January 2011 – Page 2 – Singing about Cooking

I HATE Sally

Posted on January 4, 2011January 4, 2011 by singingaboutcooking

I have an awfully hard time just disliking someone, but a nearly impossible time actually hating someone enough that I really believe if I saw him/her that I wouldn’t be able to resist ripping them limb from limb. Oops, sorry, this is supposed to be a productive blog site at the very least, but I hate people who knowingly and deliberately hurt others. Well, I hate the ones who are so wrapped up in themselves that they only care about what happens to them and not the ones they use.

These musings are on women who destroy families.

Qualifier: what I’m about to write can certainly and easily apply to men, but I’ve really just about had it with women…no, girls…hurting wonderful men who love them and whom I care a lot about. And in all but one instance, I’ve never even met these women.

Reason #1: Cheating women are children. Really. They have gotten stuck at some pubescent stage of growing up. I mean, think about it, they are like children at recess. Sally and Suzie are playing in the sandbox; Sally, who has been digging with a shovel, puts down the shovel, brushes off the sand on her clothes, and steps out of the sandbox to go swing on the swings. But as Suzie moves to pick up the now abandoned shovel, Sally gets all possessive. Now, we know that I’m speaking in metaphor here. Sally was dating Sam, but is now done with Sam and wants to go date Mike. But at the same time, Sally doesn’t want anyone else to date Sam either, so she keeps him. Remember, Sam is the shovel in the sandbox, Mike is a swing on the swingset. As far as Sally is concerned, those two have no reason to ever play together or know about each other. That’s the mentality that allows Sally to justify keeping two men who don’t know about each other or their competition for Sally.

The same thing happens in the cheating situation (we’ll stick with Sally, Sam, and Mike). Sally and Sam are married. But Sally sees Mike and decides she likes/loves him too. While I can’t completely discount the existence of polyamory (where multiple partners all know about each other and agree to be part of a multiple partner relationship), the greed, envy, and secrecy that make cheating bad and sexy are the very things that made lying so attractive to the 5-year-old who discovered that sometimes if she said sister did it she might not get spanked…that reward rather than punishment for getting away with it. Very childish in my mind.

Reason #2: Cheating women can only lie: to themselves, to their children, and to the world. A byproduct of all of the lying necessary to cheat successfully is that at some point, she must begin to lie to herself. Not just the “getting away with it” part but the “this way no one gets hurt” part, followed by the inevitable “we’re all happier this way” part. You see, at some point, Sally will be able to justify keeping her husband Sam and dating Mike on the sly with a line of logic that goes like this: I love Mike and he makes me happy; if I’m happy from being with Mike, then I can be a nicer and better mom to my kids; and if I’m happy from being with Mike and the kids are doing well, then I can be a good wife to Sam. See, everyone is happy. At least that is what Sally has lied to herself about so many times that she now believes her own lies.

Reason #3: Cheating women deserve neither of the men they are with. Whether Mike knows about Sally’s husband Sam or not, Sally isn’t worthy of either of them. Here’s where some things might seem contradictory. But if you are Mike, and you love Sally, and she has said she’s going to leave Sam for you, you want to believe her, right? And if you are Mike, and you love Sally, and she says she has to stay with Sam because that’s what’s best for the kids, you want to believe her right? You wouldn’t love her if she was easily willing to disrupt the kids’ life just for her own pleasures, right?

In my experience as a friend to both Sam and Mike, for Sally to make this work, she has to convince one or both Sam and Mike that he is not good enough to get anyone else, to make him believe that she is the only one who can love him like he needs, despite his many and heinous flaws. In fact, such a strategy protects Sally from exactly what she fears, that she is not worthy of either of them.

What I’ve learned from these musings is that Sally is possibly the best salesperson ever…until it comes time to close the deal. Again, in both Sam’s and Mike’s cases, when push came to shove, Sally ended up with neither man: neither her husband or her lover. Both relationships failed.

And finally, I must acknowledge a special class of women who I think must be mutant, because they can’t possibly be human. These are women who abandon their children. Now, I don’t mean women who determine that someone else can give their child/ren a better life than they can and adopt them out or even sell them; though I may not agree with the method, I can respect them putting their child/ren’s needs and opportunities before theirs. I mean women who simply up and walk away. Drop the kids off at a friend’s house and just never come back from the store.

Now I’ll clarify here, I don’t have children that I can claim on my taxes, nor have I ever been pregnant. And to be honest, I’d be perfectly happy with my life if I never do have any children. But I can’t even abandon a cat or dog on the side of the road, and am horrified by the idea of leaving my nieces or nephews in the car while I take the groceries inside the house first. Truly, I believe in the existence of and challenge genetic researchers to identify the mutant gene that allows mothers to abandon their children.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on what I think of court systems who will give those same women a second chance with those children.

What I’ve ended up with are men friends who I’m pretty sure feel an immense hole in their lives, as if they will have missed some elemental life experience if they can’t find that one perfect love. (Note: I did not say perfect person.) They–the men–are the anti-players they were years ago when we were all younger, more carefree, not yet thinking of settling down but of living. Now they are worried…dare I say scared…that they’ve missed her and haven’t got a clue how to recover their opportunity, if there’s even one left. And, worse, they are scared to try again, to be hurt again. I hope I never get hurt so often or so badly that I can’t try again.

And, in case you are wondering, yes, I full-on friend love all of the Sams and Mikes in my life whom Sally has cheated on, whose children she has abandoned. Nearly all of my Sams and Mikes have been crushes, boyfriends, even lovers at some time, and have remained very dear to me. Thankfully, I can say that I have never been a Sally.

Cooking

Shepherd’s Pie

Posted on January 3, 2011December 29, 2016 by singingaboutcooking

Naturally, my first dish is quite possibly my best, but definitely a favorite of all of the families I’ve ever cooked it for. Shepherd’s Pie, or cottage pie, is more truely a “technique” than a recipe.

So what’s the difference between a technique and a recipe? Well, it’s simple really: a technique is a way of putting types of ingredients together while a recipe is a very specific collection of ingredients that blend together to make a whole new substance and flavor. Hmmm, maybe this will work better: if you can still identify the ingredients separately, then you have just made a technique; when the finished dish resembles nothing like the individual ingredients, then you’ve just made a recipe.

So back to Shepherd’s Pie: leftover meat, vegetables, potatoes. Yup, that’s it. Literally. So how does this work? Tonight’s Shepherd’s Pie is very traditionally American in the meat and potato layers, but perhaps a bit different in the middle veggie layer.

So start with a sprinkling of olive oil in your hot hot pan and toss in one rather large onion, roughly diced. Of course, if you like a finer textuer, use a fine dice. Whatever. You might also use an earthily flavored oil (rosemary, garlic, sage) as well as shallots and/or garlic at this stage. (NOTE: if you use fresh garlic, wait til you are almost done cooking the onions so you don’t risk burning it).

What you want to do is carmelize the onions, or turn them brown; at least, that is my preference. Others may just sweat them until they are clear.

When you get the onions where you like them, crumble in 2 lbs of meat. Here’s where that technique thing comes in handy. Secret: it doesn’t matter what meat you use, whether it’s ground, shredded, chopped, fresh/raw, or leftover from last week, as long as you like it. In the US, ground meat (beef or lamb) is the most traditional.

Okay, so I tossed in 2 lbs of 12% lean ground beef, sprinkled that lightly with salt and liberally with pepper and thyme. Use a spoon and break it up, browning it completely and mixing it well with the onions as it cooks. When you’ve nearly got all the pink out of the pan, sprinkle in about a quarter to a half cup of worchestershire sauce (use this GF/CF/SF recipe). This will help to deglaze the carmelized onion bits and stuck on browned meat from the bottom of the pan. I like to let the whole mixture simmer in the sauce for about 5 minutes for that delicious sauce to get into all the meat and keep it moist.

Okay, the first layer is done and ready for the baking dish. Now, because two of my family hate vegetables and the other two love them, I make two 9×9 pans of pie. Only one will get the next layer of veggies.

So, true to form, tonight I used some fresh veggies that are coming to the end of their shelf life in the veggie crisper: some brussels sprouts (aka baby cabbages) and baby carrots. Brussels sprouts are super easy to cook and come out tasting like sweet cabbages when cooked in the skillet. Just cut off the root end, peel off any yucky leaves, slice the whole little head in half and place in the skillet (yes, with a drizzle of olive oil) cut side down. And just leave them there, place each new one as you clean and cut it. Yes, I said it, just leave them sitting there, alone, untouched, unloved. Trust me, you won’t regret it. After you’ve cut up the carrots and thrown them in the pan, stir it all around a bit. Oh, yeah, don’t forget the salt and pepper…just a light sprinkle.

Okay, all done with that layer, so onto the meat it goes in the pan. Just the one pan, remember, for the veggie lovers.

The final layer is mashed potatoes. Well, tonight, I’m taking a page out of Sandra Lee’s semi-homemade book and using instant potatoes: Betty Crocker butter and chive instant potatoes, to be exact. Now since you are going to bake all of this when the layers are done, don’t even bother with boiling water, etc. Just mix hot tap water with the other ingredients and mix up the potatoes. Spoon them into the pan(s) and use your spoon to smooth them out into a nice layer.

Now mashed potatoes are the simple, American way to prepare this dish, but originally, it was made with thinly sliced or even shredded potatoes. I haven’t tried it, but I imagine some major goodness in doing a crispy hashbrown-ish top layer, frying up the tiny diced or shredded potatoes in a thin layer in the skillet and just sliding onto the top before baking. I think I would serve that with some sour cream and chives on the plate.

If you are a garnish kind of person, go to town. I’ve enjoyed a number of toppers including roasted garlic, various herbs (parsley, chive), different cheeses, but my favorite topper has always been horseradish chedder…mmmmmmmm.

Last step: shove the whole pan in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Now see all that juicy, saucy yumminess just oozing out onto the plate. Imagine the full, rich flavor of the beef complimented by the tangy worchestershire sauce, the lightly sweet brussels sprouts and carrots (now that they are fully roasted), and the smooth, buttery potatoes. This supper is well-paired with a Guiness beer or a spicy Malbec wine.

Casserole Reminder: make ahead of time and freeze until you are ready for it. This is a casserole, people. And all casseroles can be made up in double batches so you can freeze one for a later date. Same amount of effort for double the reward!!!

Weight Watchers PointsPlus: this makes 8 servings with each serving being 7 points.

Ingredients List:

1 very large onion
2 lbs meat
fresh or frozen veggies of your choice (need 2-3 cups worth)–briefly sautee or microwave-steam fresh veggies, place frozen directly onto cooked meat
4 cups mashed potatoes (that’s 8 half-cup servings)
seasonings and toppings of your choice

Cooking, Singing

Welcome to Singing about Cooking…

Posted on January 3, 2011January 3, 2011 by singingaboutcooking

Happy New Year 2011!! Just a feeling, but it’s gonna be a fantabulous year.

My blog Singing about Cooking is my first attempt to introduce the world to my secret passions: singing and cooking. Only a small circle of friends and family know what these two things really mean to me, but I’m pretty sure it’s time to let my voice out and feed the world…so to speak.

Let’s see, I started 2011 out singing with my favorite soprano friend Loretta Haskell, owner and teacher of More Music Please voice studio. But my first official performance of 2011 will be on Sunday, February 20 at 3:00 pm at Christ Church, Mount Pleasant; I’ll be singing the second lead aria “The Trees on the Mountain” from Carlisle Floyd’s Suzannah, with a finale reprisal of “Duetto Buffo di Due Gatti” by Rossini, a duet with Loretta!

Hmmm, the first thing I cooked in 2011 was Greek lemon mahimahi, Greek roasted potatoes, and sauteed brussels sprouts for possibly the pickiest eater in the whole world, my friend Marty. Again, thank you, Jeanne (his momma), for letting me invade your kitchen!

The first thing I learned in 2011 is that being laid off from my job of 3.25 years is possibly the most liberating thing that has happened to me in years. Yes, I’m worried about when I’ll run out of money. Yes, I’m looking for a new job. Yes, I have plenty to keep me busy. But most of all, yes, I’m focusing on doing the things I LOVE!!

The first thing I organize in 2011 will be my grandmother’s Christmas decorations. Today I’m headed over to “undecorate” her house and put things where they belong, so next year I’ll be able to find everything again.

I’d love for you to just follow or even to join me on my journey to discover more about the things I do that prove I am truly living and not just marking time. And if you ever feel moved to share through more than just a comment, please ask to be a guest author on a topic! Living is not possible without meaningful interaction between people who share desires…even (sometimes especially) if they don’t agree.

Children

Welcome to Singing about Cooking

Posted on January 3, 2011 by singingaboutcooking

Happy New Year 2011!! Just a feeling, but it’s gonna be a fantabulous year.