Roger O Green

Spinach, ham, and cheese omelet

a certain baconlike quality

As I’ve noted several times, I don’t think of myself as much of a cook. My wife is much better. But I prepared food for myself many times when I was single. During the COVID lockdown, when I was retired, but my wife (teacher) and daughter (student) were doing education remotely, I often prepared lunch during the week. It was a good way to get me out of my office, frankly.

Recently, I made a spinach, ham, and cheese omelet. My wife RAVED about it. I thought it was fine. There are a couple of secrets, though, that enhanced the flavor.

Take one or two ounces of fresh spinach. That’s quite a bit, BTW. Put it in the frying pan with 1/4 cup of water per ounce of spinach until it reduces as it cooks. Put the spinach in a small bowl, and dump the water.

Spray the pan with non-stick whatever. Put three slices of deli ham in the pan at medium-high heat until it begins to carmelize, then flip them over and heat them. Take them out of the pan; I put them in the same bowl as the spinach.

Make an omelet. I used five eggs – two for me, two for her, and one for the pan, as my father would say – and about 1/4 cup of milk. As the eggs are beginning to cook, add the spinach – I use a fork – and the ham – you could cut it, but I tear the slices.

Clean-up is fast

When it’s almost cooked, turn down the heat to medium-low and tear up (or cut up) one slice of cheese. I used low-fat Swiss cheese but use what you like. Cover the omelet until the cheese melts, which happens very quickly.

This is extremely easy. The keys are using fresh spinach rather than frozen. (Canned spinach, BTW, is an abomination.) And frying the ham. It takes on a bacony flavor, which is good in my book. I suppose you could use butter or olive oil on the pan.

In any case, it’s easy, fast, and went over well with the better cook in my house. There aren’t many things to clean up – a small bowl and the pan, besides the eating utensils and plates.

Small Lid Stuck in Larger Pan

This happened to me recently. I put a too-small lid on the pan to melt the cheese. It vacuumed shut.

This site suggests placing the pan in the freezer. If that doesn’t work, then try tapping the pan with a wooden spoon. Repeat as necessary.

Only then did it recommend what I found in this video, which is to heat the pan. It may be counterintuitive, but it worked!

Movie review: The Good Mother

Empire State Plaza

I’m parochial enough to admit that I was actively rooting for me to love the movie The Good Mother.

Paul Grondahl “was allowed to read the script and was granted access to [the] 12-hour filming at the Times Union. As a reporter who worked at the paper for 32 years,” he felt “the script captures the strain of working at a daily newspaper that is struggling to remain financially viable and journalistically meaningful in a clickbait social media landscape. ” True, and this shows up in the movie, though it’s a minor part of the narrative.

Grondahl, who I’ve enjoyed reading for decades and who “wrote a long series of articles on the opioid epidemic,” believed that “the narrative shows how the opioid epidemic hit close to home and ravaged many ordinary lives, while conveying the gritty authenticity of Albany in all its bruised glory… It is not a flattering cinematic version of the Capital City. Still, it is a truthful portrait shot through with love from a director who has an abiding affection for his hometown.”

A good cause

Moreover, “following the quick sellout of a special screening co-presented by New York State Writers Institute and Film Albany, which included an awards presentation and talkback with director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte and co-writer Madison Harrison, the Madison Theatre dedicated its remaining theater space to ‘The Good Mother.’ While the added screenings exclude the talkback, a portion of the ticket proceeds for the additional screenings will benefit Youth FX, the award-winning film studio and education program empowering young filmmakers of color.” Incidentally, Grondahl, who I know a bit, leads the Writers Institute.

And heck, during the 2022 filming, Hilary Swank helped return a lost dog named Blue to its shocked owner.

The setup

Here are parts of C.J. Lais’ review in the TU. It notes “four main stars in the new thriller… — Hilary Swank, Olivia Cooke, Jack Reynor … and the Empire State Plaza. No joke, director and co-writer Miles Joris-Peyrafitte cuts to the brutalist government building complex so often I expected to see Nelson Rockefeller listed among the thank-yous in the film’s end credits…

“Set in 2016 amid the opioid crisis that had a stranglehold on the country, including the Capital Region, the movie centers around Times Union reporter-turned-editor Marissa Bennings (Swank), the paper’s ‘best writer’ who doesn’t write anymore. She’s already numb and numbing herself further with alcohol long before her cop son (Reynor) interrupts an editorial meeting to deliver the news that her other son, Michael, a once-promising baseball star-turned-junkie and drug dealer, has been shot dead in Arbor Hill.” Swank’s Mriisa is also numb from the grief of a spouse who died before the story unfolds.

“Marissa soon teams up, albeit reluctantly at first, with her dead son’s pregnant girlfriend Paige (Cooke) to discover the true nature of the murder and the seeming conspiracy surrounding it, including the possible complicity of Michael’s best friend, Ducky (Hopper Penn), a fellow addict and his partner in crime.”

True enough

I agree with some aspects of Lais ‘ review. “The film’s original title [was Mother’s Milk and is a better one than the generic one now, with several layers of meaning and on-screen references. A marketing decision, I fear…” And there are at least two other films with the same title, from 1988 and 2013, plus a 2009 documentary.

“It’s a blast to see local landmarks like the Palais Royale, the Jesus Saves Mission sign, Nipper, and the Rensselaer train station immortalized on film. ” VERY true.

“Cooke.. might play the most tragic character of all, a young woman so bright, so capable of anything she set her mind to, if only she hadn’t trapped herself in this inescapable life.” I saw her in Sound of Metal.

“Irish-born Reynor (‘Midsommar’) is effective in the ‘good son’ role.” He was okay. “Penn, the son of Sean Penn and Robin Wright, has some of his dad’s early, squirrely energy playing Ducky.” Sure.

“Model Dilone as Reynor’s wife represents yet another view of motherhood. Broadway vet Norm Lewis lends the requisite gravity to a role as regal and important as the editor of the Times Union…

“But it might be Karen Aldridge (‘Fargo’) who makes the most visceral impact in a small role. Her anguished monologue during a support group meeting presents some gut-wrenching truths and stellar acting choices. ” She was VERY compelling.

Conversely

And yet, the finished product on the screen felt murky and unfocused. There are too many unnecessary long shots of the Empire State Plaza. (Yes, we’re in Albany. I get it, I get it. )

Lais stated that Joris-Peyrafitte “takes us on a journey through the underbelly of Albany, finding allure in its squalor and hope in its apparent hopelessness.” I wasn’t feeling the hope, or indeed how I should respond.

Ultimately, I agree with most of the Rotten Tomatoes reviews, only 19% positive with the critics and 32% with audiences. Carla Hay wrote: “The Good Mother had the potential to be a better mystery thriller than it is, but the movie is undone by scenes that are either monotonous or predictable until it limps along to a very underwhelming ending. The big ‘plot reveal’ is not surprising.” Katie Walsh: “The screenplay strains for topicality, stuffing too many elements at once into this sad story in a bid for relevance that never quite resonates.”

As noted, I was rooting heavily for The Good Mother. Yet I was ultimately disappointed; the problem was largely in the editing. Still, I’m glad I saw it. Miles Joris-Peyrafitte and his boyhood pal, Madison Harrison, have some talent I look forward to seeing on screen.

The same dream

I take stairwells or ramps, in what turns out to be a futile hope that this might be a shortcut to my destination.

I had this dream recently. I’ve had a variation of it before, several times that I can recall, and who knows how often that I don’t. When I remember it, it is almost always after I’ve awakened for a time, then gone back to sleep, generally for less than 90 minutes.

Always, I am walking in some urban setting, trying to essentially traverse around a large block. Continue reading “The same dream”

Sunday Stealing: Magical

anti-saucist

The Sunday Stealing prompt is stolen from Magical Journal Prompts.

1. What’s the best beach or lake day you can remember?

It was 5 a.m. in Galveston, TX, in 1996 or 1997. I walked out onto a jetty and watched the tides come in.

2. Describe your ideal picnic lunch

Cold fried chicken, fruit salad, macaroni salad, lemonade.

3. What flowers are in your bouquet?

Wildflowers. It really doesn’t matter what.

4. Silly ways to pass the time during a snowstorm

Doing play-by-play. “Mr. Jones is bringing out his industrial-strength snowplow. Will it start this time? He pulls… YES! We have ignition. Meanwhile, Mr. Jones is going old school with a shovel. Let’s hope he creates a wider path than during the last storm.”

5. The most beautiful house you’ve ever visited.

Even though it reflected the Gilded Age wretched excess, it would have to be one of Newport, Rhode Island mansions, which we visited in 2012.

6. Best place you ever dined.

Possibly Yono’s in downtown Albany, NY. It was probably for our 10th wedding anniversary.

7. How many layers to your ice cream sandwich?

I’m old school. Ice cream between two biscuits, wafers, cookies, whatever. Layers?

8. Pretty things that are faux patent leather

This is one of those clothes/fashion questions. I have no idea. Shoes, I guess.

9. What is the best way to eat chocolate?

In a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Cold milk is required.

Something highly desirable but challenging to find or obtain

10. Describe your unicorn’s special magic

The very existence of a unicorn is, by definition, magical. It flies. It’s strong and fast. Their horns purify poison water. And Uni entertains children. Here’s that Irish Rovers song, which sent to #7 on the Billboard pop charts and #2 on the Adult Contemporary charts in 1968.

11. All the fruits in your fruit salad

Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, red and green grapes, cherries.

12. Describe your magical forest’s soil, grass, trees, flowers, and rocks.

It’s magical, so I don’t need to describe it. It changes with my mood, my needs.

13. The lyrics which move you the most are:

Oh, this is tough—too many choices. Recently online, I indicated that the most romantic couplet in pop music was from Wichita Lineman by Jimmy Webb, famously recorded by Glen Campbell.

Moving in a very different way: Biko by Peter Gabriel.

Any of this quintet of melancholy songs, though it’s difficult to separate the performance from the lyrics. It’s HOW they’re sung that often resonates.

And scads of others.

14. What are the best sauces in the world?

There’s a vodka sauce we use on our pasta, Bertolli or another brand, the name of which escapes me. In general, almost all sauces meet specific needs; Worcheshire, soy, duck, and honey mustard, e.g. I refuse to be saucist about it.

15. Write a haiku about nature

The earth is on fire

What will the future bring us?

Must fix, yesterday!

Music that’s gone to the dogs

Beatles, Royal Guardsmen, and, of course, Rufus Thomas

Oh, no, I missed National Dog Day on August 26. But we’re still in the midst of Responsible Dog Ownership Month. We can still celebrate National Dog Week, September 20-26. Why Dog Day isn’t in Dog Week, I just don’t know. And here are more celebrations.

Now for some music that’s gone to the dogs. Two things: I own physical copies of each of these songs and not all of them are actually about dogs.

Black Dog – Led Zeppelin

Diamond Dogs – David Bowie. The title song of the album.

Dirty Old Egg Sucking Hound – Johnny Cash, from the “comedy” album, Everybody Loves A Nut.

Hey, Bulldog – The Beatles. The group was supposed to record a promotional film for Lady Madonna but decided to record a new song instead upon arrival. A great song and a joyous video. The recording ended up on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack.

Hound Dog – Big Mama Thornton. Reportedly, someone did a cover of this, which was fairly successful.

(How Much Is) That Doggie In the Window – Patti Page

I Love My Dog – Cat Stevens

I’ll Be Doggone – Marvin Gaye

More canine choruses

Jealous Dogs – The Pretenders. I was playing my Pretenders albums in honor Chrissie Hynde (7th) and Martin Chambers (4th), whose birthdays are both in September, and I had forgotten about this song.

Martha My Dear – Beatles. Paul’s English sheepdog, a factoid I’ve known since before the group broke up.

My Dog and Me – John Hiatt

Old King – Neil Young

Quiche Lorraine– The B-52’s. For the second time this year, the song appears in this blog.

A Salty Dog– Procol Harum. The “salty dog” in question is the captain of a majestic sailing ship.

Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron – The Royal Guardsmen. The RGs had a few Snoopy songs, including a relatively dark one, Snoopy v. Osama, which I wrote about here and here.

Walking the Dog – Rufus Thomas. He had several dog songs, including No More Doggin’ Around (from 1952!), The Dog, Can Your Monkey Do The Dog, and Somebody Stole My Dog (all from 1963 and ’64).