I guess you’ll find out sooner or later. I’m one of those strange right-brain-heavy listmaker types. Not one creative bone in my body. I guess instead of the poor, undeveloped genes for creativity copying themselves for my children, they just jumped ship, because my children are writers, musicians and artists all.

It’s not a bad life, though, the ultra-examined pragmatist’s. I have an absurd illusion of control despite all the curveballs parenthood brings. I have a security blanket in my computer and iCal. Even if my computer crashes (perish the thought) I can carry on with a piece of paper and a ruler. I thought I would keel over dead when my Palm Pilot crashed and finances didn’t permit its resurrection. But, I just dragged out the old three-ring binder and life went on.

This at least partly explains my comfort with this new (old) foodstyle. Soak stuff overnight? Ferment something 3 days? Separate milk and cream at room temperature for 24 hours? No problem! If it can go on a calendar grid, I can get it done. I am really enjoying how quickly meals get prepared when I follow recipes from NT. Yeah, it takes a little planning, a little forethought and a trustworthy shopping list, but at mealtime, it’s just bing-bing-bing to the table. My legs aren’t happy with me when I stand for more than 30 minutes in one place, so these quickly made meals are a real blessing for me. Breaking the jobs down into ten-minute chunks to be accomplished when the body is cooperating is something I don’t find in a lot of cookbooks.

Today’s chunks: The chicken stock is done and ready to put away. I need to get the black beans soaking for Mexican night later this week. I want to make a few phone calls to find soup bones. Not one grocery store in our area carries soup bones anymore. There are some around the Fourth of July, I’m told, when the steaks are cut for barbeques. We even have a butcher nearby, and all his meat arrives boneless. Wow. I guess the job of butcher has changed significantly since I was a kid. I had an easier time finding raw milk than I’m having finding soup bones!

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