Month: February 2005

EUREKA!

TODAY’S WORRY

Does everyone think that where they live is the best? I have just returned from four weeks in Marco Island, FL. As we flew over the Sierras, the Central Valley and then finally into the Bay Area, I thought, wow, this is the best place on earth. Maybe that’s a reaction to being home. I can remember feeling a similar way as we approached Boston or Raleigh. But yesterday, the sky was so blue and the temperature in the mid-60’s. Flowering trees are blooming and daffodils are out. Everything is so green. Then I went to the grocery store. The aisles are so wide. They are not filled with people who are 55 and up, standing in the middle of the aisle trying to remember what they went to store for. And the produce. It made me want to weep. What variety! I actually went over to the produce manager and told how wonderful his produce was. There were piles of leeks and fennel (and not for $4.99 each), many kinds of eggplant, all sorts of lettuces and mushrooms. I know as the glow of being home wears off, I’ll start to notice less attractive aspects of California, but right now, this is the best place to live.

dungarees

First, a big thank you to Sarah and Leigh who sent excellent palindromes. In case you don’t read the comments, here they are.

Was it Eliot’s toilet I saw?
Go hang a salami; I’m a lasagna hog!

The other day my brother-in-law, Ted, mentioned that he was going to put on his dungarees. That comment prompted a discussion of the word. When I was going to college, other girls were wearing jeans but at my house we always referred to them as dungarees. Is this a New Jersey thing? What a strange looking word. So I thought I’d look it up.

dungarees – Trousers or overalls made of sturdy denim fabric. (Dictionary.com) Dungaree is the name of the fabric.
Here’s the derivation – from Hindi dungri “coarse calico,” from the name of a village, now one of the quarters of Bombay. (etymonline.com)

Interesting.

Serves 4?

When the kids lived at home and there were four of us, I always made recipes that served 6 or 8. Invariably, everything was gone when dinner was over. Now that they are in their own places and cooking their own meals, I tend to make recipes that serve 4 for the two of us. Invariably, everything is gone when dinner is over. So the diet tip for today is, make the correct serving size for the number of people who are eating! If you are convinced that you must have leftovers, the leftovers should be put in the refrigerator or freezer before you sit down to eat. Maybe you have a lot more willpower than I do, but probably you don’t.