Pickled Green Tomatoes

For some reason this year, the tomato plants produced like mad after it started to cool down. So we had a plethora of green tomatoes. I didn't want them to go to waste, so we decided to pickle them. We prefer garlic pickles as opposed to the more pickly flavor so we left out pickling salk and used sea salt instead. There is no sugar in this recipe. That's hubby working hard above.

Pickled Green Tomatoes

about 1 pound small, green tomatoes (washed, stems removed)
2 quarts water
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup canning & sea salt or kosher salt

2 teaspoons celery salt
2 cloves minced garlic (I used 3 tablespoons of already diced garlic)
chili flakes or fresh peppers

glass containers for pickling

1. In a large enough saucepan, add water, vinegar, kosher/sea salt bring to a strong simmer, stirring until the salt has all dissolved.

2. Sterilize your glass containers by submerging them in a pot of boiling water.

3. Place tomatoes in glass containers and add hot bring until the tomatoes are completely covers.
4. You can finish by boiling the jars until the lids seal or just store them in the fridge.

Please note that after you are finished and all the lovely jars are filled, your kitchen will be a mess of vinegar and garlic and whatnot. It will probably smell like pickles for awhile, too. But oh, so worth it.

The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen

I loved this book. This book is so sweet, it'll make your teeth hurt. But it felt good to read this after the last uber depressing book that I read. It's a love story with a little magic mixed in. Of course, I think love always has a little magic. That's sappy, isn't it? Anyway, quick disclaimer, if you don't want to know what happens, stop here.



Josey Cirrini is a 27 year old woman, who lives with her mother in Bald Slope, NC. Josey loves 3 things: winter, candy, and her mailman, Adam. The mailman, of course, barely notices her. But she waits for him everyday and hides in her closet reading travel magazines and eating candy. One day Della Lee Baker, a tough talking waitress, shows up in Josey's closet. Della Lee sees that Josey needs a change and helps her get out of the closet and into life, so to speak. She sends her to Chloe Finley for a sandwich. Chloe has a gift of her own, books magically appear whenever she needs them, not always when she wants them, but always when she needs them. Josey and Chloe become close and Josey ends up having to save Chloe from herself. So, Della Lee saves Josey, Josey saves Chloe, but who saves Della Lee? You'll have to read it to find out. It's a quick, easy read and lots of fun.

She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb

This is the first of several book reviews that I will be posting. I requested that people recommend books for me to read and I would read each of them and do a review. I should have laid out better rules. Like nothing so depressing that I might have a strong desire to jump off of a bridge or cry for 24 hours. However, I did not make that rule, so I live with the consequences.



Also, I will be discussing this book in detail, so if you do not want to know what happens, do not read this review.



This is the story of Dolores Price, a girl who starts out like the rest of us, our parents love her and one another. Then things go from bad to worse for poor Dolores. Her dad is basically prostituting himself and her mother knows it. He eventually leaves his wife for some one else, causing Dolores' mother to go into a tailspin and end up in the mental ward at the hospital. Dolores goes to live with her overly serious, prickly grandmother. Who doesn't seem to understand that women aren't just maids for men. Dolores' mother eventually gets out of the hospital and comes to live with them. Her mother is trying to find her place in the world. She has no skills or education, but has to find a way to support herself and her daughter. She also realizes that she is a woman with needs and isn't afraid to fulfill those needs. Dolores does not understand any of this. Of course, she blames her mother for her father's bad behavior. And her father is too involved with his new woman to worry about Dolores.

The grandmother has a multi-family home. She rents the upstairs to a young couple. Everyone loves them. They are cute and sweet and the guy is a real charmer. He ends up raping poor Dolores. Eventually, we find out that Dolores' mother was screwing him. The couple moves away in the night. He walks away to most likely go rape some other poor kid. The mother, feeling guilty, allows Dolores to sit on her ass, watch TV and eat anything and everything. Of course, Dolores is also suffering from severe depression and doesn't want to do anything else. She graduates from high school at 257 pounds. She has a fight with her mother and that night, mom gets killed. What are the freaking odds of all of this happening to 1 person? Christ, Dolores is like a lightning rod of bad luck. I read another review of this book and some one called it a hilarious coming of age story. WTF?! It had a few dark jokes, but mostly it made me sad. If you have never suffered from depression, you might view this book differently than someone who has. Anyone who has ever suffered from depression could relate to Dolores and her need for food, TV and a nice comfy chair. Dolores ends up attempting suicide her first semester of college and ends up in a mental institution for years and then a half-way house. Her psychiatrist actually does rebirth therapy on her, which seems to work. Remember this from the 80s? Someone told me they remember seeing it on Oprah. Of course, he doesn't use the mattress like they did on Oprah, but a swimming pool, which seems less crazy to me.

Dolores is obsessed with her college roommate's old boyfriend, who she hunts down and manages to marry. In the end, she was obsessed with the person she thought he was. And possibly the person he should make her. He ends up being a shithead, too. Poor Dolores can't seem to meet any people that don't want to use and abuse her. Anyway, her grandmother dies and she moves back into her house. At this point Dolores has lost weight and gotten her shit mostly together. But after leaving the hubby and moving into grandma's house, she goes back to her old ways. The TV becomes her best friend again. Until, the neighbor lady, who has Parkinson's forces her to wake the hell up and get out of the house. Eventually, Dolores meets a nice guy and has a mostly good ending. At the end of this book, Dolores is almost 40. I have to admit that while it seems a lot of stuff happens to Dolores, she faces what most of us face growing up. We realize that our parents are human, that they have needs and desires just like we do. Most importantly, that we all need hope. We expect others to make us happy, but eventually we have to face the fact that we have to create our own happiness.

Let me just say that Wally Lamb climbed into a woman's head like I have never seen a man do. There were a few times that I had to remind myself that this was not an autobiography. It was a book that definitely made me stop and think more than once. So, read it. Even if you now know how it ends, it's worth a read. Just don't read it if you are already depressed.

Italian Sausage Subs

Time for my once a month home cooked meal. The husband is sick, so doesn't want to go out. So, I have to cook or order in. I actually have the food to cook, so decide I'll do it.



1 pack Hot Italian Sausages - Boiled and sliced. Mild is always an option here, as well

1 jar tomato sauce - We use Ragu Traditional, you can use whatever you like, if you are feeling real frisky, make your own.

2 tsp diced garlic - I use the kind that comes already chopped. You can use fresh.

Lots and lots of shredded mozzarella cheese

6 pack of buns - I use french bread rolls from the bakery because they have a nice crusty crust. Also please note that in my house at least 4 of these will be thrown away eventually.



Boil sausages. You can pull the skin and brown this like you would ground beef, but that's a lot like work to me, so I just boil them and then slice them. This process can also be done a day or two before if necessary. I don't like to do too much cooking in one day, it ruins my chi.
Okay, take a large pot, mix tomato sauce, garlic and sausage. Cover, go break up cat fight, that for some reason husband can't break up. Even though, he's just sitting there, staring at the TV. Separate cats, put bad cat in room by himself until he can calm down. Check on sausage mixture, stir, recover, go to fridge get beer. Husband wants to know what happened with the cats, that was 10 minutes ago and every body is fine. Allow bad cat to come out of time-out. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Once mixture is nice and bubbly, slice rolls open, scoop out some of the bread - you need a well for your mixture. Put plenty of sausage mixture onto buns. Cover with lots and lots of shredded cheese. Place in oven until cheese is bubbly and melted. Remove from oven. Place on plates and put chopped banana peppers (courtesy of sister) or if you are like me, you can use jalapeno's. Tell husband, who for some reason just called his mother, that dinner is ready. Wait a minute to see if he is going to get off the phone. He is not. So get your plate, your beer and go sit outside. The leftovers of this mixture make one badass pizza.

I don't want to

Well, I started my class last night. It's an Intensive Writing Workshop. Now I have to send 20 pages of my WIP to 10 strangers. If I never had to see these strangers again, I wouldn't care so much. But I have to let them read it, then critique it. It is making me a nervous wreck. My stomach's in knots and I just want to curl up in the corner and never come back out. I know that everyone starts some where and that my WIP is just a start. But I just feel so stupid around these people. They all seem like really intellectual people that really know their shit. I, however, feel like a dumbass who should have just stayed home. I know that I am not stupid. I am sure that I could out Photoshop and out cat the best of them, but it doesn't feel like enough right now.

Writing like a man?!

I was talking to a guy at work the other day. We were discussing books that we liked. I had told him about these books that I like to read by J.D. Robb, who is actually Nora Roberts. He told me that his wife loves Nora Roberts books and that he tried to read one of her books, but it was too girly. I told him that these books were very different from her other books. The heroine in these books is a tough, no nonsense cop. That they are not romance in novels. So then he says, "Oh, she's trying to write like a man." I did not say anything. I was not really surprised by the statement. But the more I think about it the more pissed off I get.
What the hell does that mean? If I don't write some stupid claptrap about romance or buying shoes, then I am writing like a man? I am not ashamed to admit that I read the occasional book like "Bridget Jones Diary". They are funny and cute and easy to read. But I've read a lot of stupid shit by men too. So let me tell you that WHEN I get published if I hear some jackass talk about book being written "like a man", I'm going to blow his ears back.

I want more

What's wrong with wanting more? I hear people say that we should be happy with what we have. I know that I am lucky and I am happy with what I have. But what is wrong with wanting more? Isn't that human nature? If it weren't we would still be living in caves, eating raw meat and roots. Yes, I want more! I'll admit it. I want, want, want, want...

Cowboys in Dandridge

I took my parents to a place called Cowboys tonight. It's a seafood joint on Douglas Lake. It's a marina, restaurant and hotel all in one. The inside looks like a diner. Simple tables and chairs. Your standard fish photos and stories on the walls. Cowboys has THE BEST HUSHPUPPIES. The rest of the food is marginal at best. The service is hit or miss. I had the broiled scallops, they were small, salty and mostly boring. The salad is simple iceburg and a tomato or two, I'm sure somewhere in there is some cheese. The rest of the food is fried. Fried shrimp, deviled crab, fried oysters, fried fish. They do not serve alcohol, so don't go expecting a cold beer to go with all of that fry. But once in a while I have to go - just for the hushpuppies, which by the way come in a basket and are included in the meal. So I gorged on hushpuppies tonight. I guess I won't need a fix again for awhile.

knew better

Dang, I knew better than to blog anything about work. After making fun of other people, I screwed something up. It was a small thing and I don't imagine anybody will actually say anything, but that doesn't make it okay. I guess I need to worry less about what other people are doing/not doing and pay more attention to what I should be doing.

burn out

I have vowed to never blog about work (good way to lose my job). But right now I am so burned out. Burned out on my schedule, burned out on my job in general. Leaving, however, is not an option. I would have to give up so much. Plus it's not a bad job. I never see my boss, I have very little actual stress, unless you count watching other people screw things up. I'm a peon at work, so if those folks can't figure it out, no body can blame me. I wish I could just take a sabbatical. Maybe just a month or two to work on my house. And by my house I mean my WIP, my actual house, my yard, my life. Can I get all of that straightened out in 2 months? Probably not, but I would love to try.

emercency bread pudding

Well, my friend was supposed to come by with her son and her nephew for brunch today. I had planned to make french toast with blueberry syrup. Well, that got cancelled. So I had a giant loaf of french bread, a dozen eggs and loads of fresh fruit, so what to do? I decided on bread pudding. So here's the recipe

4 eggs
1 cup greek yogurt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp brandy (did not vanilla, but you can use vanilla instead)
1 1/2 cup soy milk (can use regular milk)
2 cups stale bread cut into cubes
2 cups mixed fruit - blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries
cinnamon to taste

whisk eggs, yogurt, brown sugar and brandy until smooth, then mix in milk, bread, and berries.

Let sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Top with cinnamon.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 55 minutes.

emergency evacuation plan

Several weeks ago, we found a gas leak in our yard. Nothing major, thank goodness, because they haven't bothered to fix it yet. But when the guy was here, checking it, he told us that if it were bad he would have to evacuate us and our neighbors. That got me thinking about things. Like, what the hell would we do with our cats if we had to evacuate? First, imagine rounding up 6 cats in a hurry. The minute you put one in a crate, the rest go and hide. So, we have to chase them, move furniture, fight them to finally get them in a crate. Okay, so then you have them all crated. Do I even have 6 crates? Putting more than one in a crate might work in a bind, but they might kill each other in there. So okay, I have them crated. Now what? Where do we go? A hotel? I know there are some hotels that allow pets, but 6 cats? Nevermind, that several of them cannot be in the same room together and barely tolerate living together in a 2000 sq ft house. Maybe we could rent 2 rooms. But dang how much would that cost? And then, how long would we have to stay gone? Okay, so 6 cats in 2 tiny hotel rooms with litter boxes. Sounds like my own personal nightmare.

waiting

Why is it that women have a reputation for being late? I am never late, if I am it's my husband's fault. He either won't get out of bed on time. Or he decides right as we are leaving that we must check the oil in the car or check the air pressure in the tires. Or maybe he must, absolutely must, call a friend. The friend that called 4 days ago and instead of getting back to him, he sat on the couch and ate brie, but it's imperative that he call, right now, as we are getting in the car to go meet someone. The worst is when I am starving and for whatever reason we have to go to Best Buy and look at every moniter/computer/movie before going to dinner. Any body else have this problem?

PMS

Is PMS God's way of saying, "You have to stay fat, girl?" I can stick to diet and exercise the rest of the month, but damn when PMS hits, it's like I have to eat everything in sight, the more fat and calories, the better. Ugh! I feel like a 16 year old boy with an endless pit of a stomach. i want pizza, burgers, wings, ice cream.

Knoxville bar scene

I went out to a bar last night, for the first time in a hundred years and I have to tell you that there are some damn ugly people in Knoxville. But the good news is they are hooking up with some other damn ugly people so it all works out.
Also, for the wine lovers among us, there is a new winery in the Old City called Blue Slip. Anybody want to go for wine tasting?

negative nelly

Sorry about that last blog. It was pretty negative. I vowed to be more positive this year. So what if I get rejection letters?! I'm going to write anyway, I have since I was a child and most likely always will.

Goals

Have I created an unrealistic goal for myself. I want to have my novel written, edited, and out to possible publishers by the time I turn 40, that is September 2011. Is that possible? Also, is there really a point? Shouldn't I be making goals for myself that I can achieve. I mean maybe I can get it finished and out by then, but can I handle the rejection letters or worse no answer at all? I am way too old for this crap. I should know better, shouldn't I?

hot kitties

My husband let the cats out on the back porch today. It's screened in and allows them to watch the birds without them getting into too much trouble. I went to lunch and came back 2 hours later and two of my cats were in the driveway. Somehow they had slipped through the door. They were both panting madly, but had no desire to come inside. One was easy to catch and came along willingly, the other had to be chased around. I'm sure my neighbors found it entertaining, watching me climb under the car, under the porch and run around the house. Finally caught the boy and he hissed at me, cussing up a storm all the way into the house. I was worried that they might be severly dehydrated, but they were fine and are now napping. 95 degrees outside makes anybody want to sleep.