Friday Music

This song was written and recorded by the same artist for her 1988 album – eponymous. However it was popularized by Mary Chapin Carpenter when released as the third single from her 1992 album Come On Come On.  

A winner of three Grammy Awards and a place on Rolling Stone’s top 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time there is Lucinda Williams. 

(Between you and me I think she’s channeling a wee bit of Chrissie Hynde)

Passionate Kisses.......

Recipe of the Day

Tomato Risotto

Time 30 minutes

If you’re like me you likely have an abundance of tomatoes from your garden or the farmers market this time of year.

Fortuitously, this David Tanis recipe landed in my inbox this morning courtesy of New York Times Cooking. Over coffee on the porch with the dogs to witness the sunrise it occurred to me that I had everything necessary to make this meal come together. The Pantry Warrior strikes again!

A basic risotto recipe that you can build-upon for various versions throughout the year. This iteration is built-upon red, ripe tomatoes from the garden, but if you want to ramp-up the tomato quotient, garnish the finished dish with cherry tomatoes or slices of multicolored heirloom varieties.

Best as a first course or vegetarian main course. It also pairs nicely with a main course — chicken or fish, for instance. I roasted a four pound chicken as the main.

I’ve adapted it slightly as follows:

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ garden onion, diced (about ½ cup)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup arborio or carnaroli rice
• Pinch of red-pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced fine
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 cups ripe red garden tomatoes, diced
• 3 – 4 cups boiling vegetable broth
• ½ cup grated pecorino (or Parmesan) plus more for serving
• 4 medium tomatoes, in different colors, sliced
• Chopped parsley, for garnish
• Snipped basil, for garnish

Preparation

1. Pour olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the onion and season generously with fresh-cracked sea salt and pepper. Cook until softened.
2. Add the rice, continuing cooking and stirring, until the onions and rice are barely brown. Add red-pepper flakes, garlic, white wine and diced tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Ladle boiling broth and adjust the heat to a brisk simmer stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
4. As the liquid is absorbed continue to ladle boiling broth until the rice is creamy yet firm (al dente). Taste and adjust with salt and pepper, adding additional broth as necessary to loosen the mixture. Turn off the heat, stir in the pecorino and 2 more tablespoons olive oil.
5. Transfer to a low, wide serving bowl. Surround the rice with tomato slices and season them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and basil. Pass more grated cheese at the table.
   
   
   
   
   

Tweet of the Absurd

President Trump tweeted yesterday for Republicans to go for the much higher numbers on stimulus.  

Good for him.  Why the president doesn’t simply roll-up his sleeves and bring the parties to the table isn’t earning him style points - but on principle this makes sense. 

Unfortunately it is likely too late anyway – sixty percent of businesses closed in March are now closed permanently.

He broke it - he owns it. 

Cue the Drama

There are some days I think I should just shut down and abandon the old Face Book page.  Too much fake news, anger and drama.  Force-fed too.  It is unlike here where attendance is strictly voluntary.  Sure, I use this platform to give voice to my opinions from time-to-time.  But if you don't care for my point of view - don't visit.  It is a simple solution.  

In any event, Face Book is voluntary as well and I have concluded that the benefits of keeping in-touch with relatives, neighbors, real friends, old childhood and high school or college friends and former business acquaintances outweighs the negative stuff.  I can skip and ignore the feigned outrage as needed.  And block those who drinketh the Kool Aid..

Nevertheless, there is this gem.  I share it as an example of what I am referring-to.  

From time to time I have challenged some individuals who claim that there is widespread and rampant fraud in Wisconsin's vote by mail program.  I challenge them to furnish evidence.  In this instance I likely pushed a wee bit too hard and accept blame for same.  Nevertheless, no evidence was forthcoming.  Instead there was this.....

Look at your profile picture. That mask is more about Trump hatred than anything. 

What the heck.  I never even introduced Donald Trump to the discussion.
  

Common sense would suggest that is a proud Wisconsin Badger mask.  I see nothing there that inspires either love nor derision of President Trump.  Get a grip for gosh sakes.

What I do know is in any given week I might don one of my masks for a cumulative total of 60 minutes - give or take.  I do this because I care about others when I cannot practice safe social distancing.  I have no clue if those people in close proximity have elderly parents in their home or a child with an auto-immune disorder.  I may have Covid and be asymptomatic.  Same for them.  Who am I to not take precautions and protect my neighbors and countrymen during a pandemic?  The contagion is yet to be extinguished.   Sure, I know that a mask is not 100% effective - but my doc suggests it is a good idea and I consider it my small contribution to the common goal of slowing the spread of disease and getting this country back on its economic feet.  It really is that simple - slow the spread of disease and get this country back on its economic feet.  

Around here businesses (properly) determine whether or not masks are required. They're optional otherwise.

And in case you haven't already gotten your calculator out I've done the math.  That 60 minutes is .006% of my entire week. It is not a hardship. This teensy weensy inconvenience is not a political statement nor the draconian yoke of government overreach.

It is not Trump hatred.  Sheesh..... 
 

Quote of the Day

A year from now the United States may have emerged from the economic hole dug during the pandemic with growth smartly above its previous trend and output largely recovered. 

Or it may be struggling to patch a remaining $2 trillion gash to gross domestic product, with growth stuck in low gear, an ongoing health crisis, and chronic joblessness. The guessing game that U.S. economic forecasting has become has produced a massive split in predictions as economists from the Federal Reserve to the top Wall Street firms take a stab at unknowables like the path of the pandemic and the ability of a fractured Congress to compromise on spending.

 -Howard Schneider

Birds of a Feather...

...Flock Together.

Wild turkeys ordinarily move around in flocks.  There are bachelor flocks populated with mature gobblers.  There are flocks of jakes - juvenile male birds that rove-around like a gang of unruly teenagers.  And when a mature gobbler has romance on his mind he will form a mating flock with five to fifteen hens.  Aside from the carnal advantages that may spring from the care and maintenance of your own personal harem - turkey flocks primarily exist to provide safety in numbers.  

The wild turkey's single most powerful sense is eyesight.  They view their world in living color and their daytime visual acuity is three times better than ours.  Furthermore, a single bird's field of vision covers 270 degrees.  If you had an inclination to sneak-up on a flock of a dozen birds - with all of those eyes on high alert - the odds of success would be a low probability calculation.  

This is what is known as a brood flock.

It centers around three matron hens - one of whom is the Boss Hen or leader - and they are collectively raising a group of 2020 newborn recruits.  Baby turkeys are called poults.

From all outward appearances there appear to be two age groupings in this flock.  Some of the poults are almost the size of barnyard chickens while the balance are slightly smaller.  If I had to hazard a guess - hatched a week to ten days apart.

The hens are the three larger birds in the background and the poults are grouped in the foreground.

This flock has had the temerity to strut thru our yard on occasion so we already know about the three hens and what appear at last count to be eighteen to twenty-four or more poults.

How many of the young can you count in the photo?

I'll post the correct answer later.
 

Atmospheric Haze

The sun today has taken-on a weird and spooky color as smoke from the West Coast wildfires spread across the continent.....

Edit to add this was later.