Pages

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

The Perfect Ratatouille

Here is a repeat of one of my favorite recipes because I think it is time for some ratatouille while the summer vegetables are still here!

 

I have posted Betty Crocker’s basic recipe for ratatouille before on my blog, but ratatouille is something that I usually play by ear rather than by recipe, always keeping in mind that the basic ingredients are eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion. Last weekend I made ratatouille that my wife declared to be perfect, so I am sharing last weekend’s version.
Vegetables for ratatouille
by Floortje (Getty Images)




We will begin with Betty Crocker’s recipe and go from there:

RATATOUILLE
(From the 1983 edition of Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, ninth edition)

Ingredients
  • 1 medium eggplant (about 1½ pounds)
  • 2 small zucchini (about ½ pound)
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup) 
  • 4 medium tomatoes, each cut into fourths
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
Cook and stir all ingredients until heated through. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. 
YIELD: 6 TO 8 SERVINGS.


Now here is how I augmented it:

First, I omitted the garlic, since my wife is allergic to garlic, you may choose to keep it in. Second, I added 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Third, for the tomatoes, instead of 4 medium tomatoes, I used 8 Roma tomatoes. For one thing, I find Roma tomatoes to be much better tasting in the winter than other tomatoes, and for another, I figure Italian tomatoes are a better fit for an Italian dish.

For the vegetable oil, I used olive oil. I added a splash of sherry, about ¼ cup (I don’t use cooking sherry because that has salt added, I just keep a bottle of sherry on the kitchen counter to add flavor to a number of dishes).

Another slight variation was to add 1 yellow neck squash just for the added color (and nutritionists will tell you that the greater the variety of colors in your vegetables, the greater the variety of nutrients).

I usually cook my ratatouille longer than the Betty Crocker recipe recommends because I like it a little softer than “crisp-tender.” The thing that I did differently this time was that instead of using a big stew pot on top of the stove, I decided to use a slow cooker crock pot.  My reasoning was that this way I could just leave it to cook on its own without having to constantly hover over the stove stirring the pot (and I usually still end up with some burning on the bottom of the pot, no matter how diligent I am with the stirring).

The next big thing was in the presentation of the dish. I chose to serve the ratatouille over bow-tie pasta and to top it with grated Gruyère cheese. This is an unbeatable combination.

So here is a recap of my Perfect Ratatouille:

Ingredients
  • 1 medium eggplant (about 1½ pounds)
  • 2 small zucchini (about ½ pound)
  • 1 small yellow neck squash
  • 1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (about ½ cup) 
  • 4 medium tomatoes, each cut into fourths
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ¼ cup sherry
  • 1 box of bow-tie pasta
  • a small block of Gruyère cheese
Directions:

Rinse all vegetables before preparation. Peel the eggplant, slice and cut into 1-inch cubes. Slice the zucchini and the yellow-neck squash. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and chop the pepper (there is no need to chop it into small pieces -- another thing that nutritionists tell us is that when you cut a vegetable, you lose vitamins and nutrients, so larger chunks is better than finely chopped). Peel the outer skin from the onion and chop (again, I don’t bother to finely chop the onion, I cut it into wedges about ½ to 1 inch in width). 

Place vegetables in a large bowl, add ¼ cup of olive oil, salt and pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir all ingredients together and pour into a 4-quart crock-pot slow cooker (it will probably fill the crock-pot to the rim, but it will cook down some). Add the sherry, cover and cook on the high setting for about four hours (if you use cooking sherry, omit the salt above since cooking sherry has salt added).

Toward the end of the cooking time for the ratatouille, prepare the bow-tie pasta as directed on the package. Drain the pasta but do not rinse. Grate the Gruyère cheese.
Serve the ratatouille over the pasta and top with grated cheese.

Photo by Diana Miller (Getty Images)

-

Monday, August 29, 2022

Monday Music: Political World (Bob Dylan)

Oh Mercy was a terrific album by Bob Dylan, hailed by one critic as a sign that Dylan still has something to say in the 80s (1980s). Amazingly, he is still saying some things in his 80s. "Political World " is one track from the album.

 


Political World

by Bob Dylan 

We live in a political world
Where love don't have any place
We're living in times where men commit crimes
And crime don't have a face

We live in a political world
Icicles hangin' down
Wedding bells ring and angels sing
And clouds cover up the ground

We live in a political world
Wisdom is thrown into jail
It rots in a cell misguided as hell
Leaving no one to pick up the trail

We live in a political world
Where mercy walks the plank
Life is in mirrors, death disappears
Up the steps into the nearest bank

We live in a political world
Courage is a thing of the past
The houses are haunted, children aren't wanted
Your next day could be your last

We live in a political world
The one we can see and feel
But there's no one to check, it's all a stacked deck
We all know for sure that it's real

We live in a political world
The cities are a lonesome fear
Little by little, you turn in the middle
But you're never sure why you're here

We live in a political world
Under the microscope
You could travel anywhere and hang yourself there
You've always got more than enough rope

We live in a political world
Turning and a-thrashing about
As soon as you're awake, you're trained to take
What looks like the easy way out

We live in a political world
Where peace is not welcome at all
It's turned away from the door to wander some more
Or put up against the wall

We live in a political world
Everything's hers and his
Climb into the flame and shout God's name
But you're not even sure what it is


-





Saturday, August 27, 2022

Saturday Haiku: Morning Stillness

 


in morning stillness
while birds chatter in the trees
a leaf drifting down



____________________

Photo by Charles Kinnaird




-

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

The True Story of War

The following poem was written in 2017 when the U.S. was bombing ISIS targets in Afghanistan. I re-post it today to remind us of the struggle in Ukraine and the seemingly neverending plight of refugees in this world. - CK

A Ukrainian family crosses into Slovakia (Peter Lazar, Getty Images)



The True Story of War
 
Refugees tell the true story
of leaders’ declarations of might.
After seeking shelter
from bombs and marauders,
they leave desolation behind
hoping to carry on.
 
What hopes do they carry
with the few things gathered in their bags?
Will children play?
Will the ground be steady?
Will families reunite in foreign lands?
Or will they simply survive
to look for hope on another day?
 
Refugees tell the true story
of a world where life struggles to maintain
amid the rubble scattered
by presidents and generals
who live in opulence and greed;
who trade in proud speeches and intrigue.
 
Those who find peace
avoid the brutal boot heels of victory,
or find shelter and sustenance
from kind souls who do the penance
for a nation at war.
 
Even now
refugees wait,
stranded as it were,
between desolation and hope
while egocentric heads of state
test new bombs
that may swell the ranks
of refugees who tell
the true story of war.
 
                                      ~ Charles Kinnaird



-

Monday, August 22, 2022

Monday Music: Fly Away (John Denver and Olivia Newton-John)

One of my favorites from the '70s. John Denver with Olivia Newton-John singing "Fly Away" from the 1976 John Denver Christmas Special. 

 


-

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Saturday Haiku: Dog Days

  


 stifling summer days
can be as bleak as winter
then sunflowers bloom



______________________

Photo by Charles Kinnaird




-

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Don't Take My Word for It

Today's post is a repeat from 2010, my first year of blogging - CK


"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned." 
 – His Holiness the Dalai Lama 


I love debate and dialogue. It is invigorating to be in an environment where the free exchange of ideas is welcomed. For some people, the need for security overrides the ability for dialogue. In an uncertain world with an unclear future, fundamentalism has an appeal for those who desire certainty and stability. We do not have to look far to see examples of Protestant fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism and Catholic fundamentalism. All of those movements represent a loss of nerve and a lack of faith. 

When creativity and security cannot be found within, we scramble and redouble our efforts to build a superficial structure from without. There is the hope that seeing things as black-and-white will give us security. The irony is that those external structures cannot offer the security and stability that most of us desire. Ideology becomes defined by boundaries, vilification, and demonization. Danger is at hand when people blindly follow any ideology without thinking things through for themselves. Those who fail to use their God-given reason are like the fearful servant in Jesus' parable who buried his meager talent in the ground. 

The Dalai Lama is one of my heroes. I am inspired by what he has to say about human dignity, freedom, and compassion. I am encouraged and heartened by his joyfulness. I imagine that dogma and ideology are very important to him, but he has the inner security that allows him to hold dogma lightly. I once heard a story about an encounter that the scientist Carl Sagan had with the Dalai Lama. Mr. Sagan was privileged to meet with His Holiness while traveling in India. The scientist was impressed with the religious leader's knowledge and interest in science. At one point in their conversation, Mr. Sagan asked him, "What would you do if science were to prove without a doubt that there is no basis for reincarnation – that it does not exist?"

Without any hesitation, the Dalai Lama said, "We would abandon it. We would stop teaching it." He went on to talk about scientific contributions to the world. 

Mr. Sagan was quite surprised by the Tibetan leader's answer and that he spoke with such candor. After some discussion, the Dalai Lama then asked Mr. Sagan, "By the way, how would you go about proving that?" Reportedly, Mr. Sagan was uncharacteristically speechless. 

Several years ago on ABC's Nightline, Ted Koppel was interviewing the Dalai Lama. He asked a question on the same subject of reincarnation. "Do you remember any of your previous incarnations?" The spiritual leader chuckled in a self-effacing manner and answered, "At my age, I have trouble remembering what happened yesterday!" 

 As we search for truth, we would do well to look to role models who exhibit joyfulness, compassion, and inner security. They are the ones who can be open to dialogue, who can question the validity of ideas. They are the ones who have the freedom to examine, to reflect, and to abandon anything that contradicts experience and logic.



-

Monday, August 15, 2022

A Jungian Appreciation of Mary

Today's post is a repeat of one I posted on this date eleven years ago. It has continued to get steady views (3,700 so far). I post it again on this feast day of Mary. - CK

“While I am often skeptical of a lot of the Catholic lore [about Mary], I recognize the need to allow the feminine archetype into our consciousness, into our worship space, and into our society.”

 

Our Lady of Fatima, on the grounds of St. Francis Xavier Church, Birmingham, Ala.

Over the centuries, there have been hundreds of claims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, has appeared to offer advice and comfort or to give warning and encouragement. Although there are only eleven Vatican-approved Marian visitations,  Lourdes and Fatima being perhaps the best known, there are even today claims of appearances from the Blessed Virgin. She has supposedly been seen by visionaries in Medjugorje, and images have been seen in windows, on walls, and on food items such as toast and macaroni & cheese. There is even a site down Highway 280, just south of Birmingham, Alabama, where thousands gathered after one of the Medjugorje visionaries reported Mary’s appearance to her when she was in town for medical treatment.

 

Growing up in the rural South, I experienced my share of anti-Catholic bias. Although the Catholic view of Mary is a stumbling block to many Protestants, it became one of my greatest attractions as a convert.  I should add that it took years to get there, and it was not dogma or theology that opened up the path. Instead, it was an understanding of myth and archetype. Years ago I was amazed and intrigued when I read in Carl Jung’s book, Answer to Job, that he considered the dogma of the Assumption of Mary to be the most important religious event since the Reformation. The Assumption of Mary was not proclaimed as official church dogma until 1950, but Jung saw it as something that the populace had been aware of for over a thousand years. Carl Jung, the influential Swiss thinker and pioneer in the field of psychiatry, had a lot to say about how archetypes speak to us in old stories that endure from age to age.  He also developed the concept of the collective unconscious, in which these universal archetypes speak to the human condition. He thought that understanding these archetypes could help us to understand our own interior lives. In reference to the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary, he said:

 

 “But anyone who has followed with attention the visions of Mary which have been increasing in number over the last few decades, and has taken their psychological significance into account, might have known what was brewing. The fact, especially, that it was largely children who had the visions might have given pause for thought, for in such cases, the collective unconscious is always at work ...One could have known for a long time that there was a deep longing in the masses for an intercessor and mediatrix who would at last take her place alongside the Holy Trinity and be received as the 'Queen of heaven and Bride at the heavenly court.' For more than a thousand years it has been taken for granted that the Mother of God dwelt there.” (1)

 

It is undeniable that Marian visions occur. Rather than ask if they are factual, I think it is more important to ask why these visions are needed. I agree with Jung that we need the influence of the feminine archetype to have a balanced life. For Protestants who question this, think about 19th-century American Protestantism. It was the most anti-Marian expression of Christianity known up to that time. Jesus was primary, and what did 19th-century Protestants do to Jesus? They made him highly feminized, made him meek and mild, even gave him long hair and a dress! (2)  Some of the artistic portrayals of Jesus show him in flowing robes with arms outstretched – exactly the same posture that previous artists had traditionally given to Mary. This is just one example of how the feminine archetype will make itself known, even when a society tries to push it aside.

When I read about some of the Marian visions that have occurred in the past, often the message from Mary was to build a church in her honor and to promote the praying of the rosary. My own thoughts are that if this were the actual historical Mary appearing, such requests would be completely out of character – to dedicate a church in her honor? However, if that vision is an expression of the feminine archetype, it makes perfect sense. It is correcting a heavily masculine society, bringing balance by restoring feminine qualities and bringing the feminine archetype to mind (often Marian visions occur during wartime, or just before war breaks out, when the masculine war machine is at work destroying).


In the Lady Chapel
at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
 Birmingham, Ala.
Let me also share a personal testimonial. Although my wife and I are now practicing Catholics, last year we began going back to the Episcopal Church where we met. We heard that the church was in a rough spot so we began going back to lend moral and financial support. We would usually go there about three Sundays a month and would attend our Catholic parish once a month. On this particular Sunday, I felt personally inclined to meditate on Mary. As we entered St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, I was glad to find seating that was in line with the Lady Chapel, with Mary in full view. In my private prayers I prayed the Hail Mary (not a typical devotion in the Episcopal Church, though the Lady Chapel is an old Anglican tradition). After church as we were going home talking about the service, I discovered that my wife had also had Mary on her mind that morning and had spent some time much as I had done, to acknowledge the blessed Mother. Later that day, we both felt like going to the evening Mass at our Catholic Church. When we arrived, we were quite surprised to find that that particular Sunday (August 15) was the feast of the Assumption of Mary!  We enjoyed a full service giving special remembrance and honor to her. 

 

All of this is to say that while I am often skeptical of a lot of the Catholic lore – I don’t believe the bit about Mary’s perpetual virginity (I see no need for it) and have no use for the concept of Immaculate Conception (I see no need for it) – I do recognize the need to allow the feminine archetype into our consciousness, into our worship space, and into our society.



Our Lady of Guadalupe
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
Birmingham, Ala.

Black Madonna of Czestochowa
Theotokas
St. Simeon's Orthodox Church
Birmingham, Ala.


Stained glass window at
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church

_______

1. C.G. Jung.  Answer to Job, trans. R.F.C. Hull. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp 99 -100.
2.  Cf. Stephen Prothero.  American Jesus, New York, Ferrar, Straus, and Giroux, pp.59 - 61.



*    *     *     *     *

You may be interested in reading:





-


Monday Music: Ave Maria (Robert Parsons)

Siglo de Oro is a London-based Vocal ensemble "bringing unusual and neglected music to life." On this Marian feast day (The Assumption of Mary), I found their video of Robert Parsons' "Ave Maria."

 



-

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Saturday Haiku: Tadpoles

 tadpoles in a jar
whisper secrets to children
entranced in wonder




_______________________

Getty Images Photo



-

Friday, August 12, 2022

Friday Funnies: Up and Down

 



___________________

Cartoon by Viuti:

Best known under the pseudonym Viuti, Roberto López exercised architecture as the screen of a much more important mission: to make people laugh. Born in 1944 in Argentina, at the age of 21 he published his first drawings in Tía Vicenta, and then for María Belén, Tío Landrú, Adán, Satiricón, Mengano, Chaupinela, El Ratón de Occidente, Breviary and Panorama. Since from the beginning, Humor regarded him as a source of hilarious jokes and accurate and caustic cartoons. (See more at Viuti)


-

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

A Bee Thoroughly Pollinates a Cotton Blossom

On a 2 x 10 foot plot in our backyard, my daughter grows cotton which she picks, cards, and spins into yarn. She uses the yarn for art projects in her studio and she has produced so much that she sells her surplus yarn on eBay. (To see my daughter's art, go here)

Here we see a bumblebee thoroughly pollinating a cotton blossom.

 

-

Monday, August 8, 2022

Monday Music: American Tune (Rhiannon Giddens and Paul Simon)

At the Newport Folk Festival this year, Rhiannon Giddens joins Paul Simon to sing his signature song, "American Tune."  Giddens sings a new version of the last verse about the Mayflower and completely transforms the song into a more deeply American tune.

 



-

Saturday, August 6, 2022

Saturday Haiku for Hiroshima Day


 finding peace at home
lies beyond our best efforts
at ending conflict




_____________________

Photo: Ruins of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building and surroundings, Hiroshima, after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945. The building still stands, untouched, as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. UN PHOTO/DB



-

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

A Poem for Hiroshima Day

Hiroshima Day is coming up on August 6. On the liturgical calendar, August 6 marks the Feast of the Transfiguration, celebrating the event witnessed by Peter, James and John of Jesus' transformation into a being of light. Since WWII, it has also been Hiroshima Day. It was the juxtaposition of these two commemorations on the same day that inspired the following poem.




Jerusalem and Hiroshima:
Legacies of Concentrated Effort

We are told to pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
But the peace of Jerusalem
I would wish upon no one.
Centuries of placing our noblest causes
and highest callings
In one geographical area
Has produced, not the heavenly city,
But rather a wasteland of unending struggle.

In Hiroshima, they do not just pray for peace.
They demand it.
It was there that our greatest minds with our human nature
Brought hell on earth in our fight for freedom.

Let us keep Jerusalem,
And let us embrace Hiroshima
To remind us not to try such things again.

                      ~ CK







__________________________
Photos:
-

Monday, August 1, 2022

Monday Music: I Shall Not Walk Alone (Blind Boys of Alabama)

 "I Shall Not Walk Alone,"  by Ben Harper, performed by the Blind Boys of Alabama from their album, Higher Ground.

 

 

I Shall Not Walk Alone

by Ben Harper 

Battered and torn
Still I can see the light
Tattered and worn
But I must kneel to fight

Friend of mine
What can't you spare
I know some times
It gets cold in there

When my legs no longer carry
And the warm wind chills my bones
I reach for Mother Mary
And I shall not walk alone

Hope is alive
While we're apart
Only tears
Speak from my heart
Break the chains
That hold us down
And we shall be
Forever bound

When I'm tired and weary
And a long way from home
I reach for Mother Mary
And I shall not walk alone

Beauty that
We left behind
How shall we
Tomorrow find

Set aside
Our weight in sin
So that we
Can live again

When my legs no longer carry
And the warm wind chills my bones
I reach for Mother Mary
And I shall not walk alone

 


 -