Please don't give up on me here. :) I believe to post comments you need to be signed in. If you have gotten that far the comments are moderated so will not show up until approved. I am out of town for a few days and my hotel's internet service is not exactly as advertised...as in they should have bragged on sloooooow-speed.
On the brighter side I got some awesome photos of the fall colors along the Yakima river and will share them when I get back home. The thought of trying to upload a photo from here is scarier than a Halloween goblin. Thank you for your patience!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
How to find a bit more 'me time' in your day and still serve up a delish dinner.
As many of us do, I suffer from occasional insomnia and this past Sunday night was spent more awake than asleep. (It may have been in part related to my running over a vicious dog on Sunday afternoon, it was an accident. But that is a story for another day.) Monday morning I dragged myself out of bed to face my busy day. With a giant cup of life’s blood, aka coffee, I spiffed up the house, fed the cat and took a quick peek at fb. Then I all but ran through the shower like a quick drive-through car wash, followed by my favorite part of each morning, fighting with my hair, which of course ended badly after a curling-iron-burn to the back of my neck.
At last I was ready to go and couldn’t find my phone. We gave up our landline so the option of calling myself to locate it is out. And it’s because we no longer have that landline that I carry my phone wherever I go in the house so as not to miss a call. I patted down the house room-by-room and twenty minutes later found it in the bedroom on the black nightstand. I snatched it up and threatened to spray paint it any shade of neon.
Finally I was ready to go. I gathered my womanly essentials and made my way out to the garage where I nearly had another accidental killing. A tiny frog with a booming croak has taken up residence at the bottom of the steps and seems to enjoy playing froggy-chicken with our feet. Those of you know my husband, size 13, well let me just say: please pray for the frog.
After a slow drive through the fog into Yreka, twenty-five miles from home sweet home, I arrived to complete pre-employment requirements, which included the always-uplifting experience of urinating in a cup. The job is mine and I am so pleased to have it but cannot start until the background check clears me as a suspect for any recent felonies.
By the time I was finished my morning my stomach was growling and felt like it was trying to self-digest so I stopped for lunch, if you count grabbing a small order of fries and a vanilla cone at the drive-thru. I consumed this as I drove through the strip mall parking lot to my next destination, Wally world. After zooming through the isles to fulfill my list and soliciting carry-out help to assist fitting my several large purchases into my Jeep Wrangler, (you should have seen this guy's face) it was off to fill-up my tank and stop at Rayley’s for the missing ingredient for my recipe which I planned to take to my South African themed potluck/book club meeting.
I arrived safely back home where I had four hours to prepare my dish, assemble a costume, and of course try to finish the book!
This is where it gets good. I want to share with you the fabulous recipe I found for my potluck. As I said before it is a South African dish.
The author is unknown but I will provide a link to the website: http://www.biltongbox.com/recipes.html
Potjiekos (poy-kee-kawse) literally translated means "small pot food"
This is a traditional dish, which can be made using just about anything to hand. The recipe really depends on what you have on hand and therefore is almost never the same twice.
What you need:
· Utensil: A large iron pot, preferably with three legs. It must have a tightly fitting lid. (I used a legless Dutch oven.)
· A little cooking oil (I used extra virgin olive oil, EVOO.)
· Any kind of meat: beef, lamb/mutton, chicken, or even fish. Cheaper cuts of meat are better as this dish is cooked for hours. (I used sirloin steak and pork riblets.)
· Any kind of vegetables thickly sliced. (I used zucchini, carrots, sweet onions, red potatoes, yams and red and yellow bell peppers.)
· Wine (red or white) for cooking (and drinking). (I used Cab-Merlot the whole bottle.)
· Whatever spices and herbs you have on hand. Salt & pepper, coriander is good, turmeric, curry if you like etc. (I used fresh garlic, garlic powder, Celtic sea salt, fresh ground pepper, rosemary, thyme, mesquite seasoning, parsley and one of my absolute staple spices: Fines Herbs by Spice Islands, a gourmet blend of parsley, chives, Chervil, and tarragon.)
· Make a little fire. It must be very low. (I used my gas burner.)
Brown your chunks of meat in the pot with your oil and season. Then pack the meat at the bottom of the pot. In layers pack the sliced vegetables; potatoes should be at the top, seasoning each layer as you pack it in. Pour wine over the layers. Cook this over the very low fire for 4 to 6 hours without stirring, sipping wine with your friends while you solve the world's problems. Now and then add a bit of wine knowingly to the pot, just to make your friends think you know what you're doing. (Mine was done in 4 hours.)
Pair with your favorite wine or beer.
Serve over rice and you'll realize that life is good when you do things this slowly.
This was a huge hit with my book club and again for leftovers at home the following night.
The best part was the prep time was quick; I prepped my veggies and assembled my spices while the meat was browning and putting this all together was easy. I packed the meat on the bottom and then sliced my veggies directly into the pot, adding spices to each layer. When the pot was full to the top I poured a bottle of wine in, brought it to a boil, stuck the lid on and simmered it for 4 hours while I took some ‘me time’ to snuggle in front of a fire with my novel and still make it to the book club meeting on time.
Enjoy!
At last I was ready to go and couldn’t find my phone. We gave up our landline so the option of calling myself to locate it is out. And it’s because we no longer have that landline that I carry my phone wherever I go in the house so as not to miss a call. I patted down the house room-by-room and twenty minutes later found it in the bedroom on the black nightstand. I snatched it up and threatened to spray paint it any shade of neon.
Finally I was ready to go. I gathered my womanly essentials and made my way out to the garage where I nearly had another accidental killing. A tiny frog with a booming croak has taken up residence at the bottom of the steps and seems to enjoy playing froggy-chicken with our feet. Those of you know my husband, size 13, well let me just say: please pray for the frog.
After a slow drive through the fog into Yreka, twenty-five miles from home sweet home, I arrived to complete pre-employment requirements, which included the always-uplifting experience of urinating in a cup. The job is mine and I am so pleased to have it but cannot start until the background check clears me as a suspect for any recent felonies.
By the time I was finished my morning my stomach was growling and felt like it was trying to self-digest so I stopped for lunch, if you count grabbing a small order of fries and a vanilla cone at the drive-thru. I consumed this as I drove through the strip mall parking lot to my next destination, Wally world. After zooming through the isles to fulfill my list and soliciting carry-out help to assist fitting my several large purchases into my Jeep Wrangler, (you should have seen this guy's face) it was off to fill-up my tank and stop at Rayley’s for the missing ingredient for my recipe which I planned to take to my South African themed potluck/book club meeting.
I arrived safely back home where I had four hours to prepare my dish, assemble a costume, and of course try to finish the book!
This is where it gets good. I want to share with you the fabulous recipe I found for my potluck. As I said before it is a South African dish.
The author is unknown but I will provide a link to the website: http://www.biltongbox.com/recipes.html
Potjiekos (poy-kee-kawse) literally translated means "small pot food"
This is a traditional dish, which can be made using just about anything to hand. The recipe really depends on what you have on hand and therefore is almost never the same twice.
What you need:
· Utensil: A large iron pot, preferably with three legs. It must have a tightly fitting lid. (I used a legless Dutch oven.)
· A little cooking oil (I used extra virgin olive oil, EVOO.)
· Any kind of meat: beef, lamb/mutton, chicken, or even fish. Cheaper cuts of meat are better as this dish is cooked for hours. (I used sirloin steak and pork riblets.)
· Any kind of vegetables thickly sliced. (I used zucchini, carrots, sweet onions, red potatoes, yams and red and yellow bell peppers.)
· Wine (red or white) for cooking (and drinking). (I used Cab-Merlot the whole bottle.)
· Whatever spices and herbs you have on hand. Salt & pepper, coriander is good, turmeric, curry if you like etc. (I used fresh garlic, garlic powder, Celtic sea salt, fresh ground pepper, rosemary, thyme, mesquite seasoning, parsley and one of my absolute staple spices: Fines Herbs by Spice Islands, a gourmet blend of parsley, chives, Chervil, and tarragon.)
· Make a little fire. It must be very low. (I used my gas burner.)
Brown your chunks of meat in the pot with your oil and season. Then pack the meat at the bottom of the pot. In layers pack the sliced vegetables; potatoes should be at the top, seasoning each layer as you pack it in. Pour wine over the layers. Cook this over the very low fire for 4 to 6 hours without stirring, sipping wine with your friends while you solve the world's problems. Now and then add a bit of wine knowingly to the pot, just to make your friends think you know what you're doing. (Mine was done in 4 hours.)
Pair with your favorite wine or beer.
Serve over rice and you'll realize that life is good when you do things this slowly.
This was a huge hit with my book club and again for leftovers at home the following night.
The best part was the prep time was quick; I prepped my veggies and assembled my spices while the meat was browning and putting this all together was easy. I packed the meat on the bottom and then sliced my veggies directly into the pot, adding spices to each layer. When the pot was full to the top I poured a bottle of wine in, brought it to a boil, stuck the lid on and simmered it for 4 hours while I took some ‘me time’ to snuggle in front of a fire with my novel and still make it to the book club meeting on time.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
How to find a bit more 'me time' in your day.
I thought we should start with something simple and fun. Let's share our secrets gleaned through the years to lessen the demands placed on women of today. We may not make our own soap, use scrub boards to do our laundry, or churn our own butter but even with all our technology to help us out, women of today are swamped. We wear so many hats we need our own "hatters", and some days we feel we may go "as mad as a hatter".
I recently coined a phrase "There is no shame in Swiffering". Some say using "Swiffer" products is cheating. I remember one friend saying: "The only way to mop is on your hands and knees. My floors are clean enough to eat off of."
Personally I don't often serve breakfast, lunch or dinner on the floor. Like most modern women of today, I prefer dishes. My favorite "Swiffer" product is the 360 degree duster. Our home is 3400 sq feet, if I didn't "Swiffer" I would be a slave to keeping it clean. I start at the top and work my way down and when the duster is about ready for a refill I use it on my floors. It is absolutely fabulous for getting into those low tough to reach places and even full of dust the thing is a hair magnet.
So remember no matter which hat you are wearing today: wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt, grandmother, granddaughter, teacher, nurse, chauffeur, chief financial officer, personal shopper, coach, chef, friend, referee, or CEO, first and foremost you are a woman. To be your best get to know and nourish yourself first, otherwise you will come in last.
I recently coined a phrase "There is no shame in Swiffering". Some say using "Swiffer" products is cheating. I remember one friend saying: "The only way to mop is on your hands and knees. My floors are clean enough to eat off of."
Personally I don't often serve breakfast, lunch or dinner on the floor. Like most modern women of today, I prefer dishes. My favorite "Swiffer" product is the 360 degree duster. Our home is 3400 sq feet, if I didn't "Swiffer" I would be a slave to keeping it clean. I start at the top and work my way down and when the duster is about ready for a refill I use it on my floors. It is absolutely fabulous for getting into those low tough to reach places and even full of dust the thing is a hair magnet.
So remember no matter which hat you are wearing today: wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt, grandmother, granddaughter, teacher, nurse, chauffeur, chief financial officer, personal shopper, coach, chef, friend, referee, or CEO, first and foremost you are a woman. To be your best get to know and nourish yourself first, otherwise you will come in last.
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