October, 2017.....What's for dinner?

Well, aren't we all a happy bunch of satisfied supper eaters!

Everything sounds yummy. Thanks for the 'heads up' about the butternut squash at Trader Joes, Cyn. I may have to make a run there just for more squash, although, to be honest, my refrigerator in the garage is FULL of the butternut and acorn squash we brought back from Ohio. I don't know as I have much more than room for one or possibly two and that's hardly worth the hour drive to TJ's.....Hmmmm, but then again, I could always pick up a few other TJ favorites!

Jimmy ~ looks like a 'proper' meal on your plate! Good for you and Tina. I know the Susan's meatballs are a favorite. I think it's the gravy that makes it so tempting. Nice Job.

Beth wrote:I wish I had enough space on my countertop for a free-standing microwave. The one I have is above the stove and has a fan to 'vent' into my face. I hate it. I have an ocellating (sp?) fan on my refrigerator that is on 24/7 just to move the air in the kitchen so I can tolerate being there. I miss my outside vented range hood so much and, hopefully, when we get around to remodeling this house I'll be able to have a real range hood vent installed. I don't have a clue what I'll do about the microwave as I want to keep my toaster oven, toaster, coffee maker, Kuerig coffee maker and KitchenAid Mixer all on the counter ~ I'm such a small appliance hog! I want 'em all....and I use them all, a lot of the time. So, I haven't figured it all out yet.....BUT I WILLLLLL! LOL

That's the reason we never used the fan in the current range hood, Beth, as it, too, just blew the stuff back in our faces. Which finally made me bite the bullet and get a vented one since Al not only said he would install it, but he was actually someone I'd trust cutting a hole in my wall to the outside! Now I can't wait to use it. Brian laughed when I said it'll be surreal the next time we make a pork roast and I don't smell it upstairs for 2 days!!!

Beth wrote:I'm just happy he no longer insists on having the Hot Water Hot Pot for making tea or the big Espresso Maker sitting on the countertop that he 'just had to have' for a while after we moved here. They are back in the original packing boxes and in a cabinet in the garage. If he decides he wants to make tea on a regular basis (and water heated in a microwave ISN'T good enough) or if he wants to make espresso more than once, he can schlep them out of the garage cabinet, remove them from the box, assemble and use and then RETURN to where he found them......by now he's probably forgotten we even have the silly machines! LOL

I had to laugh! The only appliances left are two to the left of the sink, which is the "end of the line" on one wall, above the dishwasher. I keep the toaster there, and for about a year and a half now, the Cuisinart. I used to keep it on the lower shelf of a butcher block cart I have and then bring it up for use -- a pain. One day I'd added the parts back that I'd washed in the dishwasher but had neglected to put it back in its place on the bottom shelf of the butcher block table. The women who were cleaning my house at the time tucked that puppy right against the wall there and I liked it there, right next to the sink. I use it SO much more now that it's on the counter all the time with the dishwasher right below! If I'm dicing onions small enough I now throw them in there. I like that I can throw in a couple cloves of garlic first and let them tumble around until minced while I'm peeling the onions, scrape down the sides a bit and then add the roughly cut onions in and pulse it a couple of times. If I need something sliced really evenly and don't want to mess with the mandoline, I use the Cuisinart. Now that it lives on the counter, we use it to grate cheese as well, something I used to do on one of those square tin graters all the time.

I have my microwave (it's a big white one!) in the corner of my kitchen counters and to the right of that, right next to the stove, is the FoodSaver and a small herb grinder. To the right of the stove is a small countertop where the coffee pot lives. We love that baby 'cause we preprogram it so when one of us makes the trip down in the morning, the coffee is already brewed! I just make an iced coffee for me to drink after my coffee and to take my morning pills with, and pour Brian a big glass of raspberry tea to follow his coffee.

That rolling rack I put in my "pantry" has really unburdened not only my countertop but that butcher block cart of most of the small appliances now. It's super, as it's a lot easier to keep clean.

NormM wrote:When Cassie moved out, she took the Keurig with her and I was glad it was gone. I used it twice and went back to the one I use daily. It makes about 2 cups and that is all I drink.  When I got a toaster oven, I moved the toaster to the basement and it will probably be in the next garage sale.

One of the few appliances I don't have, particularly because I didn't want to give up counter space and like Dane ( ) I like my toast made in a toaster. Well, now I don't have an Instant pot, too -- but I've already invested in all the small appliances that pot now imitates! Hopefully, that damn crock pot (that we've only used once so far) we had to have is the last small appliance that tempts me!

My kitchen saga continues! Al finally finished the half bath off the kitchen/dining room and I think it looks fantastic. I spent a small fortune buying those tiles for the one wall in there that had been faux painted before but am I ever glad I did.  Everyone who sees it oohs and ahs, and it looks a lot bigger now, too.  

Once he finished the bathroom, I ended up having a talk with him about how long everything has been taking and how I felt he'd been taking advantage of me by working REALLY short days.  I told him in the future work needing to be done, I expected him to work longer days as though we're crazy about him, my disorderly house (the living room still looks like a hoarder lives there, with only a path to walk through) was getting to me.  I also told him the next bid he gave me better include everything as he was always needing more for nails, screws, little thingies for the floor tile installation, etc.  He argued back a bit and then just shut up and let me vent.  

The next day he showed up at 8 a.m. and worked 7 hours on little things that still needed doing; he also apologized to me and told me he needed the tongue-lashing I'd given him.  He's had a lot of problems with a nutsy landlord recently, and had mold and termites so bad an entire wall under a window in his bedroom collapsed and fell inside. Then once the repair was done by some unlicensed mold guy, water came pouring in and got the legs of a bunch of his bedroom antiques.  

Once he had completed all the work down there, I was really disappointed as the walls are white but they'd yellowed not only since it'd had been ages since they were painted (and no freaking vented oven hood helped!) but from nicotine, as we still smoke in the house.  One morning I cried and he offered to paint it but I said it would take him forever.  He told me he had to wash the walls (he washed them twice), prime it and then put two coats of paint up.  I made him promise he would stick to his 5-day timeline and I also gave him HALF the cost of the job, as we'd just as a matter of course evolved into me giving him the money for the materials AND the labor at once.  Well, he showed up with a helper at 8 a.m. Thursday (took Wed. off to handle some personal things and buy all the paint) and worked 7 hours days on Thursday and Friday WITH a helper, worked about 5 hours himself on Saturday and today, with his helper again, the job was finished!  He did it in four days instead of the 5 days he'd promised.  And it looks FANTASTIC now!  He still has to rehang some of the pieces of art for me, but bless his heart, he cleans everything off and then re-hangs it for me.  He also cleaned the whole ceiling (it's a raw wood unfinished ceiling which looks fantastic -- usually the first thing everyone comments on) as it had a lot of dust woofies hanging from it that were now very noticeable from all the dust that had come about when he ripped up that stupid stuff for walls that was put on the floor under the old tiles.  He also cleaned my ceiling fan, as Lynn had forgotten the last two times to get it.  

He took down and cleaned up my two wooden flying pigs that hang on fishing wire from the ceiling and I got him to raise my huge piece of stained glass up 8 inches as it was too low once I'd added a credenza under it in the dining room about 1-1/2 years ago -- but it's extremely heavy (it's about 5 feet square or bigger) and hanging on a huge iron hook, which he moved as well and repaired the big hole it came out of.  We also decided to paint the outside facing wall and sides of the island white instead of putting bead board up there, and he's painting it with the same white shiny enamel that's on the trim, which looks really super (saved me $300 too)! He's got to put a second coat on the island and is sure some ghosts will show up in some places on the wall so he'll finish up those things and paint my two screen doors which lead to the pantry and the laundry room -- I have fabric mounted behind the screen doors and he has to remove the little trim frames from the inside of the screen doors and then remove the screens to paint those doors in the trim enamel paint.  Often when people come to my house for the first time, they ask if the screen doors lead to a porch which is the EXACT reason I love them, as it looks like screen doors did when I was really young and many had no air conditioning. Since most houses were raised, often people covered the bottom half of the screen door with fabric so people walking by couldn't see inside their house when the door was open and the screen was in use.  It's cute and I think I'm going to replace the fabric with some white with blue ticking stripes, as it's time for a change there, too.  

Now that all the work has been done, you can really appreciate the new gray wood look porcelain floor, as the walls were so yellowed that it was all you could look at when you went in there!  My stainless steel stove hood will complete the new look when it comes on Wednesday and he should have it installed by the weekend.  The CFL light that's in the current range hood casts a yellow light, too, so the LEDs will look much whiter, another enhancement.  

Just bead board left to put up and paint on the side of the dishwasher, which is the end of the lower and upper cabinets on that wall and all will be perfect.  I'll try to post pics if I remember to get Al to take some.  My bathroom looks soooo good that he took a pic for his website and he's kicking himself that he forgot to take a before pic, as he always does it.  I wished I had a before pic, too, as it's a vast improvement and it looks pretty enough to post on Pinterest if I did that sort of thing!!

bethk wrote:For the last few years I've been starting my potatoes, whether white or sweet, for just a couple minutes in the microwave and then finishing them on the grill or oven or cast iron pan.  One of my favorites is to place thick slices of white or yukon gold potatoes on a pile of parmasan cheese on non-stick foil (either in cast iron or on the grill) and let them brown up, then flip and brown the other side.  It gives the potatoes a nice crunch and saltiness that is different than just s&p.

Mmm, that sounds good, Beth.

NormM wrote:It has been at least 45 years since I last had a gas stove and I am happy to have one again.  They sure have more possibilities than the old days.

Makes me think of a prior poster here who said she HATED gas and would REFUSE to cook on it. 'Course it was right around the time my LG gas stove with its calibrated oven was brand new and I couldn't stop talking about it so I think I was the inadvertent trigger to that newfound hatred.

A gas stove, along with central AC, a dishwasher and a second commode, was on my list of must-haves when we bought this house. I got everything I wanted, and felt like a queen (I was so tired of living in apartments with only one bathroom) when we bought a house with 2-1/2 bathrooms! All I was demanding was 2 commodes!

It's good to have you back, Michelle! I just knew you were still in the middle of 'the remodeling horror' and would check back when you had the energy.

And I agree you'll either have to go out and get a 'smart phone' with a camera or pull some stranger off the street to come in and take pics to share as soon as it's all over. Inquiring minds want to know!!!

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No cooking last night. We were over at Lyn & Bill's discussing our upcoming trip to Myrtle Beach, SC and all went out for burgers after our planning session. We had a planned trip to Hilton Head Island when Irma hit and that got cancelled. Lyn got a call that their Marriott Time Share would honor their 'lost' week IF they found something they liked to use before the end of the year. She found the condo in Myrtle Beach for the end of this month and we all decided it would be a great time. Dane & Bill will golf for a few days and Lyn & I will find something to amuse ourselves with, I'm sure. We'll stop on the way back and spend a day & night in Savannah which is a personal favorite for Lyn & me.

It always amazes me how much we are able to do and see now that we're retired. I love the fact that we can pack up and go in no time at all.

I agree about the pack and go! One of the negatives, though, is that I really miss having a dog. I could have one here in my building, but the thought of going out early in the morning for him/her to do their business does not appeal to me. Having lived on 15 acres for 39 years, I got used to just opening the back door!

Yes, Lore.....no pets anymore. We had my beloved dog and then a series of 'house' cats that lived long and loving lives. But when we got close to retiring and moving away from 'home', the thought of not having a pet to care for and have to arrange boarding for was more and more appealing. We can lock the door and go away for days or weeks without having to see those beautiful eyes that always seemed to ask, "Can I go? Can I go, too????"

And living where we do, we are able to 'share' our neighbor's pets if we really need a 'pet fix'.

I hope you guys don't mind me posting a picture of my remodeled half bath -- new floor and new featured wall.  I still don't have the artwork back up there but I want to get new mats put on two pieces as the white mats have yellowed, which really shows up against the new white paint. And the mirror over the sink was not up yet when he took these pics so use your imagination.

The pics don't do the room justice as they make it look so small -- in person, the room looks huge compared to its prior appearance.

Plus Al spray-painted a very small corner table silver for me; my mom had ordered it for me years ago from a catalog and had been disappointed when it was delivered because it looked so much bigger in the photo. It's the perfect size for that half bath though and besides, it was previously maple-colored wood, my least favorite wood color.  Since I had some Rustoleum Prime & Paint in a spray can, I had asked Al if I should sand it, what size sandpaper I should use and if I should prime it first.  Heh heh, in other words, I bugged him so much he finally just said he'd do it for me, which he did.  It just hadn't been done when he took the pics.

The first pic is with the lights off and the second with the lights on.




I sure hope these pictures post right-reading, as I struggled for ages trying to rotate them. I would rotate the pics I had but when I previewed my message prior to sending it, they would be on their side again!  If they come out sideways, please forgive me!

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:She is so happy, and she had her hair shortened. Highlighted too.She looks 10 years younger. She was happy with that, but not when I said she can play "Peter Pan", at the Centenary college stage.

Oooh, ask her if you can post a picture for us to see her new "do," Jimmy! I'll bet it's adorable. I don't color my dark brown hair so I've got a lot of gray but it's pretty much in streaks so it doesn't look half bad -- Brian loves the gray in it, too, so that's a plus. And trust me, I'm not about to start such an expensive habit at this stage of my life -- plus, I'm not a big fan of beauty salons and I know that coloring your hair, highlighting, lowlighting or whatever takes a lot of time.

One thing I do like though is seeing the "before and after" of other customers when I'm getting my hair cut or washed and blown dried. So I'd love to see Tina's new look!

bethk wrote:I agree, Norm....when the gochuchang paste is mixed with the sauce ingredients, the brown sugar or sweet stuff, it counteracts the heat and adds a nice flavor.  Of course, most of the people I hang around with think black pepper is "too HOT" so I only use that for Dane and me.  The Sambal Oeleck is another garlic chili paste that I really like the flavor of....much more than the 'one note' sriracha, although the sriracha is still in my refrigerator and used on occasion.

I think some people try to over do the heat, thinking you need to really taste the chili paste but I much prefer it to be tempered with other ingredients and just be a 'background' taste.

To each their own!

I love the flavor of sambal oelek too, Beth, as does Brian. I, too, think all heat should be a PART of the flavor of a dish, not the dominant taste. If you use too much heat, I really think you can't taste the nuances of the other flavors of a dish.  

I think people down here are a bit more tolerant of heat than some other areas, as most were exposed to it at a very young age.  When Brian and I hand carried a couple pounds of boiled shrimp with us when we visited his relatives in the northeast, after I peeled the shrimp, I would rinse theirs off in a colander under the faucet to try to diminish the heat.  They even found our boiled shrimp too hot -- but I found theirs bland so I guess I'm just as bad.  They didn't boil their shrimp in the shell but rather already peeled in water with a little bit of salt and vinegar.  They looked really pretty -- all puffed up! -- but ours have color to them and taste nice and spiced, though we don't find them "hot." Plus, like a lot of things, I think shrimp are more flavorful when cooked in the shell.  Like you said, Beth, I really had to watch even the black pepper I used when I cooked for them.  I sure wish they were still around to cook for though...  

The new guest bath looks fabulous, Michelle!

It's so great when it all starts coming together and you can see an end to the turmoil. I hope Al gets everything checked off the punch list pretty soon so you and Brian can finally rest easy.

bethk wrote:I no longer purchase things that I might use ~ since I have no room to store it I would have to get rid of something I DO use all the time.  

And I'm much happier.  Once in a while I miss something like my hand mixer, but for the most part the things I used that appliance for I now can just use a hand whisk and 'get by'.  I don't miss it as much as I thought I would.

It IS really freeing to have less stuff, isn't it? I was reading an article the other day in Southern Living mag and they said to get rid of something every time you bring something new into the house. I wish I could be that disciplined. I bought a rolling coat rack to put up in my bedroom to help me clean out my closet. I have a lot of clothes that are hardly worn that are a couple of sizes too big and I paid a lot for my "work clothes" so I want to give those things to Dress for Success and then the other more casual clothes to Vietnam Vets of America, as they come by every once in a while and you can call them. So I've been trying to remove everything from the closet that I still use and put it on the rolling rack. Yet I keep buying more casual clothes and just adding to the damn rack without removing anything from my overstuffed closet! And the other day I caught Brian hanging his clean clothes on the rolling rack -- his closet AND all his dresser drawers are filled with clothes that are now way too big for him, as he's really slimmed down over the years and has held that lesser weight.

So I envy your uncluttered life, Beth. I'm going to give it a shot soon now that I finally finished the taxes and hope to dedicate at least 30 minutes a day to it; I should be able to do that no matter how much my back might be bothering me on a given day. (Or so I say now....)

I watched an episode of America's Test Kitchen the other day. I like it so much better now that the aggravating Chris Kimble is gone -- the two ladies are much nicer and they don't whine about a drop of Tabasco in the food than that lily liver used to do!

At any rate, they had instructions on how to make a super baked potato. I usually pop them in the microwave if I make one, as I rarely have potatoes on hand since Brian doesn't eat them. But they're much better I find if they're oven baked.

How they did cooked them was in a 450F oven but first, they dissolved 2 tablespoons kosher salt in 1/2 cup water in a bowl, and then just tossed the potatoes in the liquid until they were wet all over. They put them on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, and baked them until the center of largest potato got to 205 degrees, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Once the potatoes were at temp, they took them out and brushed the tops and sides with oil -- either vegetable oil or bacon grease (guess which one I'm going to use), as they said not to use olive oil. Then they baked them for another 10 minutes.

They said to make sure when you took them out of the oven to make 2 slits in the tops, forming an X in each potato. Then they squeezed them with a kitchen towel to protect their hands to push up the potato flesh up and out. They said it was important to do this right after you took them out of the oven or the potatoes would steam and wouldn't have that nice dry roasted texture.

Not hard or time consuming, except for me to type. I'm going to pick up a couple of taters and try it. I think they said to aim for an 8 to 9 oz. potato.

Something simple like a baked potato really hits the spot for me sometime, and I like the idea of trying to make a "perfect" one, though I sure scarf down the ones I nuke with no problem!!!

bethk wrote:The new guest bath looks fabulous, Michelle!

It's so great when it all starts coming together and you can see an end to the turmoil.  I hope Al gets everything checked off the punch list pretty soon so you and Brian can finally rest easy.

Thanks, Beth. I was glad I sprung for those mirror tiles after all. I sure wish I had a before picture as you'd see what a vast improvement it is. Just looks a lot more "today," you know? I wish my sister was alive to see it, as I think I'd even get a compliment out of her!!! She used to cringe at how long it took me to make up my mind over a piece of furniture or fabric to recover something or some change I'd have to live with for a while.

Besides installing the stove hood when it comes, I have to get new lighting for the kitchen and over the dining room table (plus a new light over the sink) that he'll have to install. I spent all day yesterday looking online at what I'm leaning towards and then trying to track down cheaper prices for them. Man, lighting is sooo expensive! I keep vacillating over whether or not the dining room fixture over the table should be the same style wise as the kitchen pendants as I don't want it to be too matchy matchy or I'll hate it; I found a fixture with three of the same pendants I plan to use individually in the kitchen connected in a line in a fixture which would be perfect over the dining room table but it's $630! I found it a bit cheaper but it's a smaller unit that looks cheaper, too. I had no idea lighting ran that much. The three pretty big pendant lights for the kitchen are $199 each and I've got to get something for over the sink and am going to put two really small pendant lights down into the pot rack over the island where they will pretty much be hidden by the pots, pans and equipment hanging up there but will throw light directly on the island where we do a lot of food prep. I had no clue I'd have to shell out over a grand for the lighting in those two rooms; I guess I've been living with my head in the sand re household stuff if it's not cookware or appliances!!! But it has to be done as the halogen track lighting up there is not only out of style but is falling apart -- plus new LED lights won't require us to get wayyyyy up to that high ceiling to replace bulbs, the rooms will be cooler AND the utility bill will be lower. So I guess it'll all work out in the wash though it's killing me right now.

Then, of course, he'll have to repair the water damage in the living room, work on the floor area where the finish was harmed by water intrusion, put in the can lights I want, repair the sheetrock and replace some insulation behind the damaged and removed sheetrock. He also has to paint that big room, too, which runs all the way to the stairwell. He can't do that until the two sets of French doors leading to the balcony arrive, which should be soon; he'll have to rebuild the board and batten shutters to cover the French doors, too. And the new deck boards will have weathered the entire three months by then so he can stain them, too, before I'm finally finished preparing for debtors prison!! I figure Al will be with us at least until Thanksgiving (he's already been invited and accepted for dinner that day as we've grown to close to him), and that's if I'm lucky.

But if it takes another tongue lashing on my part to get him to hustle up, I'm more than willing to do it. He just does so much extra stuff for me for free while he's here (like cleaning off our entire unfinished wood ceiling in the kitchen/dining room, cleaning my big stained glass piece before rehanging it, cleaned all my artwork glass prior to re-hanging them, cleaning the tops of the cabinets while he was up there painting, no easy task when it hasn't been done in probably 8 years -- tons of dust and grease from the kitchen don't play well together). So even though he's been here forever, we've gotten used to him being around. The other day I started moving things on the counter tops away from the wall for painting and he ran me off -- said he'd do it, which he does, and then he puts everything back, too.

Sorry to go on and on but I type too fast for my own good (and y'all's good too)!!!

Beth, I agree -- beans taste better once cooled and then re-heated. Love, love, love a 13 or 15 bean mix! Love them in soup and also in bean salad. I've never met a bean I didn't like.

So sorry you're hurting from your flu shot. I'm lucky as I didn't feel wonderful the first two years I got the shots (about 20 years ago) but might have even gotten a mild case of a flu type they didn't cover. But ever since I've not had a problem and never experienced a problem at the injection site. Hope you're all better soon!

Y'all are nice to give Dane's sister some respite from her care of her husband, as I remember it was all consuming. I'll bet she liked your bean soup, too!

Beth wrote:Lore, where do you garden?  Is it a community type garden on an empty lot in the city?  Somehow I'm picturing a couple large pots on your balcony, 20 floors up......LOL

I wondered the exact same thing, Lore. And I was also envious of homegrown Brussels sprouts, too!

NormM wrote:I baked some bread today. Last time the second loaf got moldy before we got to it so I did one loaf and put the dough for the other one in the freezer.

You are a BREAD MASTER, Norm! You wouldn't have any bread going moldy if we were around. Brian adores bread and would eat it at every meal if I let him.

Am curious -- did you use the convection feature or just used the regular oven?!

NormM wrote:I had saved a couple of his recipes and looked them up to find his name: Pete Schuyler.  He measured everything down to the nth degree.  ( 2 1/8 Tbsp sugar,  1 5/8 tsp. salt, 1 3/8 Tbsp. sugar, 36 oz. bread flour)  I am the opposite kind of bread maker. I don't even measure flour when I bake. I just add flour until it looks right in the mixer and feels right on the kneading board.

Wasn't he the old dude who was like a homesteader, preparing for the day he'd need his guns to protect his food?! He used to get under my skin in a nanosecond with that kind of talk!!!

You've got so much experience baking, Norm, that you just KNOW what your bread should look like and feel like. I'm truly impressed by your breadmaking. I'll bet it tastes as good as it looks, too! And I'm sure it's more fun to make when you can just sense what you need to do, too. Charlie is a lucky guy!

Lore wrote:Where was I gardening???? My son had this brilliant idea that I, and his father-in-law needed to get our hands dirty. Danny (son) has a friend with a large property which includes a raised, large bed in which friend's parents used to garden.

I DO remember your telling us about that, Lore. So sorry it didn't work out. Our plantings in the ground and in pots took a beating this summer, as we literally had almost 3 months of heavy rain. I'm going to try and get my friend Al to haul some potting soil, compost and a bag of peat moss from the big box store to our backyard soon, so we can plant for the fall. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having different lettuce growing in the raised garden and I grow baby bok choy too, which often grows to Daddy bok choy but it's still good sautéed with some olive oil, garlic and a splash of lemon juice as a veggie that even Brian will eat. And arugula -- I adore arugula and anything you can do with it -- salads, thrown in dishes on the stove like fresh spinach and I even use it in lieu of lettuce on sandwiches. It's one of my favorites.

Gardening in the fall here is a blessing as you don't have that miserable heat (blazing sun down here) and humidity that takes an even bigger toll on us as we've gotten older. I want some radishes and carrots, too, this year.