Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Of door curtains, cabbages, cats, beads and other such things

I didn't include a picture of the door curtain yesterday, because by the time I thought of it, the light was too low for my modest camera equipment and ability.

However today is another day, or Day, and I'm busily doing whatever keeps me going.

I started with a chair yoga stretching session on YouTube, really good choice for today. I found how tense I was, and felt a lot better after the stretches. And I wondered about cooking something new.

I found a flatbread recipe, oil, flour, water, kneading, resting, rolling, and thought that might be good, best to stuff with something, but what? And while I was mulling about that I found a great cabbage recipe.

So I switched to that, for lunch.


I added in baharat because it seems to be good with cabbage. The recipe didn't specify salt so I went with that because maybe it would be fine.


That flour, Aurora Mills stoneground whole-wheat, from Maine, is expensive and worth it. I've made my best bread with it, so I'll see how it works with the flatbread.

Here's the YouTube source of the cabbage caper


Picture is of recipe cooked in Teflon, mine came out a bit different in castiron



Here's the second part, after I had to tip it out onto a plate then invert it to finish cooking. After the turning over is when the cheese is added. Then you cover it and cook a few minutes more.

As you see, the cheese is overdone but the inside cooked nicely. I think a lower heat next time. It would be prettier but probably wouldn't taste much different.


Lunch is served. Next time I will also add salt. It does need it. In fact I might saute the onions ahead with salt, while starting the cabbage, eggs and flour, then stir them in.

Anyway it's pretty good.

I also realized ah, here's what I can stuff that flatbread with. There's plenty, so maybe a couple of lunches. Which may be comfort food or victory food, depending on the next few days. Cabbage wraps. I might add in pickled beets. Or maybe on the side.

Cabbage usually gives me really psychedelic dreams, colors not on the spectrum, adventure narratives, last time involving white horses, so we'll see what tonight brings.

And about door curtains, finally I'm getting to the door curtains.  They're like this, at least mine are

Closed
Open

Not to be confused with portieres, which replace doors. Read on.

Here's an Indian wedding sari, a gift

An Indonesian artisan handwoven fringed length, a fair trade piece originally cream, which I dyed with I think onionskin dyes

And a purpose-made Japanese one, hand embroidered both sides in sashiko stitching. These are used in shop doorways to deter flies while being easy to stroll through, because of the divide. From a friend who got it in Japan, and I can't remember the correct Japanese name.


I expect you could have portieres that didn't originate in Asia, but I don't seem to have any that didn't. Funny, because Victorians were mad for them, making them of big handmade paper beads. I used to make paper beads, but not portieres of them. Because cats.

Why tear off doors? Two words: worktops, cats. When cats can come and go in closets without being shut in, needing rescue when you finally find them, or needing the door opened yet again, firm (loud)  requests on this point, you see the benefits of the portiere. The other word, worktops, is what happens to the doors. They end up in the studio with work all over them, cheap and sturdy.

I think I'll spin now.

12 comments:

  1. I should rig a door curtain up for my front door for the winter as the house has shifted and the door lets in a big draft of cold air. I usually thumbtack a blanket up but the curtain is so much better looking. and I have two saris that a friend brought me back from India decades ago that I have never done anything with. right now I use a shower curtain for one closet. think I'll switch it out for one of the saris.

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    1. Then my living has not been in vain! I'm very glad you will use the idea. The felt is a terrific, cheap, draftproofer. And two of the others are nice to look at, both opposite my bed. The Japanese one is in the second bathroom door, the inner door that opens to the bedroom.

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    2. love the door curtains! Not all houses come equipped with doors, and some that do, frankly, could do with less. We have a gifted 12 light front door (yes there is such a thing) that a family friend unloaded on us. It was, he said, part of a set, and all i could see was loretta Young sweeeeping through those doors at the beginning of each of her TV shows.
      When we rebuilt the front door frame, I told my husband I wanted that as the storm door. he thought i was insane. We have a regular wood door for blizzards and such, but it's rarely used.
      I insisted, and the door now stays open all year round, letting in an amazing amount of light. In the summer I have a light curtain to keep the heat/sun out, and in the winter I have a small sandbag effect across the bottom, and the same curtain to keep the cold out.

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  2. I made a huge vegetable and venison soup tonight and wished I had cabbage. I added frozen spinach instead which will do but not as well.

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  3. Great idea for the door, keeping everything cozy. The winter curtain looks good.

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    1. It certainly makes a difference. The draft proofing is good -- if you slip your hand behind the curtain, the air is significantly colder between curtain and door than the room temp.

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  4. Love that red door curtain!

    That cabbage pie looks wonderful! Sleep well despite all, and if you dream, may they be interesting cabbage-induced dreams!

    Breathing here in Boise,
    Chris

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    1. This might be a good night for psychedelic dreams.

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  5. There was some apartment I visited as child -- don't remember any details -- and it had a doorway of beads. I have always wanted a doorway of beads.

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  6. We put up a double-layer of relatively heavy curtains last winter to pull over our door leading to the patio. Poor Resident Chef was sitting in direct line of the east-wind induced gale force wind around the ill-fitting door. This year he bestirred himself to add new weather-stripping and hopefully between the two he'll be warmer this winter.
    I love cabbage so that recipe might be a 'to-try' on our list.

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