Today was moving day.......

The computer and the cookbook shelf was moved to the spare room to the south. I am excited and yet lazy. There is a lot of work to be done! Granddaughter is anxious to spend the night, and I am anxious to put it all away. No pictures, tomorrow will be a shopping day for many things, including a rechargeable unit for the camera.

Thanks to my Honey and my Son, the 'puter is moved and set up. We have a lot more to do and get done, but the little platforms that were built for the desk are just perfect. I am comfortable when I key.

We have been noshing on leftovers and getting a bit of shopping done. Other than that, nothing. Which is to say a lot actually, it is usually busy here with cleaning, cooking and working various shifts.

I do feel a great need to be organized and get things done for the holidays ahead. However...

Work is going, OK
Everyone is well
The house is warm
The pantry is well stocked

so all in all, everything and everybody is fine. Life is good.

If I am a week or so behind what I think is on schedule, life will still be good.

Oh but something new...................a little dash of color. Have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Here is a run down on the week,

1. menus are not as useful when you work different days and different shifts.
2. the batteries in my camera must be replaced before I can blog again.
3. work is still busy, very busy; but I actually have an idea of what I am doing now!
4. busy time in the kitchen now, I hope to have some interesting things to share.

HERE IS MY LIST OF WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR 2008
disclaimer: not in order of importance or preference.

4 happy, healthy, adult kids that I respect and love.

1 granddaughter that is pure joy, and a daily lesson for me about love and life.

1 "honey" that brings me smiles and is my partner.

a warm home

a paycheck

creativity to find the joy everyday
ambition to make it happen
maturity to understand if it does not, because I am not in charge; in all ways and at all times.

Have a wonderful day, I know you will eat your meat and vegetables, so please save some room for pie!

M

Looking at the book, and trying to decide

Menu planning is hard, at first anyway. Now I know why some folks pay for a menu service or use a food preparation service. Even with that said, I feel that I will get the hang of this, in short order.

Using what we have, is the first condition. It is all well and fine to purchase a cucumber for a salad, but with a well stocked pantry it would be silly to choose recipes that did not match what we already have.

Incorporating leftovers is another condition. Also it is time saving to have part of the meal already completed. Since I have a small pork roast to cook for dinner tonight, I will probably find a recipe that will use the rest of the meat.

I have never been a "what sounds good" kind of eater. Unless of course it is a meal out, and by all means, you should eat what sounds good! My plan therefore is to be adventuresome and try things that might have slipped past my sights in previous looking and searching. And I will also give myself permission to know in advance that, someone might not like what is on the table after that first bite, and it will be OK.

I think that will only leave, making a decision. Back to that hard part we started with.

Here goes, lets just get this done and over with:

Saturday
Roast pork, mashed potatoes

Sunday
I won't be home for dinner, Honey will have to fend for himself. I hear a can of chili calling!

Monday
Thai salad with Pork and peanut dressing (Cheap Fast Good pg 286/287)

Tuesday
Pan fried chicken thighs, buttered corn

Wednesday
Pintos with smoked meat (from the freezer), biscuits

Thursday
Thanksgiving

Friday
Leftovers of course!

Not to bad. I realize that I only used one recipe from the book. But the goal was to have a menu plan, and the book will be used in other ways throughout the week. For instance:

Rex's Oatmeal pie pg 441
Winter Roasted Carrots pg 317
Spiced Pear Butter pg 414

The thing I like most about this book is that it allows for substitutions, and encourages them. The recipes call for a can of something, OR a homemade version of that same item. Nice touch, and it guarantees that you can cook with what you have, stay in budget and eat well.

M

Here's what happened, and what I want to do

Hello is anyone out there???

Boy did I get ill, the worst upset, aching and not having a good time; intestinal virus.

I actually had thought I had food poisoning, but when I returned to work; I learned lots of folks had had a variation of my "food poisoning". And since I work in long term care, I certainly did not want to take what I had to work.

I have never slept so much, and done nothing for so long.

I was not happy.

But it did help me to learn that I missed posting here, and that I have been a bit scattered in my posts. That I have a demanding job, and maybe I have been expecting a bit much of myself. I can be impatient.

When you are weak, can't eat, your middle hurts and does not like you anymore, and tired of being tired, self honesty is really very easy!

So I decided to simplify.

I have talked about the bookshelf with the cookbooks, I have shown the repair after it collapsed, and I have talked about working from one book at a time.

So I chose a book, one book to concentrate on and work from. I took another tour of the book, last night. I have no plan for what to focus on, and maybe that is good. I will seek recipes that call for the things already on hand, and that will fit in with my food shopping style. We shop on Saturday morning, and then a quick stop mid-week for milk and maybe salad fixins. In the past few years I have come to dislike shopping, but it is one of the things we do together; and Honey likes it. Likes it enough that we must go up and down every row.

The one vegetable that I would like to cook more often is cabbage. I know, cabbage is not everyone's favorite. But it keeps well and is available for a long eating season.

The one thing I would like to do more often is eat vegetables. I know I have yammered on about eating vegetables before, but even with today's food prices, vegetables are still a good value. And as such, they should fill the belly. I use to have a "map" I would follow on my plate, half the plate would be vegetables in one form or another (cook and or raw) and the rest of the plate would be protein and starch. 50% vegetables, 25% protein and 25% starch. I have gotten away from vegetables as I have become older, busier and lazier.

The one thing that might help is a menu system. I have read time and time again about using a menu. I have thought that it would stop creativity, be more work, etc etc etc. But I have (finally) realized that I am tapped out when I get home. When it comes to deciding on what to have for dinner, I then decide badly. We don't eat well, and waste happens. So I am going to pick a recipe for 4 dinners, and get the needed ingredients on Saturday. Discipline, discipline, discipline.

That makes 3 "one" things. Probably enough for now.

Enjoy your day, it is time for a second mug of coffee and getting ready for work.

M

Presenting food differently

Last night I went ahead and made up the oat bran muffin mix. This is a photo of the finished product, that I baked up this morning. The brown smudge on the plate (center and front) is where a muffin was sitting, until I ate it, before the photo. They are good, but I would like to make them very good, before sharing the recipe.

But the whole process made me begin to think about food, our opinions regarding what we like, what has an ick factor, what could be different. Hence, presenting food differently.

It is not a new concept, and lately there have been a couple of cookbooks and a lawsuit, about presenting food differently. But the difference I am referring to is an honest presentation. Not "sneaking" grated carrots into meatballs so you kids might get a teaspoon of carrot into their belly, at that meal.

We tend to have a food of the moment that will keep us healthy, no matter what we eat all the other times we sit down to a meal, or eat on the run.

But it simply is not true, actually never has been.

We just like buzz in our society, and food buzz has helped in small ways. The buzz has helped us reconnect with the good foods that have always been available, but we might have forgotten about. Blueberries, oatmeal, tomatoes, yogurt, etc etc etc. These foods were always there, ready to be enjoyed, they had simply been set aside.

Repeat after me, everything old becomes new again.

Some of the most mundane foods are the best for us. Oatmeal, cooked as a cereal does tend to get boring. But baked into a grab and go muffin, or into crunchy granola, you now have the benefit of oats at least 3 times a week. And you had the enjoyment of 3 different meals.

Cauliflower is another example. Steamed it is OK. Add a good cheddar cheese sauce, it is better. But separated into florets, sliced thin and oven roasted with a smidgen of oil; it is delicious. Chilled and tossed with tomatoes and vinaigrette and you have a healthy salad.

But really this is "old time" cooking coming back around. You take what you have, cook it with imagination and enjoy. It is liberating actually. Nothing complicated, it does not have to be. Eat in season, eat what you have, eat slowly, eat with someone.

M

How was your day?

It does not look pretty, but this is the beginning of a pot of black bean soup. It smells good cooking, and will have lots of chunks of smoked ham. It will be served with chopped hard cooked eggs as a garnish and hot biscuits. Add a salad and some fruit, dinner is done.
I know my crockpot is too small for this chicken, my plan is to push it down when it is a bit softer. I was organizing the freezer and found this slightly frost bitten bird and decided to poach it in some chicken broth that I had. It will make some great chicken and biscuit pot pies, enchiladas and fried rice. And the pickin's from the bones will go back into the broth for a pot of soup.
These are the last of the tomatoes from the Potager. They need to be cleaned and the greener ones put on a plate to finish getting ripe. I will miss being able to pick tomatoes for a salad.

I have found that I am not frugal enough, because there is still waste going on in this household.

One of the ways that I think will be helpful is to be more organized.

Today I stopped at the dollar store and found 6 dish pans and 6 covered shoe boxes.

For $4.00 plus tax, and a couple hours of my time; the freezer is organized. The freezer had actually been my biggest waste producer. Things fall to the bottom of a chest freezer. And then you tend to load from the top over the very food that should be eaten first.

Now there is 2 pans for meat, 2 others for vegetables, etc. They are stacked one on another, but it is easy to lift a pan out and get to what you want, and then put the pans back in the freezer. Much much better than digging and fishing around, messing up the little bit of organization that you started with. And your hands don't get frost bitten.

The clear shoe boxes will come in handy to organize sewing and craft items in the guest bedroom.
And I am fairly certain that the two remaining dish pans will not go to waste. They make great "drawers" on a closet shelf for hats and belts and such.

The reason I feel that I am not doing enough with what we have, is the high cost of food each time we go to the market. The bill gets larger and larger, and there is only 2 of us. We don't keep track on paper, but do have a fairly consistent shopping pattern. And that pattern shows the truth. And the truth is, food has gone up. In some cases way up.

Other than that, I have been exploring the blogging community for additional homemade mixes. I have found a couple that I want to try, things that are right in line with healthy eating and something easy after a long day at work. More and more I want easy, after a day at work. The new job can be taxing, but we still need to eat. Also, Honey and I rarely work the same shift, so some things that can be reheated for each of us, would be nice. Too many nights dinner has been a bowl of cold cereal.

Tomorrow will be making up the mixes, and getting that big chicken in the crockpot under control!

M

Another weekend is coming!

I am excited about that.

We have been busy moving things and fixing things and trying to sell things (love craigslist) in an effort to reclaim our unused spaces into usable spaces. The space really was not unused, how many people have an empty room? Our "unused" spaces were actually cluttered spaces used for a single purpose and that was not a good use of space, since it is a small house.

Last night we had some of the Saturday Soup Pintos, they were very good. Ladled over cornbread, very comforting on a cold rainy night. The dinner before was leftovers from Monday. On Monday I had filled the crockpot with pork steaks and Italian sausage links layered in scalloped potatoes. It was nice to come home to dinner that was ready. However it is time to get back to cooking and trying some new food dishes. I get in a rut, both for trying new and making the same ol same ol. I realize it is all related to time and energy. Some days the time and energy is in short supply!

On the kitchen counter I have a selection of cookbooks that I am currently using. Those books have been flagged for things that caught my eye when I took them down from the big bookcase. Obviously I should look around my own kitchen before I complain of no inspiration! Each one of these books has makers. Markers marking recipes that I want to try, so I need to get trying.

Right now the blogging community buzz is about Thanksgiving. Every blog and article is filled with wonderful ideas and recipes to help celebrate in a very foodie way. But we are very stubborn and traditional. It is the same menu year after year. Actually I like that. I look forward to enjoying the same foods. Also I do not repeat the Thanksgiving menu at Christmas, maybe that is why we look forward to it so much each year.

The only change in the menu now, is who cooks what. Both my girls ( D and DIL) are good cooks. They each are friendly and caring hostesses. D now has a large enough home to be the hostess from time to time. For years DIL has graciously been the hostess when the clan all comes together. Interestingly enough both my boys (S and SIL) have definite tastes in food. One is not a pie eater, and one is not a gravy eater. Personally I like that in each of them, it makes more gravy and pie for me. Well OK, it makes more pie and gravy for everyone, but me too!

It was quick, "lets have it at my house this year" and "I will make the.........." and the meeting was over. Easy as pie. We each have our favorites, for DIL it is roasted sweet potatoes, for D it is the green bean casserole, for S it is the oyster stuffing, and for SIL it is anything chocolate! For me it is the gravy, golden and velvety and lots of it. For Honey it is food, he is a no complain kind of guy. For the granddaughter, it is the side dishes and dessert.

This is our Thanksgiving menu:
Roast turkey, with dressing in the bird and a casserole of oyster stuffing baked seperate.
Mashed potatoes with Gravy.
Roasted sweet potatoes with a light brown sugar glaze.
Green bean casserole.
Tossed salad.
Fresh rolls.
Vegetable Tray.
Orange Marshmellow fruit bowl.
Cranberry sauce.
Pumkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Chocolate cake.
Coffee, milk, wine, water and pepsi.

The Orange Marshmellow fruit bowl, is something I came across years ago. It is tasty, but not real healthy. It is sweet enough that it could be considered a dessert. It even contains a couple of items I rarely use, actually only use for this dish. But the kids liked it as kids and now it is part of our tradition.

Orange Marshmallow fruit bowl
make the evening before

1 small carton of small curd cottage cheese
4 cans of mandarin oranges
1 small carton of cool whip
1 small package of orange flavored jello
1 c mini marshmallows

Open the cans of oranges and drain well in a colander. Combine the cottage cheese and the dry jello mix in a medium size bowl. The sight will be an almost neon orange, do not let that scare you, it will turn out ok! Fold the cool whip into the cottage cheese mixture, then the oranges and marshmallows.

Put in a pretty bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let it "rest" until Thanksgiving dinner. The extra moisture from the cottage cheese and oranges will be absorbed by the marshmallows and it will be creamy and sweet .

Serves 8 to 10

M

Saturday Soup

Saturday soup. Or something even better!

I had read about Saturday Soup being a frugal/free meal for a Saturday lunch.

It seemed like a good idea, but when I read the full paragraph it stated that all you do throughout the week is collect the meat scraps and pan drippings along with leftover cooked vegetables and the liquid that they were cooked in, bring it to a boil, adjust the seasonings and serve a delicious soup to your awaiting family.

Personally I can think of some combination's throughout the week that would not make good soup. Fish and spinach on Monday, Meatloaf and beets on Tuesday, Chicken and baked squash on Wednesday, I think you get the idea. My first thought was that there would probably not be anyone at the table on that Saturday when the soup was being served.

However I liked the frugal part. And as a cook with opinions, I came up with a modified plan. It does require some special equipment:

One 1 gallon ziplock freezer bag and, one leftover plastic mayonnaise jar with a lid.

Oh and by the way it might (probably will) take more than one week to accomplish this task.

As you peel raw produce for a recipe, you put the clean edible parts that are not going to be used in the recipe into the plastic bag. Parts that you previously threw away.

Things like that outside layer of the onion. You know the one, that tough outside layer that will not get tender no matter how long you saute it.

The bottom of the celery stalk, or the leaves that you do not have a use for, or the wilted stalks that will not perk up.

The trimmed ends from carrots. And the wilted aged ones that have grown sprouts. Wash them quickly, break in half and throw them in the bag.

Tomato ends, and the slices that no one wanted to eat the next day. You know the ones I am talking about, they were sliced and set out for salads and sandwiches. They were not all eaten, and so they were saved in the fridge. But today they are mushy, add them to the bag.

Leftover fried potatoes, this does not happen often, I usually find a way to use them up. But throw any leftover fried potatoes into that bag.

That last spoonful of carrots or corn or green beans that did not get eaten, throw it into the bag.

Unless it is cabbage, broccoli or beets, throw it into the bag.

For the jar, drain the cooking water from cooked vegetables. Place the jar in the freezer, when you have more, add it on top of what is frozen, and return the jar to the freezer. You could also add, the liquid from a can of tomatoes if the recipe did not call for the juice. I do not add liquid from canned bean products. But I would add the liquid from soaking dried mushrooms. Boiled potato water is good, but I usually like to keep it for other uses, like baking bread.

Most likely the bag and the jar will not be full at the same time, and that is OK. To make stock....

1 bag of frozen vegetable scraps
1 t butter
1 t oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 jar of saved liquid
4 c water
6 pepper corns
1 t salt

Warm the butter and oil in the bottom of a large stock pot until butter is melted, turn the heat up to high, and add the frozen vegetables. Saute them along with the garlic until some of the pieces are golden and have some browned spots. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Strain. You will have approximately 1/2 gallon.

You can make soup, or you can use this beautiful stock for risotto, to cook beans with smoked meats for flavor, the choices are your own.

Today I made pinto beans with smoked pork neck bones. I will pick the meat from the bones and stir it back in. Divide up the beans and freeze for an easy dinner served with brown rice or as a side dish.

M

Rose Hip Jelly, an experiment

This was an interesting and fun experiment. I like making something from not much. I think this qualifies.
The first step was to harvest the hips from the roses. I noticed as I was snipping away, that there were not that many. I guessed that I might have the required 2 cups. I have no information about the roses on the side of my home, they were planted by the previous owners. .

I dumped them into a 2 cup measure to see how close I was in my guess. I could of used a few more, but hey; it is an experiment. The blossom end of the hip was snapped off. The hips were washed and the soft and dark part of the blossom end was pared away. Another wash and then ready to be cut.

I chopped the hips, cut 2 apples into large pieces, added 2 1/2 c water and 1/2 c Chardonnay. Brought it to a boil, and then let is simmer 1 hour.

Here is my strained liquid. I looks a lot like chicken stock!

For the jelly,

The strained liquid, it measured 2 1/2 cups
dash of salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
5 c sugar
1 package of pectin

I brought it to a boil, then boiled rapidly for 7 minutes. There was not enough foam on top to worry about, so no skimming was necessary. I ladled it into 5 half pint jars, and put the small amount left over into a small dish to eat up now. Secured the lids and bands and gave it a 10 minute water bath.
I tasted the jelly on the stirring spoon, it is rather tart and nondescript. I hope it improves with age! I would think that the red hips that I have seen picture after picture of would have more flavor. And I also think you would need a lot more hips to simmer in the liquid, so that the strained liquid would be stronger and have more flavor.

And here is the finished batch..........

It looks like honey, just like the recipe stated it would.

M

what counts as waste?

I had put that topic in my "what I am interested in" sidebar.

I hate waste.

The word waste is fraught with opinion. And we all know that opinion is truth, at least it seems that way in the media and overheard conversations.

But I shall keep my opinions to myself, and talk about waste.

My definition of waste: the throwing away or not using, that which can be used.

I must also confess, I am wasteful. And I want to be waste free.

Which accounts for my desire to have red worms, compost, be more creative in the kitchen, be happy with less, enjoy what there is, trade and/or barter, try new things, and........

Just be happy, with me.

I believe happy folks are not wasteful. Because a happy soul, is fed; it does not crave.

I have in the past thrown out perfectly good food, clothes and furnishings. I am not ashamed, it is part of maturing, to be one way and become another as we learn and grow. And we all grow differently, at different speeds and with different outcomes.

I have always been "thrifty", even when wasteful.

Rather an odd combination. But you can be thrifty and get a good price on something like a chair. And be wasteful the year after and simply not want it and throw it out.

But I believe that I have eased (not to be confused with easy, growth is never easy) into a place of calm. The buzz is gone. No more hurry hurry hurry and, get one more thing done right now. My standards have not changed. I still want clean, comfortable and pleasant. I still want good food, happy times and love. I still want security, enough money to live happy, and a nice home.

I simply do not want a wasteful home, house or life.

That is me, and I invite you to share your thoughts.

M

Rose Hips

I have spent a bit of time this morning researching rose hips on google. There are roses on the south side of the house, and the bushes have hips to harvest. I have always had a soft spot for roses due to my grandmother. She always had roses in her yard, and she always had a can of rose and lilac talc on her dresser.

She was the beginning in my world of food and growing and cooking.

When we had Thanksgiving dinner at her house, she would let me "cook" carrots on the heating radiator in the living room. That radiator got hot alright, but not hot enough to actually cook the carrots, but we ate them just the same. And of course She stated that they were the most delicious carrots she ever ate.

That's what grandmothers do, they love. It is that simple, they love.

She was also the beginning in my world of being a grandmother, and I try to be just like her.

In my travels I found all sorts of rose stuff. Recipes for syrup, and jelly and jam. Additional recipes for drying the hips and making tea throughout the winter. And recipes for many other uses for roses, potpourri, fragrance jars and rose beads. The rose beads I will add to my list of things I would like to do. I even asked Sadge of firesignfarms for some information, and she graciously returned an email with information.

Back to the jelly; there are many recipes, and they have a basic procedure. I did find one that called for a pint of hips and the peelings from 2 tart apples to be simmered before straining. I liked that one, because the apple taste would not be as strong as the others that I found calling for whole apples cut up. I also found one that called for a cup of dry white wine.

Being a cook and having my own food personality, I would like to combine a couple of the recipes found, and make up my own.

I am going to simmer a pint of chopped hips, and the peel of 2 tart apples and 1/2 c dry white wine, combined with 2 cups of water. And use that as my base for jelly.

I am hoping for a quiet weekend. Life around here has been busy and a bit of a fury. I have a half shift on Sunday, so I won't have a complete weekend. But my weekend duty only comes once a month, so I shall not complain too much. I would like to get a few things organized.

I have come to understand that "organizing" for me is therapeutic. It is instant gratification to see what had been a mess or messy, organized and easy to access. The same is true of cooking. It occupies my mind, my hands and my creativity. And you have something delicious to eat, take pride in and enjoy.

Happy Friday!

M

Green onion tops

I had read a line in another blog; while I was blog hopping, about growing green onion tops. The writer of the blog stated that they had read about it on cookthink.

I went for a visit, over at cookthing. And yes there was information about growing green onion tops. As a big fan of green onions, I wanted to try this.

You can never have enough green onions, after all they are mild and colorful and well I simply like them.

As it turned out for the last Sunday cafe, I used green onion for one of the dishes. I cut off about 1 inch of the bottom of the onion, leaving all of the roots intact. I found a little something to put them in for the experiment, and waited and watched and took some photos.

It took about a week for there to be any noticeable growth. At the time, I was wondering if it would really work, but simply let the little container sit on the window ledge.

After the growing begins, it goes fairly fast. This is about half way.

And this is today.

Granted there is not much, the bunch of green onions only had 5. I seem to recall that a bunch of green onions was fairly standard and as such the term was used as a measurement in recipes.

1 bunch green onions sliced thin........

Inflation maybe?

From a standard bunch of 8, to a new bunch of 5? All the more reason to grow your own. Especially as an ingredient, to be sliced and added. This is not meant to be a replacement for green onions on a vegetable tray. But the next time you prepare a couple of bunches of green onions for a veggie tray, cut off the bottom; so you can "plant" them on your windowsill.

Have a great day!

M

Tuna and noodles, a delicious casserole, nothing more to say

How does one describe a tuna casserole without losing the listener? There is a certain automatic sense of dread when someone says tuna casserole, even with me, and I know about this one.

And this one is delicious.

I originally found the recipe in Sunset magazine, years and years ago. Like most recipes, you make it your own.

Delicious Tuna Casserole
350 degrees

1 recipe Puffy Cheese Noodles (remember you can make these ahead and store in the freezer)  
OR 2 c elbow macaroni cooked.
1 c frozen peas
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can milk
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
2 t dill weed, crumbled
2 T sherry wine
1 or 2 cans of albacore, drained and broken apart not flaked
1/4 c panko or dry bread crumbs
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and boil uncovered 9 - 10 minutes. Add peas and cook additional minute. Drain well, and set aside.

Saute the garlic in the olive oil until soften but not brown. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer 3 - 4 minutes. Combine the noodles and sauce in a small casserole dish.

Stir together the panko and cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake 15 minutes.

Serves 3 -4

Have a great day! As always thanks for stopping by, I really do appreciate it.

This post is being shared with:

The 12 days of Bloggie-mas @ a moderate life

Survey, no not to seek an opinion

The industry I work in is long term care. I have about 6 years in, so far. One of the things that happens each year is a "Survey". This is not where anyone wants your opinion, like say at a grocery store. It is where the state comes and takes a survey of the building, and all departments to insure that laws are being upheld and all practices and procedures meet or exceed state standards.

It is stressful. Not because of any wrong doing, but still very stressful.

I work (now) in the business office. It is fairly quiet compared to the rest of the building in survey. Today however my files will be examined. The staff files for all mandatory documents, the licensing binder to insure all licensed staff have a current license. The I9 binder to make sure each staff member is legal to work in the USA. That each staff member has a separate Health File so that HIPPA laws are not violated.

Then we move on to the resident files. Including the Resident Trust Account, to see that it is balanced. That I have a true accounting of the funds from the account that have been disbursed.

And I am sure there is more.

But I have only been there for 6 weeks.

So after a 10 hour day yesterday, we had leftovers from the freezer.

I think tonight after another 10 hour day, we will have breakfast for dinner.

It does not look good for food this week!


Have a great day, I have to go to work!!!

M

It is a rainy Sunday here

update!

WOW! This is an oldie, and please excuse the newbie photos, but the pasta is very good!

Also a busy weekend, we started on the "get it all moved around and reorganized" room change out/switcharoo. Honey is (as usual, because he knows how) doing most of the work, but I did get in there and ripped up the carpet and pad and pulled most of the staples out of the floor, where the carpet pad simply comes up and leaves the staple behind. I also have broom patrol, which I am good at.

Since it is my weekend and we all need a little fun time; I wanted to post something, and with the rain noodles came to mind. We had these at the last Sunday Cafe, and they were a hit. I do not know where the recipe came from, it has been in my possession for a long time, simply scratched on a piece of paper. Even though I have had this recipe for many many years, that was the first time I had made them.

Puffy Cheese Noodles
serves 2 to 3

1 egg
1 T milk

3/4 c flour
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1 t baking powder
1/4 t saltCombine the dry ingredients in a small bowl, combine the egg and milk in another. Beat the egg and milk together until well mixed. Dump the dry ingredients into the wet, use a fork and combine well. This is a stiff dough against the fork. Do not add any additional liquid. You may need to use your hands to work all the dry ingredients into the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead 10 - 12 times. Shape it into a disk shape. This step will make the dough easier to roll out.

Roll the dough out into a (roughly) 12X12 shape. This size keeps the thickness of the noodle correct. Sprinkle with a bit more flour and rub gently over the surface. This is an important step; although the dough feels stiff, it has a lot of moisture.

Roll the dough up like a jelly roll and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Not a good shot, but it helps to show what your rolled dough should look like.






Unroll onto a clean towel and let dry.
You can cook them after drying or break in half for easy storage and freeze.

When ready to cook, bring a large pan of water to boil, add 1 T salt to the water. Boil uncovered for 8 - 10 minutes. Drain and serve.

You can multiply the recipe, just remember to take one recipe portion to roll at a time. That way the thickness will be correct.

These are simple and simply good. But to dress them up a bit.....


Garlic and brown butter sauce

2 T butter
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 c fresh minced parsley
additional Parmesan cheese

Saute the garlic in 1 T of the butter until golden and soft. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining butter and gently brown the butter over a low heat. Remove pan from heat, return the sauteed garlic (and with the butter it was sauteed in) and the parsley. Combine and toss with the drained noodles. Sprinkle with additional cheese and serve.

As always, thanks so much for dropping by, I appreciate your time and comments.

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12 days of bloggie-mas @ a moderate life