A Message from Abby Normal the Labrador

Lorelei Lab will never find my bone here!

Thai One On

I love most southeast Asian dishes, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean.  But finding the ingredients can be a little daunting in some areas. This vegetable-heavy take on Pad Prik which normally uses a specialty curry paste and kaffir lime leaves (not easy to find in our small Polish-owned grocers) turned out pretty good.  Good old Sriracha Thai Chili sauce is the secret.  (the most common brand seen in stores, made by Hoy Fung foods is made in the USA, including the bottles). Oh, and there's something called "fish sauce".

Don't turn up your nose at "fish sauce".  Outside of fresh-caught salmon (and I mean we caught it that morning and grilled it, stuffed with lemon and onion wrapped in bacon and drizzled with teriyaki) and occasional beer-battered Irish Pub fish and chips, I'm not a fish fan.  But I use fish sauce a lot in Southeast Asian and Chinese dishes.  There's a reason it's a staple in Southeast Asian cultures. If you love Caesar salad, you've eaten one of the main ingredients in the dressing.  Anchovies.  For fish sauce, anchovies caught from clear waters and with salt, are fermented in wooden barrels and then VERY slowly pressed to produce this savory liquid  Like Brut aftershave I'd not recommend putting your nose to the bottle for a big whiff, but just a small amount can add a deep richness and depth to a dish (with no "fishy" taste).

If you can, look for Red Boat Fish sauce on the internet, (just google it)  because most of the ones in the grocery are full of additives, wheat protein, chemicals, and MSG.  Red Boat Fish sauce is gluten-free and is really tasty.

For the marinade

2 TBS fish sauce
2 TBS light oil peanut or vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon honey (or light brown sugar)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons ground coriander  (you might try ginger if you can't find coriander)

1/2  tsp white pepper

For the stir fry sauce

1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons  fish sauce

1/4  cup plus 2 Tablespoons cup rice vinegar

1/4  plus 2 Tablespoons water

3 TBS  light brown sugar or honey

3 TBS  Sriracha

 For the stir-fry

1 and 1/2 pounds Seitan or veggie meat substitute

4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 Tablespoons of  peanut or vegetable oil

2 Thai, serrano, or red  jalapeño peppers, minced
1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

3 cups green beans

1/2 cup basil finely chopped only slightly.

1 lime- cut into quarters
1 Tablespoons chive chopped for rice garnish (photo op optional)

Mix the marinade ingredients together and mix with meat that you've cut into fairly small, thinner pieces in a gallon zip lock bag, and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Mince the garlic and mix it with 1 tsp of oil.  Set it aside.

Halve the peppers, scraping the seeds out for mild to medium thai hot.  Slice the red bell pepper into long, fairly thin strips.

Clean the green beans and place in a bowl with the finely diced chilis and your red pepper.

Heat up your skillet or wok in which you've drizzled a couple of teaspoons of vegetable or peanut oil.  Plan on cooking your meat in three batches after you've removed it from the marinade (which is discarded).  This ensures it stays nice and brown instead of getting pale and limp from overcrowding, which teams to end up steaming the meat, not stir-frying it.

When the oil is shimmering and a drop of water sizzles on it and evaporates, you're ready to cook your meat.   The meat will cook very quickly and don't be tempted to constantly maneuver it around with your spatula.  Put the pieces in there, and let cook two minutes to sear them on one side, then move them around the pan stir fry fashion until they're cooked through (about another minute)

Remove the meat to a bowl when cooked through and cook the remaining batches.

Do NOT be tempted to cook it all at once.  It takes just as long and your meat will not be nearly as good.

Add 2 tsp. more oil to the skillet and when shimmering, add the green beans and chilis/bell pepper  Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.  Clear out a little space in the center and add the garlic/oil mixture, pressing down for 10-15 seconds, then stir it in with the veggies and add the sauce.

Increase heat to high and cook for about half a minute, until it thickens slightly (but not too long so you have some liquid left)  Add your meat, stir in the basil and remove the pan from the heat. 

Serve with rice if you are so inclined and a wedge of lime.

Quote for the Day

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. - Plutarch

Night Watch

“At least once every human should have to run for his life, to teach him that milk does not come from supermarkets, that safety does not come from policemen, that 'news' is not something that happens to other people. He might learn how his ancestors lived and that he himself is no different--in the crunch his life depends on his agility, alertness, and personal resourcefulness.”

― Robert A. Heinlein

A late Spring snowstorm hits the Midwest and a city will grind to a halt. An autumn windstorm of vast power catches the west, catching many off guard. I pay attention to the weather, the forecasts, the chances for a really bad day. I've learned firsthand how nature is more than happy to cut off your breath with a choking whisper of disregard.

Few do. Hollywood actors return from the political fundraisers to their houses build on hillsides that do, and will for eternity, burn to the dirt line every few years. People move to the mountains, build houses the size of New Hampshire, including green lawns that have to be watered in the high desert and then wonder why there's a water shortage and they have to dig a new well so often.

As that commercial from my childhood went "it's not NICE to fool mother nature".

You never know from whence your own moment will come. A couple of winters ago in my own area, a woman talking on her cell phone on ice-slicked roads drives into a small pond and drowns mere feet from the bank, somewhere else, someone killed by a falling branch, heavy with ice as they took the dog out. There will not be a Spring storm where someone doesn't try and cross a rain-washed road only to be washed away and drowned. The unwary, the naive, don't last long in the world we live in now.
As a child, I lived right on the edge of mountains, which I could see out my window, where I could hear all that was around me in the still, dark nights. In those days before the big box marts moved in and a highway came on through, you could live the sound of nature right outside the window at night. I'd listen for the screech of the owl, the tiny fairy feet of a chipmunk on the deck, the lumbering gait of a raccoon, looking for something good to eat, the tiny tracks in the pristine snow. So young, so idealistic, I'd yet to understand that nature often wears a benign disguise to hide the evidence of how both man and beast craft their own survival.

Later, as I was learning to hunt, I'd see the predators, a bobcat shadowing me, or the deer that I was stalking. There in the edge of my vision, deer rifle slung over the shoulder, I'd be watching him watching me. He turns, so thin as he moves sideways that his form seem no larger than a branch, a shadow of tooth and claw, and then he's gone.

A crack of thunder splits the night, a warning to take shelter.  As I hurry back to camp I know that somewhere tonight, blood, hot and dense, bringing both pleasure and pain, will soak into the ground, starting the cycle of life again. From the woods a cry of an animal lingered long on the air, leaving on the breeze the thin echo of regret.  Today you weren't worthy prey, tomorrow who knows

It's not just in the woods when my mind has turned towards being prey. There's been times where I've turned the key in the ignition of a little Cessna, took a long hard look at the sky, and shut down the engine, tied it back down and headed in. But there were also times I flirted with the cold and the dark with the abandon that one gets when their youthful flesh is untouched.

We all take paths that seem exciting at the time, as we travel the wilderness of a heart, of a landscape. Everything is as it seems to be, you're not mindful of the dangers, the lies that flow from a warm front during a time of cold.  Yet sometimes, the sky clears, you look carefully at where you're at, and where you're headed and realize the wisest thing to do is to walk away, clean and with as little blood as possible.
Fear is a gift of nature so that the field will be more fairly played. I still spend just as much time outdoors as I did as a young woman. The walks are often alone, but on my hip is a weapon always, especially when out West when the four-legged predators are a little bigger than they normally grow in the Midwest.

On the table by the bat phone is a stone I took from a field.  It was not a party to anything I was looking at that night, it simply was there, marking the spot where I stood like an unblinking eye. When I picked it up, the rock was still warm, not enough to pull my fingers away, but enough that it possessed a luminescence heat, not the sort that would burn, but a slow steady warmth that the dying fire may scorn, rain would dilute, but only time could truly deplete. I picked it up and held it in my hand, feeling it cool. Not everything of strength and density is cold. Watching a drip of water fall to the ground I thought, even a stone can weep.

Years later I would look at the phone that whispered to me with the deliberate murmur of its waiting. I know it's going to ring, somehow I always seemed to know. It dud, late in the evening, nearly dark. Somewhere on the cold air, buzzards soar in strong wind, the stiff breeze giving them the illusion of regression. The truck's warmed up, it's time to take my things and go.
As I headed down the road that night, a yawn escapes from me. My breath was frosty against the window as I turn past the cemetery, where angelic forms in shadowed marble muse, their eyes raised up above as if to ask why.

I could not answer that question, I could only drive the truck to where I've been called, scars hidden underneath a dark blue jacket, the letters that spell out my calling, splayed like snow across the back. I watched my path closely, eyes straight out on the road, checking for downed limbs or water underneath the clearing sky.

I looked out at the shadowed form of fence and trees, broken branches drooping, the landscape empty and uncaring, even as it flows as liquid past, from right to left. What is left was a silent blur, posts and caution signs, shattered with rain, dissolving into ground, each in their ordered place so soon to be disregarded. I opened the window for the sound of nature and heard it in all its glory, a song simple in melody and tone. It's repentance, and retribution, ecstasy and bereavement; a tune spun on the night air, a disembodied wind singing a lament for those who trod where they should not.

Dressed for the Hunt - The Remington 870

Like the Mossberg 500, the first time I saw the Remington 870, and saw what it could do, all I could think of was "why didn't I get one of these before?".  They are well priced, totally reliable and very adaptable for many uses, the Remington being used by both civilian and military. Whether you want one for self defense for the home, hunting or just sport shooting, you'll quickly find out that there is a reason the Remington 870 is the most popular slide action shotgun on the planet. Add in to that the appeal that it's still U.S. Made by the Remington Arms Co., Inc.

The Remington Model 870 Wingmaster pump gun is probably the best known and best selling pump action shotgun in North America. First introduced in 1950 as the "Wingmaster", it replaced the Model 31, a gun that was well received but it still stumbled in sales when compared to the popular Winchester Model 12.

Prior to the 870, many firearm parts used forged and machined parts The 870 utilized stamped steel parts to replace many of those bit, making it more profitable to sell, and economical to pick up. Due to its twin action bars it is non-binding and very smooth to operate. It didn't look "clunky" either, always a sleek piece with a streamlined receiver.

There are as many variations of the 870 as there are types of shotgun purpose, ranging from the Classic Trap with highly polished blue steel to a glossy walnut stock to plain black "meat guns" with black plastic stocks and dull black metal finishes. There's cammo and shiny and black and blue and brown. If you have a taste in finish or style you can probably find it in the 870. Available gauges include 12, 16, 20, 28, and .410 bore and your choices of ammo, even greater. Barrel lengths range from 30" down to 18" depending on model and purpose. There are plain and ventilated rib barrels, with various sorts of sights. Most barrels come with interchangeable Rem Choke tubes of one type or another, but a few are still bored and some are rifled. Still, due to its twin action bars, it's a sleek and smoothering piece, no matter what finish you pick.

Barrels are user interchangeable and there are a great assortment of barrels available at low cost, adding to the versitility of the firearm. (simply open the action and unscrew the magazine cap to remove the barrel.) From what I hear, Remington offers accessory barrels of various types in lengths from 20" to 30".

The 870 features a bottom-loading, side ejecting receiver, tubular magazine under the barrel, dual action bars, internal hammer, and a bolt which locks into an extension in the barrel. The action, receiver, trigger system, safety catch and slide release catch of the Remington Model 870 shotgun are similar to those used on the Remington Model 7600 series pump-action centerfire rifles and carbines.

The original 870 models were offered with fixed chokes. In 1986 Remington introduced the new Remington "Rem Choke" system of screw-in chokes (also fitted to Remington model 1100 auto-loading shotguns at the same time). Initially, the Rem Chokes were offered on barrel lengths of 21, 26 and 28". From what I understand, it was not offered on 30" barrels, deer guns, target guns or as a retrofit.

Those are just the basics I've learned from talking to folks about this fine firearm. Here's what I thought of it after actually getting my hands on one. Again, I'm not an expert marksman, or a gunsmith and if you have any questions on the ownership or operation of this or any firearm, ask the manufacturer or your favorite NRA instructor.

Safety: The safety is located on the triggerguard, to the rear, in a cross-bolt fashion. You press to the right to make the weapon "on safe" and to the left to take the weapon "off safe". Pressing back and forward for "on safe" or "off safe", like the Mossberg does, seems more instinctive to me though. I also didn't like that the safety must be actuated with the trigger finger and in doing so, you must move the finger away from the indexed position to behind the triggerguard. I like the old AR15 theory, you use your thumb for the safety, and your trigger finger for the trigger.

Slide Release is found on the left side of the triggerguard, to the front. I have fairly long fingers for a woman and would have no problem reaching the slide release with my trigger finger.

The action: fast and smooth as silk, what more can I say?

Now, How does it shoot? The gun has been indirectly marketed as a firearm for the "average man"; a weapon that just about anyone can pick up and feel comfortable shooting, with manageable recoil. But with shooters today including young women, teens of both sexes, Mom's and Grandmothers, and men ranging from "fun sized" to "big foot", there really IS no average. Most shotguns have similar stock dimensions on paper, with length of pull, drop at the heel, drop at the comb and cast, all being pretty much the same, until you put it up to your shoulder and cheek and pull the trigger.

Point-ability of a gun is directly related to both the weight, center of gravity, and mass moment of inertia of the gun. It's not just length, it's not material, it's some magic formula of width of the stock, the length and and width of the butt, the shape of the pistol grip, and how the grip transitions to the receiver and onto the sighting plane and rib of the gun. All these things, (along with the center of gravity and if you hold your mouth just right) come into play with how the weapon will feel in your hands and reacts as you fire.

Firing one for the first time reminded me of when I was a kid and an adult took the little Daisy rifle out of my hand and put a real long gun in it. It was heavy, it seemed to be as long as I was tall, and when I fired it, the recoil about knocked me down. There was a flash of powder and light as Thor's hammer struck in a slow, solid repercussion of sound and force that I felt all the way down my legs, in muscles and places I'd forgotten. Then the air cleared, a vacuum, an interval of recognition and amazing clarity and I knew something; in the tremble of flesh and the warmth of my hands. I wanted this. I wanted this again. I don't care if it will probably hurt me some in the process.

Remington has nailed that feeling. Sure it had some kick to it, but it was enough to make me know I was alive and I wanted this gun. I've only shot one 870 and it just felt right, like we were already old friends.


Prince Charming or Just another Toad?: There is no such thing as a perfect firearm and certainly not a perfect shotgun, but with sales in the 10's of millions, I think Remington has come close, there not really being too many superior pump guns out there, even for the price.

Early production 870s did have a design flaw whereby a user could either "short stroke" the action - not pull the forearm all the way back while cycling the action - or fail to press a shell all the way into the magazine when loading. This would cause the gun's action to lock up like a Quicki Mart safe after midnight, requiring rough treatment of the action or even disassembly to clear.

Before the gun was modified to correct this, gunsmiths catering to the tactical competition crowd were said to have cut a slot opening on the shell riser which would allow the shooter to use a small object like a key to push the shell back into the magazine tube and free up the action again. Some folks were said to simply have given the gun a short spank from butt to ground and the action might jar lose. Neither method, if they worked, was something a shooter wanted to have to do.

The issue was resolved with the introduction of the "Flexi Tab" carrier, the engineers having come up with a way for a little "tab" they cut in the shell riser that allowed a bit of give for the jammed shell. Guns with this modification can be identified by the "U"-shaped cut-out on the carrier, visible from below the gun. The cut-out allows the round to ride over the carrier without binding the action, so if you bind the action from a short stroke you simply briskly cycle the again and everything un-jams and you're back shooting.


The other drawback I could say to the weapon would be carrying it out in the field for long periods of times (make a wimpy girl remark and I WILL fling a muffin at your head :-) I'm 5 foot 8 and don't believe in the whole "diet until you look like a bag of antlers" theory so not only do you not have to shake the sheets out in the morning to find me, I can walk 10 miles chasing after pheasants and everyone else. Even so, my arm would be sore from hauling this firearm on the such trip.  Would it keep me from doing so? Absolutely not. It's not exactly lightweight, but the steel receiver really enhances the natural balance of the gun compared to an alloy, so it's a fair trade off. But after a long day chasing pheasants your arms will proclaim you've been carrying it for a long while. You can always go for a smaller gauge, with the right target placement, a pheasant is going to drop with just about any amount of lead you can get out of this firearm.

Trigger: The trigger group itself was first used in the automatic 11-48. Trigger pull was good, not too long of a draw and about 4 and a half pounds. I believe the 870 my coworker let me shoot had a trigger job, so I can't state with any experience what it would shoot like out of the box, but no complaints.

Tactical Smactical: I've no experience with one yet as a tactical piece, but I'm sure there are a number of reviews on that aspect of the weapon. I would say though that with the weight and balance, it would be an excellent choice. Want to "Pimp your Remington" ? There's all kinds of aftermarket parts for the 870 (stocks, grips, forearms and other toys) and someone who wants to beef up the size or weight of their 870 can do it as long as the better half doesn't notice the money you're spending (but if she or he now wants one of their own, bless you!). Additionally, I was told that several parts of the 870 will interchange with the semi-automatic Remington 1100 and 11-87, perhaps one of my readers can confirm that.

You can find about ANYTHING for this firearm, often at surprisingly reasonable prices. I can tell you that you don't necessarily have to add rifle sights or a pricy set of ghost rings to make your plain vanilla model 870 dance with slugs. Sure they make it easier, but like most firearms, it's more about the shooter than the piece.You don't necessarily have to have a setup barrel that's been back bored and ported to get maximum pattern performance and minimum recoil out of something you want to use tactical. Talk to some folks that shoot tactical, and see what they say before you hand over your VISA to the smiling guy behind the counter. Frankly, a good recoil pad will do a lot for recoil but don't let a salesperson tell you that backboring is the only way to go, as it's also an expensive way to go. Ask around, talk to other 870 owners, they may agree with the salesperson, or not, but it might save you some money to do a little homework.

Would I buy one? Definitely.  If I could, I'd be the skattergun polygamist and have four of them in various configurations.

Why?  It represents the quintessential American shotgun. The designer that left his mark on it is considered right behind JMB as the second best firearm designer of the century.  His name, John Pedersen, and  he was around from the Model 10 to the 870. John Moses Browning told Maj. Gen. Julian S. Hatcher of U.S. Army Ordnance that Pedersen "was the greatest gun designer in the world". You can't ask for higher praise.

This is a dependable, rugged, "working guy or gal's" firearm. It's wicked on sporting birds and often the first shotgun to be torn down and re-assembled into a home defense weapon. If a home invader hears a round being chambered in your 870, he's likely to be back out the door, running away, before you even see him. Coming from an LEO family I can say that a lot of police officers probably owe their lives to their 870, as well.

Overall, they're as reliable as a hammer, drop one in the water, you can likely yank the grass out of the receiver and keep on blasting game birds. They're easy to tear down and clean and impossible to hurt.

All in all, its reputation is deserved. It's a firearm that's dressed for the hunt, not for the wall.

Lab in an Elevator

 

Lorelei - our latest Lab Rescue (released from a breeder to a rescue group when she quit producing enough puppies) has been a joy these last two years.  She was six when we got her, had no idea what "grass" was or playtime or couches.  She's now spoiled rotten and Abby Lab treats her well, no jealousy between our "girls".

But this summer she suddenly stopped going up the back steps. X rays revealed severe arthritis in her back hips, probably from years of inbreeding in her lineage.What to do? Our house is on a walk-out basement so there is no way into the home except going up steps. We had to use a harness and lift her up, not easy even with two of us as she's the biggest Lab I've ever owned, weighing in at well over 100 pounds.  When Partner in Grime is on the road there is no way I can get her in and out of the house.  The stairs are too steep for a ramp up to the top but there was no way I was going to rehome her to a place with no steps.  Quick. . . a winch, some wood, and an engineer with a sandwich-making sidekick - we have a doggie elevator!

It plugs into an existing outlet and the whole setup can be removed from the steps if need be for major snow removal (so no required building permit).

I present. . Lab in an Elevator

Weekly Range Readings - "The Blue Man" by John L. Moore

 

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

 - Daniel 12:3

From the book blurb:  “Ezra Riley is a hardened Montana cowboy who prefers the hills, cattle, and horses to cities, but his unique gift for dream interpretation has him secretly taken to the White House where the President is suffering from recurring nightmares. Riley's encounter with the President launches a series of attacks by the man behind the nightmares, William Anderson Hall, an elderly master spy and a pioneer in the CIA's experiments with psychic powers and hallucinogens. In his remote Virginia compound, Hall has invested 30 years and millions of dollars in creating Blue Man, the ultimate psychic warrior”.

I’ve read the story of Ezra Riley in Mr. Moore’s superlative earlier books in the Ezra Riley series.  Although they are not integral to understanding the character and storyline in this, his latest work, they helped me better see the Montana landscape, rough and hewn, that shaped Ezra in every way.  I’ve watched the land as it challenged him, tried him, and occasionally attempted to kill him and in this book, we see him at his finest, poet, cowboy, a soul like forged steel housed in an aging body

This work defies an average description.  It’s a taut thriller, it’s a eulogy to a way of life that some say is dying out, it’s a halleluiah to God and the nation founded under Him, it’s a Christian view of a spiritual war fought not by flesh and blood but by dominions and ideologies.  In a great thriller, evil is disarmed, and in this, a thriller with a Christian theme, evil, as well, is defeated with the help of a solid man and a really good horse.

But Ezra is not the only one with a gift, that of prophecy, much like Daniel of the Bible.  The Blue Man is also gifted, but not by one that guides and guards but those that seek only to control and destroy. When circumstances put Ezra in the crosshairs of a President’s dream, and an adversary’s dark purpose the reader just needs to hold on for the ride.  Add into the mix an ex-champion bronco-rider buddy on a Clydesdale, and your CIA level skullduggery you’ve got non-pause action, allowing you only to take in that breath as you comprehend just how deep conspiracies lie.

I won’t put any spoilers here.  But for those of us who view Ezra as almost supernatural in his abilities, the climax where Ezra fights for his life as the Blue Man goes to claim the world as he now knows it had me catch my breath.  When Ezra’s interoperation of the President’s dream was made known I had to just sit and think how true that interpretation can be in today’s world - a world that still holds its promises as it has men like Ezra Riley in it.  - Brigid

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Man-John-L-Moore/dp/1647193508/

 

John L. Moore, an award-winning novelist and journalist has published seven novels, several non-fiction books, and over 2000 articles, poems, short stories, columns, and reviews in scores of literary, Western, Christian, livestock, and equine publications. A third-generation Montana rancher, his work is noted for authenticity and vivid descriptions. He is best known for his western classic, "The Breaking of Ezra Riley," the winner of several awards. His sixth novel, "Looking for Lynne" won the silver medal in the 2015 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction. His seventh novel is "Blue Man."

Moore and his wife, Debra, live on the family ranch north of Miles City, Montana. Active in ministry for over 25 years, Moore has appeared in four documentaries because of his knowledge of the history of horses on the Northern Great Plains. He is a member of the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Montana ProRodeo Hall of Fame.

Leveling the Playing Field

Last night was Mexican Train night.  Partner in Grime has been on the road a lot the last month so when he got home a few days ago, it was to a home-cooked meal as his traveling food lately has been limited to canned soup, and sandwiches but at least with no international travel due to COVID he missed out on the pub in Northern England I refer to as "The Grease and Weasel".

Let's play Mexican Train!

The object of the game is for a player to play all the dominoes from his or her hand onto one or more tracks emanating from a central hub or "station", matching the number on one end of the domino with the number on the last piece played on a track. If you can't play, you draw from the remaining train yard of dominoes on each turn, until you can play, making getting rid of all your dominoes (the goal) a challenge. If you can't play on your "track" (which is private until you can't play on it) you put your train out at the end of it, showing it's no longer a private train and other players can play on your now public track.  When you can play on it, your track and train go private again. There are a few other rules, but that's the basics of it. Two can play or more.  I have a set that plays four easily with "double twelves" making for a lot of numbers to keep track of in your head.

It's fun as there is always the "chance" element, the luck of the draw, but if you know how many of each domino are issued, what's on the board, and based on what they couldn't play on and had to draw, what your opponent does NOT have in their trainyard, you can block many a move. Adding the strategy worthy of a board war game with the element "what the mumble mumble did I just DRAW!" just makes it fun all around.

Usually, Partner and I are on level playing fields with games.  Not for last night's games,

A representation of my first game

 And my second.

Wow, look at the time!  I think I need to go make dinner!

click on food photos to enlarge

 Mexican Train Casserole (otherwise known as Southwest Lasagna Casserole ).

The recipe appears detailed but it's very easy and almost impossible to mess up.  Layered with tortillas instead of lasagna noodles, roasted corn (I got lazy and used Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn) and lots of pre-shredded cheese and beef in a sauce spiced with homemade enchilada sauce, it's easy. All you have to do really is whip up the sauce, cook the beef and assemble. You can even make it ahead of time, just heat it an extra 10 minutes.

Add some  Stone Ground Corn Muffins  and you'll be all set.

These are moist  inside with the heartiness of the stone-ground corn and a decided crunch to the outside that's like the crispy edge of cornbread baked in cast iron (and much cheaper to make than the box kind)

If you haven't played the Mexican Train Dominoes game, give it a try.  If you are looking for something for supper, this is a meal you can't derail.

Plus it's easy to make leaving you time to do something a little more successful than the Mexican train game after supper.

Happiness is a Warm Cookie

Look closely at the photo----------->

Someone was trying to quietly raid the homemade cookies.

This picture makes me smile. On the wall at Dad's was a platter that my Uncle the Boeing engineer brought back from a business trip to Iran back in the late '50s or '60s.   He had told my Dad that it was a serving plate, covered with olives and all sorts of tidbits and they gave him the platter as a gift.  I went to snap a photo and only after enlarging it, did I see someone in the kitchen pilfering a cookie.

As is often the case, when I went to visit,  Dad only had packaged cookies from the store, made out of special Keebler Kevlar, so I usually made a batch when I popped in for a visit, and cousin L. always brought a big bag up when she visited.

On the trip the photo was taken, Dad was a little low on chips, sugar, and real butter. so for this recipe I added in some sour cream for moistness, and a hint of cardamom and orange zest to accent the reduced dark chocolate.  It made a soft, almost cake-like cookie that Dad raved about.

2 cups flour
1 and 1/2  tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp. orange zest (the finely grated outer peel of an orange)
1/2 cup butter, gently melted so it's mostly liquid but not real hot
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (not "lite")
1 cup dark chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease it well, even if non stick).

In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, cream together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in eggs and sour cream until well blended.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom, stir into the butter mixture. Mix in the orange zest and dark chocolate chips.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoons 3 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. These will be soft, lightly colored cookies so do NOT overbake. Let cool on wire rack

That trip, Dad didn't get a fancy platter, but after his late afternoon snack of cookies, he did get a small martini and both remotes so he was a happy man.

Good memories. 

Sunday Home on the Range Book Roundup

For my book-loving friends, I'm adding a weekly review of a book I've enjoyed.  I've been blessed to be friends both on and off social media with so many gifted writers, J.L. Curtis, Peter and Dorothy Grant (both brilliant writers), Katie Andraski, Lawdog, John L. Moore (his superlative new piece The Blue Man will be highlighted next week), and so many others.  

But I'd like to introduce authors you may not have read yet.  I love a good thriller and police procedural type book.  Some I just shake my head at, given my background (they did WHAT to the crime scene?) and others are so over the top implausible I might as well read science fiction.  

This is an author I met through a writer's group, a former police officer with a series involving law enforcement "across the pond" that is deeply engaging and his newest book is no exception.  I won't give anything away, but this is a haunting book, in that you almost wish the killer gets away with it until a line is crossed.  Whatever your personal opinion of their motivations the words will stay with you, creating an image etched upon your eyelids for you to see every time you blink. I'd recommend reading it with the lights on.  

Amazon book link

mybook.to/killingevillink

Book Blurb

You've done a bad thing. You will pay the price.

Alice Granger is no ordinary survivor. She has a tale to tell, a story of revenge.

Alice feels driven to protect the innocent from dangerous men. Men like her father. Men who hurt children. Predators who prey on the innocent. And there’s nothing Alice won’t do to make them pay.

Alice wants to make them suffer as their victims did. But the police are one step behind. And as the net closes, Alice’s life spirals out of control, the lines between good and evil becoming ever more blurred as she attempts to escape capture.

When the hunted becomes the hunter, is anyone innocent?

Author Bio

John Nicholl, an ex-police officer, social worker and lecturer, is the award-winning, Amazon bestselling author of 11 darkly psychological suspense thrillers. John’s books are set in the UK and have a Welsh flavour. He began writing after leaving his job heading up child protection services.

John's English language books are published by leading crime and thriller publisher - Bloodhound Books - part of American company - Open Road Integrated Media (OR/M).

The Wisdom of Dock Dogs

 Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
- T. S. Eliot

 Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall.
- Ray Bradbury

 No need to teach an eagle to fly.
— Greek Proverb

 Time is flying never to return.
- Virgil

 I have not yet learned to keep still.
 Apollonius of Tyana

The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy. 
Carl von Clausewitz 

  You have freedom when you're easy in your harness.
- Robert Frost

 The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
- Douglas Adams

 He who is brave is free.
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

  Boldness be my friend.
- William Shakespeare

 No man is free who is not master of himself.
- Epictetus

 Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
- George S. Patton

 Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.
- Voltaire

 The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.
-  Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

 My soul is in the sky
— William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

 It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.
- Carl von Clausewitz

 Courage is knowing what not to fear.
- Plato

A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live. 
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

 Life must be lived as play.
- Plato