Povey Prattle

Today I made Crab Cakes. One for me, three for friends. Ready to be taken out of the ramekins and then cooked. And Potato, Leek, and Cheese Soup   Some for me, some to share. I share not of course because I am deeply altruistic;  but because my self interest  is served as I cook and share. The most effective charitable appeals are those which appeal first to the self interest  of the potential donor.  Altruism may or may not follow. This is  why I cook all manner of dishes for my pals.  The preparation, the cooking and the sharing make me feel good.

  Half awake or dreaming I know not which.   I saw his face and I remembered his name;  The Revd. Ed Neuhaus. Best of all I remembered both name and face when I awakened this morning. Remembering the name and face is one thing.  But who was he, and why did I recall him in the wee hours? A "google" search answered my questions. Ed was the gentle, gracious, ecumenically minded, socially active  Assemblies of  God (Pentecostal) Pastor in Fitchburg MA. I knew him when I was the minister at the (Episcopalian) Church of the Good Shepherd between 1976 and 1980.   I doubt that I have thought about him since 1980; but here, forty years on, he entered my mind.  How strange.  How wonderful. I remember him with gladness. Sad to say there are probably only one or two CGS Fitchburg (now closed) parishioners of that era who knew him.  Just about no-one whom I could ask "Hey, remember Ed. Neuhaus?" For whatever reason Ed vi...

  Pork Loin with Persimmon and Apple Sauce. I peeled and cut up  persimmons which had  refused to ripen.  Cooked them with peeled and sliced up apples  -  all then mashed to make a very pleasant sauce. I think this would also work well with mashed potatoes.

 . Avocado toast, poached eggs, smoked trout; with tomato garnish.

For dinner Oct 21 and 22,  2020 Mixed salad.  The orange bits in the salad are peeled and cut up persimmons.  Yum. Tender and sweet Campari tomatoes. Trader Joe's "Rosemary" Ham, slathered with a Heinz mustardly relish.  Very popular in the U.K., and most likely in the Republic of Ireland too. A feast fit for Kings?   Nay!   A feast fit for "we the people". Yay! I tried hard to ripen the persimmons in a brown paper bag, with an apple -  but that didn't work. ( No suggestions please; the brief persimmon season is over and done) Never mind,  they were tasty and crunchy in the salad.  Tomorrow I'll make a fruit compote with the apple and the two remaining persimmons, and serve it with a pork chop.  "Necessity is the mother of invention"  and/or "waste not, want not".  

See  my posting "The Man in Black: Strangers in the Night" for the back story .   

Zion and I take our first walk of the day at 5:00 a.m.  It is still dark.  I wear a white tee shirt, and carry a flashlight/torch, so as to be seen by motorists. Most mornings we encounter an old man ( I forget that I too am an old man!) who trudges down the middle of the road. (We have no side-walks/pavements). He is always dressed in all black .  This bothers me for his sake; because  his noir dress is not the best attire for the early hours on poorly lit streets. We usually exchange a terse (but not unfriendly)  greeting. Yesterday (19th October 2020) Zion stopped dead because he knew that the man in black was following us. The man in black drew near. He spoke a few words for the very first time, and  said: " Your dog's face shows a lot of character". Who could disagree with that? Then the man in black added  "and that makes you look good". Was it a compliment?  

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” “The very essence of romance is uncertainty.” “All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his.” “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.” “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” “I can resist anything except temptation.” “It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.” “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” “Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.” “In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” “Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike.” “It takes a great deal of courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it.” “The only good thing to do with good advice is pass it on; it is never of any u...

  At the home of my friends Jack and Donna Chrisman; and Ashley Lloyd. Andy their wonderful Westie (l);  and Zion (r) my gorgeous Brittany Spaniel/ Great Pyrenees Mix had already enjoyed some treats. It was not enough. I was nibbling on some crackers with cheese. The dogs were saying "Please Sir, can I have more?" Guess who won? Sorry about the back lighting on this un-posed photo' op.

 In this part of Florida  (Sarasota) we don't have the lovely spectacle of colourful autumnal leaves, which are the glory of more northern States. But we do have our own wee bit of autumnal beauty.  You are not looking at leaves as they change colour;    these are seed pods .   Who please can help me by identifying the tree?