Frugal Floozie Friday - Palio

Palio is the restaurant my BFF Wendy chose for our celebratory dinner in honor of her recent birthday. She hadn't been there for a long time, and I had remarkably never eaten there. (So many restaurants, so little time! And I like to cook, of course, so I don't eat out as often as people think I do.) Wendy had offered to go anyplace I might want to write up for a Frugal Floozie Friday feature, and I'd offered to take her anywhere she wanted to go for our party of two. Turns out, we each won!

Now, a girls' night is a fabulous thing even if you're sitting on the sofa in sweatpants, only eating popcorn and ice cream. But it's an even more wonderful time if you can look out over Main Street on a gorgeous Friday night as the sun is setting, and spend hours talking, hoping, and dreaming while enjoying wonderful food. We were thrilled to find that the rooftop - Palio del Sole, with its own menu differing a bit from that of the restaurant downstairs - had a table for two just waiting for us.

Wendy ordered her favorite dish, the Cannelloni di Funghi [cahn-eh-LOH-nee dee FOON-ghee]; it was a tremendously generous portion, enough to feed at least two people, but the pricing puts it out of our mandatory budget of $5 or less per person. (Worth every penny, but ....) Should you not be striving for budget consciousness, it is a stellar feast of pasta with mushrooms, cheeses, and a Florentine tomato sauce.

I, however, found two ideal frugal options, though one would never know they were inexpensive to see or taste them. I started with a simple Insalata Verde [een-sah-LAH-tah VAYR-day], expecting a small-ish bowl the size of a side salad. As you can see, there was a full dinner plate of gorgeous fresh greens, luscious ripe tomatoes, and my beloved Gorgonzola. This was lightly dressed with good green extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, in a subtle vinaigrette that just coated the vegetables.

I also ordered the exceptional assortment of tapenades pictured above: Roasted Garlic with Olives, Artichoke Lemon Herb, and Goat Cheese with Sun-dried Tomatoes. For a mere $7.95, I received generous portions of each spread, which could easily have been split by two to average out at less-than-$4 per person. I was able to take about two-thirds of this home (having started with the salad, of course), and thoroughly enjoyed them all again the next evening. These are delicious treats that are a tremendous deal!

The olive tapenade was my favorite, with a vivid flavor that let hints of the garlic shine through. The artichoke spread was wonderful, with a chunky texture. It was great to find true artichoke flavor, rather than having it diluted with the ubiquitous spinach. (Not that I haven't eaten my fair share of that famous dip!) The sharpness of the goat cheese shone through in the tomato variety, and it was so rich and creamy.

Now, a birthday party isn't a real celebration without sweets. So, of course, we asked our fabulously charming waitress, Erin, to bring the dessert tray 'round for a perusal. Never underestimate the skinny girl with the sweet tooth or her amazing BFF who runs half-marathons: I ordered an obscenely decadent, brandy-laced tiramisu and Wendy ordered the rich and spicy carrot cake ... and yup, we chose a third dessert and split the unbelievably seductive chocolate-drizzled peanut butter pie.

I think Erin was both appalled and yet rooting for us. But she's also a distance runner, so we all bonded over celebratory eating as a great motivation for either runs (Wendy) or long walks and free weights (me) since one must burn off the calories. Desserts are $5.95 each, but are so large that they are easily split by people who are less ... let's be polite, and say "indulgent." (Yes, we finished every extraordinary bite.) So they can easily come in under the $5 per person budget, and would make a lovely treat after a movie or a concert, or "just 'cause."

So, whether you want a perfect summery salad all to yourself, or whether you want to split a distinctive appetizer or luscious desserts, Palio has a variety of frugal options to choose from. Go! Enjoy!

Palio
347 S. Main Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-930-6100
Monday - Thursday: 5 - 10 p.m.
Friday - Saturday: 5 - 11 p.m.
Sunday: 4 - 9 p.m.



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Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat

Let the countdown begin!

No, we're not counting down 'til the Ann Arbor Art Fair.  Nope, not 'til the students return in the fall, and not even 'til the end of the Mayan calendar.  Uh uh.  But a festive occasion deserving of celebration is coming in 30 days, on August 15, 2012:

Julia Child's 100th birthday!

Julia Child was devoted to an appreciation of good food in an age when convenience items were all the rage.  She taught that cooking could be fun and even easy - yes, easy, although she was noted for complicated and lengthy recipes - because she provided such explicit instructions and sincere encouragement both in her cookbooks and in her visual demonstrations on television shows.  (And remember, this was decades before Emeril Lagasse said that cooking is "not rocket science" on a network that would not exist without Julia's having blazed the food t.v. trail).

Despite not having taken cooking seriously until she attended culinary school in her mid-30s, Julia became an exceptionally accomplished cook and instructor.  She showed us that we, too, could grow up to be anyone we chose to be, at whatever age we decided what that might be.

And so, the festivities in honor of this amazing and beloved woman - she who made such an impact upon us all - have been, and will be, numerous and varied.  But one tribute is particularly lovely.

A charming new children's book Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat, by award-winning author Susanna Reich - has recently been published, telling the story of Julia, her husband Paul, and "perhaps the luckiest cat in all of Paris" who lived with the couple. The book has been beautifully illustrated by Amy Bates, and shows clearly the love shared by Julia and Paul (a famous romance!), the beauty of Paris and the quaintness of its cafes and shops, and especially the grace and uniquely fluid movements of cats.

Minette Mimosa McWilliams Child was "a mischievous, energetic poussiequette with a lovely speckled coat" who enjoyed chasing birds and mice while "Julia spent mornings at the marketplace, buying meat from le boucher, bread from le boulanger, milk and cheese from la cremiere, and cake from le patissier."  As Julia develops a love for French food and begins to take cooking classes at Le Cordon Bleu, Minette still seems to prefer her own catches to the exceptional cuisine offered in the household.  The books asks: "Will Julia ever be able to whip up a meal that will entice Minette?"

It is great fun to follow along as Julia cooks and Minette hunts.  And the book even includes quotes taken directly from some of Julia's own letters, making her that much more real and human rather than the icon that we're all so familiar with.

Julia Child invited all of us into her kitchen, and we subsequently invited her into our hearts.  Please join me in celebrating her ... and Minette!  Truly, you will love this very sweet story.

(Note: I was sent a review copy of the book.  And as a fan of Julia's, of cats, of France, and of food, I couldn't help but smile as I read it.)

Man v. Food Happy Birthday Nachos

Happy birthday to Adam Richman!  He's the host of the Travel Channel's "Man v. Food" and upcoming "Best Sandwich in America" (which will premiere on June 6).

As the mother of a 21-year-old male who thinks that Adam and his Food Network counterpart, Guy Fieri of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," have the greatest jobs on Earth - getting paid to eat rich and delicious dishes all around the country - this occasion simply couldn't pass without notice.

So, what to serve in honor of a man whose fame comes not only from his genial disposition (he always seems like such a nice guy who's just there to have fun regardless of the cholesterol count), but also from eating gargantuan quantities of food - the richer, spicier, and more artery-clogging the better?  Jeremy suggested nachos, in honor of Adam having visited Ann Arbor in 2010 and conquered Mt. Nacheesmo - a 5-pound plate of nachos - at Tio's Mexican Cafe.

So we piled up the chips and loaded 'em with generous quantities of all the goodies: gooey cheese sauce, spicy chorizo, zesty salsa, vivid olives, crisp scallions and tomatoes, cool sour cream and luscious avocado.

And then we indulged.

Utterly, obscenely decadent, these nachos were great!  They have virtually no redeeming nutritional value (though I give credit where it's due to the vegetables!), but it was important to simply have fun during our celebration and honor the spirit of the birthday boy.

Nachos Grande

1 10-ounce bag tortilla chips
1 16-ounce container cheese sauce
1-1/4 pounds fresh chorizo, browned
1/2 cup salsa
1 medium tomato, chopped
4 large scallions, chopped
1 2.25-ounce can sliced olives, drained
guacamole, sour cream, jalapenos, and banana peppers - optional for serving

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place half of the chips into a 9"x13" casserole dish.  Drizzle with half of the cheese sauce, then top with half of the chorizo.  Layer the chips, cheese, and chorizo again using the remaining quantities.

Top with the salsa, tomato, scallions and olives.  Bake for 30 minutes until heated through.

Serve with toppings as desired.

Serves either Adam or Jeremy, or 10-12 mere mortals.

Frugal Floozie Friday - Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub

A pint o' Guinness - or, at least, a pint of Guinness ice cream - for $4.95: that's the fabulous dessert Jeremy chose for his 21st birthday recently at today's Frugal Floozie Friday feature, Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub.

The Guinness Ice Cream Sundae falls perfectly within our mandatory $5 budget, and is an enormous, luscious concoction: 3 scoops of ice cream topped with chocolate fudge, caramel sauce, pecans, chocolate chips, whipped cream and the crowning cherry.  The birthday guest can choose either a dessert or a $10 card as the restaurant's gift.  Jeremy had chosen the latter last time, as Conor O'Neill's is where he asks me to take him every year for his celebration, so he decided to indulge in the sugar rush this time.

Several of the desserts fall within our budgetary constraints for individual servings, but could happily be shared.  The appetizers, which range in price from $6.50 to $8.50, are easily split as well so that they meet our $5 per person limit.

For as long as we've been going to Conor O'Neill's, we've ordered the Galway Bay Mussels appetizer, so I was astounded not to see it on the lunch menu at our visit; apparently it's only available at dinner now.  But our very sweet waitress, Jennifer, checked with the kitchen and told us that they would make it in honor of Jeremy's birthday.

The cream sauce that the mussels are served in is rich with mustard, garlic and sherry; the dish also comes with slices of baguette and some hearty brown bread.  At $8.95, this is a fabulous dish for two - far more than one person could eat alone, particularly before a meal.  The real treasure is the sauce, though, which is just sublime!  Order extra bread to sop it up, because you truly won't want to leave one tiny morsel on the plate.

I have never ordered anything at Conor O'Neill's that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, from the Irish "fayre" (fish and chips, shepherd's pie, boxty, etc.) to the sandwiches, from the salads to the desserts.  While they exceeded our Frugal Floozie Friday budget, our entrees - the Big House Burger (with cheese, bacon, mushrooms and onion rings) and Ploughman's Sandwich (grilled vegetables and cheddar) with a side salad - were so fabulous that they warranted a photo op, and a few moments of fame, nonetheless:

In addition to the excellent food, Conor O'Neill's also offers entertainment several evenings each week, from trivia contests to Irish jam sessions - you can find both food and fun for $5 or less per person!  How great is that?


Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub
318 South Main Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
(734) 665-2968


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21

Just as days on the Jewish calendar begin at sundown and carry through to the next setting of the sun, Jeremy's birthday celebration each year begins with dinner the night before.

Jeremy is going to be 21 tomorrow, so his dad and I are taking him out tonight for our annual feast of Chinese food.

On January 9, 1991, Stuart and I went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant that doesn't exist anymore.  (We also got engaged at a Chinese restaurant that is no longer standing ... it seems to be a theme in our lives!)  Jeremy was a week late, I was enormous and uncomfortable after gaining 60 pounds, and going out to dinner just seemed easier than cooking.

At 3 o'clock in the morning, my back started to ache - the first pangs of labor; it took Jeremy another 17 hours to finally show up to stick his tongue out at us.  Stuart has maintained for all these years that Jeremy loved Chinese food so much that it was the ultimate lure to make him give up his comfy surroundings and finally make his grand arrival!

So tonight will be the 21st year in a row that we've eaten Chinese food on January 9, the night before Jeremy's birthday.  Who knew, that first time, that this would become a tradition that's integral to our celebration???

And who knew that 21 years could possibly go by so quickly ...?


For today's recipe - Waffle French Toast with Apricot Syrup - go to the Food and Grocery page of AnnArbor.com ....

Cookie Week: Butterscotch Pretzel Brownies

Today happens to be my birthday, which - trust me - is not a big deal. It's also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated in the Catholic Church; all that means to me is memories of having to go to Mass on my birthday, because this is a holy day of obligation.

What is a big deal, though, is that today is also National Brownie Day!

I'm going to be speaking at a fabulous event tonight at Temple Beth Emeth, one of the synagogues here in town; my topic is "From Catholic School to Kugel: 40 Years of Wandering to Discover Jewish Food." And I've been told - much to my giddy delight! - that brownies will be served for dessert along with ice cream and fruit ... sigh. I am looking so forward to the evening - to making new friends, to eating great food, to having fun! But if, unfortunately, you won't be attending the dinner, you can still celebrate this holiday with today's offering: Butterscotch Pretzel Brownies.

Yup - you read that right: butterscotch, pretzels, and brownies all in one fabulous sweet, salty, rich, luscious, chocolatey treat! Some matches are just a matter of bashert [bah-SHAYRT], which means "destiny" in Hebrew.

I'm not sure that I can say anything more persuasive to encourage you to make these brownies. But really, do you need a reason???

Butterscotch. Pretzels. Brownies.

'Nuff said!

Butterscotch Pretzel Brownies

1/2 cup butter
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons oil
2 eggs
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ounce pretzel twists, crumbled
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9"-square baking pan.

Place the butter and the unsweetened chocolate into a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl; heat until melted, and stir to combine. Stir in the cocoa powder, oil, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and coffee until blended. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into pan.

Sprinkle the pretzels and both chips over the top and press lightly, then bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester comes out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely before cutting.

Cut 1/2" from the edges, then cut into 16 brownies. The trimmings are great crumbled over vanilla or coffee ice cream, with a drizzle of caramel sauce over the top.



But wait - there are more cookies!

Cafe au Lait Blondies

Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

The Birthday Blog

Tomorrow is my blog's first birthday ... wow. How did a year pass so quickly???

My first post was a bit of an introduction to the stream of consciousness and cheerful babbling that readers would find, a rambling and tangential discourse from someone who has a nasty tendency to be verbose and who wasn't quite sure how to present herself to the world. After all, there are how many blogs out there, and blogs devoted to food? Why would anyone read mine, follow mine, care about mine? I have no particular pedigree or claim to fame; I just love to cook, to bake, to eat and to write!

And yet, I built it and you came! As of this morning, I have nearly 600 followers (not that everyone actually reads what I post each day, but ...). Of all those followers, I have a coterie of very dear friends whom I try to check in with daily, who offer encouragement and praise and -- most importantly -- their hearts; and you're people I would never, ever have had the joy of knowing without this little platform of mine. Too many of you, unfortunately, live just way too far from Ann Arbor!

I've always maintained that people bond over food, even in cyberspace. Even if we're not sharing a table or kibbitzing over choices at a buffet, we're still sharing recipes and stories and friendship ... and these, of course, are the vital ingredients (pun intended!). Because I always want people who come to visit me to feel as though we're in the kitchen preparing food, gossiping, laughing, and enjoying nourishment not just for our bodies but for our souls.

So thank you -- thank you far more than I can convey in a blog post -- for having taken time out of your busy lives, with so many other blogs and media competing for your attention, and sharing my food adventures with me. You've been with me through holidays, through ups and downs in my life, through happy occasions ... it wouldn't have been the same without you, truly ... :)

So rather than a toast to my blog, here's a toast to all of you! May we all share many more birthdays together!

Image: maple / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jeremy's Birthday Bonanza

Jeremy's birthday was yesterday, on the 10th, but we always start our celebrating on the 9th.

On January 9, 1991, my ex-husband and I went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Jeremy was a week late, lazing away in warmth and coziness as I was enormous and miserably uncomfortable. But at 3 o'clock in the morning, after going out for our dinner, I started to feel pains. And while he took his sweet time showing up, not appearing 'til 8 p.m. that night after being dragged out with forceps, Jeremy must have decided that he liked Chinese food enough that he wanted more ... at least, that's what his dad always says. And so, every January 9th since, we eat Chinese food.

Jeremy's and my favorite place is the Evergreen Restaurant; the place we'd gone to the night before he was born has closed, so we've at least come up with an excellent substitute!

The lunch specials are an exceptional value: for an average of $7, you get a bowl of soup, a small salad, and a generous plate of your entree served along with rice as well as a spring roll. It's just about the best lunch deal in town!

So, needless to say, the Evergreen is where Jeremy and I ate on Sunday. He took a break from the Atkins diet he and his dad are doing together and indulged in some celebratory Sweet and Sour Chicken (one of his favorite meals ever), along with Wonton Soup. But he doesn't like the ginger salad dressing, so I traded him extra wontons for extra lettuce. I absolutely love the dressing!

I ordered Mongolian Chicken (which is unfortunately not quite as vividly photogenic as Jeremy's meal!), with generous quantities of meat and lots vegetables. It was perfectly cooked, not too spicy. But the portions are always so generous that there was no way that either of us could finish our meals.

And that was just Day 1 of the party. On Day 2, we had cupcakes for breakfast: chocolate and vanilla marbling, per Jeremy's request, with buttercream frosting and a coating of mini M&Ms. What a way to start a morning!

Then Jeremy and I went to lunch at his very favorite restaurant, Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub. We always order the Galway Bay Mussels in a rich, creamy, luscious, garlicky sauce; and we always order extra bread because the sauce is so amazing that there is never enough served initially to sop it all up. (We had extra sauce once a few years ago, and I mortified Jeremy by asking for a container to take it home in. It was amazing on pasta for dinner the next night!!!) Jeremy actually said that these were so good that they are "conversation stoppers."

Then Jeremy ordered his requisite Reuben, which he orders anywhere that he finds it on a menu. But this one is his favorite, because it may not have the most overwhelming portion of meat but it has the tenderest of any. Jeremy said, "You know how embarrassing it is when you bite into your sandwich and a slab of corned beef pulls out and hangs on your chin 'cause it's too tough to chew???" Well, at Conor's you won't find that, Jeremy assures you!

Believe it or not, I didn't have too much trouble deciding on my own order that day ... some planets must have been in alignment for a brief moment! I chose Conor's Ploughman, a huge vegetable sandwich with melted cheese and pesto mayonnaise, served on whole grain bread. It sounded warm and gooey with a hint of nutrition, and just plain delicious. And it was, when I took one bite! After practically inhaling mussels and bread and rich sauce, I simply couldn't eat the sandwich. But that, in addition to some leftover french fries, would provide a lovely lunch for the next two days at work, wouldn't it??? I was a happy camper ... :)

In closing -- here, in honor of his birthday (which earned him a very generous $10 gift card, too, when I embarrassed Jeremy by asking the waitress if being the birthday boy came with any perks!), is Jeremy in his favorite booth at his favorite restaurant on his own special day ....

It Was 20 Years Ago Today ....

Today is Jeremy's 20th birthday ... I can hardly believe it. How did he (how did *I*?!?!?) get so old so fast??? Once upon a time, he was a little bitty 8-pound fluffy-headed thing that I could hold in my arms for hours!

(Yes, that's Jeremy sticking his tongue out at his dad the night he was born!)


Now he's 6'3", drives, smokes (groan ...), and bought himself a moped last week that he'd been saving for.


But even though he towers over me, Jeremy is still my baby -- my one and only, more precious to me than I can say!

Image by Cool Text: Free Graphics Generator

"Let the Pampering Begin"

Yesterday was my birthday. My card from Tom is pictured above, perfect with all the pink, the prissy pooch, and even a book and a pair of glasses! (My new ones came in, too; gotta get pictures to show ....)

Anyway, I'd spent a considerable amount of time -- as my regular followers know, I'm sure, given my usual brain paralysis when having to make any kind of choices about food! -- trying to decide where to go for lunch. I usually take the day off from work, just 'cause I can; and I'd rather have a feast earlier in the day than at night, so lunch was the perfect meal to pick for.

But did I want an Indian buffet, which was last year's winner (and which will win most of these types of contests)? God knows I adore Indian food, and a buffet means I can just eat some of everything rather than making only one selection. Buuuuut ....

What about pizza, which I almost never eat so I should treat myself?

What about the Real Seafood Company, where Tom and I had lunch for his birthday? Not only was the food exceptional, but the birthday girl gets a huge discount on her entree in addition to a free dessert. There's even a half-pound burger on the menu to keep Jeremy, my non-fish eater, happy.

What about a new deli here in town, a branch of one in the heavily Jewish suburbs of Detroit that I've eaten at and loved??? Corned beef, brisket, both old and new pickles ... food for my aging soul.

What about just going out for a fabulous dessert, rather than a full meal?

Oh, and then there's the whole "birthday cake" issue, too ... oy. Bake one for myself, indulging any whims I might have, which is what I usually do? Order an ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins -- chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream, for which I have a distinct affinity? Buy a cupcake assortment? AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!

And then, I decided what I'd like most is to simply have my loved ones join me for a nice, home-cooked meal.

So I made a Sicilian pasta sauce over the weekend, the saga of which will be posted tomorrow. I decided to simply buy a two-layer chocolate cake from Trader Joe's, having read about it at work when the weekly flyer arrived in the mail and my co-worker Michele and I were perusing it. Suddenly, there was clarity! A quart of ice cream that had the Trader Joe's equivalent of peppermint Oreos crumbled into it would be a perfect complement ... et, voila!

Here's the pictorial tour ....

Spinach Salad with Vinaigrette:



Whole Wheat Penne with Sicilian Pasta Sauce:



Good Italian Bread with Butter and/or Seasoned Dipping Oil:



Dark Chocolate Cake:



From Jeremy -- a brand new coffee press, my beloved Intelligentsia coffee, and a beautiful new mug and saucer to sip the goodies from:



From Tom -- a sculptural watch with a flexible rubbery band to fit my scrawny 5-1/2" wrist, a case to hold business cards (which I now need to have made!), and lovely ginger candies:






From my friend Wendy -- a book all about my favorite game show (I was in the contestant pool in 2006, invited out twice but couldn't get there ... God's way of saving me from national humiliation, methinks!), and vanilla cupcakes with her grandmother's famous buttercream frosting:




And then, because today is the 8th and final day of Chanukkah (which began at sundown yesterday), Tom and I enjoyed another small piece of cake with the peppermint ice cream for an evening snack ... :)

Can It Really Have Been 30 Years ...?

Just as people remember where they were when they learned that President Kennedy had been shot, or how they found out about the tragedies on September 11th, I think everyone also remembers what they were doing when they heard the horrific, incomprehensible news about John Lennon's death.

I was a high school senior, up in my room at my parents' house in the soul-crushingly elitist Detroit suburb of Birmingham, doing despised Calculus homework. I was listening to WABX (a now-defunct radio station) when d.j. Cecile Avalone announced the shooting; it was only a short while later that she came back on the air in near-hysterics, screaming that John had died at Roosevelt Hospital.

I have never known a world without John's presence, as the Beatles formed in 1960 before I was born. We had all their records, and then many of the solo albums -- John's and George's, at least. Personally, I think Paul is greatly overrated; and while Ringo was a necessary element for the band's success, and a great guy by all accounts, his solo work didn't warrant much attention.


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While growing up in NYC (born and bred, 'til I was nearly 16), I lived 3 blocks south of John's apartment at The Dakota. When I broke my finger in 8th Grade playing basketball during gym class, I went to Roosevelt Hospital for x-rays and a splint. Our circles never intersected to the point of my ever catching sight of John and Yoko, or of my knowing anyone who knew them. But John had always been at the periphery of my little world, his presence very powerful although invisible.

Until the night of December 8, 1980, that is, when the inconceivable happened on a cold night at the end of a long day and I feel that we then became inextricably linked, however tangentially.

Because John Lennon was murdered on my 18th birthday. And I can now never think of one event without the other.

I've always found that to have been an odd and surreal introduction to adulthood, even though I've never been an obsessive Beatles fan.

Childhood was an innocent land where you listened to music and you bought the comeback album of the world's most famous band's most talented and charismatic member. "Just Like Starting Over" was a huge hit at the time of John's death, and I will readily admit to having been one of the minions who made "Double Fantasy," the album it was featured on, a bestseller.



Adulthood, on the other hand, was an entirely new sphere, where a peace activist could be shot in front of his own home -- a building with significant security systems in place, a virtual fortress if he could only have gotten inside more quickly -- with no warning and no ability to defend himself. It was a world in which Walter Cronkite, on the CBS Evening News Show, devoted 20 minutes of his 30-minute daily summary to the shocking story the next day, even featuring a video of "Imagine" that brought the staid and trustworthy newsman into the MTV generation.

In childhood, I played in Central Park. But when his dad and I took Jeremy to that same neighborhood many years later during a visit to my hometown, we not only saw the merry-go-round and the playground I used to go to, but we went to pay homage at Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John across Central Park West from where he'd lived and died.

I could be making too much of a fuss about this, but it truly was a shocking, life-altering moment. It challenged people's complacency and security, and shattered any delusions of naivete about "living life in peace" (to quote "Imagine"). Here was a man who wrote and sang about "sharing all the world," and who used his enormous influence, charm and ability to attract attention to further efforts to create this Utopia.

And he was taken from his fans, from his music, from his political missions, from his wife and from his very young son in just a moment, leaving so much incomplete.

But as I have now gone 8 years past the age that John died at, I am struck not only by how terribly young he was but also by how much he accomplished in such a ridiculously short lifetime -- particularly lyrics that touched people's souls, ones that are profound both despite and because of their simplicity.

John was a wit and a philosopher, as well as a charmer and even a bit of a scoundrel at times. As he put it himself, he was "a dreamer" ... and he's not the only one. There are so many, many people who devote themselves every day to initiatives that make the world a better place, who engage in tikkun olam [tee-KOON oh-LAHM] = repairing the world.

So, in memory of John Lennon an astounding and mind-boggling 3 decades after he died, engage in tikkun olam today: give an extra couple of dollars to a Salvation Army bell ringer or buy a cup of cocoa for one who's standing in the cold ... donate a bag of dog or cat food to the Humane Society ... bring a plate of cookies to a nursing home or a hospice ... give blood, if you're eligible ... leave an extra generous tip for a waitress or barista ... compliment a co-worker ... leave a note in your children's lunchboxes telling them that you love them, and leave a sweet voicemail for your significant other to show how much he/she is cherished. The possibilities are endless, and don't have to cost anything more than a few seconds of your day. I'm planning to go to the Salvation Army thrift store to donate the last load of post-move items that need to find new homes.

Let radio stations program endless hours of Beatles songs today and play "Imagine" 'til you've heard it far too many times and it's lost its impact. I think a proper tribute to John would be to engage in creating peace with one small step and then another and another, each action creating just a little bit more good will.

Please leave me a comment telling me where you were that night and how you heard the news. And also tell me how you might contribute to "a brotherhood of man" today ... I'd love to know ... :)