chocomouse
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Such an interesting conversation! I was confused for a bit, until I remembered Mike lives in Nebraska and I am in Vermont; I was thinking that our hummingbirds start arriving about May 1st, but that is the north-migration. The hummers here, ruby-throat only, start their migration in early August, and by mid-August they are gone, except for the occasional laggard. We can hardly keep the feeders filled during those couple of weeks. Now, I'm going to look at the south-migration map for the route they take from New England. I'm wondering how far west they travel on they south-bound journey.
I just bought a bag of KAF AP flour yesterday at Bjs. It is 12 pounds, whereas I think I've been getting 10 pounds there in the past. It was 7.99.
Today I have made two loaves of my version of Harvest Grain bread, a 9 x 13 pan of date-nut-coffeecake that has been in my husband's family for eons, and a double batch of my version of KAF's Lemon Blueberry Cornmeal Cakes. I'm leaving early in the morning for two weeks, and am leaving plenty of good food for my husband.
For our informal, retired lifestyle, the open floor plan we designed when we had our house built in 1985 fits us perfectly. We don't entertain much, but when we do, it is large, family gatherings. The large island in the kitchen area (which is actually pretty small, but I do have a huge walk-in pantry nearby) is perfect for setting out foods buffet style. And I can cook and socialize at the same time - company who do not cook are often mesmerized while watching, for example, the making of gravy! There is a gigantic stone fireplace in the living room area for cozy seating, and views from the kitchen through the dining area and out through the passive solar sunroom. I cannot tolerate the confining boxy rooms I grew up with in a colonial style house, but need open spaces and floor to cathedral ceiling windows. I do sometimes regret the small kitchen and the shortage of counter-top work space. It's interesting what a kitchen (one that is used and is a personal choice) can tell you about personality.
I've cooked these little guys many years ago. Three minutes in the saute pan was about two minutes too long!
Tonight we had chicken thighs cooked on the grill, with bean salad, leftover pasta salad, and summer squash and zucchini from the garden. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
BakerAunt, I'm curious about your terraces. Why so much difference between the north and south? Is it the amount of sunlight? Is the soil in both similar? Will you have the soil tested for pH and nutrients before you plant something new? Do you compost?
I've used Miracle Whip, Kraft, Hellman's and found no significant difference in the dressing, just adjust the amount sugar and vinegar. When the weather is hot, I do most of my cooking in the early morning, and I find the flavors in this dressing are well-developed by dinner time, and it does need 8-10 hours to "marinate". I like Mike's warning about the "soupy cole slaw" if you use a lot of dressing. Italiancook's recipe sounds good, but might need a bit more vinegar. The key is to taste the dressing before putting it on the cabbage - and add more sugar or more vinegar as needed. And, for sure, use (apple) cider vinegar, not white vinegar. I see a lot of cole slaw on dinner tables next week!
Yes, we love cole slaw, and when you buy a six-pack of cabbage seedlings for your garden in May, you have a lot of cabbage to eat in July! I shred the cabbage quite thinly, shred carrots, and thinly slice onions. I can't tell you the proportions - maybe half a large cabbage, a couple of 6" long carrots, a largish yellow onion. I often add chopped apples in the fall, and usually then add caraway seeds too. The dressing makes the difference. We like ours rather tart and "spicy". I use mayo, light is OK, your preferred brand, sugar, stevia or other sweetener, cider vinegar, celery seed, sometimes chopped or dehydrated onion. I don't measure, just eyeball and taste. I'd guess for about a cup of mayo, I'd use 2-4 tablespoons of sugar, 4 tablespoons of vinegar, a tablespoon of celery seeds. The key is to let that set while you shred and chop, and TASTE it before you add it to the veggies. Adjust the ingredients per your personal tastes. It might seem a little dry at first, but after it sits in the fridge for a couple of hours for the flavors to mingle, it will thin out quite a bit. Sorry I can't be more helpful!! But do give it a try; you probably have a good idea what you'd like for flavor.
Leftovers are great -- they give you a break from cooking, even if you love to cook, and time to plan some meals of foods you haven't had for ages or foods new to you.
I have a huge pot of baked beans cooking. Dinner tonight, and the rest will go in the freezer for meals for my husband while I am gone for two weeks. I'm hoping there will be some leftover for dinner the day I get back home, so I don't have to cook then.
Early this morning before it got hot, I made a batch of sandwich thins for the freezer.
I'm going copy and paste what you did and save the info in my recipe file, BakerAunt. I trust your judgement - if you like them when you cook them, I'll try that method next year. Thanks for sharing all your cooking and baking "experiments" with us.
We had ground beef patties, corn on the cob from a local farm stand, and the first two zucchinis from our garden. Then we went out to a nearby ice cream stand for soft serve cones. We also have bowls of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries to snack on - the peak of summer.
Tonight we had pork chops and potatoes roasted on the grill, with asparagus and a green salad with container tomatoes from the pot on the deck. The first of our 2019 tomatoes!
I have not frozen beans for years, because we didn't like the results. I always blanched them, don't remember for how long. And I put them into bags or freezer containers immediately, while still wet. They always turned out soft and mushy, not a good texture. I never got any beans planted this year, but I'll try to remember next year to freeze some and do a little experimenting. Fresh beans are so good.
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