Q is for Quest for Pao de Queijo

One thing that still amazes me about the global economy and online shopping is the ease with which I can obtain specialty ingredients from all over the country and the world. Even in our very cosmopolitan area, there are still some things it is hard to come by, especially without visiting several of the many international markets around. So black garlic, organic beeswax, pizza flour and crushed tomatoes from Italy, celery vinegar, glacéed cherries, and specially processed coffee, and more have all been delivered directly to my door.

My latest acquisition is 2 pounds of sour cassava flour (polvilho azedo). Made from the same root that produces tapioca, which is known variously as cassava, manioc, and yuca, this type of flour is fermented before it is dried. A common usage for polvilho azedo is in a Brazilian quick bread called pão de queijo. Essentially a version of the pate choux and cheese puffs known as gougere, these crisp little bites are often served hot out of the oven for breakfast.

When first I read of the dish on Kitchn,

I had my first pão de queijo at a Brazilian restaurant in Atlanta over five years ago, and I still dream about it. It was crispy outside but amazingly soft and chewy inside, and its cheese flavor was so haunting that I had to eat several more just to fix it in my mind 

the description was irresistible, and I knew I had to make them myself. I had cassava flour in the pantry from a vegetable gnocchi recipe that I've made a few times, but I quickly discovered that although it was possible to substitute the "sweet" variety I had, the fermented version was preferred. Fortunately, a quick internet search revealed that I could order the real stuff from Brazil and have it here in Virginia within a couple of weeks.

So guess what's on the menu tonight?

Life Lesson: It's a small world.

U is for Under a Month

 "This is really fun!" a student said today about the lesson and activities. "We should do things like this more often!"

"You mean in the 4 weeks we have left together?" I asked with a touch of snark.

She shrugged, unimpressed by the brevity of the remainder of the school year. "Yeah!"

Life Lesson: Who's counting?

D is for Do or Die

"I just realized we are all 15 years apart!" one of the teachers in my CLT commented this afternoon. With 2 of us turning 60 in the next 6 weeks or so, age has been a big topic of conversation. 

"I'm looking forward to 60!" my friend Mary proclaimed.

"I am not," I sighed.

"I'm embracing it!" Mary said, "me and all the other people turning 60."

"Like Tom Cruise?" I said. "Jody Foster? Demi Moore?"

"Right," she nodded. "Jim Carrey, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow."

"Rosie O'Donnell, Mathew Broderick, Emilio Estevez," I continued.

"Paula Abdul, Ally Sheedy," now Mary was reading from the internet. "It's like the whole Breakfast Club! And Steve Irwin, but he didn't make it."

"He won't turn 60," I agreed.

Our colleagues were doing their own research. "I have Kanye West," Kerry groaned. "But also Tom Brady!"

"Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler, both elves in The Lord of the Rings," I noted, looking at her year. "And Brittney Murphy, but she didn't make it either."

"I have Ed Sheeran and Da Baby," our fourth coworker, Shaina, reported. "And Emma Roberts, too!"

"This isn't make me feel any better," I said. "It's just reminding me that I'm 15 and 30 years older than all those people, too!"

Life Lesson: Don't complain about growing older, especially considering the alternative.

K is for Kid Stuff

The brain break for my classes today was a 50 yard dash. Between the first set of interviews and the flip flop to the second, I took the kids right out front, lined them up, paced off 50 yards, and let them run. The brain break is always optional-- and I said so today to the students in Crocs and the other in ankle-high boots. "You don't have to run," I advised them, but the Croc-wearing kids secured their back straps and took a starting position and the girl in boots kicked them off to run in her socks. And when they had sprinted the distance, they just lined up again so they could run back.

5 minutes after we had left, we were back in the classroom, and the writers were rocking those interviews.

Life Lesson: Kids just need to run sometimes!

O is for Overdoing It

How glad I was when I pulled my gardening clothes on at 3 this afternoon, leaving behind hours of grading and planning! I hadn't intended to go to the garden until later, but a colleague had texted,  reminding me of her offer of rhubarb and peppers to plant, so off I went. Stopping first at her home to pick up my seedlings, I headed directly to the garden afterward. 

By then the clouds had cleared, and the day was warm and a bit muggy. A slight breeze made the work bearable, but it was a balmy hour and half later that I coiled the hoses, snipped the peonies to bring home to Heidi, and locked the gate behind me. 

Once the flowers were safely arranged in a mason jar, there were still a couple of errands to run and after washing up I went back out to the grocery and garden center. Arriving home after 6, I finished planting the hanging baskets on our deck and started dinner. 

And just now, as the gumbo simmers and I settled wearily into my chair to compose this daily missive, I had the notion that it all might have been a little too much.

Life Lesson: Too much of a good thing is still too much.

P is for Peanuts and Crackerjack

There comes a moment every spring when something-- an outing, a hike, a meal, a movie, something-- evokes summer so trenchantly that my spirit lifts and my heart sings. This year it was Friday night at the ballpark. We are sharing season tickets to the Nats with a few of our neighbors, and last night was the first of our five games. 

All day long we fretted about rain and traffic and the unfamiliarity of the experience, but the sun was shining when we hopped in the car at 6:15, and traffic wasn't too bad, and we parked in a garage right at the stadium, and our seats were good, though the team was not. Watching the sun set and then the moon rise, and being under the lights, and smelling the food, and waving our caps, and getting up to move, and watching all the people, was fun and felt just like summer.

Life lesson: S minus 34 and counting!

W is for Waterless

The texts started as we left school: Courtbridge Geyser! Water main break! The pictures were even more dramatic-- a spume of water gushed 20 feet in the air from the center of the parking lot just outside our windows. When we pulled in, half the loop road that leads around our complex was closed, but the text chain had already informed us that the fountain was shut off and so was the water. 

The expected repair time was many hours, and we were informed that the water would probably be off until morning. How strange it was to be without a ready supply of something we take for granted. Fortunately for us, we had a few things in our favor-- three toilets and a big jug of filtered water in the fridge, but it was still an unsatisfactory evening. And when we went to bed, the work crew was still at it with halogen lights and jack hammers right outside our window, where they remained all night long. 

Rising to the alarm at 5 am, I peered out the window to another geyser spraying over and above our upper balcony. At first I despaired, assuming that this was a sign that the repair did not hold, but then I realized that if the water was on, our water was on, too. So I sprinted through the house flushing toilets and grabbing pitchers to fill. Sadly, before I could collect more than a quart or two, the stream from the faucet slowed to a trickle, and both our water and the fountain outside were gone again.

BUT, at a little before 7, on a whim I flipped on the kitchen faucet, and water flowed freely again. I've always known intellectually how fortunate we are to have all the clean water we want, but looking back on the ordeal and how it felt to be forced to eat leftovers instead of cooking, use hand sanitizer instead of washing, and brush my teeth with a half cup of water, I realized that my gratitude for this resource is not nearly enough.

Life Lesson: You never know how lucky you are to have something until you lose it.