Coffee Musings - 021808

I finished a book yesterday, Slaughterhouse. It was a quick read, and exposed a lot of societal ills that should have been cured with the release of The Jungle. I would recommend it.

Yippee! I finally tried the White Bean Pate recipe from Vegetarian Times Cooks Mediterranean. I didn't have garlic, scallions, parsley and capers. It definitely needed more flavor, but it's good enough for lunch. I wonder if I put too much olive oil in. I followed the recipe except for the stuff I didn't have on hand. A couple weeks ago I had the stuff on hand, but I didn't finally dig in until yesterday. I cooked those beans for 2 hours after an overnight soaking.
When I was six I received a dog stuffed animal for Valentine's Day. I named him Valentine. When I was 36 or so I decided to throw my stuffed animals away in the spirit of Feng Shui. I associated him with open heart surgery as I received him when I was in ICU. I thought if I threw him away that any residue from that time would leave. I regret throwing him away. He was a good stuffed animal. So, I told my twin this for a couple years, and I got the bug in her daughters' ears. For a belated Valentine's Day present they bought me Stella Heart. Isn't she beautiful! I just asked for the gift to be a girl and a dog. I thought up Stella Adriana, but my niece wanted to name her Heart. We both agreed on the wonderful name. She is full of good energy, and she sits on my sofa near my knitting stuff, guarding my Becoming Jane DVD.