Happy Holidays

Greetings from Glen & Tracy Novinger

Expletive Alternatives

I think that there is little in any Romance language to match the rawness, strength and crudeness of anglo-saxon obscenities in English, and the use of these expletives has become quite common. In many conversations and in the entertainment media, every other word in a sentence in American English now seems to be f--- or some variation thereof, relieved occasionally by some other unrefined cousin of four letters. Perhaps this usage indicates a paucity of vocabulary. It certainly does not convey complexity of thought.


The English language has a rich heritage and for your entertainment I submit the following examples of fine insults, before the current tendency to distill expression to simple-minded four-letter words:

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you
were my husband I would put poison in your tea." He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease."
"That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "on whether I embrace your policies or your mistress."

"He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend.... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill. "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." - Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." - Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx

"Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it." - Shakespeare, Macbeth

Don't you love these?

Family Gathering in Estes Park

August 2009

Sisters, brothers, aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins...

Yes! We planned for this gathering two years in advance.

Love you all!

Mostly sisters.

Two moms, three daughters and a granddaughter at Lily Lake.

What's Cooking

Apricot-Walnut Whole Wheat Bread

Plum Tart

Galette d'Amandes
Tante Jacqueline's Recipe for Almond "Cake"

Steak au Poivre

The Reduction

Et Voilá!

Only in Austin

Drying fragrant thyme and oregano on the dashboard of Glen's pick-up truck.

The truck smelled delicious when we next drove it, plus I can cook with the herbs.

Truck Dried Herbs and Truck Dried Tomatoes

June and July in Austin, Texas, have set records for the warmest 30-day periods from 1898 to 2009. There have been more days over 100̊F than most can remember. Well, if you can't lick the heat, you might as well take advantage of it. I was inspired to make Truck Dried Herbs by a recent article in the Austin newspaper.

FOOD & LIFE - A heat stroke of genius: truck-dried tomatoes

Heat brings out the flavor of boring Juliet tomatoes.

By Renee Studebaker , American Statesman Staff
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

   Lately, I've had a change of heart about the heat.
   When I check the local forecast and see that several consecutive days of 100-plus temps are expected, I don't groan.

When I visit my neighborhood grocery store, I don't drive around searching, praying, for a tree-shaded parking spot. I just pull into the first hot, sunny place I see.
   When I park my little truck in front of my house, I no longer curse the city for over-pruning my pecan tree and taking away my shady curbside parking.
   And no, in case you're wondering, I'm not suffering from heat stroke. I'm sun-drying homegrown Juliet tomatoes - on a cloth-covered-baking sheet wedged between the windshield and the dashboard of my truck. Really.
   Trying to harness the heat of the summer sun to cook things is nothing new. Maybe you know someone who has tried to fry an egg on a burning hot sidewalk. I know a few people who have experimented with dashboard cookies and cakes. Fun stuff to try and then laugh about. 
   But what I'm talking about here isn't just for laughs. I know, "truck-dried tomatoes" sounds just as gimmicky as "eggs over-easy on a hot sidewalk," but there's a difference. I'm actually using my little truck as a solar-powered oven, eating what I cook and even serving it to family and friends.
   So much for tradition.
   I considered drying my bumper crop of Juliet tomatoes in more traditional ways:

• On the lowest setting in a gas oven. In fact, I tried this and found that it produces a slightly superior-tasting dried tomato, with a deeper, more concentrated flavor. But I really hate to heat up the house if I don't have to.
• On a cheesecloth-covered screen in the backyard. With all the trouble I've had with critters stealing vegetables from the garden, this does not sound like a smart option. Sort of like setting out a picnic for the neighborhood squirrels and raccoons. And although the birds might not be able to uncover the tomatoes, I feel certain they would poop all over them trying.
• In an electric dehydrator. Don't have one and don't really want any more small electrical appliances. I have enough trouble as it is finding space to store my various processors and blenders. 
   So now back to the truck-drying method. As I said, it works really well. Maybe a little too well. I started drying my first batch of sliced and salted Juliets on a Saturday afternoon. By late-morning Sunday, the edges of the tomato halves were starting to curl. I moved the baking sheet to the passenger seat so it wouldn't capsize, drove to yoga class and parked in a sunny spot.
   After class, the whoosh of hot air that hit me in the face when I opened the truck door smelled a little like pizza - minus the bread and Italian seasonings. I peeked under the cheesecloth and saw that the tomatoes were indeed drying and shrinking. The needle on the oven thermometer I had placed on the dashboard told me it was 150 degrees in the truck. By the end of the workday on Monday, when I climbed into the truck to drive home, the tomatoes were done. As I headed down Riverside Drive toward Interstate 35, I was bathed in the aroma of the little shrunken tomato bites. I decided to taste one. It was good. Very good. Dry, but still soft and pliable, with a satisfying burst of strong tomato flavor. I decided to have another. And then another.
   Did I mention that after the tomatoes are dry they're really quite small? By the time I got home, I had eaten all but a small handful of the bite-size chewies. I would have to dry another batch before I would have enough to make the dried-tomato dish I had planned to photograph for this column. Luckily, I still had plenty of Juliets in the garden.
   The Juliet - a little hybrid cousin of the Roma - is one of most reliable and prolific tomatoes I've ever grown. But when eaten fresh, it's not the best tasting. I would even describe it as bordering on bland, especially if compared with other homegrown favorites such as Celebrity, Sun Gold and Purple Cherokee, which I would never consider drying. In the garden, the Juliet is my emergency backup tomato. It is easy to grow - even in the heat- and it often produces until the first frost. (A bland homegrown tomato is still better than no homegrown tomato at all.)
   But now that I know how easy it is to dry Juliets and how amazing they taste after they're dried, I plan to plant an extra Juliet in the fall garden. And when the weather cools, and the truck doesn't heat up enough to dry them, I'll use the oven.

rstudebaker@statesman.com; 445-3946

Orzo and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 quarts water
1-11/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
6 or more pieces of fresh ginger, crushed
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters
1/4-1/2 cup basil, washed and torn
1/4-1/2 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, washed and rough-chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil. Add salt and then slowly add the orzo and stir. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente (not mushy).

While the orzo cooks, quickly toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until they have a little brown color to them. Remove them to a bowl for later. Add olive oil to the hot pan, then add the crushed garlic and ginger and reduce the heat. While the garlic and ginger release their flavors into the oil, cut up the sun-dried tomatoes. Wash the basil and parsley and tear the basil into pieces and give the parsley a rough chop.

When the orzo is cooked, drain the water from it and let it sit a moment while you remove the pieces of garlic and ginger from the oil. Add the drained orzo to the pan with the garlic-ginger-infused olive oil, followed by the tomatoes and heat through. Add the pine nuts, basil, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Tastes even better the next day (if there's any left). Serves 2-4 as a side dish, depending on the serving size.
Note: This is an easy, quick dish to bring to potlucks; it's always a hit.

- Cecilia Nasti, gardener, foodie and producer ad host of the weekly gardening show `Growing Concerns' on KUT radio. Her Soil to Supper blog appears at foodfemmefirst.blogspot.com.

Truck-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Torte with Basil Sauce

8 oz. creamy goat cheese (Wateroak Farms Chevre, available at Boggy Creek Farm, works great in this dish)
About 1/2 cup dried tomatoes, chopped fine (recipe follows)
8 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
3/4 cups loosely packed sweet basil leaves
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
Sprig of fresh basil for garnish
Sea salt to taste
Cucumber slices
Baguette slices

Blend tomatoes, 4 Tbsp. oil and lemon juice in processor or blender (I like to use an immersion blender) and then refrigerate. Consistency should be like a thick paste with small bits of tomato still present. Spread 1/2 Tbsp. oil on bottom and sides of two small ramekins. Press a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap into each dish, with an inch or so of extra paper hanging over the sides. Spread and press evenly divided portions of the tomato paste into each dish. Next, spread and press goat cheese evenly on top of the tomato layer, until the dishes are almost full. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour, or as long as 24 hours if you're making this dish ahead of time. When you're ready to serve, puree basil leaves, remaining oil, garlic and a couple of pinches of sea salt until smooth and set aside. Remove covering from ramekin dishes, invert on serving plates and carefully pull away paper or wrap. Use a knife to smooth sides and top of cheese if necessary. Spoon basil sauce on top and garnish with basil sprig. Serve with sliced baguette and cucumber slices.

Note: This dish works well as an appetizer or a cold lunch. Depending on how dry your tomatoes are, you might want to add a little more oil. Taste your basil first to make sure it's sweet. (End-of-season basil that has had several rounds of blooms pinched off often develops a sharp, bitter flavor .)

- Renee Studebaker

Truck-dried Tomatoes

For oven-dried tomatoes, place sheet of tomatoes in oven at lowest setting possible. (I dried mine at 175 degrees). Takes about 8-10 hours.

Tomatoes are done when they're shriveled, about half their original size and no longer juicy. They should still be soft and pliable (Crispy, dried-out tomatoes aren't as tasty).

The dried tomatoes keep in the fridge for up to a week, or can be stored for up to 6 months in the freezer.

- Renee Studebaker

Slice Juliet tomatoes (or other small, meaty tomatoes) in half and place cut side up, not touching each other, on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt. Place a couple of orange juice-size glasses in the middle of the tray and drape cheesecloth or a thin flour-sack towel over the tomatoes. Wedge the baking sheet between the windshield and the dashboard, close the doors, roll up the windows and park in the sun. Time needed for tomatoes to dry varies depending on temperature, humidity and how many times you open and close the truck doors. Mine took about 21/2 days. Take your tomatoes in at night if a cool, humid night is expected. Otherwise, just leave them in the truck.

Bordeaux: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Today we go to Bordeaux, on the Garonne River near the Atlantic coast. The city has nearly 350 buildings that are "classified" and buildings that listed as Historic Monuments, including 3 World Heritage sites considered part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. Then, on the 19th, I head home.

Vaux-sur-Mer on the Atlantic Coast

The seaside and the market at Vaux-sur-Mer

Visiting more cousins. The sea food and the oysters here are an epicurean delight. From here we will drive down the coast to Bordeaux.

Restaurant in Tours on the Loire

On Wednesday M and I ate at a restaurant that was outstanding for the quality and freshness of its seafood, as well as for the attractive presentation of the dishes.

On to Montagrier in the Dordogne

Today I arrived to visit more cousins in the Dordogne.

Le Loir et La Loire in Pictures

See the region of Le Loir et La Loire on TracyZeye.

The Chateau d'Amboise on the Loire

Yesterday we visited the Chateau d'Amboise on the Loire. M participated one year in an equestrian event where she rode up the wide spiral entry in the round tower on horseback. The 'ramp' is wide enough for a wagon. We also saw the burial place of Leonardo da Vinci where he lived nearby.

Night back at the farm brought rain and a thunderstorm--39 mm of rain.

White Wagtail (motacilla alba)

I love seeing this bergeronnette grise

hop around in the grass at La Coutairie.

La Vallée du Loir

Le LoirEglise de la Trinité, Vendôme

La Courtairie is situated 15 kms from Vendôme, on the Loir river. The Loir is a tributary of the Loire, not to be confused with the latter which is one of the five large rivers of France. The countryside is lushly green, the small villages picturesque. This is not only "another place", but seems like another time.

On the Way to La Courtairie

The shield of Prunay-Cassereau

Today I travel by train, to the Paris suburb of Bourg La Reine to meet cousin MD. I will ride with her by car to her restored farm house at La Courtairie, near Prunay-Cassereau.

Musée du Quai Branly, Paris

Musée du Quai Branly

Today we visited this museum which features indigenous art, cultures and civilizations from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Former President Jacques Chirac was an influential supporter of the project. The Museum opened in June, 2006. The Oceania collection was of particular interest to me, and had many familiar objects.

This prickly little guy from the Congo, Nkisi Nkondi, may be able to solve your problems. An object believed to have magical powers, it probably needs to be handled with care, in more ways than one.

Le Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Discover the Musée d'Orsay.

Montparnasse is in the background to the left.

We visited the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection at length and left saturated with images. There were a number of artists and paintings that we did not know. We finished up with a Soupe à l'Oignon and salad at a nearby Brasserie. Perfect for a cool day.

Two works (among many) that I particularly liked because of technique and detail:

Caillebot - Raboteurs de Parquet (The Floor Scrapers)

Monet - Déchargeurs de Carbon (Unloading Coal)

And I loved Henri-Edmond Cross whom I did not know.

La Foire de Paris 2009

Strolling the Champs Elysées

Le Break Dance Parisien

The Champs Elysées: A babel of tongues.

Starbucks on the Champs Elysées.

Sephora, the place for me. An orgy of French perfumes,
arranged in alphabetical order by parfumeur.

Quartier de la Défense, Paris

We visited A. and M. of Papara, Tahiti, who spend time every year in their Paris condo. A. fixed us a delicious ma'a tinito for lunch. A mini trip back to Polynesia.

Perambulating in Paris