Heavy Metal Collection

You weren't expecting music

were you?

Name the Bunnies?

Yes, there are two now, one buck and one doe.

The doe hopped into the live trap yesterday evening.

Neither of them have a microchip, and the male is not "fixed".

There is a very slight possibility that the female is fixed, because we did not see any little black bunnies hopping around the neighborhood late this summer.  For now they are drying off in the cat carrier in front of the pellet stove after their flea bath.  I did not see any fleas, but who would with all that jet black hair?  So far the cat is leaving them alone because whenever she sees the carrier it usually means a trip to the vet of which she is terribly afraid.

Since the names Jeff and Lester are highly inappropriate, could you offer any suggestions that imply a degree of mayhem and mischief mixed with their otherwise highly agreeable nature?

Some that come to mind are

George and Gracie

Chuck and Sarah

Borris and Natasha

Bonnie and Clyde

(Ok, maybe I haven't completely forgiven them

for the garden and apple tree chewing yet.)

Any other suggestions?

Oops, I Forgot to Take Pictures

at Christmas Lunch.

Lucky for you, there were a few leftovers.

I sent the shrimp home with mom,
because they are her favorite,
but there was plenty extra of the other items for pictures.
Here is the traditional homemade chicken and vegetable soup.

Some mashed potatoes, catfish and apple slices were added to the leftovers from Christmas lunch.  The Christmas lunch menu was chicken-vegetable soup with crackers, fresh molasses-wheat bread, shrimp, steak, and pumpkin topped with bacon, pecans, and cinnamon.

Making use of the pumpkin skins and the apple cores, I restocked the live-trap outside.  the rabbits have been "pruning" the lower branches of my apple trees rather severely and leaving lots of "smart pills" in the yard, which Chloe tries to eat when she thinks I'm not watching.  This morning we had a well fed black rabbit in the trap.  Most of the bait was devoured.  It is a tame rabbit.  The humane society checked it for a microchip, but there wasn't one.  The trap has been restocked, and maybe tonight we will catch the other black rabbit that has been roaming the neighborhood since this summer.  I hope we catch that one too, because they are close pals.  So the bunny from this morning is hanging out in the basement in Tigger's cat carrier for now until I can build a proper hutch.  He was crunching happily on some bird seed, until I can get him some rabbit pellets.  If we catch the other one and it is also a male, I am thinking of naming them Jeff and Lester.  If the other one is a girl, that would be nice too - free breeding stock for meat rabbits anyone?  Once again, I will have to check the city ordinances on such things.  I already know they don't allow chickens.  Considering that the black bunnies have been running loose for a while, I would not be surprised to find the wild ones in our neighborhood sporting darker colored coats in the future.

Well, it is time to go shopping for some flea shampoo (just in case) and rabbit kibble.  Lester is not going to like getting a bath at all!

Oh, and on the car front, stepfather and I took the one with the bad exhaust to the shop today.  He actually did all the work of tying up the broken portion for the short and noisy drive to the mechanic.  Thankfully the police car that we saw was going the other way.

The Spirit of

Christmas is gradually creeping into our household.

Hmm, there's something not quite kosher about that nativity scene.

(The blue piggy was a reoccuring white elephant gift at an annual Christmas party with friends a few years back.)

This is a picture of the tree from a few years ago;

the plastic one I put up yesterday will have to do for this year.

I went shopping today to pick up hubby's present and to get a little something he can "give" me.  Colds and miscellaneous family emergencies definitely cut into the spare time over the last few weeks.  It is also nice to have all the December bills paid before buying any extras.  Food is still in the preparation stages for the Christmas lunch with mom and stepfather tomorrow.  Pictures will be posted after the fun is done.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!

Using an Ice Scraper

on a driveway is about as efficient as scrubbing a floor with a toothbrush.  On the plus side, I think my aerobic exercise is done for today.  Stay warm, and have a wonderful Sunday!

Having Lots of "Fun" with Cars

And they are not even mine.  So, stepfather cracks off the exhaust system 2 feet ahead of the muffler while exiting a parking lot.  That's one car down until it can be fixed.  They have another car, but haven't bothered to drive or maintain it for over a year since mom stopped driving and a tree branch fell on the car and broke the driver's side rear view mirror.  A new/used mirror is on order.  

After digging frozen tree blossom crud and other stuff from around the wiper arms and checking oil and other necessary fluids, I took stepfather shopping for some new wiper blades. His first question when we entered the auto parts store was, "Can we just buy the rubber wiper inserts?"  How many years ago did they stop selling those?  After persuading him that he's not going to find those anymore, he bought two full replacement blades.  We went back to their place and by flashlight installed the blades and also put in a new battery that had been purchased two days before, (but he still hadn't installed it).  I like Hondas; they tolerate neglect better than a lot of other cars.  It started on the first try!  It test drove fairly well last night, but today it presented with the annoying squeak/grinding sound of unhappy wheel bearings, not surprising really.  So that one is also parked until the Christmas holiday is over and it can visit the mechanic for a full checkup.  Guess I will be their driver for the next week or so.  I am seriously considering crawling under the one with the broken exhaust and seeing if I can rig a temporary patch with soup cans, safety wire, and high temperature sealant.  Some kind of temporary patch will have to be made in order to drive it to the mechanic anyhow.  If I hurry and get my regular chores done, there might be a little time left to do some Christmas baking, but don't hold your breath waiting, sorry.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I sincerely hope your days are not as "interesting" as mine have been.

Been Popping Wheelies Today

with my snowblower that is.

The snow is deep, wet, and heavy.

It has not stopped snowing yet, but it was getting so deep already by noon that clearing was necessary and wheelies were needed to get the tops of the piles with the snowblower.

It is quite possible that the clothes I was wearing will dry faster if I run them through the wash first.

I saw a tow-truck pulling a mail delivery truck this afternoon.

The mail hasn't arrived yet;

maybe that was the delivery truck for our neighborhood.

Pumpkins

They have turned a bit more orange

since they were picked in September.

Then - above.

Now - below.

A few have "disappeared".

It was nice to have some smaller ones this year;

they fit easily in a roasting pan when cut in half.

Not sure if that stubborn green one will ripen or give up and rot.

Perhaps another one will be served

with Christmas lunch next week.

Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

Sorry about not posting the recipe earlier; I was still under the influence of the cold.  This recipe has been "adapted" from one found in The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines by Jeff Smith.  Public television dropped his show like a very hot rock when someone accused him of doing very naughty things.  Never heard what happened after that, but his career on TV was over in a flash.  I have found his recipe to be a bit too thick like gravy, so I increased the liquid quantities.  Also ordinary grocery store mushrooms were used rather than the fancy dried ones, and I added carrots, turnips, and onions to the recipe.

Ingredients:

6 quarts chicken stock or water with the appropriate amount of chicken stock concentrate

3-4 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 to 1 pound lean pork cut into julianne

  (Not too long, it is a royal pain when they don't fit on the spoon!)

2 large carrots, cut into short julianne

1-3 shogoin turnips (if you can find them) cut into short julianne

2 or 3 strong yellow onions, diced very small

12-16 oz. mushrooms, washed, cut in half and sliced thin

Bamboo shoots, cut in julianne (optional)

3/4 -1 tsp. white pepper, freshly ground

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

  (Or if you want this recipe to have two kinds of hotness,

   use the vinegar from a jar of pickled jalapenos.)

5-6 tablespoons corn starch mixed with an equal amount of water

1 cake of firm or extra firm tofu, cut in 3/4" cubes

3 or 4 eggs, beaten

Additional salt and some black pepper to taste (optional)

Kimchi pepper flakes (optional garnish)

In a 2 gallon stock pot bring the stock to a boil, add the soy sauce, the carrots, turnips, and onions.  Cook on a high simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the pork, and cook for 5-10 minutes more.  Add the mushrooms (and bamboo shoots) and when the soup has returned to a high simmer, add the white pepper, vinegar, and corn starch mixture.  Stir until thickened.  Add the tofu.  When the soup has returned to a high simmer, pour in the beaten egg in a thin stream over the surface area of the pot. and let it sit for 30 seconds or so before stirring.  Taste, adjust seasonings if necessary and serve.  It refrigerates well; on the second day, more vinegar and pepper may need to be added as their flavors will have been absorbed by the ingredients.  This soup cannot be frozen because the corn starch will cause the soup to separate when thawed, so only make enough to eat within 2 or 3 days.  Enjoy.

Sunset

The morning began with hubby taking Chloe outside,

but since it was raining Chloe decided to hold it for a while longer.

Here's a sunset from the other evening to brighten things up a bit.

There is one trouble with living in town.

The neighbor's house does get in the way a bit.

Scorch That Cold

with some hot and sour soup.

Seriously

Someone from the city stopped by this afternoon to find out if the downstairs electrical and plumbing work was done yet.  We politely told him no, since we had just reopened the permit only a month ago.  I refrained from laughing loudly at him as bureaucrats generally have no sense of humor.  I did however mention that no - the work is not finished yet, no - it is not ready for them to reassess, and therefore my tax bill cannot be adjusted (increased).  When the work is finally finished, I am not looking forward to a larger property tax bill.  And to think all this started not for any desire for a prettier kitchen but because the old drains in this place cannot be trusted for much longer.

The Cold Progresses

It started with general exhaustion.  Then it continued on to randomly shifting clogged sinuses and ears.  First it was the right nostril, then the left, then it switched back and forth... and back again.  Blowing my nose made my ears pop, whistle, and clog.  It is possible that I have single handedly increased the profit margin for Kleenex Ultra for December.  I still think the new "sneeze shield" that they added a few months ago was just a way to add fluid proofing so that they could make the ply's thinner.  Unfortunately, there aren't any other brands of three-ply tissues on the market for competition anymore.

Then the sinus drainage started, which was why I was awake at 2 a.m. the other night.  It was so heavy I could not lay down without feeling like I was going to drown.  Now the cold has moved into my throat and chest.  Chloe does not recognize my voice, what there is of it.  Her look of puzzlement is funny.  I can only guess it means something like "You look like mom, you smell like mom, but you sound like a baritone frog."  Guess it is good that she was trained to come to three whistles, otherwise it would be tricky to get her to come back inside when she goes out for potty breaks.  Thank God I can still whistle.  The cold is hopefully in the latter stages of CCC (coughing colorful crud).  Mucinex is a wonderful thing!

I really wanted to get some serious chores done today.  I did spray some great stuff in a few holes in mom's garage and front porch earlier today.  Hopefully that will keep the squirrels out for now.  Now how did that get in my hair?  Oh yeah, I had to give the can another shake because it was cold outside.  The new windowsill for the garage attic window will have to wait a few more days to be installed.  Now rest is a must.  So in goes a DVD or two, with lots of liquids to drown this cold, and a dog to pet.

 Hope all of you are having WAY more fun tonight!

It is Great to Have Conceal Carry In WI

Thought I would post this now, because the news station will probably bury it in old stories by later in the morning.
http://www.wbay.com/story/20283712/2012/12/06/gun-drawn-after-bizarre-road-rage-incident


Yes, I should be in bed sleeping.  I have a cold and am a bit miserable at the moment.  The good news was a welcome distraction.

Oops, I Let the Smoke Out

It is just a little over a month since I bought a new $50 shredder at Sam's Club.  This week it started making rumbly, grumbly noises.  This was after a month of it overheating and shutting down regularly, and with increasing frequency.  It just didn't like filling its bin in a continuous run.  The most I ever fed into it at once was three sheets.  On that model the motor has no vent holes for cooling, which seems to be a serious design flaw if you plan to run it for more than 5 minutes at a time.  Being a thorough person, I kept running it until it stopped dead, because a partially dead appliance is harder to return.  They have a habit of only misbehaving at home.  It still worked in reverse, but that wasn't terribly useful.  Thankfully, I kept the receipt and Sam's Club gave me a store credit.  I bought the middle priced one this time.  We shall see if it can handle shredding all of mom's old personal and business papers that she just couldn't bring herself to throw away in the last 40 years.  Maybe in a month's time, I will be making a return trip to Sam's club to buy the most expensive shredder they sell, but I hope not.  Oh, by the way, those big paper yard waste bags are really nice; they hold a lot of shredded paper!

Update:  The new one will shred 2 1/2 bins full before the overheat trip function cuts the power.  Thankfully, it cools off much more quickly.

Pickled Jalapenos

Remember that bumper crop of Jalapeno peppers?

They were turned into pickled jalapenos,

because otherwise they just shrivel and get ignored all too often,

and that would have been such a terrible waste.

This was another recipe obtained from Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt.  But as you probably have already guessed, I altered it some.  The yield was about 6 1/2 half-pint jars rather than 4 pints, because I cut the peppers in slices rather than pickling them whole as the recipe instructed.

Six jars were processed and put in the pantry, the partial half pint did not get processed and just went in the fridge.  It is almost gone and has worked pretty well as fridge jalapeno pickles.  When I open one of the other jars, I'll let you know if they have lost any of their crunch.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 pounds jalapeno peppers, tops removed and sliced
2 cups cider vinegar (original recipe called for white)
2 cups white vinegar (original recipe called for 1 cup white wine vinegar)
2 cups distilled water (Don't use tap water; distilled water has a neutral pH and will not react with the vinegar.)
4 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
  (These will be strained away later.)
2 tsp cumin (I added this to the recipe.)
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Wash the peppers, cut off the tops and slice them to a uniform thickness, you choose how thick.

In a 2-3 quart stainless steel pan, combine the vinegars, water, garlic, cumin, and salt.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer mixture covered for 5 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Using a stainless steel strainer and a coffee filter, strain out the garlic and the cumin seeds, keeping the liquid only.  Return the liquid to the pan and put it back on the stove to keep warm.

Pack the pepper slices into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Add the hot brine, maintaining the 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, and remove any floaters and floating seeds that might try to work their way into the seals during processing.  If necessary, add more brine to maintain the headspace.  Insure rims are clean, and screw on hot lids.  Process in 180 to 185 deg F water bath for 30 minutes, same time for pints or half pints.  A candy thermometer is handy for monitoring the temperature.  Unlike the mince, my stove was actually able to maintain that temperature.

Made some jalapeno & cheese "popper" wontons the other day.  They were pretty tasty.  They would make a nice, inexpensive snack at a fancy or casual Christmas party.  It would be funny to see people's faces when they bite one expecting crab rangoon and find a jalapeno cheese filling instead.  I'll post that recipe once I get some pictures of it.  Forgot to take pictures the other day; they kinda disappeared rather quickly.

There He Goes Again

That time of year has rolled around again.  There goes Santa on a flatbed float.  Ho-ho-ho Merry Christmas!  He was going a little slower this year, so no serious doppler effect this time.

True Color?

I finished a small painting project in the back entry and took some pictures to commemorate the fresh paint before the activities of life ding and scratch it back up again.  It didn't seem to matter what type of light I used, halogen, incandescent, camera flash.  Each time the color came out not quite matching what my eyes saw.  It made me wonder how accurate digital cameras really are at capturing colors correctly.  My dad had dabbled in photography when he was younger, and he had said that the best color film could be judged by the quality and accuracy of matching something yellow.  For my camera, its nemesis appears to be Valspar's Deep Blue Ocean paint.  It is both blue and green, and the camera seems to make it an either/or choice depending on the lighting and exposure.  Perhaps it is yet another item to add to the digital vs. analog debate.

The new paint image as captured with camera flash.

It looks too green, not a match.

This time with overhead entry light, halogen, blurry longer exposure.  Now it looks blue, still not a match.

This is with incandescent worklight, and halogen overhead light.

Still too green, but a little closer, maybe.

The next shot with incandecent worklight and overhead halogen was the best the camera could manage.

It is pretty close, but lacks the brightness of the real thing.

Even on the dark side of the house (north facing entry), the blue is really bright; it is a make you want to go to a tropical beach bright.

So I tried putting the paint sample chip on the scanner,

and it gave me this.

So it would appear the scanner has a problem too,

because the scan did not match the chip.

After playing with the image settings,

this is as close as it gets to what appears on the wall.

It would appear that in digital photography a bold blue-green is just as elusive as the perfect yellow was back in the days of film.

Blue Skies, Dog's Shower, & Biscuits

There is nothing quite like the clear, cold blue skies after the first real winter day appears.

After adventures with mom, it was time to give Chloe a bath.

 Runaway curls.

Mom,

"Please give me the dog biscuit.

I was a very good girl.

I sat still when you dug the gunk out of my ears with Q-tips.

Ok, so I didn't listen when you told me to stop shaking my head,

oops, not so good.

I jumped into the tub when you asked me to,

and didn't jump back out until after the bath was all done.

I didn't rub my nose and snort on too much of the furniture after you released me from the bathroom.

For a dog, that is about as good as it's ever gonna get."

Sit still for the picture;

then you can have your treat.

Flash,

crunch,

crunch.

Now for people biscuits.

Sweet and Savory Hickory Nut Biscuits

Biscuit Dough Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

generous 3/4 cup cold skim milk

Preheat oven to 450 deg. F.

Mix together dry ingredients.  If you can get it, use 2 1/4 cups White Lily Self Rising Flour in place of the first 2 ingredients.  Whisk together olive oil and milk, pour into dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated.  Drop onto oiled #8 cast iron skillet.

Sprinkle 3-4 handfuls of hickory nutmeats over the top of the dough.  If you cannot get hickory nuts, pecans are the closest substitute.  Press them into the dough slightly.  Melt 2-3 Tbs. Smart Balance light and baste the top of the biscuit dough with it.  Mix 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1-3 dashes of Penzy's Chili 9000 or your favorite chili powder in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the biscuits.  Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Serve while still warm.

Remove all biscuits from the pan while still warm, because the sugar and any Smart Balance that dribbled down into the pan will carmelize then harden and stick like glue if your pan does not have a really good cure.  Enjoy.

Sunny Day

Have to go help mom take a shower.  Oh, and Chloe needs a bath too.  Too bad it isn't possible to scrub them both at the same time.  Maybe there will be the first winter blue sky and food pictures later.  Enjoy your Saturday.

Was Today Black Friday?

We didn't notice.  We did not go shopping.  Although the day was a bit noisy with the wind howling quite steadily since yesterday afternoon.  Since it is unlikely that we will see temperatures in the 60's anytime soon, it is time to begin installing the window insulator kits.  There are nine windows done, and ten more to go yet.  You might ask why we haven't installed more efficient windows.  Well for the price of one good replacement window not including labor, trim and misc. incidentals, we can install insulator kits for about seven years.  By the way, this house has 30 windows, including the ones on the front porch, and they all still work.  If it ain't broke....

Thanksgiving, Hunting, & Misc. Adventures

We wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving, and pray that all blessings both large and small will be remembered with gratitude.

Firstly, I am thankful that the air quality advisory has been lifted.  Between people burning leaves, local industry, and mega-farms spreading liquid poo, the air has been a bit thick to breathe since Saturday or Sunday.  Breathing fresh air is really fun for a wonderful change of pace.

Last year's Thanksgiving gathering was quite large with all of hubby's siblings, spouses, and children gathered here at our house for a meal and a family discussion on ma and pa-in-law's health, living arrangements, and various legal issues.  It was very busy to say the least.  This year, the extended S. family has chosen to gather around Christmas time instead and leave Thanksgiving for individual family celebrations.  Although you might have liked seeing lots of pictures of another multi-course meal, I am glad to have this Thanksgiving off as chief cook.  (I'm not a big fan of turkey, sorry.)  Dad went to New Jersey with his lady to visit her family, and mom and step-father will frequent a local banquet hall for their Thanksgiving meal.  They love the food there, but I can cook better and am usually disappointed by the food offered at the restaurant.  Plus my being there might ruin mom's party by reminding her of all the things she should not eat (basically most of the menu).  She will probably end up getting two insulin shots tomorrow to take care of metabolizing the feast properly.

Hubby has to work on Thanksgiving day, but the overtime will come in handy to pay for meat, since the hunt provided no venison this year.  Hubby saw two illegally constructed blinds and some illegally placed salt licks in the public hunting area.  He also found a fresh gutty (probably acorn chunks), blood trail from one of those salt licks trailing off 1/2 mile into the swamp, but he lost the trail in the thick stuff.  (He was picking twigs out of the scope mount when he got home.)  He figures that some Fudds (as in can't hit the broadside of a barn Elmer Fudd type hunters) gutshot a deer, and it died a slow and painful death back in the swamp.  Oh, and an animal rights activist bought land adjacent to the public hunting area; he goes out at sunrise and before sunset during hunting season and runs noisy machinery around his property to spook the deer.  Unfortunately, it only takes a few jerks to tarnish the enjoyment of hunting season for everybody else.  I think hubby needs to find a different hunting spot, but he likes going out to the Wild Rose area, because Lauritzens Sport Shop is out there. It is a family owned store that specializes in guns, archery, and fishing sporting goods (huntwildrose.com).  Hubby found some nice ammunition there last year for his Mauser.  This year he found a nice, transparent scope cover, and they didn't laugh too much at the "high end" piece of inner tube he was using to cover the ends of the scope.

While hubby was having some adventures in the woods, I must admit that I participated in some retail therapy on Sunday afternoon.  So I ventured to the outskirts of the "accursed" mall and visited one store, Penzeys Spices.  That place always gives me a serious case of sticker shock, but I enjoyed wandering the store, smelling the spices, (Warning: chili 9000 can double as sneezing powder if you're not careful), and putting occasional selections into the basket.  Mom wanted some chili powder, so in went a bag of that.  It was not the fancy stuff with natural smoke flavor though, because sometimes smoke flavor bothers her almost as much as msg.  I broke down and also purchased a small bottle of Mexican vanilla extract, a small shaker of Chili 9000, a bag of marjoram, and a bag of cinnamon.  I contemplated buying a little ground fenugreek for my aunt who has digestive troubles, but decided to do a little more research on it's benefits before taking the plunge (more sticker shock).  So far I have already used the cinnamon, vanilla, and chili 9000.  The marjoram might go in some homemade pork sausage, and maybe some chicken and fish dishes.  More recipes will follow in later blog posts as they materialize from dreams to reality.

Since hubby had today off work but has to work tomorrow, we took a trip to the grocery store, and hit the jackpot on reduced for quick sale meat.  Since everybody is getting ready for turkey tomorrow, there were some Angus sirloin steaks, round steaks, and some pork chops at really reasonable prices.  We split one of the tasty Angus sirloin steaks tonight and also had some potato pieces sauteed in a pan with canola oil, seasoned salt, tandoori spice, and malt vinegar, and of course garden green beans from the freezer.  The round steaks will go in the freezer for another day.  The pork chops will probably make a nice brunch tomorrow baked with some wild rice, brown rice, and cream of mushroom soup.

Not wanting to leave hubby without treats for Thanksgiving, I asked him what baked treats he wanted.  So a fresh batch of pumpkin spice bread was made today, and a batch of peanut butter cookies.  The bread smells really yummy with the Penzey's cinnamon in it!  Before he headed to bed, hubby caught Chloe trying to huff a peanut butter cookie off the cookie sheet on the table.  She could have reached it if she had put her paws on the table, but she knew we were watching.  It really did look like she was attempting to generate enough vacuum force by inhaling to lift the cookie, without success poor dear!

Dog Food for Dinner?

Hubby had a lovely day yesterday in the woods.  He saw a fat squirrel, but unfortunately he saw no deer yesterday.  After spending the afternoon putting new wiring up in the basement, I was not terribly interested in cooking a multi-course fancy meal.  To add to the culinary chores, Chloe has gone on a bit of a hunger strike after coming out of season.  She is in no real danger of starving since when she was in season, she ate whatever she could. Seriously, she had the appetite of a pothead with PMS munchies to boot.  She even tasted scraps of paper and floor lint.  Getting back to the subject of what was for dinner, a dish was needed that could feed man and canine beast.  My reply to hubby was "dog food, and would you like salsa on yours?"  To which he said, sounds good.

So without further ado, here is the recipe for Dog Food.
(Or if you want to be gourmet about it, Risotto with Pumpkin and Beef.)
2 1/4 cups medium grain or short grain brown rice, sorted,
   rinsed, and drained
4 cups water
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 pound sirloin roast, trimmed of any silver skin and fat, and cut into very small pieces (or lean ground beef)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 to 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

Put all ingredients into a 1 gallon pot, bring to a boil, turn heat down to a low simmer, cover and simmer for 35 minutes.  Turn off the heat, stir it, put the lid back on and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  Add water if the consistency is too gloppy.  Put a serving on a plate for the dog and let it cool for 10-15 minutes.  While the dog's portion is cooling, the people can eat their portions hot.  Add more salt to taste if needed.  It goes well with salsa.  If you make it with stock rather than water, check the ingredients to make sure there are no onions in the stock, or it will be poisonous for your canine friends.

Lazy Week

Sorry, I have been a bit lazy posting this week.  Hubby has vacation this week, but even if we had a pile of spare cash to go anywhere, we couldn't.  Mom needs her shot every day, and I am the only one so far "volunteered" to do the task.  Oh well.  I'll try not to take any pleasure in poking her with sharp objects on a daily basis.

To improve the mood, I ventured to city hall this week and renewed the electrical and plumbing permits for the downstairs bathroom and kitchen redo.  There's nothing like paying money to get permission to work on my own house.  Grr.

Deer hunting season opens on Saturday.  It was really funny seeing the long line of procrastinators buying their licenses yesterday at the Fleet Farm.  The licenses have been on sale since March after all.

Oh, I hope hubby gets a deer this year!

Well, it's time to go give mom her shot.  Then I can come home and rewire the west side of the basement.  It is the first domino in the sequence to get the remodeling done.  First re-route electrical that is in the way of structural repairs.  Plumbers!

Hot Food

I made Yorkshire pudding the other day.

This time Smart Balance Light and olive oil were substituted for the butter in the pan.  The pan was preheated in the oven, then the oil was added, allowed to warm and the batter poured into the pan.  It puffed up nicely in the oven, but fell much faster than on past occasions when butter was used, so get it to the table as quickly as possible if you choose to make it with oil rather than butter.  Eat it before it gets cold and soggy.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2/3 tsp salt

1/4 cup total volume olive oil & Smart Balance Light

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

Whisk together eggs, salt, milk, and flour.  Preheat oven and a #8 cast iron pan to 350 deg. F.  Wearing a very thick oven mit, remove the pan, add the oil/Smart Balance combination, stir until the Smart Balance is melted.  Swirl the oil around so that the sides of the pan are well oiled.  Pour the batter into the hot pan, and put it in the oven to bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Serve hot.  Goes well with roast beef or beef stew.

To All Veterans

Thank you for your service!

Stuffed Crepes

Make the main course filling.

Sautee some mushrooms with some salt and pepper.

 Add some leftover sliced steak at the end.

Cover and keep warm until crepes are ready.

Use your favorite recipe,

and make sure the pan is prewarmed to medium-high.

Remember to leave room for desert.

Crepes are also tasty filled with ice cream

and your favorite toppings.

Movie Oops

This afternoon my dad and his lady friend invited me to go see a matinee of the new Bond movie.  If you survive all the previews and advertising at the beginning, it is alright.  (We arrived quite early so that dad could have his choice of seats.  There really are some advantages to arriving later, but dad just has to have the highest possible vantage point smack dab in the center of a row in order to fully enjoy a movie.)

There was one really obvious oops, that even I a non-gun expert caught.  When one of the characters refers to a firearm as Bond's father's hunting rifle and it is obviously a side by side double barrel shotgun, the script writers and editors really need to be paddled.

When the movie finally rolls around to the budget theatre, I will go see it again with hubby.  So, no spoilers please.

Follow up:
As a note of reference, the movie producers must have fixed that scene, because after seeing a DVD from the library, it looks like they might have edited their oops.  At least in the library's copy, there are not any red plastic shotgun casings being ejected, and the barrel wall thickness seems to have gotten thicker than when I saw it in the theatre.

Still Praying

For lightning.

Maybe They Have Already Been Replaced

(There was a video from youtube, but they removed it.

If you are interested, get you hands on a VHS or DVD of the Avengers television show.

I think the episode is The Return of the Cybernauts.

The joke is in the closing sequence.)

Or maybe they have always been plastic.

Happy election day!

Go to the polls and pick your favorite plastic politician.

Ha Ha

Yes, laughter was the first thing the pollster heard from me after she identified her company and the nature of her call this morning.

The second thing she heard was "They'll know who I am voting for tomorrow; have a little patience."

The third thing she heard was a click and a dial tone.

After tomorrow, it will be so nice to have real phone calls and messages on my answering machine only from those people I know and with whom I actually want to converse.

Until then I will pray that sensible, honest voters turn out in force and outnumber the cheaters.

A Bit of Color for a Sunny Sunday

All the flowers exept a few mums have been frosted for this year,

but we still have pictures.

Drunken Rabbit Stew

This recipe originates from the fact that my city's government frowns upon hunting rabbits within the city limits with firearms, bows, slingshots, or blow guns.  So some creativity is required when it comes to obtaining the primary ingredient.

Supplies needed:
A healthy rabbit population
1 or 2 live traps
A bunch of apple peels and cores that have been sitting in the compost bucket for a few days fermenting.

Directions:
Place the bait in the live trap strategically located where the critters hop and forage at night.  Go outside in the morning and check the trap.  If it is inhabited by a squirrel with a hangover, let it go.  If it is inhabited with an inebrieated rabbit, you are in luck.  It is already somewhat anesthetized.  It will not show any sign of concern when you reach in with gloved hands, grab it behind the ears, pull it out of the cage, and slit it's throat.  After skinning and gutting it, place the meat in a bowl of water.

Drunken Rabbit Stew Ingredients:
One or two rabbits, cut into pieces (not deboned).
One large onion, peeled, and diced.
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks.
1-2 large carrots, washed, and cut into chunks slightly smaller than the potato pieces.
1-2 cups of water
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp ground sage or a couple whole leaves

Brown the onions.  Add the meat, vegetables, seasonings, and water.  Cook in a pressure cooker for 30-40 minutes.  The meat will be falling off the bones.  Enjoy.

Don't go Boating Today on Lake Michigan

Some of the remaining winds from hurricane Sandy are blowing south down the length of Lake Michigan.  Wave heights for the southern end of the lake are predicted to peak in the 22-25 foot range.  The shorelines in Chicagoland and Gary are gonna get wet.

The SS Badger and various other large craft like ore carriers are riding out the storm away from shore.  Prayers for the safety of their crews would be greatly appreciated as the small Coast Guard vessels are staying in port to ride out the storm.  If any rescues are attempted, they will be by helicopter.  Unfortunately, hypothermia will most likely claim anyone unfortunate enough to fall in.

Hello Sandy

This is the first time I recall clouds from a hurricane reaching as far inland as Wisconsin while it's center was still making landfall on the coast.  It is really weird having clouds come from the east to the west.  Thank God it is only a category one hurricane!

I went outside tonight hanging out more of mom's wash to freeze dry.  There was a huge, beautiful halo around the moon.  The weather forecasters are predicting windy weather tomorrow.  Along lake Michigan, Sandy's outer clouds may even pick up some moisture and produce some snow.

Those of you receiving the brunt of Sandy's wind, rain, and snow are in our prayers.

Busy Days

My apologies for not posting more often this week.  Chore filled days just seem to slip by so quickly.  There will be pictures, soon.  Some of the activities included the following:

Finishing the paint job in the downstairs back entry.  (Still need to install the repainted shoe moulding and paint over the caulk that hubby the "caulking king" applied along the stair edges of the "new" linoleum we had installed last fall.)

Emptying the garden.

More cleaning at mom's house and assembling a shelf to organize her sweaters and winter clothes.  (Still working on organizing all the clothes that still fit her into categories.  More culling and another trip to the thrift store may be in order - way too many clothes mom!)

Emptying the live trap.  Live trapping activity has really picked up after the hard frost and clearing of the garden.  So far this week we have caught one toad, two rabbits, and a squirrel (twice - it went back for seconds after it was released the first time).  The fermented apple peels and cores really seem to be working.  Although a refill is needed now because this morning's rabbit wasn't drunk enough for hubby to reach in and grab it.  Recipe for drunken rabbit stew will follow in another post.  But stay clear of drunken squirrels; they can be mighty cranky when they are hung over.