Oven dried tomatoes and Albert Schweitzer

Journal Entry: 10/11/2011 Reading Albert Schweitzer

This morning when J--- left for his rounds I decided to oven dry the huge pile of cherry tomatoes we have harvested the last few days. And I set about it: rewashing them, slicing them, harvesting basil (sweet and Thai) and parsley from the garden, chopping them along with garlic cloves and mixing them and some olive oil. This I poured into the bowl of sliced tomatoes. I added some dried oregano leaves from the garden, drained the mixture a bit then poured it onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I put them in the oven at 275 for 30 minutes, reduced it to 250 for 30 more and am now “roasting them” at 200 for 5 more hours before I cut the heat and let them sit in the oven overnight.

J--- returned, fussed about the imperfectly cleaned kitchen which he then cleaned.

With him back, I decided to postpone a planned furniture moving and opted instead to haul some more books upstairs.

So here I am reading one of them, an Albert Schweitzer anthology, edited by Charles R. Joy and published by the Beacon Press in 1947.

Here is a selection from the first chapter, “The Sanctuary of Thought,” which I thought of sending to L---. It’s titled ‘Historical Instinct.’

There are some who are historians by the grace of God, who from their mother’s womb have an instinctive feeling for the real. They follow through all the intricacy and confusion of reported fact the pathway of reality, like a stream which, despite the rocks that encumber its course and the windings of its valley, finds its way inevitably to the sea.

No erudition can supply the place of this historical instinct but erudition sometimes serves a useful purpose, inasmuch as it produces in its possessors the pleasing belief that they are historians, and thus secures their services for the cause of history. In truth they are at their best merely doing the preliminary spadework of history, collecting for a future historian the dry bones of fact, from which, with the aid of her natural gift, she can recall the past to life.
-- The Quest of the Historical Jesus, p 25, 1926].

Reading Albert Schweitzer gives me the feeling that I am stepping into neutral territory -- A sanctuary? -- where thought is free from the influences of belief, opinion and judgement.

Is that possible?

Yummy snack: Ginger snaps and goat cheese

I haven't had any Gluten Free Ginger Snaps from Trader Joe's for a very long time. The Nashville store is about 20 miles from my home so it's not that I can just pop in there any time I run out of one of my favorite products. I usually buy at least three bags. Imagine my disappointment when I made a recent trip there and found only one (1!) package on the shelf.

These cookies are good! I really think the almost empty shelf was in part a result of my profuse and gratis "word of mouth" advertising. They are sweet, crunchy and quite gingery! I'm hoarding them, of course. But right after I got home from the store I couldn't resist using some to make a fabulous new snack.

It's simple. I put the cookies on a little plate and topped them with a generous dollop of goat cheese which I bought at Franklin's Farmers' Market. I set this off with some thick banana slices. This combination of flavors and textures is lovely. I think it's a fairly healthy snack, too.

I still have some cookies left. But that goat cheese is gone! It's made by Noble Farms here in Middle Tennessee.

Neon orange chicken tacos

I don't remember what I asked my husband to get me at the grocery but instead of whatever it was he brought home "Sazon Goya con culantro y achiote." It comes in little foil pouches and can be used to season rice, soups and other things. The print on the packet says it gives dishes an exquisite flavor and "un precioso color."

I used a very small portion of one little packet to season the meat of two pieces of leftover baked chicken. After pulling the meat off the bones, I chopped and/or tore it up into pieces. I added a little water and Sazon Goya to the chicken and steamed it briefly in a covered sauce pan.

Voila! The mostly white meat chicken turned neon orange. It was delicious! I used it to make tacos. Here it is served with Kraft's Authentic Mexican cheese, sliced avocado and a liberal dousing of Pace Picante Sauce! (I had no tomatoes or lettuce.) By the way I use Ole soft corn tortillas and crisp them in the frying pan after lightly buttering one side.
Dancing couple at right is from CD cover for "Putumayo Presents Afro-Latin Party."