hopelesshappiness.com

Food and Music - two of the most magical things on this planet.

I can't imagine cooking at home without listening to music. I am inspired by song to work similar magic on a dish and/or a meal; to bring contrasting and complementary ingredients together in a fusion of flavors, textures, aromas, and presentation. I have done well enough in these efforts that for some years now the masses around me have clamored for a cookbook - translation: one or two people have mentioned it once or twice. So to that end, here we go.

In addition to the flavor and spice added by my journaled thoughts, you will of course find recipes. These are divided into twelve chapters as follows:

1. Opening Acts
2. Food Medleys
3. Headliners
4. Sammy & Patty
5. Pasta
6. Bowls
7. Bread
8. Potatoes and lesser vegetables
9. Sides and Salads
10. Condiments, Sauces, and Seasonings
11. Fried Pizza
12. Desserts

I wanted the food categories to be reasonably obvious or intuitive with (where I could) a respectful nod to music. That said, the following deserve a bit more explanation.

• Potatoes and lesser vegetables: There is an ongoing argument in our family regarding potatoes. I, of course, maintain they are (not only a vegetable) but one you can root on! Others claim they do not deserve to be acknowledged as anything other than a starchy filler. From a health perspective, due to their high starch and carbohydrate content, they are labeled as a starchy vegetable and they do impact blood sugar so one should take that into account, but in my book - literally in my book - potatoes are King and all other vegetables are lesser beings.
• Fried Pizza: This chapter reflects recent experimentation with new recipes, specifically pizza and pizza dough, and fried foods such as fried chicken and fish. The purpose is to publicly encourage myself to continue to improve these efforts. Please follow these recipes at your own risk and with a grain (or perhaps many grains) of salt, or pepperoni, or egg, or wheat flour, or olive oil, or beer… Good Luck!

On each chapter title page you will see a designated music genre and alongside each recipe in that chapter you will see a song that (in my mind) comes from that genre. Because I grew up in the 1960’s and 70’s, Classic Rock had to be spread over 3 different chapters. Classic Rock (for me) includes the subgenres British Invasion, Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Stadium Rock, Southern Rock, Rock Opera or Symphonic Rock, Glam Rock, and Psychedelic Rock. In Swingin’ Jazz I have included Vocal Jazz and Swing, and in Jazzy Blues I have included New Orleans and (again, in my mind) Rhythm and Blues. There are tools out there to help one pinpoint genres and subgenres and though in most instances we agreed, in a few cases we did not. Taste in music, as in food, is personal and nonjudgemental, but that should not preclude the occasional, spirited discussion championing one’s choices. Below are the chapters listed again with their associated music genre.

1. Opening Acts: Rockabilly
2. Food Medleys: Classic Rock 1960’s and 1970’s
3. Headliners: Singer / Songwriter
4. Sammy & Patty: More Classic Rock 1960’s and 1970’s
5. Pasta: Swingin’ Jazz
6. Bowls: And Still More Classic Rock 1960's and 1970's
7. Bread: Alternative Rock
8. Potatoes and lesser vegetables: Alternative Country Rock
9. Sides and Salads: Jazzy Blues
10. Condiments, Sauces, and Seasonings: Folk Rock
11. Fried Pizza: New Age
12. Desserts: Pop Rock

In the months it has taken me to work through this process, I have had three different working titles:

1. Not my best effort…
2. Structured Chaos: The Process of Preparing and Cooking a Meal
3. Food as Song: My Culinary Playlist.

You will see all three themes reflected in these pages. And in addition, also from my original thought you will see Top 5 lists in each food category based partially on feedback from those who consistently taste my food. Each chapter will be presented in order of Top 5 followed by the leftovers in alphabetical order.

On the back cover I say “In this cookbook is a story of family and food and friendship and philosophy and music and art and effort and chaos and control.” There is no story without a cast of characters, and the people who have been in my life throughout my life certainly qualify. This effort is dedicated to these and (innumerable) other characters who have had influence. Thank you!

• Mom
• Dad
• Jane - Wife of 45+ years
• Camille - Daughter
• Milan - Granddaughter
• Moxie - Granddaughter
• Tristan - Son
• Uche - Daughter-in-law
• Audrey - Daughter
• Pam - Sister
• Jim - Brother-in-law
• Bob - Brother
• Jeanice - Sister-in-law
• Patty - Sister
• Brent - Brother-in-law
• Norman - Brother-in-law
• Norma - Sister-in-law
• Shay - Sister-in-law
• Keith - Brother-in-law
• Linda - Sister-in-law
• Maurice - Brother-in-law
• Susan - Sister-in-law
• Fred - Friend

According to established protocol, one should first make an offer and sign a contract, and only then have the home inspected. By obtaining a commitment from the buyer, the seller gains the upper hand, forcing the buyer (after an inspection) to either honor the agreement or come back to the table. In our case, the seller is allowing the inspection before an offer or contract; (if he would have refused, we would have walked away).

Not only does the encouraged order of things - (contract then inspection) - obviously benefit the seller, to underline this advantage and remind the buyers of their place, the seller also has the right to veto a home inspection outside of a contract. We are lifelong renters who are looking seriously at a house that was built in 1836. Not knowing protocol, In my ignorance I scheduled the home inspection first, thinking that would help me in determining further interest and possible offer. It seemed logical. I was chastised. I stood my ground. I understand that someone could swoop in with an offer in this interim, but to me, (especially in this Caveat Emptor state), knowledge is more important than a few hundred dollars. And what about Caveat Emptor? We encourage the buyer to beware, but we establish protocols and we make rules and we enforce laws that put the buyer at a disadvantage. It is the way of property and power and wealth.

I have had the privilege of 24,062 days in this world. Is it time I grew up and settled down? Probably not…

(Third revision of) Top Forty Albums:

1. Queen - Night at the Opera
2. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
3. Led Zeppelin - IV
4. Leonard Cohen - The Essential Leonard Cohen
5. Jimmy Buffett - You Had To Be There
6. Jethro Tull - Aqualung
7. Little Feat - Waiting For Columbus
8. The Band - The Last Waltz
9. Three Dog Night - Seven Separate Fools
10. Elton John - Madman Across the Water
11. Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat
12. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
13. Soul Asylum - Let Your Dim Light Shine
14. The Who - Who's Greatest Hits 1983
15. Johnny Cash - American IV
16. Collective Soul - Collective Soul
17. Neville Brothers - Live on Planet Earth
18. Rusted Root - Live Disc 2
19. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Chronicle
20. Steve Earle - I Ain't Ever Satisfied
21. Tom Waits - The Early Years Vol. 1
22. Sonia Dada - Sonia Dada
23. The Eagles - Greatest Hits
24. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Pronounced
25. James McMurtry - Complicated Game
26. Old Crow Medicine Show - Old Crow Medicine Show
27. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - So Far
28. Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night
29. The Clumsy Lovers - Smart Kid
30. Frente! - Marvin the Album
31. Rusted Root -Remember
32. Finn Brothers - Finn
33. Michael Franti - All Rebel Rockers
34. The Badlees - River Songs
35. Doobie Brothers - Best of the Doobies
36. Lyle Lovett - The Road to Ensenada
37. Zac Brown Band - Pass the Jar
38. Eric Clapton - Time Pieces
39. Moby - Play
40. James McMurtry - Saint Mary of the Woods

• Progress: Learning and Growth beneficial to the well-being of both the individual and all of Humanity.
• True Leader: One who works (with at least some success) to direct one or more individuals' energies toward progress.
• Majority: Characterized by comfort-seeking apathy, the majority of us are (in many cases, willingly) held hostage by one or more disruptors.
• Hostage: In addition to the majority, a true leader whose energies are redirected from progress to crowd control.
• Noisy Disruption: Clamorous, strident fear masquerading as order, convention, and certainty.
• Irrelevant Distraction: Noisy Disruption and/or misdirection and/or the more insidious, more silent efforts to sway, make afraid, and/or confuse with arguments for tradition and whispers of conspiracy.
• Disruptor: One who loudly disrupts and/or quietly distracts. One who is at the upper end of comfortable well-being and/or fear. One who is ADAMANTLY and ACTIVELY against change.

We learn at a very young age how a small number of people (often less than 10%) can redirect energy and stymie progress with noisy disruption and irrelevant distraction. And when there is no accountability and there are no consequences for misbehavior, a true leader is no longer a leader, he or she becomes a hostage along with the majority. On occasion a disruptor acquires a position of leadership; a disruptor is never a true leader. Progress requires change. A disruptor acquires leadership when change is scary, cumbersome or merely inconvenient. It seems a majority of us would prefer convenient ignorance over scary (necessary) progress. And we learn this at a very young age.

As early as kindergarten a disruptor can be identified and should be separated for more individualized attention. Perhaps a separate classroom with a significantly lower student-to-teacher ratio and instead of an open classroom, one with partitioned cubicles. A second open classroom can be nearby and socialization used as a reward for learning and progress.

Regarding any stigma that may be associated with cubicles as classroom, current practice dictates safe seats, learning interventions, administrative discipline, walking laps, shortened or no recess, and a consistent barrage of (often loud) staff and teacher invective and diatribe, so the potential for stigma is already present. I believe possible stigma associated with partitions as crowd control would not only be less but is more than justified by more individualized learning and greater, more efficient progress. Efficiencies can be gained with little or no additional resources by simply moving current staff, (aides, paraprofessionals, and specialists) to fewer classrooms working alongside one or more certified teachers for each grade represented. In addition the classrooms could be fluid moving students back and forth as dictated by behavior and assessed by behavior specialists.

I believe education to be Humanity's best shot at survival and I believe it is too late for this premise to be applied to the apathetic, conveniently ignorant majority of adults in this country. That said, if the wealthy would pay their fair share we could apply the partition plan to adult disruptors by rounding up the most vocal and paying them handsomely to stay out of the way with meaningful busy work; and it could be meaningful as an aid for understanding their fear and anger and disillusionment. Perhaps then we could not only educate the very young but we could do so in a way that encourages active contribution instead of our current state of apathy and discontent.

Perhaps it is not too late.