Nightmares

I had a terrible case of indigestion last night and that always leads to nightmares.  Not that one has to go to sleep to have nightmares.  For some reason, we are now subscribing to the Atlantic Monthly.  Why didn't we ever subscribe to it when it was a good magazine? So we got the latest issue in the mail, and the cover is the most unflattering portrait of John McCain imaginable, and that's saying something.  I couldn't even bear to look at it.  So it turns out that the photographer, Jill Greenberg, is a complete whack job, was embroiled in a huge scandal in which she tormented children for art, and incidentally, to make a political statement, and she's posted a bunch of photoshopped pictures of John McCain on her personal website.  Read it at Michelle Malkin (h/t The View from Alexandria).

Andrew Sullivan is mentioned prominently in that MM post.  I guess I'm not the only one to think that he has declined seriously in his emotional stability, his ethics, and his accuity in the last decade.  I think he was the first high-profile professional journalist to speculate that Trig Palin was Bristol Palin's son, not Sarah's.  To borrow from Churchill, he's become the sort of person who gives sodomy a bad name.

really has nothing to do with the written content, but I like the pic.

Enough about everyone else, let's talk about my digestive tract.  I was munching on Marcona almonds all afternoon, which was probably a bad idea- almonds are a bit rough on the tum-tum- but I felt no ill-effects until I decided to whip up some cold strawberry soup.  I had a vast quantity of strawberries that I had bought from the Costco that were all on the verge of going the way of all compost, when I remembered in a sort of Proustian moment (yup, bought madeleines at the Costco, too) the wonderful chilled strawberry soup that was my favorite dish at a Polish restaurant in Normal Heights (San Diego) circa 1974.  So I googled it and found a Polish Strawberry Soup recipe that looks great but dirties up way too many dishes and takes too long.  You have no idea how many strawberry soup recipes there are.  There are two major variations: fruit-based and wine-based.  Most also use sour cream, yogurt, or half-and-half.  The variation I finally settled on was this:

• 1 quart hulled & sliced strawberries
• 2 Tbsp. dry white wine (I use vermouth)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Cups plain yogurt (I used thick Greek yogurt thinned with some milk)
  

Whiz it all up 'til smooth in your blender, put it in the fridge for a bit, and voilá!  Chilled Strawberry Soup, or a very adult smoothie.

It was very, very, very good.  And then I curled up in a little ball, clutching my stomach and moaning unintelligibly.   I think it was the almond-strawberry seed one-two punch that did it.  Apart from the pain factor, however, this concoction is ridiculously good for you.  Don't throw those strawberries out!  But maybe the Poles have the right idea about cooking and straining...

BTW, I get my Marcona Almonds at Costco for $7.99/lb.  Everywhere else around here they are $18/lb.  I much prefer to save money while I'm poisoning myself.

And another thing...I had no beer.  Many years ago, I became convinced of the miracle healing powers of Negra Modelo while on a trip to Mexico.  In an effort to ward off incipient Montezuma's revenge, I ordered a bottle, and it fixed me right up.  This morning I went to the grocery store and got a case (on sale!) along with some Pepto.

Comments

[aelfheld]

The idea that Atlantic Monthly didn't know what they were getting in Greenberg is risible. The only breach of faith is between Atlantic Monthly and its readers.

[Pam]

I think I'll just stick with the beer recommendation!