You know how Swampy hates billing? Well, I am doing the opposite - submitting bills for payment! And I hate that, too.
Rigs, if you start drving right now, maybe you can meet us by 11 tomorrow? We’ll cheer you right up!
Spats, I question your priorities. You’re choosing studying over a day at Faire? Hmpf. 
We’ll miss you.
**Rebo ** - you share a birthday with one of my best friends!
Swampy, your Joan Crawford is amazing. Somewhere, Christina is off shaking in a corner.
Thank you all for being supportive while I had a melt down earlier this week. Also for everyone who chimed in with similar autoimmune issues, it’s so nice to not feel alone!
Nope, it’s even more fun in your 40’s! Trust me! 
Okay cooking Cool Kids, what do I want? It’s raining and I don’t feel all spry, so I want something simmering on the stove. It’s (apparently) neither jambalaya nor gumbo, but something inbetween. Rice, chicken, sausage, shrimp, tomatoes, okra…please give a girl a hand and some suggestions! My mom used to make it, but she’s never been a go-by-the-recipe kind of woman.
Kai, first of all, don’t thank us! We’re there for you! We love you!
Secondly, the 40’s just got a lot more interesting.
Etoufee! Make a roux (1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of flour - cook over medium heat 'til peanut butter colored.)
To the roux, add handfuls of chopped onion, green pepper, celery - okra too if you want. And some minced garlic. Cook for about 15 minutes. Then add a can of tomatoes, some cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, a couple of bay leaves. And some chicken broth. Not too much - leave it sorta thick like a gravy. Simmer for about 40 minutes, then serve over rice with crusty bread. Garnish with sliced green onions.
Heh. I forgot the meat! Add raw shrimp at the end and cook for about 5-10 minutes, or cooked chicken or sausage with the broth.
We’ll be there tomorrow, FCM – I’m looking forward to seeing all your beeyoootiful pots & such up close and personal! Do you think there’ll be any problem if we bring our dogs to walk around the craft fair with us? It’s just out on regular streets, right?
We’re having a beautiful day, too – I just washed my hair and sat outside with the puppies till it dried, and now I need to be good and do something else constructive. Either that or watch another B5 episode. That’s constructive, right?
kai, it sounds like jabumbo. Or maybe gumbalaya. Either way, it sounds yummy. Do you have any Cajun spices to put in it? A quick and easy solution is Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning – you can order it off this here internet thingy, and it perks things up nicely without needing to spend a lot of time figuring out how much of this or that is just right. PapaT is good at the this-or-that stuff, but I’m not, so I like cheater stuff. Today, though, I recommend lots of garlic – everything tastes better with lots of garlic, right?
Swampy, you can be a very naughty bear. That is all.
I just came back from Convergence. You’re gonna have to do better than that…
I know what I’m making for dinner tonight! Now I just have to go to the supermarket and buy every single ingredient. 
Except the flour!
Awww mika thanks. I am so glad I found the MMP, and all the Cool Kids!
And honey, you can get away with so much once the Big 40 rolls past!!! It’s great!
I can’t see where there’d be a problem as long as the dogs are on leashes - the show is on the street in beautiful downtown Leonardtown - all 2 blocks of it!
I’m going over my checklists, making sure I have everything. I just know I’m going to forget something. Luckily, it’s fairly close to home so if I have to wash my hands and do the selling while **FCD ** makes a run for something, that’ll work, too.
The weather is supposed to be really nice - mid-80s. It’s going to be an interesting day, I’m sure.
Thanks rebo, I just sent skiffman to the store with a list…we’ll see how he does, it’s always a gamble when he goes shopping! We have lots of Deep South Coasties (Coast Guard families) and the local Safeway stocks a lot of cajun spicy stuff. Now that I have trained him in the ways of making gravy, I now will get to teach him about the mysteries of roux! (When I first got my hands on him he could make boat coffee and cold sandwiches!)
tigs both jabumbo and gumbalaya are great names! Jabumbo reminds me of Kabumpo, the Elegant Elephant in The Silver Princess in Oz.
I don’t know what your weather is like Twinkie but it’s blowing and raining here, the perfect day for a spicy soup-ish meal! Ima gonna double it 'cause it’s the kind of thing that is always better the second day!
:eek:
Been there, done that and don’t envy you. Qualifying exams suck the big one. Good luck.
For anyone who’s interested, I actually passed my qualifying exams… that’s not why I left grad school. But they still sucked.
Did I say that?
Yes. Yes, you did. And it made me laugh then and it makes me laugh now.
I am not sure that Mr. Lissar can make sandwiches.
Just got back from grocery shopping and running around. I think we will be eating pita and spicy feta dip and fritatta with stuff in for dinner. I should also poach a huge bag of garlic cloves in some olive oil. There’s instructions in The Bread Bible. I impulse-bought a middle european spread called ajvar with peppers and eggplant in it. Some may go fritatta-ward. I was going to make ratatouille, but it seems like too much work.
We went and saw my aunt and uncle. They’re 80-ish, and she just had a fall, went to hospital, and they’ve found that she has gallbladder problems and was therefore dehydrated and lost a lot of weight fast. Her husband has onset Alzheimer’s, so the whole family is worried. He’s still in good shape physically, though, and she’s knife-sharp metally, so they’re relatively okay. We’re all keeping an eye on them.
I am drinking an iced coffee drink called Mr. Borwn. I’m not sure what I think of it. It is time to tody and cook. I’d like everything to be tidy by the time Mr. Lissar gets home. In four and a half hours. I will tidy. Where’s Quasi-Daughter?
Attacks Husband just phoned me to say “Bactrian”. Several weeks ago we couldn’t remember what non-dromedary camels were called. That was almost the whole conversation. I picked up, and someone said “Bactrian”.
Is it just me, or is that a little surreal?
But does your local Safeway stock real coffee, kai, i.e. Community New Orleans Blend? Or at least CDM? Accept no substitutes!
Dogs will be leashed, FCM, and will probably enjoy the craft fair as much if not more than the humans. New humans to meet and greet, oh boy! Especially kids, they LOVE kids! Actually, they love everybody, which makes it easy. And we’ll keep them far enough away from stuff that the tails shouldn’t be too lethal.
Mama Tiger, you know there’s a thread around that starts with “You’re not a mama tiger…”, right?
She’s already dropped in to make sure it wasn’t about her.
Oh, I didn’t mean it that way! I just keep thinking of her all the time when I see it.,
Yuck, someone just came in here wearing LOTS of perfume. Good thing I’m going home.
Speaking of which - I’m going home. No DSL at home means I won’t be able to talk to you until Monday! So…see you then.