Salt of the Earth

I was up before the Sun today.  Sat on my couch in the bow window, watching the sky brighten, the bricks in the buildings in the next block glow and gather intensity.

A thoughtful time.  Not really thinking; the pen in my soul that I put to such effective use for connecting dots - not really  in use.

So I went back to bed.  Sue me.

Later, comma, when I was really awake, the sun was bright in the sky. Good incentive to clean dishes, sweep the living room, sort laundry and generally  make myself useful to myself.

Indications are that yesterday at the Orchard saw yet a third day of post-Christmas insanity.  I'm not surprised by the energy - I am surprised by the attitude.  Maybe these are people who have had several days of frustration they want to work out - the folks in on the first day, Friday, knew walking in the door that things would be wild.

I'm sure there is research somewhere to back all of this up.  

They do a lot of research in education as well - I ran into an art teacher friend walking through the square today.  He told me that his high school was going through reaccreditation.  This is where schools get a chance to show how "on top" of the "latest trends" they are.  

It means a lot of committees, a lot of questions and a lot of either brutal honesty talking about things that need fixing or a lot of prevarication - i.e. lying, so you don't get tagged and your school gets accredited.

This comes from a conversation we had as I walked downtown to buy more kosher Salt.  I find a lot of uses for kosher salt - it makes a great crust on burgers and steaks, along with Montreal Rub.

It also does a great job cleaning frying pans.  You can heat a pan almost red-hot and as long as you have salt keeping things from smoking and burning, you can then scrape the pan clean.  This lets you season the metal again with cooking oil and gives it a dry, clean appearance.

I buy the Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in the big red box.  

This is in no way an endorsement, by the way.

You get it at Micucci's wholesale Italian Market, down on India Street, by the waterside.  They have all sorts of really wonderful professional level nibbles and tasty things.  I love to shop there, even though I can afford none - and know how to use even less - of their products.

Except for the Kosher Salt, of course.