Much could be said, but it’s probably better to just watch: http://www.nbcolympics.com/kiem/video/russian-police-choir-performs-get-lucky-opening-ceremony
And thanks to Rolling Stone for pointing out that this wasn’t the first time:
A “Sardine Skeptic” Converts
As we were growing up my dad would consume foods that, through the eyes of five Icee Pop loving girls under the age of 14, were particularly revolting. Things like horseradish by the teaspoon, Pepper Pot soup from a can, anchovies, sardines, brown mustard, and liver (the story went – “I was flat broke during college, so quite frequently I’d cook up some liver n’ onions. Cheap and delicious!” Cue exaggerated retches from the mouths of five Sunchip loving girls under the age of 14). These days, though the Pepper Pot soup in the cabinet remains untouched by all except our bald-pated patriarch, we’ve all expanded our tastes to embrace some previously taboo foodstuffs.
I now love mustards of all kinds, and horseradish is tops. But the pungent little tinned fishes in my pantry weren’t in heavy rotation until my mom introduced me to The Longevity Kitchen cookbook. Among other culinary treats, it has a slam-dunk recipe using sardines in quite the approachable manner, especially if you’re a fan of bright herbs and lemon. I probably wouldn’t have made it if I hadn’t tried it first in mom’s kitchen, even though the cookbook prefaces the recipe with “some culinary wizardry will be required to turn sardine skeptics into wild-eyed fans.” So if you’re trying to get over the sardine hump, please let this be your guide. The recipe from the cookbook (by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson) is reprinted below, but note that you could include a tablespoon or two of chopped cilantro (as I did) if you sway that way.
Good Mood Sardines (recipe from The Longevity Kitchen by Mat Edelson and Rebecca Katz, which also contains a multitude of other tasty and healthy recipes to offset your bread pudding with hard sauce addition. Wait, I mean, my bread pudding with hard sauce addiction).
Ingredients
4 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp. finely diced red onion
2 tsp. each finely chopped fresh parsley, basil, and mint
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
⅛ tsp. sea salt
1 (4.35-ounce) can sardines, packed in water or olive oil
Put the lemon juice, lemon zest, red onion, parsley, basil, mint, olive oil, mustard, and salt in a bowl, and stir to combine. Add the sardines and flake them into chunky pieces with a fork. Stir gently to combine. Taste; you may want to add a pinch of salt or a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Back…?
This post is called “Back…?”, which is the truncated version of “What To Do When On Extended Phone Hold with the Social Security Office.” Thirty one minutes and counting. Seeing as how we recently welcomed the little character portrayed in all those pixels of adorableness you see below, dedicating thirty one minutes solely to phone time is lunacy.
But there are some crazy things you have to do during nap time in the name of “saving for your child’s college education” and “cooking something so you don’t have vanilla ice cream for dinner again.” I’m kidding. We don’t eat vanilla ice cream for dinner. We eat vanilla ice cream with unsweetened coconut flakes, the Kashi version of Grape Nuts, and mini-chocolate chips smushed in. Matt calls it “Gravel Path” (a nod to Rocky Road) because he’s more like my dad than he thinks as far as puns go. That’s today’s recipe.
Happy New Year! I’ve got a few more “recipes” to throw up here along with a post about the best/worst online reviews as sourced from sister Ang. There will probably be little in the way of new music because we’re listening to Raffi on repeat and you’re probably too busy watching the Beyonce visual album anyway. Enjoy that, but just know that Blue Ivy better watch her back. She’s got some new baby competition:
Laura Mvula – Green Garden
This Is Boston
What a great city.
Hitched
My older sister – teacher extraordinaire, craft maven, the social-est of butterflies, got married last month to her love of several years. (And about him I would say: reserves of compassion and patience unparalleled, eternal Deadhead with the very driest of wit). You can’t sum up a wedding weekend in just a few words, but let’s just say there were lots of Italians, stunning purple hydrangeas, the most capable and bossy church coordinator ever in all creation, bobby pins, coral-themed everything, homemade ricotta cheesecake, a crazy quantity of ridiculously musically talented family members, the traditional Jesuit-led singing of “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” and an exquisitely beautiful reception venue. Not to mention the surprise father-daughter choreographed dance to this:
So here are a few pictures of the lead up to their wedding to commemorate the event. (The real photographers photographed the ceremony and reception, which is for the best because pre-speech sweaty palms do not a good photograph make). Meanwhile, the happy couple honeymoons in beautiful Hawaii…
The Wobblin' Goblins 