Feeding the young people

The young people in our family are working very hard to improve themselves and their lot. There is school, work, studying, and a little time for play. We have tried to improve their lives a bit by giving them a choice of day to have a home-cooked meal that they do not have to prepare while exhausted. They chose Fridays, a day when they can look forward to a brief weekend.

Our first attempt had a Greek theme. Favorite youngest daughter (FYD) had accompanied us on a trip to Greece. We had all enjoyed the food, so hence the menu.

We started with spanakopita, a spinach pie. It is a savory pie containing spinach, feta cheese, eggs, and garlic. It is surrounded by phyllo dough sheets, this time anointed in olive/grape seed oils.

As soon as we cut into it, a nice fresh smell filled the air.

The next course was a moussaka, with ingredients built in steps. The recipe was taken from allrecipes.com, and it came out delicious.

The accompaniment was a χωριάτικη σαλάτα[xorˈjatiki saˈlata] 'rustic salad', with plenty of the Kalamata olives that FYD loves.

This week's edition included an old family favorite, leek pie. This savory pie is very simple, Pâte Brisée (short crust with butter), leeks, onions, garlic, grated sharp cheddar, and a pepper-laced custard. There is an old story of one boyfriend who used to snarf up all the leftovers, he liked it so much. The leek pies were accompanied by a green salad with chilled, steamed, broccoli, and

ham, mushroom, and cheese rolled in buttered phyllo. Here they are in an Indian Kadai picked up in a market in Kolkata.

Each time we make enough for the young people to take home for a couple meals.

Evening on Lake Travis

We had never been out to Lake Travis to see the sunset, so we set a time to go for dinner at a new restaurant there, Soleil. This restaurant has been in business for only a short time. It is run by a chef that has really unusual qualifications: he has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Apparently his love of food won out.

Soleil is part of a growing complex based on the success of the Oasis. Oasis is a huge, busy place on the cliffs of Lake Travis. It is known for its sunset views, and for mediocre food. Soleil will be known for marvelous food soon.

We arrived in time for a glimpse of this restaurant's beautiful setting. This is late afternoon on the shore of Lake Travis. The limestone cliffs are lit by the beautiful, slanting rays of a descending sun.

The houses here are sometimes quite spectacular, not really blending into the hillsides, but with a kind of stately presence..

Dinner was really quite peaceful here. The restaurant has a Mediterranean theme, so we started with shared servings of calimari (thick and delicious), and a roast pepper hummus (also good, with a peppery bite). Each of us chose different entrées: roast trout, hangar steak, sauteed scallop with wild mushroom ragout over polenta, flattened chicken breast pan-fried with cappacola and fried sage leaves. We shared the reasonable-sized portions so that everyone tasted everything.

As we ate, I took breaks to catch a bit more sunset. Here the raucous Oasis crowd views the sunset from a series of cliff-side terraces.

A lone sailboat glides across to the eastern shore.

Dusk brought an orange glow.

Night completed the process, leaving the beautiful, light-filled hills behind.

Unfortunately it also left an internal reflection from the lens evident on the right side of the photo.

Note: these photos were taken with a new camera, a Canon 60-D. I am pleased with it, but am still learning how to use it properly.

Arboretum - of two minds

The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center hosted a getting acquainted day this weekend. As part of their activities, they held a first preview of their nascent Arboretum project. The project is well-funded, and has increased their acreage greatly. It now includes a large plot that was held wild until the last couple of years.

Wild it was, apparently a choked landscape of live oaks and Ashe Juniper. The Ashe Juniper is a local, drought-resistant variety native to this part of the countryside. It is called cedar here, though it is not. It is the source of the so-called Cedar Fever, a nasty allergic reaction to its pollen.

We wandered in a group of about thirty people, listening to an explanation of how live oaks and junipers became the large piles of mulch shown here. The red piles are live oak. The grey piles are juniper. They will be used as mulch to protect the roots of oak trees to come.

While there are plenty of oak trees here already, the arboretum will be planting two more sets of oaks. The first planting will be examples of the 55 (that's right, 55) species of oak trees native to Texas.

They will be planted in a large grid, with a meandering path passing through and underneath them. Eventually the team would like to build platforms that reach up to the canopy, so that people can understand what goes on up there in the treetops. That will come later.

The second planting will be a circle of Texas Heroes, the ancient oaks that live all over Texas. Among them will be a shoot grown from the acorns of the Treaty Oak in Austin. This is a 500+ year old tree that was part of a clump of oaks called the Council Oaks. These trees were part of Comanche and Tonkawa rites. The circle will be about 200 feet across. The plantings will start as small seedlings, so this circle will require years to develop in its projected presence. In the meantime, other plantings will keep the area beautiful and the integrity of the circle evident.

As I look at the juxtaposition of the grand old oaks left behind and the 20 foot mounds of trees removed, I ask myself "What is the definition of arboretum?" To me the answer is: an area where you destroy the trees that you don't like so that you can grow trees that you DO like.

It will be a beautiful spot, and worthy of the Wildflower Center, but always a bit sad for me to visit.

Sanctum sanctorum sent by sweet sister

In my younger days I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandmother. She lived right next to the school ground in the town in which I grew up. She was a wonderful woman, busy, vibrant, strong, and a wonderful cook. Since I had lots of after school sports and extra-curricular things to do, invariably I would wait at her house for a ride home.

A key ingredient in my life from those days was her home-made bread. She made both white and whole wheat loaves, and I loved them both. They were always there, either fresh from the oven or frozen for another day. I always had either the bread itself or the smell of it baking while at Grandma's house. It was also an ingredient in her turkey stuffing on holidays. Grandma is long gone, but her bread is still with us.

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when my very thoughtful sister sent me the bowl above - the very bowl that Grandma used to make her bread! She is long gone, but this priceless thing reminds me of her every day. I remember the bread-making days very well. I used to watch her and ask questions. She was a very meticulous and frugal baker, measuring carefully, and never wasting a thing. Her experiences during the Great Depression guided her every task in the kitchen. She taught me how to make this bread and taught me that it was a key component of a well-run household. It spoiled me for the "sponge" bread that you got in the store in those days. I can still picture her 5 foot tall figure slamming the bread down on the counter while kneading, making the whole house resound.

Today was the first day I have made her bread (the whole wheat version) since receiving the bowl, a very special present. I thought I might share the process. Having everything ready to go is important to me. It avoids extra steps and hesitations. This has become instinctive to me. The list of ingredients is below, along with comments.

I have taken some liberties with her recipe, as ingredients have changed or improved since then.

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup shortening (I sometimes use the original lard for the taste - I did today)
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 cup milk powder (Grandma scalded milk and used it directly - I don't think anyone still does that.)
• 1/4 cup steel milled oats (optional - Grandma did not use that, but I used it today.)
• 2 cups boiling water

Combine this set of ingredients in the bowl, allowing the boiling water to melt the shortening or lard.

Don't worry if there are a few, soft lumps left. They will incorporate as things go along.

While the fat is softening and melting, use some of the boiling water,  a pinch of brown sugar, and cold water to get a cup of warm water (you should be able to stick your finger in and hold it there). Then add the following:

• 2 teaspoons of fast-acting dry yeast (Grandma used yeast cakes. They are still available, but the new yeast rises super-fast. It is just more convenient for me.)

The yeast should start foaming fairly quickly as it proofs. There is no need for it to go crazy; just let some bubbles form, then stir to make sure all the yeast is in the liquid.

Leave the yeast on the side while proceeding to add the following to the liquid

• 3 cups of white flour (Grandma used 4, but I like the added wheat flavor when trimming down the white flour)
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour

Stir the flour into the water/shortening/milk powder mixture until it is all together. Then stir in the cup of yeast, stirring until the mixture is uniform.

At that point add

• 4 cups of whole wheat flour

Mix until a shaggy dough is formed and most of the flour is incorporated. Don't worry if a bit is left. Just be frugal and use it as things move along.

The dough should look like that above. Turn it out on your table or counter for kneading. It starts out looking like this. Use extra white or whole wheat flour if it sticks.

It ends up looking like this. Don't forget to slam it down on the counter a few times during the process. It helps the gluten form so your bread sticks together.

Cover it in the mixing bowl and let it rise until doubled. Grandma used a round metal lid over her bread, then wrapped the whole thing in an old sweater. The new yeast makes that unnecessary. I sometimes think this stuff would work outdoors on a winter morning. Let it double - it should take 20-30 minutes. Don't let it overrise. That will make the bread crumbly and dry when baked.

Punch down the dough, knead and slam it again, then separate it into three even pieces. This is a good time to find out whether you have obsessive/compulsive disorder. I do, so I obsessively DO NOT make them even. I rolled today's bread in more steel milled oats to give a bit of bite on the crust. Cover the loaves and let them double - again, about twenty to thirty minutes.

Bake them at 350F for 45-55 minutes (baking time depends on the day, the size of your loaves, and the accuracy of your oven). They are done when you tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow.

Today's effort came out pretty good. This loaf shows a bit too much oven spring (larger holes in the top part of the loaf). E liked the mie (French word meaning crumb, but referring to the innate texture of the bread.)

I have no complaints. I always like Grandma's bread.

Odds and ends

We have been walking around our neck of the woods, often seeing these gigantic acorns with a rough enclosure. The husk looks a bit like a pine cone in its roughness. They are about 3 times as large as what I am used to for an acorn (note the penny).

Finally I looked them up. This is the seed of a burr oak. It has a huge range, according to Wikipedia. It is found in the Appalachians and in central North America from Texas to Canada. It is the state tree of Iowa. If you are ever starving, it looks like a few of these would make a meal (after preparation). Not that I am any great recognizer of trees, but I thought it strange that I hadn't seen these before.

Are they "odds" or "ends"? I'm pretty sure even George Carlin doesn't know.

The house is coming along. We are trying to do any decorating slowly, with quirky things that we find. All our tchotchkes are still in Virginia, awaiting a spring run in the cheese wagon. (Cheese wagon is what our girls called our various Plymouth/Dodge/Chrysler minivans. Our cheese wagons have always done good service dragging crap around. And by crap, I don't mean our girls.)

In one corner of the living room, over the TV, I have hung up a bit of history. Whose history I have no clue. We found these Gothic arch clerestory windows in a consignment shop. I liked the shapes, so I took them home. I also liked the fact they were rough-stripped. There was still a bit of paint left, kind of lumpy and rough. I found a bit of fabric and stretched it over the back, folding it every few inches. Then I hinged the three frames together.

I kind of like the light and shadow, 3-d look with the outer windows folded forward a bit. I think the roughness and the smooth fabric also make a nice contrast.

So, taking heart from this BH (Better Half) and I completed the bedroom with a curved-side headboard and a few of my favorite black and whites taken during our travels.

We'll have a few more things to hang once the tchotchke run is done. Christmas and New Year will put things in limbo for a while.

Have an enjoyable holiday.

While we're on the subject

Verizon called ten minutes ago. "Everything might be recorded for 'quality' purposes," they said. They wanted to cement our marvelous cell phone relationship for another two years and reward me by giving me another one hundred "free" minutes. I really don't come anywhere near my minute allotment on any given month, and asked the young lady if she had actually looked at my account. She said she liked to think of the extra minutes as insurance, so I wouldn't worry about going over on minutes.

I asked if they really wanted to adjust my data plan so it wouldn't be unlimited, but the young lady told me, "No, it would be the same plan." I asked why they were doing this, as it is still about 12 months until I run out of the end of the contract. She told me "We like to do this so we can do more promotions for you. So we can give you 'free' stuff." I told her that I might be interested if they just didn't up the per minute charge when you go over, suggesting that "MAYBE YOU COULD JUST CHARGE THE SAME RATE AS THE PLAN!" I knew it wouldn't do any good (and it didn't), but wanted the drones in charge of reviewing the recordings for sentient life to know there was some out here in the hill country of Texas.

I am guessing that Verizon marketing thinks they are selling to meat puppets. I have been refusing to accept hands up my butt for years.

Why is it every time I go to Best Buy I get pissed off?

So I head to Best Buy after due diligence to buy a camera and some accessories. I carry along the following:

1. a 10 % coupon to apply to digital photo products
2. a printed Reward Zone certificate for $95 off
3. a printed Reward Zone certificate for $55 off

I do my business, hampered by a sales clerk with an attitude and a pimp walk (even though she was a young woman). She gets wrong what I asked for and supplies me with something much more expensive. She huffs when I tell her that it is wrong, voids everything and starts over. She proceeds to ring up the new sale, then hands me the receipt. I am expecting the following:

camera                             $xxx
accessory 1                         yy
accessory 2                         zz

Subtotal for the coupon     aaa
10% coupon           -0.1 x aaa

Subtotal                   0.9 x aaa
certificates                       -150

Tax
Total                        0.9 x aaa - 150 + taxes

I don't get that. I get a bizarre list of items, each of which displays

• an amount that is not the amount displayed on the store shelf
• a "sale" discount that brings it down to the store display price
• some of the tax for the sale
• some of the certificate discount for the sale, but not displaying any percentage or rule for calculating it

As a result, it was impossible to check the arithmetic. I am an old fart, and crusty shading to cranky besides. I check the work for major purchases. When the store displays its internal accounting nightmare to me rather than a simple receipt that can be checked, I get pissed off. Enough to get several more huffs out of the "sales" person and to get a manager over there who could explain the gobbledy-gook to me so that I could check it.

This kind of thing (but not the same thing) happens every time I go there. Last time the "sales" person could not explain why the Geek Squad would come to my house and "adjust" the TV after a couple months. It took a store manager to explain that every TV delivered from Japan comes adjusted for the store (that is, too bright and with too much contrast - so it will stand out against other maladjusted TVs). Apparently, despite the fact that maybe one TV in a thousand is used in the store as a display, IT NEVER OCCURRED to anyone that adjusting them all to store brightness and then wasting someones time traveling to houses all over central Texas is JUST PLAIN STUPID.

I am getting to be old enough that apoplexy could conceivably be life-threatening. I don't want to give up on interacting with the world, but I am pretty sick of talking to stupid snots with an attitude. I am self-aware enough to understand that I might be one, but I need some feedback to confirm or deny it.

Anyone?

Grandma continues to climb

The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Garden never fails to please. Part of the enjoyment for me is the architecture. The variety of shapes is quite pleasing. Wood and stone are perfect in the dry Texas hills.

This tower provides a beautiful panorama of the gardens, but you have to climb for it.

And so she did. Way up at the tippy top you can see BH (Better Half) and Popo, her mother.

You can see where BH gets her sweet smile.

The garden at this time of year is lined with luminaries, in preparation for Luminations, a holiday celebration.

The flowers are gone now, the shrubs shedding their leaves,

the next season in progress, soaking up the sun.

The exhibit house is showing some of what is bigger in Texas, in this case, fancy birdhouses. Most of these had nests in them.

On this past weekend, artists were also selling their wares. They varied from these reimagined skulls,

to Kokopeli-like sculptures

But the natural things never fail to please, like these translucent prickly pear cacti, letting the sun show through.

Popo climbs Mt. Bonnell

Mt. Bonnell is a limestone hill on the side of the Colorado River between Austin and Lake Travis. Here nearly 85 year old Popo (Better Half's Mom) reaches the last of 102 steps up from the parking lot. That's pretty good. She has always been active.

Mt. Bonnell is a pretty park, as well, with picnic tables, old, dried juniper trees,

lovely views along the river,

and a view of where some of Austin's wealthiest families live in beautiful homes.

Fortunately for Grandma and for us, too, farther down the trail we found an easier descent to the parking lot.

Popo gets inspiration

BH's (Better Half's) Mom is here for a while. Chinese grandma's come in two varieties - Jya Po and A Po (Bower romanization - Google won't translate sounds into ideographs yet). One is mother's mother and the other is father's mother. Both are shortened to Popo for children.

So, FOD (Favorite Older Daughter) now lives in Houston. We took Popo down there to see her, since she loves her Popo dearly. We went to the Ocean Palace Restaurant to have dim sum. We had a pretty good time and got pretty much stuffed.

When we got home, Popo got the idea to make potstickers and Gow Ju. So our kitchen became a bit of a factory, with BH and Popo rolling out home-made wrappers for the potstickers, stuffing them with pork/shrimp/scallion mix, steaming, then frying them. Then the Gow Ju were made with store-bought wrappers, and steamed. Everything was enjoyed with lots of soy sauce laced with scallion and sesame oil. Yum!