Why Me? Why Write? Why Now? Why Not?

The Me is Doug Curran…Douglas M Curran…Douglas Metcalf Curran. Douglas is Celtic for “dweller by the dark stream”. Curran in Gaelic means “little spear”. And Metcalf? Scottish for “I met a calf”? Hey I don’t know! I don't have all the answers. I'm still trying to get the questions right. At least I seem to be a spear fisher by some dirty water. Or maybe I'm a Druid. And that Curran thing may not even be as Irish as my Irish American wife, Colleen Fitzsimmons, hoped it was when she married me. Ok, I might be a Viking. It's like this. I was reading this book, The Lion Of Ireland, see, and the author, Morgan Llewellyn, recounts a last battle between Brian Boru and the Viking invader king, to regain Irish dominance again throughout the island and kick the fureners out. The Viking king's name? Olaf Cuaran? Cuaran? Curran? I'm a Viking now, so I am? And a descendent of one of those marauding and murderous pillagers and plunderers? I've never pillaged a thing in my life...well, maybe a book or two from somebody. I'm really just a gentle giant who loves books and music. Ok, I bought a sword recently, but only as a wall decoration to enhance my Irish family history coat of arms! Honest! Viking, Schmiking, so rest my Irish soul! Or my wife will have my old bald Irish head!

June 12, 2009

A Kiwi Burger? Beet's the heck outta me...

I had my first life experience cooking beets the other day. It was so easy - just cut off the greens and drop those purplish orbs in the boiling water and stand back! After 30 minutes or so, I took them out and peeled them, cut them into nice warm chunks and was downing my first ever self-cooked, blood-red beets! No kidding, I felt a little like Dracula, it was such a bloody feast. I was still bragging about my beet feat when my oldest son and his Maori girlfriend from New Zealand came over for a visit. These guys have been dating so long, they should at least be considered engaged by common law by now. So we were making Reubens for all of us to eat and I offered her some fresh cooked beets as a side dish.

She graciously accepted my simple offering and then told me an astounding thing. In New Zealand, they make a Kiwi Burger(Kiwi is the national bird and a nickname for people from NZ) with a fried egg and a slice of beet on top! Huh??? You could have knocked me over with a boulder! I'd never heard of such a thing. I was stunned, got that glazed look in my eyes and wondered how I had lived so long without knowing about that one. Even this traveling son of mine had eaten one down under and had never told me! Fie on him! I thought I had eaten burgers every way possible in this old life. But the idea of a burger with beets just breathed new life into the burger portion of my brain. Having a fried egg on it was a new enough twist - but a slice of beet??? Outrageously delectable!

So I started ruminating and considering all the other healthy possibilities...a watermelon burger, a shredded coconut burger, a celery and carrot burger, a banana burger(nice alliteration too), a ramin noodle burger(we called it saimin in Hawaii), a calamari burger(very chewy), or any kind of fish or seafood on top, like oysters maybe... a peanut butter burger, two patties acting like the bun with french fries in the middle...man, I am so hungry just thinking about it, I'm going to boil some artichokes and see if I can get that heart smeared all over the top of a patty, Now, if I only had some patties...
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