25 August Sunday

The clouds of malady lifted. The restorative gift of sleep. Water. Food. In convalescence, reconnection. Quietness, stillness, eating slowly, feeling our own body heal. I had some pain and discomfort during the week which abated by Friday.

Saturday morning was somewhat unusual. First, we had an cold snap with measurable rain fall, a first that I can remember in August in the Bay Area. I went out during a break in the morning rain, and made my way up 18th St. As I approached Church St., I saw a beautiful gold with black spots butterfly. As I walked under her, she seemed to flutter and falter until, suddenly, she was perched on the tip of my right index finger. It was like Snow White. I walked carefully over to a little bay tree and set her on a branch. She folded and opened her wings slowly, like she’s waving. An interesting little moment.

And so begins another week. Fresh peaches and figs and raspberries on the counter. OOh, here’s something delicious I tried: Whole Foods Forbidden Rice Bread. Absolutely amazing! eat. I used it to make breakfast skillet. See, if I ever had a diner, I would make this a sort of centerpiece, Breakfast skillet, a Midwestern type of deal. Three strips of bacon at the bottom of a small cast iron skillet. Cook it, remove it, turn up the heat to smokin, put in a slice of that bread and sizzle for 1 minute a side. Take the pan off the heat and let is sit for one minute. Toss in a couple of eggs. When they’re done sizzlin, get rid of the remaining fat in the skillet, put the toast in, eggs on top and surround with bacon. That’s basic. Then, you can add all sorts of other toppings like grilled vegetables, hash browns, baked apples, pico de gallo, turkey tetrazini, hot fudge, Newman’s Own salad dressing, fingernail clippings, you name it. And now, another product endorsement, I’m not ashamed.

Shopping for eggs can be hard. Not as hard as laying them yourself of course, but still. They are expensive, you don’t want to break any, yet you realize you can’t break any eggs without eating an omelette. I don’t want to go into the details, but the highest quality eggs I find in the grocery store are Vital Farms Eggs. They are the freshest, the have the darkest yolks, and the firmest whites of any store bought egg. There you go, good information, end of preaching.

I recently saw a video of presidential candidate Kamala Harris cracking an egg with one hand. Of course, she said, something to the effect of, I told you I was a serious cook. Before I went to bed that evening, I looked in the mirror. I thought I was a serious cook, yet I can’t crack an egg with one hand, what does that mean? Since then, every egg crack attempt has been a one handed one. Ultimately, the other hand did have to swoop in and save the day, so it is a work in progress. I think it’ll be one of those skills that once you get, you’ll never unget. I can’t wait for that to happen to me.