Here’s a freshly written note from perennial sophomore Bubby Spamden, a lad still looking for his future.
Hey Mr. C.,
In Ms. Axiom’s science class yesterday we had this great discussion about a new idea from some astronomers at Princeton and Harvard who want to find out if there are other civilizations out there in the universe. They’re going to use telescopes to look for light from alien cities! Is that cool or what?
I used to think that my ideal job as an adult would be “Planet Finder”, but now that so many distant planets have already been found, I’m thinking “Alien City Spotter” would be an even better job for me. It’s still in my chosen field, which we took a test to figure out. My results said I would “thrive in any line of work that involved Looking Into the Sky and Wondering About Things.”
When we were talking about it in Ms. A’s class I said I wanted to be the first human to find an alien city because I’d get to name it after myself! “Bubbopolis” is what I’m thinking, because it’s so much fun to say. There’s enough of a beat there that people would probably write songs about it and then there’d be a huge push to build a spacecraft to go visit Bubbopolis as soon as possible. Maybe when we got there, the Bubbopipolitans would like my name so much they’d actually change over whatever they were calling the place to the much cooler name I gave them – which would mean instant immortality on two different planets for me! That pretty much lines up with my life’s goals!
But then people started to chip away at my great idea. Nathan Nathanson pointed out that the article said these scientists were only going to look for alien cities in our own solar system, where we’re pretty much 100% sure there are no other advanced life forms or civilizations anyway, and that to look farther than that we’ll have to build super telescopes that haven’t even been invented yet! So what, Nathan? You think you’re so smart just because you read all the way to the end? I’m against getting all the information on things because it leaves no room for your imagination!
And then that fun-killing egghead Samantha Quilts stood up and said that what would probably happen if we found an alien city with its lights on at night is very different from what I imagined. Rather than build a rocket to go there, we’d all probably get so scared we’d go into a worldwide panic about turning OUR lights off at night so the Bubbopolis creatures wouldn’t be able to see US.
She’s probably right.
But even then I could have a good career as a Nighttime Glow Warden.
I’m already pretty harsh with my parents when it comes to leaving lights on at night – they’re the worst! One time I came home from this football game at about 10:30 and all the lights were on in the living room and the TV was blaring away, but they had gone to bed! That’s crazy. What were they thinking? I gave them a good talking to the next morning, which felt really great, and they didn’t seem to mind it either.By the way, “Scolding People” came in second on the list of job areas that I’d be good at.
Your pal,
Bubby
I congratulated Bubby on this small step forward in his continuing project of figuring out what his someday job could be, though it made me wonder if he’s looking a little too far into the future. Still, with our carbon production running well ahead of predictions, browbeating people for leaving the lights on at night could turn into a growing career field.
Are you an energy saver, or a waster?
Trail Baboon 
Hey, Mr. C,
I have a must-read for you, a special edition of Astronomy Magazine called “Bob Berman’s 50 Weirdest Objects in the Cosmos.” I found it at what is barely left of our Barnes and Noble magazine section. You could get 400-100 blog topics out of it.
Maybe Ms A would like to read it too.
Sincerely,
Mr. B
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I must be an energy saver because my wife and I seldom leave the TV on any more.
Like all good Americans I save energy in all the important ways like turning off lights, recycling every scrap of paper, buying the fluorescent bulbs that give me headaches, turning the oven before the meal is done, etc.
That makes up for the small ways I waste energy, like somehow managing to drive 20,000 miles a year despite never going anywhere.
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Several great lines there, Dale – ” You think you’re so smart just because you read all the way to the end?” I wonder what Bubby would fall on the Myers Briggs scale…
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Oooo, good question BiR! I’m pretty sure he is not over here with we the Introverts, but I’m equally sure he is ensconced with the Judges.
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I’m a saver, run around turning off lights, even turn off the computer power strip at night… but I don’t hold a candle to Husband, who actually never drives more than 5 miles over the speed limit, and accelerates slowly to save on gas in a Prius. (And wants me to do the same!)
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snort
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Good Morning, Dale, Clyde and All – i suspect most of us are energy savers. but lately i need to turn on more lights so that one of us doesn’t fall, break a hip, and spend lots of carbon on surgery, driving to PT, etc. 🙂
my wasting mostly involves the goats. today i’m getting the heated buckets ready for them to keep their water from icing during the winter.
i will try not to grumble about the dang time change. 🙂
thanks, Dale, for keeping us up on Bubby’s adventures! fun.
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At least with this time change we gain an hour of sleep tonight. 🙂
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Silly me… I just stayed up an hour later!
Missed out on that whole “gain an hour of sleep” concept.
I’m not very good about saving my personal energy.
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I try to minimize my lights usage, but I will admit it is something I indulge myself with a bit. I hate the color quality of the CFL bulbs, even the so-called “color corrected” bulbs. I also have an active dislike for sitting in a room that is not bright enough or being in a house where I have to turn lights on every time I walk into a room. I turn everything off at bedtime, and don’t turn them on until I need to, but I dislike a dark house when I am awake and moving around in it. I think it’s from too many years of wandering around in the dark backstage. I try to counter it with my recycling, minimizing my driving, keeping the thermostat low during the day and overnight, and all those other Good Things One Should Do. But they can pry my incandescent bulbs from my cold dead fingers…(actually, they might still be warm from holding onto the bulb).
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How lucky for you, Anna, that you have a presidential candidate who fights to preserve our right to buy inefficient light bulbs. The “Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act” is one of the very few bills submitted by Michelle Bachmann.
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I am appalled that I agree with her on anything, frankly. But I will admit to a rabid fondness for the incandescent’s inefficient glory.
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I hate to agree too, but the new bulbs do increase my pain load. I would/will miss not having some old ones just for my space. The new lamp bulbs are not as bad as the standard in-ceiling office lights.They kill me. One of three ways going to the doctor makes me sick, which I have just been doing a lot of and will be doing more of.
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How do you guys feel about LEDs? What I am seeing makes me think they are going to quickly make CFLs a thing of the past.
I like the Christmas lights that are LEDs, but also have a sneaking nostalgia for those big old screw in bulb Christmas lights I thought were so tacky when I was a kid. Go figure.
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I’m right there with you on the incandescent bulbs, Anna. I’ve even found myself stockpiling them in an attempt to avoid ever having to rely on energy-saving fluorescents. I’m still not convinced… mercury, electrosmog, and just plain not nice to look at… I’m “out” on all of that! Just read this article last week on the subject: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Study_warns_of_green_light_bulb_electrosmog_.html?cid=8584642
I’m an energy saver in all other areas, though (oh… except that wonderful shower head I referenced a while back).
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I save energy to the point that some days I barely get out of bed!
Seriously, we try to save as much energy as possible, and yet it doesn’t seem to be enough to alleviate the guilt I feel for not doing enough. Our thermostat is on a timer and set at 68º F during the day (no wearing T-shirts in our house during the winter!), the radio or TV are only on when there’s something we want to listen to or see, we run the dishwasher only when it’s full, recycle every possible thing, blah,blah,blah, you know all the obvious ways. Despite the fact that I must have half a dozen canvas shopping bags, we somehow manage to accumulate a lot of plastic bags every month, and although I recycle them, I’m very aware of what a waste they are. When I shop, I make an effort to buy things that don’t have excessive packaging. Water is a resource I’m particularly careful about not squandering. Does it make sense to use water to rinse a used zip lock bag so I can use it for something else? It seems like a never ending battle.
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What is it with canvas bags, that I can never remember to take them into the store. I finally found sturdy fold-up plastic one that I keep in my purse…
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Before Daughter was born I remember reading a handful of articles about the environmental impact of cloth vs disposable diapers. Unless you were willing to wash your own at home, in cold water, with no bleach, the ultimate impact between the two was not great (and certainly not as great as a lot of people imagine). While it’s not fabulous to have all those little bundles of paper and poo in a landfill, the amount of chlorine bleach and energy burned to make the water hot to wash the cloth ones as clean as most folks expect left a pretty big footprint, too. Made me feel a little less guilty about not using cloth, especially since I could at least buy higher buck non-chlorine bleached disposables that gave at least a nod to environmental responsibility. (Added bonus: Daughter pretty much never suffered from diaper rash.) Made me realize that you can’t do everything, but you can pick your battles and choose how to engage in them.
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Good morning to all,
I do try to save energy and would like to put a little more energy into saving energy. Our house could use some work on various things that would reduced heat loss and need for air conditioning. However, it takes time and money to make these improvements. Because I don ‘t plan to stay in this house very much longer, I can’t justify the expense and effort that would be needed to make our house significantly more energy efficient.
However, there are a lot of other things I can do to save energy which I try to do and there is always room for improvement. For example, I try to recycle and much as I can, but I also need to reduce the amount that needs recycling. One thing I could do is buy more bulk items that don’t come in wasteful packaging.
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We try and re-use as much as possible, and just replaced our dead washing machine with a used front loader we found through a friend. So far so good – if anyone else has one, and what type of soap do you use?
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We like the 7th Generation liquid soap with our front loader (use less than you think you might need – it gets sudsy fast). I have found that powdered soap doesn’t work as well.
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I agree, both that liquid soap is the way to go and to use it sparingly. I recommend leaving the soap dispenser and the door open when not in use to prevent odor.
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I agree with all you wisdom, PJ. I love our front loader but it is somewhat smelly if you keep the door shut all the time.
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I have a front loader, and use that super-concentrated Method detergent you get from Target. Four squirts per load from the spray bottle.
I can’t say I’ve ever had a problem with odor. I do leave the door open from time to time because a little water collects in the door gasket, and I like to let that dry out so it doesn’t deteriorate the rubber.
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Linda, does Method come in a squirt bottle?
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Yes, the label says a 20-ounce bottle does 50 loads of laundry.
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Oh, I try to save but waste all the same. We have no city recycling out here because people wouldn’t stand for it and believe we have enough empty space to just keep filling up the land fill. People out here are concerned about the flares that burn off the natural gas at oil well sites (a natural byproduct of drilling for oil) and now they are trying to capture the gas to sell to heat homes and such. I would hope that would eventually lower heating costs for people. The amount of natural gas to be captured is prodigious.
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i also understand that ND is suing MN for not allowing MN power companies to buy electricity generated by dirty ND coal, the argument being that MN is using electricity generated by dirty MN coal and it is just not fair. I didn’t know MN had coal. Maybe the ND attorney general is making it up.
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Besides a nuclear power plant 5 miles away from me, there is also a coal burning plant about 8-10 miles from me. 10 miles in the opposite direction is a garbage burning plant I believe. Which means I should never run out of electricity — theoretically.
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I think many folks are like me: are smug about being careful with energy although guilty of one or two secret indulgences. I love to talk about how parsimonious I am with car costs. I probably drive 3,000 miles a year or less. But I eat vast numbers of tomatoes raised at great cost in hothouses, and until two nights ago I used to sleep with the TV on. Shame, shame!
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Yep, I’ll bet we’ve each got a secret vice – mine is just buying or collecting unnecessary stuff: CDs I don’t listen to, magazines I don’t read, recipes I’ll never use, tablecloths – oh don’t get me started…
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I’m an energy saver. I was raised by the ultimate energy saver and recycler: my mom. She still washes plastic bags and aluminum foil, as I do.
Since I’ve lived here I formed some strong habits about saving energy. I wash clothes in cold water only. I turned down the temperature on my hot water heater to less than 120, and it’s still plenty hot. I only run the dishwasher once every two weeks. During the day in winter, my thermostat is set at 60. At night in winter, it’s at 64. In the summer, my AC is set at 80. I don’t use it if it won’t get above 80 in the house. I only use light in one room at a time – the room that I’m in. Everything is on surge protector strips, which are switched off when not in use. I dislike the light from the CFLs too – I think everybody does – but I’ve switched almost all of them over. I compost food scraps and yard waste. When I cook, especially baking, I tend to make several things at a time. That way, the oven is only used on a weekly basis and it’s kept warm, then turned off.
All that aside, I use my car too much. It’s economical and wonderful to drive but I think I could use it less. I do enjoy driving.
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I meant to say that I like “Bubbopipolitans,” Dale.
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WWOT: I haven’t talked about my grandson recently. Liam is a few months short of two years old. You won’t be surprised to hear that my daughter has raised him in a language-rich environment, and the kid is remarkably verbal (already putting words together to form sentences). John, his dad, took him out Trick or Treating Monday. At the first home, John demonstrated what Liam should do after ringing the bell. “Hey, great pumpkin!” said John. “Happy Halloween!” Liam’s eyes bugged when he saw the candy bar reward.
Liam approached his first door. “Hey, great pumpkin!” he sang out. “Happy Halloween!” He got his candy bar . . . although that home had no carved pumpkin! Liam went on down the block praising pumpkins that were often not there. He loves Halloween.
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Funny. I was going to ask. How often do you get to see him? Do you Skype him?
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I’ll see him for the second time in about three weeks, Clyde. He is just getting verbal enough to have conversations, although they are very limited. He and I have exchanged greetings on the phone (he wished me a Happy Halloween!), but I’m not a real person to him yet. If my health goes further in the toilet, I might be obliged to move out to Portland. And then I’ll see more of my daughter and her family.
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Steve, it pains me to read this, knowing how much you miss and love that little guy. Hope you have a wonderful visit.
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Glad you get to see him soon, Steve – who’s doing the traveling, you or them? (they?)
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I’m afraid that Steve’s joints are hurting again, since he hasn’t been on the trail today. I happen to know that Liam and Molly are coming here.
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Steve, if you can’t write, I hope you’re still reading. We miss you when you’re not able to join us. I hope you feel well again soon. Sending positive thoughts your way!
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Afternoon–
Two more performances of ‘The Little Mermaid’ here today and then it’s into fall concerts and then maybe after that I’ll have a week to read – and listen- more thoroughly on here.
Lamps: I have mostly CFL’s in the house but I have started switching to LED’s now. They’re getting better all the time. I agree the color of them can be rather, uh, ‘ugly’? And the slow warm up is annoying. A lot of times if it’s a multiple light fixture (like a ceiling fan) I’ll put two CFL’s and one incandescent in there.
I recently put an LED floodlight and a CFL flood light in an outdoor fixture. The LED is as bright as 150W incandescent. The CFL is as well– once it warms up. And I’m not sure when it’s -20 degree’s that the CFL will come on at all. And yes, the LED’s are more expensive but they’re coming down. I figure if both of these actually last 10 + years I won’t be able to get them back out of the sockets and I’ll have to replace the entire fixture at a cost more than the energy saved. Sigh. We’ll see.
We turn off lights at home, all the Christmas lights are LED, recycle everything, don’t have AC but keep the heat off in the basement and unused rooms and have a ‘duel fuel’ rate at the electric co-op.
Here at the college I have the theater houselights set to run at 90% rather than full; they last longer and no one knows the difference. I’m using more and more LED fixtures here too and we re-use the majority of set pieces. We try to be as green as possible.
The art gallery across from the theater has rows of 120W strip lights. I have appointed myself ‘keeper of the lights’ and I’ll go over there later afternoons when most everyone is gone from campus and turn off all the strip lights and turn on the room fluorescent’s. I know, it ruins the art display, but geez, it makes me crazy all those strip lights burning.
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Greetings! I am a great recycler and energy saver when I can. My parents were Scout troop leaders, so we were recycling when we were kids; saving newspapers and aluminum cans so Dad could turn them in to raise money for the Scout troop. I’m turning off lights all the time, but my husband and I have our biggest fights over the thermostat. He likes wearing underwear around the house, but also hates being the least bit cold. He has a VERY narrow comfort zone, so he’s turning up the heat all the time. And then I go and turn it down and I’m always yelling at him to put some clothes on. He’s incorrigible.
I absolutely love our HE washer, but there’s something about their design that you need a special cleaner additive to keep that smell (bacteria growth).under control. There’s a product called Technofresh (sold only online) that is the only thing that effectively removes the biofilm that grows inside the pipes and along the front loader door gasket. Jim figured out that the main active ingredient in this product is sodium percarbonate; so he just bought a big bucket of that — so I just put a little bit in each load and it’s fixed. If you have an HE front loading washer, go to their web site because it explains why this yucky smell happens. Quite fascinating, really. But bleach or vinegar or baking soda don’t get rid of the smell or kill off the biofilm. If you don’t notice it in your washer, you will probably notice it in your clothes when you start to sweat. If your HE washer is new, you won’t notice it yet. It takes a several months or a couple years before you start to notice something isn’t quite right. Or maybe they fixed the design flaw in more recent models — I don’t know. http://www.technofresh.net
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As has been mentioned above, leaving the door open on the washer as well as the soap drawer out between loads seems to have kept the icky stinkies away from our washer. And you’re right, once you have that stink, it’s hard to get rid of without something like the product you mentioned.
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I left doors open as well, but it’s not enough — the biofilm still builds up. It grows on the laundry detergent and dirt residue in the plumbing. I think many folks use more detergent than necessary because they think “more is better” in cleaning, but it’s not true. All cleaners are meant to attract dirt — so if you use too much of anything — floor cleaner, window cleaner, etc., the residue will attract more dirt!
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Joanne, we’ve had our front loading Maytag, which we bought used, for a couple of years. At first I didn’t leave the soap dispenser and door open when not in use, and pretty soon that smell began to appear. Just leaving them open when not in use seems to take care of the problem. I’m wondering why that biofilm isn’t a problem in the pipes leading to regular washers? I’m no chemist, and any guess from me would make this painfully obvious. The only thing I remember from my freshman chemistry class in college is that a cow, when getting up from a lying down position, gets up on its hind legs first!
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Thanks, PJ. They explain on the web site why it happens specifically in HE washers. Because they use so little water it tends to be thick and sludgy with soap, softeners and dirt after cycle is done and doesn’t get rinsed out of pipes. Some HE washers are even designed to hold the water from the last rinse cycle to use for the first wash of next load. If your next load of laundry isn’t until a few days later, it definitely has time to grow mold and mildew. Believe me, I always left my doors open and stuff still smelled. Plus, there was a black mold on the gasket and I have always used natural, unscented, concentrated, environmentally safe liquids. Jim is very sensitive to smells, and even though the washer itself didn’t smell, the smell on clothes was unbearable to him. It’s not real strong, but it’s definitely detectable if it’s not covered up by scented detergents or softeners. On the web site, customers talked about strong smells that permeated the house from their HE washers. Some bought new washers because of the smell until they learned about why it was happening and this particular product. My suspicion is that the problem isn’t so bad using smaller amounts of good, natural detergent and not using softeners like most of us seem to use, but I can’t be certain.
I did buy the product once and it worked great. Jim researched the ingredients and figured out the pure sodium percarbonate thing, so now that’s all I need and it’s WAY cheaper. I’m glad you guys don’t have a problem with your HE washers — or maybe you just don’t notice the smell on your clothes if it’s only at that level. But this product even got that black mold off the gasket and scum off the clear door — after a couple weeks it just wiped off.
Sorry to spend so much time talking about HE washers and good, clean laundry. But some things are just important and I can definitely tell a difference — and Jim is happy. Bad smells make him irritable. Have a great evening!
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Joanne, where the heck do you buy such a thing as sodium percarbonate? Is it a powder, a liquid or what, and how do you use it? While I don’t have a smell with my laundry, I do have a sense that it’s not as clean as I’d like it to be. Maybe I should just get rid of some of those old, discolored dishtowels.
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It seems like a no-brainer for the HE detergent makers to add sodium percarbonate to the detergent. I wonder how long it will take them.
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Jim had ordered the sodium percarbonate online in a powder form. I just put maybe a teaspoon in the actual drum before I put in the clothes. If you have a problem, you would use more. Once the smell problem is solved, you just need a little bit a couple times a week to maintain it. Those are the basic directions for using the Technofresh, so I went by the directions for using their product. I also use a little bit of epsom salt as we don’t have soft water — that’s what Jim told me to try anyway. He’s a smart dude.
I tried putting the product in the soap dispenser, but it didn’t dissolve very well. Technofresh web site said it’s a safe natural cleaner and putting it in the drum works, too. Using bleach or other caustics too often in an HE washer can damage the rubber gasket I think.
Jim ordered a 5-lb? (not sure of weight) jug of it from Green Cleaners USA 877-273-2011 about a year ago and I still have half of it. I just looked at their web site and they may not sell smaller amounts of it anymore — 500 lb minimum for bulk. But you could try calling the number and see what they can do for you.
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Thanks Joanne, I appreciate the info.
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I am a saver. I am also frugal in the extreme. We have yet to turn on our furnace (in case you have been wondering, Steve-it did kick on when I was programming the thermostat after putting in a new battery-so that may count against me).
We hang our laundry to dry. Like Krista, I bake as much at one time as possible, then I prop open the oven door when we are done with the oven, so the leftover heat goes into the house, not up the vent. I try very hard to turn off all the little LEDs on the DVD player and the CD player-doesn’t always happen.
I’m currently sitting in the library using their computer (which is on anyway), but have to get home soon, as they are rebroadcasting the Tom Keith Midday Tribute after PJC tonight.
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We have no competition this year, MIG. You win. Be sure to tell the S&H you guys beat me all hollow this year. With all my physical challenges this year, I’ve decided that I don’t need to add shivering 🙂
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Yeah, I’m pretty frugal, but I really lose my religion when it gets cold. I hope you have been baking, MIG. I broke down and turned the heat on about two weeks ago. So far I haven’t had it on around the clock, though. I turn it on in the morning for a spell and then turn it off again. If I didn’t have some heat in the house, I’d have cats clinging to me most of the day.
I’m a pretty minimal user of air conditioning in the summer, so I figure it evens out.
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i cant believe it is november 5th and i havn’t had to turn on the heat yet great south windows warm it up enough to last til i am asleep and then in the mornng i have a robe and a bath and out i go. two kids have mini heaters in their room. my other tv room is heated by the fish tank water . but i am an energy pig. i blow through huge amounts of stuff in my ugly american lifestyle in a house thats bigget than i need i have more cars and some are not to fuel effieicent but they are good for sunday drives and oading full of stuff for the van, i water my lawn and have fantasy about reusing grey water to do that kind of stuff. light bulbs drive me nuts. i have too many dimmers on my light switches and i go through the energy saver bulbs in months not years. my cr is a hybred but honda is a liar and don’t care about me as a customer i would like to put a windmill in the yard and see what it does. i own it but have to check with the city nd see if i can get away with it. i think a toaster oven may be a way to save some energy arounfd here but i do most of my oven work in a normal ineffiecient way. i am aware and do what i can but my electric and gas bill are enough to chokle a horse and maybe the thing i do best is make crs last forever. i generally go 200,000 mile plus on a vehicle before i give it up. right now i have 5 plus cars with 150000 plus 2 two of those with 200,000
i use my scooter when i can to save gas but i am about done with tha til april. recycle bigtime but the efficiencies we all put out there are negated quickly by the unaware in china and india where they burn coal in the living room, drive cars that spew blue smoke and heat factories with firewood. pour paint in the ditch and throw garbage out the back window or their houses
steve hang in there. are you going to liam or is he coming here?
basketball weekend for one kid and the other one got into a play at the childerens theater school (not the mainstage) good day for hte girls. living the good life here i tyr to avoid being the ugly american but i am more embarrassed about what i do wrong than i am proud of what i do right. i will check in again tomorrow.
ot rip andy roony. tough week for people who make me smile.
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You own a windmill? Where does one put one’s windmill when not in use?
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right next to the other stuff
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OT – I can’t resist sharing this video. It made me smile, hope it does the same for you.
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Lovely voices; they make instruments unnecessary.
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Who needs instruments when you can do that with margarine tubs?
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I could probably catch on to the margarine tub technique. It wouldn’t sound the same with me singing though.
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OMG I love this a capella singing with those close harmonies. That’s why I love the Bobs, the Nylons, Throat Culture, etc. These girls are awesome and the margarine tub thing adds a real nice, natural beat to it.
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Sky blue pink out there this morning
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Ain’t the mornin’ light pretty.
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Oooo weee
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So bright and eeaarrllyy.
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Excellent
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The voices
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I’m making Steve’s Ultimate Lentil Soup today. Forgive me, Steve, but I just throw most of it in a pot to cook, I’m sure cooking the onions, garlic and vegetables together first adds a nice flavor, but it’s too fussy for me for soup. To me, soup is a throw-it-all-together-in-a-pot-and-let-it-cook sort of deal.
What sort of yummies are other baboons cooking up today?
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Good idea – I might just try that too. I’m listening to my tape of, what else, Greg Brown’s “The Iowa Waltz “… 🙂
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I’m cooking a big pot of Caldo Verde, a Portuguese potato, sausage and kale soup. Also a roasted fall vegetable salad with a warm goat cheese & honey mustard vinaigrette.
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I knew I shouldn’t have asked — now I’m salivating for what you’re making! That sounds incredible. You guys are so “gourmet.”
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Joanne, the beauty of both recipes is that they’re very easy to make, no last minute fussing in the kitchen. I’m not into making labor intensive foods.
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I am making roasted butternut squash pie ( it is savory, with onions, red bell peppers, cumin, cinnamon, spinach. ginger root and raisins in a phyllo crust). Husband is making country style pork ribs in the slow cooker.
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Sounds heavenly! I’d love the recipe for the butternut squash pie. Please.
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I found it on Epicurious under Roasted Butternut Squash Pie. I don’t know how to create a link to it.
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That’s fine, Renee, I’ll find it. In fact, I think I already have. 🙂
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Made a pumpkin bundt cake today…it tastes good but it is, um, dense.
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I had a cheese omelet and some toasted Hungarian raisin rye for brunch. Thinking about some pasta in a parma rosa sauce for dinner with a salad and baguette.
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Hungarian raisin rye sounds intriguing. Did you bake it yourself or buy it? I love parma rosa sauce. Are you a vegetarian Linda?
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The Hungarian raisin rye came from yesterday’s sale at St. Agnes. It’s my favorite. Really dark and rich. It’s like a little aromatherapy in a plastic bag. I have trouble getting rye breads to rise properly, so I usually don’t try to bake them myself anymore.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat very much meat. Mostly when I do buy meat it’s fish or poultry. Or bacon.
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Oh drat, I forgot about yesterday’s St. Agnes sale. Husband was going for an overnight stay at a cabin on St. Croix with his “paddle brothers” so the morning got all goofed up.
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I just got back from my brother’s in North Oaks. He fixed my headlight. My mom backed into my car and smashed the headlight a couple of weeks ago. My brother helped me find a replacement headlight assembly and installed it for me. He can’t straighten it though. We’re worried about mom.
Anyway, as long as food has become the topic, we went to my s-i-l’s sister’s Vietnamese restaurant in Fridley. It’s right on University Ave. I don’t know the name of it because they brought me in through the back door – right into the kitchen. They made me some wonderful spring rolls with peanut sauce and noodles, veggies and tofu with fresh herbs. It was absolutely delicious. If I find out the name, I’ll post it.
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can we go in the back door too?
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Probably only if you wear your baboon suit!
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could we arrange a field trip to learn vietnamese cooking form the cooks?
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OK, I want to hire you all to cook here. Wow. PJ, I can probably find Caldo Verde online, or do you have a particularly special recipe? And I’m going to have to get in on a St. Agnes sale some time.
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BiR, the St. Agnes sale is the first Saturday of every month from 10 A.M. to noon. It’s really a fun event, very nice people. The crowds are fun to watch. Be there when they open for best selection; they often run out of popular items. Also, I’d recommend getting on their email list so you get their monthly reminder of upcoming sale and previews of featured items. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.saintagnesbaking.com
I use several Caldo Verde recipes. Here’s one that is very good:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/caldo-verde.html
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Get there by about 9:40 or so for the full St. Agnes experience.
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I usually stand in line at the back door, the line is shorter there. Also, BiR, be sure to get a mini massage from Sr. Rosalind, she’s a character. Eighty-something years old, with very strong hands, and wonderfully wrinkled and smiling face, a St. Paul institution in her own right…not to be missed.
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But if you go to the back door you miss the show.
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How do you know? You’re at the front door.
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What the heck does this mean? “Your comment is awaiting moderation.”
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Hi PJ ft WS, I think WordPress automatically holds up comment if it has more than one link in it. I was asked to approve it, and I did. Sorry for the delay!
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Dale is a modest modern moderate moderator, is he not?
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snort. He is the very model of a modest modern moderator.
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There is no limit to the abuse one might suffer on this blog! Sorry, Dale, didn’t mean to break any rules.
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aviod moderation by being more moderate in your link posting. i think i can live with that. no sense getting dale involved now that we know. it happened to me the other night and i had no clue what the deal ws. thanks for heping me learn about how the blog works.
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