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!
“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?
*** 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!
A BBC article about a dutch linguist studying cow communication. (I will not say language!)
Stares and ear-twitches: The linguist learning to speak the expressive language of cows
Keeping your herd happy and productive might be worth an afternoon lecture or at least a 4H project! (Something to integrate with a Dairy AG Program at UW Madison? :)
Rotisserie Chickens... Its a great way to get chicken without all that work of cooking. The bones make great broth too!
Aquafaba; The liquid from a can of drained chickpeas. You can whip it up and use it a bit like egg whites.
Aquafaba (See "News" for more info.)