I am a member of the Houston Zoo.  This is a wonderful thing because it means every day is free zoo day for me.  Anyway, I was there, admiring the animals from virtually all over the world, some extremely rare, some brought here for breeding programs at great expense and difficulty.  My personal favorite is the misnamed giant elephant shrew (which is not giant, not an elephant nor a shrew) pictured above and of course elephants, which are actually elephants and rather giant about it.  The thing that I find hilarious is that generally across the board the kids were more excited about the squirrels, rabbits and pigeons roaming the zoo than any of the arduously obtained captive wildlife.  Ahh kids

Outside my window it is dark and warm, low 80s with a nice breeze from the ocean.

I am thinking about friends and how much I desperately miss them. The phone is nice, so is texting and email but I NEED their bodies. To hug and lean, to touch and smell, to breathe their air and be in the same physical place as they are. I so miss them. Here in Houston my friend finding has been rather sparse. Oh I meet people but between my awful schedule and my general asociality with just a smidge widge of misanthrope, well, you can guess that they finding kindred is not very easy.

 I am thankful for my friend family far flung though they may be. From the smallest child to the oldest geezer they are all dear dear dear to me. I am so thankful for their patience with my odd solitary ways and my sporadic engagement of them. For their willingness to converse on a wide and sometimes shockingly diverse range of topics with me, for their ongoing belief in me and love. I am so grateful for them.



From the kitchen, I made low carb/gluten free blueberry muffins that were rockin' good. Here is the recipe, adapted from here.

Grace's Blueberry Muffins

12 ounces cream cheese, soft
5 eggs
2/3 cup Splenda, sugar substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups Whole Almond Meal
1 cup unprocessed wheat bran (Use oat bran if you are gluten intolerant)
1 teaspoon baking powder
Zest from one lemon, or 1/2 t of lemon extract (which is what I had on hand)
1 ½ cups blueberry, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Plop muffin liners in a 12-cup muffin pan. Put cream cheese and two eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat with a flat beater until smooth and fluffy. Add the other eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each. On slow speed, stir in the rest of the ingredients except the blueberries. When mixture is well blended, stir in the blueberries.

Fill each muffin pan almost to the top. (The muffins will rise only slightly.) Bake muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. These muffins freeze very well. Thaw at room temperature. Each muffin has 5.6 carbs and 8.5 grams of protein.


I am wearing navy blue scrubs and running shoes. It was a sit down kind of day so no need for the old nurse clogs.

I am creating carbon dioxide

 I am going to Dallas in a couple weeks to take my last certification test for a while. When I pass I will be a certified auditor. Until I go I am going to be a studying fool.

 I am reading "Rinkitink in Oz: Wherein is Recorded the Perilous Quest of Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink in the Magical Isles that Lie Beyond the Borderland of Oz" by L. Frank Baum

 I am hoping to find a new job that will still allow me to teach AND make enough money to pay my student loans and pay out of pocket for my masters, soon after I finish my certification gauntlet.

 I am hearing pages turning, the air handler handling air, traffic going by outside, a lecture going on down the hall, very peaceful.

 Around the house I got a carpet a few weeks ago. I have had just wood floors in my living room since I moved here 4 years ago. My friend Phil gave me a piece of carpet for my living room and now my toes happily dig into the pile while I read in my big comfy chair.

 One of my favorite things I really love to eat avocado with lime and salt.

A few plans for the rest of the week nothing exciting, just studying

 Words I am pondering "Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause." M. Gandhi

 Here is a picture I am sharing Taken at a dinosaur bone and foot print site near Dallas:

Random, Obscure Post #501

I really wish I could talk about the things that are going on for me in a straightforward manner.
Unfortunately, since I want to remain attached to my employer, I cannot.
What I can say is that I will be glad to break through this barrier that I have been hurtling toward for the last several years. I am about to sit for a couple of national certifications that I have had to earn the privilege of sitting for via an expensive, protracted, slog through education. Now that I have achieved the prerequisites all I have to do is pass the exams, it sounds so simple. I am somewhat of an anxious test taker. (Although, oddly enough, I enjoy filling out
Scantron forms, weird, I know) One of the tests has an 80% failure rate for
first time takers; the other has a 60% failure rate. Of course I want to pass both of them on the first try. Why you ask, why put myself through this? Well, because I really can’t afford to cough up the $800 to take the tests a second time. Therefore, 28 days out, I am kicked into high study mode. My weekends are filled with thick texts, federal guidelines and sundry state and national level laws as well as an amorphous thing called “best practices”. At this point I just want to sneak away and raise Norwegian Fjord horses and perhaps some ducks and
chickens.

This, by the way, is a Norwegian Fjord horse. They are draft ponies and can haul my luxurious self around without issue.

Also here is a picture of a chicken and a duck, just for the duck of it, heh.

On other things: It is frustrating when an organization, a government or an individual makes a grave error in policy or plan and the collapse unfurls in a fiery slow motion woe. If only they were not so stiff necked and prideful so as to refuse to see the consequence of the choice or action. So frustrating and saddening when one loves it or them and cannot do a damn thing to stop the
unraveling.

On a positive note, I got a beautiful hibiscus for my yard and all my tiny little seedlings are doing quite well. The rubber snake is keeping the birds and squirrels away and this will mean flowers later on.

Other positive news: Still living indoors, still have climate control, still have people I love deeply, still have a sweet houndie to keep me company. My live is full and pleasurable.

I am learning how to bake with alternative flours (which would be a great name for a band, btw).
Almond flour and coconut flour are really good and make fantastic baked goods. When I have a recipe that turns out great that I really like I will post it.

-Tah for now dolls

Lazy borrowing

A to Z

This is borrowed from Ellen, because I, to quote Ellen "will do anything to avoid the thinking required to do a "real" post."

A. Age: 44

B. Bed size: Queen. Here is where there is an advantage to being short. I can fit on the bed either horizontally or vertically.

C. Chore that you hate: Dishes, ugh can't stand it. Seriously I would rather clean up poo than do dishes.

D. Dogs: Lily the American Bulldog and Tuesday the American Eskimo.

E. Essential start to your day: I must have tea and I really need some quiet time to sip said tea and wake up.

F. Favorite color: Deep purple, moss green or navy blue

G. Gold or silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'2"ish.

I. Instruments that you play: Violin, viola, cello, mandolin, piano. I have not played anything but piano in a long time and am not sure I still can play the stringed instruments. My piano playing is consistantly and uniformly pathetic but it works to pick out notes for pieces I am singing.

J. Job title: Professor/Educator/Trainer and in my spare time massuse.

K. Kids: None.

L. Live: Suburb of Houston, TX

M. Mother's name: Nicky was my grandma who raised me and Penny is my biological mother.

N. Nicknames: In highschool -Spike.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Cholecystectomy, & fractured pelvis (not at the same time).

P. Pet peeves: Coworkers who behave in an unprofessional way; the use of "axed" instead of "asked", "lieberry" instead of "library"; rudeness

Q. Quote from a movie: "A witch, a witch, she's a witch, she turned me into a newt. . . I got better" Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1974.

R. Relaxation:Painting, long rambling walks in the woods with my dog, napping, reading

S: Siblings: 4 brothers and 1 sister

T: Travel favorite: Small towns in Italy, in the US the drive between Detroit, MI and South Bend, IN US-12. This drive ambles through tiny towns and vast cornfields, beautiful.

U. Underwear: 100% natural fiber if I can find it.

V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Lima beans, why do people eat those dry nasty things?

W. What makes you run late: My students and trying to do one more thing before I get out the door.

X. X-rays you've had: Teeth, pelvis and hip, ribs, chest, shoulder, c-spine.

Y. Yummy food that you make: I make a pretty wicked flourless cake and my fried chicken is pretty good too.

Z. Zoo animal: My favorite is the elephant, although I prefer it were not in a traditional zoo. I am also quite fond of giraffes, wildebeasts and large predators

Outside my window:

It is rainy today, it has been off and on for about 2 weeks. After the drought of the spring and summer I (and the birds and plants in my garden) am welcoming the rain.

I am thinking:

Lately I am thinking about how I can improve my teaching abilities. I have been teaching for about 4 years and am feeling relatively confident. I think I need to improve some of my technique and branch out in the learning styles I am good at working toward.

I am thankful for:

Lately I have been especially thankful for the back up that I have in my life. My car croaked and needs some repairs (that I don't have money for at the moment), my very good friend is letting me use her 'extra' car so I can save up for the repair.

From the kitchen:

This weekend I am making hot wings from a new recipe I got off the tabasco website.

I am going to go all out with home made blue cheese dressing, celery and a good beer. Yum!

I am wearing:

A smart navy blue light wool jacket and matching trousers, both tailored, of course. A crisp white shirt. Navy blue trouser socks and navy blue Sanita nurse clogs. Oh wait, it is navy blue SCRUBS not a tailored suit, sorry, I was momentairly confused.

I am creating:

A body of knowledge for my upcoming national certifcation exam. I mean I know all the stuff but I need to make it easily accessible to my brain. Those formulae are gonna take me out if I am not careful.

I am going:

This weekend I am going to nap

I am reading:

"Anne of the Island" by Montgomery. I am rereading the entire Anne of Green Gables series because I have not read it since I was around 10. It is so good!

I am hoping:

To find a future job that allows me to both continue teaching AND live indoors.

I am hearing:

My students doing their keyboarding and the rain tapping on the very large windows of my classroom intersperced with the occasional rolling thunder. -Bliss

Around the house:

I just got a new chair on Craig's List. It is a chair and a half and fits me perfectly. As an added bonus it was only 30 bucks and looks good with my furnature.

One of my favorite things:

Sitting in my chair with my legs tossed over the arm, reading and drinking tea. (I fit perfectly in the chair crosswise)

A few plans for the rest of the week:

-Review my lesson plans for my next class in 2 weeks

-Plan for a big grocery shop. I haven't had the money in about a month and am out of everything but don't really have the money to repalce with I need. This should be interesting, perhaps dumpster diving at Whole Foods will be in order, heh. (I just saw a documentary on this, whole foods has the best, freshest dumpster produce)

-Study for my test

-Go to court Thurs to fight a traffic ticket.

Words I am pondering:

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you into something a little different from what was before" CS Lewis

Here is a picture I am sharing:

This is me petting the dinosaur at the fossil rim state park in TX

Butternut squash and carmelized onion galette from Smitten Kitchen

I have a friend from Michigan coming to visit me this weekend. I tried this recipe out last night and oh my was it good. It is again from Smitten Kitchen, and as usual I have tweeked it a bit for my purposes. Here is the origional recipe. I have said it before and I will say it again Smitten Kitchen has some mighty fine and super good recipes, go check her out!

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette

For the pastry:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut intopieces *To make the crust flakier I freeze the butter then at the last minute use a large hole cheese grater to cut up the frozen butter.*

1/4 cup sour cream, *I didn't have sour cream and used plain yogurt and it turned out fine.

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice *No fresh lemons so I just used the squeeze kind to no ill effect.

1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

1 small butternut squash (about one pound)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons butter (if you have only non-stick, the smaller amount will do)

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons * It turns out much better if you make the slices very, very thin. I made sure my knife was Kill Bill sharp and it worked well.

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste *I used 1/2 t because I like it hot

3/4 cup fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces), grated or cut into small bits *No fontina cheese at my grocer so I used gouda, and it turned out well

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves *No fresh sage leaves, but the ground ones work fine, I used 1/2 t of dried. The rule of thumb for converting fresh to dried is 1 teaspoon of dried = 1 tablespoon of fresh.

1. Make pastry:

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Prepare squash:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on foil lined (for neatness sake) sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Caramelize onions:

While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.

4. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl

5. Assemble galette:

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

6. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.

Ratatouille

This weekend I busted out my mandolin (the slicer not the instrument) and made ratatouille, yes the like in the movie. I was a bit sceptical but it turned out great! The issue was that I am a bit of a perfectionist and it took me FOREVER to lay out the pieces of zucchini, eggplant, red pepper and yellow squash so they matched. If I forgo my OCD ways this dish would be super fast to make.

I made some substitutions from the original recipe found here at the Smitten Kitchen website. I LOVE her recipes, check her out, she has some FINE food and with clear easy to follow instructions. The Smitten Kitchen has a cookbook coming out soon and I will definitely buy it. Anyway back to my version of her recipe. . .

Ingredients

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

2 cans diced tomato with garlic and onion

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small eggplant*

1 smallish zucchini

1 smallish yellow squash

1 longish red bell pepper**

Few sprigs fresh thyme***

Salt and pepper

Few tablespoons sour cream****

I used a 11X13 cake pan but you can adjust the size of the pan to fit the amount of veggies.

Slice the veggies into 1/16 in slices (if you have a mandolin) or slice thinly with a knife if you don't. The ideal width is about as thick as a slice of pepperoni.

Drain the tomatoes and put in the bottom of the pan, mash slightly with a fork then stir in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, spread evenly over the pan's surface .

Scatter the chopped onions and sliced garlic evenly across the tomatoes and olive oil mixture

Salt and pepper generously

On top of the tomato mixture arrange the slices of zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant and red pepper moving concentrically toward the center. (See illustration at the top of this page for clarification)

Drizzle with olive oil

Sprinkle thyme, salt and pepper

Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper (I used waxed paper to no ill effect)

Bake for 45-55 min until the vegetables have released their liquid but their structure is still intact.

I am not a fan of the mushy veggie so I cooked mine for 45 min and it was perfect.

Dish onto plates and top with a blob of sour cream.

I served this with french bread sprinkled with parmasan cheese and toasted under the broiler.

General note: If I were in a hurry I suppose I could just chop up the veggies and toss them with the tomatoes, onions and garlic, bake it and call it dinner but I like the way this looks.

*Eggplant note:I understand that there is a small rather cylindrical eggplant called an "Italian Eggplant" I couldn't find one of these at my local grocery so I just got a small one and then sliced the slices in thirds using the outside edged ones and freezing the center part for some other dish later.

**Red Pepper note: I didn't have a red pepper so I used some chopped red, yellow and green pepper I had in the freezer, it turned out just fine and looked pretty.

***Thyme note: I only had dried and it worked out just fine

****Sour Cream note: Origional recipe calls for goat cheese which I am sure is FANTASTIC but it was not in the budget this week and sour cream turned out yummy.