Zomg, finally! I thought this little guy would never drop out of a Heart Shaped Box. Granted, he’s not terribly different from my Disgusting Oozeling, but still. Still working on the Darkmoon Faire pets* (scored a cub last month), but now I’m up to 163. And still have no idea why I love collecting these. But I do.

*I know you wanted to know, so I did the research for you: unless you have the book in your inventory that they give you at the entrace of the Faire, you totes won’t get the ears to drop, no matter how many of what you kill. If you’re seeing them in the dungeons, it’s because someone else in your party has the book in their bags. Which is to say, don’t be dumb like me and forget to not ditch the book, and then sigh a lot in frustration.

So if you’ve been following along at home, you’ll know that I like to stretch the weekly chicken into as many meals as I can. If I’m really on top of things, I can make it through two an a half, the half being chicken stock that I’ll use for a meal at the end of the week.* I use Michael Ruhlman’s slow method to make the stock  over the course of a slow day when it can sit on the stove the full eight or nine hours,** and then if not using immediately (immediately being relative – I like it to sit in the fridge a day so I can separate the fat off the top), I freeze it.

So I’ve managed to make a variety of soups with the stock, including a lemon basil chicken and rice rice soup that rocks, some gumbo that I riffed into creation (the original recipe called for turkey stock, so I had to play around to get the flavors right) and a couple of Martha’s  variations of chicken soup. There’s also this really delicious artichoke and sausage soup that someone gave me the recipe for, and I wanted to do that the other night, but as it turned out, I didn’t have a bunch of the stuff that goes in it. But after rifling through the cabinets, I found some other stuff, and then this happened, and at least five people were really satisfied with the results \o/

Sausage And Okra Stew – feeds six, maybe more

2qt chicken stock
1 28-oz can of diced
1 1/2 Tbs basil
1Tbs oregano
1 Tbs hot pepper flakes
1 tsp onion powder
1 large onion, diced
3 Tbs garlic, minced
2 14-oz cans okra, drained
2 c parboiled rice
1# italian sausage, hot or medium
salt to taste
1. Break the sausage up into bite-sized pieces. I take it out of the casings and then roll out itty bitty meatballs, just because it seems to be easier to cook.
2. In a large non-stick pan, brown the sausage. About halfway into the process, dump in the onions and the garlic, and saute until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are transparent but not browned.
3. In a large pot, combine everything but the rice, including the sausage with the onions and garlic that you just cooked up, and bring to a simmer over medium low heat. Allow to simmer for thirty minutes, and then add the rice; stir every so often to make sure the rice isn’t sticking to the bottom. When the rice is nearly done (about another twenty-ish minutes), take the pot off the burner, cover it, and allow to stand for ten to fifteen minutes, until the rice is finished.

This is delicious served with greens on the side, and/or fresh bread. Also, if you’re not into rice, you can forgo that business (still cook for the stew for whole hour-ish), and make pasta on the side to serve it over (it will be thinner, tho’, more of a soup than a stew).

A couple notes on the ingredients:
- Okra, canned v. fresh: I tried making gumbo once with fresh okra,. and was not delighted by the results – no matter what I tried, I could not get the texture anything less than slick (ok, slimy). I understand now when people tell me they don’t like okra. This is why I opt for the canned stuff. I find that Allen’s makes really good canned okra, the product not tasting of the tin can, and having a little bit of a tang to it.
- Parboiled rice: Do it, friend. Parboiled rice holds up much better in soups and stews than plain old rice. Uncle Ben’s and Carolina both do a good job of it.
- Sausage: this stew is only as good as your sausage, so it’s worth it to seek out the really good stuff.
- Onion powder: you can add it or not. Or you can add an envelope of dry onion soup mix (Nicole’s sausage soup, the one with the artichokes, calls for an envelope of the onion soup – Nicole swears up one side, down the other, that it’s the secret ingredient that makes the whole thing come together). Really, it’s all about what you like. If you’re not a fan of onions, kick it to the curb and carry on.

* The first meal being the roast chicken, the second frequently being chicken croquettes if it’s cool out. If it’s warm, hello chicken salad with apples and walnuts.
**I am not even joking. Best. Stock. Ever.

And then there’s ground chicken. It’s on sale at the grocery pretty regularly, with a lot of buy-one-get-one, and it’s not beef (which leaves me nonplussed), and it’s not turkey (which I really don’t like in very much – I think I just don’t like the smell of it cooking), so I’ve learned to do delicious things with it.**** This week I figured out how to make some amazing asian meatballs. Here’s the scoop:

Asian Chicken Meatballs – serves four (three if one is a hungry teenager)

1 1# package of ground chicken (not ground chicken breast- that stuff’s too dry for meatballs)
4 large scallions, cut into thin rounds
4 finely diced cloves of garlic
3 Tbsp finely diced ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 sprinkle of salt

Mix that all up, and form into meatballs (pro-tip: work with wet hands) – you should get about twelve out of it, up to sixteen if you make them small. Heat a nonstick skillet, and toss them around until they brown uniformly, and then a few more minutes to make sure they’re cooked all the way through. (A note on that tossing them around – when you put them in the pan, let them sit a few before you start moving them around, so’s they don’t fall apart; there’s no egg in these, so you’re depending on the meat itself to do the holding up. So that means mild jostling until they’re cooking through for sure. I’d say, when they start to brown up on the bottom, you’re good to turn them over, then when that side browns, you should be safe to start keeping them moving.)Once cooked through, allow to rest for five minutes or so (really – it does make a difference).

While the meatballs are cooking, it’s sauce time. You’ll start with regular old packaged Hoisin Sauce, which you can get either at the asian grocery, or at an american grocery store with a good ethnic foods section. But you’re going to cut it with some stuff. So make some black tea (or oolong – that tastes perfectly fine, too). Steep a couple tea bags and a pinch of hot pepper flakes in a cup of boiled water until you have a rather strong (and spicy!) cup of business. Put two or three tablespoons of the Hoisin Sauce in a bowl (it will be quite thick, and also quite sweet), and cut it with the tea and peppers mixture until the sauce is to taste and as thin as you would like.

I serve these meatballs with rice and some steamed green veggie (currently I’m having a love affair with broccoli rabe, but you can also do regular broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, or baby bok choy), and the sauce on the side for everyone to put as much or as little on as they want. Delish!

***

*Actually, I probably came to the conclusion over the last few weeks because I’ve actually purchased beef for dinners a few times, as the new butcher shop (S&S) shows it off so yummy in the cases. Also it’s been inexpensive. Also, meh, I’m still underwhelmed.
**Altho’, that seems to be changing as I’ve found some really great (easy! quick! cheap! TASTY!) recipes that are vegetarian in the last month, and have been making those a regularly.
***Waste not, want not. I’m frequently haunted by the fact that a chicken’s life is worth somewhere between six and eight dollars, according to the grocery store. It seems like a pittance for a life, even as it’s the kind of pittance that I can afford for our table. And so, I’m intent to honor that bird by using as much of it bird as I possibly can. Best bet is to make it stretch into three meals. I’d like to know what I can do with the bag o’ business that comes inside the chicken, as it kind of hurts my feelings to throw it out (and to add insult to injury, the cats won’t eat them giblets – I’ve tried) – if you have any good recipes, please let me know.
****Hello, chicken burger. Hello, meatball. Hello, larb. The list goes on.

There have been a few sessions so far with Jason Crandell as the instructor (here’s a rather good one), and I’ve already decided that were he based anywhere near where we live, that I would go out of my way to attend his classes. It’s not just that his offered practices include a lot of poses that I really like (I do love me some triangle pose), but the manner in which the practice is presented is pretty great -

Listen: I’m always a little worried about injuring myself. See, I’m a bit of a klutz. Not like bobbling, face-planting, walk into trees kind of klutz, but the kind who can be imprecise of movement when not paying attention. Also, I multi-task. This is to say, I generally have at least one mystery bruise, and practicing yoga really calls on all my concentration. So, being asked to stretch and grow and push is nice, but I have to be super careful every time not to try to push too far, or lose concentration while stretching and growing – otherwise my lower back goes and makes that sick wet popping sound, and then by morning I’m hunched (again*).

So when Jason Crandell leads us through a series of half sun salutations at the beginning of the practice, it’s kind of heavenly. These are asana that I can wrap my head around, and that totally helps me ease into the practice, ease into the concentration, ease into the space where my body feels more bendy than stiff. Which means I’m less likely to hurt myself in the process of the practice.

This is not to say that I don’t like a challenge, because I do. A few years ago I was really into these Baron Baptiste dvds that I had picked up,** and my favorite thing about those practices was how he kind of wheedled me into trying new stuff. Like crow pose – at some point he tells you to pick up one knee, and then the other. “Why not? Why not try?” is what I think he says. And while I’m there, I think, “Hell, sure, why not?” A few times I got there, into crow, and was so startled I laughed and tipped over onto my forehead,*** but I did get there. This was well and truly a delight.

I’m working on getting back there – to a place of strength. It’s on my agenda for this year, a goal if you will. I’ve been doing yoga on and off now since the year Man Cub was born, and I’m still a beginner, you know. It’s like, I’ll practice for a few months, and then something happens – I get sick, or my back stuff flares up, or life just gets in the way – and I find it’s suddenly been a month since the last time I did yoga (or three months), and here I am starting all over again. But this is what I want: I want to get through that barrier this time. I want to accumulate some stamina that allows me to do more than thirty-five minutes of practice without feeling like over-boiled noodles. I want to be able to sleep better because my body works right. I want my head to calm down. I want to get to the next level.

So this practice is a good switch-up – when it’s over, I’ll go back to the handful of dvds that we have and keep going. I also want to see if I can’t cobble together some kind of personal practice from what I already love. All I know is that this time I feel more committed than I have in years, and I start physical therapy tomorrow about the back issues. So between the two things, I may, in fact, be ready. Here. We. Go.

***

*And complaining.
**I’m hoping I can work my way up to being strong enough again to return to them – they were super fun.
***This, as it turns out, is my M.O. It happened a few times in wheel pose. And every time I find myself in half-moon pose, I have no idea how exactly I got there, other than by following the instructor’s directions, and I giggle myself right out of it.

I once drove a car that had spiders living in the vents. Every time I turned on the defrost, they absailed out onto the dash. When I moved out of Florida three seasons later and the cold of Ohio took care of that problem, I was never more relieved.

That is all.

Well! It’s been a bit of a Thing around here at Chez Moskowitz, what with all the holiday stuff.** If you’ve been following along, you know that the family comes in from far flung parts of the States for Thanksgiving, and then things really don’t slow down until about now. I really like now – there’s way less stress, and I can discover cool stuff like if you add a can of mushrooms, a little paprika and a the juice of half a lime to some leftover buttered rice and then warm it in a skillet, it’s a pretty osm side dish for dinner. It’s the little things, friends. It’s the little things.

Also, I’ve taken over handling the Poets Asylum blog – whee! Go check it out – mostly it’s stuff that relates to the Sunday night reading here in Worcester, MA, but there’s also some fun stuff about poultry poetry events out and around the region, info on deadlines and opportunities for poets, breaking poetry news,*** and the occasional cartoon. Good Tiems.

Also I’ve been doing yoga with Dearest Will. Ikr? As my brother said when I told him, “Wow… I guess the floor did feel a little bit colder…” But in seriousness, it’s been really lovely to have a partner for yoga, and to get bendy and bondy at the same time. Speaking of bendy, did you know that Yoga Journal just started another 21 Day Challenge? I kinda loved it last year – they put up different little videos every day so you can try things out.

This year they have two levels of videos – stuff for newbies and then an intermediate level set. This? Is absolutely wonderful on a number of levels. First and foremost, because due to some chronic pain issues (mean old sciatica. Mean old S/I joint), in spite of daily practice, I’m sort of always at the beginner level. Also, Will is just beginning, and hopping in at the deep end really sucks. This year they also have a tracking thing, where you can tick off what you’ve done, and see it laid out for you. I love me some ticky boxes, I do.

Speaking of ticky boxes… Other stuff I adore right now includes 750words.com. It’s a website where you sign up and write every day, and it counts you off to 750 words (see what they did there?) It’s totally private, which means that you can write any little thing at all without fear of broadcast (or accidental broadcast). Also, and this is my favorite bit, you earn badges for your writing – there’s a badge for starting (it’s an egg), there’s a badge for writing 30 days in a row, there’s a badge for writing without distractions (a hamster on a wheel – adorbz), a badge for your typing speed, a badge for participating in their monthly challenge to write every day… You get the picture. Totally fun.

Also, the people who bring you 750words. com have something called Health Month, where you can track your health goals. You choose stuff that you want to have as your goals (this month, for example, I chose taking a multivitamin, eating greens, and exercising five days of the week), and then you check off in the morning what you did or didn’t do the day before. You have to answer to the The Lizard, a cute cartoon guy who asks you how you’re feeling a few days a week, and if you want to, can track your weight n’ stuff (tho’ you don’t have to, and there’s no pressure to), and you can post to the game wall if you’re looking for some camaraderie. Also, the site graphs your progress, and you earn cartoon fruit, which is totes fun.****

Also, I read The Hunger Games books last month, which took up a significant portion of my down time. SO GOOD.

That, friends, is where I’ve been =) More as it happens ♥

***

*All six of you
**It started the week before Thanksgiving. Today I am giving thanks that things are getting back to a semblance of normalcy.
***ikr? There’s poetry news? You betcha.
****Did I mention that I really like that whole achievement thing? I really like it – whether it’s WoW achieves, badges, cartoon fruit, or the shift from my inbox to my outbox, I freaking love seeing accomplishments like that. Also, I love infographics. That may or may not be relevant.

Man Cub and I have birthdays, then Skipper Jane’s comes up. Hanukkah, Christmas, then Will Dearest’s birthday. Then right there, BOOM it’s New Year’s Eve. It’s a good thing I like cake,** I’ll tell ya. It’s a little zooey, and I joke that we hemorrhage money, but I try to take it one piece at a time, and it generally works out.  I’ve finally finished shopping for Hanukkah and the birthdays, and the Hanukkah stuff is wrapped, with just the rest of the Christmas stuff to pick up and wrap, and I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m even a little bit in the spirit of things \o/

Tonight we will sit down to a traditional Hanukkah meal*** of that pasta I made last week that was so yummy, and we’ll light candles and trade presents, and it will be lovely.

Which is to say, A Very Happy Hanukkah (or just a Very Lovely Evening if you’re not celebrating) from our family to you and yours ♥

Also, the Maccabeats have a new video out for the holiday!

(more videos under the cut)

And of course, here’s the one from last year =)

*Because if I think beyond that, my head might well explode.
**And liquor, just in case you wondered.
***At some point over the eight days I will totes make a big pot of matzo ball soup, and latkes to go with it. And if you give me a bad time for serving Passover food for Hanukkah, I will stick my tongue out at you, and know in my heart of hearts that you are one judgmental jerkface. That is all.

So the last week was the show on Rome, and at the end there, he’s eating this pasta dish that looked pretty great, and which I neglected to write down the name of when I heard it. He did, tho’, mention what was in it, and much to my delight, it didn’t sound at all complicated.

I bought some fettuccine and some good cheese.*** I had the rest of what goes in it in the pantry already, and so was game to give this a shot.

OMFG. Dinner. Was. Amazing. Here’s how it went down:

The Approximate Pasta Dish We Saw Anthony Bourdain Eat – serves 4†

1# fettuccine
4 Tbsp salted butter
4 Tbsp raw sesame seeds
black pepper
Enough finely shredded fresh parmesan for each bowl to get a little heap

1. Boil up the pasta. While it’s boiling, handle the sesame seeds:

2. Place the sesame seeds in a small, nonstick pan over medium high heat,  and warm them until they turn a toasty brown and smell delicious and nutty. This will happen pretty quickly – a minute or so. Some might pop – no worries. As soon as they’re done, remove them to a plate – if they stay in the pan, they will continue to cook, even off the heat, and burn.  Sensitive little suckers, sesame seeds. Congratulations, you’ve just done the hardest part of the whole meal – for reals! Osm, huh?

3. Pasta done? Drain it and set it back in the pot. Drop in the butter, and mix until all the butter has melted. Add the sesame seeds, and a little dash of fresh black pepper, stir gently to combine without the seeds falling to the bottom.

4. Plate that business and top it with a little hill of the cheese (I’d say 2 Tbsp/person? I think that’s what we did.)  That’s it =D

I served this with steamed brussels sprouts, and they were delicious, what with the butter and cheese. Also, it would be great with spinach or broccoli rabe, I’m pretty sure.

The dish is deceptively simple – I don’t know anyone who didn’t make something like this in their college days. But let me tell you, friend, this is miles away from spaghetti with margarine and some powdery cheese from that green foil paper can. I’m going to blame it not just on the quality of the cheese, but primarily on the sesame seeds – some kind of Outrageous Kitchen Magic happens when you add them, and the meal becomes not only comforting, but kinda fanceh, even.

It was super easy, super quick, and pretty inexpensive. And delicious. Did I mention, delicious?

***

*Sometimes longer – I think the Miami one was thirty something hours. Anyway.
**After we spend a good long time living in Cardiff, Wales. But the Wales thing has nothing to do with Anthony Bourdain.
***From  S&S Deli, right over the West Boylston line – freaking OSM italian deli. The sister bakery, Gerardo’s, has moved into its own building now, just a down the street towards Worcester (tho’ you can still get yummy bread at the deli, the bakery has the goods on cakes and fancy treats) and the building that was the bakery, above the deli, has become an old school butcher shop (they make their own sausage – it’s amazing, btw). Right across the side street is S&S Farms, where you can get good, basic produce, and some niceties like fresh herbs, and this time of year, Christmas trees. The prices at S&S are excellent (frequently the lunchmeat is significantly less expensive than at a grocery – also, they roast their own turkey breast, which is To Die For), they have italian specialty items like imported olive oil, fresh parmesan, and prosciutto, and dude, they’re a local business – get outta the grodery hore and check this place out. Bonus: ask me sometime about Ed Hyder’s (did someone say lamb?) and I can give you a good review there too =)
† We have a teenager in our house – which is to say, here it actually served three.

I forget stuff sometimes – important stuff – because I’m so fixated on stamping out the little fires of day-to-day living, and trying to piece together chaos in my head, that things just slip. Like my own history, for example – I forget that I’m the sum of my parts, and where I’ve been. I’ve always felt like I’m only as good as the last thing I did, and so don’t tend to put too much stock in the things that I’m not doing anymore, but I don’t remember to at least give where I have been and what I have learned enough credence. As soon as whatever I was last doing is done, I get all emotionally hungover and find myself thinking that I’m not doing anything, and furthermore, never will do anything ever again.* I’m certainly not as good or as cool as that girl who was doing that thing a few weeks ago, right?

And that’s the funk I’ve been in for months.  I’ve been working and playing around with some projects, but nothing with any real focus – just a little here, a little there – dicking around, rather than really doing.

But check this out: I’ve been on a pretty good streak of doing yoga every day, and paying attention to what I’m eating, too. (And taking my vitamins – every day!) And we moved all that furniture around a couple weeks ago to make a project space, right? So this weekend, I finally got to the desk in the new space, put on some music,** sat my butt down, slid some fresh blades in my x-acto knives, and got down to business.

And let me tell you, it was delightful. When I’m engrossed in a project like that, and allowed the space and time, I can tune out the head chaos, I can focus, and, holy carp, add in the fantastic light in that room at eight o’clock in the morning,*** and I was more content this last weekend than I have been in months.

Meanwhile, here’s the lost and found part: see, once upon a time I managed a small press/layout service. And a few years ago I took on some freelance page layout stuff, and had a pretty terrible experience. So I finished what I had left there, and with a scant few exceptions, didn’t look at page layout programs again. And so, of course, then my inner critic stepped in to take up the void, and told me that I was never very good at it anyway, so no big loss.

Well, my inner critic is a total douchebag, just in case you were wondering.† And I’ve been working really hard on evicting him from my headspace, or at least giving him a giant-sized lollipop to stuff  in his mouth so he can go suck in silence and I can get some peace.

So the collage frenzy this weekend was tipped off by some layout work that was on my plate – I wanted to set up covers for a pair of chapbooks. And I did the collage work in bliss, totally putting off the part where I did the interior layout. But I sat down in the end with my old pal, Pagemaker 7.†† And guess what? Once I blew off the rust and remembered where some of the pesky menus reside, it was like no time had ever passed. I’m still pretty darned good at this – hello, Shocked Relief. So, the two books? Came out pretty freaking spectacular, I’m thrilled to announce.

I’m also thrilled to announce, I’m putting some jumper cables to the press, and getting it back on the road. It was good once before, and I fully intend to make it good (great, maybe even!) again.

There – it’s out in the Universe now =)

***

*I related so well to this video, I fucking wept while watching it. Not those little teary  cry thingsies, oh no no – we’re talking about the big sobs that you’ve been choking  in for a really long time, that when you finally cry the release is akin to an orgasm.

Go ahead, watch it – it’s one of the smartest and most healing things I’ve come across in a looooong time.

**You want recommendations? I have some! The new Mike Doughty is pretty freaking super. As is the new Florence & the Machine. Also, I discovered an Iron & Wine cd that I really really like (The Shepherd’s Dog). These things, liberally sprinkled with some Modest Mouse, have really eased things for me over the last two weeks.
***Yes, I’m a morning person. Don’t spread it around too much, or it’ll spoil my fanceh hipster facade.
†I’m betting that you have an inner critic like that too. I’m finding that most of the people I know do. What is  that?!
††At some point I really need to update to InDesign.