Eat Comfortable: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

You know, I would probably have passed on this
soup five years ago. Just doesn't sound very
appetizing to my (at one time) limited palette.
However, after taking heed from Roth and Jen's
suggestion, I gave it a try. Those two are closer
to being true "foodies" than I ever will be. Their
version of this soup (I think) involved a brown sage butter; my version (due to lack of fresh sage at the time) uses some fresh rosemary and a few
other items not found in the recipes a pirated.

As with any soup, stew, casserole, or other
conglomerate recipe, the finished flavor profile is
entirely up to your own tastes. And will only be
successful when you learn to progressively season
throughout the process, again, to your own tastes.

This is the first time I made Roasted Butternut
Squash Soup. And if I do say, hit a triple in the
flavor department. You'll notice I didn't say
home-run as there is room for improvement, ie,
experimentation, especially when making a soup. I will use fresh sage next time and I will make
up a batch of my own chicken stock (versus canned broth fixed up with onions, carrots, and celery). There are simpler soups to make then this one. Just plan ahead and mis-en-place properly. And above all...season, taste...season, taste.

As a side note regarding serving and slurping of soups, here is a thought or two. Serving pretty
soups in shallow, wide white bowls look great on dinner tables and in food styling photos. However, even if you ladle the soup into a warm bowl, it will still get cool real fast at the table. At home during non-dinner party times, use a short, stout, thick sided soup bowl or, better yet, one of those crock-like handled bowls. Pop them in the oven at 150 degrees for 10 minutes or so before serving, it will hold the soup at a warmer temperature than those fancy, shallow bowls. By the way, same goes for any table service dishes like plates. Warm them in the oven before service. And, put salad plates in the freezer. Why not do these simple things to help ensure your hard-earned meal has every chance of receiving kudos (from your guests and from yourself)?

Just another day...

My sixtieth birthday has come and gone without much fanfare (by design). I've never had much of a desire to mark this date more than any other day during the year. Turning sixty years old is really not much of a landmark like sixteen or eighteen or twenty one or thirty. Sixty two will be somewhat worthy of note as I will begin receiving a nice little monthly paycheck, a raise of sorts.

This birthday for me is significant due to the fact that I made it at all. I suppose we all could make that statement about any birthday, "Another day above ground...it's all good!" Life is indeed short. My new cardiologist told me yesterday that all three of my major heart muscle arteries (we all have three big ones coming out of the aorta that supply blood to the heart muscles) are 100% closed. I live and breath today because of a couple of well-placed grafts and a small piece of wire mesh called a stent. No telling how temporary all of this is. I'm quite sure there is more medical magic waiting in the wings that may help extend my tenure. But, it is all temporary, for all of us. Our time on this earth is finite as individuals. I'm hoping for a few more years. Quite possibly I have a third of my life left, maybe more. Geeze, I hope so. I have too many other things left to do...some of which will be quite substantial in scope, possibly affecting many other people than just myself (in a positive manner).

So, taking stock at 60: I still have (most of) my mind, some of my hair, a lot of ideas and dreams, and plenty of time!

Irreverence is worse than you think...but not as bad as being a serial killer!

Wordplay...

I used to think the term irreverence, when it came to humor, meant simply being funny, as in comedian-stand-up-monologue-type-humor. After reading a few googled definitions on the word irreverence and its kin, it appears to be more closely related to the oft used contra-eufemism asshole.

According to one edictionary definition, irreverence means lack of reverence or due respect; or a disrespectful act or remark. Furthermore, stated synonyms include blasphemy, discourtesy, flippancy, insult, mockery, profanity, ridicule, and sauciness...among many others. In other words, someone who is the irreverent kind may also be considered a typical asshole.

To put this into a more understandable context, consider this. Someone you may view as being an asshole is not necessarily a really bad person, but a person who may even deserve your sympathy. For instance, you really wouldn't refer to a serial killer an an asshole, right. He or she is certainly much worse than being simply irreverent in his or her behavior. One might call this person a monster of sorts...a heinous human being...an abnormality...but not an asshole. On the flip side, you really wouldn't refer to irreverent late night comedians Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien as assholes. However, David Letterman may be considered an asshole. Letterman's irreverent humor and even more (admitted) irreverent, ie, ridiculous, flippant, profane, or saucy off camera behavior of late could certainly place him in that milieu. Yes, in my opinion, a diddler of subordinate employees is an asshole!

"You irreverent asshole!", would appear to be a redundant statement, correct? "You charming little asshole!"...a contradictory statement...a conundrum...a riddle...an enigma?

Am I an asshole for writing about this sort of thing? I don't think so. Irreverent? Yes.

Do ya' think?

During recent hospital visit...

Old Asian treadmill doctor: (glancing at Navy anchor tattoo on my forearm just prior to beginning stress test) Oh...you was in Navy?

Old cardio patient, ie, me: (rolling my eyes, glancing at nurse and smirking) No. I wasn't in the Navy. However, I was one of the original founding members of the Village People. You know, the sailor guy?

Nurse: (smiles, emits a quiet chuckle, and rolls her eyes too)

Old treadmill doctor: Oh, that's nice. Step onto treadmill please, Mr. Hansen.


Another encounter during hospital visit. Approximately 3:30 am in my room...

Nurse: Are you asleep, Mr. Hansen?

Me: (waking up, realizing someone was speaking to me and that I still had that nitro headache) Huh? Oh. No, I'm not asleep. I'm dead. Please leave the flowers and go!


This exchange occurred several times over several days with everyone from the ambulance guys, to nurses, visiting docs, to the lady taking my meal order, to the little old man emptying the trash...

Ambulance attendant: Mr. Hansen, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being worst, what is your pain level now?

Me: (one of my answers) What would one consider bad enough for a 10? Having your fingers sawed off one by one with a rusty steak knife while being forced to watch Star Wars VII: Jar Jar Binks, the Beginnings in iMax. It fucking hurts...like, maybe, OK (not wanting to sound like a wimp)...a 7, alright? A 7!

Ambulance attendant: Relax, Mr. Hansen. We're almost there.

Me: (thinking to myself) The first ride 23 years ago, I got a shitload of morphine on the way to hospital. This time, not even a tylenol!

Disclaimer: Truthfully, all of these conversations took place, I embellished a bit on my responses.

Call me Stentman!

I'm sitting at home after several days in the hospital. The worst "scars" are a bunch of misplaced tape marks (bruises), and a few puncture wounds and bruises from untalented and uncaring phlebotomists. And the smallest "boo boo" (requiring a Band-Aid): a slight puncture wound (about the size from giving blood) in my groin where they repaired a 90% blocked artery (a repair from a 13-year old bi-pass) . The most unpleasant part: going in on a Friday (just like my surgery 13 years ago) and having to wait until Monday for the angioplasty. If I had gone in on Wednesday, I would have been home on Friday! Damn golfing doctors!

A very talented, very congenial, very friendly, and very engaging Cardio/Angio doc by the named of Michael Zhu performed the procedure in about 30 minutes in Dameron Hospital (contracted to Kaiser). We bonded immediately the night before during a visit to my hospital bed when he found out we both own iPhones. Strange bedfellows! During our conversation, I asked, "Well, I haven't been in a cath(eter) lab for over 13 years...could things have changed that much?" Dr. Zhu, "Light years! We're much better at it now...less invasive. We can get to (arterial) places we've never been able to before. We're putting (bi-pass) surgeons out of business!" Well, howdy-doody, rocknroller, Long Live The Beatles! I was a happy camper after that conversation. Of course, there was a possibility he couldn't affect a repair via catheter and another surgery would be in order. That would not be the case. Dr. Zhu found one of my three main arterial vessels (quite) blocked, the other two were clear...all three having been bi-passed in the previous surgery. In a very cheerful, slightly Mandarin/American accent, "You are one of my favorite patients. And, I did a great job on you!"



So, that's it in a nutshell. Prior to my bi-pass 13 years ago, I underwent three PCI's (percutaneous coronary intervention) over a period of ten years, angioplasty without stents. I lasted three years past the predicted "warranty" on a "cabbage", (surgeon speak for CABG - coronary artery bipass graft) and now I'm "clear" again. Relief from chest pressure and pain is immediate, recovery is minimal (a week or so), and I had no heart muscle damage (no heart attack, ie, MI, ie, miocardial infarction), ie, no excuses to get back on the bicycle...pun intended. A drug-eluting stent was installed in the occlusion, and all is well in Cardioland for now. Another bullet dodged.

The new lease (on life)...signed, seal, delivered. One week to go to sixty. I may actually make it!

Loretta's back on the WWW

Loretta's birthday isn't until March 11th. However, she's expressed a hearty desire to get back into email and the web, something she used to do a few years ago on one of our old computers. And, her requested b-day present is a netbook, ie, a small notebook, ie, tiny laptop without an optical (DVD) drive. Well, being the instant gratification kind of guy that I am, and being that a lot of that has rubbed off on my wife the past 14 years...I got her one the other day. Her re-learning curve is coming along fine despite much fear, paranoia, and anxiety (about screwing it up!). "Don't worry, honey", I comforted her, "I'll be patient. I'll just double my dose of Prosac for the first days!"

Eat Comfortable: Meatloaf

I have made many meatloaves in my
life. Some good. Some just O.K. And
some just plain bad.

After many years of trying, I have finally gotten together a recipe that not only tasted good...but I've actually made it several times following my own recipe! It is (not surprisingly) no where near as heavy or dense as traditional meatloaf recipes. It is very flavorful, not at all greasy, and, yes, one can actually taste the veggies, though they don't over power the ground meats. After all, it is called meat-loaf.

Try your own seasonings and veggies. Try ground veal or even ground turkey (if you must). I use JD breakfast sausage and grind my own beef from chuck (about 80% lean). But make sure you either saute or roast the veggies (then cool) before putting it all together. Also, be sure to form a tight loaf, ie, use your hand to mash and squeeze together all the ingredients. If you don't make it tight, it will fall apart when cooking. Keep the veggie dice small (1/2 inch or so, not only for conformity and even cooking, but so as not to arouse suspicion from friends or family members to they think you are forcing some gawd-awful vegetarian recipe on them). And please, for gosh sakes, use ground meat and not some sort of tofu-meat-like crap from a health food store! Save that for something other than one of the most coveted comfort foods ever to be served at any diner from here to Kalamazoo. Putting this many veggies in meatloaf is skirting that fine line anyway.

One final disclaimer regarding flavor. It all comes down to proper seasoning, and that is always according to taste.

Eat comfortable!

It's 5am, can't sleep...Here Come the Mummies

Gotta get this out of the way first. I'm sure some will consider this a bit too avant garde, but check out this group sometime: Here Come the Mummies. The link is to their website and a Bob & Tom segment of them playing live in their studio. They've been together for about 10 years. Rumored to be a bunch of session players keeping their identities secret due to contractual concerns with their home labels. Bottom line is...they are a smoking RB/Funk band. Warning: Some of their tunes (including Pants) may be heard by some as very tongue in cheek, provocative, naughty. I just think they're a hoot! And, yes, by the way, they dress in full mummy regalia on stage.

Anyway, 5am...couldn't sleep past 3:30. Made coffee, checked lotto tix (won free replay on Fantasy 5), checked email, read Jen's blog, found what appears to be a mouse turd on my desk (!), played with one of my vintage film cameras, shot a couple digital pix of my desk, trying to psych up for another day of work to begin at 8:30, thinking about what to do on my (other) day off this week (tomorrow, split days off...ecck), checked Facebook page, don't Tweet any more, foggy and near freezing outside, new tattoo still a bit crusty in a couple of spots but doing fine, just ate the last carmel scone (gotta make them someday, basically a biscuit with some flavorings), gonna go to the garage, light up a Swisher Sweet and clean up my newly-acquired 1964 Pentax Spotmatic, just decided what I need to do on my next day off (run my first roll of 35mm film in 15 years), not going to make it back to bed, may as well stay up and watch the morning "snews".

Cheers.

New Year, New Decade, Turning 60

Just sixty words to remind me from time to time...





Happy New Year (Decade)