I watched a movie last night. A sort of odd one that was made several years ago...Lars and the Real Girl. It's about a lonely man who develops an emotional bond with a plastic woman. I did enjoy it...especially seeing how Lars' brother and sister-in-law, church, a doctor, co-workers and friends all came to accept Bianca and treat her as a member of the community. The doctor used Bianca's "treatments" as an opportunity to render therapy to Lars, unknown to him. An older female told that Lars that Bianca wanted to volunteer at the hospital (I think it was the hospital. Another woman offered her a part-time job. It was interesting.
I won't tell you how it ends, in case you decide to watch it. But, it did make me cry a little.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Milk Punch at the Bay...or Something Like It
Milk Punch at the bay. The recipe: equal parts bourbon and white creme de cocoa. Add milk (whatever amount works). Simple, right? I just messed it up. Fiirst I got out all the liquor I had here...rum, bourbon, white creme de cocoa and regular creme de cocoa. Don't know why I got all of them out. Without thinking i proceeded to put equal parts rum and boubon, added milk and tasted. Then i realized what I had done. So now I add a shot glass of the creme de cocoa. Tasted. Add more creme de cocoa. Add more milk and some sweetener. Passable, and really large by now.
At this rate I'll be on my keister before lunch!
At this rate I'll be on my keister before lunch!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Dinner and fun with Carolyn and the kids
Brent was out of town last night, so I spent the evening with Carolyn and the kids.
For supper we had baked tilapia, broccoli & cheese, grilled asparagus, salad, baked home fries, and mixed fruit with cool whip. Kate didn't know if she was going to like the asparagus so she told her mom, "Just give me one and I'll try it. If I like it, I'll get more." Such a trouper! And she liked it!
Kate helped make dinner by tossing the salad.
After her bath Carlee tormented him by climbing into the empty tub. She also did a lot of hugging on him, causing further aggravation.
In this photo he is clearly expecting an intervention by me instead of more picture taking.
Carlee put the empty tub over her head and asked me if it looked like she was wearing a hat. I told her I would take a picture and then she could look at it and see what it looked like. It took a couple of keystrokes to get the phone in camera mode, so I told her to wait just a second. When I told her I was ready, I heard...from beneath the tub..."cheeeeze."
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Pulsing My Way Through Meals
I was browsing through a few of the blogs I read when I noticed that Cousin J is making the french bread recipe that I told her about. I sure hope it's good. I'm pretty sure it will be good enough...what's not to like about homemade bread!
I actually thought about making some this morning, but then talked myself down off that ledge. I wasn't as successful, however, at talking myself down when Carolyn mentioned that she was going to make popovers a few days ago. Once I hear "popovers" I can't keep myself from making them. I really like them! I decided to make just a half recipe, though, because Wayne doesn't like them much. He calls them "nothing muffins." He doesn't get that just because it's baked in a muffin pan and at a glance vaguely resembles a muffin, it's not a muffin. So, he's disappointed every time. To keep him from being disappointed, I just go ahead and eat them all. I'm such a martyr.
Chad gave me a Magic Bullet for Christmas in 2008. I hadn't used it much, but happened to see an infomercial a week or so ago on late, late night television. I pulled it out the next day, found the recipe book that came with it and made broccoli-cheese soup. It made just the the right amount for me. Since then I've improved on the recipe in the book, first adding some red pepper to give it a little spiciness and then yesterday I left out the red pepper but used Velveeta Pepper Jack cheese. It was really nice...just the right amount of spiciness.
Since then I've made several frappucino type coffee drinks in it. It really does take just seconds to make these things. One of the best things about it is the small size...not only for storage, but for the size of the batch/recipe it makes. For instance, the soup recipe uses 1/3 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup cheese, plus 3 or 4 broccoli florets and 1 clove of garlic. It's not going to be a huge waste of time or ingredients if the first attempt isn't quite the way you like it.
My frappucinos are a work in progress. The first time I had too much ice. The next time I cut the ice amount in half, but it was still too much. The third time I didn't have enough ice. As I said, a work in progress. I suspect I could make a really great mousse-y type dessert with just low-fat milk and chocolate syrup. The blades spin so fast that if I process more than just a few pulses, the mixture thickens to a whipped cream consistency. I don't know if it would retain that consistency, however, if I made a large batch and stored half of it. I rather doubt that it would.
Anywhooo...back to the popovers. I used the Magic Bullet to mix the ingredients, pulsing a total of about 5 times. I made 8 small popovers and cooked them at 400 for 23 minutes. I think I could have cut the time back 3-5 minutes for the small popovers. I'll adjust the baking time on the next attempt. Since I just made them a few days ago, I think I can hold back for awhile.
It really seems like a versatile little food processor. The recipe book has sections for all sorts of things, including "frozen adult drinks." If it wasn't for the fact that's it's noon, I'd probably go mix one up right now. I am so going to try some of them, maybe all of them. I'll also try the hummus recipe. And more.
I might make this a project, like the Julie/Julia Project which resulted in the Meryl Streep/Amy Adams movie about Julie cooking her way through Julia Child's book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I'll pulse my way through the nearly 100 page recipe booklet. That's the ticket!
I actually thought about making some this morning, but then talked myself down off that ledge. I wasn't as successful, however, at talking myself down when Carolyn mentioned that she was going to make popovers a few days ago. Once I hear "popovers" I can't keep myself from making them. I really like them! I decided to make just a half recipe, though, because Wayne doesn't like them much. He calls them "nothing muffins." He doesn't get that just because it's baked in a muffin pan and at a glance vaguely resembles a muffin, it's not a muffin. So, he's disappointed every time. To keep him from being disappointed, I just go ahead and eat them all. I'm such a martyr.
Chad gave me a Magic Bullet for Christmas in 2008. I hadn't used it much, but happened to see an infomercial a week or so ago on late, late night television. I pulled it out the next day, found the recipe book that came with it and made broccoli-cheese soup. It made just the the right amount for me. Since then I've improved on the recipe in the book, first adding some red pepper to give it a little spiciness and then yesterday I left out the red pepper but used Velveeta Pepper Jack cheese. It was really nice...just the right amount of spiciness.
Since then I've made several frappucino type coffee drinks in it. It really does take just seconds to make these things. One of the best things about it is the small size...not only for storage, but for the size of the batch/recipe it makes. For instance, the soup recipe uses 1/3 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup cheese, plus 3 or 4 broccoli florets and 1 clove of garlic. It's not going to be a huge waste of time or ingredients if the first attempt isn't quite the way you like it.
My frappucinos are a work in progress. The first time I had too much ice. The next time I cut the ice amount in half, but it was still too much. The third time I didn't have enough ice. As I said, a work in progress. I suspect I could make a really great mousse-y type dessert with just low-fat milk and chocolate syrup. The blades spin so fast that if I process more than just a few pulses, the mixture thickens to a whipped cream consistency. I don't know if it would retain that consistency, however, if I made a large batch and stored half of it. I rather doubt that it would.
Anywhooo...back to the popovers. I used the Magic Bullet to mix the ingredients, pulsing a total of about 5 times. I made 8 small popovers and cooked them at 400 for 23 minutes. I think I could have cut the time back 3-5 minutes for the small popovers. I'll adjust the baking time on the next attempt. Since I just made them a few days ago, I think I can hold back for awhile.
It really seems like a versatile little food processor. The recipe book has sections for all sorts of things, including "frozen adult drinks." If it wasn't for the fact that's it's noon, I'd probably go mix one up right now. I am so going to try some of them, maybe all of them. I'll also try the hummus recipe. And more.
I might make this a project, like the Julie/Julia Project which resulted in the Meryl Streep/Amy Adams movie about Julie cooking her way through Julia Child's book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I'll pulse my way through the nearly 100 page recipe booklet. That's the ticket!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Too much info about our recent eating habits
I haven't done much cooking lately...a new pot of beans and a fresh batch of cornbread when needed have been about the extent of it. Well, remember...we've had Easter and birthdays and fundraiser meals-to-go, so it's not like there haven't been real meals around here. In addition, Wayne eats lunch in town several times a week (if he's not busy in the fields) and when he has lunch at a restaurant, I figure I'm off the hook for a home-cooked meal. Unless I want a home-cooked meal.
Anywhooo, Wayne had lunch on Wednesday with his Lunch Bunch group (high school class friends that meet once a month). I thought he might appear on Thursday, so I cooked some angel hair pasta and thawed and heated some spaghetti sauce. But he didn't show up...which was fine. It's not like spaghetti is only good when freshly cooked. I had a dish of it, but then chopped up the pasta and poured the rest of the sauce on it and mixed it up. That's probably his favorite way to eat it anyway...no twirling work involved. Plus it reminds him of the high school cafeteria spaghetti, which he remembers fondly.
Then on Thursday evening ("evening" is probably making it sound too grand, since we meet at 5:15) I joined friends to eat some Mexican food at Los Cucos. I can report we all enjoyed it...all the way to the end when we drizzled honey on the tortilla chips for dessert. Patty's fault. She ordered sopapillas to take home to her husband and the waiter brought the bottle of honey to the table, thinking we were going to eat them there, I guess.
I am forgetting now when Wayne had a sandwich, but he told me about it when I got home last night. A little backstory: HEB had a Meal Deal last week. If you bought Oscar Meyer lunch meat and Kraft cheese singles and you got several items for free...this time the free items included a small loaf of white bread among other things. I never buy white bread. I gradually switched us over to whole wheat, whole grain, etc. many years ago. I had to do it gradually because Wayne always needed to have "light bread" with his meals. He always had 2 or 3 slices to go along with his meal. Back to last night: So, apparently he was really excited about finding the loaf of white bread to use in making his sandwich. But, this is what he told me last night. First he asked if that was sourdough bread. When I told him it was just regular white bread, he said it was gummy and didn't taste like it was "done." I congratulated him on discovering for himself how pathetic store-bought white bread is. Except, it's still good for grilled cheese sandwiches, I think. And he said it was fine for toast. But for a sandwich on untoasted bread, he'll stick with the heartier types. I think I could even get him eating the ones with seeds and twigs now. You know, the 7 grain and above.
When he came in for lunch today, I offered to make him grilled cheese sandwiches out of the white bread. When I took the slices out of the bag, they did feel weird. Like florist sponge...whatever that green stuff is that you stick the stems in...not clay...the spongy green stuff. Maybe that's why they were included in the free items.
Now, homemade (real homemade, made at home) white bread is really good! That's why I don't make it anymore.
Anywhooo, Wayne had lunch on Wednesday with his Lunch Bunch group (high school class friends that meet once a month). I thought he might appear on Thursday, so I cooked some angel hair pasta and thawed and heated some spaghetti sauce. But he didn't show up...which was fine. It's not like spaghetti is only good when freshly cooked. I had a dish of it, but then chopped up the pasta and poured the rest of the sauce on it and mixed it up. That's probably his favorite way to eat it anyway...no twirling work involved. Plus it reminds him of the high school cafeteria spaghetti, which he remembers fondly.
Then on Thursday evening ("evening" is probably making it sound too grand, since we meet at 5:15) I joined friends to eat some Mexican food at Los Cucos. I can report we all enjoyed it...all the way to the end when we drizzled honey on the tortilla chips for dessert. Patty's fault. She ordered sopapillas to take home to her husband and the waiter brought the bottle of honey to the table, thinking we were going to eat them there, I guess.
I am forgetting now when Wayne had a sandwich, but he told me about it when I got home last night. A little backstory: HEB had a Meal Deal last week. If you bought Oscar Meyer lunch meat and Kraft cheese singles and you got several items for free...this time the free items included a small loaf of white bread among other things. I never buy white bread. I gradually switched us over to whole wheat, whole grain, etc. many years ago. I had to do it gradually because Wayne always needed to have "light bread" with his meals. He always had 2 or 3 slices to go along with his meal. Back to last night: So, apparently he was really excited about finding the loaf of white bread to use in making his sandwich. But, this is what he told me last night. First he asked if that was sourdough bread. When I told him it was just regular white bread, he said it was gummy and didn't taste like it was "done." I congratulated him on discovering for himself how pathetic store-bought white bread is. Except, it's still good for grilled cheese sandwiches, I think. And he said it was fine for toast. But for a sandwich on untoasted bread, he'll stick with the heartier types. I think I could even get him eating the ones with seeds and twigs now. You know, the 7 grain and above.
When he came in for lunch today, I offered to make him grilled cheese sandwiches out of the white bread. When I took the slices out of the bag, they did feel weird. Like florist sponge...whatever that green stuff is that you stick the stems in...not clay...the spongy green stuff. Maybe that's why they were included in the free items.
Now, homemade (real homemade, made at home) white bread is really good! That's why I don't make it anymore.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Anasazi Beans
I started answering Cousin J's comment with a comment of my own, but as usual I was too wordy and didn't have as much control as I do in the composing window, so here I am. J, you asked me previously what goodies I used in cooking my beans, and I replied with "not much" (or something like that). But, your question got me thinking and I decided that I needed to add more stuff...so for the next few pots of pinto beans I added bay leaves and maybe celery. This is what I did today.
Anasazi Beans
Washed the beans
Put the beans and a lot of water into the pot (we like a lot of pot liquor). I turned up the heat, but as soon as it started simmering I lowered the heat to keep it at a simmer. The lid was on, but tilted.
After only an hour the beans were soft enough that I could have eaten them then, but of course they weren't seasoned. I wish that I could give measurements, but except for half a large onion and 3 stalks of celery, nothing else was measured.
Here's what I added to the beans:
1/2 a large onion (I would have added more if I remembered the container of minced onion sitting in the fridge.) And not that they needed more, they were delicious. I just wish I had used the onions.
3 stalks of celery
I used the mini-chopper and minced the onion and celery pretty small. Wayne doesn't like to see evidence of veggies! Plus, this really thickens up the pot liquor nicely.
3 bay leaves
1/2 a small can of tomato sauce (I usually use ketchup but decided that the tomato sauce would be more economical. I probably could have used the whole can. Don't know why I didn't.
I ground some fresh pepper and tossed it and some kosher salt in the pot. It was maybe 3/4 to 1 tsp. salt.
I squirted some Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce in. Maybe 1/4 cup, maybe less.
I shook in some Louisiana Hot Sauce. Probably about 8 shakes. I don't find LHS to be very spicy, so I wasn't the least bit worried about it.
I also poured a little Worchestershire Sauce in. Maybe a tablespoon, maybe less.
I had some chicken broth in the fridge from last week, so I heated it and poured most of it in (about 1 1/2 cups).
I let it stay on a very low heat with the lid tilted for another hour and a half or so. I didn't use any garlic because Wayne doesn't care for it. If it were just for me, there would be garlic.
I spooned mine over rice. I also made a fresh pan of Golden Corn Bread and ate a piece of it with butter. Yummy! Wayne didn't show up, but Carolyn and Jax came over and she thought they were really good. We have been having beans and cornbread a lot! I found the beans in 1 lb bags at the local supermarket. They were a little higher than pinto beans, but still cheap. You Aggies out there should really like them. They're maroon and white! Actually, they look like little maroon and white Holstein cattle (without heads, legs or tails.)
Golden Corn Bread
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
Sift together into bowl flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in cornmeal. In a small bowl, beat eggs with fork, add milk and oil. Add all at one time to cornmeal mixture. Stir with fork until flour is just moistened. Even if batter is lumpy, do not stir any more. Pour into well-greased 9 x 9 x 2 pan. Bake in hot oven (425ºF) 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Since the main subject of this post is beans, I'll end this with a joke Dee sent me recently. Somehow it seems apropos.
And elderly couple is attending church services.
About halfway through she writes a note and hands it to her husband.
The note says, "I just let out a silent fart. What do you think I should do?"
He writes back, "Put a new battery in your hearing aid..."
Anasazi Beans
Washed the beans
Put the beans and a lot of water into the pot (we like a lot of pot liquor). I turned up the heat, but as soon as it started simmering I lowered the heat to keep it at a simmer. The lid was on, but tilted.
After only an hour the beans were soft enough that I could have eaten them then, but of course they weren't seasoned. I wish that I could give measurements, but except for half a large onion and 3 stalks of celery, nothing else was measured.
Here's what I added to the beans:
1/2 a large onion (I would have added more if I remembered the container of minced onion sitting in the fridge.) And not that they needed more, they were delicious. I just wish I had used the onions.
3 stalks of celery
I used the mini-chopper and minced the onion and celery pretty small. Wayne doesn't like to see evidence of veggies! Plus, this really thickens up the pot liquor nicely.
3 bay leaves
1/2 a small can of tomato sauce (I usually use ketchup but decided that the tomato sauce would be more economical. I probably could have used the whole can. Don't know why I didn't.
I ground some fresh pepper and tossed it and some kosher salt in the pot. It was maybe 3/4 to 1 tsp. salt.
I squirted some Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce in. Maybe 1/4 cup, maybe less.
I shook in some Louisiana Hot Sauce. Probably about 8 shakes. I don't find LHS to be very spicy, so I wasn't the least bit worried about it.
I also poured a little Worchestershire Sauce in. Maybe a tablespoon, maybe less.
I had some chicken broth in the fridge from last week, so I heated it and poured most of it in (about 1 1/2 cups).
I let it stay on a very low heat with the lid tilted for another hour and a half or so. I didn't use any garlic because Wayne doesn't care for it. If it were just for me, there would be garlic.
I spooned mine over rice. I also made a fresh pan of Golden Corn Bread and ate a piece of it with butter. Yummy! Wayne didn't show up, but Carolyn and Jax came over and she thought they were really good. We have been having beans and cornbread a lot! I found the beans in 1 lb bags at the local supermarket. They were a little higher than pinto beans, but still cheap. You Aggies out there should really like them. They're maroon and white! Actually, they look like little maroon and white Holstein cattle (without heads, legs or tails.)
Golden Corn Bread
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
Sift together into bowl flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in cornmeal. In a small bowl, beat eggs with fork, add milk and oil. Add all at one time to cornmeal mixture. Stir with fork until flour is just moistened. Even if batter is lumpy, do not stir any more. Pour into well-greased 9 x 9 x 2 pan. Bake in hot oven (425ºF) 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Since the main subject of this post is beans, I'll end this with a joke Dee sent me recently. Somehow it seems apropos.
And elderly couple is attending church services.
About halfway through she writes a note and hands it to her husband.
The note says, "I just let out a silent fart. What do you think I should do?"
He writes back, "Put a new battery in your hearing aid..."
What the Deuce?!!!
Okay, I didn't get up at the crack of dawn. There was a possibility that Gage was going to be delivered to my house at about 8:30 as he didn't have school today. Maybe a teacher in-service or something. So, I didn't set the alarm, but did manage to wake up by 8. Turned on my cell phone right away in case I had a message from Wendy letting me know for sure whether he would be coming or not. I did...he was.
He was, until he got invited to go to the Houston Zoo with the family of one of his friends. Much more fun for him than being here. Not to say he doesn't have a good time here. We usually play on the Wii. Last time it was Super Mario Brothers. I wanted to watch him play, but he insisted I join in...so I did. He's very patient with me, waiting until I catch up and explaining what's going to happen or what I should do. Just like he does with Zane.
Since Gage wasn't coming, I went on with my normal routine which starts with my diet breakfast. It's the diet and exercise program I might have mentioned in a much earlier post. I bought it after watching an infomercial on television years ago. It works for me and the good part is that the exercise is only done a couple of times a week. One day it takes about 20-25 minutes of (pretty easy) exercises. And one day takes about an hour or so of also pretty easy exercises. You increase the reps and sets until by the end of the 6 weeks that this program lasts you are doing the maximum reps and sets. Half of my time, especially in the first few weeks is reading and re-reading the instructions for how the exercise is executed, when you breathe, how you're supposed to position the apparatus, how many reps and how many sets.
I decided, reluctantly, to start the stupid program last Monday. I weighed, measured and started gathering the foods that I need. My heart isn't in it. Probably because my main inspiration...my annual visits with the endocrinologist and the gynecologist have already occurred. In March. It's not like I expect to look good in a swimsuit...that ship has sailed, but I would like to not have to buy the next size. And if I don't get my ass in gear, that will certainly happen.
Plus, I'm going to visit relatives in California at the end of May, and I'd like to look decent. Right after I get back from there we go to Schlitterbahn, then to Concan soon after that. Yikes! I really need to snap into shape!
I sort of did the diet last week, but no exercise (as easy as it is)! Obviously, my heart isn't in it yet.
Okay, I'm all over the place with this post. My title was meant to refer to the fact that after 3 hours, I had just gotten out of the kitchen long enough to get to the computer. I had started a pot of Anasazi beans at 9 and started rice in the rice cooker a little while ago. I set my timer for 35 minutes to go back downstairs to make some cornbread in case Wayne comes home for lunch. When I checked the timer just now, I found I have 1 minute to finish this up and get back to the kitchen.
Geez!
He was, until he got invited to go to the Houston Zoo with the family of one of his friends. Much more fun for him than being here. Not to say he doesn't have a good time here. We usually play on the Wii. Last time it was Super Mario Brothers. I wanted to watch him play, but he insisted I join in...so I did. He's very patient with me, waiting until I catch up and explaining what's going to happen or what I should do. Just like he does with Zane.
Since Gage wasn't coming, I went on with my normal routine which starts with my diet breakfast. It's the diet and exercise program I might have mentioned in a much earlier post. I bought it after watching an infomercial on television years ago. It works for me and the good part is that the exercise is only done a couple of times a week. One day it takes about 20-25 minutes of (pretty easy) exercises. And one day takes about an hour or so of also pretty easy exercises. You increase the reps and sets until by the end of the 6 weeks that this program lasts you are doing the maximum reps and sets. Half of my time, especially in the first few weeks is reading and re-reading the instructions for how the exercise is executed, when you breathe, how you're supposed to position the apparatus, how many reps and how many sets.
I decided, reluctantly, to start the stupid program last Monday. I weighed, measured and started gathering the foods that I need. My heart isn't in it. Probably because my main inspiration...my annual visits with the endocrinologist and the gynecologist have already occurred. In March. It's not like I expect to look good in a swimsuit...that ship has sailed, but I would like to not have to buy the next size. And if I don't get my ass in gear, that will certainly happen.
Plus, I'm going to visit relatives in California at the end of May, and I'd like to look decent. Right after I get back from there we go to Schlitterbahn, then to Concan soon after that. Yikes! I really need to snap into shape!
I sort of did the diet last week, but no exercise (as easy as it is)! Obviously, my heart isn't in it yet.
Okay, I'm all over the place with this post. My title was meant to refer to the fact that after 3 hours, I had just gotten out of the kitchen long enough to get to the computer. I had started a pot of Anasazi beans at 9 and started rice in the rice cooker a little while ago. I set my timer for 35 minutes to go back downstairs to make some cornbread in case Wayne comes home for lunch. When I checked the timer just now, I found I have 1 minute to finish this up and get back to the kitchen.
Geez!
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