January, 2010

How did it get to be the 13th?  When you are busy, time just is fleet of foot.  All the guests are gone, and the house is undecorated.  A drabness prevails when the Christmas decorations are packed away. I left the wreath with its red bow on the front door.  A couple more tasks and we can officially put the curtain down on the holidays.  


I'm taking a revision class which is helping with the umpeenth rewrite of Promiscuous Mode.  This novel is such fun that I can't believe that no agent has ever taken it on.  Beloved by my writing group and Significant Other, it is even fun to revise again.  And again.  And Again.  My friend Claire liked it, too, and gave me some tips which I incorporated. 



I'm 75% of the way through The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the violence is rather getting to me.  Must be one of the "more sensitive" viewers.  Certainly not younger.  Nope.  Watched 'Big Love' last night. Great characters and story line.  Nothing beats writing about families.  The ancient Greeks knew that.  Tolstoy, practically everyone.  What were "Friends" and "Sex in the City" if not modern-day urban families?  And The Sopranos, of course.  And The Good Wife.  It goes on and on.  And back to The Odysseus and the Aeschylus.  I had to look up how to spell "Aeschylus."  


There has been a string of boring recipes in the papers since the holiday.  A pre-lenten lets-lose-the-weight-and-fast mind set.  Phooey. 


We had a marinated flank steak (well at least it's LEAN) last night, and I realized the marinade is similiar to one I've used for eons. 


Red wine, garlic, olive oil, curry powder, soy sauce an salt and pepper.  The meat was almost fork tender.  Served it up with Brussels Sprouts and a salad of romaine topped with pear slices, blue cheese and a sweetish dressing, Marzetti's to be precise.  Marzetti's makes wonderful dressings found in the dairy case.  Pricey, but sometimes they are on sale or one has a coupon. 


BTW, nothing recommended on this blog is ever  paid for by a sponsor.  Nope.  Grapeshot runs a commercial-free blog.  That being said, my Penzey's order arrived yesterday.  Peppercorns, two kinds of paprika, and other good spices.  Love Penzey's Barbecue of the Americas seasoning. It will enliven your grilled meats big time.



The new stove will be installed today, one of Sears finest. We've been without an oven since January 3rd, hence the stovetop dishes.  I even made a good rice pudding in the double boiler.  And with 2% milk.  It still tasted nice and rich even without eggs.  Something to do with the slow cooking of the rice.  The recipe was in the old Joy of Cooking, but I zapped it with some raisins and a little nutmeg.  


Blood oranges are in season.  They are incredibly cool.  Time to work on my novel.  


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