Miss Stinkfinger

That's what my mother used to call me, laughingly, when I was small. It was appropriate yesterday, when I was cutting open dozens of silkworm cocoons to degum them.

When I counted out the 1500+ cocoons and sorted them, I thought they were thoroughly dessicated. Imagine my surprise when I opened my cedar closet and sniffed the stench of moldy organic matter.

So now the bulk of them are in the freezer, where at least they don't stink and a few hundred have been dried in the dehydrator. So, while Alyson made Cioppino from TJ, I cut open a hundred or so cocoons. At least the nasty brown color is cooking out along with the smell. It will take a lot of work, but I'll have a nice mass of degummed silk when I'm done.

Moderation in Anything

I ate the last chocolate chip cookie. I put crackers in my matzoh ball soup. Let's face it. I am not capable of moderation. Now my favorite trousers won't fit. How fitting.

The Miller's Wife gets it right

Monday night - Family Dinner night, which means a non-meat meal to accomodate Alyson. Thank God for Trader Joe, which has frozen fillets of Dover Sole.

I fried up six small fillets a la Mueniere, using a stick of butter in all, and they were just perfect.

I was so tired, as I often am and especially on Mondays, that I just didn't get up out of my chair to make a vegetable dish.

I did reheat Sunday's Matzoh Ball soup about a hour later, and it was a fine second course for Jim and me. Of course, I was knocked out by all that richness. I call it an acceptable trade-off.

I have one large and one small fillets still in the fridge, and thawed, of course. I'd better come up with a good use for them.

Chicken Soup with dumplings

Our neighbor, Mr. Anderson died last Monday (not Labor Day, the Monday before) and on Friday, when I had the day off, I roasted two chickens. Two, because one was for Mrs. Anderson next door.

No one was home that evening, when I tried to deliver the fragrant, browned bird (I used the directions in Mastering and basted those things with Olive Oil and butter - it took two hours) so by Monday I had most of two chickens and I cut off the meat and made about a gallon of chicken stock. Therefore: last night Jim and I had chicken soup.

Soup with celery, carrot and chopped meat in it, flavored with S&P, thyme and sherry needs only light Matzoh Balls for homey perfection. BUT-

I had cooked chicken livers in the freezer!

Yes, the other giblets went in to the gravy, but the livers were poached, chopped and frozen. As the Matzoh Ball mixture chilled, I microwaved the liver bits with a teaspoon of schmaltz, mashed them up with S&P and a few drops of sherry. The chopped liver went into the middle of each ball of dumpling, which ended up a little bigger than a golf ball - and into the boiling poaching brine.

Now, its getting harder to get simple basic ingredients at our local stores. Matzoh meal is a perfect example. Most of the time when I go looking for it, there is only 'Matzoh Ball Mix' available, and that is what I used last night. Unfortunately, this is an inferior product. The Matzoh Balls are 'light' because they are actually leavened with baking soda. This makes them plump up considerably in the cooking process (they ended up about half-a-fist sized) but they are so fragile they fall apart when lifted from the brine, and are lacking in good, matzoh-y taste, but salty.

Anyhoodle, Jim loved them (I'm still not a liver fan) and the soup was terrific, as usual. There are two servings in the fridge, for Jim's dinner tonight.

I hope the Co-Op stocks some plain Matzoh meal for Rosh Hashana, so I can stock up.

Hanging on

Well, the aforementioned Peach Pie went to work on Monday. It was ALL GONE by noon. The agency manger didn't even get a taste.
Alyson, Jim and I finished off Sunday's Tomato Quiche Nicoise on Monday night at family dinner. (Pictured at Right) I served poached eggs Florentine with a chunk of melty Stilton on top for more protein. Yum, if I do say so.
Somehow, I put one foot in front of another and got through to Thursday. Before plunging into work, I drove to Gaithersburg's best-and-most-remote Safeway to pick up something for lunch. The lunch was unenviable, but on the way a doe and still-spotted fawn crossed the four-lane in one of those magic moments when all the traffic pauses and God sends a little skit to be enacted right in front of you. Now I have something to remember when the library patrons act like idiots (and they will!).