Jenna

I’ve only written about it twice, and I’m already tired of saying ‘at Aunt Jacquie’s 60th birthday party the other week,’ so I’ve decided to shorten references to this event to AJ6BP. For efficiency’s sake . . . and also because it makes me feel like a commander pilot in some sci-fi series. *intercom buzzing noise* Incoming! Installment 3 of AJ6BP, confirm status report asap. Do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?

Yes, we’ve been watching a lot of Battlestar Galactica these days–the new series. We’re knee-deep in season 3, and I just hope cylon Sharon makes it out okay. She’s more than a machine, people! She’s a real person, with a conscience and the ability to love!

But anyway, you probably didn’t come here to get your sci-fi fix for the day. So instead of hashing out my fears about what will happen when Sharon figures out that Admiral Adama and the president conspired to fake her child’s death and secretely give the baby to an adoptive mother (who was shot during the exodus from New Caprica, resulting in the baby’s capture by a fleet of cylons), I’ll try to turn my focus to these pictures of children blowing bubbles. First up, Thomas, Mike and June’s oldest. Since he’s the son of my cousin, I believe that makes him my second cousin.

What do you think of the cylons, Thomas?

If the Colonial Fleet kills them off by infecting the Resurrection Ship with a disease, are they committing genocide? I mean, when does a machine become a person?

You don’t seem to be focusing on the question at hand, young man.

Then again, you’re probably way too young for that series anyway. It would be entirely inappropriate for you to watch until you’re about 30 years old. Too much violence . . . too much hanky panky . . . and too many confusing dilemmas about the line between man and machine.

Let’s move to Thomas’s younger sister, Eleanor, known affectionaly as ‘Snugs.’ She seems to be having trouble with the bubble-blowing device.

Looks like a compassionate adult had mercy and came over to faciliate the process.

And all is well in the world of Snugs!

This little thang is my cousin Eleanor’s friend’s daughter.

Looks like she’s a little young to overcome the mechanical difficulties of this particular brand of ‘play.’

Bubbles on your face, a big disgrace, kickin’ that toy all over the place.

Sorry, that’s just the song that came to mind. At least Eleanor seems amused.

And finally, some shots of a bubble that got caught in some shrubbery.

Personally, I think the image packs more of a punch in black and white.

Well folks, I’m signing off. See you all tomorrow for more fun and absolutely zero musings about cylons. In case that kind of put you off.

I don’t often make salads. When I do, the leftover ingredients usually go bad in this household of two. Then the guilt eats away at me. Then I vow never to let that happen again. So I steer clear from salads–it’s not that I don’t enjoy eating them, but who wants to be caught in a vicious cycle of wilty greens and guilt?

This salad, however, sunk me as soon as I saw its good-looking’ mug shot on Tasty Kitchen. And since it’s a warm salad, it can count as a main dish for a meal, and thus get consumed faster, before it goes bad and adds itself to my Register of Remorse. It satisfies the typical American man (meat, potatoes) and woman (leafy greens) so that everyone can be happy. It’s so good that we ate it two nights in a row, and then went and made it a third time the next night with a different kind of sausage.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

1.5 lbs new potatoes or red potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
15 oz chorizo sausage
1 TBS olive oil
16 oz mixed salad greens
1 lemon
4 poached or fried eggs (1 per person, optional)

Here are the ingredients:

And the eggs are optional, but they come highly recommended. By me.

Wash the potatoes and chop them into bite-sized cubes.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil . . .

. . . and add the potatoes.

Cook them for 10-15 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork (but not falling apart!).

In the meantime, chop the sausage into small chunks.

I’ve never dealt with Mexcan chorizo before, and this step was messier than what I bargained for–next time I’ll just put the whole thing in the pan and break it apart as it cooks. The original recipe used Spanish chorizo, which is cured and hard (so it will retain its shape). My grocery store, however, only had this:

It’s delicious, but a completely different animal, and crumbles apart as you cook it. It’s up to you (and the availability of these products) to decide which kind you get.

Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet or other large pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the sausage . . .

. . . and cook for about 10 minutes, until it’s getting brown and starting to release oil of its own. This was the moment when my fantasy of having the sausage cook in chunks was decimated. Overturned. Debunked.

Oh well. Ground meat it is.

Once the potatoes are cooked, add them to the pan with the sausage and cook it all together for about 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add a good amount of salt and pepper to taste.

If you’re adding some eggs, this is the time to try or poach them. Sorry, no pictures of this part–just one shot of a lonely egg that was quickly poached in my leftover potato-boiling water.