recipe: RATATOUILLE

There are many ways to make ratatouille. Some are quite complicated, other are less so. I don't suggest we compare approaches during these days of 'Social Isolation'. Instead, here's an easy approach that is thoroughly flexible & forgiving. You can freeze it for later, top pasta or rice, use in omelets, sandwiches, and so much more.

SLOW COOKER? This recipe is best made in a slow cooker, what used to be called a 'crock pot'. I'd always thought it a silly appliance but I was soooo wrong. It brilliantly, almost effortlessly, prepares many, many wonderful, vegetarian/pescetarian dishes. Unlike most modern kitchen gadgets, slow cookers still are inexpensive +/-$30. If you have one, or are willing to get one, this recipe, & many others require only that you shop and slice.

If you don't go the Slow Cooker route, this recipe works on your stove-top using a soup pot or an extra-large sauce pan, with lid.  If you have a large Dutch oven/casserole with lid, you can do it in the oven, too. The only caveat is that you'll have to tend it regularly while cooking (see below).

Here's how to make easy, extremely-tasty Ratatouille that's good by itself & lets you make so may, crazy-easy meals.
from the annoying Mama, with love.

The RECIPE (but mess with it freely)

2 big or 3 medium onions, or more :: 4-6 or more garlic cloves :: 1 big or 2 medium eggplant :: 
:: a nice big pile of the following: plenty of tomatoes, green or yellow summery squash (both is best), green/yellow/red peppers
olive oil :: +/- 4 cups veg broth ::  4 pieces “good” bread :: slices “good” cheese (it’s fine if bread or cheese are a bit stale)

1. Chop onions & garlic. 

2. On very low heat, sauté onions & garlic in oil. Stir often. Maybe 20 minutes, onions should be brownish. 

3. Add broth. Keeping heat low until it’s simmering for a while.

4. Ladle soup into oven-safe bowls, half full, or a bit more. 

5. Top w/ ‘good’ bread & ‘good’ thinly-sliced cheese. 

6. Bake +/-325 degree oven or broiler. 

notes: 

a. Most any hard, or semi-hard cheese works. My current fav is Racklette (sp?). Since I can’t spell, you’ll have to call for more cheesy thoughts.
b. Bake vs. broil? I can't broil here, so baking works fine. If you can broil conveniently, everything in your bowl must be nice and toasty because that wonderful broiler can brown the cheese topping quickly. Ideally, I'd bake until soup is slightly bubbly & cheese is melted, then finish off in the broiler, but I can't. Experiment in your kitchen. I hope you'll enjoy all the outcomes.
c. ‘Good’ bread & ‘good’ cheese makes it better, even if a little stale. Of course, slice any moldy bits from the cheese.
d. This recipe is for Pipa’s soup (i.e., low-salt, low-fat, not spicy, blah blah). But, for us who appreciate flavor, add salt, pepper & cooking sherry. How much? Till it tastes yummy.
e. Lastly, you should know that everyone but me uses beef broth.

Heh, we all can use some comfort food now.  (But we'll keep it kinda healthful, please.)

Just in case you're wondering, I've got no numbers on this soup. And, believe it or not, I'm collecting zero onion soup data.

recipe: FRENCH ONION SOUP

Isn't this a convenient spot? What follows has nothing to do with what I was doing here before. But let's use it anyway.

Here's how to make easy French Onion Soup  that's comforting & kinda healthful, too
from the annoying Mama, with love.

The RECIPE (but mess with it freely)

4 onions :: 4 garlic cloves :: 3 tbs oil :: +/- 4 cups veg broth ::  4 pieces “good” bread :: slices “good” cheese (it’s fine if bread or cheese are a bit stale)

1. Chop onions & garlic. 

2. On very low heat, sauté onions & garlic in oil. Stir often. Maybe 20 minutes, onions should be brownish. 

3. Add broth. Keeping heat low until it’s simmering for a while.

4. Ladle soup into oven-safe bowls, half full, or a bit more. 

5. Top w/ ‘good’ bread & ‘good’ thinly-sliced cheese. 

6. Bake +/-325 degree oven or broiler. 

notes: 

a. Most any hard, or semi-hard cheese works. My current fav is Racklette (sp?). Since I can’t spell, you’ll have to call for more cheesy thoughts.
b. Bake vs. broil? I can't broil here, so baking works fine. If you can broil conveniently, everything in your bowl must be nice and toasty because that wonderful broiler can brown the cheese topping quickly. Ideally, I'd bake until soup is slightly bubbly & cheese is melted, then finish off in the broiler, but I can't. Experiment in your kitchen. I hope you'll enjoy all the outcomes.
c. ‘Good’ bread & ‘good’ cheese makes it better, even if a little stale. Of course, slice any moldy bits from the cheese.
d. This recipe is for Pipa’s soup (i.e., low-salt, low-fat, not spicy, blah blah). But, for us who appreciate flavor, add salt, pepper & cooking sherry. How much? Till it tastes yummy.
e. Lastly, you should know that everyone but me uses beef broth.

Heh, we all can use some comfort food now.  (But we'll keep it kinda healthful, please.)

Just in case you're wondering, I've got no numbers on this soup. And, believe it or not, I'm collecting zero onion soup data.

Amazingly Beautiful, but Entirely Unusable Apple iMac

My beautiful, yet very-ill, not-at-all-functional Apple iMac:

This is my computer this morning.

It's entirely useless, and I'm terribly frustrated.  Can't work at all!  Yet, if one's primary computer must fail, it ought to do so in an unusually beautifully way, shouldn't it?

Protect Children Now

We Trusted You

Investigate what happened then. 

Learn.

Make sure it doesn't happen again.

Magna est veritas? Yes. Time to prevail, eh?

• Marc Fisher's New Yorker article (1Apr2013) reveals more about decades of abuse at New York's Horace Mann School
• We Trusted You
• The Horace Mann Action Coalition (HMAC)

Feeling Inspired: Ain't Gonna Study War No More!

Again, I am inspired by the work of Aaron Freeman.  Check out his new blog,  Ain't Gonna Study War No More!, plus two (perhaps more that I missed) discussions on WBEZ's Worldview:

• When and When Not to Forgive (today)
• Did the world get better or worse in 2012?

Things are looking up - and have been for some time. Just check the data. Oh, yeah. That's my job. I better get busy, eh?

Institution Don't Get It

I've written previously about my horror at the revelations of systematic sexual abuse of students at the Horace Mann School in New York City.  My heart breaks for the victims.  My stomach retches at the response from the institution, Horace Mann School.

After two months of silence, save three empty letters from the Head Master, the Board of Trustees Chair wrote an entirely unsatisfying reply. All is in the past, he says. The past isn't the responsibility of the Board today. Are you kidding?!

Horace Mann School's Board of Trustees doesn't get it.

Once again, the leaders are the victims.  I don't know who they are, but a group of men and women who were sexually abused as children at Horace Mann School have come forward with unbelievable intelligence and grace.

Their general comment to the public:

The survivors of sexual abuse at the Horace Mann School welcome any and all initiatives that individuals are willing to undertake on our behalf. We ask that people who want to support us consult with us first, since we can help guide these initiatives to make sure they best support our needs. We note that no individual act can substitute for action by the school itself. We continue to ask that the Horace Mann School administration and Board of Trustees honor our request for an apology, compensation and an independent investigation.

That is a statement I can respect.  Steven Friedman's letter, crafted by the institution's PR firm and lawyers, doesn't garner respect.  It wreaks of institutional-ass-covering. (Please excuse my language. This is so very upsetting.)

Replying to the Horace Mann School Board of Trustees only formal response, the Survivors' Group, with it's usual aplomb.

The survivors of sexual abuse at the Horace Mann School welcome outreach by the Board of Trustees, although we are disappointed in the amount of time it took the Board to generate a response to our requests, which we first made on June 21, 2012.

While any gesture of outreach is positive, we are disappointed as well that this response does not address the requests we made in June and have repeated since: an apology from the institution, compensation for the survivors, and an independent investigation.

The investigation by the Bronx District Attorney’s office does not constitute an independent investigation according to established best practices. Nor does the NYPD investigation, also in progress. These investigations are not voluntary. The model for an independent investigation is the Freeh Report conducted by Penn State, which was voluntary, was funded by the school itself, and was not restricted by any constraints, such as the statute of limitations, on its ability to see its inquiry through to its conclusions. An independent investigation conducted by special outside counsel retained by the School for that purpose is especially appropriate and necessary in light of the facts that have come to light concerning the involvement of predecessor School Heads and Boards of Trustees in failing to respond to and/or suppressing reports of sexual abuse. These failures and suppressions would not necessarily be the subject of the DA’s or NYPD investigation.

We are disappointed as we have been in the past that the School and the Board choose to communicate in detail with the community as a whole before communicating in any substantive way with us.

We continue to assert our requests, and hope that a fully satisfactory response will be forthcoming from the School and the Board in future.

My admiration for the Survivors' Group, their strength,  their eloquence, their dignity, is great. In this situation, healing should be lead by the institution in which criminal abuse took place.  In their absence, who leads the cause? The same children who were victimized.

To the Survivors' Group: You have my admiration, my respect, my thanks.

David Rakoff: You Will Be Missed

So sad to learn of the death of essayist, David Rakoff.

Neurotic, funny, observant, warm. I imagine I knew him.  I always bring the audio version of one of his books when I travel anywhere I might be stuck somewhere uncomfortable for a long time. Just listening to his voice reading his essays, makes almost everything okay.

To his family and friends: thanks for encouraging him to share his thoughts with the world.

David Rakoff, Mordantly Comic Essayist and Actor, Dies at 47. New York Times, 10 Aug 2012, bu Margalit Fox.

David Rakoff, a Storyteller Who Laughed at the World and Himself. New York Times, 10 Aug 2012, bu Dave Itzkoff.

ESPN Commentator Steven A. Smith: My Newest Hero

The newsy part of this video is nothing special, but the discussion by ESPN commentators - particularly Steven A. Smith, my newest hero - should be viewed.

[I can’t say I feel the same respect for other ESPN voices.]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:8170187&startTime=00:16

Letter from More than 100 Horace Mann Alumni: Sent to the New York Times today

17 July 2012

The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018

To the editor:

In private communication with more than two thousand Horace Mann School alumni, we have learned of many more instances of sexual abuse by past teachers. We are shocked by their sheer brutality and number. The school has not acknowledged the truth of the abuses, but we can. We call for an independent, thorough investigation.

We have urged the school to apologize to our classmates who were abused and we are appalled that those school trustees who were aware of abuses at the time and ignored them, as recorded in the New York Times, have not resigned. We have demanded their removal.

Justice and healing can begin with accountability, transparency and truth.

[This letter was signed by Horace Mann alumni from the classes of 1959 through 2007. View the list of names here.]

Freeh Report re: Sandusky & Penn State

The Freeh report is out and I applaud Penn State Trustees for releasing it to the public.  That's more like transparency, particularly as the report is quite critical of the Board.

Speaking of Boards of Trustees, transparency and childhood sexual abuse ...

How about the Board of Trustees of the Horace Mann School?

It is always good to learn from one's mistakes and from those of others.  Here is an excellent lesson for Horace Mann's Trustees:  

In 1998 and 2001, the Board of Trustees failed to exercise its oversight and reasonable inquiry procedures.

After the Sandusky investigation became publicly known in late March 2011, the Board did not independently assess this information or further inquire, up to and including the May 12, 2011 Board meeting.

Today, a group of more than 20 survivors of sexual abuse at Horace Mann published their second letter to that school's Trustees.  Their first letter of June 21st received no response.

---

    To: Board of Trustees of the Horace Mann School

           Don't make the same mistakes.

---

From the Freeh Report: Key Findings re: Penn State's Board of Trustees

---

Childhood Sex Abuse Survivors Lead Call for Healing, Investigation, Prevention

Amid the ugliness of more and more revelations of abuse by teachers at Horace Mann School, a group of survivors of childhood sexual abuse prepared a thoughtful, forward-thinking proposal.

What an amazing thing. Those who suffered the most lead the rest of us.

I signed my support. Members of the HM community are encouraged to do so as well (box after the letter).

---

A few quotes from the Survivors' Letter:

It begins

We have been deeply moved by the outpouring of love, concern and solidarity expressed by many in our community since the publication of the New York Times Magazine article about sexual abuse at Horace Mann. We wish to express our thanks to all who have expressed compassion and caring toward us. We have tried not to be hurt by certain comments others have made on the internet seeking to blame the victims or to call our integrity, our motives or even our sexuality into question.

Their recommendations

We believe work must be done in four areas: 1) protecting potential future victims, 2) ensuring “never again” at Horace Mann, 3) healing and assisting past victims based on their legitimate needs, and 4) changing the wider system.

And still they conclude respectfully and optimistically

We want to be clear that we still feel deeply connected to our alma mater. We are proud of the outstanding education we received at Horace Mann, and we are grateful for wonderful teachers who opened new horizons of learning for us. We do not want to hurt Horace Mann; we want to help heal it, though we have learned from experience that healing sometimes requires confronting painful realities.

---

Want to read the whole letter? 
It's here:  HoraceMannSurvivor.org

Gratitude Challenge: 5 minutes for wonderful things

5 minutes for wonderful things now?  Often, timing is everything.

An hour ago, I’d have whined that 5 minutes isn’t enough.  Now, though, I’m quite frustrated with one of those things I value most.  (Perhaps a younger family member?)  So 5 minutes doesn’t seem quite so unreasonable. 

Assignment is to avoid longing for what I don’t possess, so well-behaved teenagers is out.  Too bad.  Best appreciate that I have them to annoy me.  Better than not, I know.  Still, I will be angry right now.  Not that it makes me ungrateful.  I’m grateful for even the most frustrating teenagers, but they’re still frustrating.

On to the real assignment:  5 minutes on wonderful things

• I have my family.  Imperfect, but here, thankfully. 
• I have my home, my possessions, right where I left them … sometimes. 
• Time each day to do some of the things I plan and plenty things left to do tomorrow.
• Electricity, nearly always.  And on the rare occasions when it goes out, I have quiet.
• Books: in my home, office, library, everywhere.  Audio books that travel with me even when I’m not looking.
• Dogs.
• Bubble water (aka, seltzer) when you’re really tired.
• Exploring in darkness after a snowstorm, not too far from the safety of home.  The unusual cold, crunchy quiet that oddly makes me laugh.

This ‘Gratitude Challenge’ is funny.  Wonderful things? What makes something wonderful?  And even then, can those wonderful things be cataloged in 5 minutes?  On further though, wonderful things probably can’t be cataloged at all.

Reflecting on the exercise: Wonderful experience? Nope.  But fun, pleasant, a little chore that feels nice.  I think I’ll keep going.

Gratitude Challenge: NEGATIVE things to appreciate

Couldn't be easier. The worst experiences remind me of why life ultimately is okay ... So far.

Fortunately, I've been lucky, learned, come out better, etc., from my worst times ... so far.

My first 'gratitude list' was a few years ago when I was ill. I thought of it as a sad little list of the few things about cancer i could 'pretend' are good. It was recommended to improve my spirits. Surprisingly, mine was a very long list.

When someone you love has cancer, nothing is right. However when *you* have cancer - though it sucks - there are so many things to appreciate and enjoy.

Not sure? Perhaps I'm wearing ultra rosy glasses? I don't think so, but who knows?

Kindness of strangers
Pillows
Jelly beans - the 'gourmet' ones
Water, in very clean cups
Cotton
Oncology nurses
Clean towels
Baldness in hot weather
Soft hats when it's cold
Netflix & Audible entertainment
Enjoying novels I've read before (but can't recall through chemo fuzzies)
Telephone, when I want company. Answering machine, when I don't.
Microwave to re-heat meals I want to eat ... later

This is only a partial list. I have so many more. We all do.

The point: cancer is good? NO WAY.

The real point: sometimes it's better after the very-bad stuff. Perhaps, often?

Over time many of the things that were/are bad ... they look different, they show us better things, experiences grows us, crap highlights beauty ... when you feel your worst, sometimes a pillow brings greatest comfort.

... and if not ... I pray that something on *your* list does the trick.

Gratitude Challenge: grateful today?

One thing? No way. There are so many things. How can one pick one!?

If I must, I'll pick spousal S. He is supportive, sensitive, smart, silly ... I'm really blessed to have him in my life.

It's embarrassing to have, not one, but many amazing people in my life.

NOTE: this particular gratitude isn't unique to the challenge. I appreciate S and all the others, every day!

My Gratitude Challenge

If I spent more time, I'd likely have a longer - or at least more articulately presented - list. But I began this during an impossibly busy week, so sincerely prepared, in alphebetical order, I am grateful for ...

A.
Apples - braeburn are my favorite
Apples & cheese: a top-10 snack
Audiobooks
Africa
Art

B.
British mystery fiction
Brussel sprouts
Books
Baths

C.
I'm lucky to have C, my daughter
Conceptual art
Crafts
Computers
Coffee

D.
Dogs, dogs, dogs
Dupattas
Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves)

E.
Eastman Kodak
ebay
Ebates
Epson
Electricity
& most-of-all Echts

F.
Friends
Fuji pro cameras - hope they'll bring them back
Fulbright
Frank & Ford families

G.
Graphic design
Grover (Sesame Street)
Is it okay to say Gin?

H.
Humor
Health
Home
Hardwear
Hamachi

I.
India
Internet - the fun & interesting stuff only (according to me :-)
Ikura
Ice (though I didn't appreciate it the first 40 years of my life)
i-pod/pad/phhh

J.
Jello, especially when feeling poorly
also Justice, Judaism, Junk Yards & Jokes

K.
kiva (http://www.kiva.org/)
Kiefer

L.
Long underwear
Lip gloss
... oh, yah. Love.

M.
My favorite letter. I like my name. I really hope my children like theirs
Mystery fiction
Mushrooms

N.
Son, N, another blessing
Numbers
NPR
Netflix
... sample size?

O.
Oranges
Okra
Origomi

P.
Peace ... whenever possible
Public Radio
Podcasts
Pillows
Persimmons - the Asian type
Pummelos
PVC
& Portraits 4 People, but that's pompous Promotion, eh?

Q.
Quiet?
Questions?

R.
Reality
Roses
Rochester NY

S.
S-man, sweet, second son
Sons - in general
Sister (only recently acquired)
Statistics
Saturday & Sunday
Santiniketan
Shyamal
ShyamaliDi
SAS & SPSS
& S (my beloved spouse)

T.
Tools!
Tea-tree oil - useful so often
Teaching

U.
(The) Usual Suspects - a good movie
Universities
USA
USIEF

V.
Vinyl (current fav graphic media)
Veterans
Vegetarians, too

W.
Water, all sorts (but sipping favorite: the bubble sort)
Washing machine

X.
? Stuff you cross out ?
Chi-squared??

Y.
(The) Yes Men
Yogurt

Z.
Zaletels - I am so, so lucky to them in my life.

Thought I'd try the "Gratitude Challenge"

Illinois Tollway = Highway Robbery

Watch out! The Illinois Tollway folks are genuinely committing highway robbery.

I can not believe this! Illinois Tollways has deducted over $7,000 to 'replenish' my ipass and they won't return it without a ton of personal info about me. Is this an identity theft nightmare or what?!

Scurrilous Videos Besmirch, Enrage Forum, Leaders, World

My heros are at it again!

In a series of diabolically stupid video manipulations, a cabal of anti-poverty filmmakers have performed an elaborate slander of the World Economic Forum, showing its "leading lights" taking a dramatic departure from the litany of meaningless pledges they usually make at the annual gathering in the Swiss resort town.

Read the entire press release here.

My favorite detail: a warning about fake email for the World Economic Forum.

Countdown to the India Adventure

Haitian singer, Wayclef Jean, on the Haiti earthquake

Haitian singer, Wayclef Jean, has set up a cell phone donation system where one can donate $5 by texting “Yele” to 501501. Automatically $5 donation will be made to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund and charged to your phone bill.

Note: As of this writing, the website Yele.org is not operating. However, I have done a bit of reading about Jean's work and Yele, and believe it is a good place to give some support.