Happy/Merry HalloThanksMas The MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
141

I’ve never been able to make a carrot soup that actually tastes good. I’ve tried but I just find it repulsive. Is there a secret to getting it to be edible? I’m a big carrot fan, but so far not in soup form.

I’ve been putting Godiva chocolate liquer in my hot chocolate occasionally for a while, but coconut rum sounds like it’d make a great combination. I may have to go buy some of that!

rigs, grad school kills everyone. Majorly sucks, way more than undergrad and way more than anyone warns you. I don’t know of anyone who enjoyed grad school. It really bites the big one. Lots of empathy for what you’re going through.

Since we’re discussing last night’s dinner, we had stuffed peppers. They were yummy.

142

Taters, fevers usually run lower in the morning and raise as the day goes by.

taxi, carrots are heavenly but nobody should cook them, ever. Cooking carrots is on a pair with, with… with having cheese as an entrée!

143

I know Nava, this is why I want my daughter to call me as soon as she wakes. I want her to check her temp upon waking and after being up for an hour or so. Obviously, if she’s worse off or actually running a fever, I’ll have to go home. I felt badly about coming to work today, but my daughter is almost 17, so it’s not like she’s too young to take care of herself.

144

I’ve had cheese as an entree.

Well, fondue, anyway.
I had some grated carrot salad thing leftover, with ginger and mirin and sesame oil in it, so I cooked it and some more carrots with some chicken broth, added a bit of salt and sugar, and pureed it. It was quite tasty.

gt, I didn’t go to the new RCIA thing because there’s apparently going to be one held at our parish, which would be great. We’re waiting to be contacted about times and stuff.

The centipede is probably still around somewhere. I didn’t sleep well last night, because I kept imagining that it was on me. So now I’m tired, but I have bread rising, and I have to:

Scrub the kitchen
Cook a turkey breast
Wash all the dishes
Do a bunch of stuff I don’t remember
I’m not sure I can get the kitchen clean while cooking. I can reduce the chaos, but I’ve got a really small kitchen, and baking takes up a lot of space.

How do I roast a turkey breast? I could poach it in bouillon, I guess. I just want to cook it and shred the meat up for dinner.

145

Uhm…

at home we wouldn’t usually roast a turkey breast (or a chicken breast). Legs can be roasted without the breasts, but roasting the breasts needs more tending than we like to do, in order to keep them from drying to the consistency of hemp rope.

What we do is
slice the breasts pretty thin,
salt each one,
flip-flop them on one battered egg,
flip-flop them on a batter that in our case is ground bread, in yours I think finely-ground cookie would work (no herbs or anything),
fry but not deep-fry (there should be enough oil to wet all the pan, but not enough to drown the breasts)

Not only is it great as a regular dish, but also for sandwiches on french/italian style bread.

The same can be done with “nervous” beef.

146

Mornin, all.

Taters, I hope your daughter feels better soon!

Y’all are all making me jealous with talk of hot chocolate and coconut rum. Sounds heavenly!

Swampy, you should be right proud of that dog Hero. What a great dog!

I have decreed that dinner shall be pot roast, and roasted **N.O.T.**s and carrots and onions. Yum!

147

drags self into thread

Hi, y’all.

I lurked a little bit on Monday, so I saw your story, rigs. Pretty cool, I was surprised to see me mentioned as well as the Diwali thing.

Don’t have much time to stay but I wanted to say I love you all, and can I have a really big virtual hug from everyone? I feel like someone’s been beating me with a big stick.

hugs everyone

Later…maybe at the end of the week, maybe not. I’ll tryyyyyyyyyy…

148

Mika, the hamsters ate my first hug!

I was wondering what were you up to…

Anyway, {{{{{{{{{{{Mika}}}}}}}}}

smacks hamsters with Louie Slugger, protecting the hug

149

Is it Wednesday already? Today is October birthdays, so we have cake for an afternoon snack. I’m in the mood for cake today, unless it’s that icky chocolate thing again. Cake is really hit-or-miss around here, sometimes it’s burnt almond - YUM! - sometimes it’s soggy chocolate with Crisco frosting - ICK! Blah, ptuey. I’m pretty the quality of the cake depends on whose birthday it is. Nonetheless, I will go and do my duty this afternoon, so I don’t get hounded for the rest of the day.

Speaking of hounding, we are having a help the troops drive, and at lunch today, they are decorating ornaments. Yay, right? Except that only the admins are expected to participate. :rolleyes: I hate mandatory voluntary projects, especially when it’s a brown bag. Yes, you have to participate (or you’re not a team player) but you have to bring your own lunch, never mind that you had plans. Hmph. I’m not crabby today, really.

{{{{Anaamika}}}}

150

drive by

hi

bye

ps - I hate Surbanes Oaxley

151

Awww, Meeks! great big hugs

152

Wow! Vertigo and late billing all in the same week. I AM in hell. :mad: Thanks swampy and doggieb. So far the drugs are working.

nava, what is “nervous” beef?

li-li, have you got a roasting bag? Those work well for turkey boobs.

taters, hope daughter feels better soon.

Dinner last night was pokechops and limer beans. Nummy. Tonight is chicken-fried cube steak and some broccoli. Also nummy.

Tupug

153

“nervous” beef is the kind of inferior steak that’s got long, hard-to-bite lines in it, but of course the butcher tells you it’s totally mellow, yeah, absolutely great, just like honey… (what, you mean butchers outside of Hispanic-land don’t talk like that? The ones in Miami did, but that’s Hispanic-land)

If I want honey, there’s a big pot in my kitchen marked “Miel” on the label. Two of them actually, the one that’s open and the reserve. I’d never consider frying milk.

154

Frying honey, dammit. Milk, I do fry, sort of (there is a dessert called “leche frita”, fried milk, but I don’t know the recipe by heart). Or making a honey stew, although a stew where the sauce involves honey may be a good idea… mind you, my mother’s current recipe for any kind of stew involves a general dose of “liquor from last year’s Christmas baskets” and while I don’t like whiskey, a 12-year Chivas does wonders to any meat. Would be a pity to spoil that with the addition of hunny.

155

Since the oven is in use for the rising bread, I’m poaching the turkey. Someday I’ll have two ovens, but not yet. The bread-and-fry method sounds tasty, Nava. “Nervous” beef is the type that I cut up and stew or braise. Yum.

((((Mika))))

Quasi-Daughter is maybe coming over for dinner. I think I’ll clean the fridge out but not organise it, because that’s her speciality.

156

Thanks Bear 'o the Swamp for making space for the mama bear. I have been up for almost an hour after another mostly sleepless night, and am feeling as if I might swat someone if’n he don’t stop bugging me! (clue, it’s not The Son!)

Also, I am inordinately pleased to find that you all like my hot chocolate and coconut rum drink. I used to use spiced rum, and still do upon occasion, but when we got coconut rum on this forsaken island it just sounded soooo good. I like Godiva liqueur in my hot chocolate as well. Nava I am not sure about your “white liquor”, but it sounds to me that you make the real hot chocolate…yum! For a cold drink I like to mix orange/pineapple/banana juice with ice and pineapple rum in the blender and whirl it until it is the consistency of a daiquiri/frozen margarita. I have to be careful with those, they go down as easily as plain juice, and as I am the only drinker in the house a blenderful makes me fairly giddy!

Nava your updates on your grandparents make me a little sad, along with Taters mom and mil, and the rest of us who are not in the best of health and aging. It makes my problems with the stupid paint seem muy trivial. My mom is taking care of her mom, gramma still lives on her own, but at 87 and with a multitude of health problems it’s becoming more difficult as time goes by. Mom isn’t in the best of health either, and she drives 30 miles each way every Friday (at least) to schlepp gramma to doctors, drug stores, and does her shopping and some cleaning. Your gramps sounds like an ornery guy, (in a good way) but your grandma sounds as if she could use some help. Good on your mom for being willing to take on the responsibility, even though she makes you a wee bit crazed!

Oh, and Taters keep an eye on your daughter. I don’t want to alarm you, but that sounds very similar to the three weeks leading up to my appendectomy. It probably isn’t, but if she doesn’t improve I’d take her to the doc. Especially if she is most comfortable lying on her right side with her knees drawn up to her chest. My best to you both.

Hero is an exceptional dog, and deserves his reward. It’s amazing to me how much my dogs (and kitties) comfort me when I am down sick and/or in pain, as well as how many dogs (and kitties) come out of horrible situations and rebound when given the stability and love they need. I have a pommie, Fawn, who was very badly abused before I got her, and she is generally touching some part of me most of the time, always with a smile on her face, a wagging tail, and she now does what I call The Happy Dance. I repossessed a puppy I had sold about 1 1/2 years ago and after bringing him home for loving, grooming, feeding and assessment I rehomed him to a family with a young daughter. They came to see me, and Toby did The Happy Dance (he is a grandpup of Fawn) and snuggled up on my lap the entire visit. It’s very gratifying to take those dogs who had a rough beginning and see them blossom with love and care into their full potential.

I have to disagree with cooking carrots; steamed, buttered, lightly salted with a bit of dill they are fantastic, and in the early summer creamed baby carrots, baby green peas and new potatoes with fresh parsley is out of this world! Raw is yummy, but cooked right they are a supreme veggie…imnsho anyway! :smiley:

Well, the kids are off to school, skiffman is re-primering over the awful paint and will be getting new paint in just a bit so Jeff can put my shelves up. Once that is done I will be able to put my books up and remove the temporary shelves and stacks of books, which will give me mucho mas space in my living room, which will hopefully dull my crankiness!

Happy Windsday folks!

157

After posting I see that mika needs some love…sending you a big virtual basket through cyber space, hun.

158

{{{Mika}}}

Well, that went well. The outcomes stuff that is. Now, I’m hungry and in a bit I’m gonna pig on ham, lima beans, N.O.T. salad, rolls and some kinda cake. I got to go first and get the heck out and not have to listen to everything else in the board meeting. YAY!

Hero, is one jake dog, let me tell y’all! He’s had cancer and well, he’s gettin’ old so it’s harder for him now but he’s just one of the greatest dogs ever. I know his mommy and daddy well, so I see Hero and his little sister Bridget fairly often. Bridget (I think that’s how it’s spelled) was named that cause she has movie star eyes. She has big brown dreamy lookin’ eyes with long eyelashes. She’s a sweetie!

159

Silly, that’s a bovine that freaks when it hears the term ‘cow poke’…

160

{{{{{meeks, rosie, Taterdaughter}}}}} Group hug!

Puggy, I get dizziness sometimes too. My doc prescribed Dramamine(Possible side effect: Dizziness :dubious: ).

We didn’t stay long at the dog park, so we went to Petsmart. Maggie had a ball shopping, and I bought her a new harness.