Today’s Adventure in Basic Cooking
October 22, 2025
I know.. I’m 69 and have never made a real pot roast*. I don’t think I could have told you e x a c t l y what a pot roast was, until today. Pretty much, it’s exactly what the name implies: a pot roast.
Duh.
Jim suggested yesterday that I make one. I looked through my saved recipes (that crazy-stuffed basket — well organized, I might add — of hundreds (maybe thousands) of recipes I’ve printed off the internet) and found numerous pot roast recipes (not surprised). Picked two: the Ina Garten one and a Southern Living one, and married them.
First you pat dry, season, dredge in flour and brown the thing (a prime boneless chuck roast), then set it aside:
Then you cook til tender carrots, onions (I used yellow and green), garlic, celery:
Then add red wine, cognac, chicken broth, tomatoes and bundled fresh herbs (I used rosemary only, having just discovered all our thyme got snuffed out by our overgrown sage):
Then add back the chuck:
The pot then moves into a 325 degree oven for an hour, then the temp gets reduced to 250 for another hour and a half. An hour before it was done, I added potatoes.
And… voila, my first pot roast:
It was a thing to behold, and quite tasty. We’ll eat it a couple more times this week and froze two more dinners-worth. That’s 5 meals for two.. for about $50. Nice.
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(*) I have made numerous briskets, corn beef and other beef slab dishes in the crockpot, but I feel like those weren’t real pot roasts.
Yummers
October 21, 2025
Six stuffed peppers, all in a row.
Just an America-Loving American
October 17, 2025
Ready for tomorrow’s NO KINGS Day rally and march…
The Republicans are going out of their minds right now, in anticipation of the millions of people who will be turning out to over 2500 events across the country to protest the government’s embrace of authoritarian, anti-democratic rule. They are in desperation mode and have circulated talking points to all of their spokes-republicans. Here’s what Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary told Fox.
“[T]he Democrat [sic] Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens and violent criminals,”
Speaker Mike Johnson calls our rally a “hate America, pro Hamas” gathering. Others have called it a “hate rally for terrorists.” There are claims that George Soros has underwritten the rallies and/or that protestors are all paid. trump, sneering with contempt, says we’re all anTEEfah. He is looking into declaring Indivisible a terrorist organization and siccing the IRS on us.
I mean really. [rolls eyes]
Thus my sign.
Here is today’s communique from Indivisible:
Peter and Ray Baseball Throwback
October 16, 2025
In honor of two things… the baseball playoffs going on right now (go Dodgers!), and Peter’s former baseball teammate and dear friend Ray who’s getting married this weekend.. I post the following baseball throwback photos (I believe all of these are taken by Ray’s dad Wes.. thanks Wes!):
Dugout shot.. Peter sitting and Ray standing over him to to his left:
Peter, Ray (just behind him) watching a high fly ball:
A Crush team shot, Ray and Peter in front row:
End of the game.. Peter and Ray (in front of #2):
The last game of the season (not sure which season.. they still look young):
This could be Raley Field.. looks like a JV year… Peter and Ray jogging out
Ray and Peter.. a long baseball career together.
They started playing together on a travel team — Crush — and then played Freshman ball, JV and two years of Varsity. They’ll go on to play at UC San Diego (Peter for just one year of club ball).
And now.. Ray’s getting married!
Jim in the Wild
October 15, 2025
Always fun to be out on a walk and run into Jim being a surveyor. Janet and I were cutting across campus on our way to the Arb and Janet spotted the orange hat in the corner of a loading dock. I snuck a pic.
Colorful guy.
Signs of the Time
October 14, 2025
Hung out at Dunloe Brewery tonight on Olive Dr with about 25 other folks, drinking beer and making Yes on 50 signs. What a hoot.
Here are about half of them. I detect a theme…
People can use them at Saturday’s NO KINGS march if they want, or hammer them into ground in their front yards. Or both.
Here Comes the Rain Again
October 13, 2025
How fun is this?
Of course you can’t see the rain in this picture at all… but it is pouring!
Uh… No
October 12, 2025
If one combines the above ingredients, a healthy version of a homemade Butterfingers candy bar is supposed to be the result.
That was not the result.
Continuing my bold tradition of trying new recipes on dinner guests yielded yet another fail. I was okay with that as we had two backup desserts (both of which we served). But sheeesh, these Facebook Reels cooking videos are killing me.
Oh, here’s what the Butterfingers looked like when done:
It’s in an 8″x8″ glass pan and will spend 4 hours in the icebox setting.
Here’s what I did: Heated peanut butter, maple syrup and molasses over a low flame until it boiled, added some vanilla and a sprinkle of salt. Added that to a bowl of cornflakes, mixed it well then pressed it into the pan. Melted chocolate with a bit of butter and spread that over the top.
As I said: uh… no.
Some 50 Activism
October 11, 2025
Some shots on a day when we met at Farmer’s Market to train 22+ folks to canvass on behalf of California’s Prop 50, the only issue on the California November 4 ballot. Our state Senator Christopher Cabaldon and State Assembly member Cecilia Aguilar-Curry both showed up, as well.
Shari, Roxanne, Kelly and me… we were the canvass captains today.
Many, but not all, of today’s canvassers…
My completed turf.. I partnered with a guy named George and we canvassed a 75-home area near Playfields Park in South Davis..
And we got new lawn signs, as well. I added one to our lawn sign garden..
Ya know? It’s a minuscule little piece of the giant hot mess that is our country right now, but it feels good to work on something that is positive and may actually have a meaningful impact.. IF we are successful in passing Prop 50, and IF we have a free and fair midterm election in November 2026, and IF we are able to gain 5 democratic congressional seats, and IF that’s enough to result in a net positive for Dems in the House, overriding the Republican gerrymander scam…. THEN we might have a decent backstop on some of MAGA’s more egregious actions.
Yeah…. it’s a long shot. But it’s what we’ve got.
Translucent Basil and the Glowiest Mums
October 10, 2025
Sometimes, the late afternoon sunlight that streams into the house through our west-facing windows just takes my breath away.
Life of Wry 