The Crab Chronicles

Twenty Questions With Karen Karbo

I don't remember how I discovered Karen Karbo but it was probably while reading HuffPost. Within 10 minutes I was hooked on her blog and intrigued by her books - about such amazing women as Coco Chanel, Georgia O'Keefe, and now Julia Child.

The very phrase "kick ass women" [what she calls her series] tickles me. The fact that Karen specializes in writing about women like that - well, you had me at hello....Women today need to be inspired. We need role models. We need to know there were other women who faced big challenges and still forged ahead and had amazing lives.

It isn't easy in the 21st century to keep your perspective and stay positive - especially if you are trying to have a career, raise a child, sustain a marriage, keep a few friends, etc.

I just finished cooking like Julia Child every day for a week, trying to "make every meal an occasion." It was a big hit at my house. I lost count of all the eggs we went through, and my whisks were used every day - a new record!

Karen's newest book Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life, will be released tomorrow! You can order it NOW, though. I urge you to do so.

1. What is your full name?  Karen Lee Karbo

2. Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world? I'd have an apartment in Paris and a house on the beach in Laguna Beach, California, a hundred years ago. (Since it's a fantasy, there's no reason not to include time travel.)

3. What is your favorite movie and why? That's a tough one. I went to film school and have seen a lot of movies! My movie love is mood dependent. One I've seen several times at decade intervals, and I think holds up fairly well, is "Chinatown." (1974, Roman Polanski directed the genius screenplay by Robert Towne.)

4. What was your least-favorite subject in school when you were a kid? Algebra. (Perhaps too obviously)

5. What was your nickname when you were a kid? Karbs.  

6. Do you believe in God? Yep.

7. What sound or noise do you love? The sound of my agent's voice on the phone saying "Good news! They're making an offer!"

8. If you could do anything other than what you do, as a profession, what would it be? Exercise rider at Churchill Downs.

9. If heaven exists, what do you think it is like? When I've discovered a fantastic book and I want to be reading it and discovering it, and never want it to end?  THAT.

10. Do you have siblings? A step-brother.

11. What is your favorite memory of childhood [something specific]? Any moment during the last two weeks in August between the ages of 8 and 18 -- we spent those days at our house on the beach in Laguna Beach, California. My parents rented out the place the rest of the summer, but kept the last two weeks of August for us. Every day, after watching the 9:00 a.m. rerun of "I Love Lucy" my mom tossed me and whatever friend/boyfriend I'd brought along outside. We swam, surfed and played Frisbee all day long. At night the moon shone over the ocean and into my bedroom. Heaven on earth.

12. If you had to choose between one week traveling around the USA by car, or one week traveling around Europe on a train, which would you choose and why? Around Europe on a train, without question.

13. What inspires you? Stumbling upon two ideas or images that don't appear to have anything to do with each other; the moment I see a connection is a moment of inspiration.

14. Which holiday do you prefer, Christmas or July 4th? Christmas, if I'm forced to choose. Mostly, though, it depends on the year.

15. What project or idea are you most passionate about, right now? I'm working on a novel. Naturally, I can't talk about it.

16. Do you know how to cook? I'm a very good assembler

17. What is your favorite thing to cook/eat? I'm a good pie maker. In the summer I make a marionberry or blackberry pie once a week, and in the fall I switch to Tarte Tatin, using Julia Child's recipe from "The Way to Cook."

18. What is your favorite book? Lolita. I read it about once every five years.   

19. Who do you love the most in the world? Daughter, Man, Dogs.

20. What question has nobody ever asked you, but you wanted to answer? Why, if people are allegedly losing their ability to focus for even five minutes at a stretch, is there still a market for those over-written, thousand page fantasy sagas that always wind up on the bestseller list? I have no answer, but I wish someone did.

Wrapping Up the Julia Week

I have had a lot of fun cooking like Julia Child all this past week, but all good things must come to an end, Karen Karbo.

Based on the delightful chapter I read, anyone interested in cooking or Julia Child needs to get a copy of Karen's new book, Julia Child: Lessons on Savoring Life. It's not pedantic. It's entertaining. Julia Child was a remarkable woman.

I didn't cook any of her recipes today, but we had shrimp - which is definitely a treat - for dinner, and finished up the last of the chocolate mousse. The meal was an occasion, so I stuck to my vow. I will make the shrimp with garlic sometime soon.

Michael asked me just before bed tonight, "So are you finished with cooking like that woman now?" and I said, with some relief, YES. He looked disappointed.

"It's back to grilled cheeses Babydoll!" I wanted to holler, but I didn't.

I do think that families should follow the spirit of Julia Child and make meals more of a joyous occasion, not merely a shoveling in of food. I don't think I can keep up with the level of excellence she demonstrated in meals - nor can I digest all the rich foods all the time, frankly - but there is nothing wrong with reaching for excellence and trying new things sometimes.

So what if my chocolate mousse wasn't perfect? We all enjoyed it. it was a really lovely change of pace, as were the french onion soup, potato gratinee, cheese souffle, and tarte tatin. The French, they know how to eat!

 

We had a very late lunch, Michael and I, and I drank a beer, a Stella Artois. It was good, but I wish I had had a Sweetwater. I can't drink wine because it gives me a headache, and I only drink a mixed drink maybe once a year. I drink a beer once in a great while. Just one. He looked at me with some concern, but I explained I just wanted to taste the Stella Artois. When I was in Kazakhstan adopting Michael in 2007 one of the other adoptive parents was always drinking those, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about.

I have tried to tell Michael, and demonstrate, that a person can drink a beer or a glass of wine - or maybe even two - and NOT be drunk. His early life was that anyone who drank, did so in order to get drunk. The concept of "social drinking," is still hard to get across to him. I rarely drink more than 1 beer at a time, maybe once a month.

I spent a great deal of time this morning and early afternoon helping Michael complete an English project about Greek Mythology. He should get a B or better, hopefully. Having a meal out at Enzo's was his reward for working so hard at his schoolwork.They have a lovely outdoor seating area, too.

When we finally got to Enzo's, he inhaled a Philly sub. It wasn't French. I didn't make it, but no matter.

Bon Appetit!

Chocolate Mousse

Wicked busy day today, and tomorrow won't be much better, BUT - I made Julia's chocolate mousse! Actually, I made David Lebovitz's adaptation of Julia's mousse, but hey, it was fabulous.

I had to get the oil changed in the car and go to the grocery store and buy the mousse ingredients, then come home and eat lunch before getting in the car at 2:30 to haul it up to Roswell [30-45 minutes] for Michael's tennis match.

This was the view when we got out of the car for Michael's match. Whoa. Michael said "There are a lot of rich people here. Will they be nice?!"

I had no idea. I assured him there are plenty of rich people who are nice. Not all, but in the world of juniors tennis, my experience has been 99% of the time people are nice, whether it's a fancy country club, or a modest neighborhood swim and tennis place.

This place had a TV in a sheltered area above the tennis courts, ice water on tap everywhere, and it was quite ritzy. Everyone was nice.

Michael lost his singles match.. He's getting really tired of losing. He's a really good player, but we need to work on his serve and I just have to help him stay motivated, if possible.

So I didn't get to make the mousse before tennis, which was the original plan. I came home and told Mom I wasn't sure I was up for making it, but Michael pitched a fit.

This was after he took out his tennis frustration by grabbing an axe and attacking a big log in the back yard. Can you say "firepit party"??

So, I started cooking.

I had to spend a lot of time whisking egg yolks with sugar and a bit of rum. YUM.

Then I had to cool it down.

The chocolate mixture was easy. I did part of it in the microwave. [I can hear Julia flipping over in her grave as we speak!]

This was right before I folded in the egg whites and the chocolate mixture.

Michael thought it would be fun to lick the egg white beaters.

He won't ever do THAT again. LOL

We were patient for about 4 hours, letting it firm up in the fridge, but then Mother said she had to try some.

It may not look great here, just because I am an awful photographer, but MAN was that awesome. Chocolate Mousse ROCKS!

Julia's Cheese Souffle

I have always heard that it's difficult to make a souffle. I had never attempted it before today, though. My original idea was to make boeuf bourguignon but after reading the recipe a few times and pondering the many steps to making what is, essentially, beef stew, I said to heck with it. Let's go for something simpler.

A souffle. Ha!

Laugh all you want to, it's nothing compare to the beef stew from hell recipe.

I decided to over-prepare, to study and train for the souffle, and be scrupulous about everything, and hope for the best.

I decided not to monkey around, but to go right to the source: Julia herself. Thank God for YouTube.

 

I watched this twice. I made notes.

Except for one brief outing to run errands, I had a pretty quiet day today, so there was time to try and prep thoroughly.

Usually I just grab things out of the fridge and cupboard and messily throw things together. After watching the video, though, I wanted to be prepared.

Yes, I know the counter is messy. But the oatmeal belongs next to the dishwashing liquid. Everybody knows that.

This is the almost finished sauce. I've made a lot of white sauces but this one was scary. Just grabbing a whisk is such a grownup, chef-y thing to do. I usually just use a fork.

This is what I call the "science project" stage. When I was trying to mix the sauce, cheese, and eggs, it started looking like scrambled eggs and shaving cream. ACK!!

I put it in the oven and prayed.

This was the final result:

Was it tall? Nope.

Did I care? Not really.

My son was at a birthday party, so it was just Mother and me. I ate an apple with my souffle. Mother isn't a big eater at dinner, so she just had a small serving of souffle.

Mother said, "I didn't want to say anything before you made it, but you know that the ability to make a good souffle is what separates real cooks from amateurs."

Well allrighty then. If I didn't have such obvious female parts I'd say "I'm the MAN!"

It was tasty. It was also rather bland. Maybe we are just used to stronger tastes, not something as subtle and delicate as a souffle. Maybe it's because I used cheddar instead of swiss or gruyere. Who knows.

The beef I was going to use for the boeuf bourgy-thingy? I made a teriyaki beef in the crock pot, with beef tips, pineapple, soy sauce, and brown sugar. It will be very yummy tomorrow night over rice.

Tomorrow, we will have that plus I am going to make Julia's Chocolate Mousse. This is the only recipe so far that Michael has inquired about, as in "Haven't you made the chocolate mousse YET?!"

LOL

As much as I have enjoyed making these recipes, I have to say, why is it that all the ones with HEAVY CREAM and tons of sugar and eggs appeal to me?! I dunno, but I will be getting back on a sensible eating plan next week. After all the leftovers are gone.

Really.

Tarte Tatin

I've been enjoying my "cooking like Julia" week, but tonight I decided not to do any major league cooking.

Since we had leftover Potato Gratinee and French Onion Soup, I decided today to make Tarte Tatin, or as we say it here in the USA "apple pie."

Now, my first experience with apple pie was the molten lava bricks one used to buy at McDonald's that burned the roof of your mouth. My mom never, to my knowledge, made apple pie when I was a kid.

Mom is allergic to apples.

We had cherry pie, blueberry pie, chocolate pie, of course pumpkin and pecan - dang, we had a lot of pies, now that I think about it. Not apple, though.

I have always been a bit intimidated by making pie, but I would do a cobbler once in a while. Now that I know how easy it is to make crust [flour, butter, water, duh] I will be making more pies.

But I looked at Julia's recipe and was intimidated. Wow.

I am happy to serve leftovers, but the "tatin" has to be yummy, and doable.

So I found Perfect Tarte Tatin in 10 Easy Steps. YES! I could do this one. I love that the author used the word "frankenstein" as a verb. I get way too excited about things like that.

I decided to deviate a bit from both the Awl recipe, and Julia's, and not use any lemon juice or lemon zest. I despise lemon zest. I find it unappealing. [LOL!]

I also used Braeburn apples.... because I like them best. I like a tart apple, but not crazy tart like Granny Smiths.

This is the pie before I put it in the oven:

Yes, I know the crust isn't perfect. I didn't have time to make it perfect. I needed to get a shower and get ready to go to the theater.

This is it after it came out of the oven:

It was incredibly good! I mean, phenomenal.

Michael had leftover gratin for dinner, and when we got back from the theater [I also review plays] he said he was hungry, and proceeded to eat 3 BIG pieces of tarte tatin.

SCORE!

Today is Mesothelioma Awareness Day

When I was a young paralegal, I learned that there were a number of cases in our firm where companies were being sued for exposing their workers to asbestos. The cancer that results, mesothelioma, is deadly. I was very glad I never had to work on those cases, but mostly kept to car accident lawsuits.

Back then, I just had a gut feeling the firm was on the wrong side of that debate. We represented the companies.. Now, having learned more about Mesothelioma, I feel anyone exposed to it should just be compensated fairly. Period. 

I was contacted yesterday by Heather Von St. James and asked to spread the word that today is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. Heather is a survivor of the disease, which is a rarity.

Heather explains: "There is no more innocent victim than a person diagnosed with mesothelioma. They are sick as a direct result of being exposed to a substance that should be banned, but shockingly is still widely used around the world. I am talking about asbestos. That insidious little fiber that was put into so many products in the last century, and is still used today in many commercial applications. Once breathed in, asbestos lays dormant for 20-30 (sometimes even up to 50) years and then strikes without warning, making people so sick that most die within 18 months of diagnosis."

My grandfather died of emphysema. That's another reason for me to spread the word about Mesothelioma.If your lungs are compromised, that's it.

Asbestos is still found in many places. It's invisible.

Anyone renovating an older home or office building needs to have it inspected for asbestos before demolition.

This is from Heather's site:

Did You Know?

• Asbestos is still not banned in the US. Roughly 30 million pounds are still used each year.

• Asbestos fibers are invisible to the naked eye.

• Even more than 30 years after the peak of its use, asbestos exposure is still the number one cause of occupational cancer in the US.

• Asbestos can still be found in many homes, schools, and commercial or industrial buildings.

• Asbestos was once used in more than 3,000 consumer products including household items such as toasters and hair dryers – some of which may still be in use.

• Navy Veterans are at the greatest risk to develop mesothelioma as asbestos was widely used in Naval ships and shipyards.

• No amount of exposure to asbestos is safe.

Gray Gratin Day

It poured rain all.day.long and was just a gloomy day in every respect. Running errands in the rain, in traffic, is my idea of hell.

To make matters worse, my dinner didn't turn out right.

Merde...

Gratin of Potatoes, Ham, Eggs and Onion was supposed to be fabulous - like a hash brown casserole. It wasn't. The potatoes didn't get cooked all the way through.Nothing law raw potatoes to make a casserole tasty...

It looked nice, though:

The green stuff is my version of guacamole - avocados, lime juice, sea salt. Simple and delicious.

Michael ate some potato casserole gamely.

We had had words before dinner. Trying to motivate him to do his homework is like trying to stuff toothpaste back in the tube, right now.

He also keeps getting bad headaches. I thought it was bruxism [teeth grinding] but the orthodontist looked at his mouth and said nope, there are no signs of that. He may be clenching his jaw, but that's it. I told him to quit clenching his jaw. I thought that was the end of it.

I am waiting to hear if the insurance will approve having his wisdom teeth removed, but the dentist and the oral surgeon both ruled out the teeth as being the cause of the pain.

If he keeps complaining of these headaches I may take him back to the doctor and see if the insurance will cover a CT Scan. I have a fear it could be something like a brain tumor. [Yes, I know I am likely being overly dramatic but hey, this is my boy we're talking about...]

Just finished a delightful book, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. Gently funny, and although it took me some time to get into it, I liked it by the end.

That's all I know. I am set to go to the Fox tomorrow night and see Stomp. Hopefully that will cheer Michael up.In case you're unfamiliar with Stomp, this is one of the numbers:

 

French Onion Soup the Crock Pot Way

I was up very late last night finishing some projects that couldn't wait, and so I was pretty bleary-eyed and wild-haired this morning. I made Michael some breakfast and tried not to snarl. When I am running on less than 5 hours of sleep I am....

Super Cranky.

I thought about my commitment to cook like Julia this week.

This thought crossed my mind:

yes, frozen quiche, and frozen croissants.

Don't judge.

But I decided to go to Publix again, after I dropped Michael at school, and get the supplies to make french onion soup. It was drizzling and gloomy. I was exhausted and looked mondo weird. I know everyone in Publix was thinking does she not know there's a Walmart 10 minutes away?!

I came home and dumped some beef tips, beef broth, water, sherry, and beef stock into the crock pot, ate some breakfast, and crashed.I did not make proper beef stock. I used bought stock, and bought beef tips.

I then returned to bed and slept a while.

I looked at the French Onion Soup recipe. I studied it. But I decided that in the tradition of Elva [mom] I would have to put my own spin on it. Thus the crock pot idea.

Also, I was assisting my friend Kristy with two will signings this afternoon and it was a busy day.

In between signings, I chopped and sauteed onions and added them to the crock pot.

When I finally got back from the second signing at was after 8, and I did not feel like cooking more. So Michael, Mom and I had a bowl of soup and no salad, and that sufficed.

Mother and I put our french bread on the bottom of the bowl and ladled soup over it, and sprinkled some cheese. Michael insisted on doing it the "right" way -

Yes, I realize that looks odd. He had several slices of Gouda cheese atop his bread and soup. None of us particularly like swiss, so he used Gouda and Mom and I used grated Italian cheeses, which worked fine.

Now, if you want to be truly, authentically JULIA, I have a treat for you. I found a YouTube video of her making beef stock and then onion soup.

Bon Appetit!

 

Quiche a la Julia

This week, for mostly the fun of it but also at the behest of my pal Karen Karbo, I have decided to cook like Julia Child every day - one recipe a day! Bon Appetit!

Karen knows that Julia was an amazing person and she has written a fabulous book, Julia Child Rules: Lessons on Savoring Life.

I decided to go with Rule #10: to "make every meal an occasion" - which meant, I felt, that I should cook dinner like Julia every night. That would certainly be an occasion, I felt. Not grilled cheeses! Not leftovers! Not kitchen sink frittatas!

So for the next 7 days, I will be cooking a recipe of hers every night. Maybe more than one! Sacre bleu!

[My brain is exhausted trying to conjure up my high school French... and it's not coming. So I am wearing out the exclamation point key on the keyboard and I DON'T CARE]

 Tonight: Quiche Lorraine

So I decided not to buy all ingredients for every dinner in one day. One, I didn't want to carry all that in the house without Michael's help, and he was busy with tennis after school. Two, in Europe, food is bought every day or two. They don't have huge American fridges to store mass quantities in, so they shop a lot. They get fresher food that way.

They get to argue with shopkeepers.

They get some exercise walking around town to the boulangerie, the patisserie, etc.

Mais Oui! [more French is leaking out! Yay!]

I trundled off to Publix and Got all my recipes - well, 3 of them anyway - into a folder. Then I took them out and stared at them in the car.

I marched into Publix like Julia, I felt.... although I am almost a foot shorter..

There were delightful people working there who said hello - they are known for their customer service at this store - but there were no surly french shopkeepers to argue with. I decided not to let it ruin the mood.

I spent a lot of time on the wine aisle, and of course, the dairy aisle.

I imagined Julia in this dairy aise, gazing at all the almond milk, soy milk, fat free milk, etc. with utter disgust. LOL She lived to be 93!

I couldn't resist buying some french wine.... until I saw the prices. Then I decided to buy a Beringer [which isn't too bad a wine] with a french name: cabernet sauvignon. Ha! [I always tell everyone the name of my favorite wine is.... On Sale.]

Then I came home and did many, many other tasks, and finally I found myself making the quiche.

It was supposed to be French Onion Soup, tonight. However, I thought I had beef stock, or broth, and I did not.

 Unlike American quiches, there is no cheese. None. Just eggs, cream, bacon, butter, and a few seasonings.

I added spinach, to make it a one dish meal.

[IDIOTE! STUPIDE AMERICAIN! I could hear Julia screeching at me from the grave. SPINACH? In a QUICHE LORRAINE?!?]

Julia is, I am sure, flipping over in her grave.

Nevertheless, I put it in. It increased the cooking time to double time.

Eventually it came out. Beautiful! Magnifique!

yes, the crust got a little too... done. who cares?

Michael loved it. He said the eggs were like he remembered from the orphanage. Not sure if that is good, but he meant it as a compliment.

Mother said it was so "delicate" - unlike a regular quiche. More like a custard. Reminded her of her childhood.

There is not one single bite left of the quiche!

Bonne Nuit mes amis!

Bon Appetit!

Origins

Do you know where your ancestors came from?

I know most of my ancestors were from England, Ireland, Scotland, and France. I know I have a great great grandmother who was Cherokee. I am not sure on Dad's side, but I think they were mostly Scottish and Welsh, possibly.

The point is, I have some clues about my ancestry.

Now, my son has some ideas, too.

There's a company out there called 23andMe and for $99 you can send them a vial of spit and find out a lot of information about yourself, based on your DNA.

For instance, we know that Michael is not likely to develop male pattern baldness.

We found out some interesting health information. For instance, the average risk for developing diabetes is 25.7%, but Michael's risk is 39.6%. He also is 10% more at risk for atrial fibrillation.

He's not at risk himself, but he is a carrier for a condition called hemochromatosis:

"Hereditary hemochromatosis (he-moe-kroe-muh-TOE-sis) causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat. The excess iron is stored in your organs, especially your liver, heart and pancreas. The excess iron can poison these organs, leading to life-threatening conditions such as cancer, heart arrhythmias and cirrhosis." [source: Mayo Clinic]

This will only be of importance is he marries a woman and has children with her, and she also is a carrier. Then the children could develop the condition.

He's also at an elevated risk for a couple of medical issues, but nothing life-threatening.

It's all about risk. Most things they test for, his risk is normal. There are just a few variations.

I saw NOTHING that said he would ever, for sure, get Alzheimers or Huntington's Disease, for example. That's a relief.

He has a genetic tendency to have more growth in late adolescence, so it's possible he may get taller. He slept about 14 hours last Friday night, so I am hoping he will grow a bit more.

Then again, they said he is genetically related to Napoleon Bonaparte. Michael's take on that: "Oh great. I'm related to a short guy with anger issues."

I reminded him that Napoleon also conquered much of Europe and was a very smart guy.

The report tells us, under Traits, that Michael has very straight hair and brown eyes. Wow. We didn't say anything about that when we signed up.

He doesn't have the gene that most great sprinters have, but he is likely to have good athletic endurance. I told his tennis coach that.

It's a fascinating thing, the 23andMe report. There is SO MUCH information in the report, that we are still parsing through it.

Oh, and perhaps most interesting of all - he is 98% of Eastern European descent, and 1.5% Asian.Since Northern Kazakhstan was once part of Russia, that's not surprising. The Asian didn't surprise us, since he has a blood marker only found in Mongolia, Kazakhstan's neighbor to the east.

Fascinating.

Michael in Petropavlovsk in 2007, just before I brought him home