home cooked meal ...

even stuart appreciates the good stuff !


i went to jackie&thehippie's yesterday evening. we hadn't really seen much of each other in awhile, due to the holiday, travel, and visitors. it was great to catch up and hang out, watching episodes of grey's and private practice, and watching jackie cook a cracker barrel dinner! yum!

dinner was more than above pictured beans & pie (that was my plate of 'seconds'), but consisted of the lima beans with corn bread, apple sauce, and a pork chop. all made from scratch. all delicious. all in my memory bank so i can recreate in a fit of southern-hunger.

walking

... i went walking the other day at one of the nearby parks. though i was there for fitness, i kept pausing to enjoy the glorious weather and sites ....




the second photo is actually my favorite because i love the colors of the changing leaves with the dark bark lines in contrast. it gives me all kinds of knitting ideas ....

shots, shopping, stuff ....

at the end of this month, i fly out to the domenican republic. i will be there for 10 days doing ______ (something). part of the plan is that i will leave clothes that i take with me there .... but, i like my clothes.

i went shopping at my favorite thrift store today. i fretted over my selections, and then was thrilled that it was all 1/2 off when i got the the cash register. hey, $5 for a shirt is pretty darn good, but $2.50 is better !

i came home and washed them all in the sink ... just incase i feel the need to wear some new duds this week.

and shots ... i've had so many shots in the last 2 months i feel like a giant walking bacteria! and i still have some more pills to pop ... including typhoid and whatever for malaria.

and stuart! what to do with stuart?! he might stay with his auntie-scarlet ... that's the plan right now ... but, i want to take him with me too!

wow !

driving down oberlin road the other day i passed this tree, and immediately pulled over. it's just not fall here. well, barely .... but this tree had fall written all over it!

crazy

.... i am so tired & wired that i cannot even think straight, or knit (gasp ! ). and that's all i can say about that ... here ... look at this picture instead ....


... big spider seen in home on some other day ... other month.

sunday adventure

it sure seemed the perfect camping weekend, but don't let that gorgeous sky deceive you, because it was still hot as blazes. jackie dragged me off to the target for some shopping (her) and quality knitting time (me).

i think we seriously went up and down every single aisle. but stuart had some extra fun on the camping supplies aisle!








the mini gear is the best! while stuart was posing in the doorway of the first tent, a woman stopped at the end of the aisle and suggested that stuart would probably like to squeeze into a sleeping bag too. funny!

chicken pot pie

this is primarily a note to self as sometimes i forget how i "did" certain things and can't find that little scrap of paper.

but, this past weekend i made chicken pot pie ... with a rescue from my cooking goddess.

a couple of days before i roasted the chicken. i did that for the first time back in march. the skin was so good that i ate it straight out of the oven!


roasted chicken

1 chicken 3.5 lbs
1/2 lemon
kosher salt & ground pepper
thyme, rosemary, basil

preheat oven to 450*

1. rub inside of bird w/cut lemon.
2. season inside & out with s&p.
3. put herbs in bird, tie legs together.
4. place bird on a roasting rack in pan. roast until skin is golden and crackling crisp (35-40 min).
5. reduce oven temp to 350* and roast for 25 to 30 min. longer.
6. test doneness by piercing bird in the thickest part of thigh - juices should run clear.
7. transfer to cutting board and let rest 10 to 15 min.
8. try not to eat all the skin!

chicken pot pie

shredded chicken
1/2 onion chopped
2 or 3 stalks of celery chopped
1 can of sliced carrots
frozen peas
chicken broth
fresh made biscuit dough

1. saute onions and celery
2. toss in 9" square pyrex dish with shredded chicken
3. mix in carrots and peas
4. make a gravy with the chicken broth and mix in dish too.
5. season generously
6. top with fresh biscuit dough and cook at 425* until biscuit top is done.

jackie's perfect biscuits

2 c. sifted flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 T shortening chilled (or lard)
3 T butter chilled
3/4 c. cold whole milk
flour for working surface

1. preheat oven to 425*
2. sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in mix bowl.
3. cut in cold fats.
   
4. dump in cold milk & stir quickly (10-12 strokes).
5. turn dough on floured surface. knead lightly (6-12 strokes) so not sticky.
6. pat out or roll out about 3/4" thick. use 2.25" cutter dipped in flour.
7. place biscuits close together w/out touching on ungreased bake sheet.
8. bake 12 to 15 min until risen and lightly browned.

but, for the pot pie, form to cover the dish. if making pot pie in a bigger rectangular pan, then make 1.5 x recipe.

for pot pie .... bake 15 min. check it. add 3 min. increments.

so, what i was going to say was i made chicken pot pie. i tried to cheat and use canned dough, but i had oven temp. problems and only cooked the dough on top and it was a mushy mess underneath. i called jackie in a distressed state and she had me stop by the store and pick up some milk so she could show me how to properly make the biscuit dough. it wasn't as difficult as i thought it might be :) and it's delicious!

speaking of cheating ... i also made cheater chili today. how do you do that?
well ... some ground turkey, a can of chili magic texas style, can of black beans, can of diced tomatoes, little can of diced green chilis, and an onion. easy and delicious !

'tis the FOOD season .....

when the weather begins to turn, and there's hope of not dying in the kitchen trying to create a yummy dish ... then it IS the season to heat things up once again.

sunday was spent in the typical way ... over with jackie & the hippie. i knitted. jackie read cookbooks. we both drooled ....

so many yummy dishes to look forward to ... soups, roasted chicken, seasonal vegetables, big hearty dishes.

and in this midst of food fantasy, jackie decided that we needed chicken pot pie for dinner! OMG ! DELICIOUS !!!


i paid extra close attention ... and i plan on making this myself sometime in the very near future. it took me back to sweet memories of chicken dumplings.

see how good it is ....


that's the hippie saying, " i'm not sharing !".

i did bring something home with me ... even if it wasn't leftovers .... i brought home "potential" !


i tried this recipe tonight for a cuban black bean soup. i mostly followed the recipe, but thought that 3 giant onions might be too much for the soup ... thus, it was altered. it's still very yummy, and kinda burns from the one jalapeno (seeds and all) (a very potent jalapeno).


... and now, i'm waiting for some rice to finish up so i can ladle the soup over it .... delicious ! and i have lots of leftovers !!!

how to bathe stuart ....

first ... find something to wash him with, so he doesn't have to go swimming solo. for example: your favorite dress that you forgot to wash earlier that day because it was hanging out of sight.


then, place him in a lingerie bag, where he will be safe from the terrors of the beating stick.


add detergent to washer ....


and then send stuart swimming !


if he floats he's a witch ;)


he didn't float ... but he did come out sparkley clean ....

anniversary

september 11th is a special day for me. and probably only for me, in my context ....

on the calendar, this year it's a new moon. how appropriate. last year, the calendar said patriot day. i'm not certain as to which historical events my calendar intended. but, the word patriot is not one to sweep under the rug.

... and i like very much that this year it's a new moon. new things ....

and the old things? the old thing(s) is(are) gone. absent. dormant? not around. not bothering me.

but still lingers in my mind ....

i thought i had posted this before, but i could not find it in either of my blogs ... but, just incase ... if you're ever in doubt ... just read this. seriously.

without it, there may never be a new moon ....