Halfway house for the laid-off

I had hoped to awaken to a blanket of snow. It's what the weather forecasters kept warning us about. There is something very nice about sleeping in a warm bed while a snowstorm rolls in. I like snow if I am already home, but I don't like driving in it, and I especially am scared of other southern drivers. Get a bunch of us on the roads at once, and even a minor snow turns into a horrendous traffic mess.

So when Sadie-the-wonder-dog woke me up at 2 am wanting to go out, I eagerly peeked out the curtains, but the yard looked the same as it always did.

It's finally snowing now, but I need to leave for work in 3 hours, which means there won't be enough snow to close us down, but it will be a pain to get back home again. I really wanted a snow day.

Maybe, if it starts snowing really hard right now . . .

Working at the census is like being at a halfway house for the laid off. We all used to do something else, but are nonetheless employed, at least for now.

And the people I talk to in my job are all looking for work, since I work in recruiting. I hear it over and over again. I schedule people for tests and try to put them as close to home as possible. If they are working around a work or school schedule, I work around that, even if they have to travel further.

Me: Is your schedule open?

Caller: Yes, for now. I've been laid off. That's why I want to work for the census.

Me: Me too.

I mention this because my supervisor found a good job website, so she printed out the address for everyone on our crew and passed it out.

We have been sharing food on Saturdays, since we have the place to ourselves, although last Saturday, we were too busy. But we have done a sandwich bar and a salad bar. We got in a discussion about rice tonight, and everyone had different cool rice dish recipes. I think we are going to try a rice buffet. I'm thinking of bringing kitchri.

Kitchri is an arabic lentil-rice that is traditionally served with fish or dairy. It's good with cheese melted on top, and also goes well with fried eggs for a quick meal. And it freezes and reheats well. Truly a wonderful food.

Kitchri
1 cup rice
4 T butter or margarine
2 1/4 cups water
salt to taste
1/4 t turmeric
1 clove garlic
1/2 t cumin
1/2 cup red lentils
Spread the lentils on a plate and remove any rocks. Put 2 T of butter or margarine in the water with the rice. Add turmeric (or 1 t tomato paste) and salt. Cook the rice halfway and add the lentils. Cover and finish cooking the rice. In a small pan, melt the other 2 T of butter or margarine. Mash the garlic and add, along with the cumin. (Don't overcook the garlic, as it gets bitter. I usually get the butter hot in an iron skilet, add the cumin and garlic and turn it off.) Pour the hot mixture over the finished rice and mix without mushing the rice.

Note: This is one dish where margarine or olive oil is a good substitute for butter. It doesn’t come out as heavy. If you use a quick cooking rice, Uncle Ben’s for example, the lentils only end up being cooked for about 10 minutes. In that case,after the cooking time is up, turn off the heat and quickly toss the rice to make sure the lentils aren’t all on the top. Close the lid and let it sit about another 10 minutes. The steam will finish cooking the lentils. Then mix in the butter spice mixture.