Some days are all about food

A current local thread on Facebook asked what restaurants now gone people missed most--my gosh, you'd never know Fort Worth had so many defunct restaurants. There are currently over 625 comments on that thread (no I didn't count them--the original questioner announced that). I did respond early on, so now I get all future responses in my mailbox. Some are getting quite repetitive, and I've resisted the urge to add Papa Joe's on NW 28th St. to the list. It was a hole in the wall, and I doubt many remember it but it sure had good chicken fried steak. Salad was a wedge of lettuce and a bottle of French dressing on the table, and I never ate there without thinking the back room was a fire trap. It's long gone.
One person asked why there is always so much interest in food, and I appreciated the response someone else gave to the effect that food binds us together. We share our lives when we share food; we become family and community at meals.
As if to prove that, I had dinner tonight with two longtime dear friends. We were celebrating one's birthday--and instead of letting us pamper her she served an appetizer (Havarti and apple slices--I ate so much I wasn't hungry) followed by dinner at the restaurant of her choice--already full, I had a small plate of crab and salmon cake. And then back to her house for chocolate crème brulee. (I really meant not to eat dessert but since it was a birthday and it was chocolate....) We had a wonderful time talking about everything from ailments and doctors (we've reached that age) to travels and animals and careers. I am blessed to have such friends.
But today it seems food was the highlight of my day. It began with grocery shopping and a bit of thinking about menus for the week--a post on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen reminded me that my version of curried chicken salad would be good. Beyond that, I'll live on tuna and ham salad and eggs--and meals out.
Then a friend and I had lunch at George's Imported Foods, a Greek deli. I had a wonderful Greek turkey sandwich, which was turkey and good Greek salad in French bread (pita was a choice, but I'm just not a pita fan). So good especially because the bread soaks up that lemony dressing--and I brought half of it home.
I stepped on the scale this afternoon, and it reminded me that I need to have fewer days about food. Writing? Nope, didn't get any done. Yesterday, almost 3,000 words; today none. Not a disciplined way to write a novel.

Restaurant Impossible

I'm hooked on the Food Network, though I usualy watch and listen with one eye and one ear while doing something else. Last night I put aside everything for another episode of Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine's show in which he takes a failing restaurant and turns it around in 48 hours with $10,000. Irvine goes in and assesses food, ambiance, and service. At last night's restaurant, the cook ("I'm not a chef but I'm a good cook") used canned green beans, instant grits and frozen shelfish among other "garbage," as Irvine called it. He tossed it all out, gave cooking lessons, and a cooking test that resulted in a switch where a younger man became head cook and the original one, a line cook. He also demonstrated that where they were spending $10 on a large can of gravy, he could make it from scratch for $1 and it tasted much better.With the help of a design crew, he tore out an old red bar-top and replaced it with a wooden bar, painted over a huge mural, brought in new chairs and chair covers for existing chairs. Then he created a new menu and sent the wait staff home to study it. Next day they were tested on it; if they passed, they got a T-shirt and worked that night; one girl failed and was sent home to study. Questions such as "Describe the fried green tomatoes" needed a fuller answer than "They're fried green tomatoes." They were served with feta on a bed of--I forget what (guess I too need more study). As his last act, Irvine carefully targets a community segment--college students last night--and passes out samples. By the time the restaurant opens--and those last minutes are hectic--there is a long line waiting outside.
At the end of the show, there's an update on how the restaurant is doing: of the few I've watched, at least one closed in six months, but most were doing alright. Last night's restaurant, owned by two young novices, three months later, was on the right track but not doing gangbusters. This must be a humiliating experience for the owner and exsting staff, but it surely works miracles.
I've always had a bit of a restaurant itch, I suppose because I like to feed people. I could see myself serving the tea-room or deli food that I love--chicken and tuna salads, Cobb salad, maybe some things with smoked salmon and anchovies. But I well know the failure rate of restaurants, and I know I have no experience, so I scratched my itch for several years by working at The Star, a cafe on the North Side owned by my good friends Betty and Don Boles. They specialize in steak, chicken-fried steak, and burgers. Best chicken-fried steak I've ever eaten--burgers and steaks are good too. I really did love talking to the customers, but I tired of rolling silverware and eventually decided that restaurant work, like anything else, had its ups and downs. So I'm back to cooking at home.
Right now I'm baking chicken that I found on one of my favorite blogs--Mystery Lovers Kitchen. I seasoned two chicken thighs with cumin, salt, rosemary, and oregano. My house smells divine. After they're cooked I'll roll them in Parmesan, olive oil, salt and garlic salt and pop them back into the oven for a minute. I promise--I'll only eat one and save the other for tomorrow night. I love cold chicken!

Another lemon

Just when I was getting over yesterday's disappointment about my agent dropping me, another disappointment: U-Verse's contract with Food Network has expired, and when I clicked the channel where I usually get it I got a reality show about housewives. Not what I wanted at all. I've voiced as many complaints as I could.
Tonight the new neighbors (wonder when I'll stop using that adjective) came for supper--Meredith, Brannon, and two-year-old Abby. Jacob and Abby played together, and he was really a sweet good boy with the littler child. We had a killer cassereole of beef, noodles, and lots of stuff bad for you like sour cream, cheese, and Ritz crackers soaked in melted butter--thanks to Jenn Riley of Mystery Lovers Kitchen. After they left a bit after eight I did the dishes and went to look at Jacob who was watching a Star Wars DVD--only he was sound asleep. I slipped his jeans add pants off and was about to put a diaper on when he fell off the bed and woke up in full indignation, declared he was not asleep--his eyes were open. So I put pjs on him and dispensed with all othr night-time rituals. Tucked him in and figured he'd fall asleep again watching TV. It's apparently his night for abuse, since earlier we had watched a video of the friendship between a dog and a dolphin--and I went to get the keyboard out to thank the friend who sent it and soundly whacked Jacob in the cheek with the keyboard. Lots of tears, cries for Mommy, but then he spotted a new toy in the bookcase--I'd been thinking it might be his Christmas present, but it came in handy tonight to dry those tears.
Meredith and Brannon are fun--thirty years old, which makes them forty-two years younger than me, but I thoroughly enjoy their company. And Abby is sweet, quite mature for a two-year-old. So it was a pleasant evening.
Cold out these nights--porch weather didn't last long enough.

A blah day rescued by cooking

Woke up with the blahs this morning and a slight headache, both of which I attribute to the extreme humidity--it wasn't hot today but everytime you went out it felt like a sauna. To add insult to injury, I tried to open a new bottle of aspirin and could not for the life of me get the child-proof cap off. So when I went to the grocery I bought aspirin that said "Easy Open." Even lunch with Betty at the Black-Eyed Pea didn't get me totally out of the blahs, though it helped--we had the vegetable plate, which is some of the best comfort food I can think of. But a bit of work in the early afternoon and then a nap made me feel better. When I woke up it was raining and actually felt better outside. Rode my bike and had a dinner of leftover tuna/potato salad from last night.
And then I began cooking for my Sat. night Bill White kickoff party. Made bourbon hot dogs,which are always a hit--so easy. Just mix 2/3 c. bourbon, 2 c. ketchup, and 1/2 c. brown sugar; heat to melt the sugar. Meanwhle cut two or three packages of hot dogs into cubes about 1 inch apiece--I used three packages of bun size dogs and this is one t ime I don't insist on Hebrew National. Last time I made this, I set it to simmer and walked away--when I came back it was scorched. Had to throw away about half the hot dog bites and it took forever to clean the pan. So tonight I did it in the double boiler and stayed right there, making Megan's recipe for Texas caviar. Of course I discovered several essential things I didn't get at the store today, so I have to go back to two grocery stores tomorrow morning! And tomorrow night I plan to do more cooking, but I will have Jacob--we'll see how that works out:-)
I'm reading Avery Ames first mystery, The Long Quiche Goodbye, and liking it a lot. I've followed her excitement about publication on the blog, Mystery Lovers Kitchen, and on posts on the lists for Sisters in Crime and Agent Quest, so I was looking forward to it almost as much as she was. It's a good mystery, solidly in the cozy tradition--my cup of tea or, more appropriately in this case--my glass of wine. I am mightily impressed, as I have been on the blog, with her knowledge of cheeses and wines and pairing them. So guess what I'm going to do the rest of  the evening? You're right.
You'll notice, I hope, that I'm adding symbols to my blog--first the Story Circle Network Star Blogger symbol, which is bigger than I expected, and then a Sisters in Crime logo I got today, which is smaller than  wished. Oh well, variety is good.

Mr. Sunshine and a lazy, reading day

Jacob has had some rough days lately, working through something in his little head. But tonight he was Mr. Sunshine, cheery, playful and happy from the moment he walked in. He was excited about his new big boy bed, which he has laden with so many toys there's barely room for him. Periodically during the evening, he would disappear and go to his bed. He was reluctant to actually go to sleep tonight but we made a game (and a song of "Time to go to bed") and he went happily. I haven't looked to see if he's asleep, but I don't hear a peep on the monitor.
Some months ago I noticed that when I turned on my computer I got a picture on the remote monitor but not on the laptop, and I was used to having both. I asked Brandon, but he said it was hard to tell long distance. Not a big deal, since I could still see what I was doing on the remote, which is preferable. Tonight Jacob walked up to the laptop, said, "Your 'puter isn't working," and before I knew it gave it a whack! Guess what--I now have a picture on both screens.
Started the morning by meeting an out-of-town author for breakfast at the grill down the street from my house. Closed. He was waiting in the parking lot. So I said, "Follow me," and led the way to Carshon's deli, my mouth watering for lox and eggs. Closed. So I took him on one more drive (he later claimed he enjoyed the tour) and we ended at Ol' South, where he had a Dutch baby (Jamie's favorite) and I had--oh, splurge!--a blueberry waffle. I'm afraid to count my points for the day, though I had tuna salad and just a bit of potato salad for lunch and for dinner, sauteed scallops, tomatoes and sliced mushrooms--and didn't eat it all. I felt sort of efficient as I fixed two entirely different suppers in about 25 minutes--blueberries, cheese toast, cottage cheese, and green peas for Mr. Sunshine, and my saute plus a bit of reheated squash casserole. Jacob ate all but the cheese toast--apparently his mom doesn't cut it into strips and he wasn't willing to try when I did. I relented anyway and gave him a treat--a half piece of chocolate-banana bread Elizabeth had brought. Forgot how much mess a three-year-old can make with chocolate. He insists now on cleaning himself up, so it's sort of a half-job.
Between breakfast, Barnes & Noble, and the grocery store, I spent the day reading and napping. Lovely. I finished Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert and have started The Bordeaux Betrayal by Ellen Crosby. Tomorrow night watch for my guest blog at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. I was scheduled to be a guest later in the fall but they had an emergency, a guest blogger they couldn't find, so at 5:00 I saw an email asking if I could do it by 10:00 (which I think is 9:00 our time). Jacob cooperated beautiully, sitting in my office while I answered the blog questions, so I sent it off by six o'clock.