suzilightning

Oh, I forgot dinner last night. I stopped here I have been going to Jerry's for years, now. He hits Fulton - or I guess the new Fulton - Fish Market on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They also know me well enough that they will do special things for me: saving bones for fumet, saving the tail of the halibut so I can have a filet instead of a steak. Picked up 20 large shrimp. Split the shell backs and cleaned them out then steamed them over a mix of water, peppercorns and lime juice. Chopped them into pieces when cool and mixed with cubed avacado, shallot, mayo mixed with lime juice and a touch of Pinot Grigio vinegar. Piled back into the shell and served with the last of the Brandywine tomatoes and salad for John's supper. Form me I cubed the other half of the avocado and plated it over greens with the tomatoes and half a chopped chicken breast with Green Goddess dressing. Perfect for a hot and humid night Later had my nightcap in our most irreplaceable glassware

So this morning John tells me I must be getting my period because I'm grumpy. No, I'm grumpy because I have seen 15 minutes of sun in 8 days and we had a doozy of a thunderstorm last night. Anyway breakfast first: Arnie Palmer. My sister-in-law, Julie gave me the carafe. It hasn't seen a drop of wine but plenty of iced tea. Then my quark and the last of the peaches. Time to go next door and check on the kids. I have been without a pet in the house since I had to have my cat, Allie, put to sleep 2 years ago. Luckily our neighbors, Carol and John, have a brother and sister who I get to take care of when they are on vaca. Our routine is breakfast and fresh water first thing in the morning. While they eat I clean the litter boxes then 1/2 hour of pets. I go back later in the evening for some rousing games of "Fetch the Day Glow Mouse" or "Who's in the Paper Bag". So here they are Sinder and Smudge Smudge is the one with the yellow collar and serious rhinestones which is why I call him Bling Boy. He used to have a lovely blue collar similar to Sinder's but he would bite it until he got it off - then take her collar off, too. Now all black cats in a dark house is not a good thing. His human mama, Carol, told him if it did that one more time she was going to trick him out - and she did.

Michelle - yes we do eat out side and don't have much of a problem at all. I blew the teaser away but - IF we ever get any sun around here I was going to take pictures of the back yard from down on ground level. In the meantime here's one of our "lake" - puddle more like it- that is the headwaters of Lake Hopatcong, the largest manmade lake contained within the state of New Jersey.

Born Mid-Western? IME (in my experience), Miracle Whip is a midwestern thing, only precluded by Spin Blend (which is actually much better) which used to be a Hellman's brand. Hellman's sold it off to someone, so it seems to be only available in non-chain grocery stores. ←

ice shots, though it looks like you reduced these a bit overmuch. Your library kitchen looks more like a home kitchen -- I guess from this and other posts here that this librarian-foodie connection is serious! But not serious enough, it appears, for that fridge looks like it could use more condiments. [wink.gif] How's your home fridge and pantry stack up by comparison? We all must eat to live, but for most of us, skipping a meal or a snack isn't a life-or-death affair. You've now posted twice to the effect that for you and your husband, it matters if you don't eat. I am most curious to learn why this is so and how this may or may not affect your everyday routines, which you've said you'd get to in the course of this blog. Well, Sandy I have been shooting and photshopping for exactly two weeks now. I was afraid of posting the pictures whole and taking up too much space. I'll take pictures of the home fridge and freezers when I get back from the farmer's market later. They are much more filled, believe me. Sincs so much of my time will be taken up in other things for the next few months and we DO have to eat, I have been restocking the freezer especially. When I buy beans or fruit at the farmers market I will buy a bit more and freeze in serving size portions. I've been buying extra meat from Pittingers (a local guy who has free range beef and pork that if he has to supplement feed gives them certified organic only. It's neat going out to the farm and meeting dinner.)and stocking that away as well. It's so much easier to be able to pull a healthy meal together if you think ahead. John has a problem with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. We know some of his triggers: stress, too much fat, too much food at any time. Consequently he really needs to eat on a semi-regular schedule. Unfortunately he is a Senior Technical Lead Safety Engineer working for the Department of the Army. His job is to make sure the materiel that our troops use is safe for them to use. Stress? What Stress? Most of his day is taken up in reviewing documents or in meetings that he east breakfast and lunch either at his desk or in a meeting room. I try to make sure that he has things that will fit his food needs but can be eaten while working. For me - in the past I was a yo-yo dieter and it affects your body. I could easily go several days without eating but that just isn't healthy so I'm trying to correct how I eat.

OOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!! Hawk Ridge and Frank Nicoletti. The mecca of one and all in the Western Hemisphere - along with Veracruz and Corpus Christi. I may be hooking up with you in about 5 years, Nancy, because John will be retiring and we want to spend a season there. John used to travel to the Twin Cities for business so, when he had a two week stretch there, he took a flying trip up there and said it was so incredible for a hawkwatcher - eye level raptors who might, just might, dain to turn their heads and look at you. I can't wait.

For those of you wondering about what we are talking about check out the teaser photos. I will elaborate about the clues in photo #2. Please be patient with me. I have only been doing photos for the last 2 weeks. Before that we were dealing with the hordes of the Summer Reading Program. Now, since my specialties(profesionally that is)are teachers and children I swung over to the Circulation side and dealing with the multitudes of bored teenagers and adults trying to find jobs. John has informed me that while I was trying to cool off downstairs( we are an old fashioned household with no air but with fans and a below grade basement with dehumidifiers) he partook of the last of his shrimp and avacado salad, baked Lays potato chips, several cookies and something else...he doesn't remember. I always try to have snacks available for John since it is important he eats on a regular basis. We will deal with this concern during the week.... I have just finished a glass of iced Cointreau. Tomorrow brings the gym, Farmers Market and maybe some better pictures of the area. "night all.

sorry, darlin' after 30 August I am on the wagon for 3 months. Especially as you age if you drink (especially to excess) you lose your "eyes" or the ability to see raptors - especially in blue skies. Sooooo many think that hawkgawkers are negative since we may have bumper stickers that say "Blue Skies S*%K" and really mean it. We can lose a freakin bird that has a 6-7' wingspan in blue skies for lack of contrast. Course we check every white puffy for birds. You are thinking of Buttershots, a butterscotch liquer that you add apple cider mulled with some cloves and a cinnamon stick to. Succulent and dangerous.... Funny you said that about the jammed drop. The boss got called 3 weeks ago by the local police. Seems the drop was jammed and people weren't happy. I was on vaca in northern Vt and no one thought to make arrangements for pick ups.....

As you may have noticed there was no mention of lunch. That's becaue there was no lunch for me. It was very hot here with high humidity and, though it isn't healthy for me, when it is this hot I just can't eat. When I got back from the gym I steamed some shrimp, took a shower, started a load of laundry and went next door to take care of our neighbor's kitties while they are on vaca. When I got back home made a light salad dinner for both John and I (shrimp and avacado with a lime mayo for him; chicken breast with avacado and Jersey tomatoes for me). I have pictures but will up load them when I stop by the library to empty the bookdrop. We are closed on Sundays until after American Labor Day and the drop gets bollocksed up if it isn't emptied. Now it's downstairs to finish drying my workout gear so I will have it tomorrow.

DANG!! I'm working from home now and my ancient and cranky cow(Gateway) and less than high-speed dial up are not letting me do this the way I want to. It's actually 3 months but by the time that third month rolls around you are really ready to hang it up. Standing outside in 35mph NW winds and snow squalls because you MIGHT get a Golden Eagle and you are in 5 layers on the top, two layers on your hands, 4 layers on the bottom and 3 on your feet for 6 to 8 hours a day can be a bit much - but iI love it. As I explain it to people I was destined to be a hawk counter though I didn't realize my destiny until I was 39. I was very sick as a child(asthma) and my grandmother believed in the fresh air cure. If it wasn't raining cats and dogs or snowing I was bundled up in hat, coat and blankets and set out in the side garden. What else did I have but to observe. Of course I am also a Red Sox fan so we are used to not seeing somethin(happen) but ecstatic when it does (102 migrating Bald Eagles for a record last year). Food... during the peak of the Broadwing Hawk migration we may be on the site for 8-12 hours and we have to totally self sustained. WATER!!! I freeze half filled pint containers then each morning fill the other half with water. On a hot day I will go through close to a gallon. Both John and I have insulated carriers and ice packs. For me a typical days ration is: cottage cheese with fruit for breakfast, 3 slices of bread toasted, a container of my beloved Miracle Whip, a container of sliced tomatoes at this time of year, crackers, Laughing Cow cheese thingys or a few Bon Bel, maybe a container of chicken Waldorf salad to munch on for dinner. John prefers and egg sandwich for breakfast, plain chicken salad or a wrap or pita for lunch as well as his highly watered tea or vitamin water. He will tolerate fruit but the one thing we have is CHOCOLATE. Following the example of the crew at Hazel Bazemore State Park in Corpus Christi there is chocolate at our hawkwatch always. If it is hot it is kept cold; if it is cold it warms us up. For some reason the chocolate draws the birds. One year we put this to the test. John made a large poster showing NJ in the uppper right hand corner. He drew an arrow pointing to a map of Texas with Corpus starred in the lower left hand corner and wrote in bold letters CHOCOLATE . Within 30 minutes we started a counting barrage that lasted 2 hours and produced some 5000+ Broadwing Hawks, Osprey and Bald Eagles. And we didn't have to break out our supplies! Our chocolate of choice is the Fudgy Bourbon Brownies that I have posted in Recipe Gullet. As the seasons change so do our foods but all must NOT be messy and MUST be easily eaten with fork or held in one hand since the other hand is busily engaged with your bins.

unfortunately, England has been less than kind with supporting their public libraries and it is well documented in the professional media. The director and I were having a discussion of the future of libraries in our state this morning. she feels that within the next 20-30 the tax base (1/3 of a millage - a set amount based on population and budget) will be gone and we may have gone the way of California after Propostion 13. Prop 13 froze property taxes and immediately impacted libraries there. Actually where you are you are on a good migration path for cranes that winter a bit further south of you .

Snowangel mentioned that I had asked for these days though they aren't falling in the regular blogging days. I had my reasons. #1 was so I could take you to the Farmer's Market in Lafayette, NJ tomorrow morning. I have been going there for the last 4 years or so and it is bringing me back to how I ate growing up on eastern Long Island. We hunted and fished, foraged and grew. Now up here in northern New Jersey I no longer hunt or fish and I have a black - not brown the color of earth - thumb so my foraging is now done here. I'm lucky enough to have the money to support these local farmers with my purchasing power and have made some good friends. But tomorrow will be my last day till next June - unless it rains like crazy. That is because of #2. Beginning 1 September and until 30 November I spend any time I am not at work counting migrating raptors at the Picatinny Peak Hawkwatch that John founded. We are now in our 14th year of full time migration counts and report our data to various organizations such as Hawk Migration Association of North America, The Department of Defense, Partners in Flight andThe Raptor Population Index. From some of the analysis we are noticing a trend of declining populations among species such as kestral. Why? We aren't sure yet but the major conference this fall will include some research. #3 fits in with the teaser photo. I'm surprised no one recognized the Birthday Tiara. The bottle of champagne - or one just like it- will be busted open when I get back from work Thursday night. We will be going out to dinner to celebrate, though, at a little restaurant close to our house calledZoe's by the Lake. We like it because John can have two drinks and still be able to drive home. Thank you all for your questions and kind words. When I started typing this morning I was actually shaking... now it's off to the gym. Then I need to figure out what to make in the heat we are now experiencing.

Thank you for the kind words. I was so worried that after Kathleen's blog no one would really want to hear about an older middle aged librarian from North Jersey. When you are at the circulation desk ask if they have request forms. We have them at all manned desks. Most libraries you can make a subject request or request an individual title. Usually there are people who purchase in the major areas: Reference(me), Adult Fiction(Deanna), Adult Non-Fiction(Diane, our Assistant Director), Chidren's(the redhead in the picture of the Children's Room, Lyn) and Young Adult(Peggy). You might also ask to speak to that person. It will also depend on the collection policy your library has but at least here we try to shape the collection for our users. As for the Toast Dope demo...that will be done by my spouse of 25 years. Yes, the one, the only Johnnybird of Toast Dope Fame. And he will have to do it soon. I used the last of the dope making Peach Blueberry Kucken for his breakfasts.

Here you go, Karen. I counted. 35 shelves of cookbooks. The main rooms: children's and the reading room In the winter we turn the chairs towards the fireplace, remove the flag and have a cheerful gas fire going. My area - reference Our full service kitchen and fridge photos for Sandy.

Howdy neighbor! Exlt 59 here. I too am curious as to where you work & why you have to get up at 3 am to get there. I'm curious about why you say that librarians especially enjoy food, as that's an association I wouldn't have made. Interesting but everywhere I have worked food and books - and wine- have always been important. In fact when I was hired the director's first question for me was "What is your specialty?" not meaning what did I do best in my professional life but what food was I known for. We regularly have luncheon here with various staff contributing dishes. We are thinking about doing a series of cooking demos and tie them in with both nonfiction and fiction. As it is we have staff members from France, Vietnam, China and Texas on staff. Our next book talk is Celia Rivenbark's "We're Just Like You Only Prettier". I'm making the pimento cheese for part of the refreshments. As I'm standing here the director and children's person are drooling over the menu at AIX Brasserie. Is that he Smart World Coffe on Rte 15? I haven't tried it yet, as living in Morristown is one more reason to avoid 15 Tom, he has a second store in Morristown.

OMG - I live somewhat in your neck of the woods (central Sussex County near Rt 206). Have passed this coffee place on the way down to Route 80 numerous times and have always wanted to go in. Now I will. Really looking forward to reading this. So glad I recently signed on to egullet. ←

I was going to stop on my way to work this morning to take some pictures but we are currently experiencing our seventh day of drizzle/rain/clouds. Work for me is here I am entering my 28th year as a professional librarian and have worked in such diverse places as Hudson, NY and Texarkana, TX/AK. I have been a director, worked as an audio-visual librarian, worked in a psychiatric hospital and now have found my metier - reference librarian. One thing about librarians that is almost universal - we love food. Not everyone likes making it but we do love eating it. As I type the boss is downstairs frothing up her morning cappachino. We also regularly have "Soup"er Wednesdays in the fall and winter when staff memebers take turns bringing in soup and bread. Our staff is also diverse with people from France, Vietnam and China rounding out our culinary background. Well, things are beginning to hop around here so I'm off. Please ask about anything you might be interested in...now that I've stopped shaking I think I can get my fingers to type straight.

Saturday morning and I am trying to hold the crowds back at work but first I really needed breakfast after waking up at 3am so it was off to my favorite place. I have to limit myself to once a week here. I like the fact that they use organic products and fair trade coffee. Breakfast Iced mocha with a blueberry pocket

Good morning, all! Welcome back to New Jersey. The 34B in the description is not my bra size but the exit off of Rt. 80 where I live in the northern part of the state. Now for a very sad,sad sight empty toast dope containers

dreary and coolish so what else but some comfort food to warm the body... and soul. fresh jersey corn, salad with green goddess dressing and meatloaf

this is so sad(quoting yourself) but i did just remember the exception when so many mentioned the holidays. we always made my great grandmother's oatmeal bread and my mom's portugese sweet bread for thanksgiving. we didn't eat them WITH the meal but they were for the sandwiches later. i've also been looking through the cookbook my great grandmother transcribed for my grandmother when she, my grandfather, mom and uncle moved back to shelter island from the hudson valley of new york. there must be at least 10 - 15 breads including the oatmeal and brown bread recipes i use to this day. rusks are there. the family fruitcakes i remember making (white and dark) as a child and used as the grooms cake at our wedding 25 years ago are there along with biscuits. i can't make biscuits worth ..... expletive deleted. my hands are too hot. johnnybird was just reading this thread over my shoulder and he said he remembers his paternal grandparents always had bread on the table - even if it was the white fluffy stuff just as his maternal grandmother and his mother have. his grandfather's mother ran the farm up in Pleasant Valley as a boarding house for the workers at their farm and always had a loaf on the table.

how about koolickle(what the koolade pickle was called in Alton Brown's River Run episode last night), corn dog and the mac and cheese on a stick?

thanks jackl10 and cakewalk for your insights. i remember from growing up when we were invited to sabbath dinner with our neighbors, the Nathans, Mrs. Nathan saying a blessing over the bread. Liz's mom was from germany, her dad from Denmark. mine were from (present day) Croatia and many, many years before from England.

I was just reviewing the last year in anticipation of the Birthday Resolution and thought about something that happened at Christmas this past year. I had made Christmas dinner at my mother-in-laws: roasted capon, green beans with garlic, scalloped potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes. As we were getting everything on the table, Liz couldn't believe I wasn't putting bread on the table. I thought I was covered with two starches but she insisted that there had to be bread on the table. Her mother always had bread on the table with every meal. Growing up about the only times I remember bread on the table at meal time was if it was toast to soak up the egg yolk or under your stewed tomatoes or MAYBE as garlic bread with red sauce and spaghetti. Our rule was protein, at least one if not two veg and one starch. What was your experience?

is this what you were thinking about, sandy