So...whats for dinner?

Eric - sorry the crud caught you. I've been wondering how your "duty" is going. Not fun!!! Hope you feel better soon.

Red, I really hope that your fall has not done much damage. Falls really do scare me.... Please continue to let us know how you are recovering.

Eric, oh yucko! Crud away from home is such a drag. Perhaps it won't hang around for long. Are you able to work while the crud resides in your body?

Minus, so glad that you enjoyed the concert. Original instruments is a real speciality. Once upon a time, some of us just faked it, but it has become a career. You do modern or ancient, but very few do both. There is something about great music that just lifts the soul.

Cookies tonight were done in the "real" oven. I waited for the "kids" to return from NH before baking. The "kids" went to NH and called in my mother and both sisters. They all showed up, and they told them about the "peanut." Tomorrow, they will see the boy's family and then I am allowed to tell the world that they are having a baby! My mother is excited, but as always, her happiness is tempered by real concerns, like finishing school, paying for a new house, etc etc.... haven't heard a word from my sisters yet. I suspect I will need to call them. They are pretty remote these days.

The "kids" stopped in NH at a mall to buy my new mixer. The salesperson made a BIG mistake. She gave us the 20% one item discount even though this KitchenAid was on the exclusion list. Whooohoooo!!!! Parts to fix the old mixer have been ordered. Eventually, we will have a mixer with no home. I will either gift it to a young cook, or sell it on Craigslist. I have thirty days to determine if this machine will have the power that I need. Over the next month, I am going to make this mixer work hard to earn its place. Who needs some bagels? Ground meat? Pasta?

I started some bread tonight, and threw it into the fridge to rise overnight. Two hours later, the damn dough has already doubled in size! Whoops. Had to roll it out, add the cinnamon swirl, and now the second proof is underway. I won't get to bed for hours. Thank goodness I had a great nap today. The mixer audition has begun.

Lacey, not sure how I feel about this pink crap.... well, the fact that I used the word crap is an indication. How does this help? Who is the audience? It was a chilly and damp day today. Glad you did not freeze!

*susan*

Mr. 02143 could not resist and has cut into bread no 1. He states that though a smidgen misshapen [rolled the dough too wide and then had to scrunch a bit to get it into the pan] that the flavor is delicious. The new toaster oven performed well when he made his bread into toast. October 2015 is becoming the "appliance month." I plan to send one loaf of bread to the boy's parents' house because I have to make other harder-to-mix items. This mixer has to earn it's place in my kitchen.

*susan*

Carole, what's for Sunday dinner today?

Where is Bedo???

Susan, that bread looks good. It sounds like you need one of the 1950s vintage "sits on the floor" Hobart mixers. Que up the Crocodile Dundee movie's, "That's not a knife" line. :-)

It sounds like good news for everyone on the property front. I've only been involved in 3 real estate transactions my entire life and each time I was *SO* very glad when they were done.

Red, they make computer cable management stuff that can be found (cheaply) at the big box home improvement stores or very likely at the local hardware stores. The stuff does a good job at keeping the cables out of the way of peoples' feet and chairs' legs. You don't want to have the ER doc have to remember to keep a calm face when they look at your ankle X-ray....

Auntie, I hope you get some smiles from/with your dad. That is probably the most difficult, most emotionally draining...and most rewarding thing one must do....especially when a smile appears on their face.

Thanks everyone. I could tell I was going to get a cold by Wednesday and it sort of stayed away until Friday night. Several folks I'm working with went into Washington, DC yesterday to see the sights and today they're going on a train ride to look at the changing leaves. I decided to stay in hiding so I wouldn't pass it around. Sometimes giving isn't the best option. Yesterday I slept on and off (mostly on) and remembered more than my fair share of both weird and not so weird dreams. Today, I'm watching TV and wandering around on the Internet on the laptop. I'm feeling way better than yesterday, which I like very much.

So, this has me pondering my KitchenAid history. I never would have bought such a luxury item, but my friend Laura, a very rich friend, developed RA and was no longer able to lift the bowl. So, since she is both rich and generous, she gifted me her machine along with many of the attachments. I was able to buy the pasta roller/cutter set at a no-longer-in-business store called Kitchens Etc which carried great brands at good prices. [The online store of the same name only bought the name, but has a totally different business model.] This mixer changed my life, seriously. But, I was grinding meat one Sunday and engine oil began to ooze out of the head. Not good. I literally ran to the Williams-Sonoma in Copley Square to buy a replacement. I mean, I had 10 lbs of meat that needed to be ground. They told me that this Wiliams-Sonoma, and only this one offered a lifetime guarantee! Three years later, this replacement machine died during a difficult bagel kneading session. Again, into the car, into Copley Square and they did replace it!!! They didn't want the stripped-gear machine back, so I took it to Salem, MA to the KitchenAid guy and paid $90 to have it completely refurbed. So now, we had two complete machines, plus all the add-ons like paddles for three. The machine that broke the other day turns out to be machine 2, the kid's machine. She says that screw has been missing for several years. Why it didn't matter until Friday? I have no idea. Machine No 2 has been repaired [gotta love ereplacementparts.com] by Mr. 02143 several times. So in fact, I have not killed as many machines as I thought. But, they keep breaking, and of course, they only break when I am using them, mid-project.

Bagels are on the agenda today. I will make 24 mini-bagels and the kid will take a bunch to work tomorrow for her colleagues to enjoy. The cinnamon bread is delicious. The second loaf will go North with the kids to his family.

*susan*

Nance, today's Sunday noon dinner was stewed chicken and gravy, white rice (cooked in my mother's rice cooker), fresh okra and tomatoes (canned) cooked with garlic and bacon, and a nice salad of mixed lettuces and additions. It was raining this morning and dark in the bedroom so I didn't wake up until almost 9 am. I leapt out of bed and went to the kitchen. DH retrieved the two chickens from the outside refrigerator and I began cutting them into pieces. The stewed chicken is made by coating the chicken with a seasoned flour and then frying it in oil. I poured out the oil and cleaned the big pot. Cooked minced onion in butter and a little grapeseed oil in the same pot, added the garlic and some flour and cooked the roux a few minutes, then poured in a carton of chicken broth. Returned the chicken to the pot in the liquid and simmered until the chicken was done and a nice gravy had formed. The browned flour cooks off the chicken.

I skipped the gravy and rice and ate some chicken, which was quite delicious. I have one chicken, minus the legs and wings, left and also the backbone of the other chicken. I'll simmer this raw chicken tomorrow to make broth (stock?) and will use the chicken meat for chicken salad.

My mother cooked stewed chicken the same way back when she was feeding a big family.

Minus, the concert sounds special. I enjoyed your description.

Eric, what a shame that you missed the excursions. But how thoughtful of you not to go.

Susan, I'm just glad that bread wasn't within reach. I'll bet the aroma was heavenly.

Red, please follow Eric's advice about fastening the cables. You don't need those bruises.

Lacey, good to hear how much you're enjoying the company of the 30 somethings. It says something about your youthful spirit.

Carole, that meal sounds very southern and very delicious. I always enjoy hearing about your Sunday dinners.

Eric, I'm glad you're feeling better. I wish everyone was as considerate as you about spreading their germs. I'm always astounded to see little kids cough into their sleeves as they're taught in school, yet a lot of adults, who you'd think would know better, don't even bother to try to cover a cough or sneeze.

Today was a good day with dad. I filled out some paperwork for him, did a few other things and we took him grocery shopping. DH went with me which made things with dad so much easier. It's such an effort getting dad in and out of the car and more difficult when I have to drive, find a place to park, get the walker out, get dad out, etc. Anyway, we had a nice lunch and he was very appreciative of our help.

Tonight we had the last of the ham in a thin barbecue sauce on homemade buns, a potato casserole and more sliced tomatoes from the garden.

Eric, I'm also glad you are on the mend and unsurprisingly that you thoughtfully kept your germs confined to your room. Keep feeling better!


Nance, so glad that you had a good and productive day with your dad....with some help!


Susan, that bread does warrant smellivision! Beautiful! And what a nice accompanying gift for the male kid's family along with the great news the "kids" will be bringing!

I guess I should be relieved that my rare baking efforts spare my kitchenaid. I will probably have it for the duration. But I enjoyed your life tales about yours, Susan.

I had a productive day today...made a ton of both roasted butternut squash soup and my favorite kale soup. I plan to bring portions of both to a couple whose husband just had major knee surgery, and more portions to my step mother who we will head down to visit on Tuesday for two days. I am also keeping some for ourselves since I need to get away from the pasta meals and back to my soup habits. My weight is now steadily going up, (horrors!) and clearly it has to do with my lack of vigilance about carbs and calories "in"...along with minimal exercise while I fought the recent virus. Easy and tasty as pasta meals can be, I need to rout them from my diet, except for special occasions.

And one special occasion looms large. On our anniversary next week we are in fact heading to Erbaluce before seeing "Beautiful", the show about Carole King. Looking forward to both!

Carole, the nat'l weather tonight did not look good for your area. I hope they were into typical weather hyperbole.

Tomorrow, I am having "lunch" with my former office mate. She just retired and seems to be busier than ever. We are going to meet at a new place up the street called French Press, which, of course gets good reviews for their coffee. They also have baked goods which I will ignore, so I hope there will be fruit or yogurt or something. After our meet up, I will head right to the gym for some serious exercise and our stretching class.

Also need to get back to my sewing machine later this week to get some taggie's made for an auction that is happening in a few weeks.

Thanks Minus! DH has already been perusing the menu and reviews. He is dying to get there! It is more rare for me to try a nice restaurant before he does. I'll be interested to see how much the menu is changed. Oh, and I totally forgot about that lower case "e".

I can tell summer is really over, all I want to do is bake bake BAKE! Susan's bread picture doesn't help.

So today I began the dough for baguettes. I'll finish them tomorrow along with some Hokkaido milk bread that I will make into buns. I'm also boiling some more cider. We've really gone though this stuff. It's a great addition to pancakes and waffles. No added sugar either.

Dinner will be a roasted half chicken with garlic herb paste. You'd like this dish Eric -- it's roasted mashed between two cast iron skillets. The only side will be orzo with asparagus and parmesan. Dessert will be the last two (thankfully) bear claws.

Carole, hoping you don't have flooding or other nasty stuff. Galveston got hit pretty hard. I'm glad my niece no longer has her house there or they would be stressing about it big time from their main residence in Missouri City.

Lacey - looking forward to two detailed food reports!

My Kitchen Aid gets very little use since I'm not making bread or pasta during this low carb phase. It has a nice cloth cover and a spot on the counter in one corner.

Dinner tonight was pan fried pork chops, the cheaper tasty ones not the center cut. DH, as usual, had his breaded with panko and mine was not breaded. The side was cauliflower mash whipped up in the food processor with butter, a splash of cream and some grated romano. It was fluffy and delicious.

I'm having buyer's remorse over buying the half pig. How are dh and I going to eat a 100 lbs of pork? What was I thinking? We'll be making oink oink noises. Fortunately, pork is my mother's favorite meat so we'll be having the roast pork for some Sunday dinners.

I have a large bowl of chicken broth and a tasty chicken salad from the chicken that wasn't cooked for Sunday dinner. Tomorrow I'll portion up the broth for the freezer after removing some of the fat accumulation.

Our rain gauge holds 5 inches and it was chockablock full this morning. So we got 5 inches plus of rain. It was quite windy for a while last night, but, fortunately, we did not have a tornado. The rest of the week is supposed to be quite nice. I wouldn't mind some low humidity.

Oh, and Susan,...definitely a trip to Sarma with you will go on the calendar soon! We will need to work around your meds schedule so you can enjoy it

How do you define healthy?

*susan*