This, my friends, is what the green curry with tofu Bento box at Japanica looks like. I have spoken of it so many times. Well, that's what it looked like today. The curry is always different depending, I suppose, on who's in the kitchen and what vegetables are on hand. More broccoli!
I took myself there after I got my Covid booster. I have been so far behind with my immunizations but a friend recently got shingles which reminded me that I absolutely must get that (those- there are two) shingles vaccines because I seriously do not want to mess with that shit. Now- what is the connection between the Covid booster and the shingles vax? Well, for whatever reason I have been feeling like I needed to get the Covid shot before I got started with the shingles shots and to tell you the truth, I don't think I ever got a flu shot last year and so there's that and so it had become a rather big deal in my mind. Just like when you know you need to dust the bookshelves but then you remember that before you do that, you need to go through and cull a bunch of them because you know you'll never read them again but you have to get boxes to put the ones in you're going to be donating or whatever and you have to figure out that part of the project and where should you get boxes? and then before you know it, you've completely decided to let the books marinate in their own dust and age because it's all JUST TOO MUCH!
Like that.
And besides, one has to plan for a day of not feeling well after getting a vaccination if one reacts to these things and I do, so that's got to be part of the situation. Also, an appointment must be made to get the shot at some locations and Publix is one of those and it's so close and handy I like to go there. But finally, yesterday, with my friend's encouragement, I made the dang appointment and went in today and got the booster.
Boy. That was a long story. Almost as long as I had to wait. That Publix pharmacy was busy as hell. But I was patient and had no deadlines of any kind and after it was over, I decided to go get lunch. And so I did.
I had a very nice conversation with a woman sitting at a table across from mine. She was about to leave and I had just gotten there and we talked about everything from how much we love Japanica, to little children (she has a niece she adores and I have grandchildren), and technology and real estate and how much Tallahassee is growing and expanding and so forth. She lives in Monticello so we're practically neighbors.
I really enjoyed that. After she left I read some NYT's articles on my phone while I ate my lunch and it was swell. I brought home half my curry and rice so there's lunch for tomorrow. Hurray!
And then I went to another Publix to do my actual grocery shopping and bought approximately one of everything in the store except for the things on BOGO in which case I bought two. Strawberries were on sale and they had some luscious looking rhubarb and I decided that it was time to make a strawberry, rhubarb pie and so I shall. I think that rhubarb may be more of a Yankee thing than a southern thing. I do not really know. I guess someone eats it because they sell it here. The only way I've ever eaten it is in a pie with strawberries and that was from when I was a little girl and my grandparents would take me and my brother to the Anchor restaurant in Sebastian for supper. My grandmother did not like to cook at all and frankly, she wasn't very good at it so when she'd tell my grandfather, "Let's go get a hamburg tonight," I was thrilled.
It was at the Anchor restaurant where I learned to love clam chowder and strawberry rhubarb pie.
Boy. I sure am wordy today.
I finished listening to Colson Whitehead's "Crook Manifesto" a few minutes ago and I am so very sad about that. It was one of those books...
I may start it at the beginning and listen again. Both "Harlem Shuffle" and "Crook Manifesto" have so very many characters in them that I find myself stopping the narrative and going back to make sure I know who's being discussed so it wouldn't be a waste of time to listen to the whole thing again. The characters are incredibly colorful, and they all play their own unique roles. I read Shuffle twice and I think that helped me remember who was who and what was going on better for Crook and I sure do hope that there's a third book cooking to make it a trilogy. The author may be bored with his characters but I'm sure not and I don't think he is either.
I have, at certain times in my life, written fan letters to authors and I am feeling like I want to write one to him. A few of the people I've written have written me back but that's not why I do it. Of course, it's thrilling when that happens but I really just want to tell them that the worlds they have created with their words have meant a great deal to me.
So that's my world today. The camellias are all blooming like I've never seen before and while I was sweeping the front porch in preparation for putting the plants back out there, I saw that my native buckeye is starting to leaf and bloom.
i got the shingles shot 1 and my covid booster at the same time right after i turned 50...... i think it's dumb our insurance won't cover the shingles series before that..... i hope you have minimal to no recovery time from any of the vaccines! xxalainaxx
ReplyDeleteI have to say that today's been rough. I've heard the shingles shots are serious in their reactions. And you got both shots at the same time and were fine? We're all so different.
DeleteI'm so glad you're catching up with vaccines. And yes, the shingles shots are vital. They also knocked me flatter than the first covid shot, back when the moderna dose was twice as big as the Pfizer. But do get them. That kind of reaction to the shot shows how awful the virus must be, if that's what it takes to protect you. Also RSV, if you can fit it into your shot schedule!
ReplyDeleteYes. I know. I should get the RSV too. I just react so strongly to these things that it seems ridiculous but I guess I'd be feeling a lot worse if I got the diseases.
DeleteOddly, I had zero reaction to rsv.
DeleteI have shunned all vaccines this year...no flu, no shingles, no covid (since first *one dose* 3 years ago). Am relying on my hygiene and immunity to take care of myself.......ugh...... but....rhubarb strawberry pie is dear to my heart....rarely make it but one of my faves. That Bento box looks delicious too! Hope you aren't too *punkish* after vaccines today...be gentle!
ReplyDeleteSusan M
I feel like unless you really do not go anywhere outside your home and yard, you're chance of exposure to something is pretty high. But definitely your body, your choice.
DeleteI did not make a pie today.
There is a buckeye growing at the old house planted and nurtured by my brother-in-law. For many winters he covered it to protect it from deer. It's over six or seven feet tall now, quite impressive. I always have been fascinated by their five leaves.
ReplyDeleteI first noticed a blooming buckeye in the woods and finally figured out what it had been and got one at a local nursery that sells a lot of native plants. This one is at least six feet now. But still spindly.
DeleteMy grandmother lived in Maine all her life and she was an excellent baker and cook. She grew her own rhubarb and strawberries as well as a large veggie garden, much like yours. Her strawberry rhubarb pie was outstanding and my very favorite pie. It combines sweet and tangy which I love.
ReplyDeleteIt absolutely does combine sweet and tangy in a perfect combination.
DeleteI read Harlem Shuffle twice too! But could only stomach Nickel Boys once :(
ReplyDelete"Nichol Boys" was hard, hard reading. Did you know that the school that book was based on is right up the road from where I live? Horrendous sins were committed there and no one batted an eye.
DeleteMary, it has been hectic here, but I do want to weigh in here. Forgiveness: if someone asks my forgiveness, I do forgive them. I am not perfect. I have needed forgiveness. It is my honor to be able to forgive. BUT.....your stepfather did not ask forgiveness. So you don't owe him anything. Your focus can be on yourself and your own healing.
ReplyDeleteOne last thought: I once had a man apologize to me and I was digesting his words for it was a big, big wrong. He swiftly reminded me that if I was a good Christian, my forgiveness was mandatory. Yeah. That was a pretty awful thing to say.
It is a sign of ...something...when someone asks for forgiveness but I think of all of the domestic abusers who apologize and beg forgiveness and then go right on back to doing what they always did with increasing frequency and fury.
DeleteI think the guy who told you your forgiveness was mandatory because you were Christian was completely full of shit and I would not have trusted his apology in the least.
Agreed. I was not thinking of actually still being in a situation that actually had you in the grasp of the apologist. And no. I didn't buy the apology either. Transactional Christianity. I hate it.
DeleteI love rhubarb and usually cook it with apples, sometimes I make a pie, most times I just serve the cooked fruit with warm vanilla custard. I once bought a jar of rhubarb and raspberry jam from a market stall and it was the best jam I ever tasted but I have never found any since no matter how often I go to that market. Your curry looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteRhubarb isn't an especially well-known commodity in this country, I think. Maybe, like I said, it's more popular in other parts of the country. I bet that raspberry and rhubarb jam is tremendous. Could you make some, maybe?
DeleteYes! The stalks do look like one of those bendy men. It sounds like you had a good day. That bento box looks so good. I need to try one of the local Japanese restaurants. I’ve been resistant since the super high-end Japanese meals we had in Sevilla. The first place was stunning. The dishes looked perfect... but they all tasted like Spanish food. The second place was just downright awful. Poor presentation, flavorless. International cuisine in Fuengirola tends to be much better, so I need to get over my fear after being burned twice.
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny- Japanese food that tastes like Spanish food. Well, I guess they were using local spices. You could give the Japanese food one more chance and if it's a bust too, well- three strikes you're out!
DeleteWe grow rhubarb in the garden, and it is just starting to shoot again. I like to make rhubarb crumble with it and will do some with strawberries in it too, though I shall have to buy those! Do you do " crumble" in US ?
ReplyDeleteYes. We do make crumble here. I wonder if it's similar to yours?
DeleteI use wholemeal flour 8oz ,butter 4oz and demerara sugar 3oz blasted into crumb like texture.. Put on top of sliced rhubarb with demerara sugar in it and microwaved on high for 15 mins. Yummy!
DeleteIn Scotland when I was a child we were given a stalk of rhubarb and a wee poke of sugar to dip it in and it was lovely. A fun fact I was told was that rhubarb was brought to Britain by the Romans to use as a spring tonic no idea if it's true but it seems too good a story to waste.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...rhubarb and sugar. Why not? I have no idea if the story about the Romans bringing it to Britain are true or not but you're right- it's a good story. And could very well be true.
DeleteDid you ever ‘catch’ a kidney stone and get it analyzed? Rhubarb is high in calcium oxalate, so I avoid it
ReplyDeleteNo. They blasted my last stone into smithereens.
Deletethere's a Japanese restaurant in Shopping Mecca half hour down the hwy that I've eaten lunch there several times. I love their bento boxes. I don't think I've ever eaten rhubarb but I made a very good strawberry galette once.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Joanne was making galettes! Was that when you made yours?
DeleteWhat writers have you written fan letters to? I've only done it once myself, at least that I can remember at the moment, and it was to Susanna Daniel, the author of a novel called "Stiltsville" about the families who inhabited a stilt-house community in Biscayne Bay. I thought that book captured Florida so well, and I told the author so and how much I liked the work overall. She told me she wasn't sure it would appeal to male readers (being a family drama) so she was glad to hear that. (This was all online, so not really a letter, I suppose.)
ReplyDeleteWell, I did write Yoko Ono a fan letter and she sent me back a note! But the authors I have written are Christopher Moore, Larry McMurtry, and another author whose name at this moment has escaped me as have the names of his novels. How sad is that? I wrote him and Moore via email and they both wrote back. McMurtry I wrote with pen and paper. He did not write back which is somehow better than if he had. I said what I wanted to say to him. He had already given me millions of words.
DeleteI read "Stiltsville." I don't remember much about it.
My BiL had shingles this past year and it was so awful and lasted so long for him. I am glad that I have had the shingles vaccines.
ReplyDeleteI have never written to an author but we did write to LeVar Burton when my kids were young as we loved Reading Rainbow. He sent an autographed photo which we cherished for years on the shelves with our family photos. It disappeared a few years back and I am not sure where it went...
Oh, bless LeVar Burton. He touched so many children's lives with positivity about reading.
DeleteMy grandmother used to make rubarb pies from rubarb she grew herself. I remember eating it but as an adult I don't care for it at all.
ReplyDeleteI recently got my two shingles shots myself at age 67. I have been luckly so far none of any vacine shots I have had including covid have ever given me any kind of reaction. I have elected so far not to get any booster covid shots, feeling a bit worried about any long term effects. I did have covid back in June 2022 but it was a very mild case and not any worse than feeling a bit sore in the joints and a small tempature rise for a couple of days.
We have a good sushi restarant here when I live that does good bento boxes that I always chose when I dine there. Not a big fan of sushi myself.