An eventful day

Michelle is on the left; Rachael on the right, in Chicago, Labor Day.

Dear friends and Family,

Rachael came today to look over my film books; I collected these in the '70s, when I was writing about film and teaching classes—not just about Shakespeare films. I have a large collection of books on theory, descriptions of films, catalogs of collections, etc. Rachael went through these somewhat mystified I think, especially by all the film scripts I have, but she chose about half, which she tucked into two shelves of a glass-front bookcase. The rest will be for Rebecca, our bookseller cousin, if she wants them. Today Rachael's twin sister Michelle will look at the art books and make choices for both of them for the apartment they hope to find in March.

Rachael is an expert preparer of leeks, because she makes the Thanksgiving dish traditional in her family, so I got a tutorial as we made a supper dish together. Usually I don't stick very close to a recipe but working with her I changed this recipe from the Wed. NYT only modestly. Here is our version of Fried Rice:

I had Merwin buy a quart of prepared Jasmine rice from a Chinese restauraant. The recipe suggested that the rice had to be prepared ahead so it would be dry rather than wet.

Prepare 2 T minced garlic (I'd do 4 if I made this again)
and 2 T minced fresh ginger (ditto)
Fry until crisp in peanut oil, and drain on paper towel and reserve for topping

I cut up about 10 oz of mushrooms into a small mince and sauteed them, then drained them over a strainer. Reserve for topping.

Prepare a bunch of leeks by cutting off the unusable ends, leaving only the white and pale green stalk portions. Cut each stalk in half vertically so as to clean them thoroughly and wash under running water to work out any dirt. I always thought this was the tricky part but it's actually quite easy. Dry on towels and slice into half rings about 1/2 " thick. Saute the dried leeks in hot peanut oil until quite soft.

Add the rice, and heat through.

In another pan, soft scramble 4-5 large eggs in peanut oil and add to leek-rice mix.

Serve portions with condiments to be added by each person: the crisp garlic/ginger, the mushrooms, a drop or two of sesame oil, and a drop or 2 of light soy sauce.

We all liked it.

Lincoln was able to join us for dinner, which was a treat. Rachael had to get a train back to NYC before 7, so he had to leave work early to have dinner with us. He then stayed through the evening. He helped me with some computer things and chatted about the furry conference he had just attended. Lots of people had put videos up on Facebook, and he was finding himself in his fox costume in lots of them. 4000 people attended this conference in San Jose!

Part of my day was spent thinking about the Columbia University Shakespeare Seminar (I am a board member). A scheduled speaker for March dropped out, and I suggested to the chairs that I read the paper that had recently been accepted for publication but which I have to adjust somewhat to answer the readers' reservations. I heard last night that the CSS board decided to invite me "enthusiastically." The talk will give me an opportunity to clarify some points and get feedback from some very bright people. I am happy about that. A little doubt creeps in and gets squished: will I be able to read aloud a long paper? I follow my usual path: I plan for the best outcome, enjoy the anticipation, and then if plans have to be changed, I deal with it. Every step has to be savored. I am just sorry that John Mosedale, one of my special Hamlet buddies in the seminar, probably won't be with us. He is very ill.

Oh, there are so many other things I could write about, but there will be more later . . . .


Love to all,
Bernice