Manna

I just made the best peanut sauce ever and decided to put it here for posterity.

Proportions are approximate at best

In a blender put:

3 inches of fresh ginger, sliced into manageable pieces
2 cloves of garlic, one big, one little, slice up too.
one inch of superhot fresh red pepper (mine is from maria's garden...serrano, I think)
1/4ish cup of soy sauce

Blend all up.

Add in to taste, a little of each at a time:

2-3 T peanut butter
2-3 T sugar
water
white vinegar

It should be your perfect combination of sweet, spicy, soy-ey, gingery, peanutty, garlicky, tangy sauce.

Only YOU know how much of each. Frequent tasting in the process is important.

I poured it on some japanese noodles and plan to add some swiss chard and maybe some sorrel and maybe some cabbage. Currently it's cooling.

*******

The robin lived, I think. The evil neighborhood cat had somehow gotten its chops on the bird and was guarding it when I noticed yesterday morning. I shooed the cat away and looked at the bird. There was no visible damage, other than shock. I went back to my porch and waited to see what would happen. The cat came back. I shooed it away again and went for some chicken wire. I was going to make a fence around the bird to keep the cat away from it. When I got back, though, the bird was gone. It had flown. Unfortunately the cat was now in the tree, in pursuit. I didn't even see it until I had spooked the cat away. I took my chicken wire back and monitored the situation until I had to leave for work. I have no idea what happened after that.

*******

The rain came soft and slow but thorough. We got at least an inch, but not in a damaging, run-off, pouring way. More in a steady, medium-weight drenching for a good 18 hours or so. I know we got at least 1.5 inches, though, so maybe it did pour profusely between the time I went to sleep and the time I woke up.

All's I know is that it's a start.