1-27-2019 Oops!

Thoughts and Quotes: Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.
                                                           William Shakespeare

That's for sure. I told you the full moon last week was the Snow Moon. Not so, it was the Wolf Moon. Snow Moon coming up in February.

Tasting: As I've told you, I always honor my relatives who have gone before me, and this week was my Auntie Kack's birthday. I always eat quiche, because she loved it so much. I had a piecrust I needed to use, so I thought I'd do something different, and I cut rounds and put them in a muffin tin. I wanted to give them a quick bake before the filling went in, and they slipped down so much, no room. 

Oh, well. I put a dab of butter in each one and back in the oven for a minute to melt. Then I gave them a good shake of cinnamon sugar, and voila! Tea time treats.

Then I remembered I have a recipe for crustless quiche. I've made it different ways; whatever is on hand. This time I used some leftover sauteed mushrooms, a chopped up Andouille sausage, and some sliced pimiento-stuffed olives in place of the bacon; used cheddar cheese.

CRUSTLESS QUICHE

1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheese of your choice

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 eggs

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup flour

1 Tbs butter, cut in pieces if cold

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1-1/2 cups milk

Heat oven to 350°.

Butter a 10” pie pan or quiche pan.

Sprinkle cheese and bacon over bottom of pan.

Put remaining ingredients in a blender; mix and pour over.

Bake 35 minutes.

Let stand 3-4 minutes before serving.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Stormy loves Mondays when we strip the bed to change the sheets. She's such a big help.

Tales: Not about books, but libraries. Lenexa Linda told me about this website. It only takes a couple of minutes, and even if you're a non-reader, I guarantee you'll smile after seeing it. Click HERE.

Too Busy for Blogging: Actually, I'm busy because of blogging. My daughter told me she was checking the drop down menus above for my recipe for Galopita and it wasn't there. I was sure I had posted it, so I'm in the process of rechecking every post to make sure the recipes are on the drop downs and that they work. Lots of problems. I've finished 2017 and 2018, but need to recheck 2016, because I think I might have "fixed" some before I figured out exactly how to fix them, if you know what I mean.

I signed up for the beginning blogger online class again to see if I could figure out why the lists are all nice and neat (same typestyle, same color, underlined) on my end, but when I go to the blog to view them, they're all over the place. I guess the important part is to get them to work regardless of how they look, right?

I'm also trying to find out why I get an error message when trying to set up the place to enter your email so you'll be notified of new blog posts.

The lessons have a discussion area, but when I asked the teacher about my problems, he said he didn't know and didn't have time to look into it. He said that my drop down problem might be a CSS conflict. What's a CSS? Anyone know?

The war isn't over. My next step is to go to the computer center at the Springfield library to see if I can get some help. Stay tuned.

I'll try to make my post more exciting next week. Feeling creative and the kitchen is calling.

The Big Question: Who has my lime-green Igloo cooler?

Take Time for Fun: Let's do National Days again this week. 

Monday, January 28 - Blueberry Pancake Day - yum!

Tuesday, January 29 - Your choice: Work a puzzle, plan a vacation, or eat corn chips

Wednesday, January 30 - Croissant Day - goody!

Thursday, January 31 - Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

Friday, February 1 - Wear Red or *Baked Alaska Day (how about both?)

Saturday, February 2 - Groundhog Day, or course, but also Tater Tot Day

Sunday, February 3 - Carrot Cake Day (a pain to make, but Walmart's isn't bad)

*Baked Alaska is really easy to make. Go to Desserts, Other on the drop downs above for the recipe. 

PRAY THE GROUNDHOG WON'T SEE HIS SHADOW

TRY TO GET SOME SUN

CALL A FRIEND OR RELATIVE

HONOR AT LEAST ONE OF THE NATIONAL DAYS - HAVE SOME FUN

INVITE SOMEONE TO TEA

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE

1-20-2019 Reality

Thoughts and Quotes: When you argue with reality, you lose - but only 100% of the time.  Byron Katie

Back in September, I posted some links at the end of my blogpost, but the post was long, and I've discovered that many of you missed them. Here they are again. Everyone needs to know this. It's reality; not exactly what we've been told.

Click HERE, and HERE, and HERE.  You'll think it's the same video over and over, but look again. This is also very interesting. Click HERE.

Tasting: I have two new soup recipes for you. The first is an almond soup my friend Steg used to order at The French-Mediterranean Cafe before it closed. He asked if I could use a sketchy recipe his brother obtained from the chef and figure out how to make it so he could make it at home. We spent an afternoon testing and testing and came up with a reasonable duplication. I don't think he's made it yet. He knows how to work me and gets me to make it.

The other is a soup I found somewhere in the past which conforms to the Zone diet. If you make it as written, it's very quick, but rather expensive. Instead of using canned chicken, I buy a whole chicken or some chicken pieces and make my own broth and shred the chicken. And sometimes parsnips are difficult to find, so I use 1 cup of cooked rice instead. Many people don't care for dill weed, so you can use the herbs you prefer. If you choose thyme or rosemary, cut down the amount. A little goes a long way.

STEG’S ALMOND SOUP

(With a little help from a friend)

5 Tbs butter, divided

1-1/2 cups chopped onion

1 bay leaf

1 qt. (32 oz) chicken broth

1 cup slivered almonds, plus some to toast as garnish, if desired

1/2 oz cream sherry

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 Tbs chicken soup/stock base

3 cups whipping cream

4 Tbs flour

Melt 2 Tbs butter over medium-low heat in a large pot.

Add chopped onions and bay leaf.

Sauté until golden, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Add chicken broth and almonds.

Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Turn off heat and let steep 1 hour with the cover on.

Remove bay leaf.  Add sherry, pepper, and soup base. 

Puree with either a stand or immersion blender.

Add whipping cream and heat to boiling.

In the meantime, melt the remaining 3 Tbs butter in the microwave in a medium-sized bowl.  Add flour to make a paste.  Add a ladle of soup to the paste and blend well; keep adding soup until almost liquid and add to soup pot.

Bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and stir and cook for a few minutes until desired thickness.

ZONE SOUP

2 Tbs oil

4 parsnips (about 1 lb) cut into 1/2” pieces OR 1 cup cooked rice

4 ribs celery, sliced

1 turnip, (about 3/4 lb) cut into 1/2” pieces

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 Tbs finely chopped garlic

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you can’t stand mildly spicy)

16 cups chicken broth

7 5-oz cans chicken OR 5 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 16-oz pkg frozen carrots

1 10-oz pkg frozen broccoli

1 10-oz pkg frozen chopped collards OR spinach

1-1/2 cups frozen chopped onions

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped dill or 1 Tbs dried dill weed (Not dill seeds)

In a very large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat.

Add the parsnips, celery, turnip, jalapeno, garlic, salt, and cayenne.

Cook until vegetables are crisp tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the broth, chicken, carrots, broccoli, collards or spinach, onions, lemon juice, dill (or other herbs), and rice if using in place of parsnips.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

This makes 26 cups - 1 block per cup if you’re doing the Zone.

Tuesday's Tea Tray: Strawberries in snow. Mix equal parts small curd cottage cheese and plain yogurt and some sweetener or sugar. Add chopped strawberries. Somehow healthful food just doesn't seem right with tea. 

I wonder if I brought on the snow, because this is what happened on Saturday. Our first snow of the year. Pretty wimpy. If you want to see beautiful photos of snow, go to Carrie's blogpost HERE. She has some fun recipes on this post as well.

By midday Sunday, it already looked like this.

Tasting: Brother Bill and I went to a restaurant in Springfield we've been meaning to try, and we were thrilled with the menu. This is the band from my napkin.

The restaurant is called First Watch and only open for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. They close at 2:30. 

We both had breakfast tacos and black beans, described on the menu as: 

Farm Stand Breakfast Tacos: Three wholewheat-corn tortillas with scrambled eggs, Cajun chicken, chorizo, Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Topped with fresh avocado and housemade pico de gallo. Served with seasoned black beans. The black beans were really scrumptious.

Forgot the photo, as usual, so thank you to Bill for his photo.

At home, I eat this really boring substitute: Corn tortillas, eggs, cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Tales: I just finished reading Who, Me? by Betty MacDonald. If you're old enough, you've seen a movie called The Egg and I which is based on one of her books. This book is Betty's autobiography, with tales from her chicken farm days, her time in the tuberculosis sanitarium, and her life on one of the islands off the coast of Washington. Very entertaining. See if you can get it through your library consortium, because I just checked Amazon and the least expensive used copy is $30+.

Tidbits: If you can find Snapdragon apples, be sure to try them. They're grown in New York, and I'd never heard of them until I ran across them in a Lucky's Market last week. They're the best apples I've ever tasted. Also the prettiest.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Two new cats are trying to take over my feral cats' territory. I have to keep chasing them away. I call them Ruffian, Sr. and Ruffian, Jr. They look alike, but one is bigger and has white paws. I'm not ready to take on two more. I have no idea where they came from, but it did solve one problem - the neighbor's cat, Hercules, isn't coming around anymore. Guess the Ruffians scared him away.

Stormy has found something new to destroy. What fun!

Tidbits: From the almanac:

Things People Actually Said During Job Interviews: "When you do background checks on candidates, do things like public drunkenness arrests come up?"

Things We Can Learn From the Movies: You're likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.

Weather Lore: Tuesday is St. Vincent's Day. If the sun shines, there shall be much wind.

And we already know that fog in January brings a wet spring.  Guess I'd better get my umbrellas ready.

CELEBRATE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR'S BIRTHDAY TOMORROW

(MAYBE COME UP WITH A DREAM OF YOUR OWN)

MAKE A WISH ON THE FULL SNOW MOON TOMORROW NIGHT

EAT YOUR SNAPDRAGON APPLES

TAKE SOMEONE TO LUNCH

EAT YOUR SALADS - LOTS OF SALADS

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE

Had abortions been legal when I was conceived, I might not be here, so I'm grateful I have a life to share. 

1-13-2019 Beef Stew

Thoughts and Quotes: Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Jim Rohn

Can I have a do-over and start my New Year again tomorrow? Life has been a little hectic the last couple of weeks, and I'd like to try again. With discipline.

A lot going on around here, but not much to share. I can teach you an easy way to make beef stew. I'll give you the ingredients for one recipe, but my photos are for a double recipe, which makes enough for a large extended family and the neighbors on both sides. In other words, A LOT OF STEW.

Heat the oven to 250 degrees.

Since I make a LOT, I use my turkey roaster. You can use a stew pot or Dutch oven, but if it's really heavy, you might need to cut your ingredients into small pieces for all to get done.

Start with 2 lbs. chuck roast or tri-tip, cut up

Sprinkle on 1 envelopes of dry onion soup mix and 3 Tbs quick tapioca

Add 1 bunch carrots, chopped

 Add 2 onions, rough chopped 

1 cup chopped celery

2 medium potatoes, cubed

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes; do not drain

Sprinkle on 2 tsps sugar, salt and pepper to taste

Stir it up

Put the lid on and stick it in the oven. Bake FIVE hours and

DO NOT PEEK

You'll get this-

Add a salad and some rolls, and Voila! dinner. If you don't have two ovens, you'll need to make the dessert the day before if it needs to be baked. I was busy, so I made tapioca pudding with whipped cream (hey, the box was sitting there, so why not?) while the stew baked.

Tales: I just finished reading My Life in France by Julia Child. If you've seen the movie, Julie and Julia, you'll love the book. If you haven't seen the movie, get it from your library. You'll love it. Then read the book.

The Pepper and Pals Report: I order cat food from Walmart and they deliver it to my door. They must have an abundance of brown packing paper, because they stuff it into every little nook and cranny. I cut it in pieces and use it for packing dishes. Stormy loves to help.

They never get this close before one starts chasing the other. I think it was because I wasn't around, so no jealousy.

Tea Tray Tuesday: I used my pretty new tray and posted this on the Tea Cups and Cup Cakes group Facebook page this week. Several seemed happy to see something healthful for afternoon tea (apples and Monterey Jack cheese).

Thank yous to: Steg and Sally for this box of yummies - one of my favorites.

And to Brother Bill for all of these CD's and tapes he got from a yard sale.

Tidbits: More from the almanac.

Things People Actually Said During Job Interviews: "What is two week's notice? I've never quit a job before - I've always been fired."

Things We Can Learn From the Movies: If  large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.

That's all I have for this week. 

DO SOMETHING WONDERFUL THIS WEEK

DO SOMETHING YOU'VE BEEN DREADING

DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE

DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF

DO SOMETHING YOU'VE BEEN AFRAID TO TRY

DO SOMETHING WHICH COSTS TOO MUCH

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE

1-6-2019 Thanks for the Memories

Thoughts and Quotes: Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming.  Joseph B. Wirthlin

Thankfully this is true, because our Very Exclusive Cooking Club will now be only memories. Bev has been so overloaded, she's unable to even sleep, so has decided to give up the VECC. 

This is our final lunch.

VERY EXCLUSIVE COOKING CLUB

Thursday, January 3, 2019 at Patsy’s

Table

Menu

(We were also celebrating the New Year)

Ham with Grilled Pineapple Rings

Black-eyed Peas

(for luck)

Rice

(for health)

Southern Collard Greens

(for money)

Sweet Potatoes

Pickled Cucumbers and Onions

Corn and Corn Muffins

Faux Champagne

(sparkling apple juice)

Lemon Pudding Cake

Hot Tea

Food

Recipes

BLACK-EYED PEAS

3 cups dried black-eyed peas (this is a 1 lb. bag)

2 ham hocks

1-1/2 large yellow onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsps salt (1 Tbs)

1-1/2 tsps pepper

1-1/2 tsps dried parsley (optional)

8-10 cups water

Soak peas overnight.

Put all ingredients in a large pot and simmer for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Keep checking for doneness.

COLLARD GREENS, SOUTHERN STYLE

8 slices bacon, finely chopped

1 large sweet onion, finely chopped

1/2 lb ham, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 32-oz containers chicken broth

2 1-lb packages collard greens, washed, stems removed, and chopped into small pieces

2-1/4 oz cider vinegar

2 tsps sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Cook bacon in a large stockpot over medium heat 10-12 minutes or until almost crisp.

Add onion and sauté 8 minutes.

Add ham and garlic and sauté 1 minute.

Stir in broth and remaining ingredients.

Cook 2 hours or to desired degree of tenderness.

CUCUMBERS AND ONIONS

Cucumbers, peeled and sliced

Onions, sliced and separated into rings

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

Mix marinade and stir or heat to dissolve sugar and salt.

Pour over cucumbers and onions.

Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.

Note: If I use English cucumbers, I leave them unpeeled.

Note: You can also add celery sticks if you wish.

CORN AND CORN MUFFINS

1 14 oz pkg corn muffin mix (I use Jiffy)

1 scant cup cream-style corn

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup shredded cheese (your choice)

Heat oven to 425°.

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl and stir to blend.

Pour into a greased 12-muffin cup tin.  They’ll be about 2/3 full.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

LEMON CUSTARD PUDDING CAKE

6 Tbs flour

6 Tbs butter, melted

2-1/2 cups sugar, DIVIDED

4 eggs, SEPARATED

1-1/4 cups milk

Zest of one lemon

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, butter, and 2 cups sugar.

Beat the egg yolks with a fork and add, along with milk and lemon zest. Mix well.

Add lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.  Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Fold into batter.

Pour into a 2 qt. baking dish or individual ramekins.  Place in shallow pan of hot water.

Bake 55-60 minutes.

Serve warm or chilled with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Party Favors

(Sparkling Apple-Peach Juice)

The End

Our very first VECC lunch was December of 2013 at Bev’s. Mim joined us in February of 2014, so for five years we’ve been Les Trois Gourmets, just like Julia, Simone, and Louisette.

The inviting tables, the delicious food, the little gifts we’ve shared – truly a remarkable and rewarding experience. I’ll treasure the memories forever.

The New Year: I've started the big clear out. I told someone I'm getting ready to die. No, I'm fine. I just figured it was time to get rid of some of the "stuff" so my kids won't have to deal with it. 

I emptied the top drawer of a file cabinet in the garage. It's all the pamphlets, etc. I've picked up in my travels plus tons of wonderful photos from my world traveler friend David. I couldn't just pitch them. I'm going through David's photos once more, and seeing the world through his eyes. I saw China through my eyes, and that's the tour where I met David. We also did an Elderhostel program in Arkansas together, and took a tour to Alaska, where we were joined by my kids on the cruise part of the trip.

I won't pitch my travel phamplets until I go through them once more, but I freed up the drawer, allowing me to move things around and finally move the new pink flower dishes to the garage.

Cooking Club lunch took a couple of days of cleaning and cooking, but I did start back on the Zone for most of the days. Here are some samples I was trying to explain to my friend Audell, who was interested.

NOT THIS: This was my last breakfast on 1-1 before Zone time. Yes, three biscuits. Yes, fried potatoes. It's my last chance, afterall.

A Zone breakfast: 7/8 cup cottage cheese; 1/2 orange, 1/2 pear, 1/2 cup grapes. Very filling.

A Zone lunch: 1-1/2 oz ham, 1/2 oz cheese, 1 egg; lettuce, 5 cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup cucumber slices, celery, 1 slice 9 carb bread toasted. Dressing on the side, sort of. I don't even bother counting fat - it's balancing the protein and carbs that counts for me.

Not that healthful, but I didn't want to waste it and it fits the Zone; 1 hot dog bun, 2 weiners, mustard (free), 1/2 cup chili, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 7 potato chips.

I messed up on cooking club day, but back on the Zone and not feeling neglected at all. My breakfast this morning: 1 oz ham, 1 oz cheese, 1 egg, scrambled together; 1/2 tomato, 1 9-carb slice of toast, 2 oz apple juice. Avocados count as fat, which I ignore.

Thank yous: For my belated Christmas card, handmade by Tammy.

And to Danny and Annie for my salt and pepper shakers - just like our mother had. She also had a matching cookie jar.

Thrifting: I bought it new at Hobby Lobby, and I had a 40% off coupon. Wait - there's more. Remember the pretty flatware with ceramic flower handles from last week? There was a thin sheet of spongy material separating the pieces in the lid from the pieces in the box, and the metal rubbed on the ceramic and made marks I couldn't remove. I decided that if they're that easily marred, I'd better just return them, and I did. So - the tray was only 1/3 the cost of the flatware - Voila! Thrifting for sure.

It's metal, and I saw it on the Tea Cups and Cupcakes Group Facebook page. How could I resist?

And I believe I'm in Divine Order, because Hobby Lobby was jammed, and so was the parking lot; but this is the photo I took from my car when I parked - right by the door.

And these are pillows and wall decor I saw which I thought had cute sayings for card makers.

Tasting: Niece Sarah sent this link which I thought I'd pass along. Who doesn't like making soup? Click HERE.

I didn't understand why the soup didn't match the state (except LA and NM), but then I realized that it's the winning recipe from each state.

And while I was dinking around in cyberspace, I found the 50 iconic dishes from each state. Click HERE. Scroll down to the second map. It's easier to read. Scrapple sliders, anyone?

Tidbits: I just threw out an old almanac, but some of the things are so cute, I just have to share some of them each week.

Weather Lore: January 13 is St. Hilary Day - the coldest day of the year.

Things People Actually Said During Job Interviews: "What do you want me to do if I cannot walk to work if it's raining? Can you pick me up?"

Things We Can Learn From the Movies: The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.

That's all for this week, Darling People.

TAKE A WALK EACH DAY

STICK TO YOUR HEALTHFUL EATING PLAN

BE SURE TO INCLUDE APPLES

TAKE SOMEONE TO LUNCH

OR BAKE THEM SOME COOKIES

TUCK THOSE PRECIOUS MEMORIES AWAY TO HAUL OUT ON A DREARY DAY

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE