Aren’t you tired? I am. Soup tomorrow, and an early bedtime. No politics. None.
Kintsugi 9/16/24

RIP…

Remembering jazz guitarist Russell Malone

Myths We Tell Ourselves

Brittany Mahomes is now questioning her support of #45 after he tweeted negative stuff about her BFF Taylor Swift. Who is she married to? (more)

People with Narcissistic Personality Disorder experience grandiosity that goes beyond having a positive self-esteem. Their hunger for success and power is insatiable. They exaggerate their accomplishments despite evidence to the contrary. They require excessive external validation. (more)

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Arrested in N.Y.C. After Raids on His Homes Amid Sex Trafficking Lawsuits. Well, well.

The US Supreme Court said that affirmative action is no longer to be used in college admissions. Does that include gender, legacy admissions, athletes, children of major donors, and such? No, their decision only focuses on race.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health on Sunday released a document containing the names and ages of Palestinians killed by Israel’s assault since the Hamas-led October 7 attack, an incomplete list that nonetheless runs 649 pages—the first 14 of which are filled with the names of babies. (more)

Certain foods are better to eat before sex. Like chocolate, oysters, and pomegranates. Not alcohol. What! No wine? Marvin Gaye or Barry White might work… (more)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the most significant pastors and theologians of the twentieth century, a legacy sealed by his imprisonment in a German concentration camp and eventual execution. Want to know more about him? Take this free class.

Chicken noodle soup is better than Vicks, Alka-Seltzer, or even Wendex for fixing what ails you. Very easy recipe below.

Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio have not been eating people’s pets. The lie was started by Erica Lee, who stated, “I’m not racist,” adding that her daughter is half Black and she is mixed race and a member of the LGBTQ+ community. (more)

Ohio Senator and Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance was asked about spreading false rumors about Haitian immigrants that have already been disproved. He said that if he had to he would “create stories” about migrants “so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people.” So it’s OK to lie to get attention? Wow!

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

NOTE: Read through this and assemble your ingredients before you start. I know I tend to ramble, and though this is easy, it can be easy to mess up!

Chop one medium white or yellow onion. Chunkily slice 2-3 medium to large carrots and 2 or 3 celery ribs. Mince 2 or 3 cloves of garlic (if you like garlic) or use a tablespoon of garlic paste. Pour enough olive oil into a Dutch oven or large pot to cover the bottom and keep the vegetables from sticking. Cook the vegetables at low heat for 5 – 10 minutes until they are wilted and soft. The carrots might not cook as quickly if they are sliced too thickly, so make sure they are sliced very thin. Add 1- 2 quarts of chicken bone broth. You decide how much, depending on how much soup you want. Then add cooked chicken. You can use 2 or 3 cans of canned chicken broken up into small pieces (not the best choice but OK in a pinch) or shredded rotisserie chicken meat (I get my chicken from Costco then shred it). I use a whole chicken because this is chicken noodle soup, not noodle soup with chicken. I turn the heat to medium and cook for maybe another 10 minutes, then add 2 bags of wide egg noodles or other pasta, a good pinch of salt, and a small pinch of pepper. When I use twice as much salt as pepper, I get a good flavor. Remember, the chicken bone broth has salt, so taste the soup before adding seasoning. You may not need to add much salt at all. Let this simmer on low until the noodles are done. Add some parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice (just a tiny bit to brighten everything up). Dinner is ready!

If you want to make it spicier or more like chicken tortilla soup, add some or all of a can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce. You know how spicy you like your food. Leave out the noodles and celery and add half of a can of tomato paste, a small can of whole-kernel corn, a can of low-sodium black beans, and a can of fire-roasted tomatoes. Season with a tablespoon each of cumin, chili powder, paprika, and double the garlic. Add your spices and vegetables early, and simmer for perhaps 20 minutes after you add the chicken. You don’t have to cook the onion and garlic in oil if you are short of time, but it will add extra flavor if you do. Then add corn tortillas that you have cut into strips, using them like you’d use noodles. I use perhaps 8 tortillas for 2 quarts of broth. You can fry them until they are crisp, then slice them into strips if you like that texture better.

Labor Day has come and gone, and with it, Labor Day “sales” of stuff we probably didn’t need anyway. I’m trying to limit my exposure to politics and violence by staying away from TV. It’s working, at least a little bit. More data theft. Making peach-blueberry cobbler with the last of the peaches and blueberries. Bought blackberries yesterday and they are moldy already. Back to the store.

Wild Cooking Woman 9/5/24

Here’s my peach blueberry cobbler recipe for today.

When I bought seven peaches a week ago, they were ripe, but I had to leave suddenly, and when I got back, they were mostly past their prime. I put them in boiling water to make them easier to peel, then cut away the ugly parts and chopped them into rough chunks. I put them in a medium mixing bowl, then added the pint of picked-over blueberries, a little almond extract – maybe a teaspoon or a little less – plus 1/2 cup almond flour (you can use regular flour or tapioca flour instead), 1 cup sugar, about a teaspoon of cinnamon, and half as much nutmeg. I covered the bowl and put it in the refrigerator. Tomorrow I will use a double recipe of pie crust, one crust for the bottom and the other for the top. I have a 9-inch pie pan. The top will be cut into a lattice, and the scraps will be rolled into tiny dumpling-like thingies, which I will scatter in the fruit filling. Then I will dot the top with 1/2 stick of very cold cubed butter, put on the lattice top, and bake at 350F until it looks perfectly brown. Be aware that this may drip so you might want to put something under it, like a cookie sheet. The fruit shouldn’t take long to cook through since it sat in the refrigerator all night. so I’d estimate about 40 minutes, although I will start looking at 30 minutes to ensure the crust doesn’t get too brown. Serve with sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream and enjoy.

What Caught My Attention

The father of the Georgia school shooter purchased the gun used in the shooting as a gift for his 14-year-old son. Two teachers and two students were killed, and at least nine others were wounded.

I’m enjoying Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I saw it on a NY Times list of best books and my librarian loaned me her copy. The writing is lyrical, and the story is riveting.

If you are a senior who lives alone or doesn’t have a network of folks, some resources can help are:

CareCheckers: Offers daily reassurance calls for seniors, including medication and activity reminders, as well as friendly conversations ¹.
Snug Safety: A free app that checks in with seniors daily. If a check-in is missed, it alerts emergency contacts. They also offer a paid plan where someone will personally call if the check-in is missed ².
Eskaton’s Telephone Reassurance Program: A nonprofit organization that provides daily phone calls to housebound seniors ³.
Community Phone’s Caregiver Plan: Provides daily phone check-in calls to ensure the well-being of elderly individuals living alone ⁴.

Onomatopoeias are words that suggest the sound they are describing. Think Bam! or Pow!

What do the teachings of Jesus mean in this polarized political moment?

The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.

H. L. Mencken (1924). “Prejudices Fourth Series”

The Gullah Geechee Tourism Alliance meetings are interactive sessions designed to connect tourism and cultural entities working to develop and promote Gullah Geechee culture and heritage within each state. Participants can share their news and ideas, and pose questions about tourism development within the State.

You can register for the State meeting most relevant for you and your organization via the links below*:

South Carolina, September 18, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

North Carolina, September 18, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Georgia, September 19, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Florida September 19, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

What Did He Say?

Trump’s 2024 campaign is not at all about reality; it’s about a worldview. When asked at an event at the New York Economic Club “what specific piece of legislation will you advance” to make child care affordable, the 78-year-old Trump answered:

“Well I would do that. And we’re sitting down. You know I was somebody. We had Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about, that because—look, child care is child care. It’s—couldn’t, you know, it’s something you have to have it—in this country you have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to—but they’ll get used to it very quickly—and it’s not going to stop them from doing business with us, but they’ll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including child care, that it’s going to take care. We’re going to have—I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country, because I have to stay with child care. I want to stay with child care, but those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just told you about. We’re going to be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as child care is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers we’ll be taking in. We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people, and then we’ll worry about the rest of the world. Let’s help other people, but we’re going to take care of our country first. This is about America first. It’s about Make America Great Again, we have to do it because right now we’re a failing nation, so we’ll take care of it.”

from Letters From an American, Heather Cox Richardson, September 5, 2024.

Did you know some books can help you have better sex? Books!

Come Together, by Emily Nagoski
Naked at Our Age, by Joan Price
She Comes First, by Ian Kerner
Sex for One, by Betty Dodson

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