everybody needs a mole

tada! i have once more completed a quilt. so, i now introduce to you Pink Kitten:

 i've been working on this one for about 7 years on and off. i did the piecing by machine and all the embroidery and quilting by hand. its based on a style of quilt popular in the 1920's called a redwork quilt because it only uses the colors red and white. when i started piecing it, i was stupid and forgot to pre-wash my fabrics so it can never be washed or the red squares will bleed into the white, hence the name Pink Kitten. its a wall hanging so it shouldn't get dirty anyhow.

victoria has lost her clarity and her fishes are confused

Often at the funerals of young people, suicides, and sudden deaths the eulogists speak of wasted potential, unfulfilled dreams, a life incomplete. This I do not understand. Does a corpse dream? Does a pile of ashes have any more obligations to fulfill? Can a dead body, if properly motivated, be convinced to get up and achieve? No. When a life is over, it is over, complete. With death, however unexpected, comes the cessation of all dreams, the end to all aspirations, the loss of all potential. A body without potential has nothing left to waste. A cadaver is not lazy, cannot be accused of selfishness or squandered talent. It is only those who are still living that those terms can apply to.

People alive, people with talents and power, people: lawyers and politicians, doctors and clergymen, businesswomen and billionaires. It would be far more appropriate to draft speeches on wasted potential for them, and not the dead. So many, far too many, people have been corrupted by greed and hatred, have let their selfishness and bigotry delude them into thinking that they are the only ones worth saving, never grasping how interconnected all life truly is. These people have a beautiful gift and a great responsibility to their fellows, a job to do in the service of all: not just for other's gratification, but for their own as well. Those that choose greed over selflessness live small lives, lives of unfulfilled dreams. Those that shun compassion find their souls lacking, incomplete. For these misers death is the only consolation, for only in death will they finally be blameless.      

a galapogos phantasm

tonight i had some people over to celebrate my new stove. i haven't cooked in my own home since 2004, so this was very exciting. i made chicken vindaloo with rice and naan, and galub jamun for dessert. to commemorate the event, here are the recipes i used. i got them from recipezaar.com.

Chicken Vindaloo by Ranikabani
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped up
1 1/2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste (one 1 inch cube ginger blended with an entire bulb of garlic and 2-3 tablespoons water)
6 whole cloves
4 whole cardamoms
2 two-inch cinnamon sticks
1/2 or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 medium tomatoes, chopped up
1 tablespoon vindaloo paste (not sauce, i use neera's brand)
1 whole chicken, skinned, washed and cut up OR 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1. heat oil in a large pot (like a dutch oven or stew pot) over medium or medium-high heat.    2. add onions, ginger garlic paste, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon and cook until onions are golden brown    3. combine cayenne pepper, turmeric, cumin, allspice, and a small amount of water to make a watery paste.    4. add spice paste to onions and cook for another 3 minutes.    5. add tomatoes to the pot and cook for 5 to 10 minutes longer or until tomatoes release juices to make a sauce.    6. add vindaloo paste and cook for 2 minutes.    7. add chicken and a cup of water, cover and cook for 30 to 45 minutes (depending on size and amount of chicken pieces), stirring occaisionally.    8.add cilantro and continue cooking until chicken is done all the way through, 15 minutes or so.

the original recipe didn't include any cooking times after adding the chicken, so those might need to be adjusted. also, i uncover the pot after its halfway done to let the sauce thicken  or adding 1/2 cup of water instead of a whole cup might work, too. i'm still fiddling with this recipe. i serve this over plain white rice.  the next recipe is for naan, a central asian flatbread. you'll need a baking stone for this one.

Naan by SnowHat
2 1/2 cups warm water (100 - 110 degrees F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
6 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
vegetable oil
1. in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.    2. add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon in one direction for one minute between cups.    3. sprinkle mixture with salt.    4. stir in 1 or 2 more cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is stiff.    5. turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead vigourously for about 10 minutes, adding remaining flour gradually as dough gets sticky.    6. wash and dry mixing bowl and generously coat interior with vegetable oil.    7. shape dough in a ball and place in bowl, cover with a moist towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until dough doubles in bulk.    8. place baking stone in center of oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees F.    9. deflate dough divide into 4 equal pieces and shape each piece into a 8 by 6 inch oval.    10. let dough rest for 10 minutes.    11. wet fingers and "dimple" the dough by pressing your fingertips into it and stretching it as thin as you can. holes are okay. (i divide my ovals in half before this step to make 8 pieces of naan because i have a smaller baking stone).    12. carefully transfer dough to baking stone and bake for 5 minutes or until naan is golden on top and brown and crusty on the bottom.

Galub Jamun by Mercy
Dough:
2 cups dry milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup milk
Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 pinch ground cardamom
1 pinch saffron threads
2 teaspoons rose water
1. combine all syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.   2. lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened.    3. preheat oven to 375 degrees F.    4. combine all dough ingredients in medium mixing bowl.    5. scoop balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet (i make 9 or 12) and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden.    6. arrange the dough balls in a shallow dish or bowl and pour syrup over the top. the dough will absorb most of the syrup.

hahahahaha. i said balls. saffron is terribly terribly expensive (check it out next time you're at the HEB) and i've heard turmeric can be used in its place, but i've never tried. here's to my new stove!

tarnished bovine kneecap

Sometimes little sparks keep me up at night and i have to dig them from my gray matter like shrapnel and paste them in my notebook:

i wouldn't want to know what a face looks like underground. i'd rather be part of the earth sooner. preservatives, jelly, make-up seem false like a band-aid applied to a wound that has no chance of healing. the clothing is just a mockery like a dress on a cat. the body doesn't know, doesn't care. And the people there -the family- they do know, but it never looks like sleep. it more resembles a puppet show. When they've all gone, what is it like under the dirt? like a drunk (or a child) fallen asleep in an odd position with shoes on and no one there to care for them, undress them, move them into warmth, into bed, give them the comfort they need to make it through to tomorrow.