From Sunday’s Globe Magazine

Squash, Green Bean, and White Bean Casserole

“Set the oven at 425 degrees. Spread the squash, flat side up, in a baking pan and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Add 1/4 cup of the water to the edges of the pan. Roast the squash for 30 minutes or until it is almost tender when pierced with a fork. Set it aside to cool completely.”

And that would be about it for me. If I were the cook. But Diane is fearless, always has been, and she chopped and peeled and seasoned her way through the remaining six paragraphs as effortlessly as I click through web sites. Too me, cooking is like waiting in line. If I can throw a sword fish steak on the grill, flip it once after five minutes, then fine, I’ll do it. But paragraphs of instructions raises the same hackles as “Some assembly required.”

It’s worth a closer look

While Diane cooked, I played grease monkey. I came home early to work on Diane’s overheating Mazda, and after a call to Peter, my all knowing brother-in-law, a hunt for the right tools inlcuding my not oft-used Ohm meter, and two trips to auto parts stores, with one stop at the library to scope out what Chilton’s Auto Repair recommends, I fixed it. The fan wasn’t spinning at idle, but now, with the newly installed coolant sensor, the temperature gauge no longer registers – Bail Out, The Car Is About To Explode.

However, the best thing is not the repair. I was ready to let Diane deal with that. Nope, it’s The Enemy. Rakkity told me he had just finished Lee Child’s latest book, but because it came from his library, he couldn’t send it north. I assumed there would be no chance of finding it at my library until half the town had read it, but no, it was right there on the Popular New Fiction shelf.

Speaking of rakkity, I asked him two questions we’ve all been scratching our heads about, and I could either paraphrase his answers or reprint, without his permission, his email.

> Whatever happened to this year’s Beartooth saga?

“Yeah. That’s what I’d like to know. Captain Phil and Surgeon
Reed have disappeared into the woodwork, and I can’t do anything without their photos. Obviously they have different priorities than you and me. Sheesh! Don’t they know the blog needs content?”

> You still playing racquetball with Patrick?

“Are you kidding? Does the pope drop trou in the woods? Do bears swing from the balconies of the vatican? Is rakkity named rakkity?As a matter of fact, last evening I started work on a new racquetball story, “The King is dead, long live the King.” But, what with 25th anniversary festivities and all in the Schmahl house from Thurs to Sun, I may not get it posted till next Monday, but I’ll sneak a few minutes to
at least write it on my laptop (when my sweet S.O. isn’t looking).”

Welcome Back From Ireland, Susan.