Posting again....

I'm Baaack! I haven't posted in sooo long....

Okay, so, update:

• I still have a job (mortgage employee, so this is a BIG thing, and I'm quite grateful). And since my employer got bought out by a larger company, I have better insurance, woo hoo!

• Starting a new "way of eating" tomorrow, sort of excited about it. Basically: don't eat processed foods. Eat natural foods where ever possible. Don't eat so much meat. This is going to require more work on my part, and be more expensive. But I look at it this way: I like to cook, so this will get me out of my rut, and make me try new things/recipes. And the expense? Ummm....I'd much rather spend that money on food that I've had fun cooking & that tastes good, than on prescriptions/medical gear that I need because I've blown my health all to H#!! .

• Had a great time visiting family in TN; a cousin who hunts sent me home w/a cooler full of venison (a huge help in the new food campaign). Going to make venison bourguinnone today....yummy.....

• Going to try fasting the whole 40 days this year: one small meal, one larger (but still not large) meal. Water during the day, except for my morning coffee. Hope I can manage it!

Name Meme

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Sasha Saturn

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)- Peppermint Gingersnap

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - C Pry

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Cat Green (ok, I reversed them; but "Green Cat" sounds stupid...)

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) -PryCa

6. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) - The Pink Martini

7. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - JC Joseph (yes, my mother's father's name was JC---it wasn't short for anything)

8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) - How pathetic, I can't remember my 5th grade teacher's name....

9. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, favorite flower)- Autumn Gardenia

10. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) -Orange Shortsie

11. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)- Casserole Eucalyptus

12. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) - The Cooking Breeze Tour!

13. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Merie Addison

14. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Marie Vincent

Meme

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?
TLM. I'm amazed at how quickly I came to love it!

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?
23 miles

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?
Hmmm....I'm a retrad. That's a Cradle Catholic who fell away (or in my case just sort of drifted), came back, and discovered just how traditional she really is.

4. Are you a comment junkie?
No

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?
Yes

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?
Yes, before I really started blogging

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?
Ma Beck....or The Anchoress. I'd like to be banned, but I don't think I've posted enough yet for Fr. Tim to be able to tell.

8. Which blog is the first one you check?
I use bloglines, so I sort of check them all

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?
Ma Beck

10. What are you reading?
Well I was going to say The Snakebite Letters, but that's what Larsterkhan talked about, so I'll say Patriot Hearts by Barbara Hambly. It's a novel about Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Sally Hemings, & Dolley Madison.

Bonus Question! Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II?
No; see above

If it has, who do you think Father Tim really is?
I guess I'm off the hook for guessing, which is good, because I have absolutely no idea.

Beef Bourguignonne

This recipe comes from The Spice Cookbook, published in 1964. I got it in a used bookstore for $1. I wasn't sure I'd find it useful, but hey, for $1, I didn't have much to lose!

Turns out it was worth it, if only for this recipe. I think this may be the best thing I've ever cooked. And now that the weather's turning cooler, it's time to make it again; so this will be Sunday dinner. Here it is:

2 lbs chuck or top round
1/4c flour
1/4c (1/2 stick)plus 1T butter
1 1/2t salt (or to taste)
1 small bay leaf
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced (or run through a garlic press, or grated on a microplane grater as I do)
1/4c chopped parsley
1/2c sliced carrots (not too thin, or they'll dissolve)
2c water or beef broth
1 1/4c burgundy or other red wine
12 pearl onions (or half of a normal-sized onion, chopped, if you don't feel like messing with peeling pearl onions)
3/4t thyme leaves
1/2t black pepper
1c sliced mushrooms

Trim excess fat from the beef and cut it into 1" cubes. roll it in flour. Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a 2qt saucepan. Add meat (reserve the excess flour), stir, and cook until browned. Add reserved flour and cook 1 minute. Add the next 6 ingredients and 1c of the wine. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 1 3/4 hours, or until meat is almost tender. Then add the onions and cook 30 minutes. Add the thyme and black pepper.

While the onions are cooking, saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter. Add them to the pot and cook 5 minutes more. Add the rest of the wine and cook 2 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.

iPods Rule

Okay, so I have the new iPod nano. And I wish I'd gotten it much sooner! I'm totally enamored of PODCASTS. The variety of info/entertainment out there just amazes me---and they're FREE! WOOHOO!

For instance, on EatFeed: a cast on gelatin, including interviews with food historians and recipe suggestions. I have my next big cooking project from it: horseradish jelly.

HORSERADISH JELLY? I hear you groan, EEUUUWWW!

But no. It's a savory thing, meant to be served with meat. It's really nothing more than semi-solid horseradish sauce. And think of the fancy serving possibilities! You could boil up the jelly, and instead of putting it in jars (according to the recipe my wonderful husband found for me), you could put it into little molds, and plate up your roast beef with a shaped jelly and some sort of garnish. If the recipe works out (it looks super easy, both the jelly and the canning instructions---it includes enough vinegar so that you don't need to process the jars in a pressure cooker), I'm going to send some to my dad & stepmother; they often have roast beef for Christmas Day, and she loves horseradish sauce.

Happy Motu Proprio, Everyone

Today's the day!

Husband & I caught the very end of the Mass televised on EWTN, then watched Fr. Kolinsky of St. John Cantius on The World Over.

Wow, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament is impressive! Especially considering, it isn't an old church---not more than 20 years old, I believe. Hmm, maybe new churches DON'T have to look like they came flat-packed from IKEA...

But what I really wanted to observe in this post is: in many articles against the Tridentine Mass, the objector mentions that the priest TURNS HIS BACK TO THE PEOPLE (did I say MANY? I mean ALL). I think it was Sr. Joan Chittister who observed that the Tridentine makes it all about the priest, up there by himself, all special.

However, when you look at high altars like the one at the Shrine and at St John Cantius, they really overwhelm the priest. You don't focus on him at all; your eye is drawn to the Tabernacle, and from there heavenward.

The Mass is about God? What a concept!

Grrrr.

The other day I went to a new gynecologist (I have a problem keeping doctors---they all stop practicing in IL because malpractice insurance is so expensive here, but anyway). And during our discussion, I said I would not consider birth control pills, which are often prescribed for other purposes as well. The doctor nodded and noted that down. Later he said, "well, you don't have to take pills, you could use the patch". And I said that wasn't an option either, for religious reasons.

I later found out that he sent something for my primary care physician's file, noting the "spiritual" reason. And I felt as if he was saying this is odd, or she's a nut. I'm not pleased.

So, what I'm wondering is: does anyone know of a listing of Catholic ob/gyns who WON'T look at me like I have two heads when I refuse birth control??? I'd appreciate the help.