Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Back In the Saddle (for now)

I really haven't felt good in a long while. Nothing drastic, just an overall malaise. But yesterday, I felt good. Not just good, I felt great! Work was good. I came home to a clean house. I got a little kitty lovin' and read for a while before I decided to cook. It seems like soooo long since I last cooked myself dinner.

Unfortunately, I had to scrounge around for something good to eat. I found a can of salmon so I decided to make salmon patties. I made some bread crumbs and mixed those in with the salmon, chopped a shallot and tossed it in with some fresh dill and an egg.

While the oil was heating in my iron skillet, I tossed some asparagus in EVOO and spread it on a baking dish before sprinkling it with coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper. I placed it in a 425* oven while I fried my salmon. I drizzled it with balsamic vinegar before serving.

Now my house smells of salmon, but that's okay. Imagine how popular I will be when I go to warm up left-overs in the break room for lunch!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Facebook

I recently joined Facebook. I'm a true novice at it and can find myself wasting huge amounts of time there. However, today I re-connected with an old friend from high school.

She's the one that I tell the great story about her wedding. During the ceremony, she and her groom were lighting the "unity candle" and her veil caught on fire. Her quick thinking hubby snatched it off of the top of her head, threw it on the ground, and stomped out the fire. Her wedding photos all show the singed veil.

I haven't talked to her in 25 years. It was so good to hear from her!

Tomorrow night is movie night and I've picked my movies and decided what to cook. Now I just have to clean my house, cook, and shop. I've got potatoes, so I'm going to bake them and have an assortment of toppings. I also have little smokies I'll cook in the crock pot with some sauce. I may make some brownies. We'll be watching 12 Angry Men and The Separate Tables.

Hope everyone has a great week-end!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I'm Back!

Did you miss me?

Things have been a bit crazy for me lately. I can't seem to get my act together.

I had book group last Monday and we discussed The Book Thief by Mark Zuzak. Since it is set in Nazi Germany, I decided to cook a German (inspired) meal. Here is what I served:

Appetizers
Pickle assortment including green tomatoes, baby corn, baby dills, and my sweet spears
Black Forest ham
Cheese--a German Tiltser and a Dutch Uber Kasse

Entree
Jagerschnitzel (fried pork cutlets with a mushroom gravy)
Weinkraut (sauerkraut, apples, and onions cooked in dry white wine)
Maple roasted carrots

Dessert
German chocolate pie

Beverages
2 different kinds of Reisling
coffee
sparkling water.

Everyone left, I cleaned up the kitchen and headed to bed. I woke during the night and messed up my back. I was in the floor for two days and still walk slightly twisted.

But on to better things!

We had a St. Patrick's Day party at work and everyone was supposed to bring green foods. I fixed a veggie pizza, making a crescent roll crust. I made a cream cheese and sour cream spread and added some green food coloring before spreading onto the crust. I placed a shamrock made from the bottom of a bell pepper in the middle and sprinkled around chopped bell pepper, scallions, olives, and fresh dill. I also made Irish Potato candy and colored it green.

We had a fruit tray with pears, kiwi, green grapes, Granny Smith apples, and a pistachio dip, pinwheels made with spinach tortillas, seven layer salad, devilled eggs with green filling, a chicken noodle dish (green noodles), another green salad, coconut cake (with green coconut on top) cream puffs with green custard, and fruit pizza with kiwi, green grapes, and mandarin orange slices. Plus, of course, the store bakery cookies that show up at every event.

I am currently on a quest to make an oatmeal cookie as good as Christie's Cookies. Thick, chewy, filled with raisins and toffee bits. I'm almost there.

I went to the local UPS office yesterday to pick up my free book (yeah!) and it was such a pretty day that I decided to ride around. I love the spring and yesterday's 78* sunny day was wonderful. Rural middle Tennessee is dressed in it's finest colors...verdant green hillsides, brillian blue forsythia and jonquills, electric coral Japanese quince, and azure blue skies set off by the delicate white of Bradford pears. There were horses running in the fields and bright red barns, old white farmhouses with wide porches.

Enjoy the season!