Not pleased

So my phone (10 month old Palm Centro) has mysteriously and suddenly to stop functioning as a "phone." I can still go on the internet, text, get my email, play solitaire, all that crap. But I cant make a phone call. Well that is not entirely true. I can make a phone call. And the person I call can hear me. And if I put it on speakerphone I can hear them. But I cant hear them on the actual phone. And apparently the only way to overcome this problem is for me to either mail my phone to Palm and have them either try to repair it or send me a refurbished one, so I wont have a phone for over a week. Or I can pay $25 and they will send me a refurbished phone and then I have to send this one back to them. I am not pleased. This is not the first time I have had a problem with this phone. But I love the Palm software. I love the Palm Desktop. All my stuff is in there. I dont want to be a Blackberry person or an iPhone person. I was perfectly happy being a Palm person. And I was so excited about the Pre. But I dont know if I can deal with Palm anymore. Sigh.

In other news, last night Matty and I went to the First Person Story Slam: Odd Jobs at L'Etage. We went to cheer Tre on. We hadnt been to one before, though we were supposed to go to the one on the 18th. But something got in the way . . . what was it? . . . oh yeah. Funeral. I guess it was an above average show last night, but Matty is totally hooked. He couldnt stop talking about it. Of course he was pretty drunk by the time we got home (after 1 on a Tuesday! I know! Scandal right?) so he was quite the talked. Right up until he passed out on the floor doing his situps. It was very cool and anyone in Philly should totally check them out in the future.

Let's see. Oh, I guess I can share some recipes. Last weekend we through the Triple Birthday Barbecue Party and had a whopping 39 people show up (not all at the same time, thank god!). And pretty much everyone brought food, which was awesome. But you know me, I cant not cook for my own party. What is the point of throwing the party? So I made a Mexican-y quinoa salad with black olives, black beans, tomatoes, peppers, hot peppers, herbs, lime. It was ok, Needed more salt and more hot pepper I think. And I made buffalo chicken dip. And Matty made me vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. My faves! And then I made a variety of dips and spreads to go with the grill items and some dippers. I made Roasted Tomato Relish with Thyme, a vegan version of Wild Mushroom Spread, Roasted Red Pepper and Cannellini Bean Dip, a vegan version of Remoulade sauce and a modified chimichurri. I think they were all good. I have been putting leftover tomato relish on EVERYTHING! I made double batches of everything except the chimichurri and the remoulade (half batch).

Oh and for my birthday Matty bought me the tea kettle! The big Le Creuset one that he wanted (in Flame [my color]). It is pretty neat. I tried it out on Monday, just to hear it whistle since it has been too gaddman hot to drink hot anything.

Ok, now for the recipes.

Roasted Tomato Relish with Thyme



12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise and seeded (about 2 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large shallots, peeled
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place the tomatoes, cut sides down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush with 1 tablespoon oil (I used olive oil cooking spray); sprinkle with pepper. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Wrap shallots in foil; add to baking sheet. Bake an additional 40 minutes or until tomatoes are lightly charred and shallots are soft (about 35 minutes). Cool 10 minutes.

Chop tomatoes and shallots; place in a medium bowl. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, vinegar, and remaining ingredients to bowl; toss well. (I threw everything in the food processor).

Yield: About 1 cup (serving size: about 2 tablespoons)CALORIES 61 (55% from fat); FAT 3.7g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.4g); IRON 0.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 11mg; CARBOHYDRATE 6.9g; SODIUM 78mg; PROTEIN 1.4g; FIBER 1.2g Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Wild Mushroom Spread



2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2 large) (I chopped in food processor)
3 1/2 cups finely chopped wild or cultivated mushrooms (about 12 ounces) (I just used cremini, I chopped in food processor)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened (I used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese)
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
16 (1/2-ounce) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette (about 1/2 inch thick) (I just served it in a bowl with dippers on the side)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots to pan; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; cook 7 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Place mushroom mixture in a medium bowl. Place half of mushroom mixture, cream cheese, and sherry in a food processor; process until smooth. Add pureed mixture to remaining mushroom mixture. Add parsley, salt, and pepper; stir until combined. Serve with baguette slices.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 2 baguette slices and 2 tablespoons spread) CALORIES 140 (28% from fat); FAT 4.4g (sat 2.1g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.4g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 10mg; CALCIUM 17mg; CARBOHYDRATE 20.6g; SODIUM 399mg; PROTEIN 5.6g; FIBER 1g Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2007

Roasted Red Pepper and Cannellini Bean Dip



1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, rinsed and drained
1 large garlic clove
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place first 5 ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth. With processor on, slowly add oil through food chute. Stir in salt and black pepper. (I just threw everything in all at once)

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/4 cup), CALORIES 62 (51% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.5g); IRON 0.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 16mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5.9g; SODIUM 272mg; PROTEIN 1.5g; FIBER 1.5g Cooking Light, JANUARY 2007

Remoulade Sauce (from the Gumbo Shop, this is the full recipe, I did half)
1/2 c plus 2 Tbsp Creole mustard
1/2 c mayonnaise (I used Vegenaise)
1/3 c canola oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp minced celery
3 Tbsp minced green onion
1 tsp minced garlic (I used 1 clove)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used tamari)
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (I used Frank's red hot)
2 Tbsp paprika (I used smoked)
1 tsp white pepper (I used black)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a stainless steel, glass or crockery bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. This recipe makes about 2 cups. (I just threw everything in the food processor)

I will have to get back to you with the chimichurri recipe as it is at home at the moment.

Time keeps marching

That is what I learned this week. It took me awhile. Mostly because I wasnt sleeping. And a week and a half of sleep deprivation is just not good. I couldnt manage to stay asleep for more than 4 straight hours. And the only nights I could manage 4 were nights when I got messily drunk before going to bed. So I would sleep for an hour or two, lie awake for an hour or two, on and on. And so, understandably I was pretty zombie-like. Friday I left work early and took a nap. And slept. For almost 2 hours straight through. And then Friday night I slept for almost 8 hours. Not straight through, but in big chunks. And Saturday I felt more alive than I had since the 14th. And then Saturday night I slept again. And maybe part of it is because the weather is finally nicer. Of course it went from dark, cold and rainy to 90 degrees and sunny. Which seems a bit on the ridiculous side of things. But still. And so I have been thinking about things, since I am fianlly once again capable of thinking clearly. And I have come to some conclusions.

First off, I was wrong when I made up my mind about what I needed to get through the grief and the loss. Firstly, I thought what I needed was for all these people who were held together by this one person needed to stay where they were even though their tether was broken. I knew that it couldnt happen forever. But I felt that it needed to happen for an extended period of time. And secondly, I thought that people needed to be as close as they had been in that first week for that amount of time. And so when people started to drift away and when they started to go back to the way things were before I was really upset. Because I wasnt ready to go back to the way things were before. And I wasnt ready for all these people to drift away from me. Because I didnt feel like there was anything holding them in place with relation to me except for him. So without him, they would simply cease to be a part of my life. And I couldnt handle losing all those people (who had become so much closer immediately following his death) to just disappear, on top of him leaving too. But it was an artificial holding together. They were, in a sense, or all senses, artificial friendships.

Here's something I think I learned though. There is a completely opposite tPeople want to go back to normal because then it wont seem like anything bad happened. Ostrich with their heads in the sand type of things. So they keep doing the same shit to the same people and keep doing the same shit to themselves and they keep doing the same things, because they could do it before, they can do it again. And that is just as false. Because if he was truly as big a part of their lives as they say he was, they are going to keep coming up against holes where he was and they wont be able to get by them by simply doing the same old shit. Because he was part of the same old shit.

We have to keep living. Or we will die. Figuratively or otherwise. Every person I have known and met in the last weeks has had that in common, maybe it was the thing he collected. They all lived. They had lives. They had passion and they had spark, and most of them had snark to go with it. But they all lived. Maybe too hard, maybe too timidly, but they were not just drifting along. And in order for us to keep going, we have to start living again.

But it is a new life. A new normal. One in which maybe we make sure that we dont leave too many things unsaid. The good things and the bad things. Because we learned, too harshly, that if you dont say them now you might not get a chance to. One in which we make sure that we do the things we want and need to do. Because we learned, too harshly, that life can be too damn short.

And while I now realize that the friends that I had, or thought I had, or just made are not going to stay where they are. They are going to keep on living, because it is life that is important, not the death. And I hope that some of them stay friends. Little pieces of my heart seem to threaten to break off when I think about them all going away. To think of not having them around for drinks on patios, for parties, for debauchery in the park. But they are not all going to stick around. And that is ok. Because I know that the ones who are still friends are friends because of me. And because of Matty. We may have met because of him. But we stayed because of us. And so that has to be ok.

I have learned a lot about emotions. Strong, frantic balls of screaming, crying, clinging emotions. I still dont understand them. But I learned a lot. I need to argue. I have alwyas known this but it came out again in grief as well. It doesnt matter about what. But if I can argue about it. Whether I win or lose or cry or lose my temper or cause my opponent to lose theirs, I need to argue. It is a release for me. But I also know that I have to choose my opponenet carefully. They have to understnad that what we are arguing about is not necessarily the point. It isnt about that. It is about something else, it is just a vehicle. I cant argue with Matty. He doesnt like to do it and more importantly he would rather I be happy than most anything else, and so he just agrees with me so that I am not upset. And that defeats the purpose.

I have learned about internalizing and avoiding too. I have seen people drink the pain away. And I have done that. I have seen people keep moving and keep doing and keep anything so they dont think. And I have done that. And I have seen people swallow tears and screams and protestations. And I have done that. I have focussed on making sure that everyone else is "ok" so that I wouldnt have to worry about me. And I didnt deal with things that I felt should have been dealt with. And I didnt sleep. And I turned into a zombie, especially at home with Matty. And I dont understand it. Because I never did the crying or the dealing or the accepting I feel I should have done. But I am sleeping now. And I am awake again.

I get it. It sucks. But we have to keep on living. And we have to make hard choices and hard decisions. And I wish none of us did. Because it doesnt matter if we are 23 or 28 or 33 or 38 or 2700, no one ever should have to go through as much pain as we have had to go through in the last two weeks if this life was perfect. If this life was perfect no one would die without warning. No one would leave people behind who couldnt be left behind. No one would treat people as badly as I have seen treated lately. And in a perfect world no one would actually live. Because it seems to be the loss that brings the life into sharp focus. So while none of us should have to go through this, we all still have to. But no one should have to go through this alone, or without as many people and help as they decide they need. But they have to go on living. And living is a singular thing.

So anyone who has read this far, congratulations. I am not a writer and my thoughts dont make sense even to me. But if you have read this far and you do need help. With anything. Please dont hesitate to call. Because I do. I get it. It sucks. But we have to keep living now. And so if you want to talk. Or not. Or if you need dinner. Or a kitchen to cook it in. Or company. Just call and I will try to do what I can. In honor of the people who are still around, who have helped and who have needed help. And most of all, in honor of him. Because as awful as he was to be around sometimes, and as many times as he made me cry - he cared so much about so many.

I will start posting real posts soon I hope. We watched John Adams. My parents' new boat is heading north in less than a week. We went to RI for a surprise 60th birthday party for Matty's dad. We went to MA for Easter. My Scienteering Science Fair happened. I had a birthday. And a party. With 40 people. The biggest party we had. With good and bad consequences for many of the guests. I dont know how much of that I will talk about. But time marches on. And life is going on now.

April is the cruelest month

This is something I have heard over and over in the last week and a half. And I have thus far simply ignored it. I am not as such as poetry fan. However my favorite, or at least the poem I quote the most (mostly in my own head as a bit of a mantra) is Eliot's The Hollow Man.

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

So I guess it is appropriate that yet another T.S. Eliot poem with as dark a feeling should keep coming back now.

I have always like April. My mom hates March. It is the month of her birthday but also the month in which both her parents died. And tends to have awful weather in New England. The need for sunlight and spring gets strong but the actual sun stays away. I always vowed that I would not hate a month, it seemed so silly. Especially a month with my birthday in it! And many times Easter is in April. And I love Easter. And the weather starts to get better. And April vacation (when I was younger) and the end of the school year (when I was at Pitt). Lots of birthday. Matty's dad and sister in law, college friends and roomates, Dan, Tara. Though there have been some bad Aprils. My appendix burst on my birthday in 5th grade and that combined with a subsequent post-op infection left me hospitalized for an extended period of time. And my best friend in high school's mother died on Palm Sunday which may have been in April that year, but may have been March. There was the year I put off celebrating my birthday until after I passed my prelim in the first weeks of May, and then failing, completely ruining that birthday. But this year has really pushed my limits a bit. The weather has been awful. Either cold or rainy and cold. With little teasers of nice weather followed by even worse weather. My Scienteering Science Fair was yesterday so I have had to deal with these kids, who are tough to deal with int he best of times. I started the month with a stomach flu that left me home sick for several days. Then we took a trip to Annapolis to help my parents with their new boat which was lovely. Then in the second week I discovered a rat in my backyard and then the next morning I sprained my ankle looking for it which has left me in an ankle brace and hobbling as I am an awful patient and refuse to use crutches. Easter was good. I met my new cousin for the first time. He is adorable. And then shit just totally hit the fan. Philadelphia mourns the death of Harry Kalas. Everyone in Philly who matters to me personally mourns the death of Joey. My boss's close friend from college dies last week. The owner of a loved local bar dies early this week. The little brother of a coworker dies last weekend. My other coworker's (who lost his father last fall) grandfather has a heart attack and is in the ICU last night. Seriously. What. The. Fuck. Could people just calm the hell down and stop dying, or getting sick. Just for the rest of the month. I know it is silly. But I think if we could just postpone some of this shit for another week we would deal with all this better. K thnx.

I. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering	5
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,	10
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm' aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the archduke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,	15
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,	20
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,	25
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.	30
Frisch weht der Wind
Der Heimat zu.
Mein Irisch Kind,
Wo weilest du?
'You gave me hyacinths first a year ago;	35
'They called me the hyacinth girl.'
—Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden,
Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither
Living nor dead, and I knew nothing,	40
Looking into the heart of light, the silence.
Od' und leer das Meer.
Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,	45
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations.	50
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.	55
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:
One must be so careful these days.
Unreal City,	60
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.	65
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.
There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying 'Stetson!
'You who were with me in the ships at Mylae!	70
'That corpse you planted last year in your garden,
'Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?
'Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
'Oh keep the Dog far hence, that's friend to men,
'Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!	75
'You! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!'

I promise to try to . . .

I promise to try to hold less back and give more forward.
I promise to try to do what I can and then ask for help.
I promise to try to hold on to what is important and let go of what isn't.
I promise to try to remember but not dwell, look forward but not run.
I promise to try to say the things that need to be said when they need to be said.
I promise to try to appreciate more loudly and thank more fervently and love more clearly.
I promise to try to not wait until too late.

Please Don't Stop the Music

I dont do emotions real well. I tend to laugh at awful times. I tend to make sarcastic remarks when I should be sensitive. I tend to burst into tears when I (and everyone around me) least expects it. But this blog has int he past served me as a place to say what my mind keeps telling me to think about but which sometimes I cant. If you know me real well, you know what this is about. And so you might not want to keep reading. This isnt here for you to read. This is here for me to say it. As out loud as I can right now.

Joey Ruggiero was the first friend we made after moving to Philly. In fact, if you go through the guest list for my birthday party all but two of the friends we have made in Philly, we have because of him. He invited Matty and I to dinner at Buddakan within a few months of meeting Matty. I had never met him. We refused because it freaked us out. The first time I met him he insisted on picking me up at the airport after Christmas. I could have taken the train or a cab. But he insisted.

Yesterday I got a phone call from Matty. I answered and all he said was "Sara?" and I knew something horrible had happened. My first thoughts went to his cousin who is in charge of the Canadian Navy's boarding party for captured Somali pirate ships. But the tone was wrong. It must be one of his parents. Something had happened to one of his parents. So when he said "Someone just told me that they heard from his office that Joey is dead." I knew I must have heard him wrong. I had to have. Joey couldnt be dead. Joey is 28. Joey is moving back to Philly. Joey has to take care of Tank. Joey couldnt be dead. Matty told me he didnt believe it, I told him to call his cell phone. I stayed on the other line. When I heard Matty say "this is one of Joey's friends" everything else just disappeared. No one else answered Joey's phone. Joey was attached to his phone. All I could think was that Matty had to get home. That there was some sort of mistake but Matty had to go home, because I could here in his voice as he talked to his best friends mother that he was not ok and he was not going to be ok. As soon as he hung up with her, after getting what he could, (Joey went upstairs at his parents place to watch a movie with tank Monday night, this morning his alarm went off and his mom went into his room and found him) I told him to go home, I would call Tara, I would meet him at home. I called Tara and in the least tactful way possible I lost it and blurted it out. She started screaming, on a street corner, and that was when I snapped into taking-care-of-shit Sara. I talked as much as I could to her. I left a note at work for someone to help with my shit and I rushed (as fast as I could on my week-old sprained ankle) to a cab.

He quickly became an addiction for us. He made you feel special just being with him. Like it was a privilege reserved for only the best. Which sounds worse than it is, but if you know what I am talking about you know what I mean. We changed plans to spend time with him. We left the apartment (and changed our outfits) when he insisted. He knew how to get what he wanted and wanted you to have what you wanted too. As long as he got more attention than you. Tank is the only chihuahua I have met whom I instantly fell in love with. Everyone did. Even my mom. You could say whatever you wanted because he usually said something much worse.

And it seems so perfect that I had an impromtu get together at our apartment last night for 16 people. I had something to do. I had to make sure that we got through our list of people that we had to call. I had to make sure that they all got somewhere so they werent alone and they could be taken care of, and if that meant our place then all the better. I made a pot of sauce and some went to the market. 2 lbs of pasta? check. Brie and strawberries? check. OJ and cranberry juice for mixers, marshmallow iced devil's food cake, lots of fresh bread? check, check and check. We watched the funeral scene of Steel Magnolias. We finished Matty's 12 year Jameson's. His birthday present from his brother last year. And most of a full bottle of regular old Jameson's. A good portion of our tequila, someone brought a bottle of White Star, someone brought a bottle of Prosecco, someone brought beer, someone brough more whiskey. Someone stopped at Wendys. And everyone brought stories and memories. And tears and grief. And anger and questions. He would have loved that I had this get together, without my normal anal planning stages, without allowing Matty to clean first, where people drank what he wanted us to drink and talked about what he wanted us to talk about. Him. It was always about him. How we met him, what we would have wanted to wear for his funeral, what he would have wanted us to wear at his funeral, who should get his Hello Kitty bling, our most infuriating memory of him, our best memory of him, what he would have thought about the weather (cold and rainy) and what we were wearing (Matty and Johnny both in argyle sweaters). All about him. But it was also a little bit all about us. And i think he would have appreciated that too. That we were all doing exactly what we needed to do. However uncomfortable that made anyone else. And for me, most importantly, I had something to do. Make sure they have food, make sure they have drinks, make sure they have tissues, make sure they could use a computer, make sure make sure make sure.

We all ended up going to the Westbury. I had never been there without him before. And without something to do I started to think. And I couldnt stop it, there were too many people. Too many familiar faces. Too many strangers. Too many familiar songs. So we came home and I couldnt do it. I couldnt cry the way I needed to cry. I couldnt think the way I needed to think. I started slamming little doors on thoughts. That is what it feels like. Physically slamming shut thoughts. I catch myself shaking my head a little bit sometimes.

This morning I went to a hearing of the PA House Committee on Education regarding the acceleration of science, technology, engineering and math education in PA and specifically Philly. It was a good distraction. I took copious notes and just tried to listen to every word they said.

I still havent been able to do it. To think the thoughts that need to be thought and cry the tears that need to be cried. Some have been. I made homemade mac and cheese with andouille sausage and a spring vegetable couscous salad. I cant eat any of it. I am not hungry and I feel sick to my stomach. But I had to do something. I couldnt be here by myself with nothing to do. I couldnt go to work. I cant say it again out loud. I keep practicing, to myself. And I cant. So I cooked. And talked to my dad. He is so upset that he cant help. He doesnt like me in pain. But he told me that when my grandparents died I did this. I didnt cry the way they thought I should have. I didnt ask the questions they thought i should have. They were scared at first but eventually realized that that is my way. I hope it feels better soon. Because I have so many questions.

How could you do this?
Who is going to encourage us to drink too much too-expensive champagne in too-loud too-dark bars?
Who is going to comment on every outfit we wear, every haircut we consider?
Who is going to drive us crazy spending all their time on their cell phone instead of interacting with us?
Who is going to be the life of the party and announce when it is over?
Who is going to make the snarky remarks that no one thinks they should say out loud?
Who is going to be my kids' Uncle Joey?
Who is going to organize Matty's bachelor party?
Who is going to keep us all together?
Who is going to take care of Tank?
And who is going to take care of all of us?

We arent ready. We need more time. We need a lifetime more time. And we all knew we never had that. But we need more.

So much to write about!

I have been sick since Thursday. I think a mild stomach flu. But since everyone in my lab (or their children or spouses) has been sick with major stomach flus recently I wasnt taking any chances. I finally feel like I am going to recover and am at work for at least the majority of the day today. Yay! I hate when being sick ruins a weekend though. I left my house Thursday to walk to work, got halfway there and decided that I did not want to spend the day throwing up in my work bathroom so I walked back home and then didnt leave my apartment until yesterday morning. So yeah, fun times.

As for a quick life update, my parents are officially (as of Friday) the owners of two boats! The closing went through and there you have it. We are all going down to Annapolis this weekend to check her out, start working on her etc. Very exciting.

Ok, first off, movies:
Rachel Getting Married (2008). Basic story: Girl (Kym played by Anne Hathaway) is released from rehab and goes home to her family in the midst of her sister's (Rachel played by Rosemarie DeWitt) wedding-preparation. Not a comedy! This was one I added in my attempt to try to see the major Oscar nominees (Anne Hathaway for Leading Actress). This is not The Princess Diaries' Anne Hathaway. This isn't even Devil Wears Prada Anne Hathaway. She is fantastic. She really is. That being said, I could not relate to a single character in this movie. (This is also Matty's main complaint) It is probably good that I can't relate because these are some fairly dysfuncational characters. And I do not in any way think that this is a fault of the actor's or the movie at all really. But, as I have mentioned in the past, it makes it difficult for me to really enjoy a drama when I have no emotional connection to anyone. But the movie is really well done, the story is interesting, I would recommend it, but am not gushing over it.


The Road to Guantanamo (2006). Part drama, part documentary focussing on the Tipton Three, 3 British Muslims held at Guantanamo Bay for 2 years without being charged. Essentially 1 of the three goes to Pakistan to find a wife in late September 2001, the other 2 and another friend go to Pakistan for his wedding that October. While in Pakistan they decide to check out the situation in nearby Afghanistan which is being bombed by the US in response to 9-11. While there they are captured and end up in Gitmo even though they have no ties to the Taliban or Al Qaeda. I think the film was very well done and certainly paints a bad picture of the way the US does (or at least did) things. And what Pakistan and Afghanistan were like in those early months of fighting. But some major questions are left unanswered in my mind. I dont want to spell them out since I think it might take away from the movie. But I think you would have similar questions. I would recommend seeing it, but not putting it very high on my list of must-sees.

Books.
Ok, so I mentioned that I have been sick right? So that means I get to read whatever I want right? Right?! Ok, so I have been completely sucked in by the Twilight books. If any of you pay any attention to my little Goodreads thing on the sidebar you might notice that it takes me FOREVER to get through a book. So I started Twilight last Sunday night. I finished Thursday. I had Matty pick me up New Moon on his way home. I started and finished it on Friday. He picked me up Eclipse and Breaking Dawn Saturday (he is too good to me). I started Eclipse Saturday and finished yesterday and started Breaking Dawn yesterday and have about 200 pages left. So yeah. A little obsessive. But they are SOO fast to read. So it isnt just me. Now I know that some of you are thinking, "Oh My God, she is one of them!" But I am not. Really. Maybe. Ok, so first off. These are not GOOD books. These are fun books. They are entertaining. They are not terribly well written. The heroine pisses me off (even more often in the later books than in the first one) and the author (or at least her editor) really upsets me sometimes with slips in story etc. But these books were written for me and my friends when we were in high school. Yeah, I know my 10 year high school reunion is this year. And I admit that I am probably at the outside age of intended (or at least proper) audience. But they totally tug at the heartstrings and the memories of those days. The moody-aloof boyfriend, the drama, the wish to be a vampire. That was totally me. And yeah, I kinda still want to be a vampire. So there. I said it. I mean (and this is directed straight to you Beta) there is a vampire named Esme! For Christ sakes. So yeah. There ya go. Of course I am going to see the movie. But I do not expect it to be good, at all, there is no way a good movie could be made from these books. Because they are not good books. But I hope it will be entertaining. And I have absolutely no doubt that these books hold NO interest for any guys. So I would recommend staying away from them.

Recipe:
Just one, I have not much been up for cooking or eating. But Matty made this for me Sunday and it was excellent!

Hawaiian Ginger-Chicken Stew from EatingWell (of course) March/April 2009. (I forgot to take a pic of ours, sorry)

Makes 4 servings, about 1 cup each (I have no idea how much there was, I was not paying attention, and I only had a little little bit since I was not really hungry)

ACTIVE TIME: 35 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 tablespoon sesame oil or canola oil (w e used canola)
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces (we used breasts)
1 2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks or minced (we minced it)
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (we minced this too)
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth (we used 2 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 cups water (we used 1 cup)
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian red chile sauce, such as sriracha, or to taste
1 bunch mustard greens or chard, stemmed and chopped (6-7 cups), or 2 cups frozen chopped mustard greens (we used about 2 cups chopped mustard greens and then another cup frozen chopped spinach)

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate with tongs.
2. Add ginger and garlic to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add sherry and cook until mostly evaporated, scraping up any browned bits, 1 1/2 to 3 minutes. Add broth and water, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, chile sauce and mustard greens (or chard) and cook until the greens are tender, about 3 minutes. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.

Happy International Waffle Day!

Mmmm! Waffles!

Ok, so this is just going to be a recipe post.

Last night we made Couscous, Lentil and Arugula Salad with Garlic Dijon Vinaigrette from the latest issue of EatingWell magazine (March/April 2009). It was AWESOME! We will definitely be making this a regular I think. In case you couldn't guess, what it is supposed to look like is on the left and what it did look like is on the right. The dressing is so delicious, we will be making that to keep in the fridge as well.

Makes 4 servings, about 2 cups each (It made enough for the two of us for dinner plus 1 lunch, but we were both pretty hungry)

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

Vinaigrette
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
4 small cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Salad
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth or water (I used chicken broth since I had it on hand)
1 cup whole-wheat couscous (I used regular couscous since I had it on hand)
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup French green lentils or brown lentils, rinsed (I used Goya lentils, which I think are brown)
4 cups arugula, any tough stems removed, or mixed salad greens (we couldnt get arugula so used mixed spring greens)
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced (we used half an English cucumber)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

We also added 1 avocado, sliced

1. To prepare vinaigrette: Combine oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and garlic in a blender, a jar with a tight-fitting lid or a medium bowl. Blend, shake or whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. To prepare salad: Bring 1 1/4 cups broth (or water) to a boil in a small saucepan. Add couscous, cover, remove from the heat and let stand until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
3. Combine 2 1/2 cups water and lentils in another saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until just tender, 15 to 25 minutes. (Green lentils will be done sooner than brown lentils.) Be careful not to overcook the lentils or they will fall apart in the salad. Drain any excess water and let cool for about 10 minutes.
4. If arugula leaves are large, tear into bite-size pieces. Toss arugula (or greens) with 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette in a large bowl, then divide among 4 large plates. In the same bowl, toss the couscous and lentils with another 1/4 cup vinaigrette; divide the mixture among the plates. Top each salad with cucumber, tomatoes and feta and drizzle each with 1 tablespoon vinaigrette. (Cover and refrigerate the remaining 1 cup vinaigrette for up to 1 week.)

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 549 calories; 18 g fat (5 g sat, 10 g mono); 17 mg cholesterol; 79 g carbohydrate; 22 g protein; 15 g fiber; 579 mg sodium; 630 mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A & Vitamin C (25% daily value), Iron (20% dv), Potassium (18% dv), Calcium (17% dv).
4 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 5 starch, 2 vegetable, 1/2 medium fat meat, 3 fat

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Cover and refrigerate the vinaigrette (Step 1) for up to 1 week.

As I mentioned, we added a sliced avocado and we served it with toast points because I had bought a yummy loaf of bread that I wanted to have, but was unnecessary. Very very very good.

Milk

Not the dairy product. The movie. We saw it last night. It was fantastic. See it. NOW! Sigh, you didnt go did you? Well you should. Because it was great. Sean Penn was great. Now, I have never seen any actual footage of Harvey Milk. So I cant say that he did a great job at being him. But there are a lot of people who were there who were either in the film, or helped with the film. (Cleve Jones, Anne Kronenberg, Carol Ruth Silver, Danny Nicoletta) And watching the extra features, they seem to love Penn's portrayal, so that is good. Right? Ok, so as a quick summary, Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to office in the country. And this is the story of his (too short) political career. Emile Hirsch was great as Cleve Jones, Josh Brolin was a pretty creepy Dan White, James Franco was absolutely fantastic as Scott Smith, Alison Pill was great as Anne Kronenberg. Gus Van Sant did a fabulous job mixing the archival footage in with the film and I really liked they way that it was filmed as a whole. I think it is a very important and perhaps prescient comment on many aspect of humanity and American culture in the San Francisco of the 1970s and of America today.

Once you have seen it, or if you know Harvey Milk's feelings on being closeted, you will see how offensive this is. I am not enbedding it here because if you dont know the full story of Harvey Milk, it kinda gives away the ending. But basically Harvey's whole idea for the gay movement was that if everyone came out and everyone was truthful about their sexual orientation, it would move the cause forward. Because it is a lot harder to hate people you know than people you dont know. So people realized that they actually knew gay people (your doctor, your lawyer, your aunt) maybe it would be harder for people to hate them so much. But when Fox News reviewed the movie they describe it as the story of "1970s politician," played by Sean Penn who "smiles a lot," but will probably have a small limited audience. A 1970s politician. Ugh! So yeah. See it.

Happy national chocolate covered raisin day!

Let me see. I guess I will do some weekend updates. Friday night we had dinner at Sidecar (chili, nachos and carnitas all half price) and then played Rock Band/Guitar Hero at Dan's. Matty has fallen completely in love with the chili at Sidecar. He wont stop talking about it in fact. I admit that it was pretty awesome. Especially half priced for happy hour. I think I am just tired of hearing about it.

Saturday, instead of letting me sleep in as promised we got up and met with some friends from Pittsburgh. They were visiting a friend of their's who was celebrating Match. Said friend doesnt like Philly and doesnt really know Philly, so we became tour guides for the day. We started in the Italian Market which was nice since Matty and I rarely go down there. Then we walked up to Sarcone's for lunch. Mmmmmm. . . . Sarcone's . . . . Mmmmmm . . . . drooling just thinking about it. After lunch we walked up to South and wandered "South Street" for a bit and then headed to the river. The weather was ok, a bit chilly in the shade, but sunny at least. I mean not spring weather, but not too cold. We headed up through Society Hill and into Old City and stopped for a drink (or a few) at National Mechanics. They have iTunes DJ running which is way cool. So since Matty has his iPhone, we could all vote for what to play, for free. So that was cool. I tried the Original Sin cider. Which, if you like apple juice is perfect for you. It tastes exactly like apple juice. Except it is 6% alcohol.

The rest of the evening was orchestrated by the med school friend, so not quite me and Matty's scene. After a bit of a side trip we all ended up at Black Sheep for dinner. We hadnt been, so Matty got to try somewhere new. I was fairly impressed with their beer list. I HATE that prices aren't listed though. HATE that. But everything we ended up with was in the $4-$5.50 range which wasnt bad. I was pretty disappointed with the food though. The burger I ordered rare was medium-well at best. The pulled pork was overly sweet in my opinion. But I am picky about bbq sauce. So that is just a personal preference. But the burger, that is disappointing. The fries were good. Everyone else seemed to like their meals. After dinner we went to Fado for drinks. It was absolutely packed with young drunk obnoxious "fratty" types. It was loud. And dark. So we all stood in a corner and had our overpriced drinks and tried not to go to the bathroom (to avoid the vomit). Finally we left and went to meet other med students. At a wine bar. A really nice restaurant and wine bar (which we werent dressed for) called Di Vino. It used to be Valentino's. It is adorable and the menu looks delicious. But it was closing 5 minutes after we arrived. It is a tiny little space (there were 8 of us) and we had all been drinking beer (or cider) all night. So yeah. We waited until her friends (who were getting the check when we arrived) left. And then she left with them to go to a party in the Art Museum area that we werent invited to. I went home because I was tired and had had enough. Matty went with everyone else back to Dan's for Rock Band.

Sunday we made breakfast (egg, sausage and potato sandwiches) then ran some errands. We are still looking for a tea kettle.

Yesterday, Lenka (the other GGR grad student in our lab) successfully defended. So she is now Dr. Yunk. One more defense in May (our MD-PhD student) and then me.

It certainly doesn't feel like Spring!

Brr! It was downright chilly this morning. Certainly not very Spring-y.

Last night we made Corn and Scallion Griddlecakes for dinner. We topped them with fried eggs, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. And we had a side of sauteed mushrooms and jalapenos. It was very yummy though there were some setbacks to the cooking process int he beginning. The nonstick of the skillet is VERY important.


Then we watched The Kingdom at Dan's for movie night. The general consensus was that we learned a lot about Saudi Arabia that we didn't know before, the acting was generally good (Jennifer Garner) to very good (Ashraf Barhom) but the casting was poor in some places (Jamie Foxx, Jason Bateman), Jeremy Piven needs to stay out of dramatic roles, and apparently FBI forensic investigators and bomb experts are incredibly well trained in on-the-ground gun combat as well as hand-to-hand combat. It is not as bad-ass as some people thought it would be. Though it has at least a couple of pretty bad-ass scenes. I would say it is worth seeing, but maybe not putting at the top of your queues. And we had zeppole from Termini Bros. in honor of St. Joseph's Day! We had traditional vanilla custard ones and also ricotta cheese and chocolate chips ones, like a cannoli cream puff! The cheese ones were delish! I don't really like custard so I stuck with those.

I remembered to take a pic of the leftover Cajun-Pecan Crusted Oven-Fried Chicken. So here you go.




In other news, my parent signed the sales papers today for their new boat, a 1987 42' Passport Cutter in Annapolis. Here is a pick from the haul from the survey last week. You can see other pics and info here. So as long as nothing goes wrong between now and the closing, they will very shortly be owners of 2 boats. So if you or anyone you know is in the market for a 34' Catalina in RI, let me know!



Corn and Scallion Griddlecakes from EatingWell July/August 1997 (makes 20-24 3" griddlecakes)

1 large egg
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups cooked corn kernels (from 2-3 ears) (I used thawed Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn)
6 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated smoked Cheddar cheese (I would add a little more)
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (We added a little [~2 tsp] more when we couldn't flip them)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup tomato salsa
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 200°F.
2. Whisk egg, buttermilk, 2 teaspoons oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir in corn, scallions, cheese and jalapeño.
3. Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder and baking soda in another bowl; stir into wet ingredients.
4. Brush remaining 1 teaspoon oil evenly over a large nonstick (VERY important) skillet; heat over medium heat. (We used a Le Creuset skillet, which was not nonstick enough so by the time the griddlecake cooked enough to flip, it was burned to the pan. First we added a little more flour to the batter. That didnt work. So we switched to our nonstick skillet and everything was fine.) Use about 3 tablespoons of batter for each griddlecake. Working in batches, spoon batter into hot skillet and spread into 3-inch rounds. Cook until lightly browned on the bottom and set around the edges, about 2 minutes. Turn the cakes with a spatula and cook until lightly browned on the other side, 1 to 2 minutes more.
5. Transfer griddlecakes to an ovenproof platter, cover loosely with foil and keep warm in the oven until all of the batter is cooked. Serve hot with salsa and sour cream.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 269 calories; 10 g fat (4 g sat, 4 g mono); 53 mg cholesterol; 37 g carbohydrate; 10 g protein; 4 g fiber; 826 mg sodium; 412 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Calcium (21% daily value), Vitamin A (17% dv). 2 1/2 Carbohydrate Servings

Happy St. Joseph's Day!

And Match Day for some of you!

Not much to report, but we had a lovely dinner last night with a new recipe to share. It is a bit of a combination of Picnic Oven-Fried Chicken and Cajun Pecan-Crusted Catfish, both from Eating Well.

Pecan-Crusted Oven-Fried Chicken Breasts
4-6 chicken breast halves (depending on size)
1/2 cup cultured nonfat buttermilk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp bottled minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
~2 tsp hot sauce, divided
~1 tsp dried oregano
~1/2 tsp chili powder, preferably chipotle chili powder
~1 tsp dried minced garlic
2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup pecan halves

Mix buttermilk, mustard, bottled garlic, 1 tsp hot sauce (I used Sriracha for this part) in a small bowl. Pour over chicken and coat completely. I did this in the morning and then put it in the fridge for the day so it was probably about 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. In a food processor mix ~1 tsp hot sauce (I used Frank's for this part), oregano, chili powder, dried garlic and cornflakes. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. Pour cornflake mixture onto a plate. Add the pecans to the food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add pecans to the cornflakes and mix together. Dredge marinated chicken in the cornflake/pecan mixture and place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, flip over. Bake an additional 5-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

I forgot to take a picture, but I will try to remember to take a pic of the leftovers tonight and post it. It was really really really good! Very moist and the crust was out of this world. We had a salad on the side. Matty dipped his in Remoulade. I thought it was perfect on its own.

Between Patrick and Joseph

Last night we met after work at Greek Lady for dinner which was great as always. Then we went up to Distrito for a drink before the movie. This is Jose Garces's (Amada, Tinto) new "modern Mexican" restaurant in The Hub in University City. The space itself is gorgeous. They did a fantastic job. We sat at the bar and both had the house margarita (figured we should start witht he basics). It was very good. But I am not sure that I would be able to have more than one. The $10 price tag is part of it, but it was very sour and so I am not sure that I would be able to go there for "drinks." It old Matty I thought it was a good dinner margarita. If you are just going to have one while eating it was very good. The menu looks interesting. A mix of small plates and entrees with a wide range of prices ($6-$32) and complexity (chicken enchiladas - pork belly mole). I would like to go back and try the food, but it is definitely a "special occasion" place.

Then we went to the movie, Watchmen. So I have not read the book (or books) so I can't comment on how well it matches. I hear it is pretty good. I would like to read it to compare. First off I will say that it was very good. Excellent even. The acting is superb. The movie is beautiful. And the effects are perfect. It was 162 minutes but didnt drag at all. So those are all the pluses. On the minus category, it was very gory. One of the bloddiest movies I have seen in awhile. And not just the stylized bloodiness like Sin City, but actual gory bloodiness that I looked away fromt he screen for. Which isnt necessarily a bad thing, but it is a thing to mention. If you are not a blood and guts person, beware. The only actual problem I had with it was that, since I havent read it, I was awfully confused at times. I felt like there were some background points that I really wanted explained. I wanted to know a bit more about the Minutemen and why their were Watchmen to begin with. I wanted a clearer explanation of the changes in history/current events as they differ from what really happened. However, the movie is close to 3 hours, so I understand the need to forego some of the background. But I think a little more info-dump narrative even would have placated some of my questions maybe. And some of the background I am just interested in but wasnt really integral to the plot, like Rorschach's mask. But while watching the movie I didnt know if it was integral or not, like the cat, and so I kept thinking about it. But I dont want to give anything away. So there you go. I really really liked it. I like the story, I like that they are (mostly) like Batman ("real people") as opposed to Superman (not "real people"). I thought the movie itself and the acting was spectacular. I highly recommend it to anyone who isnt afraid of a bit of blood and guts and who is willing to suspend reality for awhile. It is a superhero movie, but with depth and plot.

So in other news, actual news. Things that caught my attention this morning and therefore I am bringing to yours. Firstly, in an effort to thaw "chilly relations" between Russia and the US, Hillary met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva earlier this month and presented him with a token of our willingness to "reset" our relationship - a small red button with the word "reset" written on it, in Russian. A cute little thing, maybe a little low on the dignified scale, but a gift to warm things up. Except the the button had "peregruzka" written on it, which means "overcharged." As opposed to "perezagruzka" which actually means "reset". Now the Foreign Minister and the Secretary took this all in stride and apparently the mistake was fixed and while the Russian media has poked a bit of fun at Clinton, and the US, its not like she accidentally declared war. But seriously. We dont have anyone in the state department who speaks Russian? Really?! Or no one with a decent English-Russian dictionary?! C'mon people! This coming just one day after the President and First Lady completely screwed up a gift giving session with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The Brown's presented the Obamas with

a pen holder fashioned from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.

AND

a framed commissioning paper for the HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. It is the sister ship of the HMS Gannet.

AND

a first edition of Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-Anglo alliance.

AND

for Sasha and Malia, Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, gave each an outfit from Topshop, a British chain of clothing stores, and selected six children's books by British authors which have yet to be published in the U.S.

And what did we give them? A "special collector's box" of DVDs of 25 Classic American movies. AND "toy helicopters modeled after Marine One" for their 2 boys. Now Gordon Brown is not like a particular movie buff or anything. And Marine One toys can be found in the White House gift shop. So what exactly were they thinking giving these to the Prime Minister of a country who has stodd by us through some of our stupidest recent blunders and who was the first guests the President has had? I have no idea, but someone needs a better shopper apparently. It isnt like there isnt anyone in Washington who knows how to give state gifts right?! And while this was barely reported in the US, a few other people took notice, and are not pleased at all.

And fianlly for my rant of the day: Pope visits Africa, reaffirms ban on condoms. Ugh.

More than 22 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with HIV, according to a 2008 UNAIDS/WHO report. Nine out of 10 children with HIV in the world live in the region, which has 11.4 million orphans because of AIDS, the report said, and 1.5 million people there died of the disease in 2007.

So yeah, the best idea is to go there and reaffirm that they are going to hell if they use artificial contraception. GRRR!!!!!!!!!!! But, on a positive note,

He has, however, assembled a panel of scientists and theologians to consider the narrow question of whether to allow condoms for married couples, one of whom has HIV

Though "it is still not clear how the pope will rule on the matter." So glad I am only a recovering Catholic.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ok, so first up, some pics from Dan's (apple cake, soda bread, Matty):







Sunday we got up (slowly) and went to Marathon for brunch. We were a little disappointed, for the first time really. Matty ordered gingerbread pancakes and got regular, possibly with chocolate chips. And my breakfast quesadilla was a bit lacking in veggies. Everything was very good, as always, but still. Just sayin'. Then we walked up to the Parkway for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Pics can be found here. This city loves a parade. A parade centered around a holiday best known (in this country) for drunken tomfoolery? They are in heaven. White trash, public drunkeness heaven. The parade itself I like. Lots of kilts and drums and bagpipes and step dancers and sweaters. The other parade watchers, not such a big fan. They are the biggest group of chain smoking, miller lite drinking (from plastic water bottles in many cases), disgusting people I have ever seen. They all show up for these things. They are hard up people. I dont know what it is, they are dirty and have bad manners and their kids are gross and they yell. A lot. Usually in an attempt to get free things. Usually things they have no chance to get. And they fucking LOVE Danny Bonaduce. Talk about a hard-up person. He was in the parade since he does a show on WYSP now.

Well anyway after the parade we stopped at Naked for a hot chocolate (for Matty) and a chocolate tea (for me). Then we stopped at DiBruno's for some dinner fixin's. We got turkey saltimbocca meatballs, roasted garlic and artichoke potato pancakes and broccoli rabe. And some Irish cheddar and a loaf of Sarcone's seeded bread. Mmmmmm! Everything was lovely. We had dinner while we watched Speed Racer. I was pretty pleasantly surprised. I went in expecting a complete disaster. But considering it is a movie, made by the Wachowski Brothers, based on a weird-ass Japanese cartoon about car racing; I was really impressed. It is very pretty and technically pretty cool. The amount of detail, especailly with the cars is remarkable and the plot, while not exactly complex, is enough to keep you interested between the races. I never watched the cartoon, so I have no idea how true it is to the story. But if you like cartoony-comic booky movies, cool car races, monkeys (sorry, chimps) or John Goodman (I love John Goodman myself) - I would recommend seeing it.

Last night we made Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas and Spanich Rice from Cooking Light (recipe follows) with Cuban Style Black Beans from Trader Joes. It was really really good. Would definitely make it again, with some changes (mentioned in recipe). It made enough for probably 4 dinners. I really really love the spanish rice. While eating we watched (finally) Sicko. Ok, now I am not going to get into the woes of our health care and insurance companies now. Hopefully I will have time to do a whole post on it, because I have a lot to say. And I know that Michael Moore does not present a fair and balanced story on any topic. But even if a quarter of the stuff in this movie is true, I just dont get how people aren't up in arms and revolting in the streets about this. Really. I am sure you have seen it if you want to see it. If you haven't and think that our health care system works and you think the evil's of SOCIALISM far outweigh the plight of the American people who can't afford their health care, dont see it, he isnt going to change your mind. If you think there is something wrong with our health care system and can deal with Moore's biases, see it.

Tonight we are going to go see Watchmen. So watch here for a review.

I am going to try putting recipes at the end of my posts so that you can just read them with my comments all at once. And then people who arent interested can skip all the discussion. Hope this works.

Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas (their pic on left, ours on right)

Sauce:
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used dried minced)
1 (10-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted (next time I might use cream of mushroom)
1 (8-ounce carton) fat-free sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained

Enchiladas:
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon garlic powder (again, I used dried minced)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
10 (6-inch) corn tortillas (I used 12)

Garnish:
1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomato (I just chopped up 1 plum tomato)
1/4 cup chopped green onion tops (I used half of an onion)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare sauce, combine first 4 ingredients; stir well.

To prepare enchiladas, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and jalapeño; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. (I added a little olive oil since it was pretty dry) Add mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic powder, cumin, salt, and spinach; cook 5 minutes or until heated. Combine spinach mixture and 1/4 cup cheese in a large bowl; stir to combine. (I mixed it in the skillet, one less dish to wash)

Spoon 1/2 cup sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Warm tortillas according to package directions. (We microwaved them under a damp paper towel for a minute) Spoon about 1/3 cup spinach mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place filled tortillas seam sides down in the baking dish. (This was pretty messy as many of the tortillas split) Spread remaining sauce evenly over tortillas; top with 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Top with tomato and green onion.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 2 enchiladas)

CALORIES 356 (26% from fat); FAT 10.2g (sat 5.6g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.3g); IRON 4.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 33mg; CALCIUM 475mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50.4g; SODIUM 874mg; PROTEIN 17.8g; FIBER 8g

Cooking Light, MAY 2002

Spanish Rice

Melt 2 teaspoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves (I used 3). Sauté 5 minutes. Stir in 1 1/4 cups long-grain white rice; sauté 1 minute. Add 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles and 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth. (We also added a 4.5 oz can of chopped green chilies, undrained due to a mis-reading of the recipe) Bring mixture to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.