Oh Lord! What Fools These Mortals Be
A couple of months ago or so I read something in one of the nation's most influential newspapers. It was written by a very, very stupid woman. So stupid, in fact, that we'll neither mention the newspaper or the woman by name. To Liz, it brought to mind instantly what Albert Einstein wrote: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." As we sipped the Margaritas A.J. had made, I read the article to everybody. Basically, this woman was talking about a song that Mick Jagger had just come out with, apparently condemning La Rice for being a hypocrite. La Rice? You know, Condoleezza Rice, or as we know her, Condosleazza Rice, one of Dubya's Rottweillers. The stupid woman thought Mick ought to stick to the rock world, her belief being that La Rice was superb as a concert pianist, had an unimpeachable foreign policy background and a "sterling" record in the State Department.

Well, lady, just Google for most inept national security advisor (and soon, on Google, Most Inept Secretary of State) and you're in for a surprise. Hit after hit after hit label her the most inept. Now, Mick may sing for a living, but he's made a much better living than La Rice and obviously has a much better grasp of economics and world affairs than does La Rice. Isn't Mick one of the richest men in the world? Also, and for us this is most important, he's a humanitarian who condemns torture, unlike the "concert pianist" who condones it and promulgates it. Let's see how "accomplished" she is the day Al Qaeda get their hands on her.

Dinner Anybody?
One of the kids came out to the back porch to let us know that Schuyler and Elizabeth were about to start serving dinner. Famished, we finished our Margaritas and proceeded to the dining room, where we were told we were going to have a slightly south of the border dinner.

Our starter was an exquisite Ceviche. Elizabeth and Schuyler both thought it would be best with a Pinot Grigio, and after trying it, we all agreed the combination was a real success.

Next, a team effort between Elizabeth, Charlotte, Shelley and Cathy: amazing chicken and mole tamales wrapped not in corn husks but in banana leaves. If you've never had these, do whatever it takes but try them, they are really good, especially because of the different dimension the banana leaves gives the tamales. (Please: several tamales are tamales, but one is a tamal; not a tamale.) They served them with a good German Riesling, and we'd like to entice you into trying that food-wine pairing; you really don't have to go the beer route all the time. Schuyler then brought out some Poblano-Ancho Chile grilled prime rib eye steaks, Mexican rice and delicious black beans. They offered us a choice of two wines, a Shiraz, and for a more different sensation, a good sparkling Blanc de Noirs. Inevitably, it turned into a mini-wine sampling/food pairing exercise and a lot of fun.

Normally, in Latin America Chayote squash can be served as a vegetable, but tonight Schuyler and Elizabeth served it for dessert, prepared the way they had tried it at the home of Art's family in Mexico. The Chayote squash was halved, then dabbed with butter, a tiny amount of lime juice, and brown sugar. Trust us, you really can serve it this way as one of your vegetable side dishes. We enjoyed it with an almond-flavored Tequila liqueur, and then went back to the great room to join the kids.

Teenagers' Food Habits
May we digress for a minute? We just wanted to mention something about the kids' eating habits. Since they are exposed on a nightly basis to good food, they are accustomed to eating well. They don't crave, when they go out with their friends, for junk food. They would much rather have good, freshly made and healthy food. Not one of them is over-weight. We may serve many courses, but each course is made up of very small portions. They don't understand the concept of all-you-can-eat that is so pervasive in the country. Also, they have acquired another "Democratic value," and that is that their family will prepare good, nutritious and fresh food for them.

It breaks our hearts, it breaks my heart, when I go to town and in the grocery store see parents asking their children what they want "prepared" for supper, and when you look at what the parent is referring to it's something made and frozen maybe months ago and probably thousands of miles away. Grocery carts full of frozen dinners. It really, if you are remotely well organized, is not that difficult or time-consuming to fix your family fresh meals. Naturally, you don't have to serve the five and six course meals we do, but for heaven's sake, if you value your family, spend an extra fifteen minutes in the kitchen and prepare something decent. Show those republicans that progressives, in addition to having numerous wonderful values, also have this value: caring enough for their families to really cook for them.

Good Night
As everybody started to leave, Liz reminded us of Jimmy Carter's saying grace this way at the White House: "God is great, God is good, Let us thank Him for our food."
Amen