What a week. Hot (at least, hot enough inside work to merit short sleeves and no extra layers!). Long (long enough that when the manager on duty said Go Already to the other manager and me, we both BOOKED and giggled like giddy school girls.) Be that as it may, along with some other low points.
I will tell you that I have only a short stack of pink squares left to true up. Yeah! And I have been very productive in the kitchen today. Lasagna. Chicken Soup. Red Sauce. Meatballs. Whooo hoooo!
The chicken soup seems like a particularly good batch, having benefitted from the carcass of a roast chicken, along with one specially made for soup. It's simmering now with its last round of veggies and smells great.
With that the newly cleared out freezer will have some good stuff in there for quick meals - chili, red stuff, meatballs, chicken soup, lasagna, veggies.
See this? This is the sort of thing that sometimes makes me think I'm going crazy because I see stuff like this and wonder why no one else ever mentions seeing irridescent clouds. Is it me? At last, some indication that indeed, it is not just me.
On a different note, when I'm not being the grocery cart police, I get great satisfaction in the grocery store observing what other people are buying. Compared to other people, my pile of groceries is a big pile of raw materials. The things that many meals and many different foods can be made from. Yes, I buy the occasional goody or the emergency cans of soup, but with a variety of basics in the pantry, you can make a lot of different things, eat well, and eat rather cheaply.
My main problem? I just seem unable to cook in small quantities. I love to use all my big pans. I made chili last night and filled the new dutch oven completely. A gallon of chili.
Last weekend I cleaned and sorted through my spice cupboard. The new Penzey's order was the cause of this. I have lots of herbs and spices now. I am also bad at judging how much volume a given weight of herb is. So instead of small "spice jars" most of my spices and herbs are in mason jars of the pint or quart variety. No reason to be stingy!
Finally, tomorrow I'm teaching class one of two on machine quilting. I spent tonight rounding up my samples and stuff. I better go get some sleep or I'll be the one nodding off in front of my sewing machine.
Saw my folks today for a bit and then did the normal grocery shopping routine. For a change, too many things looked appealing. Or perhaps it's the influence of all the food blogs I've been reading? Anyway, my frig is stocked and I even grabbed a bargain corned beef and threw it in the freezer. yeah. Tonight I made the first of it (boneless lamb roast) and then, I had a mission.
My brother's birthday is today - happy birthday Mike! - and his normal present was a little late in the making but he'll have it tomorrow - PB cookies.
Got a little piece of paper handy? Pen? OK write this down:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (like skippy or jif - not organic au natural stuff)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg.
Mix all that together well. Put on sheets as 1" balls and stamp with either cookie stamps or the very respectable fork criss-crosses. Bake at 325 F for about 10 minutes. Watch at the end so they don't burn.
You won't find better AND they're great for people who have problems with flour. While I was in the mood I made some gingersnaps too. House smells exceptionally good at the moment. 95% of the stuff is put away and all the dishes are done. Yeah.
