Get Your Irish Up

No, we don't mean as in starting a fight or getting mad — not at all.

As most folks know, St. Patricks Day is celebrated today. (This date marks the death of Ireland's patron saint.)

Tonight, we'll be enjoying a "traditional" dinner at home with friends — all prepared by Chef Grenville.

He's the Irish half or this relationship, whereas I am the Italian counterpart.

But, the meal he's preparing today — corned beef and cabbage — is no more Irish than spaghetti and meatballs is Italian. This "classic" Irish fare is as American as apple pie.

Irish immigrants brought food traditions including soda bread and Irish stew to the U.S. Pork was inexpensive in their homeland and was the preferred meat with Irish bacon, a lean pork loin being the favorite. However, pork was costly for New York Irish families.

Irish workers, who frequented NYC Jewish delis and lunch carts, tasted corned beef. It was cured and cooked similar to Irish bacon and a cheaper alternative to pork. Potatoes were readily available, but cabbage was cheaper and when cooked with the spicy and salty corned beef, became very favorable  This simple, hearty dish soon became a staple of NY Irish families as it was affordable and easy to prepare.

As we enjoy this meal tonight, these are our wishes for you and yours . . . 

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.

And . . .

May the road rise to meet you; May the wind be always at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face; and rains fall soft upon your field

And, until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Grenville, Beatrice & Percy (the temporary Irish) Penguin

Going Down the Shore

We're both from New Jersey where, back home, folks call a beach trip "going down the shore" which refers to heading south to any of the beach towns on the New Jersey shoreline. (Several years ago, The New York Times article, Beach-Blanket Lingo, explained  more about this Jersey phrase and other beach idioms.) 

That's what we did a couple of weekends ago when we took a 90-minute drive to Hampton Beach, NH. Since early March is still the "off season" for sun-loving beach goers, it's the best time to walk the beach with no crowds.

Going off-season to any beach area means there's no driving around looking for where to park. Not only are the parking lots uncrowded now, but they're all FREE. Try this in mid-summer and you may never get to the beach until mid-day for lack of a parking spot.

Hampton Beach is a state park and while the beach is "free" the in-season parking isn't Free. But, if (like us) you're a NH resident, 65 and over, then, you can park Free in a designated parking area, even during peak summer season.

Chances are that even with that Free parking we would steer clear since Hampton Beach is not only a popular tourist destination, but also the busiest beach community within NH. Ocean Boulevard, the main street along the beach, includes a boardwalk, souvenir shops, eateries, seasonal hotels, and the Casino Ballroom, a boardwalk favorite since 1899. The Ballroom hosts many national acts, but wasn't open during our visit. Many other places were closed as well, like the eatery shown below. 

In 2011, this beach was named one of four "Superstar" beaches in the US for having had perfect water quality testing results in each of the previous three years.

Brrr describes the water temperature which was 38 degrees, but that didn't deter these surfers. Yes, they were all wearing wet suits this early in the season.

Of course, no beach visit is complete without the foods. Our meal choices were fried claim strips, onion rings, and New England clam chowder (pronounced chowdah around here). It's not the healthiest meal, we know, but when in Rome . . .


Here's something that distinguishes a NH beach from the ones we knew in NJ . . .

That's right — ROCKS — and lots of (very) large ones.

This was a fun trip, which would have been even better with less wind and warmer temperatures.

We will most likely go down the shore again this year, maybe in the fall after the beach goers have left.

Phriday Phunny

Do you think the phrase 

"Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"

Applies here???

It all seems Black and White to me, BUT

somethin' smells phunny 'bout this!!!!

Have a Great Weekend, Grenville.

Do You Listen . . .

To podcasts?

Podcasts are like old-time radio story telling in the digital age. Formats include talk shows, call-in sports shows, audiobooks, poetry, music DJs, news, short stories, commentaries, and more. Podcasts differ from radio as a podcast is a series of audio or video files available on the Internet.

The word, podcast, is a portmanteau of the words iPod and and broadcast. (A portmanteau word is a linguistic blend of words in which parts of multiple words, or their sounds, and meanings are combined into a new word. 

You can listen to a podcast over wi-fi  on your computer, tablet, smartphone, iPod, or MP3 player or download it; then it becomes an MP3 file.

Podcasts offer variety and are not restricted by the FCC or "traditional" broadcast regulations. Anyone can create a podcast and share it. Podcasts offer listeners an escape from broadcast radio and commercials, although some do have commercials. There's thousands of podcasts and that number is rapidly expanding.

Video podcasts are called video casts, vidcasts or podcasts and combine the audio portion of podcasting with visual media providing a variety of video podcasters — filmmakers, artists, and vloggers (video bloggers).

In late 2014, podcasting reached a milestone when the Serial podcast investigated the 1999 murder of a Maryland high school student attracting millions of listeners, including myself.

In the past few weeks, here's some podcasts I've binged on . . .

Snap Judgment hosted by Glynn Washington mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. It's often raw, musical brand of storytelling invites listeners to explore the world through the words of others.  It’s similar to the popular  This American Life podcast, but much edgier

Stories are only half of Snap Judgment which bills itself as “stories with a beat." It lives up to that tagline by infusing episodes with music that forms, in its host's words, “a bed to the story, that really brings out whatever the story is trying to evoke.”


Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is NPR's weekly hour-long quiz program. Each week you can test your knowledge against some panelists from the news and entertainment world while figuring out what's real news and what's not. 

The show is hosted by playwright and actor Peter Sagal and is usually recorded before a live audience at Chicago's Chase Auditorium. Listeners telephone or send e-mails to nominate themselves as contestants playing various games featuring questions based on the week's news.

Here's the Thing is a public radio show and podcast interview series hosted by actor Alec Baldwin. It features interviews with those in the public eye including artists, policy makers and performers. Baldwin talks with artists, politicians and entertainers to hear their stories, learn what inspires them, what decisions changed their careers. Interviews vary from 20 minutes to an hour or more.

I'm always looking for new podcasts and in recent weeks have listened to episodes of these podcasts: A Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk, Stuff You Should Know, The Dinner Party Download, The Moth, Selected Shorts, Pop Culture Happy Hour, This American Life, Fresh Air, The Pixar Podcast. 

Do you listen — if you do, which ones do you enjoy?

Crockpot Pork, Sweet Potatoes & Apples

Over the past few blogging years, I've posted crockpot and pork recipes. This versatile meal ingredient ranks as one of our favorites besides chicken and fish. This recipe was easy to prepare using ingredients we already had available.The addition of apples and dried cranberries add a great flavor and sweetness.

Crockpot Pork Loin with Sweet Potatoes and Apples

• 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground thyme
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 lbs boneless pork tenderloin
• 2 medium apples, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 C dried cranberries (Craisins® are a great pantry staple)
• 1/2 C apple cider - I used apple juice

1. Season pork loin with pepper and salt and brown on all sides.
2. In a bowl, stir together the brown sugar and spices; set aside.
3. Arrange sweet potato slices in the bottom of the crockpot; add chopped onion and sprinkle everything with half of the brown sugar mixture.
4. After its browned and cooled, coat the pork in the rest of the spice mixture. Place in the crockpot on top of the vegetables; top with the apples and cranberries; add the cider/apple juice and cover.
5. Set the crockpot to HIGH for 1 hour, then switch to LOW and cook for 5 to 6 hours. After 5 hours, quickly lift the lid to see if the sweet potatoes are tender and you can use an instant read thermometer to check the pork - cooked should read between 145-160°F. If it needs a little longer, replace the lid and cook for another 30-60 minutes. To serve, remove pork to a cutting board, let it set 5 minutes, then cut into thick slices.

Serve the sweet potatoes, apples, and onions with the pork too soft, so I mashed them with the apples and onions. Grenville added some flour to the leftover juices and made a delicious gravy. 

I sautéed mushrooms to serve on top of the pork. Steamed fresh green beans completed the meal. We really enjoyed this dinner and, except for the green beans, there are leftovers for a second meal. (This is the best part of crockpot cooking for me.)

Friday Funnies

Walking downtown yesterday afternoon, I saw this single boot against a brick wall.
And IF you (like me) were curious about the other boot, it wasn't found despite a search around the area — someone will have cold feet


For no special reason, I started thinking of phrases/idioms containing  the word "boot." Here's my list — 

You bet your boots,  Too big for your boots
Get the boot,  Tough as an old boot
Bet your boots,  Shaking in your boots,  Booted out
Die with your boots on,  Shaking in your boots
Pull yourself up by the bootstraps
Boots on the ground,  Boot licker
Too boot, Boot hill, Boot camp
Boot-up, Re-boot

Can you think of more? 

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

Space Challenged

Living in an apartment means there's less space in many areas, including the kitchen. And, it can also mean giving up some appliances, like a microwave.

At first, we thought that might be a problem since in the VA house our larger counter space gave us plenty of room for a microwave. It's still there, but it's an older, very large unit. We used it mainly for reheating rather than cooking meals. It was especially useful for reheating our morning coffee in the late afternoon.

Relocating it to NH wasn't an option because of the limited counter space shown in this photo. That meant we had to find a replacement appliance. We've owned and used toaster ovens before so that seemed the best choice. A friend suggested we get a toaster/convection oven.

A convection (or fan) oven uses internal fans to circulate air while cooking. Conventional ovens, which don't have fans, rely primarily on radiation from oven walls, and to a lesser extent, on natural convection caused by temperature differences within the oven, to transfer heat to food. Convection oven fans allow more heat to be transferred via convective heat transfer. Translated it means that these ovens distribute heat more evenly around the food, which cooks more evenly in less time and at a lower temperature. So far, we've found that to be true.

We took our friend's suggestion on the make and model to buy — a Cuisinart CounterPro Convection Toaster Oven Broiler. Our decision was also based on its overall size. As shown here, the unit nearly fills the available cabinet space leaving just a bit of counter space.

A similar unit we liked was made by Breville. It was pricier with great reviews. Alas, its dimensions were too large for the available counter space. 

Overall, we've been satisfied with this unit which cost about $100; there's been no problems in a year of nearly daily use. As most folks know, when appliances like this break down, it's hardly worth a repair; replacing it can be about the same cost.

We've survived for over a year without a microwave and aren't interested in buying one. 

How about you — ever reconsidered an appliance because of space or other reasons ?

Friday Funnies

Ordinarily, there would be nothing unusual about where these vehicles were parked. 

Except that the sign posted in front of each read . . .

Perhaps, the sign was only a suggestion ?

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

Home Sweet Home

Home is where the heart is. Pliny the Elder

It's been said that you can't go home again. And, in many cases, that's true for differing reasons. For myself, it's because the sale of my family home in Plainfield, NJ was completed last week after a few previous delays and postponements.

As readers of this blog may know, my mother passed away in December 2014. As estate executor, my brother handled the sale of the house, per our late mother's wishes.

Home is where one starts from. T. S. Eliot

This house was a family home in the truest sense. It had belonged not only to my parents, but previously to my paternal grandparents. My father grew up in the house with his parents and siblings. At one time, it was a boarding house. My mother lived there briefly as a young child with her father and sister after her mother died. When her father remarried, they moved to their own home. 

There were a lot of changes to the family home in the years between my grandparents and parents ownership. I learned that at one time, my grandparents operated a small store on the property. My parents also had a large vegetable garden and at one time raised chickens. Sadly, there are no photos of the property taken many years ago. (The photo above was taken over 10 years ago.)

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it’s all right.
Maya Angelou 

My earliest days were spent on the lawn with my Aunts Ann and Sophie and "older" cousin, Mary Ann. 

My brother took out his first steps in the backyard; remembered in photos with his proud parents.

As in many homes, our house was the scene of many birthday and holiday celebrations as well as special events.

My late mother's wishes were very specific; her will dictated that we "sell the house as quickly as possible" upon her passing. Last year, we spent several weeks emptying its contents. 

My parents, like others who grew up in the depression era, did not easily part with things in their lifetime. My brother and I learned much more about our parents lives by going through this process. It was often bittersweet and sometimes provoked laughter at a shared memory.

Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.  Oliver Wendell Holmes

The home where my family shared their lives is now "home" to another family, but the memories of time spent there will always remain with us.

Dorothy (aka Beatrice)

Non-Shopping the Mall

We've been spending time at the Pheasant Lane mall in Nashua, NH, but we haven't been shopping.

Really—no shopping.

Instead, we've been taking a few workshops at the Apple retail store there. We know there's always some useful tip or different way to do something. We freely confess to not being "know-it-alls" about Apple products we both own. 

Forgot to mention that these workshops are offered free-of-charge to anyone who has an Apple product and a corresponding AppleID. A major drawback is that the classroom setting isn't ideal because, after all, it's a retail store. Depending on the day or time, it can be very busy or noisy — quite often both. To fill in any time between sessions, there's always time to look at and try products with all those helpful Apple folks around.

Pre-registration is required and the workshops conveniently are listed on the store's website. You then receive a confirmation, which can be added to your electronic calendar quite easily.

Some of the recent workshops we've attended were iPad Basics, Shoot More Artistic Photos with iPhone, and Mac Basics. 

The workshops are conducted by Apple advisors who work within the retail store. Of course, not every question or concern can be addressed in a single hour-long session. But there's no worries about getting all your questions and concerns addressed in a single session — you can re-take workshops as often as they're offered.

Admittedly, we also have a great time meeting and talking with other Apple users. As you can see, Grenville and his seat-mate became quick friends at least for the workshop session.

We'll make some "new" friends in weeks to come as we always have more questions and are already planning to attend future workshops.

It's one of the advantages of now living in a larger area with a mall so easily accessible and with an Apple retail store inside.