There is so a me in team!

I was walking in the French Quarter this morning and passed a band playing I fall to pieces and without hesitation, I harmonized with the chorus. In continueing my walk, I slipped into a tee shirt shop BECAUSE it was blaring Seven Bridges Road where upon I took the high notes. Just as I was leaving the French Market and heading for work, a few pieces of brass second lined in front of me and I echoed the lines of when the saints go marching in.
I'd like to credit my teamability to bowling( the only sport I ever participated in ) but I cant. There was no me in bowling! My Dad could not sit in a car without singing. I learned to be heard by harmonizing. He had a beautiful tenor voice and an ARMY of songs. When he was singing he wasn't yelling and I learned to use that to my benefit when the phone bill was about to arrive.
But the real Team feelings emerged when I met Patte Gaeble. She brought songs and harmonies but also guitars,banjos and the occasional mandolin. DEPTH! Like all great wide recievers, she came in where ever you needed her too. She made my simple things complex, she made the Team look good even when I screwed up.
It's true, there is no me in music
Fortunately theres a U and an I
Today, I thought I heard her backing me up

You are only young twice

My friend, Sue Trembley, came to New Orleans Friday and our lives were transformed into those of 2 teenagers escaping the house for the first time! Sue and I met in the first grade. We shared the same catholisizing education, developed similar souls and retain the same scars from growing up in a small town in a big family. ( not to mention having the same name) Having spent most of our school years plotting our escape, we later spent a decade of our adult lives returning home! We put a lot of water (and pink Catawba, tango, Genny 12 horse ale and assorted tobacco products) under that bridge that divided our towns and made an infamous name for ourselves: The Suesters! Oh, but marriage and children, Jobs and opportunities straightened the wrinkles in our colorful quilts and it was amazing to kick off those blankets for a couple of days and just be 16 again. I have not laughed with this much enthusiasm in 20 years. I also can't explain what , exactly, made everything so funny. The Carthage police department had me in stitches at the mere mention of it, My side split open when we attempted to talk about a broken window at the school that I dared a certain someone to kick, and I am still hysterical about why Mrs. O'Brien (our 4th grade teacher) did not like Sue. ( Sue knows what I said) Anyway, I just want to tell you that it is possible to go backwards in time for a little while with someone who was really back there with you and I want to remind you that if you let these friends slip away too long you will never know what I am talking about. This weekend was our emotional face lift, soul rejuvenation and a derm abrasion on the jagged memories that need to be erased. Thanks Sue, I love you

Friend ships

My friend from childhood ( a period that spanned the first 21 years of my life) is visiting from Colorado! We hadn't seen each other in 30 years. We hadn't talked in 25. We have been jabber blabbin' for 2 days ( minus the 3 hours we were trapped at church by the Spanish service that was a high Mass , included announcements, 2 Baptisms and a Confirmation at the end...) and we have yet to surprise each other with any of our stories. No re-friending needed here- we really knew each other well! Karen is still Karen and I am still Me and We are still standing in spite of ourselves. The same basic survival skills we used to get from Herrings to West Carthage were employed for the hundreds of thousands of miles that have been between us all these years.
There will be many thousands more in the future as it has ALWAYS been the journey for us and a destination is only a place to begin one. It is so wonderful to be reminded of that!
She brought me a scapular ( in case I die on the road)

Lombardi Gras

Dat Tuesday! I saw the Saints in our superbowl parade. I saw the trophy. 800,000 people (possibly more) attended the 3 mile route from the Super Dome. (half the distance of a regular mardi gras parade)I stood in the fiftieth row of the 50 deep crowd, in the freezing cold, having waited 5 hours, having walked from home ( 38 blocks) and having to walk back when it was over and NOTHING WAS GOING TO KEEP ME FROM MY MOMENT! After all they did to 'get there', it was the least I could do.
Now what?

a rose by any other name....

My father's name for that popular Southern New Years side dish (black eyed peas) was Black eyed Susans. I guess he thought I would eat them if they had my name but I prefferred the Francie cabbages and the Timmy trees. If I were going to name a vegetable after my Dad, it would be ...... Djeau Corn

Waste not Want more

Since you have some cilantro left over from the civiche and perhaps a lime......It's time to gear up and trudge back to the store and purchase 2 cans (large) of black beans, another shallot, sour cream, bacon or pancetta and a couple of cans of chicken broth.You also need a warm loaf of french bread.I am assuming everyone has butter. So for about 20 dollars more- we won't waste the 50 cent lime or the 25 cents worth of cilantro!
It's soup time.
Saute the pancetta in a little bit of olive oil to a light crispiness. Remove the pancetta and save.
Add the minced garlis and the thinly sliced shallot.( sea salt and pepper these guys)
Drain your black beans and add those once the shallot is soft
Let the beans cook a little bit to absorb the flavors in the pot then add the 2 cans of chicken broth. Let this simmer gently with the lid off and your constant supervision. It needs a stir every couple of minutes to make you look very important in front of your friends. Sip a glass of petit syrah and visit while waving a wooden spoon about your kitchen.
Once the broth has been reduced to a medium thickness, return the pancetta and the juice from half of that lime ( save the other half for next payday and I will tell you how to keep that from going to waste) and that handfull of chopped cilantro. Simmer just enough for that cilantro to make it to your nose and serve this up with a dallop of sour cream on top. Put your sliced bread and soft butter on the table.
Since your wine glasses have wine in them this time, I recommend a soup bowl for the soup.

Little Shop of Hor d'oeuvres

2010 is gonna be my year to eat little things in a Big way.
I intend to continue savoring my entrees but convert them to appetizer sizes.
Today I will share my recipe for civiche
Steam as many shrimp as you want ( shell and head on ) for a couple of minutes
(the marinade will finish cooking them)
Clean them and cut them in thirds
Sqeeze 2 lemons and 2 limes in a bowl and add 2 tbl sps of pineapple juice as well as 2 or 3 tbl sps of olive oil and a hand full of chopped fresh cilantro
cracked sea salt and black pepper to taste
Add the shrimp
dice a shallot, a green onoin and a couple of big toes of garlic and toss that in
Cube 1/2 cucumber, 1 roma tomatoe, a good size piece of mango and a couple of strips of red bell pepper and dump them in the marinade
Attempt to cube a firm but ripe avacado and quickly coat with the marinade
Taste your marinade and if you'd like it a little sweeter, add a little more pineapple juice
Cover with plastic wrap (right on top of the civiche) and another layer of wrap on the bowl.
Let the juice cook everything while in the frige for at least an hour
Serve in a wine galss over a pretty piece of romaine, garnish with a lemon wheel and stand a couple of crustini in the middle
Steamed scallops work real well in this also
Since your wine glasses are busy, serve the pinot grigio in custard bowls!