Month: March 2014

I’ve always enjoyed watching airplanes land. Since Slideman took me to see the Boeing 747 land at Mitchell Field in Some Year I won’t say, I have found it exhilarating. Almost as exhilarating as surviving my own landings. But that’s another story.

A few years ago I discovered Pelicans. I’d never seen them up close and personal, but across from Alcatraz Island is a great spot. Watching them fly and land reminded me of those huge, low, eerily clunky and seemingly impossible old planes from WWII. They really impressed me.

Today, as I was crossing the bridge over the Werra River, the white swan landed — came down over my head and to the river and I was just struck by the amazing beauty, majesty, even, and power of this creature as she came down, wingspan so much larger than one thinks, beautiful smooth tucked in suddenly, elegantly floating in the river.

Bad day to have left the phone camera at home.

…. to give it a little ‘zing’. To make it ‘pop’. To make up for the lack of Sriracha sauce currently residing in the flat.

Rainer Peppers are amazing. They come in all shapes and sizes. So far, the “just one Rainer Pepper” has been small. Those are gone. Now there are good size Rainer Peppers, safely ensconced in the freezer for when one is needed. Two sandwich bag sizes have been enough for six months of ZazzzOOm. More than enough. It is possible that the Caustic One will have to make some chutney with the cherries so that there is room in the freezer for the 2014 crop of Rainer Peppers! Rainer Peppers are *not* the kind of peppers that one just pops into one’s mouth and enjoys, unless one has an asbestos tongue. The Caustic One does not.

One of the great perks of being in Ag research is being in proximity with Really Good Organic gardeners. Who like to share their wares. Rainer is one of those amazing people. I am very fortunate to work with him, as he is in charge of my polytunnel tomatoes!

The other night — as in, three nights ago, one of the evenings to the beautiful over-15-deg-C days — a fly tickled me. That was just odd. They usually don’t “bug” me. The next day, there seemed to be a slew of them around, big ol’ “houseflies”. And easy to swat. And then I realized — I was swatting them in pairs. Apparently being in “fliegre\anto” dilecto makes ’em slow.

It didn’t end there, though. By the end of the day there were flies all over the place. We don’t have window screens in this little burg in Germany, and no matter what I tried to convince them to LEAVE the house, they refused. No way was I going to leave the windows closed on such beautiful weather, either.

So began the long siege. I began to wonder what was lying in the floorboards, or in a window casing, that brought on the infestation of the flies. The kitty toilet was cleaned out. There was no rotting anything hiding anywhere that I could find.

Some friends came by to help me eat that marvelous Panang curry (previous blog post), and I broached the subject of the flies. “OH!” my colleague said “They’re terrible! Apparently there is some bird that keeps them under control but the weather was too warm so the flies came early and the birds have not arrived yet”.

Well. I could use a hungry spider right about now. Or a bat. Or do they only eat mosquitos?

So the Caustic One really loves Thai food. The most favored are the salads and soups, but there are some other things she loves, including curries. Of the curries, Panang is the best. It is spicy, yet flavorful. The blend is not so sharp as to remove tastebuds or to burn the ears.

Thai food is one of those things that the Caustic one can actually cook, thanks to her friend Moi from way-back-when. Moi, from Thailand, took the time and energy to teach the Caustic One how to cook Thai food. Thai food is also NOT one of the things one finds in this little town in central Germany. So when that crave came along, that skill of being able to make it oneself really came in handy.

This one is pretty simple.

Coconut Milk
Panang Curry Paste
Lychees
Green Beans
Onions
Garlic
Rainer Pepper
Leek
Beef Strips (in this case, fake beef strips made from soy — non-GMO soy)

Simmer everything and serve over jasmine rice.

This pic is from the last time I made it …
Coconut Milk
Panang Curry Paste,
Green Beans
Mushrooms
Chicken
Onions
Garlic
Leek
Cranberries
Cherries