A load off my mind...

[alexpgp]

It was time to go visit the lawyer again today, and coming away from today's meeting, for the first time in my life, I have something a little more solid in place than a holographic will (an instrument many legal authorities feel is worth less than the paper an oral agreement is written on). Today's session reminded me a lot of a house closing, except that in today's case, no property changed hands (though the wallet is noticeably lighter).

Here's hoping nobody has to go read any of the documents Galina and I signed today, at least not for a good long time!

* * *I appear to have fallen into client prospecting mode lately, but I'm not chasing every will-o'-the-wisp that comes along. I still haven't heard anything from the New York agency that had expressed interest in establishing a relationship, nor have I signed a contract amendment with what used to be my best client that would effectively cut my rate by 25% without actually stating it that way.

Nevertheless, I've got a few irons in the fire.

* * *A slip of paper fell out of a pile of my late mother's documents, and it would appear to be an entire "document" unto itself. It appears to be a recipe of some kind, but there doesn't seem to be enough information there to actually end up with any product I can identify. Here's what it says:

2 cups flour
1/2 lb sweet butter
   chop
put 1/2 lb cottage cheese
cool + roll out
  pot cheese
  -strain
2 egg yolks with sugar
mix with pot cheese
put in stiff whites

I understand the part about combining the flour and butter, and eventually letting the mixture cool before rolling it out, but I'm confused about adding the cottage cheese. Wouldn't it make the result sort of lumpy?

And I understand mixing the pot cheese with egg yolks, but how might the result be combined with the stiff whites (presumably, of those same two eggs), and further, with the rolled out dough?

Then again, the question that I probably should have started with is: Does anyone have a notion of what end product these notes (upon further thought, one can't really call it a recipe) describe? Cheese Danish?

* * *A few days ago, LJ friend bdunbar posted an image from the Fire and Ice blog, of a poem by one Hamlin Garland that was found scrawled on the wall of a Marine combat observation post in the Helmand Valley of Afghanistan.

The poem is not long, but I found it to be a grabber.

Do you fear the force of the wind?
The slash of the rain?
Go face them and fight them,
Be savage again.
Go hungry and cold like the wolf,
   Go wade like the crane:
The palms of your hands will thicken,
The skin of your cheek will tan,
You'll grow ragged and weary and swarthy,
   But you'll walk like a man!

Folks are sometimes surprised that soldiers might take an interest in literature and poetry, but there you have it. Personally, I can tell you it's not that much of a leap.

Cheers...

Comments

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Regarding the recipe: I think it sounds like a cheese cake. Make a dough from the flour and butter by chopping the butter into the flour. Blend in the cottage cheese. Let it rest (I'm somewhat confused by the direction to 'cool,' though many flour recipes direct one to let the dough 'rest.')

Then strain the pot cheese (which is a product similar to cottage cheese) and then blend in the yolks which were first sweetened. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and blend them into the pot cheese mixture.

Create a dessert by layering the flour mixture into the bottom of a spring form pan and then pour in the pot cheese mixture. I would consult a cheese cake recipe to get an idea at which temperature it should be baked and for how long. The first cheesecake recipe I looked at suggested baking it at 325 degrees for 1.25 hours. But then again, I have no idea how big or thick that cake is. It is also quite possible that it would be advisable to bake the bottom layer first before adding in the filling.

Here is the reference, read this (from http://www.101cheesecakerecipes.com/):
# For crust: Generously butter 9-inch springform pan. Finely crush
cookies in processor, using on/off turns. Cut in butter until mixture
begins to gather together, using on/off turns. Press crumbs into bottom
of pan and up sides to 3/4 inch from top; there should be no cracks.
Refrigerate crust for at least 30 minutes.

#

# Beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a
time until just combined. Beat in chocolate mixture, then remaining 10
tablespoons cherry liquid and vanilla. Pour into crust. Bake until
outer 2 inches of cake are firm but center still moves slightly, about 1
1/4 hours (top may crack). Cool completely on rack. Top pan with paper
towels and cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate 1 to 2 days.