Speculation

I had kind of figured that, after writing Desperadoes Under The Eaves and marinating myself so thoroughly in the music of Warren Zevon for so long, that I'd be sick of the stuff - that while I'd still appreciate it intellectually, and enjoy a song or two here and there, that I'd never actively want to seek it out again.

But yesterday, during a six-hour-long solo car ride (which I actually love - it's not something I'd want to do every day, but there's something about being able to keep the windows where you like, the a/c set at your own comfort zone, and the music as loud/repetitive/dorky as you want that's kind of delightful every once in a while) my little Ipod performed its own version of the Chanukkah miracle, and made its little 1/8 of a battery charge last almost the entire way home. So instead of listening to the Carl Hiaasen book on CD that I had borrowed from the library, I just blissed out on music, playing whatever I craved. And apparently, for at least a couple of hours, what I craved was my all-Zevon playlist, on infinite shuffle.

And you know what? It's still awesome. And God help me, it kind of made me want to re-run Desperadoes.

The more I think about it, the more I realize it just might be feasible to run at Intercon Mid-Atlantic. It's a bit big, but there are a few characters that could, if need be, be cut out or combined into others. There are a few areas that need tweaking and polishing, but I made notes at the end of the last run about what needed work, and I still have them.

It'd take a bunch of work, and I'd need to talk it over pretty seriously with my co-writer (hi jadasc!), but... it could work. And it could even be fun. Or so my hindbrain is shouting at me.

They say the human brain just isn't built to remember pain - that that's a necessary fact in order to allow things like families with more than one child. I think I'm finally experiencing the reality of that first-hand.

I could do this.....

Somebody tell me not to, please?

Cookbook Project, Book #48

"Vineyard Seasons," Susan Branch

I've actually got a backlog of a few books to write up; lately I've been having little enough time in front of the computer that I'm a bit behind in a bunch of areas. So apologies; y'all are probably going to be getting a few cookbook posts over the next couple of days. I'll do my best to combine them.

I wanted to write this one by itself, though, because, well, it's a pretty keen book. It was a Christmas gift from a couple of friends who aren't on LJ, alas, but who know me well enough to understand my cooking addiction. It's a very pretty book, full of cute details and little hints and notes and ideas for seasonal parties and treats - the best word I can think of to describe it is charming. And I've wanted to use it since I first got it, but somehow I hadn't gotten around to it yet.

When I started looking through it, in the process of meal-planning, I couldn't narrow myself down to one recipe, though. So I wound up poking through my schedule instead, until I found a night that my husband and I were both home and free, and put together a menu for a fancy date-night dinner at home. Chicken in Phyllo, Succotash, and homemade Tapioca Pudding. They all sounded pretty and yummy and interesting enough that I couldn't pick just one....

It was wonderful. Completely aside from the food, the idea of spending the early part of the evening working in the kitchen together, and then enjoying a slightly fancy grown-up meal was amazing. In addition to being an excellent husband, umbran is, in fact, the best sous-chef anyone could ever ask for, and I'm in my element when I'm juggling multiple dishes and spinning around the kitchen and pantry like a dervish.

The food was good. Admittedly, no one element was perfect, but as a whole it worked. The chicken recipe was a good base, and I can imagine adapting it with different spices and supporting flavors to make a whole spectrum of main dishes, and the succotash was delicious - the flavors of the veggies and the sweetness of the cream just worked, and I can't wait to try it again with fresh instead of frozen vegetables. The only real let-down was the pudding, and I think that was a side effect of using rehydrated lemon peel instead of fresh. As much as Penzeys says there's no difference, I'm starting to realize that there really is.

Even so, an utter win on the dinner front, and one more book off the list. Now, to figure out a decent dinner for company tonight....