jellyfish stew

We saw these jellies in the Chesapeake Bay over the weekend:

I've always had kind of a love/hate/sick fascination with jellyfish. If they're in the ocean where I'm swimming, you can be sure I'll be heading for shore while screaming like a girl. I've never actually been stung (probably because I hightail it out of the water whenever I see one), but this was always my greatest fear on the beach as a child.

I don't particularly like the blobs of goo that litter the East Coast beaches either. However, I'm aware that the jellies in my part of the ocean aren't particularly potent. (I go to beaches in New Jersey and North Carolina - not Australia.) The dreaded Portuguese Man O' War rarely ventures this far north in the Atlantic. (Though it does happen - yikes!)

Unfounded fears aside, I find jellyfish to be one of the most beautiful and fascinating creatures on the planet. I've even been planning some art pieces depicting jellyfish, and seeing these guys in the Bay got me even more excited to create some jellyfish art.

Doesn't it look like it's floating in the Milky Way?

Also, I can't think about jellyfish without Jack Prelutsky's poem from The New Kid on the Block (loved that book as a kid) popping into my head:

Jellyfish Stew

Jellyfish stew,

I'm loony for you,

I dearly adore you,

Oh truly I do.

You're creepy to see,

Revolting to chew,

You slide down inside 

with a hullabaloo.

You're soggy, you're smelly,

You taste like shampoo,

You bog down my belly with oodles of goo,

Yet I would glue noodles

And prunes to my shoe,

For one oozy spoonful

of jellyfish stew.

--Jack Prelutsky

ambitious august!

No wonder August flew by so fast - I spent most of it in the kitchen!

Last July, I went on a cooking spree and tried out 24 new recipes. So this August, when I realized I was nearing my previous record, I knew I had to beat it  - even if it meant laboring over an Indian feast that didn't make it to the table until 10 pm the day before we were to leave on our West Virginia trip. Was I exhausted? Yes. Did I beat my previous record? You bet - the new number to beat is 26:

 1.  Cornmeal and Ricotta Waffles
 2.  Baptist Church Fried Chicken
 3.  Chipotle Ketchup
 4.  Steak Fries
 5.  Tomato Pie
 6.  Lamb Sfeehas
 7.  Cheese Beoreg
 8.  Raspberry Clafoutis
 9.  Sweet Potato Fries
10. Blackberry Compote (for pork)
11. Fried Pies (both raspberry and blackberry)
12. Raspberry Buckle
13. Peaches and Cream Galette
14. Biscuit Bread
15. Kickin' Chipotle Fried Chicken Tenders
16. Peach Donkey
17. Spice-Rubbed Chicken and Vegetable Tacos with Chipotle Sour Cream
18. Raspberry-Banana Bread and Chocolate Chip Raspberry-Banana Bread
19. Hummus
20. Dukkah-Crusted Lamb Chops with Pomegranate Molasses
21. Egyptian Koshary
22. Prosciutto and Brie Sandwiches with Rosemary-Fig Confit
23. Blueberry Buttermilk Tart
24. Curried Lamb Samosas
25. Apricot Chutney
26. Rava Dosas with Potato Chickpea Masala

Whew! What a delicious month. (For the record I'm sitting September out and surviving on oatmeal and pretzels.)

Pies, pies, pies! Both savory and sweet:

Tomato Pie (topped with a runny egg for breakfast).

Peaches and Cream Galette.

What we were eating and cooking this month: fried food (the love affair continues) - especially fried chicken, breakfast for dinner, fruit - especially fresh-picked berries, pies, fancy cheeses, and lots of ethnic foods, including Lebanese, Egyptian, and Indian meals.

the 12 project | august

August | Kitchen Kiss

So...I forgot to take a photo for The 12 Project last month, and in sorting through my archives, discovered that this pic of Larry and me in the kitchen (taken when I documented an ordinary day in photos), and the one that followed (where he wipes off my kiss) were the only two photos taken of the two of us in the entire month of August. Lame. (But it will have to do.)

hey, who turned off the sun?

(Shortly after I snapped this pic with my phone, Gravy ripped the blanket off with his teeth, thrashed the crap out of it, and threw it across the room. He is most definitely a sleeps-ON-TOP-of-the-covers kind of guy.)

Remember when I proclaimed that summer wasn't over yet? HA HA HA. Joke's on me. It was 48 degrees last night. 48! In September! In Virginia! That's in the 40s, which is just above the 30s...which is freezing. Unacceptable!

I turned on the fireplace this morning. I ate a bowl of hot oatmeal for breakfast. I'm wearing my fuzzy slippers.

Brrrrrr.

weekend adventures: the west wing

Me and Larry outside the West Wing | September 10, 2011.

On Saturday, Larry and I had the opportunity to visit the White House and tour the West Wing. As you can imagine, taking photos inside the White House is not allowed. But we got to see the Oval Office and the Resolute Desk (which only had an enormous telephone on it and a single pen in a wooden box). And we learned that Obama really likes apples. There's always a bowl of fresh apples in the Oval Office. And there were numerous photos of the president working while eating an apple.

Even cooler than that, we got to see the President himself. Well, the back of his head anyway. We were stopped as we were about to tour the Rose Garden, because the President had just arrived - we could see his back as he walked along the Rose Garden path and entered the White House. He shook hands with the group ahead of us.

While I didn't get to shake the President's hand or taste a presidential apple, I did have the best apple pie I've ever had (and a couple of beers) at a pizzeria called District of Pi afterwards. How very American.

The best apple pie ever - cornmeal crust, crunchy topping, cinnamon ice cream. 

It is now my goal to recreate this dessert for Thanksgiving.

the sacrifice of tony stewart

When I wrote about our trip to West Virginia, I mentioned that we spent our evenings burning things in the firepit.

What I didn't mention was WHAT we were burning.

The answer: A life-sized cardboard cut-out of Tony Stewart.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I have nothing against Tony Stewart. I do not think the real Tony should be burned or harmed in any way. In fact, our NASCAR-loving friend Mike is Tony's #1 fan.

Which is why Mike's mom gifted him with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of his idol.  However, Mike does not have room for a 6' tall Tony replica in his apartment. Mike also likes fire. He decided that Tony had to be burned.

Mike, Tony, and Tim before the sacrifice:


It was decided that Tony should be ignited from his, um...crotch. Sorry Tony, that's gotta burn.

This is the most redneck thing I have ever seen:

Mike spends a moment of silence with his idol...

...who is miraculously still smiling, despite the lethal chest wound:



RIP Tony.

the architecture of the new river

One of the most interesting things we saw during our jetboat ride through the gorge was the primitive fishing shacks that line the banks of the New River. Able to be accessed only by boat, these rickety shanties were built along the railroad easement - often perched on a pile of rocks or built into a nearly vertical slope. Equally rickety outhouses were often nearby. They remind me of the shacks on the bayou in Louisiana.

While I didn't dare point my camera at any of the locals, yes, many of these shacks were occupied by families spending their weekend at the river. They sat on the porches with coolers full of beer and their fishing lines in the water.

"Here's a big rock, let's build a house on top of it!"

We'll end with my personal favorite: