Love in Bloom?

 

Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes, Basil, and Lots of Garlic

                                                            

  Sunday night is always something of an improv to use up things before my grocery trip on Tuesday. I had a lot of ripe tomatoes waiting and a half bag of shrimp in the freezer. Plus a burgeoning basil plant and there's always garlic and butter.

So, I got the butter good and hot and stirred in the defrosted shrimp and the garlic (8 cloves, chopped.) It was a very brief cook time, just till the shrimp curled, and I removed shrimp and garlic to a bowl. Then I put 3 chopped up tomatoes into the butter and cooked till some began to caramelize on the edges. Off heat, added a bit more butter then the shrimp and garlic and a good bit of torn basil leaves.

Served over pasta (farfalle) and topped with parmesan. 

It was right good for improv.

Serene Sunday

 

Simpler Times

When I was writing a historical novel or sub-plot, one of my favorite ways to do research was to look at the ads from the times for an idea of how folks lived.

These ads are from a 1903 cookbook published by the Willing Workers of Troy, Alabama. It was the property of my maternal grandmother and gives a good idea of the Troy of that time.

Farming was important.

As was beauty care.

Livestock, buggies, and wagons were available, along with bread and hand-rolled cigars.

 

Robinson Crusoe

                                                                          

Robinson Crusoe is one of those books everybody knows about but probably hasn't read. It's arguably the prototype of cast-away on a deserted island fiction and has spawned a multitude of offspring--Swiss Family Robinson, Lost in Space, The Martian, Castaway . . . to mention a few. And then there are all those cartoons from The New Yorker.

                                                   Like so many, I had never read Defoe's 1719 work in its entirety. But now a copy turned up in my recent book purging/reorganization efforts and now I have.

It's a terrific account of clever survival. Crusoe is on the island some twenty-six years and in that times builds houses, makes pottery, gardens, captures and tames goats, weaves baskets, and makes for himself a rather fine little kingdom.

I have to admit to skimming bits. There's a lot of moral reflection--Crusoe went to sea against the wishes of his parents and remained there despite several close calls before the final catastrophe that stranded him. There's lots of philosophizing about the nature of Good and Evil, including one rather good point made by Friday, the 'savage' Crusoe rescued from cannibals. 

Crusoe has been telling Friday about the devil being God's enemy, and Friday asks if God is stronger than the devil.

Oh, yes, says Crusoe, God is stronger.

Then Friday asks, ". . .why God no kill the devil, so make him no more do wicked?"

Crusoe is at a loss for a good answer and (much like some politicians) "diverted the present discourse . . . rising up hastily as upon some sudden occasion of going out; then sending him for something a good way off. . ."

Some things never change.

                  

Hurrah for Rain!

                  

 

Mullein aka Verbascum

 

Its other names include:

Aaron's Rod, Adam's Flannel, American Mullein, Beggar's Blanket, Blanket Herb, Blanket Leaf, Bouillon Blanc, Bouillon Jaune, Candleflower, Candlewick, Cierge Cotonneux, Cierge de Notre-Dame, Clot-Bur, Clown's Lungwort, Cuddy's Lungs, Duffle, European Mullein, Faux Bouillon-Blanc, Feltwort, Flannelflower, Fleur de Grand Chandelier, Fluffweed, Gidar Tamaku, Gordolobo, Hag's Taper, Hare's Beard, Hedge Taper, Herbe de Saint-Fiacre, Herbe Saint Fiacre, Higtaper, Jacob's Staff, Longwort, Molène, Molène à Grandes Fleurs, Molène Bouillon-Blanc, Molène Faux-Phlomis, Molène Thapsus, Orange Mullein, Oreille de Loup, Oreille de Saint Cloud, Our Lady's Flannel, Queue de Loup, Rag Paper, Shepherd's Club, Shepherd's Staff, Tabac du Diable, Torch Weed, Torches, Velvet Plant, Verbasci Flos, Wild Ice Leaf, Verbascum densiflorum, Verbascum phlomides, Verbascum thapsiforme, Verbascum thapsus, Woolen, Woolly Mullein. . .whew!

  

  It's a weed around here, growing on slopes along the highway and popping up here and there around our house. I always hope some will escape the weedeater -- such stately plants.

I know that mullein flowers used to be gathered and sold for use in medicines, but I have no experience of how it might be used in folk remedies. 

According to one site, mullein is used to make medicine for "cough, whooping cough, tuberculosis, bronchitis, hoarseness, pneumonia, earaches, colds, chills, flu, swine flu, fever, allergies, tonsillitis, and sore throat. Other uses include asthma, diarrhea, colic, gastrointestinal bleeding, migraines, joint pain, and gout. It is also used as a sedative and as a diuretic to increase urine output.

"Mullein is applied to the skin for wounds, burns, hemorrhoids, bruises, frostbite, and skin infections  The leaves are used topically to soften and protect the skin."

But wait, there's more! Mullein is used as a flavoring ingredient in alcoholic beverages.

Are any of you familiar with the use of mullein in folk remedies?

This is a slightly updated (I no longer wield a weedeater) re-post from years back. 

 

In July

 

World Cup 2026

Whew! I am flat wore out after (mentally) playing along with Spain for 109 minutes. That was some game--Spain vs. an incredible goalkeeper.

Of course I was rooting for Spain, if only because He who shall not be named has denigrated them. But they dominated play and so deserved the win.

We watched down at Justin and Claui's where they laid out an amazing spread of yummy stuff--cheeseburger sliders, chips and dips, crudites, brownies and ice cream . . .

I'm not normally a sports fan but this was special. And how nice when you-know-who was roundly booed when his image was shown. (Not the guy below--that's just a random pic I took.)

 

Silent Sunday

 

Moby Wan Cannoli

 He is not pooping; he is sitting on Bob. (Who quickly let him know that such behavior was unacceptable.)   

                                        

This big goofy guy has taken to spending weekdays at our house while his people are at work. He is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever known and, as such, has me wrapped around his extra-arge paw.

                                     

Hawk

.

Justin got those pictures of a hawk resting in the shade of our old chicken house. 

It seemed disinclined to move and I contacted Connie, my bird expert neighbor. She said it might be resting in the shade (it's very hot here today) or digesting a big meal or, worst case, feeling the effects of eating a poisoned rodent.

Connie also said she couldn't be sure from the picture  sent her if it's a Red-Tailed (look for red on the tail feathers) or a Broad -Winged Hawk (look for white on the breast,)

We'll try to keep an eye on the critter. Connie also gave a number to call for a rehab group.

Update: As of Friday morning, the hawk is gone. And not lying on the ground, thank goodness. So it must have been the heat or a big meal.

 

Some Neighbors

These are all at a distance, testing the modest limits of my camera's lens. But I caught the elusive Scarlet Tanager again, as well as a not very elusive Blue Jay.

The little jungle of trees at the foot of our yard seems to be a popular hangout.

There's a Downy Woodpecker . . .

And a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, both frequent customers at our suet feeder.

Excellent neighbors, all of them!