Spooky Month: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month one group member picks  a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with. 

 This month's number is 28. 

It was chosen by Mimi of Messymimi'sMeanderings.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month's theme though? It might require a little explanation.

 

 

 

~ Today I wanted to acknowledge Halloween season. But somehow "limerick" got stuck in my mind. So, a triple challenge: word count, Halloween themed, and in rhyme? Why not?

~ Little witch Tab liked to zoom,

flying to play by the tomb.

"You must," mom said,

"clean your room instead."

Tab thought "what a waste of a broom."

~ Vampire says "how do you do?"

Running's no option, it's true.

You see, he can fly.

Kiss your blood goodbye.

Your neck's headed for a big boo boo!

~ Don't anger the cook at meal time,

the revenge she'd take? Sublime.

Big toe of frog,

hairy tongue of dog,

your soup's how you'll pay for your crime.

 

Leek & Bak Choy Soup

(crockpot or not)

 

~ Black cat, I don't want to see,

under a ladder . . . especially.

Then ladder fell flat,

splat went the cat,

seems the bad luck had all come from me.

 

~ There was a spider named Fred,

who'd frequently land on my head.

"Try stopping me,

and we'll have to see,

if you'd rather I hide in your bed."

 

  

 

Happy spooky month!

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Leek & Bak Choy Soup 

(crockpot or not)       

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 leeks

4 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 TBSP sesame oil

2 tsp gochujang

1 clove minced garlic

2 TBSP brown sugar

2 TBSP sweetened lime juice

1 head Bak Choy

4 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 can baby corn, drained

6 oz fresh snow peas

 

Directions:

*Trim the leeks by removing just the roots from the bottom and about 3 - 4 inches of the darkest green from the top. Wash well, rinse, and thinly slice.

*SLOW COOKER: Turn the crockpot on to high, add the leek slices, broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, gochujang, garlic, and brown sugar. Stir. Cook on high for 1 hour, then lower the temperature to medium and cook for 2 hours. 

*Cut off the end of the Bak Choy. Separate the leaves and rinse well, making sure to remove any dirt. Pat dry and coarsely chop.

*Mix in the lime juice, add the Bak Choy, mushrooms, baby corn, and snow peas to the broth. Cook for another 90 minutes.

*STOVE TOP: In a large saucepan over medium high heat, bring the leek slices, broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, gochujang, garlic, and brown sugar to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

*Add the lime juice, Bak Choy, mushrooms, baby corn, and snow peas to the pan. Cook for 45 minutes, uncovered, over medium low heat.

For Each Voice a Space: Secret Subject Swap

 

 

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This month 5 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

My subject is: How did you start blogging in the first place?
It was submitted by: Rena of The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver.

 

Because I used to mow the lawn.

Well, that and peer pressure.

My very first blog post, back in the dark ages, was called Can I Blog? Click on that link to go back and read it. I didn't really know what blogging was at the time. Writing, right? Putting thoughts or feelings or frustrations into words and, instead of eating the paper when I'd gotten it all out to be sure no one saw it, I was going to do the opposite, put it on the internet so anyone and everyone could find it. That's OK, after all, who would be interested in what I had to say? Apparently about 700 people. Yikes.

My 6th blog post, I Used to Mow the Lawn, goes into more of why I actually went through with starting a blog. Not so much the "can I?" but the "should I?".  Mowing (or not) the lawn played a part, as did peer pressure. But ultimately, would it serve a purpose for me, replace one outlet with another?

You know that saying "you don't know what you don't know"? Well, I sure didn't know a hell of a lot. Like that I'd still be at it 10 years (and 3 months, but who's counting?) later.

Since I've already explained, through the above mentioned posts (and you can read them if you choose) why I started blogging, I'm going to tweak this prompt a bit (forgive me, Rena), to ask why I'm still blogging.

 

 

 

And, it seems, that's a really hard question.

 

I mean, the kids are grown and (mostly) out of the house, I could always go back to mowing the lawn. Although the rumored coyote in the woods behind our house (and a suspicious absence of rabbits), along my being over a foot smaller than Hubs could be a deterrent.

 

And the sharing of my recipes isn't what fulfills the need to be creative, relieve stress, and occupy my mind with creating new dishes. After all, I'll still be cooking. Because we'll still be eating.

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

 

I could say I keep blogging for the friendships, for the community, and there was a time when that was true. Now, though, I've built up enough of those connections on social media that I don't really need this blog for that. I know I'll keep PMing with friends I met through blogging on FB, just as I do now, whether I continue to write here or not.

 

But things change, needs change, opportunities to meet those needs change. 

Right now, really since the first Covid social distancing came into play, this blog fills a few needs. Both as I aged, and as I became more isolated (brought on by living in a covid denying, fend for yourself state), exercising my brain started to become a priority. I look at my recent writing and it scares me. My memory isn't what it once had been, my vocabulary has decreased, and I catch myself in organizational mistakes I never would have made in the past. 

So I play word games, and number games, I read, I take and edit pictures, I work on the wording of my recipes, the organization of how I explain the steps. I not only write, but I wait a day then go back and edit, pinpoint where I've replaced explanations with assumptions, could use a more descriptive word, need to expound on the thought (or edit it down). And it helps. I think it helps. I hope it helps.

I wrote a recent post called Politicized Education and the Fate of Knowledge. It made me realize that this blog has evolved with me. Yes, I still amuse myself with silly humor as I did from the start, but with an evolving sense of need, I feel compelled to not just work through my thoughts, but to release them. Especially now, at this pivotal moment in history, my voice needs a place amid the turmoil. Opinionated? Hell yeah. Relevant too? I hope. 

And as long as I feel that my voice still needs a space, Baking In A Tornado will still be my home.

 

 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver 

Climaxed

What TF Sarah  

Part-time Working Hockey Mom

Slow Cooker Chicken Curry         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chicken broth

1 can coconut milk

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp minced ginger

2 TBSP curry powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 small onion, chopped

10 oz grape tomatoes, quartered

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into matchsticks

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 TBSP cornstarch

2 tsp lime juice

Directions:
*Grease the slow cooker, turn on to high.

*In the slow cooker, whisk together the chicken broth, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, curry powder, cayenne, paprika, cumin, chili powder and onion. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.

*Mix in the tomatoes, carrot, and chicken. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 6 hours, mixing now and then.

*Whisk the cornstarch with 1 TBSP water until smooth. Whisk into the slow cooker, mix well, cover, and raise heat to high. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Shut off the slow cooker, mix in the lime juice and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

 

Shall We Dance?

 

Shall we dance?

 

I cannot get that song out of my head. It got in there pretty easily and, actually, by chance. I was scrolling through TV channels the other night when something on a channel I'd flashed past made me stop and go back. There they were, Debra Kerr and Yul Brynner gliding across the stage to Shall We Dance (sung by Marni Nixon), and I could not help but sing along.

What a flood of memories that brought back. I'm going to tell you a little secret but please, keep it to yourself. My mom had a crush on Yul Brynner. I'm not sure she ever actually said so, but she did. 

I can't remember how many times I'd seen this movie with mom, but it had to be a lot because I know the words to many of the songs. I remember mom singing along, as I was now. I bet she'd still sing along today were she to catch the movie. Neither of us can hold a tune if you gave it to us in a paper bag (as the old saying goes), but that sure as hell wouldn't stop either one of us.

It may have been the music and the dance that held me there, watching that old movie from the 50s, but it was the story that stayed with me. Or I should say the new lessons learned from the story when viewed through today's lens. A wholly different lens from which I'd viewed it in the past.

 

Not just in Siam, but it was also obviously such a different time in western culture. There were social norms, men bowed and politely asked women for the honor of a dance. There were customs, personal space was respected. There were shared ethical values, courtesy, civility, relationship rules. 

Also not just in Siam but in general, let me say that they were quite an unusual pair, dancing there. King Mongkut of Siam, a ruler with over 30 wives and concubines, and Anna Loenowens, a British widow, brought to Siam as a governess and to tutor the royal family in English and in western customs.

 

There's so much to unpack here and I won't do it all in this post (you're welcome), but what I walked away with, this gazillionth time I'd watched the film, is about loss and gain, society and direction. There would be no story here without an intelligent king with an inquisitive nature, global awareness, and an open mind.

It all starts here: sometimes when you take a chance and put together unexpected components, the results can be delicious. But you have to be open to it. Take a chance.

   

Spicy Crockpot Pulled Pork

 

 

King Mongkut was open to western culture, Anna would not have been there were he not. But he also was king, he was revered and obeyed. Without question. 

 

Promises were made to Anna that were not fulfilled right from the start (a separate home for she and her son). There were practices she was forced to conform to (always having to keep her head below that of the king's even if it required undignified prostration). She did not leave. Instead she made her points where and when and with the intensity that she could. She picked her spots, kept an eye on both the future of Siam, and the present greater good. The relationships was, for all intents and purposes, a dance.

 

I don't want to gloss over what the Siamese society of the 1800s was, the slavery and brutality, but my focus on this night was on the relationship between Anna and the King. And what I saw more than anything was the push and pull, give and take, intrinsic and gained respect, and the restraint, all of the intertwined components required to negotiate a successful symbiotic relationship. 

 

Every dance requires balance.

So, it's starkly different, how I view this whole story today as opposed to any other time that I'd seen it. It had always left me with hope, knowing that we, as a society, were moving forward. We were taking steps towards equal rights for all women, races, religions, sexual orientations. They may have been small steps, and they may have been a long time coming, but they were steps nonetheless. 

 

Today I can't help but be left with despair, a deep feeling of loss. We have taken so many steps back in recent years, not just in equality, but in the rights and freedoms we'd taken for granted.

There is now very little push and pull, give and take, respect, or restraint in this country. We have devolved into a society of just pull, we've broken off into camps grabbing for what we want and not letting go. But when there is only pull, only take, a lack of respect and restraint, there is no other possible result than for that at which we're all pulling to eventually break. 

 

Do I want us to go back to the days of slavery, misogyny, dictatorial governments? Of course not. But the 1860s do have some lessons to impart. Because ultimately society back then, though deeply flawed, functioned.

We have lost dignity, we have lost respect, we have lost decorum. But most importantly, we have lost the art of achieving balance.

Perhaps it's time to ask ourselves with renewed resolve: "Shall We Dance?"

 

Spicy Crockpot Pulled Pork        

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: 

1 bottle (28 oz) Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup Jim Beam Apple Bourbon

2 TBSP pepper jelly

2 TBSP sliced pepperoncini

3# pork tenderloin

 

OPT: 8 french roll buns, rice, or mashed potatoes for serving

 

*NOTE: This recipe can be served at the time of cooking, but is best when allowed to thicken, then served the next day.

Directions:

*Grease a slow cooker and turn onto high. Add the barbecue sauce, water, bourbon, pepper jelly, and pepperoncini. Stir.

*Cut the pork tenderloin in half, lengthwise, then cut each half into about 5 chunks. Add to the slow cooker. Make sure the meat is mostly covered with the sauce.

*Cook on high for 2 hours. Stir, reduce heat to low and cook for 3 hours, stirring now and then.

*Uncover and remove from heat. Using 2 forks, shred the meat. 

*To serve same day: serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or as a sandwich in toasted buns.

*To serve the next day: allow the meat to cool and the sauce to thicken at room temperature. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Reheat in the slow cooker or in a pan on the stove.

 

Cheat Sheet: Monthly Poetry Group

 

 

Last Friday of the month is for

Monthly Poetry Group to rhyme.

Diane and I take turns to pick,

"Moods," the theme this time.

 

As usual, today I'll try,

a poem to write . . . or fudge.

Whether I'm successful or not,

you get to be the judge.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheat Sheet

Newly married couples,

have adjustments they must make.

Living together all the time,

isn't always a piece of cake.

 

Young man, recently married,

often having a difficult time,

reading his new wife's current mood,

(well, they could change on a dime). 

He loved that woman dearly,

and he knew he always would.

But imagine the strife he'd avoid.

if her moods, he understood. 

What he needed was a cheat sheet.

Is there even such a thing?

Walking by a store one day,

got inspiration from a ring.

 

Married only 3 short months,

but designed a gift, and paid.

Worked privately with a jeweler and

his idea would soon be made. 

Night before the 3 month mark,

came to dinner with a box.

Wife looked at it inquiringly,

he smiled (like the proverbial fox).

 

   

Italian Style Pork Tenderloin

 

 

"Tomorrow marks 3 months for us,

and I just wanted to say,

I wouldn't change the choice I made, 

even on our worst day."

 

Opening that jewelry box,

a tear or two in her eyes.

A necklace, it was beautiful. 

20 stones, and wow, the size.

"I had it made up special,

no one has this, only you.

Take it as a symbol of,

our love, beautiful and true."  

 

Failed to say that necklace,

was a gift to him as well.

20 great big Mood Stones to

warn him when to run like hell.

Before you go, stop by these blogs for more Moods poetry:

 

On the Border 

Messymimi's Meanderings

 

 

 

Italian Style Pork Tenderloin        

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2# pork tenderloin

salt, pepper, garlic powder

1 (28 oz) can Italian style diced tomatoes

1/4 cup red wine

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 onion, sliced

8 oz mushrooms 

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup grated parmesan

Directions:
*Chop the pork tenderloin into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.

*Lightly grease the inside of a slow cooker, and turn it on to high. Add the diced tomatoes, red wine, Italian seasoning and minced garlic and mix.

*Slice the red pepper, green pepper, onion, mushrooms and pork. Mix and cover. 

*Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3 hours, stirring now and then.

*Add the sour cream and parmesan cheese, stir, and cook for another hour.

*Serve over rice or noodles.

 

Intent: Word Counters

 

 

Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month one group member picks  a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with. 

 This month's number is 50. 
It was chosen by Diane of On the Border.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen the theme Intent.

~ "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States." 

 

~ The preamble to the Constitution, it's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. The words of the preamble succinctly articulate the intent of the forefathers of this country. I have always believed in the principals they'd tried to espouse, the thought, debate, intent, effort and foresight required of them.

 

~ "form a more perfect Union": perfection is a concept of aspiration. Their "more perfect" implies intent to strive for better, while (I believe) acknowledging that it's a process. The "more perfect" conceptualization leaves room for their posterity. And ours. The most important word though, is "union." Requiring that we unite.

 

~ "establish Justice": I think this concept was clearer in colonial times, when the goal was that required societal parameters be delineated and be equitable. Currently justice is not (the required) "blind," it's full sighted and intentional, partisan, economic, and racially motivated. It's not nationally cohesive but sporadic, individualized, and manipulated.

 

~ "ensure domestic Tranquility": domestic tranquility has scant presence here currently. That's not all bad. A free country fosters some turmoil, room for conflicting visions, it's where the seeds for growth lie. Two parties, even heated discourse doesn't need to be antithetical to tranquility. Tranquility, however, requires respect. We've lost ours. 

 

~ "provide for the common defense": the military was designed as answerable to two branches of government, not one leader. trump's misuse of troops for political purposes, his personal agenda, and monetary gain has undermined and weakened an institution vital to our protection. "Common defense" must refocus solely on common protection.

 

~ "promote the general Welfare": to call it socialism is to call the forefathers socialists, but getting caught up in terminology just distracts from intent. Students shouldn't be deprived of higher education due to economics. It harms the society. And humanitarianism demands that no member of our society go hungry. Ever.

Broccoli Slaw Soup

~ "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity": Liberty is a blessing, one our forefathers fought for, and not just for themselves. It was their vision to create a fair, free, functioning society, not just or all, but for always. We know the forefathers' intent. What is ours?

 

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Broccoli Slaw Soup (Crockpot or Not)        
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 packages ramen noodle soup, soy sauce flavor

4 cups chicken broth

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce 

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger paste

1 package (16 oz) broccoli slaw

3 green onions, chopped 

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

 

NOTE: this is a very thick soup

 

Directions:

*FOR SLOW COOKER: Open the ramen soup packages and remove the flavor packets. Set aside the noodles for later.

*In the bowl of your slow cooker, whisk together the chicken broth, sesame oil, soy sauce, flavor packets from the soup, garlic, and ginger. Mix in the broccoli slaw and green onions, cover and cook on high for 1 hour.

*Reduce heat to low, add the cooked chicken and cook for 2 hours.

*Add the noodles from the ramen soup packages and 1 cup of water. Cook for up to another 10 minutes, until the noodles are soft. Remove from heat immediately, stir and serve.

*FOR STOVE TOP: bring the chicken broth, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and flavor packets to a boil. Reduce heat and add the broccoli slaw, green onions, and chicken, and simmer for 1/2 hour. Bring back to a boil, add the noodles and 1 cup of water. Cook for 2 minutes until the noodles are soft, then remove from the heat immediately and serve.