The Corona Diaries Vol 49: The Labia Are Looking Warmer These Days

(March 2022)

(Check out The Corona Diaries Vol. 49 - Insert: Mapping)

Spring is nigh! With the warmer weather, that statue of a naked woman reclining with her legs spread a few blocks away doesn't inspire chills like those freezing labia did in January. 

We have had a rather dry winter so I am sure the farmers will be complaining soon, if they haven't already begun. On the plus side, my back was saved some agony. While the ergonomic shovel is a brilliant invention that genuinely makes things easier on your back, 12 inches of wet, slushy snow is still 12 inches of wet, slushy snow and, if I may paraphrase Professor Farnsworth from Futurama, every pound of it weighs about 100 pounds. So fancy shovel or not, it's still a lot of work. Also, I am pleased to report that we had no ice dams this year.

With more venues opening up and more in-person events to attend, I was happy to take the opportunity to head out on occasion. In the dead of winter I went to see a National Geographic Live presentation called "The Secret Lives of Bears". This consisted of a bearologist named Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant standing onstage with a giant Powerpoint slideshow behind her as she lectured about our ursine friends.

It was fun and informative. Bear cubs are extremely cute and I was amazed at just how much bamboo pandas eat. Dr. Wynn-Grant also noted that bearologists argue about how to define hibernation. We learned that bears do not go to the bathroom during hibernation and instead their bodies have ways of recycling bodily waste. Now that is some crazy voodoo, if you ask me.

My nature lessons continued outside on a walk at one of Madison's conservation parks.

A group of us met a volunteer nature expert for a walk to see what the wildlife was up to in the winter. There are no bears in Wisconsin this far south outside of a zoo so we didn't have to worry about disturbing one trying to sleep.

We didn't see much wildlife beyond the occasional squirrel and bird.

But we saw a lot of animal tracks: people, dogs, rabbits, and deer. We also came across lines like this in the snow.

Not all of the fun happens on the surface. That line was made by a mouse scurrying underneath the snow.

We stumbled upon evidence of deer, though thankfully we didn't step in it.

Later on, we came across more poop and our guide hypothesized that it had come from a cayote. And she did so with an exuberance that I have never felt upon discovering feces. Did David Attenborough ever get excited at finding poop out in the wild? I don't recall that in any of his programs. Perhaps he did but those scenes were just left on the cutting room floor.

While it was a very cold day, it was nice to be outside learning about Madison's wildlife. The guide and 1 or 2 of my fellow adventurers were really good at identifying trees – something I am not. I was quite jealous. So I think a book on Wisconsin's trees is in my future.

Speaking of trees, an entry or 2 ago I wrote about taking our Christmas tree down to the park by us and donating it so an artist could make a labyrinth. It took me a few weeks but I finally took a stroll through it.

It was fairly early on a Saturday morning so I had the run of the place to myself. At the entryway there was a "Tree Museum" with the various kinds of trees we put up in our homes and decorate for Christmas on display. I learned that, of the bunch, the Balsam Fir and White Spruce were native to Wisconsin.

After looking at the various types of trees I'd be encountering out in the labyrinth, I began my journey.

It was quite calm and peaceful, except for occasional noise from traffic. And cold too. Thankfully it was sunny. A spate of chilly days meant the lake was frozen good and solid so it was off to take a walk on the water.

I assume there's a limnological term for when sheets of ice gets pushed up and over chunks of ice or onto the shore but I don’t know what it is. Here the ice is slowly making its way over the riprap towards the shore.

There were a couple ice fishing shanties farther out. I could hear boisterous laughter from the one way out there and saw someone step out of it. He stood there for a short time and then retreated back inside. I'm not sure if he took a leak or was checking on tip ups.

It was just gorgeous out on the ice.

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I've cooked a few Ethiopian dishes since my last entry. You may recall that I made some spiced clarified butter, nit'ir qibe. Its first use was in a batch of doro wot which is an Ethiopian chicken stew seasoned with berbere. Berbere is basically an East African curry as it's a blend of a dozen or so spices. We buy it from Penzy's. I don't know how hot the stuff is traditionally but Penzy's do not hold back with the ground chili pepper.

My Frau made the doro wot while I tried my hand at injera bread again. While the injera turned out better than the first batch, it still was miles away from the light, spongy stuff I've had at restaurants and from Kukulu Market in Chicago.

The Frau's doro wot, on the other hand, was magnificent.

She'd made it before but I feel the nit'ir qibe really elevated this batch above her previous efforts as it tasted much more like the stuff we get at restaurants. Unlike the versions we get at restaurants, however, this stuff was spicy. I mean really hot. Not surprising, really, as there was a ¼ cup of berbere in it.

We each ate a healthy serving and drank cold beverages between each spoonful. I had an epic endorphin rush that lasted for half an hour or so. There is no doubt in my mind that I would have started hallucinating if I'd gone back for a second helping.

We were somewhere around Madison on the edge of the prairie when the doro wot began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should work the remote control…” 

After putting my bowl in the sink, I went out into the living room and sat on the couch for a while to enjoy my buzz.

The other Ethiopian dishes I've made were nowhere near as deadly but no less tasty.

First was a batch of cabbage gomen. I think gomen is simply greens so it's a bit like collard greens. Kind of. It was diced cabbage lightly sautéed and then simmered with lots of spices. I got a blister grinding up the fenugreek seed with a mortar and pestle. They are tough little buggers. It turned out well, though I will dial back the ginger next time. Just a little too much here and it went from pleasingly aromatic to just a tad on the bitter side.

The next dish was shrimp tibs. From what I can tell by my highly unexhaustive internet searches, tibs is a bit like an East African stir fry. Protein and vegetables are sautéed in nit'ir qibe with other spices. I was very happy with how it turned out.

This dish had berbere in it but a fairly small amount and so our tongues were spared. One ingredient that the recipe called for is korerima or black cardamom, though I am more familiar with it as Grains of Paradise. It's kinda sorta like black pepper with a bit of citrus flavor to it. But don't be fooled. Korerima is from Africa while black pepper is from India and they're from different plant families. I've bought Grains of Paradise in Milwaukee before but surely I can find it here in Madison at an ethnic grocery store somewhere.

My most recent attempt at Ethiopian cooking was a batch of sega alicha which is a beef stew with turmeric. It was very tasty.

The lesson here is to let the butcher cut up your meat if they offer to. I went into the butcher shop and asked for 2 pounds of beef stew meat. The guy went in the back and came out with a 2# slab of beef neck. He offered to cut it but I said no. Like a fool. It wouldn't have been that bad except my knives are not sharp and I am betting the folks at the butcher shop have very sharp ones that are just perfect for removing silver skin.

Very tasty. Next time I think I will add some dry mead in addition to the water/stock combination. No berbere so it was easy going on our mouths.

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The bonus photo this time is of what I call the UFO house here in Madison. It must be a semi-earthen home. And look at the red glass at the entryway. Surely this is where they had the neighborhood key parties back in the 70s.