More Soul Food

I'm just starting to discover my artistic voice and I'm dabbling in oil and acrylic paints. Instead of creating art in the kitchen on Sunday, I locked myself in the guest room (a/k/a Mommy's workroom) and produced "Mermaid." I find painting to be emotionally fascinating -- it taps into something deep inside of me that I haven't identified yet, but I'm enjoying the ride. I don't pretend to be as talented as my late Uncle Paul, but what comes forth from my brush is part of my soul, a cacophony of colors and shapes and energy.

However, I didn't totally foreswear cooking, just streamlined it. Dinner was burgers and brats (sauerkraut on my bratwurst -- I'm the only one who likes it in my household) and a couple of glasses of pinot noir, after the rum and juice that went with my painting. And I providentially thought ahead to tonight's dinner by making a pot of rice.

Dinner tonight was chicken fried rice and spicy sushi tuna rolls. Making the rice yesterday gave it a chance to chill and get the right consistency, so all I had to do was chop up the garlic, onions, ginger, and carrots, cut the chicken up, and throw it all together in the wok. Meanwhile, the rice cooker made my sushi rice. I seasoned the rice, spread it on the nori (I've got one of those nifty bamboo mats that I used to make the rolls), added the chopped raw tuna (mixed with a little mayonnaise, chili oil, sesame oil and a touch of garlic powder), and rolled it up. In a perfect world, I would have added thin sticks of cucumber, but I forgot to buy one at the store. Oh well, there were plenty of veggies in the fried rice, so no one will die of malnutrition.

Today I saw the first small flock of Canada geese flying overhead, a harbinger of true autumn weather on the way. They stop in Dallas on the way south, after the northern states begin to chill out, and hang around until our weather cools off before flying down to Rio, or wherever they end up. I love to watch them practice their V formations, honking madly as they zoom over our house in the morning.

My favorite time of year is beginning! Now let's get those temperatures down a wee bit . . .