they called it Zwetschgenkuchen. We usually start to see the Italian prune plums in late August or early September, so this is the time to make it if you can find them.

One version of the recipe called for 1 cup of sugar, and one called for three-fourths cup. I went with three-fourths. I also questioned whether the plums should go face down or face up. The recipe called for face down, so that’s what I went with. 

The torte is absolutely delicious and even better the next day as those juices slowly drip into the cake. I froze most of it in individual servings, just as I do with scones. Sometimes I like a sweet baked treat for breakfast, so this should be right up my alley.

My next baking dilemma is whether I will make my own birthday cake, as I’ve done for the past few years. Coconut layered cake is my usual, and it is pretty effing spectacular. Another go-to is the cake I typically make for Dale’s birthday. I didn’t make it this year, so this would be my mulligan.

A friend gave me the recipe many years ago. I love that it’s in her handwriting. That always makes a recipe special. She called it Creole Chocolate Cake. It’s two layers of chocolate sponge. Between the layers is a pile of freshly whipped cream topped with a gooey mixture of walnuts, dates, evaporated milk and sugar, almost like a praline. Then the whole cake is iced with a frosting made from melted semi-sweet chocolate and sour cream.

As I write this, I believe I’ve made my decision. We know who’s dish is on the chopping block.

Kids, don’t try this at home

I will be 70 in a couple of weeks, and I’ll just say this. It’s not getting any easier.

As you may recall, I am religious about my strengthening exercises. I timed my routine the other day, and it takes me about an hour to do them all. Some days it feels like a lifetime, so I was surprised. An hour? That’s not too much to ask.

I’ve made incredible progress in the 17 months I’ve been at it, and I got a little carried away this week showing Dale how good I am at squats. Admittedly, this was after a couple of beers and The Clash blasting on the turntable.

Let me be the first to tell you party squats are never a good idea. Kids, don’t try this at home.

Everything seemed OK, but the next morning I was loading the dishwasher and pow! My back went out. It’s not too terrible, but I’m taking a week off from golf and trying to remember gentle is good.

I picked a perfect week to be stupid, as we are headed for several days of triple-digit weather.

What I’m Watching

I just finished The Hunting Wives on Netflix. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen anywhere. A nice Boston girl moves to Texas with her husband and gets mixed up with a secretive group of wealthy women with guns.

Sleazy beyond compare, the husbands make money but are otherwise worthless, the women are vicious (although very much enjoying sex with each other) and the scene featuring one of the male-female couples having their version of sex still haunts me. Some things I just didn’t need to know.

While no one would compare this to Masterpiece Theatre, I found it strangely addictive. There’s a murder mystery in the midst of all that sex, and our poor Boston girl is somehow caught up in the middle of all that, so it’s not just about the kink.

The end was a complete shocker, and there’s something to be said for the art of surprise.

Next up was The Thursday Murder Club, which premiered on Netflix this week. I didn’t know at first it was a movie not a series. It was OK but a miss, I think, and not nearly as funny as the books. The author’s descriptions and observations were so witty, and his unique humor didn’t translate to the screen.

It’s hard to say if it’s the writing, casting or acting – but none of the characters hit home with me. The whole thing just made me want to re-read the books.

I also started season six of Unforgotten on PBS. I do love PBS, but for some reason, it doesn’t show that I watched season five, so it was quite the hassle to figure out where I was in the series. Back in the old days, we got one season a year, which was easy enough for this old-timer.

That said, I do love the streaming options we have today, so no more complaining from me.

What I’m Eating

Dale roasted a whole chicken this week. One of my favorites. I know it sounds crazy, but I don’t care all that much for fried chicken. Give me a roasted bird any day. All plump and juicy with crispy golden brown skin and succulent meat.

We always go for the leg quarters on the first night, mostly because the breast meat is better for leftovers. Dale used up most of the white meat the next night on a batch of chicken tortilla soup, and half of that went in the freezer.

All is well with the world when you have good back-up soup.

We ate the chicken with broccoli and his New England-style stuffing, which is made with ground potatoes, onions, bread and seasonings. It sounds odd, but it’s quite delicious. He puts it in the bird. Same with Thanksgiving turkey.

I made Slow Cooker Tomato Lentil Soup from the NY Times. They promoted it as a summer soup, since it uses fresh tomatoes, and I would concur. It was like the best tomato basil bisque you’ve ever had. The red lentils pretty much dissolve but add heft and flavor to the base.

The comments are always interesting in the NY Times food app. Quite a few people didn’t want to use heavy cream. Jeez, I lust for heavy cream. Some substituted coconut milk, which I also love, but I didn’t want to change the flavor profile. The only change I made was to double the garlic.

I was going to make Brown Butter Skillet Corn Bread to accompany the soup, but I saw a half a cup of maple syrup and decided it was too sweet for our taste. Instead, I made our old standby blue corn muffins. Blue corn has a delicious earthy taste, and I believe it’s actually a little better for you than yellow cornmeal.

Recipes abound on the Internet, but you might have to resort to Amazon to get the blue corn meal. I get stone-ground blue cornmeal for the muffins but blue corn masa for tortillas.

I also made tuna noodle casserole. Such a flashback but still worthy after all these years. Mine is from Valerie Bertinelli. I have a few modifications. I add garlic, celery, peas and two cans of oil-packed tuna instead of one. She calls for medium shells, but I use large. Valerie also likes flavored potato chips as the topping, but I use plain.

This time I used Gibble’s, a brand we love from Pennsylvania. Dale gets them in the mail. He’s quite serious about his chips. These are fried in lard. If there’s such a thing as a lard-based potato chip in your local store, I say go for it.

The casserole was yum and four servings made it to the freezer. We have the best freezer food.

What I’m Reading

I’ve been on the waiting list at the library for The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. I just got it yesterday, but I started it and like it so far. It’s a sci-fi murder mystery and Hugo award finalist, so I have high hopes.