“Common sense is what tells us the earth is flat.”
Common sense,
Greetings from the western half of the great state of Texas, where the major export is flat. You thought is was oil? Nope, that dried up long ago.
That prime west Texas flat is pumped into barrels and shipped to construction projects all over the world; dynamite is so Twentieth Century. Modern project managers know that there's no more efficient way to turn a steep path into a level road
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| and a few highways in west Texas. |
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| These days, this thing drills for flat. |
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| Than by soaking it in a few thousand gallons of Texas flat. |
But we weren't there for the scenery, or even the food (though there was plenty of both) We were there to spend a day or three celebrating the achievements of a happy hoard of bright young things- one in particular. Fortunately, there had been one or two eager conversations about shoes prior to the event, or spotting one solitary girl in a swarm of identically capped and gowned graduates would have been nearly impossible, even for her parents:
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| As Cinderella was once overheard saying, Never discount the importance of distinctive footwear. |
The trip to Lubbock meant that some of the terrific dinners I was so excited about trying this week had to fall by the proverbial wayside. Some, but not all. The great thing is, all the dinners that did make it on to the home plates were super easy, inexpensive and worth eating again.
Take for example this Shrimp Cobb Salad:
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| Simple and satisfying. And shrimpy. and what's another s word.... Summery. And speedy. |
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| Gnocchi with Shrimp, asparagus and pesto. just wow. |
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| A pasta made with mashed potatoes. What a perfect concept. |
And if you have 2 hours or so and you're craving lasagna, by all means, spend an afternoon with the holy grail of lasagna recipes, America's Test Kitchen Meat Lasagna. But if you're craving lasagna and you have about 25 minutes, try this:
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| Skillet Lasagna faster and tastier that baking a frozen lasagna. I am not making that up. |
It was terrific. But so was this:
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| Chickpea and pasta pesto soup. without the pasta. Quick and light and perfect for all year round. |
A really good soup, even if the ingredient list led to a disturbing observation.
Have you ever noticed how many babies are on the shelves of your local grocery store?
In this kitchen alone, there are cans of baby corn, and baby carrots, frozen petite peas and baby lima beans.... Really, it was a great soup. Yet I found myself wondering...
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| Where are the grown ups of all these vegetables, and why do they allow us to eat so many of their young? |
Did you know that baby corn is really baby corn? Although (thank goodness) baby carrots are really just small grown up carrots....It was on the tip of my fingers to ask the internet if the baby lima beans in tonight's soup were really the babies of mature lima beans, when common sense prevailed.
Which is sort of a pity, because I'm still wondering if there are adult lima beans and what they look like.
What do ya wanna bet that before too long, uncommon curiosity will triumph over common sense?
I hope it's that way for you this week.
I hope that when common sense tells you
that your earth is flat and you are going over the edge-
when common sense tells you
to panic or despair,
I hope your uncommon sense prevails.
I hope that your uncommon sense
shows you the way through,
and the way around.
And leads you straight toward
the wonders that lie
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| at the edge of the known world. |
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