Santa Clara County, CA -Three Months Crazy – but healthy
When I was 13 my parents asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. Jimmy Durante was going to have a dinner show at the The Roosevelt Hotel. I adored this guy. Every time I saw him on TV I smiled. So…I told them I wanted to see his show. And…they took me. And…he came to the table and had a piece of my birthday cake. I was beyond happy!
Ellespeth ♥
I’m still under the weather. Thought I was better but…this doesn’t mean I’m not having chocolate iced chocolate birthday cake tonight. It’s there, on the table, in a tiny pink box, waiting for me. Then, I get this – from my brother…
Warning: If you are receiving this message on March 16 then you may be having a birthday. Do not have a birthday if you are not actually one year older. Do not take more than the prescribed daily dose of happy birthdays. While having a birthday, excitability or drowsiness may occur. You may consume numerous alcoholic drinks while having a birthday, but avoid driving a vehicle or operating heavy machinery. Do not have a birthday for more than 24 hours as this may cause a dangerous birthday overdose, result in symptoms of birthday withdrawal, require immediate medical intervention, or have an adverse effect on your credit rating.
Till latrez…
Ellespeth ♥
You’ll be singing this song to me all this year – just like I sang it to you 🙂 In a couple of months now I’ll be this age I never imagined possible – at the time of this song. So I’ll be posting lots, this year, about being 64 and stuff leading up to this year in my life.
I’m the silent type. If I do speak truthfully – about anything important to me – you’d find that in my poetry.
So heads up….
Ellespeth
I wrote this for this week’s Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle 100 words (or so) based on the photo prompt below. Come join us!
At The Birthday Supper
It was Mother’s birthday. She was 85. Maybe she’d remember it was her
favorite restaurant.
“Where are all my things?” she asked.
“What things, Mother? Those things that you didn’t want to leave when you were 50?”
“I remember that birthday. You took me for supper then, too. I don’t know why I never left him. Do you remember?” Mother was cutting an asparagus spear.
“I guess, like he said, he thought you were ethereal and that meant something no one else could ever understand.”
“At the end, he wouldn’t even hold my hand.”
“Don’t look back, Mother.” I squeezed her hand.
Ellespeth
photo Copyright – Dawn Q. Landau
Between pre-preparing some sort of Cajun Enchilada Sauce recipe I made up yesterday and watching toddlers this morning and doing the grocery this afternoon, I wanted to drop in to say:
You will be 72 this coming Monday…I don’t sense that to see you or to know you or to love you. We’ll have a small dinner party Saturday – a lil birthday celebration. We’ll all feast on some sorta enchiladas Cajun style and some sorta strawberry shortcake your style! Lovely and wonderful and yum!
Recipe:
Some Sorta Cajun Enchilada Sauce Recipe – you’ll need to make a roux
You want to make this a day or so before…that lets the flavors sit around and marry up with each other. So the party is Saturday evening and I’m making the enchilada sauce today – Thursday late afternoon.
Ingredients:
almost half a cup of olive oil – or less. if this is your first time making a roux, use almost half a cup. Less oil is better for your health, but worry about that next time!
4 tablespoons of unbleached flour or some sort of flour
2 14.5 oz cans of no salt added diced tomatoes or fresh tomatoes to equal that
one half of a large onion diced
some garlic chopped fine – about a tablespoon (I used that sort in a jar)
Make Roux:
Put your fire to a low medium – this is about where I kept it the entire roux making time…
So you want to take your olive oil or veg oil and sort of get that not too hot. So don’t get it too hot just warm it up – not until it’s smoking. Then add the flour and stir that in. Then let that cook. And let it cook. And let it cook. And let it cook until it’s the color of peanut butter. This took me about 20 mins. I’m a timid Cajun and I don’t want to burn my roux and have to start again. Plus I have lots of time. It’ll sorta have light bubbles and you want to stir it often.
You don’t want to leave the roux unattended for long at a time…but….While you’re cooking the roux, go on and chop that onion. If you’re using fresh garlic chop that too. Put the tomatoes into a blender and pulse a very few secs.
Then once your roux is done – the color of peanut butter (this is a lighter colored roux than for a gumbo) – go on and add the chopped onion and garlic. Let that all cook down for 15 – 20 mins. Then go on and add the pulsed tomatoes. Stir all that together pretty good. To taste, add: cumin, chilli powder and Mrs Dash and cayenne pepper…the whole point of making your own sauce is to know what’s in it and it helps reduce the sodium content and just damned tastes better than canned.
So then you simmer that Cajun Enchilada Sauce for 90 minutes then turn it off and let it cool down completely. Then put into the fridge. It’s Thursday early evening. I’ll use this by Saturday evening. This let’s all the flavors get together. If I don’t use it all, I’ll freeze it.
***so…once you finish this and put in the fridge, before you use it you will have to thin it out some with a bit of water. You won’t need it all so freeze some up. Now that it’s cooled, I anticipate using about three quarters of the recipe for the party.***
Then, we all know an enchilada:
18 large corn or flour tortillas (for party of 8)
put some seasoned cooked beef/chicken/seafood in the center (not too skimpy on the stuffing parts) and put some shredded cheese then roll it up. We are having 8 for dinner so I’m making 18 enchiladas. I’ll roll those up and put them into a lasagna pan sprayed with Pam and maybe will need another small pan to make 18. Then top that with your sauce and more cheese. Cover that pan/s and bake at like 325-350 for 20 mins then – if you want, and like some crispier parts – uncover and bake the other 10 to 15 mins. Cooking time is 30 -40 mins depending on the oven temp. I don’t think I’ll uncover it. I don’t like my cheese all dried out. Other people are successful at uncovering at the last and having everything perfect. I’m not one of those people…
For eight people that would make two enchiladas each. Serve with refried beans (I make my own to lose the sodium). Have condiments like sour cream and sliced jalapeño (fresh or in a jar) and sliced black olives and taco sauces of some kind (green and red). Have a nice green salad on the side or on the same plate.
Yummy in the tummy,
Ellespeth ♥
It’s not that I’m procrastinating but…
while we had the camera out of our hiking sack we thought we’d take a picture of one other writing implement I’ve used – or at least a piece of it. This is a Limoges inkwell given me – at 13 – by my Mimi. My dad’s mom. (She owned an old antique store in New Orleans) I had already written a few poems and was keeping a Dear Diary. I was sooooo excited to receive this inkwell! The problem was is was 1964 and it came without a ‘feather pen’ 😦 So, downtown my parents took me. To a fancy stationery store.
OMG! That began my love of pens and favorite pens and my feather pen! When we got home, I rushed up to my room. I had a small bottle of ink and my feather pen. Problems about filling the inkwell ensued and were somehow resolved. My feather pen was white and very, very plumy floaty in the air -ishy 🙂 My homework desk was also white sans an ink blotter 😦
This infatuation of feather pen and ink did not last very long. About two weeks. Every time I dipped the pen the next letter I wrote would begin with some goddess awful huge blob of ink. Being the perfectionist I am, this would never do and I went back to my Bic pen – which, itself, blobbed up from time to time.
If you managed to read this entire post, I thank you. I seem to have rambled 🙂
Ellespeth
It’s too hot to do much so…we are hosting a very impromptu Italian dinner party tonight. What you see it what you get…plus strawberries dipped in chocolate. If it stays hot – into the evening – there may be some ‘jumping into the pool activities’. I’ve resigned from the HOA Board so – to honor your birthday and Gary’s – skinny dipping may be allowed. Hahaha!
Ellespeth
Today is my birthday. We will save my favorite meal – mushroom and swiss cheese omelet and homemade sweet potato pie – for another day. We do, however, pop open a bottle of champagne and toast to me and you and us and everlasting love. But…you are sick so you can just have one glass. Oh snap! That means I am forced to drink the rest.
Ellespeth
Views From A Poet 