Well, as promised, just a lovely lemon dressing recipe for you to try next time you need a quick and easy dressing for almost any kind of salad containing a combination of greens. With perhaps a few curls of Parmesan cheese to make for a perfect combination of flavors.

I found this recipe on the liveeatlearn.com cooking site. And although I was skeptical about using lemon juice and red wine vinegar together, it made for just a delicious and well-balanced salad dressing. (If only I were as well-balanced! A problem I freely admit to and write about at the bottom of this preface.)

So, next time you need an easy and affordable dressing for your salad, give this recipe a try. You will not believe how good it is.

Well, that’s it for today. Mr. C. is at a rehearsal in Port Townsend. One cat (Max) is performing his daily ablution in the cat bed on Andy’s desk. While the other one is sleeping in the cat bed in front of the fireplace. The fireplace isn’t on (it’s propane), but Miles hasn’t quite figured that out. Unless of course, it’s a not-so-subtle hint for me to turn on the fire thus saving him frostbite. Both boys can be so dramatic when given even the slightest provocation. (I wonder where they get that?)

Anyway, I’m having a quiet day working up yet another recipe for chicken pot pie.

It seems like all I have been craving lately is comfort food. And I bet I’m not alone. Because the world is not a very pretty place right now. And food can provide that little bit of comfort that we all need at one time or another. And I need an abundance of any kind of comfort right now!

I have always been an avid newspaper reader and news hound. But I can hardly stand to read our local Seattle paper because of all the stories about yet another shooting, war reports, in-fighting happening on the political scene, and now all the antisemitic and anti-Palestinian behavior taking place around the world.

I can’t even begin to understand how anyone can find fault with or act against a Jewish or Palestinian person who lives in Seattle, for example. Do these prejudiced idiots really believe that a 10-year-old child is making the decision to bomb innocent people? Or any person, for that matter, who is not themselves calling the shots? (So, to speak!)

But somehow, these militants believe they have the right and the moral high ground to call people different than themselves names, make threats, and cause physical harm. How have we managed to instill so much hate in some of our citizens? And why have we, as a society, failed to learn from history? Taken the hard lessons our ancestors learned at great expense and apply them to what’s happening today. Why can’t we inculcate compassion as the framework for civility, rather than fostering hate?

I know, I do get worked up about what I deem horrific behavior. But at some point, we should all take a stand and say how we feel. We should never be made to feel that we can’t express ourselves, or the guys in black hats are going to win. They might win anyway, but at least we will have had our say. Thanks for listening. And happy cooking.

Peace and love and understanding to all.

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. fresh lemon juice 

1 T. red wine vinegar

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper  

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Whisk or shake all the ingredients together. Set aside or refrigerate until needed.

Great over plain salad greens with a curl or two of Parmesan for garnish.