As the crow flies....

How far is heaven?

The Friendly Villager

There is a tradition here in the Village, and that is...no matter what Pat purchases, one of the Neons, or now the Teenas, would get first dibs on it.  We know if "the Manager" purchased it, he had spent a year thinkin' about it and researchin it and makin' sure it was safe.  He always bought big cars too, cars built for haulin the hood to dinner, or the beach, or just about anywhere we wanted to go.  Bein' from Chicago, you also knew he was gonna have something that would plow through the snow or at least a set of snow tires he would dutifully put on in September and keep on though March (now he tells me he just took them off the other day...but that's another story) .  The long and short of it was, his philosophy was that somebody had to have a car big enough to carry us all if need be.  I have a picture of nine of us scrunched in tighter than sardines in the back of La's Subaru, headed to Pawley's Island for dinner, Not pretty let me tell you...but it was more about bein together than bein' comfortable...and in that case "safe". 

But I digress...thing is, The "Friendly Villager" passed from Mr. Pat to me and now nearly 200,000 miles later she has gone to be " rein-car- nated."  Safety first...I couldn't let her back on the road.  She clicked, and thumped and had stopped lockin' her doors on one side.  She didn't like to hold a charge and would even yell at me when I turned on her radio.  Like all women, she ran hot after a certain age and just couldn't get cool.  Time and again I put out to have her cooling system updated..until finally, it just went. 

Her last few years were spent hangin' out in front of the house, acting like a true guardian.  Puttin' up a good front sayin' stuff like, "Yeah, they're home...inside...don't even think about goin' near that house..I'm a car and if I'm here, they're here so back off"!  That's my girl!  She was my "Alpha Car" and I'm so grateful for her miles of laughter, her safe trips to Chili-Beach, Chicago, New York,  Florida, the Easter Shore and Buckin' ham to name only a few.

She has hauled Neons, Teena's, Mullets, Grey Hounds and Grandmothers.  She took Myra and Claude and Momma to the hospital in a very "laid-back and out" position.  We would take her middle seat out, throw pillows on the floor and groove on the way to some ball game or bowling birthday.  She was a trooper..with many names. 

The Manager, liked to to name his cars...like I said, he was both detail oriented and at the same time "poetic".  Loving all things French, he searched for something that would identify this Friendly Villager and represent her purpose...and so he came up with the touching....translation for ten friends...

Dix Amis

Ummmm...need I say more.  What man...in his right mind would have a license plate that reads like somethin' that ain't hittin'?  Unfortunately, I was the one who had to break that one to him.  Seven shades of red he turned and he was no more good...as I like to say.  I don't know what he replaced it with...probably just numbers, but that plate was gone in no time.  I felt bad about that...but somebody had to tell him.

Once she was passed to me, I didn't keep her as clean as the Manager, but I did look after her and she got a new plate...

One Crow

She was good...acceptin' her new role as a work horse and with a shiny new trailer hitch on the back she carried lumber and sheet rock, sofa's and beds, lawn tractors and kayaks.  She still toted Teena's and once raced the Bee to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, on the way home the tunnel police pulled me to the side and suggested I "slow down and have a safe trip home".   I promised to do so....How far is heaven?

She was spunky to the end...she was red!   She went "as the crow flies" here and there and returned home hot and hummin! 

Thank you dear one, well done...until we meet again. 

Dancin with the Deep Fried Demon...Again

It’s just not right to wake up in the mornin’ cravin Sugah Chicken.

There are just some things that are so addictive they make me crazy.  General Tso’s Chicken might as well be crack, cause I would drive over the fool crossin the intersection between me and “Red House” Take Out to get to my fix.

This one dish contains all my devilish pleasures. 

Deep Fried - well...heck yeah!

Sweet – (3/4 cup of sugah goes in that glaze…I saw him throw it in when the wok was hot and I must say that  it was both disturbin’ and titillatin’ at the same time.

Salty, goes without sayin, my hands look like I’m wearin ‘a catcher’s mitt after I’ve finished a single servin and you know I'm gonna have more. (crack) and last but not least...Fire...chili pepper fire in the belly and on the lips..and on down the goozel. 

Maybe I just like things I can’t spell or pronounce…or powerful and exotic men with an Asian flair…maybe all of the above.  All I know is I wish I had never met the General.

 Even when I manage to eat just a single helpin', just knowin’ it’s in the house….I can hear it call my name.  It’s double wrapped and put in the back of the fridge and I can still hear it, it's in the freezer, oh I can zap it in the microwave in a flash…I can hear it outside in the trash, even after I have poured dish washin’ detergent on it to drown it…I can hear it and wonder if the liquid had gotten to the bottom…wonder if I can wash it off.  Wonder if Red House is still open.  It's that bad...that sad.

I have no shame, no control over my  sweet-salty-spicy-deep-fried demons. 

I told VerDell, I know, sure as they placed additives in cigarettes (which I put down without a blink over 25 years ago) there must be something in General Tsu’s Chicken that weakens the mind and poisons the soul.  Don’t get me started...I can't put the bad boy down.

I memorized his faults:  Here's the ugly truth

Nutritional Facts for General Tso's Chicken

 For a single servin, and you know you can't have just one....

•  Calories 434.6
•  Calories from Fat 48
•  Cholesterol 132.2 mg
•  Sodium 1893.0 mg
•  Total Carbohydrate 45.8 g
•  Dietary Fiber 1.2 g
•  Sugars 20.4 g 
•  Protein 41.5 g 

and yet I crave him still!

If you love him...perhaps you can somehow fix him...turn him into someone you would share with others...I know there is a way...but it's always better when it's bad!

General Tsu's Chicken

Ingredients

3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

2 cups green onions, sliced

8 small dried chilies, seeds removed ( bird pepper or thai chilies are good)

Cornstarch slurry

1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium preferred

1 eggs, beaten

1 cup cornstarch

Sauce

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup sherry wine or 1/4 cup white wine

14 1/2 ounces chicken broth ( a can)

Directions

1. Place sauce ingredients in a quart jar with a lid and shake to mix. If you make this ahead of time just refrigerate until needed, shaking it again when you are ready to use it. This also keeps your dirty dishes down.
2. Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Add chicken pieces to coat. Using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off. YES even though the mixture has a weird consistency it will not stick like paste and the excess will drip off. Add chicken to the hot (350 degree) oil and fry until crispy. Only cook 7 or 8 chicken pieces at a time. You do not want to lower the temp of the oil by cooking too many at a time. You can use a simple cooking or candy thermometer to judge the temp of the oil.
3. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm- I just put them in the oven with the oven off. Repeating until all chicken is fried.
4. In a separate wok or large skillet add a small amount of oil and heat to 400 degrees. Again, a candy thermometer works great. You can fry all the chicken, drain the oil to the desired amount and use the same pan if you like.
5. Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.
6. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.
7. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until all is hot and bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.
8. Serve over rice. (Preferably Bubba's Fried Garlic Rice)

The Fine Line

When I put this up this mornin as a little piece of "wisdom" from the Book of Lurlene, I have to say that I thought it just about said it all.

A couple of hours ago...I was sure that determination, was a virtue while bein' stubborn was just arrogance . 

I admire somebody who has a "stick to it" kinda attitude.  It's about mastery, like knittin' good enough to finish a sweater or  speakin french good enough to order exactly what you want to eat.  But then nobody ever told me I couldn't - or wouldn't ever do those things.  

 Maybe that's the key.
 Is stubborn what happens when folks get angry cause you keep on when they thought you never would or could or should? 


I'm startin' to see stubborn in a different light now...a lot depends on what side of the line I'm on.

Judgin' ....get you in trouble every day of the week!  No question about that!

The Fixer

I’m a fixer.

 I grew up thinking it was my place in life to try and fix things.  Small things like latches that wouldn’t close and big things like disagreements that “didn’t concern me”.

 I did it with a well placed word or a joke.  Sometimes when all else failed I created a diversion, like falling out of bed or pretending to stump my toe.  A diversion is almost as good as a plan I used to think.

One day after a rather exhausting effort to “fix something” VerDell asked me, “Why are you beatin your head against the wall?” 

It lead me to think about that.

The Reality....

Nearly two decades past…and somewhere along the way I started to realize that a woman my age should not be seen waltzin around the yard in lace anything unless it’s for a local production of  Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.   

Few things worked out the way I had planned.  (Enter Lionel Richie and the Commodores….  http://youtu.be/zg-ivWxy5KE )  Go there if you need a moment…to wallow…or laugh...or just to remember how big hair was in the late 70's!

I guess Momma and Daddy got tired of waitin too cause I came home one weekend and the pool was  gone, filled in with dirt and planted like a garden. The neighbors said that Daddy hired a man with a jack hammer to bust holes in the bottom and then they threw in everything from lounge chairs to life-jackets before a truck load of dirt backed in and buried the very last remnants of my summer weddin plan. I still can't believe it, Sacred ground…turned into nothing more than a tomato patch.  But it’s like I always say, “things happen…so other things can happen.”  

Next time:  Higher Love

Buck and Lurlene - The Wedding and Other Memorable Events

Hold your applause

I got married on a cold day in April...sorta like this one. Now if you want to hear some crazy stories of goins on here in the Village, there are none as far-fetched as these. I do hope to post for the next few days...snippets of all that went into the best day ever! (But it wasn't today...so hold your applause)

Flash Back: The Vision

When I was young, I had a vision for my dream wedding. It was rather straight forward; I wanted to get married in my back yard, in the Summer, with watermelons floatin' in the pool.  I wanted a long farm table or two, preferably borrowed from the town park and covered with red and white table cloths.  I imagined Corene and Pearl, from the Horse Shoe restaurant, where I had spent my summers workin the breakfast shift, would assist in fixin a feast of fried chicken and barbeque with all the sides that are proper and fittin a summer wedding feast.  Instead of a cake I just wanted Corene's chocolate and coconut cream pies, sittin on footed glass cake plates as high as we might safely stack'um and still avoid a mishap.  There were would be no flies or bugs, and no humidity.  It would be a perfect day and I would wear a veil I made from the sheer lace curtains that used to hang in my Grandma's front windows, the ones I accidentally cut with her pinkin' shears one day...just to see what lace looked like "pinked".   My dress was simple, white linen with gauzy layers made from the same curtains.  I imagined I would invite Fleetwood Mac down to play Sunny Side of Heaven http://youtu.be/Hh0Rp92f1uA?hd=1)
or, just have a DJ, play it for us, it would be my wedding march...lights would be strung from the house to the back and I'd tie the knot under those pine trees where I had spent countless hours rockin back and forth in the rope hammock, dreamin it all up. 

Up next:  The Reality