Happy Birthday ashyraine!

Many happy returns of the day!

Visions

Visions
by Everett A Warren
May 12, 2006

Sometimes you catch sight of someone, and they capture your attention so completely, so abruptly striking you to the core. You fall in love momentarily. It is the perfect relationship, because it can be anything your heart desires, so long as it lasts no more than a glance or three. The heartbreak for such an affair is minimal. Sometimes it fades when you blink. Sometimes it lasts until the far reaches of eternity, etched clearly upon vision when you close your eyes. ( An eternity, up to and including the moment before you forget... )

Recipe: Ellyssian's Signature Steak Tips

• Sirloin Tip London Broil Choice, 2.5 lbs


• A-1 Steak Sauce, 1 bottle


• Baking Potatoes, 5


• Mild Cheddar Cheese, shredded, 1 lb (I think that was the bag size, may be wrong. Didn't quite use it all...)


• Scallions, one bunch


• Fresh Ground Pepper


• Thyme


• Oregano


• Chives


• Tarragon


• Chervil


• Tarragon Vinegar


• Margarine or Butter


• Sour Cream


• Olive Oil

Turn the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the potatoes, poke some holes through the skin with a fork, spray with olive oil, and wrap each one with foil. Do the largest first, setting it in the oven, and then proceed through to the smallest.

While they're cooking, cube the meat into one inch pieces and toss into a non-stick fry pan. Shake up the A-1 and pour over the top of the meat. This splatters a lot, usually, so set down newspapers on the floor and counters - watch the paper near the stove itself; the food doesn't taste near as good if the house burns down in the process.

Cook on medium heat. Turn the meat every once in a while, flipping it, and, if the pieces stick out above the sauce, use a brush to keep the meat nice and moist. The potatoes should cook for about an hour, the meat a little less so.

When the sauce level starts dropping noticeably, test the largest piece to see if it's done. If it's mostly done, let it continue on its own as is, and, if it is still undercooked, you may need to add more A-1. The key is to cook off most of the sauce, letting it brown for a very little bit. This is where the splatter comes in - it's fairly manageable if you keep the heat down to medium, or, if the potatoes need more time, down to a simmer.

We made the potatoes to order. Brandon and Deb had butter, scallions, and cheese. Rachel had chives, thyme, oregano, butter, and cheese. Justin and I had tarragon and chervil, tarragon vinegar, fresh ground pepper, scallions, butter, and cheese.

You can melt the cheese in the oven if you serve on oven-safe plates. Because of the potential for splatter, if you don't have a cooktop and a separate oven - in other words, if you have just a plain ol' stove - you probably don't want to be leaning in and opening the oven all that often to put plates in. Microwave on 40% power for a *monitored* five minutes. Usually takes a bit less - just do enough to melt the cheese.

Add the steak tips to the plate - in our case, it worked out to 7 tips per person. Rachel the quasi-vegetarian handed off six of hers, dividing them amongst the rest of us. Brandon, the 1.5 year old, ate 7 pieces and stopped midway through #8. Herbivores and carnivores, I guess.

This meal is best enjoyed with a bite of the tangy steak tips, followed by a couple bites of potato to mellow it out.

Mother's Day Report

Mother's Day started a bit early... Saturday, the kids gave Deb a Super Steelers book and CSI: The Complete First Season. Justin went with Deb over to her cousin's house, and then, at some small-number-o'clock, they all woke up and headed down to Philly to volunteer for A Race for the Cure.

Rachel, Brandon, and I watched A Series of Unfortunate Events that night, then slept in, picked up the items to make Deb's Mother's Day dinner, and goofed off. Rough day, had us tired out!

Deb was really proud of how much Justin helped out - the lady in charge apparently latched on to Justin and his cousin Aaron, and had them doing a variety of errands, lifting, setup, sign construction, and so forth. They both went to bed fairly early tonight - quite exhausted by all that hard work.

While I was making my potato, Deb commented on how she was almost done eating, and wished we could all eat at the same time (which, really, was the impetuous for Deeper n' Ever), and I joked back that if I had a few line cooks and a larger kitchen I could get them all out at the same time, and then I corrected myself by saying that I did have a line cook - Justin (who cubed the beef, chopped the scallions, and assembled all the potatoes except mine.) I then corrected myself again, saying that Justin was really more of a sous-chef, not some lowly line cook! =)

Anyway, the meal came out perfectly, although I sized the potatoes a bit too large - Justin and I couldn't finish the last bits of ours!

Oh, yeah... when Deb came home, she found Tad William's Shadowmarch and Charles de Lint's Widdershins waiting for her on the table...

Hope all the moms on my flist had a great mother's day!

when the water flows

when the water flows
by Everett A Warren

May 12, 2006

when the rain falls
the forest sighs in relief
drinks deep of life
and reaches for the stars

when the river runs
the rocks sing of pleasure
shaped by the flow
and cleansed by the sands

when the ocean dances
the waves crash upon the shore
wild with the storm
and rustling quietly with the calm

when the poet dreams
the words flow in the veins
drinking deep of life
and reaching for the stars

Copyright (c) 2006 Everett Ambrose Warren