WhimsyLand

I did what I should have done earlier and just Googled Ms. Conquest.  It turns out she is Professor of the Aquatic & Fishery Sciences and Associate Director at University of Washington.  She graduated from Pomona with a B.A. in Math (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude), went to Stanford for her Masters, and got her PhD from U of WA 3 short years later.  Quite a lady, I'd say.  I can still remember the first day I met her.  I was in line in the Pomona cafeteria and you had to give your meal ticket number to her as you passed.  Each of the students in front of me said, "Hi, Love" and "Good morning, Love".  Given how lovely she was, I wasn't surprised that so many of us were enamored of her, but it was a bit overwhelming.

The Black Bean Cassoulet was thick and goopy and delicious.  Pirates actually got a little better as it went on, and Orlando got the girl, though (if I understood the script correctly), he has to serve a 10-year stint as the heartless captain of the Flying Dutchman.  Johnny sailed off to find the Fountain of Youth, which certainly smells like a sequel to me.


Congratulations to my friend Jill, who was project manager for the rather incredible MacBook Air.  It weighs 3 pounds and is about a half-inch thick.  Not bad for a device with a full-sized keyboard and 80GB hard drive.  It also boasts "multi-touch" technology like the iPhone.

I've spent the last two weeks de-spoiling Ms. Emily.  When I was on my trip to CA, Dima bought her some toys, fed her some special cat food that he feeds his cat, and even upgraded the litter box scooper to this giant thing the size of a backhoe.  One concession I've made in the cat care area is to play Follow The Red Dot 3-4 times a day with her.  The laser pointer was Sweet Junie's Christmas present to Emily and she loves it (Emily, that is, though I think Junie gets a kick out of it, too).  Ms. Em goes kinda nuts as I run the dot all over the living room, down the stairs to the office, back up and over to my other office, up the stairs and back again.  We do this until Em starts panting.  I didn't know that cats could pant.

I received another Cook's Illustrated today and the back cover is resplendent with Indian herbs and spices, including Cassia Bark (commonly sold today as cinnamon), mint, turmeric, fenugreek, nutmeg, cardamom, star anise, and bay leaves.  In fact (excluding the saffron), a lot of what goes into my home-made curry powder.  I was surprised to see saffron in the list, as I always associate it with Mediterranean climate.  Spain, where azafran is king, has had saffron on the menu since the 8th century, when the Moors brought it from Syria to cultivate in hospitable Spanish soil, and before long the monks were out there harvesting the Crocus sativus for their three stigma.  Spain is still by far the largest exporter and saffron remains the most expensive spice by weight in the world, generally costing about $200 an ounce retail, which makes it about a quarter the price of gold at today's prices.  OK, I won't do my usual diatribe about Christopher Kimball's editorial notes.  This month CI has decided to cater to those of us who want Crisp-Skinned Roast Chicken (as opposed the French potted chicken of last month), which includes cutting channels for fat, loosening the skin, poking holes, rubbing and chilling out, and roasting at high heat.  They also evaluate the Best Chickens in the World, and if you have the budget, recommend the D'Artagnan Heritage Blue Foot at twenty-one bucks for a 4 pound bird.  Perfecting Oven-Roasted Salmon is OK, but I still contend that the The World's Best Salmon recipe trumps it.  There's a really long and interesting (if you're into spuds) article on Rethinking Mashed Potatoes, which recommends a ricer which I already have and use, thank you.  Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew is a nice alternative to BBC, featuring cannellini beans instead of the French variety (or black beans), pancetta for the sausage, some carrots, and bunches of kale or collard greens, which seems appealing.  I may try this one and report back.  Chicken Saltimbocca Done Right seems like an oxymoron, since it's usually associate with veal, but Wikipedia assures me that chicken or pork are appropriate substitutes. Then, there's the latter pages of CI, where they insert filler like how to make the perfect Fluffy Yellow Layer Cake and How to Make Meringue Cookies, like anybody cared.  Their Consumer Reports-like section has an entry called Is Super-Premium Orange Juice Worth the Super-Premium Price, and they conclude only Natalie's Orchid Island Juice gives fresh-squeezed a run for their money, and isn't that much more than Tropicana Pure Premium (which was the runner-up), if you can find it.

That's all for today.  I think Lost may be on.  See you tomorrow, most likely.