Grass!

 Our region has suffered a prolonged drought that put the local dams to the point of extinction. During this time, at my house we have stored water falling from the roof during the scarce rainfall, water condensing from an a/c unit that drips from the roof, directing the washing machine water into a big tank, and I went so far as to save water by practicing storing urine (check The Earth Institute) to use as fertilizer. It makes sense, you know. It's the best fertilizer around and a toilet wastes tons of water just to eliminate a few milliliters of pee. I had to quit, though, when I ran out of containers to store it.  

After some rain from hurricane Albert and Beryl, the dams are somewhat recovered. Meanwhile I let my yard die. There was no point in watering the grass. I turned part of the yard into a desert area with nopales and agave cacti, a huge amount of work but well worth it.

For months we debated whether to get the massively expensive fake grass or try for tough natural grass that might outlive the next drought. After realizing how hot fake grass would get in a 42 degree Celsius day with full sun, we also realized you would have to cool it down...with water. An added problem was the existence of an invasive tree that broke into parts of our house through the cement. We didn't know the tree was such a menace (it's called palo blanco) until it invaded us, so we had let the thing grow and prosper for years. It had been here when we bought this house decades ago.

Our first task was the destruction of the palo blanco. Nature made this tree to face all comers. My first puny efforts were laughable, such as pouring salt water on the sprouts it sent up around the yard. The palo blanco does not produce flowers or seeds. It reproduces by sending roots from the main tree out dozens of yards into the soil where it then turns into more trees as it pops up its little leaves all over the place. We were forced to hire people to cut down the tree, dig out the roots which were alive in spite of the herbicide we had applied, and then dig up the entire yard in order to scotch the chance the devil tree was hiding roots unseen and laying in wait.

Finally it was done, and we decided to chance real grass. It came in turf rugs that are now all over the yard and which I am hovering over like a mom with a new baby. And yes, it will have to be watered here at the beginning for about two weeks unless we get more rain, but now the dogs can go outside and come back in without covering the floor with dirt, mud, and leaves. Grass! Impractical, supposedly unecological, and in our case, the only natural ground covering that will work in this heat and sun. 

My dedication is total. I have a weedeater and a manual lawn mower now. Bring it on, as she says! (And you know who says that, right?)

And by the way...

 After years of listening to my husband encourage me to publish a book I wrote many moons ago, I finally decided to do it. It is at Amazon, of course, under the pseudonym Patrick Church. The title is "Cold Snap". it is a murder, but not a mystery, because you know who does it and how. If anyone is curious, there it is.

Bionic hip

 Thanks to my rude lifestyle that has included falling from horses and being bowled over by my dogs, one of my hips has had to be replaced. The surgery was, oddly enough, entertaining. I sang one of my favorite songs and declared that the surgeons sounded like carpenters. You can pretty much assume I had some fun drugs for the procedure.

Recovery was rough but there is a whole slew of "by the way" items you don't hear about until after the surgery is done and you are home having to deal with these items. By the way, your legs will no longer be the same length, and the one operated on will be longer. This means you will have to compensate by placing partial insoles into the shoe for the opposite leg. You can try whole insoles, but your foot will be crammed into the instep part of your shoes and your toes will be popping out of the end.

I went for the partial insoles. And by the way, you have to get rid of a rather large number of shoes. Got any high heels? Adios, amigos! Sandals? Well, do you mind if the partial insoles are so very visible if you try to wear the cute little strappy sandals? So far I have kept soft flats, ballet-type flats in fact, and tennis shoes loose enough to allow blood to circulate in the lifted foot. I also still have some wedgies that I fantasize wearing even though I suspect it will be an exercise in pain management.

No more riding for me, either. My horse has a trot like a Beetle with no shock absorbers, and no running either, because both activities can eventually damage the implant. Maybe "eventually" is the clue here. I'm almost eighty years old and "eventually" has a really short shelf life, so who knows? Could a slow trot on the treadmill really be so terrible?  And if I got on the horse, could I just ride around with no trotting or galloping? No, that part isn't going to work, I feel. 

But I have my dogs. There is a sign on my front door that states: "Spoiled dogs (and their staff) live here." I think that sums it up.

Letters unanswered...

 A long time ago, I wrote a letter to a grandchild, a teenage boy. I had nothing unusual to say but writing letters on paper, in longhand or printed with a computer, is a thing of the past. Now our words are as fleeting as the dry leaves of fall. They may stay forever in the "cloud" but they are fragile, paper in pieces, history forgotten and unretrievable. 

Recently I wrote a letter to my Congressional representative, since so much that is happening in Mexico is out of sight, and our ambassador is a wannabe cowboy whose main concern seems to be, well, being seen. So much of what happens here concerns the United States, but my specific topic was the damage to my health caused by a nearby refinery using fuel oil to produce gasoline. The contamination of our air is horrendous. And yet Mexico's constitution, mostly a document of good intentions, guarantees clean air and water as human rights. 

On the same topic, I wrote a letter to the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and though I did not truly expect an answer from someone whose aides probably sift through and filter letters, I in fact did not get one. Not even an acknowledgement that a letter was sent.

My Congressman also did not answer.

Last week I sent a letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, suggesting David Attenborough as the recipient of the prize. That letter went to Norway, of course, and God knows if I will ever hear from them. My mistake may be that I put my actual home address on my mail, since the Mexican postal service is in terminal care thanks to email, Whatsapp, and the rest of the virtual gang.  

The most disappointing of it all is that it seems not to matter that someone takes the time and effort to write and mail a real letter, on paper, in black and white.  I could say "stay tuned", but what for? I only have a vague hope that the Norwegians might actually contact me. 

But maybe not.

The horrors of faking it

Anyone who has taken to keto eating may get a hankering for a carb-filled stack of pancakes and some maple syrup.
   There are all kinds of recipes for keto pancakes and keto maple syrup you make at home with weird ingredients such as xantham gum.
   Let me tell you right now, get over your craving and stick to your veggies, berries, and proteins.  Keto pancakes, compared to whole wheat pancakes or spelt pancakes, are ghastly and should be shot on sight.  And the homemade maple syrup is a profound insult to maple and syrup.  Go not there.
   Eventually the desire for carbs will reduce drastically because you begin to feel better without them.  Stick to the real thing, no matter what it is, and if you really want pancakes, try some incredible cottage cheese pancakes--light, fluffy, and minimal flour.  But don't insult them with some demonic substitute for maple syrup. 

I see that I have been far, far away from my recipes, comments, and rants.  For some reason I thought this site had folded!

A few surprises in the past few years: Lubbock produces lots and lots of wine!  Who would have thought that civilization had taken root there!

Two grandchildren are now in college.

My brother has an absolutely magnificent house inside a barn!

I have begun writing for the newspaper again. 

Do not rely on automatic translators.  Some of the results are high comedy.  Unless you want a good laugh, of course.

One of my followers seems to have died.

And now I have to go to work, so I will be back when I have something to say.

Cannoli from the Soprano Family Cookbook

This recipe makes 16.  You can buy cannoli tubes at kitchen supply stores.  You should have at least 8 in order to make this recipe comfortably.

For the ricotta cream:

2 pounds whole-  or part-skim milk ricotta
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped candied orange peel (you can make this yourself with equal parts water and sugar and the outer peel of the orange.  Boil until the peel is translucent.)

For the shells:

2 cups all purpose flour and more as needed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
About 1/2 cup dry white wine

1 egg white beaten
vegetable oil for deep frying
Candied cherries or orange peel and confectioners' sugar for decoration, if desired.

I used mascarpone instead of ricotta because it is richer and you don't have to drain the ricotta to get rid of the liguid; if you use ricotta, drain it with cheesecloth over a strainer, pressing out all the water you can; can be left in the fridge overnight with a plate over it as weight to press out water.  (You see now why I used mascarpone!)

For the shells, in a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in the oil and wine and mix to make a soft dough.  Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is well blended and smooth, about two minutes.  Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Cut dough into four pieces.  Beginning at middle setting, run each piece through the pasta machine, dusting with flour to prevent sticking.  Keep running it through until you reach the last or next-to-last setting.  You should be able to see your hand through the dough.  If you are doing this by hand, keep rolling until you get the dough very thin.  The pieces should be about 4 inches wide.  Measure your cannoli tubes and cut pieces from the dough that are one inch shorter than the tubes.  (I just made sure each piece would fit around my cannoli tubes and were shorter than the tubes themselves.)

Oil the cannoli tubes.  Place dough around each tube and dab a little egg white on the point where the  pieces overlap on the tube, being careful not to get any on the tube itself. 

Heat oil to around 375°F.  Fry tubes, a few at a time, turning them to brown them all over. Remove with tongs to paper towels to drain.  While they are still hot, remove the tubes by grasping each tube with a hot pan holder and pushing the cannoli off each tube with your hand or with tongs.  Be careful.  They break easily. You should have little trouble if your cannoli tubes are new and well-oiled.

Cool the shells on paper towels. 

The filling:

Mix all the ingredients except the decoration.  Whip until smooth.  Place in a pastry bag or a plastic bag with one corner cut out, and pipe the filling into each tube, filling one side half full and turning the tube to fill the second half.  Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired (it's overkill!) and enjoy.