Interlude

Since we're on the topic of New Orleans, I just had to pass along a great recipe for Vegetarian Jambalaya I found. Simple and tasty.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup chopped green pepper
* 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup uncooked rice
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 6 tablespoons sour cream (the truly crucial ingredient)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large nonstick skillet saute the onion, celery, green pepper, mushrooms
and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the water, tomatoes, rice, soy sauce,
parsley, salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder and pepper.
2. Transfer to a 2-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover
and bake at 350 degrees until rice is tender (use the length advised on the
package as a guide) and the liquid is absorbed. Top each serving with a
generous dollop of sour cream.

(taken from AllRecipes and slightly altered)

Enjoy!

The Big Easy

I've just returned from Chip's bachelor party in New Orleans and, as promised, this is my blog post about it--although one notably without pictures. My camera was lost to the bayou, never to be found again.

First off, it's probably worth stating that it was not technically a bachelor party. Chip was married in St. Thomas (or some Caribbean Island or another) several months ago and had a corresponding, legally binding marriage in the States sometime shortly thereafter. He's going to have a proper, invite-all-my-friends-and-family-wedding in September of which I am lucky enough to be a part.

So this bachelor party had a slightly different feel, and that, perhaps coupled with the fact that we're all getting a little bit older, made for it being a bit more tame than four nights with your closest friends in New Orleans might suggest.

There was a fan boat tour, a lot of jazz music at bars and such, a healthy dose of Bourbon Street, and some beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, which everyone says is a must.

More interesting to me, and I assume to you, was exactly what kind of condition New Orleans was in. The French Quarter, being the major driver in New Orleans tourist based economy, was perfect on the surface. If you managed to walk a bit away from Bourbon Street the view changed. The only part of some buildings that still stood was the facade--or perhaps that was the only part that wasn't demolished. The number of vacant houses and offices in the French Quarter, again away from Bourbon Street, was surprising. Even on Bourbon Street, only the first floor of most buildings was rented. The second and third floors were empty.

We'll consider this Part I. Look for future installments soon!

The Harvard Divinity Ball

Last night Irene and I went to a Black Tie fundraiser at the Faculty Club at Harvard. All of the proceeds went to Response, Inc., which assists local battered women. Those canny Divinity students managed to raise $5,300 dollars, which I thought was pretty good. The only downside was that the ball was, errr, a swing dance party. And, as it turns, some of those Harvard students can really swing dance...

And I can't. But I have pictures!



Irene got me the white jacket and bow tie at a thrift store. Class all the way! You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Milk Confusion

Did you know that I spent my entire life thinking that 2% milk was healthier than 1% milk? Did we used to drink 2% at home?

Celebrities

Part of living in the Boston area is having to deal with Harvard. There's a lot of great things, like beautiful graduate students who can become your girlfriend, and a lot of not so great things, like boatloads of over privileged undergrads.

Another one of the positives is that there are a lot of great speakers who come around. In the last few weeks I've seen Gordon Wood, a prominent Revolutionary historian, Jeffrey Sachs, an internationally renowned economist, and just yesterday, Chuck Hagel, Republican Senator from Nebraska.

Hey, they're celebrities to me. The unfortunate part is that when they come around, they're usually hawking books ... which can be of dubious quality. I guess nobody bats 1000%.

For a little color, here's a picture from behind my house.



Also, I think the commenting might be fixed. Why don't you give it a try?

Rosetta Stone

One interesting thing about enrolling at a school of International Relations like the Fletcher School is that, well, they expect certain things. International-ly things. Like for their students to be able to speak a foreign language--preferably by the time classes begin.

Accordingly, I've recently become the proud owner of the Rosetta Stone software (you may recall the Rosetta Stone company from kiosks in the mall). The software takes an interesting approach. The idea is to reproduce the way we learn most effectively; specifically, the way we learn as children. There's a lot of matching spoken words with pictures and the like. I'll update you on the results.

You'll also be interested to note that before I bought the Rosetta Stone software I tried to use an old CD from the Learning Company called "Speaking Spanish" that you bought for me years ago. Unfortunately the software is so old my computer can't read it. There was an accompanying booklet that I've been using, however.

Todo que fue viejo es nuevo de nuevo.

Irene's Health

Thanks for asking about Irene--she's doing fine. She's been forbidden from exercising, ordered to eat meat and take a daily pill of iron sulfate, but she's fine.

She's obviously very disappointed about not being able to run in the marathon. And, all of the sudden not being able to exercise (except for "light stretching") is driving her a bit batty. But if she sticks to the regiment she'll be fine.

Also, I got an invitation to Dave Webster's wedding today. It's going to be in Baltimore on June 7th. And to a South Carroll girl (Courtney Anne)! Who'd have thought it...