All the precincts have reported. Trail Baboon readers voted yesterday on the true identity of a mystery commenter. Every chad has been accounted for and the people have spoken about the widely quoted speaker who explained herself on our blog.
“Jessie Gugig” is, in fact, Jessie Gugig.
She got 46.2% of the vote, so now she has officially become herself.
That’s also more than enough to be elected president of the U.S. or even Governor of Minnesota, as suggested by DanT.
“Other” was a distant second in the commenter ID balloting, followed by Jesse Ventura and Jesse James, two outlaws tied for third. Each of those Jesses would find the other fascinating, I believe. And both would respect Jessie Gugig for her sharp wit and a tenacious defense of her public image.
I admit to being skeptical at first when the age 15 wunderkind appeared as a commenter on our blog to verify that the Times reporter who heard her say about the espionage suspects next door, “They couldn’t have been spies. Look what she did with the hydrangeas,” considered this statement to be “the money quote” of the story. Of course.
Jessie and the adults around her got busy when the story appeared online. The reporter misspelled Jessie’s name and the way the quote was used made her look like more clueless than clever. Jessie and her grandmother have described their efforts in blog comments over the past two days.
Here’s part of a late one from Wednesday that you may have missed. It came from Jessie’s grandmother.
First of all, yes indeed it was the real Jessie who posted that note to the group. Second, you are the only group or news outlet she’s responded to. Third, she is brilliant, funny, and a voracious reader. She needed no help at all to come up with the word “Glasnost.” In fact, Monday night when her teenage angst was about a 6 on the Richter scale, she kept using the word “vapid.” OMG = my BFF’s will know I was kidding, but everyone else is going to think I’m vapid!!!! Thus, the Newspaper of Record was persuaded to revise the original version. It was helpful that her mother is a lawyer and pointed out to the editor that he’d quoted a minor and used her name (not spelled correctly in the first version that went to print) without asking permission.
And finally, all of us who love her are doing Internet searches to see how many times she’s been mentioned in connection with the nest of suburban spies living in her neighborhood. On Monday night, there were just 6 references Now there are thousands, including one from Vietnam and at least one from Germany. All the writing unintelligible to us, except the words “Jessie Gugig” It’s a cheap shot that’s being heard around the world and we are beyond proud of her. We found your delicious group by a simple search.
So yes, I believe.
A salute to Jessie for being so bright and for standing up for herself, and hats off to the Babooners for having a discussion so civilized that Jessie would feel comfortable joining in.
Have you ever been misquoted, or quoted out of context?
Trail Baboon 
Misquoted? All the time. The teenager comes up with something every other day that she says I’ve “promised” to do!
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Really? You, too? I can’t believe all the things I’ve promised that I have no memory of ever saying!
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An astonished good morning to all.
I was certain some one was being clever and making a comment using Jessie’s name, but I was wrong and now we have a comment from her Grandmother. This is amazing.
I have a story of being misquoted when I was a volunteer in Bulgaria. My translator took the oportunity to modify what I said to a reporter during an interview.
I could tell that he was saying more than I said and he told me about it after the interview. I don’t remember the exact details, but I know I approved of what he did.
The translator and I became friends and he had a sense of humor and the absurd that you some times find in Bulgaria. A typical Bulgarian joke is: If a group of Bulgarians are trapped in a deep hole and one of them is able to get part way out of the hole the other Bulgarians will pull him back into the hole.
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Dale has the same problem the avant garde comedian Andy Kaufman had. He has pulled so many legs over the years that nobody will ever be sure he is being serious. A lot of folks went to Kaufman’s funeral fully expecting him to leap up from his casket. So Jessie is/was the real Jessie? I see we have Vladimir Putin vouching for her, so it must be so.
I can only thing of one time I was misquoted. I had a civil service type of job at the University of MN working as an editor for a public relations magazine. My boss–and I’d LOVE to describe her in detail, but that path leads to lawsuits and all sorts of inappropriate stories–insisted that I had lied to get my job. We had an ugly discussion. It seemed to me that to argue “I never wanted this job enough to lie to get it” would not advance my position. She fired me for refusing to sign a paper admitting that I had lied. It didn’t seem fair at the time, but maybe it was a small price to get her out of my life 🙂
Hey, Babooners, it is Friday morning in my Saint Paul computer room. We’ve all survived an interesting week. I look forward to a weekend of good food, carousels and cabin time. Y’all be good to yourselves!
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Wow!!
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Rise and Sunshine Babooners!
Another beautiful summer day–I’m anticipating the holiday, because, I GET TO STAY HOME.
Have I ever been misquoted? It’s a constant state. Many of you know I earn a living as a psychotherapist. Chunks of my career have been spent working with chemically dependent adolescents and adults. I can’t even count the times kids and adults, when called on the carpet, have defended an indefensible action with “Jacque said….” This frequently results in angry phone messages from parents and other family members wondering how I could be such an idiot.
Do I really believe he was just keeping the bong for his friend? (no)
Is vodka really good for social anxiety? (not if you are alcohol dependent and it is not a viable long term strategy)
Did I really say he should take his friend’s ritallin? (well, of course not)
I’ve learned several strategies to deal with this at this late stage in my career: warning them up front not to take my name in vain, setting the parties down in front of me and discussing what I said, getting information releases to parents so they can ask me what I said.
I enjoy this blog because of the rampant creativity of the participants and the Baboonish Blogmeister. I love teenagers because their unfettered brains are so creative. But the creative misquotes get on my nerves.
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OH, and I think if we don’t do a recipe blog for all the recipes appearing here, we will lose them. And alot of them look good enough to try over the weekend. My husband will LOVE Steve’s PSU’s.
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I’ll bet you have to deal cautiously with misquotes, Jacque. Goes with the territory, I suppose.
I was sorry we didn’t pick up a new recipe last night. I can easily dish up several dozen, but I want to hear what other folks have to say. Vladimir should have left us a good borscht recipe, maybe, but we have to excuse him as he is a newbie.
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Oh, but we did! tim, ever the good host, pitched in with a fine recipe for borscht, since we can only ask so much of a busy man like Mr. Putin.
He has asked me if there is a good vegetarian version, and of course, there is, but it isn’t recipe time just yet.
Myself, I am an improvisational cook. Look at the recipe, look at what is in the pantry, fridge, freezer and garden and start to riff on the original. Sooner or later, everything becomes a basic formula in my kitchen.
Did that with the southwestern salad with a result that had the s&h asking where the leftovers were. I think I may be riffing on this one all summer.
I lived on the East Coast for a good long while, and am still impressed that someone from Montclair deigns to join in on a blog based out of flyover land.
Still looking for that vareniki recipe, Mr. Putin-if you are too busy, maybe Mrs. Clyde has something up her sleeve (perogies would be welcome too).
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My wife is half Russian but she was raised by the Svenske/Norske half and knows little /Russian cooking. Knows Russian foods, just not how to cook them. She wishes it were otherwise. Makes poppy seed bread and that’s about it. She was scorned by the Russians for having gone to the Lutheran church (primarily because he father never drove her over to church and her mother could not drive–severe arthritis). Her Russian grandmother only spoke Russian so was not in a position to teach her.
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Great idea Jacque.
I am looking into setting up a separate blog to collect recipes mentioned here.
We’ll call it Kitchen Congress!
Find it at http://kitchencongress.wordpress.com.
My goal is to have a link on the Trail Baboon page, off to the side somewhere.
If I can manage that, I’ll do the same for Blevins’ Book Club.
Perhaps I’ll make some progress once the 20 year old in my house wakes up!
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I believe I managed to do something technical without help.
Links to Blevins’ Book Club and Kitchen Congress should now appear in the upper right hand corner of the page each time it opens.
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Last night we harvested some lettuce from the garden, and used a German-Russian cream dressing that is very popular out here on the newest, most delicate greens that get picked. Here’s the recipe:
To 1/2 c. of heavy cream add 1 T of sugar, 1/2 t. salt, and 1/2 t. celery seed. Add 3 T vinegar slowly, beating constantly.
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we’ll talk again about noon
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Then we should publish–The Baboon cooks Tonight or Let’s Cook Baboon Tonight
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Booners Who Cook?
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i think we will see this one grow exponentially. renee get your german russian cream dressing on the new websight.
i love the baboon cooks tonight clyde
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How do transfer recipes to Kitchen Congress?
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Catherine: Ditto to how you cook. I learned mostly from my Grandma, and some from my mother. Grandma was a great one for here’s the basic, then a little of this and al ittle of that. I put together a family cookbook with her “heirloom recipes.”
A quote from Grandma (who lived on a dairy farm) “Everything tastes better with a cup of sugar and a cup of cream.”
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Renee, I grew up on that salad, known as salat in my German family. The cream soured by vinegar is the dead giveaway to the Germans in Russia.
I’ve discovered through census records a great-grandmother was most likely of that origin, but clues were in the food all along.
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The dressing is for the earliest produce from the garden. I can imagine immigrants tasting that salad and dressing when provisions were scarce after a long winter and thinking to themselves “Well, we’re not going to starve yet, and life is good.”
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That was the summer salad of my childhood as well. This year, it comes with a garnish of nostalgia, as I negotiate the first months without my parents.
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Brilliant use of the word congress. Looking forward to our recipe exchange! Dale don’t hold your breath on the 20 year old. My college-age niece has set new records on sleeping in on breaks.
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Thank you, thank you for the blog!
Good luck with the 20 year old. I had one (as in my son) living with me 8 years ago and it was, um, frustrating. My sweet, level-headed husband once intervened as I started packing his things to throw him into the street. 20 is the new 14.
For awhile I referred to our home as “Jacque’s home for wayward young men” because I also had two nephews of similar ages living here in the past 8 years. All I can say is that this is not an effective age and I can see why, for some, the military might be a good idea. Except they carry guns, and I could not see any evidence of good judgment in any one of the three at age 20. Hope your 20 year old is thriving and proving my comments wrong.
By-the-way, all three young men, in their late 20’s, are now thriving.
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I have worked in several pretty big-name costume shops in my day, and sooner or later, the press shows up to do a story on “behind the scenes”. We all hate when that happens, because it is invariable when we are trying desparately to finish a show, and we all know that the story we end up seeing in the paper is going to make us howl.
Still, we put an already done piece on a dress form, thread a needle and make it look like we are putting on those dainty little finishing touches.
My favorite misquote happened on a production of, I think, Our Town. The shop manager told the reporter that the designer had used a vintage Sears and Roebuck as inspiration for the designs. What showed up in the paper was “the costumes came from Sears and Roebuck”. Had we only known about the special “old fashioned” catalog they must put out, we could have all had longer lunch hours and gotten more sleep.
Jacque, would not want your responsibilities for the world. Good on you for doing it.
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I’ll bet many costume designers wish there was a catalog they could just order from. I worked a short while in the costume shop at the U of MN Theatre Dept and it was a fun experience. Really loved the huge room of costumes from past productions — a little girl’s dress-up room on steroids! In college I owned a few vintage dresses that I loved. Unusual designs and fabrics and they fit me like a dream when I was tall and thin.
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Good morning all. I will add my, “yeah, pretty sure I’ve been misquoted” to the pile – though a specific circumstance does not come to mind. Too early in the morning, too many other things happened during the week for me to keep track. (Wasn’t it three weeks ago on Monday?…)
Happy and safe weekend to all.
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Ex-teacher/coach/pastor–Have I been misquoted? As silly a question as for Jacue, just not as dangerous or virulent an issue for me. My wife and I are both deaf and have memory isses like anyone 70 and 65. We both constantly misquote each other.
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are you and your wife deaf like sign language deaf or loosing your hearing to the point you speak in loud voices and say huh a lot?
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No sign language for sure. Plus one of the strange things about this is that as your hearing degrades you speak more softly, when by all logic you wouls speak more loudly. It’s mostly a funny situation except every now and then we miss an appointment otsomething.
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it is interesting what you become accustomed to isn’t it.
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Aging can be summed up as “getting accustomed to it.”
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i am misquoted all the time . my problem is i dont remember saying it at all so i cant get back to the original quote. my wife helps me remember what i said and is the source of a number of my misquotes. i have employees remember misquotes all the time to the point i have printed instructions to b certain they get put in a form that can be referenced.
the first lesson i learned in doing business overseas is to never ask a question that can be answered yes. instead of asking can you make it red you ask what other colors can it be made in so the word red comes out of their mouth and they remember that they said it could be done. instead of can you do it by july 10th for 2 dollars you ask when can it be done and how much. seems simple but the consequences for assuming the understanding is there otherwise is a real wake up call. i am sure this happens in everyday conversation all the time too but goes unchecked. the problem is not in what i said or in what you thought i said. the problem is in what i thought you thought i said.
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Tim, that tip you offer is brilliant, and I don’t want to let it slide past. “Never ask a question that can be answered yes.” I think we can expand that a bit. When you are in negotiations with anyone, be reluctant to spell out what you want from them. Instead, ask what they can do, what they are most comfortable doing.
Example: if you are shopping for a springer spaniel puppy that is mellow and affectionate, do NOT contact springer breeders with a description of what you want, asking then if they can provide it. Instead, ask them to describe their dogs. If you don’t hear “mellow” early on, that probably isn’t your best bet. People naturally want to agree to do what you want them to do, and they hate to admit that what you want would be a real stretch.
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bingo
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Dale, your work on the story about Jessie is very remarkable and an example of the very interesting things you find and present here. How did you find out that the Times made the change in the quote from Jessie and then figure out that Jessie had been misrepresented as not too bright, but actually she did a great job of coming up with a comment?
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Hi Jim,
I read the earliest version of the Times story and laughed out loud at Jessie’s quote because I thought it was funny and also dumb.
A few hours later I decided to write about it and re-visited the story, only to find the changed text. That cleared things up for me. The comment was still funny, but now it was dumb in a sly way, rather than being just plain dumb.
The change mattered. Good for Jessie and her family for pushing to have the paper print it correctly.
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I saw last Sunday’s Times, and there was a picture of Jerry Mather in one section. That’s what gave me the notion that you read the NYT pretty regularly.
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Well, Dale, I guess you found out about the change made in the story sort of by accident and then were able to figure out what was going on. When I guess about something like that I am usually told I am being silly. It is great that you found a way to write about it and then even greater that Jessie confirmed and appreciated what you discovered.
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Constantly. My Mom and my Sister love to sprinkle past events with a healthy dose of hyperbole in order to make a story better than it would be. It’s like ‘fiction Miracle-Gro.’
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Another quote ot add to my blog–fictional miracle gro.
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good adder
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Working on a pulp fiction short story for an anthology.
“He looked at her with the stunned disbelief of a four-year old at a ‘Santa’s Not Real’ convention.”
Thought it was fun.
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I am more frequently misconstrued rather than misquoted. This statement leads me to ask the assembled congress,”If you can be miscontrued, can you also be construed?”
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I find that question too couth to answer.
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Perhaps in this day of enlightened thinking we should write it “ms.construed”?
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And if you can be disheveled, can you be heveled?
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Before leaving for my Grandpa’s funeral, one of my brothers came walking into the kitchen. My Dad said, “Geez, you look impeccable.” I immediately responded, “Oh, I don’t know…he looks pretty peccable to me.” I got a high-five from my other brother.
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I’ve said the same thing but nobody got it.
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My July 4th will be spent driving daughter to The International Peace Gardens in the Turtle Mountains to attend International Music Camp. Its a 10 hour round trip. She’s going for a week of musical theater experience. I don’t know if she will run into Goatlock or Lupine or anyone else from that confusing tale, but I’m warning her to stay away from moose and turtles. On the other hand, perhaps I should warn her to stay away from the boys who are up at the camp for the week of garage band experience. I get to leave her there, at least, so we will have a quiet week at home without her.
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They offer garage band experience at a fancy music camp? Don’t tell my 15-yr old and his buddies! He just bought his own drum set (ouch). Ben and band manager are both A students and very talented. I just wish Ben had stayed with playing flute and keyboards — he was a beautiful flute player.
Enjoy your week at home without daughter — I know it’s hard, but it can be done!
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The garage band week is very popular. They also offer orchestra, band, choir, acappella singing, hand bells, photographpy, ballet, and visual arts. Kids come from the US, Canada, and Europe, especially Austria and Switzerland.
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get him some jethro tull to listen to
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what a nice way to start the day. have a good 4th all. i will be checking back
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The Washington Post shared this old chestnut again this week…Lots of room for misquoting here.
Part of American political lore is the Smathers “redneck speech,” which Smathers reportedly delivered to a poorly educated audience. The “speech” was never given; it was a hoax dreamed up by one reporter. Smathers did not say, as was reported in Time Magazine during the campaign:
Are you aware that Claude Pepper is known all over Washington as a shameless extrovert? Not only that, but this man is reliably reported to practice nepotism with his sister-in-law, and he has a sister who was once a thespian in wicked New York. Worst of all, it is an established fact that Mr. Pepper, before his marriage, habitually practiced celibacy.
The Smathers campaign denied his having made the speech, as did the reporters who covered his campaign, but the hoax followed Smathers to his death.
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having a hard time laughing and typing at the same time -hahahaha!
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Ditto
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Nor sure how I add a recipe to the KitchenCongress (Oh, just figured out why it’s KitchenCONGRESS–clever, Dale). Here is a simple recipe I adapted from a restaurant, now closed, on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.
Ingredients
Fresh tomatoes
Large onion
Richly flavored dark bread
Black olives, cut up
Olive oil
Feta cheese
Balsamic vinegar
Directions
Slice onions and tomatoes; soak in balsamic vinegar for one to two hours. Place feta cheese, olives, and soaked tomatoes and onions between two slices of bread. Drizzle olive oil in 300 degree frying pan. Fry sandwiches on both sides until dark like toasted cheese sandwiches. you can panini it but I prefer not to.
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I’m thinking that adding recipes to Kitchen Congress is something that should go through me. I can set each one up as a separate entry with category markers for the type of dish it is, and tag on each for the name of the person who submitted it. This will help us find recipes that we like once the site is populated with too many to take in at a glance.
When I see a recipe in the comments for Trail Baboon, I’ll simply transfer it over to KC. Does that make sense? If not, I’m open to a better plan …
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Bingo, if you have the time, and I sort of hope you don’t . . .
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I like that idea if you’re open to it. Less confusing.
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Yes. But Dale, when it comes to food and recipes you cannot continue to maintain your stance of “detached bemusement.” You must also contribute recipe and sample the goods, then comment. Food is a fully participatory and glorious wonder. No detachment allowed.
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Consarnit! this here newfangled technology is driving me to distraction.
My new icon, if she still shows up, is our chief of homeland security. Fearless of even the biggest dog, as long as it isn’t between her and our very large spruce. Photo courtesy of the s&h, pose courtesy of the RTS (rotten thieving squirrel) she is staking out (we have his picture too).
A long way around to get to:
The Friday Morning Cream Scone Formula
(one family’s rut is another’s cherished tradition)
2 c flour (feel free to switch out some of the white stuff for something with some nutritional value, but I recommend at least half be the white stuff)
up to 1/4c sugar
1T baking powder (does aluminum really have a role in Alzheimer’s or is that just a lab artifact?)
1/2 t salt (leave it out if you must, but this little amount only serves to enhance the other flavors)
1 1/4 c heavy cream (it is what it is-we like to use a brand that comes from cows and farmers we have met, but if you are not so lucky, your scones can still be a source of joy)
Mix together the dry ingredients (Clyde’s daughter will have done this the night before), pour in the cream, mix together until all are unified and not one stir more, past the golden moment, the more you push it around, the tougher they will be. Toughness, while a virtue in some situations, is to be avoided in scones. Shape into a flattened circle and cut into 1/8 wedges (the purchase of a bench scraper has been a lovely addition to my kitchen both for the final mixing and the cutting-if you don’t know what a bench scraper is, google it-are you a baboon or aren’t you?).
Put on a baking sheet (I like my silicon liner for sheer easiness-remember, I do this every Friday before work/school-well, almost every). Bake at 425 for about 12-15 minutes, or until golden.
It’s always a nicety to top these off with a brushing of milk and a sprinkle of something. Or just shake on a bit of sugar if getting out the pastry brush does not fit your lifestyle. Know thyself.
Never in my life have I made these plain. I throw in all sorts of things depending on what we have or are in the mood for-
Here is a little list to get you started:
1/2 c dried fruit or not so dried fruit
1 t grated orange zest
grated cheese
chocolate or other flavored chips
nuts
crystallized ginger (paired with lemon zest is a big favorite)
sun-dried tomatoes
chopped rhubarb
herbs and or spices (start with 1t dry/1T fresh and see what that does for you)
Once you are feeling pretty confident about what good scone dough feels and looks like, you can really start messing about and adjusting your wet and dry ingredients to compensate for the addition of:
Cooked grains (oatmeal, cornmeal mush-never tried wild rice, but may have to this winter)
baked pumpkin/squash
a banana whose time has come
really juicy berries or fruit
I had a very excellent scone made by the pastry chef at my workplace that was goat’s cheese and walnut with a bit of parmesan on top-pure heaven.
So-take chances, make mistakes, get messy (bonus points for the reference)
The spendiest thing in here is the cream-and a bad scone is still superior to a good bowl of cold cereal-worst case scenario, you may be feeding the birds.
As far as “are these healthy for you?”-moderation in all things. If a warm scone in the morning or with your soup makes you smile, you’ve done a good thing.
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Catherine – reading your poetic and loving recipe for scones just makes me want to hug you! So, where did you say you lived — just in case I feel up to a drive on a Friday morning? I don’t normally do breads unless I can throw everything in a bread machine, but I might have to try this one.
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And just for the record, there are non-aluminum varieties of baking power in natural foods/health food stores. Also, using a balanced sea salt is far better for you than the industrial by-product, stripped down sodium chloride found in most table salt. Gray Celtic salt or Himalayan Crystal Pink salt are both superb with a wide array of trace minerals.
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Catherine, there is non-aluminum baking powder. I don’t know about alzheimers, but the non-aluminum baking powder tastes better.
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Thanks for the info about the baking powder. I do have easy access to the non-aluminated kind and sometimes I do get it. There is no real, hard evidence that aluminum is linked to Alzheimer’s. Awhile back, that was the “latest” and people tossed all their aluminum cookware in fear. It now turns out that that research may have been the result of contaminated lab slides. Before I was a costumer, I was a pre-med-contaminated lab slides sound as plausible to me as anything else.
What I was trying to say is that we all need to make the choices that work for where we are at any given moment. Those choices also change as we go through life.
When I lived in DC, I walked at least 4 miles each day to get to and from work and was on my feet and running up and down stairs for at least 8 hours a day. I often lived on tortilla chips, con queso dip and Guinness. Now I mostly sit at a desk and drive, not to mention I am now a mom-my diet has changed a bit.
I was thinner on the Guinness diet.
As Dale points out, baboons are omnivores-enjoy your omni, whatever that means to you!
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I have to say, this recipe made me start to drool. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks Clyde!! And thanks Dale, for setting up another blog 🙂 I love new recipes!
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This is really OT, but my son just showed me a classified ad in the Fargo Forum from a lion tamer seeking to buy 3 trainable lions. How do you tell the difference between the trainable and the untrainable?
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Renee — that’s like the advice I keep reading in recipes that want me to heat my oil until just before it smokes. How do I know unless it begins to smoke? The untrainable lion is the one sitting there with your dismembered leg in its mouth. That’s probably not the lion you want to train more.
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I see our Trail Trekkers are in fine fettle today. See you all later. I must now facilitate a group.
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Timing Toast
There’s an art to do it.
Never try to guess.
Toast until it smokes,
Then 20 second less.
Pier Hein
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In your honor, Jacque, I will hold a group session by myself.
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Hope the session went well. It is when you answer yourself, then argue, that you KNOW you are in deep water.
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I’ve done that… it wasn’t pretty.
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i always heard it is ok to talk to yourself, it is even ok to argue with yourself. the concerns begin when you start losing the arguments!
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I am wondering why all of you are talking about mosquitoes? – I guess it’s the season for them – they are so irritating and can make life so dang complicated, etc.
In Seattle, where there are no mosquitoes, having a beautiful tan is a status symbol because of the persistent presence of rain. In 1961 we had a marvelous summer – tons of sunny days and outside play. I turned 9 years old that May; my next oldest sister, Margie – a very fair skinned redhead- is not quite two years older than me and had a birthday coming in August of that beautiful summer. An older relative stopped by the house to visit, caught sight of Margie and commented, “Wow, Margie! You’re sure proof that we’ve had a sunny summer because you are almost tan!” I misheard that statement, and indignantly misquoted, “TEN? She’s almost eleven!” Of course, I got laughed out of the kitchen, but from that point forward we referred to anyone with a ‘good tan’ as someone who had ‘an eleven’.
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That was clever, clamn dever to quote Joyce, too clever for me. It took me a bit to cathc it. more than a bit actually.
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Greetings! I’m not so sure about misquotes, but I am very guilty of selective hearing. As the quiet one in a large family, I acquired the ability to block out most nonsense so I could read book after book. So you all just … carry on while I continue reading.
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What you want to do Joanne is to tune into us just up to the point where we begin to make sense, like the cooking oil that smokes, and then dial it down a notch so you can carry on with your reading.
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Hee Hee!!
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It smokes, but does it inhale?
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Very clever, the bunch of you. Thanks for advice, Steve. Much like my family, you guys are all too funny and wonderful to ignore.
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So that would a smoking pot?
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Smoking pot? Sure! That’s why Dale will call it the Kitchen on Grass blog.
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Dale says he is going to categorize the recipes: two thoughts.
1. We should each suggest music to listen to when eating the dish. For my dish above I would suggest Dave Brubeck, such as “Take Five.”
2. We could suggest categories. My daughter-in-law-to-be would do it by colors. My wife would do it by who submitted it (how she does her recipes). I would just leave them a mess.
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Fun ideas, Clyde. Just so somebody organizes them. I have a recipe collection (stuff not in cookbooks) that’s all just stuffed in a 3-ring binder. Hand-written, internet print-outs, pages from magazines, etc. The very fact that they’re 3-hole punched and IN the binder was as far as I got. I usually remember a recipe by where it is in the stack and what the page looks like.
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My daughter, someone else’s child, has them all organized on cards and also in her computer cross-referenced. Make me ashamed of her.
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Golly — that’s just … sick! Surely there’s a mental disorder for folks that hyper-organized (actually, I’m just jealous). Although, I just read an article that there’s now a mental disorder for people concerned with eating healthfully. Here’s the link http://www.naturalnews.com/029098_orthorexia_mental_disorder.html Renee, Jacque and other therapists might want to skip this, however. Mike Adams, aka The Health Ranger, is my hero — but he’s opinionated, funny and considered extreme by some, and he has no love or respect for the medical or psychiatric communities. It’s a scathing article that you might find insulting. Just FYI …
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My daughter used to have a T-shirt that said “Is Anal-Rententive hyphenated?”
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Joanne — I suppose anecdotal evidence doesn’t count for a lot here. Last year, desperate for a new income stream, I rented out rooms in my bungalow. The wife of the renting couple was obsessed with organic food and cooking with the purest ingredients. She was also nuttier than a fruitcake.
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Steve – hope you’re not implying that folks who are into organic and pure foods are nutty. If I could afford all organic, I would. Mike Adams made the point that making a mental disorder out of wanting to eat healthfully was absurd. But I agree, there are extreme cases where people obsess over it, and that’s counterproductive. Eating healthy should be simple, but what’s considered normal food these days is processed and unnatural, so it’s considered abnormal to be concerned with everything you consume. I struggle with loving the foods we all grew up on and trying to eat a healthy and pure array of natural foods. One day I’ll have pizza and the next I’ll eat all raw salads and exotic superfoods. Well, case closed … I am nutty. Thanks for listening while I sort this out between my selves!
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madislandgirl – welcome. I’ve got it too – I alphabetize my spices (2 shelves actually, spices and herbs are different), and organize that 3 ring binder by type of food (meats, veggies, desserts, grains…).
I agree, Joanne – I love Michael Pollan’s philosophy, the 3 points:
– eat food (rather than artificial food)
– mostly plants (and I’m not a vegetarian)
– not too much
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Sorry for the confusion. Madislandgirl is me in the cyber-fiber world.
Been thinking of switching over here as well so Catherine can just be herself and not not me.
It’s movie, pizza and root beer night at our cookstove-might check in later.
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I used to go home from college and alphabetize my mother’s spice rack. She mocked me unmercifully for it. Also for my tendency to persuade her to make the recipe JUST ONCE the way it said….
I’ll get in line to offer Chocolate Chip Date Cake, which is adored by date lovers and loathers alike.
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for the record, I alphabetize my spices, but almost never follow a recipe exactly-certain baked goods are an exception, because there is just too much chemistry involved.
I’ll try to get the Friday morning scone formula over onto the Congressional sight.
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madislandgirl – welcome. I’ve got it too – I alphabetize my spices (2 shelves actually, spices and herbs are different), and organize that 3 ring binder by type of food (meats, veggies, desserts, grains…).
(I accidentally posted this first in the wrong place.)
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madislandgirl – good to hear from a new blogger on this lovely holiday weekend! I’m not like you guys — I have to follow a recipe. I’m just not confident in the kitchen. All those recipes that say 30 minutes to prepare?! Nope … takes me 45-60 minutes. When I’m unsure, that perfectionistic streak takes over so I won’t screw up dinner!
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madisland girl has the same icon as catherine. Hmmmm…..
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Hello TB’rs,
This week my life was taken over by a house guest who ran me ragged – shopping, cooking, baking, eating and talking (when we weren’t chewing) and consequently my precious blog time was sadly compromised. I would have thrown the bastard out, but she’s my daughter and I’m counting on her financial support when I’m old and am a burden to her.
BUT – what a profound week to lurk! I got to see Dale as a youngster (way cuter than the Beav, Dale), celebrated for Joanne with her son home, and rejoiced for Clyde’s excellent news from his doctor. And on top of that – the crazy spy ring story and postings right here on Trail Baboon from the actual Jessie and her grandmother. Was inspired to watch The Manchurian Candidate last night (original one) and I’m proud to report I stayed awake for most of it. Freaky!!
The recipe share sounds fun – I’ll submit Texas Caviar later today if I get a chance. I don’t see myself participating in the book club since I already know how to read. I’d be all about a club that would teach me how to tango or toilet train my cat though.
Have a terrific 4th, kids!
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Is this the one from africa?
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The one from St. Paul who’s the HS English teacher.
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Donna – glad that you can join the fray once more! Dear Husband always said that he expects our children to support us in our old age “in a manner to which we are not accustomed.”
I didn’t join a club, but in the month of June I did take salsa dancing lessons for the first time. (Told a friend I was going to take salsa lessons and she said she had always wanted to learn how to make salsa. Proceeded to clarify my statement) Almost didn’t survive the first night – was in a puddle of perspiration by the end of the two hour class; instructior hadn’t even broken a sweat. It was great fun, though!
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Donna we missed you! I thought you were Jessie before she convinced me otherwise.
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Uffda meg, be out of touch with this thing for a coupla days and look what happens. You’re all off another tangent so complicated…I just tried to explain to Husband but no luck, so will google the original times story! Wonder if we’ll ever hear from Jessie and Susan again – hope so, seem like interesting additions to the group.
1. Just spent 2 + days with Large, Extended, Half Dysfunctional Family, where I’ve been misunderstood plenty of times, but nothing you want to hear about.
2. Congrats Clyde on the Benign news. (Another definition is: “what you are after you be eight.”) 🙂
3. We have a new word that Webster’s probably doesn’t know about: DELURK, as in Catnerine’s “Nice of you to delurk, Connie.”
4. And Clyde, re: this sentence “Makes poppy seed bread and that’s about it.”
I hope to see that poppy seed bread recipe some time…
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5. So glad to see the Book club and Baboon recipe links, thanks Dale!
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Dale, I just checked my MS word files, and I had saved these recipes from Renee postings in May:
Renee’s Hot Fudge Sauce
The hot fudge sauce has 1/2 c. heavy cream, 3T butter, 1/3 c of brown sugar, 1/3 c of granulated sugar, pinch of salt, and 1/2 c. Dutch process cocoa. Melt the butter in the cream on low heat, add the sugars and salt, and stir until dissolved, remove from heat and add cocoa. It’s a recipe from Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Chocolate Desserts.
(don’t know what date she posted this…)
————————————————————-
Renee’s French Bread
7 t. yeast (I use SAF gold)
4 c. lukewarm water
1t. sugar
Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. Let proof 10 minutes.
10 -11 c. flour ( I use 7 c. Swany White to 3-4 c. King Arthur Bread flour)
4t. salt
Add 4 c. of the flour and the salt to the yeast mixture and beat for 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the flour. This is a sticky dough. Don’t add too much flour. Knead for 8-10 minutes. Let rise in a greased bowl for 2 hours. Punch down. Let rise for another hour. Form into 3 or 4 torpedo shaped loaves. Let rise for 30 minutes. Slash loaves with a razor or serrated knife. Brush with a mixture of one egg white beaten with a pinch of salt and 1t. water. I bake on a pizza stone that has been preheating for 30 minutes in a 425 oven. Once you have the loaves in the oven, throw 1/2 c. of water on the side of the oven to make steam. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until 190 degrees inside. Let cool if you can. You can halve this recipe and make two loaves. The Swany white flour makes such a great tasting bread.
Posted by Renee | May 31, 2010 6:28 PM
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Thanks so much for remembering these, Barbara! Goodness, this is a very long afternoon at work and I really want to be home. Oh well, only two hours left.
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Texas Caviar
1 can black eyed peas, 1 can black beans, 1 cup hominy.
*You may substitute white corn, pinto beans or any other kind — just so you end up with 3 cans. You may also use dried beans and soak them overnight first, but that’s just for rich people who hate themselves. (I stole that line from Baby Mama)
2 med. tomatoes, chopped
6 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 med green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 (8 oz.) bottle Italian salad dressing
Combine all ingredients except salad dressing; mix well. Pour dressing over mixture and stir. Cover and marinate at least 3 hrs. in fridge. Drain and serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 7 cups.
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Be sure to drain the canned goods.
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OK — I have to know … why is it called Texas Caviar?
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