Hello, voters . . .

Pretty right on, as we used to say, especially in my part of the country

Cooking Show alert

Liking Maggie Beers and Simon Bryant quite a bit, actually.

Call Your Girlfriend

Lucy Wainwright Roche

Not a good end for CC

Dream a Little . . .

Something better to contemplate than my eye . . . Pink Martini and the Von Trapps. Who knew? I love this (actually, I love both groups together and separately).

eyeline

I'm tired of having a problem with my right eye. I really don't think it's a cataract. I think it's something else, related to something else. Doctors are so removed from the patient. I don't know what to do, exactly. At least I have affordable (sort of) insurance. Certainly better than the gouging I was experiencing until the ACA kicked in. There. Here's post, sort of. More a keening.

Health. Who Cares?

I'm panicked about this Supreme Court pending decision on Hobby Lobby's ability to decide for employees what can be covered and what cannot. I'm also panicked by this federal judge. I don't think I can live w/out insurance until Medicare kicks in.

The newest Beatle?

He makes me think of the Beatles in their infancy. Very sweet. I have been listening to this more times than I care to admit.

Harissa

Hugh F-W and Pam make a simply harissa:

Crackers, but Not Nuts

I absolutely had to step away from the computer today and this endless project. I'm drowning in minutia and technical details. I couldn't bear to focus on it. Tomorrow is, as they say, another day.

So I naturally ended up in the kitchen, determined to start to get a handle on cracker making, since these are so very expensive to buy. And I am rather pleased with my efforts. I pulled out the King Arther Baker's Companion and found a simple basic cracker recipe that you can change up any number of ways. Though frankly a novice cook would likely be somewhat flummoxed by the fast and loose method and ingredient list.

I used barley flour, regular KA flour, butter, and sour cream as the liquid, since D for some reason purchased a 16-oz container of it. These aren't the most flavorful, but they did turn out crisp and tasting somewhat nutty from the barley. I'd add a lot more salt next time.

Then I decided to try something, called Carta di Musica (also called Sardinian parchment bread), using the pizza stone.  This is basically a big cracker that you bake for only a few minutes, turn over and bake another few minutes, then brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, and throw a few rosemary leaves on top. Not bad; in fact, D got me thinking about making these and seeing whether they would sell at the farmers' market up here. They break up with a satisfying snap and would be good with any sort of dip, hummus, what have you. And I've seen similar things at Whole Foods for a lot of $$. The most expensive ingredient with these is the olive oil, and that's a scant brushing. 

Surprisingly, they didn't puff up like pita, which I thought they would. 

Looking forward to a rerun of The Good Life tonight. Then up and attem tomorrow in the world of allied health.

Moon, full, tomorrow

Also this: