Kathy McIntosh's Blog

Don’t Needle Me: The Words We Use

Thoughts about words tend to needle me quite often. While traveling a while back, I saw a woman toting a sewing machine as her carry-on luggage. No one stopped her. What is the matter with the Transportation Security Administration? Don’t they realize the dangers inherent in sewing machines? Consider the terminology. A needle is a…

Who’s Defining Mature? Thoughts on Aging

I heard a woman in a doctor’s waiting room tell the receptionist she had no problem waiting. “I’m retired; I have nothing to do.” What?!

Excuse me, but please don’t think you speak for all of us who have retired from jobs that paid us regularly. (As a writer, I’ll never retire.)

It’s my birthday this month, so the passage of time has been on my mind. Our daughter phoned me yesterday and asked how I was doin...

Creamy Tomato Pumpkin Soup

By Ellie Krieger for The Washington Post (with some adaptations)

Servings: 4 (makes 5 generous cups)

1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola, grapeseed or safflower (I used avocado)
1 small yellow onion (5 ounces), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger (or cracked ginger from Penzey’s, because it was in the cupboard)
2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
One (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their jui...

Argentine Empanadas

Adapted from a recipe by Lauren Allen on TastesBetterfromScratch.com

Dough can be made up to a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator

 For the dough: (makes about 20 regular size empanadas*)4 cups flour2 teaspoons salt½ cup unsalted butter , room temperature1 egg , beaten2 Tablespoons oil¾ – 1 cup warm waterEgg wash ( 1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp water)

*This depends on who’s making the empanadas. Our newbie crew mad...

Lethal, Fatal or Deadly?

Ever wonder what’s the difference between lethal, fatal, or deadly? Or does the fact that I wonder make you nervous?  As a writer of mysteries, some may believe that I think too often about death. Actually, I’m more into killing extraneous words, or at least into using the right ones. So I wondered… Are lethal…

Lessons from a Foster Dog

It’s been an “interesting” two weeks! When we volunteered to foster a dog from the Pima Animal Care Center here in Tucson, we imagined it would be our “dog fix,” since our beloved Catahoula had died in 2021.

Nope. Nothing like that. Worse and far better.

Clara, a German Shepherd dog mix, arrived at the Pima Animal Care Center in April, sick, dehydrated, anorexic and a nervous wreck. She had parvovirus, a deadly...

Get Your Words Right

I cannot make my days longer, so I strive to make them better. Henry David Thoreau I’m afraid some writers have twisted these great words into, “I cannot make my words better, so I strive to make them longer.” As George Orwell brilliantly put it: “the great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there…

Rorters, spruiking and malarkey

While researching the art of the long con for a new novel, I came across an article from Australia and was introduced to two delightful words: rorter and spruiking. Exploring them led me farther astray. What a great way to procrastinate. A rorter is generally considered Australian slang, and is a noun meaning a swindler,…

What’s in a Word?

What is in a word? You’ve heard it before. They don’t speak American in Scotland. A Scot would say that we Americans may have a few wee errors in our language. Some fun ways with words I noticed during a visit to Scotland: “Wee” is thrown in everywhere. “Have a seat at that wee table.”…

Smoked Trout Salad with Apple & Manchego

Adapted from Food & Wine Annual 2008

We cut this in half but prepare all the dressing. The apple matchsticks save well if you sprinkle them with lemon juice. And grate all the cheese and reserve half.

3 tablespoons mayonnaise�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ��3 cups mixed greens
3 tablespoons cider vinegar�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ��3 ounces Manchego cheese, coarsely shredded
1 tablespoon extra-vir...