Lemony Zest :: Kim Lewandowski

Archive for September, 2005

Slate, an online magazine, has a fascinating article called “An Imperfect Storm: How race shaped Bush’s response to Katrina,” which asserts that, while the government’s response was not overtly racist, the plight of black people in LA, MS, and AL was not taken seriously by Bush because those states are reliably Republican and black people in general don’t vote for him anyway.

A quote:

Because they don’t see blacks as a current or potential constituency, Bush and his fellow Republicans do not respond out of the instinct of self-interest when dealing with their concerns. Helping low-income blacks is a matter of charity to them, not necessity. The condescension in their attitude intensifies when it comes to New Orleans, which is 67 percent black and largely irrelevant to GOP political ambitions. Cities with large African-American population that happen to be in important swing states may command some of Karl Rove’s respect as election time approaches. But Louisiana is small (9 electoral votes) and not much of a swinger these days. In 2004, Bush carried it by a 57-42 margin. If Bush and Rove didn’t experience the spontaneous political reflex to help New Orleans, it may be because they don’t think of New Orleans as a place that helps them.

It’s an interesting idea that seems to have a lot of merit. Florida got a lot of attention last year after its hurricanes. Some say that’s because the governor of Florida is the president’s brother. It’s possible. It’s also possible, and very plausible, that it’s because Florida has 25 electoral votes and is essentially a toss-up. Comments?

Jeez, the weekend went by so fast… Saturday morning, I had a SHRUG meeting and picnic, Saturday afternoon I made pesto pasta for a Saturday afternoon/evening pool party, and Sunday, I read and read for my two classes – Writing in Electronic Environments and PHP 101.

Here’s the recipe for pesto pasta:

Pesto Pasta

1 recipe pesto (about 1 cup)
1 lb. gemelli pasta
6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 roma tomatoes, chopped (reserve 1/4 cup for garnish)
2 tbsp. pine nuts
olive oil

Make the pesto and add enough olive oil to make it easily spreadable. Cook the pasta to al dente and rinse well with cold water. Mix pesto and pasta; add feta and tomatoes and mix gently. Top with reserved tomatoes and pine nuts.

I’m occasionally buying something from the grocery store that I’ve never bought before, just to see what it’s like and try to expand my repertoire of recipes a bit. So last week, I bought a package of rice sticks. They’re like dried, white noodles and are extremely easy to cook – you just soak them in hot water while you cook the rest of the dinner.

I found a recipe online for Basil Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Rice Sticks that sounded good, and I have a lot of basil in the garden, so this seemed like a good opportunity to use some up for something other than pesto (which we’re eating a LOT of this summer).

Basil Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Rice Sticks

Adjust the hotness of this stir-fry by reducing or increasing the amount of chili oil used.

3 ounces rice sticks (also called rice noodles), broken
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. chili oil or 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tbsp. peanut oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch strips
1 each medium red, yellow and green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup cashew halves or peanuts

Boil 4 cups of water and pour over rice sticks in a medium bowl. Set aside to soften. Keep warm. Cut chicken into thin, bite-sized strips; set aside.

Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, basil, cornstarch, chili oil or crushed red pepper, and turmeric in a small bowl; set aside.

Add peanut oil to wok or 12-inch skillet. Preheat over medium-high heat (add more oil if necessary during cooking). Stir-fry onions in hot oil for 2 minutes. Add peppers; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes more or until crisp-tender. Remove vegetables from wok. Add chicken to wok; stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Push chicken from center of wok.

Stir sauce; add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return vegetables to wok. Stir to coat. Cook and stir 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve immediately over hot rice sticks. Top with cashews or peanuts.

It was very good. Add it to the “good stuff” list.

Someone on a mailing list I’m on posted a link to this article at National Geographic about New Orleans and how vulnerable it is to catastrophic hurricane damage:

Gone with the Water

Experts are quoted (knock on wood) in our local paper as saying that it’s not likely that our area will be hit with a catastrophic hurricane, because the water is not warm enough to generate a Category 4 or 5 storm. I hope they’re right.

I’m a little behind on my restaurant reviews. On Wednesday, Aug. 24, my dinner group had dinner at Sirena Cucina Italiana on Granby Street in Norfolk. Sirena is Italian for mermaid and mermaids are the symbol Norfolk has adopted, so the owner used that for the name of the restaurant. Cute

So here’s how it went:

• Keith ordered caprese salad for us all to share. I love caprese salad, and they do it right at Sirena.
• I had Veal Parmigiana (veal breaded and sauteed, covered with mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce and broiled) – it was wonderful. Came with spaghetti with marinara sauce and was enough for me to bring half home for Dan.
• Keith had the mushroom tagliatelle special (wild mushroom sauce over tagliatelle pasta) and it was great. He said the caprese salad was good and the tiramisu was fresh and tasty.
• Barbara had Pollo (Chicken) Marsala (lightly coated chicken breasts braised with Marsala wine and mushrooms); she said it was great, and was a generous portion.
• Karen had Pasta Pomodoro (linguine with fresh tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil) – she really enjoyed it, and it too was a generous portion.
• I think Susan also had the mushroom tagliatelle and enjoyed it.

During dinner, we were talking about pasta shapes and how there are so many. I went looking for a pasta shape glossary, and found this: pasta shapes