Posted on 02/01/2025 6:55:11 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
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Thank you for that chart! I inherited mine, and have never been sure what they are until now —Thanksgiving!. They are both more than 30 years old now, and I have rooted almost 20 other pots of ’em from their cuttings year by year. The main stems are thick and woody by now.
When I lived in the Italian Market in Philly, we used to call them "Italian Tupperware."
“When I lived in the Italian Market in Philly, we used to call them “Italian Tupperware.”
LOLOL No italians here, they also make great freezer containers for soup.
Re: Italian Tupperware - LOL!
We have a local Wisconsin guy that is a stand up funny guy. Charlie Behrens. He has a schtick where he’s the ‘new kid in town’ and is eating lunch out of recycled plastic food containers (butter crocks, Cool Whip, etc.) and gets funny looks from everyone else in the lunchroom.
But in Wisconsin - that’s just normal!
When I was a kid my Great Auntie made the BEST Fudge. She’d save small margarine containers all year and at Christmas each of us kids would get our own little TUB OF FUDGE. We could hardly wait for Christmastime each year!
February brought a nice warm-up to Central Missouri. We had temps in the 60°s over the weekend. The frost is coming out of the ground and everything is a sloppy mess. I expect we’ll get at least one more round of frigid temps that will lock everything back up before the month is out.
I didn’t do anything with the gardens over the weekend, but I’m making a list of things that need to be done before good weather gets here. After all of the cortisone shots and PT over the past year my body is feeling very good so I’m looking forward to the gardening season with optimism rather than with dread.
Plumber guy has been tied up with frozen pipe emergencies and hasn’t made it out to install my freeze-proof hydrant. I’ve been able to keep the existing setup from freezing and breaking so my job is on a side burner for the next little while.
Pops had shoulder joint replacement surgery last Friday. He made it through that just fine and is home recuperating. If his recovery goes well the plan is to do the other shoulder in six months.
Baked Broccoli Bites
Easy, yummy way to enjoy leftover cooked broccoli.
Serve with fave dip: Aioli, ranch, tomato relish, sour cream.
Ing 2 c cooked broccoli ½ onion grated 1 cup panko 1 cup grated ex/sharp Cheddar 2 eggs 1 Tbl ol/oil
Instructions Fork-mash broccoli. Add rest ing. Stir/combine. Measure out tablespoons broccoli mixture. Roll into balls and bake in low oven on lined baking tray. Bake 20-30 min til lightly golden and crisp.
Notes Store leftovers airtight three days in fridge; freeze up to four months.
Reheat in hot oven or air fryer just a few minutes.
A potpourri of ‘things’ ....
Snake - something “exciting” to start out. Sunday, mom was putting away Christmas decorations & getting out other items to replace the seasonal decorations. Next thing I knew, she was hysterically calling for me, sounded like from the basement. To make a long story short, as she was getting a wall hanging out of a bin & shaking it out, a 3 foot rat snake fell out. Fortunately, it was deceased and not stinky (yet). It probably got in the basement stairwell, went under the door & into the bin ... top had to be open or cracked open. When the top was closed, Mr. Snake starved to death. Yuck.
Gardening - the extent of my efforts towards a garden this year (so far) have been to purchase 4 packages of zinnia seeds Saturday at the Dollar Store (all 4 for $1.25). Two are giant zinnias, two are Lilliputian size.
Books - Dollar Store ‘finds’. Normally, the books are unknown authors. This time, I found two good ones: Lee Child (Reacher series) & Thomas Harris (wrote Silence of the Lambs). I also found a beautiful cookbook with some very interesting recipes. The books, full price, would have been $79. I paid $3.75. I went back & bought the rest of the cookbooks (3) to give as gifts at some point in the future. The book is Vegan (which I realized when I got it home) and I am definitely not Vegan, but the recipes are very interesting & the desserts are definitely something I want to try.
Aquafaba - a term in the cookbook that I had never seen before. Know what it is without looking it up?
Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven - splurged and bought one at Walmart. It’s ceramic lined, 5.5 quarts & red in color. I love it - perfect size for soups, boiling potatoes & pasta.
Soup - I have been craving split pea with ham soup. Last week I made two batches. I used a ham steak and that was perfect for flavor. Both batches are gone - I gave away about half of one batch to mom & a relative, but I ate the rest. I have the peas & ham steak for another batch, but I think I’ll try another soup for some variety: Smoky Chickpea, Red Lentil & Vegetable soup (recipe is not from the Vegan book).
Red Lentils & Taylors Orange & Lemon Tea - items the 2 food stores around here don’t carry. Being fairly rural, it looks like some things I will have to order from Amazon (coming today - yay!).
Rotisserie chicken - if you are at the store at the right time, the rotisserie chickens (cold) might be on sale - $2.26 a chicken. I got 2 the other day & ended up with 3.5 pounds of meat. You can buy a pound of already ‘pulled’ chicken meat for $9.99 so for about $4.52 & a bit of work, I ended up with $35 worth of chicken meat in the freezer for future use. I’m in “frugal” mode. The coyotes or whatever visits the scrap pile will love the chicken carcasses.
Cabin Fever - I’ve got it. The snow is 99% melted. The ground is very soggy & muddy. Yesterday was cloudy & gloomy, but no precipitation. Tomorrow is colder (high of 35) with a late day/night ‘wintery mix’. Rain Thursday. Maybe sun Friday, then rain again Saturday. This area has had bad drought conditions the last two years - ponds are still pretty much empty. The county has “conserve water” signs up already so I am trying not to complain about the wet weather. There is a Greenway 10 minutes max from the house - I plan on taking some walks as soon as I feel like the plantar fasciitis I got in one foot during the last month of moving is totally resolved (getting close!).
Insomnia - got that, too. If I wake up in the night, I cannot go back to sleep. Tonight, it was 3:30 ... not as bad as 1:30.
Cows - my ‘across the road’ neighbors and a source of entertainment when you have Cabin Fever & a pair of binoculars. The calves are growing - from a distance, they are now looking like mini-cows rather than large dogs. With the weather & snow cover, round bales are spread out every day. The calves all plop down on the hay for a nap while the moms munch. The little guys (& gals) often play together ... looks like a form of ‘tag, you’re it’.
SO ready for Spring!
“The book is Vegan (which I realized when I got it home) and I am definitely not Vegan, but the recipes are very interesting”
Back in the ‘70s — maybe ‘80s — I bought a “Vegetarian Epicure” book at a yard sale. Never had been opened that I could tell. I’m definitely not vegetarian, but some of those recipes became some of my favorites!
There are definitely recipes in the book I bought that have great potential to become favorites. I try to keep an ‘open mind’ and not get bogged down on Vegan vs Carnivore & stuff like that - life is too short :-)
Jalapeno Popper Turnovers / makes 18 turnovers
The perfect easy appy or snack. Cream cheese, bacon, puff pastry.....w/ heat.
Ing 17 oz tube puff pastry, thawed but still cold 8 oz bar cr/cheese 1 cup Roasted Garlic Hummus 6 slices chp cooked bacon, 2 lge jalapeños, diced/seeded 1 1/2 c shredded cheese s/p, egg wash option, Parm, thin slice jalapeno
Steps warm cream cheese in micro 30-40 sec to easily stir. Add hummus, bacon, jalapeños; stir/combine. S/p to taste. Lightly dust surface. Roll out both sheets of thawed cold puff pastry to twice its size w/ lightly floured rolling pin. Cut 18 equal pieces (9 per sheet–most tubes have 2 sheets). Top w/ heaping spoonful filling, sprinkling of cheese. Brush whisked egg at edges. Fold over and crimp w/ fork. Cut 2-3 air vents per turnover to allow steam to escape. Egg wash tops and, add Parm and very thin jalapeño slice. Bake 400 deg 22 min til golden and delicious.
Notes Egg wash can be omitted. Use water to seal edges.
Brush tops with butter, milk or olive oil to aid in browning.
“Aquafaba - a term in the cookbook that I had never seen before. Know what it is without looking it up?”
I learned about that on ‘Cooks Country.’ It’s the liquid in a can of Chickpeas that can be used as a binder for Vegan/Vegetarian cooking. ;)
Is there ANYTHING that a can of beans CAN’T do? LOL!
“SO ready for Spring!”
Unless you manage to hurt yourself (Stop that!) you are going to be a whirlwind come the first dry days, LOL!
Secondly, SCORE on the books. My Dollar Tree has gotten VERY sloppy about their books - not even worth looking through - and the kids’ books are in with the adult books. Ugh!
What’s going on with the sale of the old house? Or is that up to one of your brothers?
Both of those recipes look good! Looking forward to some fresh Jalapenos this summer. I usually only grow one plant - Beau doesn’t like any heat. Wimp! ;)
Yup! It actually ‘whips’ and is used for making vegan mayo (which I intend to try).
You could omit the jalapenos in the turnovers I suppose.....
but you’d have to add a good substitute to end up w/ something flavorful.
Shishitos should do the trick.
*** Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven - splurged and bought one at Walmart. It’s ceramic lined, 5.5 quarts & red in color. I love it - perfect size for soups, boiling potatoes & pasta.***
I have the same Dutch oven, only mine is a cobalt blue (though I think mine is 6 quarts). Love it! I’ve had it for 5 years. Use it very frequently, at least once a week, if not more. You’ll find that it was a terrific purchase. Handy and durable. Enjoy!
Shishitos would be excellent.
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