songbird's crazy world

A mysterious object, it passed by Earth in 1991. Its orbit will bring it back to our little corner of space in the summer of 2017. Scientists don't know what this object is.  The mysterious object, which is approximately 32 feet wide, was in a heliocentric orbit remarkably similar to that of Earth. It doesn't act like a typical asteroid or comet.  And scientists do not think it's a piece of our "space junk". Who knows, maybe it's an alien probe.  We don't really know who else is out there, do we?

When I was a child, my mother kept a kosher house.  Not that my parents are particularly religious, but my grandmother would never have eaten a meal in my mother's house if the food wasn't kosher.  Shellfish and pork  products never made an appearance on my mother's table. We did eat non-kosher foods when we weren't at home, of course.  But while my parents would sometimes order shrimp or clams, shellfish wasn't a big draw for us. So I managed to live well into adulthood before I ever encountered a raw oyster. It was Christmas time, and I was at a business lunch at a very nice NYC restaurant.  We'd all ordered steaks, and our host ordered a variety of shellfish to be shared among the guests.  Including raw oysters. I'm always eager to try new foods (within reason), so when I was encouraged to take an oyster, I did.  I looked at the oyster.  It seemed innocuous enough.  They told me "You eat the oyster whole.  Just lift it up ...

How could I not include the Stones?

There's a bit of space junk headed towards Earth. It will enter the atmosphere on November 13 and hit the Indian Ocean. Little is known about this piece of junk, except that it is most definitely man-made. Until recently it was orbiting beyond the moon. Now it's headed here. It's been labeled ‘WT1190F’. Hence the nickname, WTF.

Vegetarian.   Kosher.  Shelf stable. It's Wild Garden hummus. I'd never heard of Wild Garden until I spotted a Snack Pack To Go in the supermarket. Had to try it, of course.  I bought two varieties, traditional hummus with pita chips and traditional hummus with veggie chips. When you open the box you find a bag of chips and a tube ... yes, a squeeze tube ... of hummus. Both containers are very portable and easy to open. The pita chips were crisp and flavorful.  But then, it's easy to do chips. The hummus?  A thick paste, thicker than traditional refrigerated brands.  A bit bland, could have used more garlic. It's shelf stable, but must be refrigerated after opening. You squeeze a ribbon of hummus onto a chip and you're all set.  I ran out of hummus before I ran out of chips, which was disappointing. Overall it was a satisfying snack in convenient packaging.  Certainly worth buying again.

You know I love a good diner. We recently found ourselves in Staten Island, and wound up at Mike's Unicorn Diner for a late lunch/early dinner. We were a large group, and called ahead to make sure we could be accommodated. The table was ready when we arrived. Service was friendly and efficient. Food was hot and fresh, portions were generous. I was pleased with the variety of the menu, lots of options available. I really enjoyed the sautéed mushrooms and onions on my burger. I don't visit Staten Island often, but it's nice to know I can get a decent burger or sandwich when I'm there.  - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad