omnibus, miscellany, &c.

Pantry soups are named because they use staples you probably already have, but I use the term to encompass ways of cleaning out the pantry of odds and ends…. Add a couple of ripe tomatoes crushed or a 15oz can of your favorite canned tomatoes, with some dried basil/oregano/whatever you like and a 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.

  • Got my enormous enlarger installed and working, near enough. It throws a 16×20 image from a 4×5 negative which is a bit startling to see. Scored an enlarger bulb and an unopened pack of 8×10 paper from Jim’s Cameras. He has a lot of papers in there, few of which I have heard of. I’ll have to do some research. Now to sweep out the sawdust, clean up the room itself, finishing the light-proofing, and see if I can pull a print. I suspect some alightment issues may loom, but I’m thinking positively about it all. The enlarger is older than I am and arguably better-built.
  • Made good “pantry soup” last night. Pantry soups are named because they use staples you probably already have, but I use the term to encompass ways of cleaning out the pantry of odds and ends. And you can make it without soaking beans overnight, something I can never remember to do. Pour a quart of boiling water over 1 cup of cannellini beans. Leave them for an hour. Crush 8 cloves of garlic, cook slowly in some oil, add some chopped fresh or dried rosemary until fragrant and golden. Add the drained beans and 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour. Add a couple of ripe tomatoes crushed or a 15oz can of your favorite canned tomatoes, with some dried basil/oregano/whatever you like and a 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. Heat through. Fish out that partial bag of pasta (fusilli, orzo, your choice) you have left over from something you made and add it. When the pasta is done to your liking, season and serve. Even better the next day, if it lasts that long.
  • Installed FreeBSD 7 on the laptop I have been working on. Took maybe half an hour. Sometimes the ugly ASCII art interface is the way to go. I didn’t get to use ZFS as it isn’t obvious on the installer screens. I’ll look at it more closely later.
  • And tomorrow to Pacific Northwest Ballet to see the Nutcracker: we know three of the performers, all 10 year olds, and one of them is in tomorrow’s performance.

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