I finished our latest book club venture, The Sheltering Sky. Wow, what a disturbing book. I loved it and thought it was excellent, but it was very disquieting. Next up is the latest Stephen King novel, Duma Key. Reader Lisa has already started it--no spoilers, Lisa! When you're done and I'm done, perhaps we'll discuss, but until then, let's keep it on the down-low.
For whatever reason, this past week I had a craving for taco salad, the cold kind. I like the hot kind, too, with melted cheese and all that good stuff, but sometimes I want the cold kind, with non-melted cheese, kidney beans, and Catalina dressing. Does anyone else eat this? I've seen recipes for it in various cookbooks, so it can't be too much of a local recipe!
This week, Dr. Will talked about one of my Top Five TV shows, "The Dick Van Dyke Show." I'll give you my take on it from a purely entertainment viewpoint, and then you can watch Dr. Will's psychological take on it. I love the show because there is SO much goofy humor in it. Dick Van Dyke was very much a physical comedian, but he had such a sweetness about him, too. I'm not sure why I'm speaking of him in the past tense--he's not dead. But you don't hear much about him lately, and his physical humor days are past him, I believe. Didn't you just love it when they would do a charity show, and everyone would get together at Rob and Laura's to rehearse? It was New York suburbia in the '60's, in the entertainment industry world. What fun stuff for a kid from the Midwest! As people in the entertainment industry, you'd expect a certain amount of sophistication, and while there was a little of that there, mostly they were just regular people with regular friends, and plenty of quirks. I still love watching the show when I happen to catch an episode, and it still makes me laugh. My favorite episode was the one where Laura's curiosity gets the better of her, and she opens a package--addressed to Rob--that contains an inflatable raft. It's a great show. And now, here's Dr. Will's wise words about the show, and what we can learn from it:
8 comments:
Beth:
I think I'm going to read Duma Key next. Steve and I both have other books going so we'll see who gets finished first!
Your taco salad recipe sounds interesting. I have a very simple taco salad dish that we eat both hot and cold. We usually make it a hot meal first, and then have it cold for leftovers. It has layers starting with refried beans (pinto or black), lettuce, browned ground seasoned turkey (simple taco seasoning), and shredded cheese. Steve goes "au naturale" and I like mine with lots of chunky salsa and seasoned rice vinegar. Steve often forgoes the lettuce for leftovers and just makes a burrito. Salsa is a staple in our house. We are rarely without tortillas either- though I grew up calling them burrito skins.
We cooked a fabulous rib eye roast on the rotisserie last weekend. We also had horseradish (another staple) mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. We just finished up the leftovers last night. Yum! Your menu entries are inspiring me to branch out a bit and get out of the regular routine.
TTFN
i am really not the type to spoil a book for someone else so no worries there.
I have not had taco salad in ages...i can not process lettuce so i guess it is a no no. You and Ken always eat the most interesting things though.
I never watched one episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
HUGS, lisa
"Burrito skins..." <SNORT!> I love that!
Oh man, you're making me hungry! I'm glad you're enjoying finding new recipes, though. It's fun to try new things, isn't it? I don't get TOO crazy, because I know what both of us like and more importantly, dislike. But if I see something that I think will appeal to both of our tastes, I love to give it a try.
Perhaps we can start a "mini-book club" here to discuss Duma Key! Oh, maybe not, because Ken reads this often, and I don't want to spoil it for him, or anyone else, for that matter.
Love to Steve, and I hope he's feeling better!
{{Hugs}}
Beth
Lisa, you don't have to put lettuce on a taco salad! If there's something you don't like in a recipe, leave it out, by all means...I do it all the time. And you're right...we do tend to eat some interesting things! Not so much at home, but when we're on vacation, it's pretty much anything goes. I first ate raw oysters in New Orleans, and sushi in San Francisco. I don't serve much of that at home, though. :)
And get thee to Nick at Nite or TV Land, woman! You've never watched "The Dick Van Dyke Show?" ACK! There will come a day when you're flipping channels, and you'll come across an episode, and you'll stop and watch it, and then you'll have to drop me an email and tell me what you think. It's a classic!
Hugs!
Beth
KennyPig says Taco salad good :o)
Who is this Dr. Will person? I do not agree with him at all about the Dick Van Dyke Show. He tripped over the ottoman cause it is called humour. It makes people laugh. That is why they called it a comedy show. I prefer to think that I love shows like this cause they are fun and they make me laugh. I really can't see that there would be any hidden psychological meanings in any of it. Just pure entertainment and fun at face value. I could also add Lucy and Carol Burnett to this list. What fun those shows were. There is not nearly enough laughter in our lives these days and I do not mean polite little "tee hees". I mean gut splitting belly laughter, laughing till there are tears in the eyes. What a gift.
Beth who wrote "The Sheltering Sky"? Sounds like something I would find interesting. As for King's books I'm behind, I just started reading Blaze, I've already ready Lisey's story. The Taco Salad sounded good...(Hugs) Indigo
The Sheltering Sky was written by Paul Bowles, who spent many years living in Africa, so I think this descriptions were very accurate. It was a disturbing read, but I really enjoyed it. My fellow book clubbers are not as enthusiastic!
Beth
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