Crashing computers

Soon I will face the acid test of repairing a computer: data recovery. That wonderful shiny stack of never used CDs should contain data. Why don't they? What on earth was I doing, or more appropriately, not doing? The external hard drive most certainly does contain data; the question is what data? Did I back up the truly crucial files as I think I did? Or not?

Wednesday, ten months after I sent in the application, my copyright certificate arrived for a design that my heart is totally engaged in and that I spent many, many hours working on. I hope I have a back-up file! It is difficult to believe that I don't have a CD, boldly labeled--in purple ink--with the name of this design.

I will also be looking at online services for bookmarks and file sharing although I have not been interested in them before. Fortunately, I had never figured out how to reconfigure my web-based email to put it on my computer. A year's worth of email at least, is still there. I can access with the lap top and simply pick up where I left off.

On a lighter note I have discovered that one-half cup of yogurt cheese, about 1 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa, a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and a small amount of powdered sugar makes a smooth substitute for chocolate mousse, which I no longer make because the eggsco can't be cooked long enough to ensure that they are safe.

Fall is coming

Fall is my favorite time of the year. The shortening days mean an end to the languid schedule of summer, the crisp air has a freshness to it that summer smog can never match and cooler weather means that it is time to turn indoors and make soups and stews and bake bread. Thanksgiving and Christmas are nearing and I love these holidays. At the same time this is a difficult season for as the weather cools, my arthritis flares and as the holidays approach my situation of disability and home boundedness is intensified. It becomes more difficult to look outside my boundaries and
be concerned about the needs of others.

In addition, my computer crash makes me even more self-centered. The computer is my lifeline in so many ways. I shop, including for groceries via the internet. I set up appointments with clients and friends through email. I manage a Yahoo group and two small businesses. I even make doctor's appointments over the Internet and ask tech support questions online. I am helpless and hopeless if I am not connected. I blog and read other blogs. Sounds like a computer addict. Being without the computer (until this laptop came home and I began to be more comfortable using it) made me stop and see my environment.

On the other hand, there is the information recovery project of using a different computer and that will go on when the big computer returns in another day or two. I have always meant to record user name and password data off the computer. I did list the old doc file, but that was several months ago and now I find that some of the more recent accounts aren't there. Back-up this information to a notebook. I have a pretty journal, handmade by a friend that will be used for this purpose from now on.

In another day or two, I will find out what I really did back up from the old hard drive. Backing up--no more need be said!

Last night I discovered another great use fore yogurt cheese. Stirred into the reduction of the pan drippings from my chicken strips and green beans, it made a stroganoff like sauce and was delicious. (I have also been using balsamic vinegar in place of soy sauce for quite some time in my "stir frys" so that reduces the salt in my cooking, makes for one less bottle to store and gets the soy out of my diet, since I cannot eat soy.

Another thing to do with Yogurt Cheese

Today I needed to make lunch quickly because I was behind schedule, hungry and expecting my friend T, who visits me on Monday afternoons.

The refrigerator contained whole wheat tortillas, yogurt cheese, applesauce (homemade by L and sugar-free) as well as baby greens labeled "spring mix" from Trader Joe's. These combined into one of the most delicious, simple things I have ever made and eaten. A high recommend.

Yogurt Cheese and the movie Witness

After pouring the whey off the first batch of yogurt cheese, I felt wasteful. The whey isn't bad, it is just wet. Tooling around on the Internet, I discovered that the whey can be used in making soup (which I had guessed would be a use) and also in baking bread.

While it is actually chilly enough at the moment to consider soup where I live, using the whey in baking seemed more attractive. Actually, I decided to use it in buckwheat pancakes. The buckwheat pancakes begin as a mix from a local grocery store, Piazza's in Palo Alto. The brand is Bob's Red Mill, which can be found on the Internet,

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

The mix requires an egg, two tablespoons of oil (I substitute two tablespoons of melted butter) and water to the consistency that the maker wishes. The whey made a perfect substitute for water, increasing the protein in the pancakes. In addition, the pancakes rose more than I have ever seen them rise and were delicious. I will do this again. Soon.

After making these yummy pancakes for lunch, I settled down to knit a bit and discovered the movie, Witness, on tv. This is one of the most beautiful movies of all time. I have always been intrigued by the uses of work sequences in a way that was reminiscent of musicals and certainly looked choreographed. The rhythm of the movement is dance like. The movie is restrained and elegant, showing the beauty of the Amish way of life and of farm living like no other that I am familiar with. The love story is delicate, sensitive and poignant.An outstanding movie and a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

More about Yogurt Cheese

At the beginning of the summer my neighbor and good friend L dropped by one Sunday with delicious things called Bolanis and the sauces to go with them. They were from an Afghan vendor at our local Farmers' Market. The Bolanis were rather like flour tortillas and filled with spinach. The first "sauce" was yogurt cheese flavored with mint and garlic. The second was cilantro pesto. I have long felt that I did not like cilantro, but decided it would be rude to say so. I found this delicious.

The next time L went to the Farmers' Market I asked her to bring me some more of this delicious Afghan food. I have now tried the pumpkin bolani--my favorite, and the potato and onion bolani, which I think would taste better warmed. In addition to the yogurt cheese and cilantro pesto, I have also sampled the eggplant sauce. The eggplant would be delicious on pasta. I have a jar of the sweet and sour carrot on the end of my counter waiting to try. For more about Bolani and Sauce, here is the link,

http://www.bolaniandsauce.com/

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Yogurt cheese is so simple to make and so good that I will be making it regularly. Tonight I had it with shredded Parmesan added to it. (Trader Joe's shredded Parmesan, to be precise.) Tomorrow I will make a new batch.

I will probably try making some variation of cilantro pesto, too. Bolani and Sauce will most definitely still have my business, but since I cannot go to the Farmer's Market myself, and because I have a limited income, I will also experiment with making some of my own variations.

Now I am interested in Afghan food and will find someone in the neighborhood who goes to the library to check out an Afghani cookbook. The story of the family who are taking their traditional food to the Farmer's Market is an American dream story come true and I admire them.

If you are interested in making yogurt cheese, another link is to King Arthur Flour for the yogurt cheese maker. This is another family owned business, one that goes back to the American Revolutionary War as one of the oldest flour mills in America. It is one of my favorite businesses. Here is the link to the yogurt cheese maker

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/landing.jsp?term=yogurt+cheese+maker&go=DefaultSearch&stype=product

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Yogurt Cheese

So far I have eaten it plain on a cracker, plain on strawberries and mushed with peanut butter or avocado on wonderful dense European style bread from Trader Joe's. It is my newest delight and my newest obsession.

For years I have wanted to buy a yogurt cheese maker and after eating delicious things from Bolani and Sauce, a business that sells at local Farmer's markets, I finally broke down and bought one. It is simplicity itself. Put the yogurt in, put the lid on, place in fridge and the next day--yogurt cheese. What to do with the whey will be next.

I will try to remember to post about Bolani and Sauce tomorrow.