Blasted Clouds!

TheHub and I had planned to head to the lake place for the night. The possibility of seeing the red moon with little ambient light competing with the show just sounded delicious. Plus the lake is only 45 minutes from our front door so it would be little more effort than running across town.

TheHub was driving down in his car so he could leave straight from the cabin to go to work.  He would only have to leave about 30 minutes earlier than normal to be at his office on time.  After that scrumptious breakfast I fix for him each and every morning, he would be properly fueled for a productive work day. (I can hear him laughing as I type those words. I mean come on! Is it any easier for me to pour that cereal and milk in a bowl than it is for him? )

I was supposed to drive down with Shelby, the dog and thought we could have a little girl time, coffee on the deck and mosey home about noon.  She thought it was a great idea also, but I think she secretly also planned on an early morning dip in the lake.

I just love to have a plan in place and all the details worked out, until I woke to rain! And clouds! And a forecast predicting clouds and light rain all day and night.  So there was no need to have the sleepover at the lake, because ambient light did not matter if we would only be seeing a cloud cover.

Instead the red moon came and went, unseen by me while we sat on the deck at our house watching clouds. Bummer! Thankfully, we had a little wine to go along with my whine, and wouldn't you know it, right at eclipse time a tiny hole appeared in the clouds and, at least I got to see that.

And you know the saying, "Want to make God laugh, make a plan!"

Instead I am leaving a link for some lunar listening pleasure, oh, and don't think this will keep me from making some plan that probably won't happen for tomorrow either.  I have enough hair brained capacity for unlimited futile ideas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo3JznMhpWc

Sneaky Veggies

How many of you honestly eat 5 true servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit daily?  It is something I struggle with every single day.  Unless I am having a totally vegetarian day I fight with that number, and since I am mostly paleo we know I don't do vegetarian days often. So, I try and stuff added vegetables into just about everything we eat.

TheHub loves spaghetti and I mistakenly told him we were having it last night. (That was before I got hung up doing some business for Mom, got home in the early evening and just didn't feel like making spaghetti, so supper became a deli roasted chicken and a huge tossed salad.) He was already salivating for some Italian flavors, so I did the wife thing and promised it for tonight.  For us spaghetti dinner is always the same; meat sauce over spaghetti, and a huge green salad.  It would be fine except the salad will not give us the 3 servings of veggies we need for tonights meal.

Fortunately I have a crisper full of veggies and a really sharp knife.  Instead of spaghetti we are having superghetti, an intensely amped up version of our old standard.  This is not a recipe but more of a how to, since everyone has their own favorite sauce recipe or jarred sauce. (No judgements!)

1 lb. ground beef (OK, I actually had barely 3/4 lb. but it worked fine)
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (minced, grated? your choice)
2 medium zucchini, chopped (ditto)
1/2 green pepper chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 clamshell cherry tomatoes cut in half (that is just what I had on hand)
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 recipe of your favorite sauce or 1 jar of the same (I used an organic no sugar added sauce)

This is where it get tricky because some love a traditional old world flavor and others like a more Americanized version.  I will just say whatever your choice is make sure you add additional herbs, spices, wine, salt, and pepper, because the additional vegetables will absorb some of the flavoring from the sauce and will leave it a little too bland.

In a heavy skillet brown the ground beef until it is crumbly.  Remove the meat to a paper towel to drain reserving the meat drippings in the pan. Stir the onions into the drippings to soften. (If needed add a little olive oil ).

 Toss the vegetables into the pan in the order listed, letting each soften a little bit before adding the next.  When all the veggies have been added and are wilted put the beef back in the pan and cover with your sauce.  Mix together until it comes to a boil, add additional seasonings and wine, put the lid on, turn it to low and let it simmer away until the veggies are nice and soft. (This might be a good time to pour yourself a glass of that wine)

About 20 minutes before serving, cook the spaghetti noodles, drain them and plate.  Serve the sauce over the pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. (Or use the stuff in the green can, again, no judgements)  Serve this to your unsuspecting family who will not realize it is now loaded with good for them stuff and will just think it is delicious.  (If you have someone who stages a revolt every time green food is served, peel the zucchini first and substitute red pepper for the green. I can't begin to tell you how many times I had to do this when Son3 was young! I have even been known to grate everything just so he would not know what he was eating, and as long as he didn't know he loved it.)

If you feel like you need a little more umpth to your dinner, try this. Sometimes it is better to be sneaky and silently win the dinner vegetable battle, than to wage war over trying "just one bite".

Cooking Collards

I am from the south and we eat all kinds of greens.  We consume mustard greens, spinach, turnip greens, kale, and collards.  To be honest there are probably more turnip greens eaten around here than any other kind, but collards run a not too distant second. If you are eating at almost any of the gozillion barbecue joints in the south you most likely will find collards on the menu.  I personally have even had takeout from a barbecue restaurant in Portland Oregon that served collards, so by my way of thinking bbq and collards are a universal pairing.

Last night we did not have barbecue, but we had some leftover ham I thought was on its last day of safe eating.  I had bought a bunch of collards at The Pig along with a bag of potatoes so I knew I had the beginnings of supper. (Why do I feel compelled to buy 8 pound bags of potatoes when they are on sale?  We are not big potato eaters.  And why did the large potato bag change from a 10 pound bag to and 8 pound one?  8 pounds is still more potatoes than I need, but I hate shrinking sizes that cost the same as more product used to be. Do they think we are stupid and won't notice?)

Segue from the potato rant back to collards.  The only issue I have with traditional southern vegetable cooking is the need to cook whatever veg is on hand until it is beyond overcooked and is close to mush.  My mother declares she hates collards, but every time  she has eaten mine she has said she likes them. (Twice!  She has a long standing hate affair with mushy collards. You would be hard pressed to find a more tentative tryer eater than she was both times, though.)

This is not a recipe but is a way of cooking almost perfect collards, and I will even tell you how to cook those, but tonight I had no bacon thawed so I settled for almost perfect. I buy collards in a bunch, which means a stack of collard leaves (15-20) held together by a tight rubber band around the stalks.  

Wash each leaf, wash again and then wash one more time.  Collards grow best in sandy soil, so they are gritty hence the 3 washings. (You can cut out this step entirely if you buy bagged pre-washed greens. I don't buy them usually because I like the center stem removed. It makes the finished product so tender and not stringy.) 

Take about 5 leaves and stack them one on top of another on a cutting board.  Roll them like a big fat collard cigar. (No need to dry the leaves, any water droplets will just help with the cooking process)

Slice them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips and put the strips into a colander.  When all the leaves have been rolled and cut, give them a final rinse and set them aside.

Slice a medium onion into very thin slices and separate into rings and set them aside.

Also take a cored and seeded medium bell pepper and cut it into small 1/4 inch wide slices.  I cut the pepper in half lengthwise to core and seed  and then cut those halves widthwise before I make my slices.  I cut off all the humpy parts and save them for salad the next day. Keep the peppers separate from the onions.  (I use red peppers because I like the color variation, but green, yellow or orange peppers work equally well.  And for the record, humpy parts is a real cooking term, or at least it should be.) Mince 2 medium cloves of garlic and keep it separate also. (Who am I kidding with that mince thing?  I used a garlic press.)

 Put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in an enamel pot or large skillet on medium high.  Toss in the onions and stir until they are almost wilted.  Add the peppers and continue stirring and cooking until they are softened. 

Add the garlic, stirring for about 30 seconds, then top it with the collard greens and 1/2 cup of water. You can see why I use such a big pot.  If you use something shallow like a saute' pan, you will have to fill it to the top, let it cook down and keep adding until all the collards are cooked.  It is much easier to use a big pot to begin with.

Slap the lid on the pan and turn the heat down to medium low.  Walk away for 5 minutes, then stir. Check the liquid level.  You want a bit of liquid in the bottom adding more if needed, but the greens should steam more than they braise. 

When these are finished cooking they will have reduced in volume about 2/3 of the original size. This is just the way they are supposed to do and nothing can change it! 

See what I mean!

Salt and pepper to taste and serve.  To make it a truly southern serving pass the pepper sauce* and splash some of that hot vinegary goodness on the greens.  

If you want to make these truly perfect cook 5 slices of bacon until it is very crispy, crumble it and set it aside. Save all the bacon drippings. Cook the veggies in the bacon fat and proceed as listed until you get to the water.  Substitute chicken broth for the water and continue cooking as directed above. After serving the greens and splashing with the pepper sauce, sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top of it.

Dang I wish we had some leftover!  I am getting hungry again!

*This pepper sauce is not that red stuff you see in the bottles.  This is essentially pickled hot peppers and it delicious on peas, greens and I have even been known to sprinkle a little on hot cornbread.  Do I sound a little southern?

Meyer Lemon Sherbet

Before Labor Day I was at Sprouts and noticed a bag of beautiful Meyer lemons, which I promptly bought.  I had a delusional moment where I imagined sipping lovely peach raspberry lemonade while sitting on the lake house porch. I guess I believed my imaginary minions were going to be the ones juicing the lemons, pureeing the peaches and straining the raspberries through a sieve.  Short story even shorter, it didn't happen, in fact the lemons never made it to the lake at all.  Suddenly it was a week later and I had done nothing with the lemons. Rather than wait and have to use them right before they ruined, I decided to try my hand at lemon sherbet. Thanks, Mom, for the Donvier!

After making the peach sherbet, there were a couple of changes I wanted to make. Years ago I made strawberry ice cream with unflavored gelatin in it.  It produced a smoother texture than the sherbet which became a little icy after a day in the freezer.  I also wanted it a little creamier, but had no more cream so I substituted some 1 percent milk for part of the water.  If I had been using regular lemons rather than Meyer lemons I would have increased the sugar to compensate for some of the acidity and sharpness, but Meyers are sweeter.  If you use regular ones increase the sugar by a couple of tablespoons.

1/2 package unflavored gelatin (I just eyeballed it)

1/2 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice (use fresh juice)

1-2 tablespoons lemon zest (make sure no pith is grated into it)

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cup milk

Place the gelatin and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a medium heat proof bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir like a mad man to dissolve the gelatin and incorporate the sugar.  Add the lemon juice and zest then stir in the sugar  and continue stirring until it is completely dissolved.  Add the milk and cream all at once and stir to combine.  Pour into the frozen container from either the Donvier or Cusiniart and hand crank or turn on the motor. (Or follow the instructions of whatever ice cream maker you have)  When the sherbet is nice and thick and the proper consistency, stop the churning process and let it sit for a few minutes to become firmer.  Serve and prepare yourself for something delicious.

I had a package of those little shortcakes sold in packs of 4 or 6 a the grocery store. (You know, the ones you put strawberries in and top it with whipped cream.)  Move over strawberry shortcake, there is a new sheriff in town.  I put a few large blackberries in the well of the cake and used a cookie scoop to make small sherbet balls.  I know I could have used a regular ice cream paddle, but it would not have been as pretty.  Did I even mention how delicious it tasted.  We really were unexpectedly pleased with how it turned out.  This will probably become a summertime company standard at our house.  It would be fantastic on a summer night after a bbq dinner.

Shadows and Light

Yesterday I had the day after birthday blues. I was feeling not so peppy so I decided to do something to make me feel fresher and younger.  I watched this wonderful Wayne Goss contouring tutorial and saw immediately what proper contouring can do for a person. If I used his plan, some well placed product and a few minutes buffing I should look dewey, younger and fresh faced. It was to be the equivalent  of a surgery free face lift in a 10 minute makeover.

I had a little free time, a coupon to Ulta and the best of intentions, so I set out to purchase everything needed to make me a new me. I didn't play with it last night, because I was out running errands until suppertime, and who wants to wash their face and re-apply makeup shortly before time to cleanse the face for the night?  Certainly not me.  So I saved all of my play time until today.

This morning I had to take Mom to the doctor at 8, so I just put on my regular (almost nothing) face and went about the day until about noon. Then it was time for the New Me! Well, 42 dollars and 45 minutes of contouring and buffing later, following all of Wayne's very simple instructions, I looked nothing like the lovely Mandy  in the video.  Instead of looking refreshed and revitalized I found myself looking a tad more like this.

At least that is what it felt like when I looked in the mirror. There are people who look really good wearing a lot of makeup and people who don't.  I am pretty sure I fall in the latter category.

I considered my options and came up with the following choices:
1. I need a lot more practice and a lighter hand/different plan.
2. I should just give up on it all together and look gross all the time.
3. I should cease all spending, live a Spartan existence and save every penny for a really good plastic surgeon.
4. Accept the fact that I am not a kid anymore and be happy for the opportunity to sit at the grown up's table.

Right this minute I am leaning heavily toward option number 1.



Now I have to run wash this crap makeup off my face and either start over or put a bag over my head and go about the day.

Beancounter Humor

I have always heard accountants have no sense of humor.  I have been married to one since I was a very, very young woman, and sometimes I agree with that saying.  Other times, well not so much.

This summer has been a difficult time with many changes for us. I have been overwhelmed with helping Mom cope with her loss and her new normal and all the paper work and filings and changes that go along with it , while trying to move beyond my loss also. If ever there was a time for some comic relief this was the year for it

Yesterday was my birthday and I got the same present we have given each other for every occasion for the past 2 years. We look at each other and say "lake house" and "boat".  If we continue living by these metrics we will never have to buy each other another gift for the rest of our lives, (It's the accountants way of gift accounting) but we do still remember each other with cards. This years card totally slayed me!

                                                                Behold!

                                                                                         ( and on the inside)
                              "Life is too short to be subtle"

It was a fun day.  I don't need jewels or furs or the latest hot car, just give me lots of laughs and I am good to go. At the same time, I am not scoffing at the lake house or boat!

Just Peachy...Sherbet

Disclaimer:  There is nothing paleo about this, but it sure was tasty.

Bummer! We are seeing the very last of the peach season and  I am so saddened on 2 fronts.  First, to me nothing is better than eating a fresh juicy peach.  It just tastes like you are taking a bite of sweetened sunshine with a little bonus juice dribbling down the chin.  Secondly, I eat them daily during their all too brief season and usually I buy at least a bushel of peaches to freeze for some summer delight through the winter.  

This has been a different and difficult summer, so most of my food intentions flew out the window. It's ok, but I know sometime during January TheHub will be craving peach cobbler and there are no frozen peaches to make any this year. Maybe I will do better with apple season, but then again, maybe not.

I had 5 peaches that ripened at the same time, and one day later were slightly overripe.  I could have made a peach cobbler that day, but it was very hot and humid and I didn't want to turn on the oven.  I knew I had to do something with them, then I remembered a kitchen gadget I found in Mom's basement.  She was thinking of getting rid of it, so I brought it home to try before she gave it to Goodwill.

A couple of my friends bought the new Cusiniart Ice Cream maker.  It is a counter top electric maker that consists basically of a motor, inner freezing container with a paddle and an outer container to hold the cold chamber.  The mixing container is placed in the freezer for several hours, the ice cream mix is poured into it, the paddle is set, you turn it on and voila! Ice cream is ready in about 20 minutes without the mess of ice and salt like an old freezer required.  I have been to Bed Bath and Beyond twice lately to buy one and both times I had no coupon with me so I didn't get it. Now I think I am glad I didn't.

Mom had this old Donvier Ice Cream Maker (from the late 80's early 90's?) You simply freeze the inner container for a few hours, make your ice cream mixture and pour it in the frozen container which sits inside this fashionable outer "cup".  Pop the paddle in, add the top and handle and you are ready to make ice cream just like the Cuisinart model with one exception__electricity! In place of the motor this baby has a hand crank.  You twirl the crank on the top of the maker for a few minutes (20 ish) but unlike the old fashioned hand crank freezers, it never becomes difficult to turn.

So now I had peaches, an ice cream maker. and some heavy cream.  The rest was just tossing a few things together and some stirring.

                                                   Easy Peasy Peach Sherbet

5 very ripe peaches, peeled and chopped

juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup boiling water*

2/3 cup  plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional, I left it out because I wanted peach not vanilla sherbet)

2/3 cup heavy cream

In the bowl of a food processor using the blade attachment add the peaches, lemon juice and 3 tablespoons sugar.  Let it sit until the sugar melts and the peaches are juicy.  Blend until they are the smoothness you choose.  Some people like chunky sherbet and some like smoother.  I am choosing for no one, but I do fall in the chunkier camp.

Put the sugar in a heatproof measuring cup ( a 2 cup measuring cup is ideal) and pour 1 cup of boiling water over it.  Stir until the sugar is completely melted and no grains remain. Add to the food processor bowl and blend to combine thoroughly.  Add the vanilla and heavy cream and whirl again to blend completely.  Put the mixture in a bowl and chill for a couple of hours. (I just put it in a quart size measuring cup and stuck it in a bowl of ice to chill because I have little no patience)

When it is nice and cool put it into the ice cream maker of your choice and churn until it is soft set. Scoop it into another container and set it in the freezer for 2 hours to harden. (Yeah right!  Spoon that delicious soft sherbet into a bowl and eat it right away, we did!)

This makes a delicious sherbet that tastes just like what it is, fresh fruit, cream and sugar.  There is nothing remotely artificial tasting to this and it is not the overly sweet stuff you get in the carton at the store.  I thought it had the perfect amount of sweet to cream ratio.  When I do it again (next summer sadly) I will add a couple of more peaches to make it even peachier.  I can't wait!

I think homemade ice cream and sherbets will become a regular part of our menus, and believe it or not, I even have a couple of paleo options. 

*For the record, you could probably add hot tap water to the sugar and stir and stir and stir until all the sugar is absorbed, but the boiling water assures it will totally combine and there will be no lingering graininess.