Category: Food & Drink

Dining out after 786 days

I’ve had a jones for writing since I was a little kid. Some of it was about making my voice heard, putting my stake in the ground, as I grew up with parents who were mostly disengaged, and I had a hard time developing a strong sense of self. That, and because I was bad at math.

At 66, I believe I’ve finally let go of demons and old resentments and am happily enjoying my hard-earned retirement. If I can ignore the pandemic, politics and pandemic politics, life is good. And when things are good, the urge to write seems to fade. Just chill, I tell myself. The less said, the better.

Then I go down into this rabbit hole and think, well, I already suck at so many things, and I should only have to suck at one thing at a time. Maybe I should pull the plug on the blog.

And yet she persists. Why? Well, it’s kind of like the John Lee Hooker song, Boogie Chillen.

One night I was layin’ down

I heard mama and papa talkin’

I heard papa tell mama let that boy boogie-woogie

It’s in him and it got to come out

It’s in me, and it got to come out. I’ll continue to have some hits and misses along the way, but that seems to mirror just about everything else in life, doesn’t it? All things considered, I think it’s important for all of us to remember the entire journey is a practice run.

And so, we return to the stuff I try best to ignore. The pandemic, politics and pandemic politics.

I swim in a heated outdoor pool at a health club. The water is reasonably warm, but I’m always cold, so afterward I hop slide gently into the hot tub to warm up. Yesterday, there was another guy in there, about my age or a bit older, plenty of distance from me, but I could tell he was trying to figure out a way to start a conversation. I kept my mouth shut.

He finally asked if I was a marathon swimmer. That seemed innocuous enough. I said no, I only swim about 30 to 45 minutes a couple of times a week because physical activity helps me manage pain.

Dumb! Too much information. What about no, and then a full stop?

The pain comment set him off on his Marine Corps experiences, and it was a very dark conversation, indeed. I just listened. I finally said, well, maybe pain is like Covid, we have to learn to live with it.

That set him off on Covid and mask requirements. All I said was, seriously, masks are the least of my worries. He spewed something about the Bill of Rights, and I asked if he wore a seatbelt. He was a big guy, and suddenly he emerged from the hot tub like Shamu, said that was a ridiculous comparison and proceeded to socially distance himself into the locker room.

This is not my first unpleasant hot tub conversation. It’s like the Wild West in there. I do think there are a lot of angry people who were marginally managing their lives, and Covid blew up all their coping mechanisms. Now, all bets are off. I’ve got to learn to give one-word responses so I don’t end up engaging in these shenanigans.

As for living with Covid, for the first time since December 2020, Dale and I ate in a restaurant! We’ve talked about it but could never quite summon the strength. Dale tends to be non-committal, so after two-plus years of yeah, maybe, I finally said, “I’m going to have lunch out on Tuesday. Would you like to join me?”

It actually went uphill from there. He asked me to cut his hair beforehand. I got dolled up and wore real clothes. It’s an upscale restaurant, but I didn’t think Taco Bell would be a good dry run.

We had planned to eat outside, but it was cold and windy, so we reluctantly went inside. The atmosphere was lovely, and we had the dining area practically to ourselves. We each had a Bloody Mary, extra spicy, please, and we shared two appetizers – Kung Pao Calamari and Tuna Wonton Nachos.

With tip, it was $67.77. Not cheap, and you know I’m not good at math, but I counted 786 days of not eating out. Is that about 8 cents a day?

It was a nice outing, and now we are trying to develop a long-term strategy for living with this thing. We don’t want to get stupid just because Omicron is fading, but we need to be less risk-averse than we’ve been. How are you assessing risk?

Here’s some important retirement information. Understand your partner’s strengths and weaknesses and work with them. It would seem dropping ideas on Dale doesn’t work. I need to make specific plans and invite him to join me – I think Dale preferred it that way, at least I got a yes out of him, although he did suggest I was easy for coming home with him after the first date.

Play. Play nice.

Lots of people out there seem to have ambitious goals for the year, but I’m keeping it simple:

Play. Play nice.

I’ve heard people say retirement evolves over the years. So far, I would say that’s true. I spent the first year happy to sleep late, and now I can’t wait to wake up and play Wordle.

We had a solid financial plan, but I worried about money in the beginning. Perhaps it was just the newness of not having a steady income, but I’m over it. With a conservative investment portfolio, I don’t even care much about what happens in the stock market.

Art was something I discovered after I retired, but everything else is about the same only more so. As I enter my fifth year of retirement, I find myself doing what comes naturally … digging deeper into the things that give me pleasure. Golf. Walk. Swim. Cook. Eat well.

Cooking is an obsession. I had a whim this week that I would like to make crepes. I’ve had a few here and there over the years, but they haven’t been high on my yum list. I’ve certainly never made them myself. But for some mysterious reason, crepes came calling.

As it turns out, we have a crepe cookbook, circa 1976. We have a lot of old cookbooks, and it’s fun to try vintage recipes. While I did use a recipe from the cookbook for the filling, I turned to Serious Eats for the basic crepe batter. I made them in a regular 10-inch nonstick pan.

After making the batter and preheating the pan, I poured a few tablespoons of the batter in, swirled the pan around and cooked them until lightly golden on one side and then just done on the other. I stacked them on a plate, covered it in plastic wrap and let them sit in the refrigerator until I was ready to make the filling.

I love when a major step in a recipe can be done ahead.

The filling was scallops, green onion and mushrooms in a wine cream sauce. I used a sheet pan and laid a crepe flat, filling one side and then folding over like a quesadilla. The top was sprinkled with grated Gruyère cheese and then baked in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese was melted. I served them with steamed asparagus on the side.

All I can say is wow. Where have these been all my life? I was so excited I forgot to take a picture. Anyway, I can imagine so many things that would make excellent crepes. I’m more interested in savory than I am sweet.

Drilling down into the things I like to do anyway helped me realize I don’t need a LinkedIn account. My profile has been static since I’m not working anymore and don’t intend to. But I’ve left it there anyway, mostly out of inertia, but partially because I like seeing what former colleagues are up to.

Lately I’ve noticed LinkedIn has become a lot like Facebook, which I abandoned years ago. My LinkedIn feed is increasingly full of political messages, family stories, sexy graduation pictures. There was even a post about someone’s stillborn baby.

On one hand, maybe this is what they mean when they say bring your full self to work, but if people think blurring the lines between home and work will lead to a happier life, they might be in for a rude awakening.

I don’t know what’s posted on LinkedIn today, because I closed my account. Just like that. Interestingly enough, as I shut down one source of online connections, I’ve amplified my efforts to connect with  people I meet face-to-face, mostly on the golf course. We already share a love of golf, correct?

With a little effort to be friendlier and more approachable, I discovered a fellow golfer shares my cooking obsession. I gave her some of Dale’s homemade scorpion pepper salsa in exchange for a jar of her homemade marmalade. That led to an invitation to join a group playing at a celebrated course down the road a piece. It’s just a day trip, but this will be my first out-of-town adventure since the pandemic. I’m kind of excited.

Play. Play nice. Just might be something to it.

Walking inspiration

My sciatica seems to be calming down, and I’m beginning to feel almost normal. I haven’t played golf due to the weather, but I’m continuing to walk. I wanted inspiration … something to think about besides every little muscle or nerve twitch, so I dug out my ancient iPod and charged it up.

I stopped using the iPod during my days as the self-appointed Safety Scout. For some reason, I was trying to reduce risk in my life, and wearing headphones on a walk seemed fraught with peril. That was back when E. coli was the worst thing you could drag home from the grocery store, and Omicron was just a letter of the Greek alphabet.

We’ve had a couple of years to rethink risk. I’ve concluded wearing headphones on a walk isn’t the scariest thing out there. I made some walking playlists years ago, and lo and behold, they’re still on the device and working properly. It was fun to walk and listen to some of my favorite music. I may even branch out to audio books and podcasts.

A sampler from the playlist:

  • Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum – Bob Dylan
  • Big Ball in Cowtown – Bob Wills
  • Train of Love – Doc Watson
  • Refugee – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
  • Beer Run – Todd Snider
  • Jobel-Liebe – Margret Almer
  • Rehab – Amy Winehouse
  • Waitress in the Sky – the Replacements
  • Love Shack – the B-52s
  • Used to be a Cop – Drive-by Truckers

All dated but still great as far as I’m concerned. Margret Almer is a yodeler. I love a good yodel.

I honestly can’t remember how old the iPod is. Maybe circa 2006? I’ll keep using it until it doesn’t work anymore, although I suppose I should have a backup plan in place. Your recommendations are most welcome.

There will be a bit of a learning curve, as I haven’t downloaded music in years. I’m not even sure I know how anymore. Do you still go to Apple? But updating my portable music tools and adding some new tunes might be a good little activity for me.

Also in the spirit of cheering one’s self up, I decided I would walk better in the cold if I looked cuter. Today I wore leggings, a fleece top and a puffy vest … as opposed to baggy track pants with long underwear for extra padding. A black and gray knit beanie kept my ears toasty.

I’ve decided I need a more colorful beanie. I also decided I need another pair of leggings. I ordered these from Athleta. They’re a little thicker than my normal pants, so they should help keep me warm without being too bulky. Some days I feel like the Michelin man out there.

We usually have Dale’s homemade pizza on Friday night and decided to stick with our plan even though it’s New Year’s Eve. Tonight’s toppings will be Italian cold cuts and sliced green olives. The olives add a nice brininess to balance the richness of the meat.

Today we went to the local Asian supermarket, 99 Ranch, which is a spectacular place. We bought two live Dungeness crabs. Dale steamed them and picked out all the meat for crab rolls tomorrow. We’re off to a good start.

Happy New Year!

Kitchen before and after

Before
After

The kitchen and downstairs flooring project is finished and looks great. We are exceedingly happy with the results, but the process wore us out.  

I confess to having insecurities about our design choices. I know someone somewhere will say, “Whatever were they thinking when they did that?” I can actually hear the voice of my late mother-in-law as I type those words.

But at the end of the day, we like it a lot. The choices suit our aesthetic and our cooking habits. We hope to ride out eternity in this house, and at least we’ll finish up with a nice kitchen.

A few features:

  • All the drawers and doors are “soft close.” I love that!
  • Most of the lower cabinets were converted to drawers.
  • The old island could not be used as a counter, mostly because there was no room for knees. This is a new island, and we can now use it as a counter. It’s nice to sit there and talk to the chef.

We kept all our appliances, which we installed when we moved here about four years ago. Sure, the big commercial-style cooktop would have been nice, but that would have seriously jacked up the price of this project. We’re happy with what we have.

Contractors completed final details late in the afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving. Both of us were kind of stressed, and it’s my contention that’s what led to some minor cooking failures.

My new Emile Henry pie pan recommended by Nanci performed admirably, but my crust wasn’t short enough, too much water, I think, and the filling was a bit off. But I love that pan – no soggy bottom as Mary Berry would say.

Dale was supposed to cook the turkey in two stages – first, breast side down at a higher temperature, then breast side up at a lower temp. He accidentally reversed it, and when he changed the temp, he forgot to hit start, so the oven was turned off until he realized what happened. It’s delicious but overdone.

Leftovers will be recipes that put moisture back in. I love Jane Brody’s turkey carcass soup, which I make every year. We enjoy it with blue corn muffins on the side.

Now that we’re calming down, we’re starting to get our cooking mojo back. Dale made whole wheat bread for turkey sandwiches. The recipe made two loaves, so he gave one to the neighbors. Lucky them!

I made granola this morning and am making bison tacos tonight. We like to keep a stash of them in the freezer, and we depleted our supply during the remodeling. Tomorrow I’m making plum pudding, which will be our Christmas dessert. The steamed pudding gets better as it rests.

The recipe I use is from an ancient Parade magazine. I serve it warm with a simple hard sauce – basically whipped butter and powdered sugar. Jack Daniels is my whiskey of choice for both the pudding and the sauce.

My golf game tanked during the remodeling project. I played golf twice in five weeks, and for me, that’s a recipe for disaster. I have no natural talent – it’s all practice and play.

Now it’s time to get back to being retired. This week’s priority is golf!

Dining during demolition

Remodeling continues, but they are making excellent progress and should finish up by the end of the week. Between interactions with the contractors, we talk about food. When we’re not talking about food, we watch cooking shows.

We’ve had full use of our microwave and oven throughout the project. But no cooktop, no sink, no countertops. Our freezer was pre-stocked with leftovers, which we’ve mostly burned through. Lasagna, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Divan, Chicken Enchiladas, Lamb Rigatoni, Chicken Curry and Chicken Tetrazzini. Salads. Burgers on the grill.

It’s not like we’ve been starving!

Additionally, there are certain homemade foods we keep around at all times, and they are gone. Pizza, tacos and scones from the freezer and granola in the pantry. We will have fun replenishing the supplies. There’s one piece of coconut cake left, and it has my name on it.

When I retired, I got a few Starbucks gift cards, which I’ve hardly used. I’ve been driving over there in my jammies to get us each a large dark roast. Drive-thru, of course. At about $6 for the two, I’ve mostly drained those cards. The Starbucks employees I’ve encountered are quite cheerful and personable.

I had my first bite of fast food in more than 10 years. One morning I got us each a sausage biscuit from McDonalds. It was OK, but I’m good for another 10 years. We had sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s, which we like a lot. And takeout from a local Asian bistro. It was expensive and not very good.

As of Friday, our countertops and backsplash were in, and the cooktop, sink and dishwasher were functional. The kitchen is still not business as usual because they haven’t finished with the cabinet fronts, but the sink was a game-changer.

Contractors don’t come on Sundays, so it really is a day of rest. I wanted to play golf since I haven’t been able to play during the week, but instead I opted for a relaxing breakfast with Dale. At the beginning of the remodel, we had a couple of big-ass arguments, but we broke each other’s will worked through it and emerged closer than ever.

Maybe this was what we needed to get back to the basics of love. Our own little Luckenbach, Texas. I’m glad we got our issues resolved early in my retirement, as it bodes well for enjoying the rest of our time together. Counseling might have been cheaper but probably more painful.

Breakfast was bacon and toast, and it was bliss.

We are getting excited about Thanksgiving. Dale ordered a fresh Diestel turkey. He stuffs the bird with a seasoned potato, bread and onion mixture he grew up eating in Maine. Mashed potatoes and gravy, some sort of green vegetable. Pinot Noir.

Usually I make cranberry sauce, but we are doing something different this year. At Christmas, I often make a cranberry walnut pie. However, this year Dale has requested plum pudding with hard sauce. But we still want the pie, so I’m making it for Thanksgiving.  I thought it would be overkill to have the pie and cranberry sauce.

I’m still going to load up on cranberries for the freezer, as I love them in scones. Or scons, as Paul Hollywood says.

I hope the kitchen stories haven’t been too self-absorbed. But I guess it is what it is. The whole project has been an interesting retirement experience I wanted to share. However, if you are bored senseless, I expect to emerge from The Remodeling Zone later this week and return to our regular programming.

Something fun! We are ready.

Move over, tuna

A sample of premium tinned fish.

Ever since I wrote a post about sardines and decided they don’t scare me anymore, I’ve been on a quest to sample what’s available. They’re super-good for you, they’re sustainable and I was surprised to discover I like them!

We love anchovies, especially Ortiz, and we’ve always had a can or two of Beach Cliff sardines in the pantry. Those were my starter sardines. Don, a reader, commented that he liked King Oscar. I hunted those down – found them at Safeway – and they were indeed delicious.

Then I bought a cookbook, The Magic of Tinned Fish by Chris McDade. What a fantastic book! Many of us view tinned fish as snack food, but Chris makes the case for using premium products mostly from Spain and Portugal in a wide variety of dishes home cooks will appreciate.

The book includes a page with recommended brands, as well as websites where you can purchase these specialty items, but I wanted to see what I could find at my neighborhood grocery stores. I had to shop around, but I found Matiz wild-caught sardines in olive oil, as well at Cole’s wild mackerel in olive oil.

The Matiz sardines are absolutely fantastic. My new favorite brand. Sometimes the other brands look almost beat up, but these are plump and pristine. The taste is perfect. I ate them plain, right out of the can, but I can’t wait to try some of his pasta recipes.

Next, I wanted to try the mackerel. The author makes the case for abandoning tuna, which is over-fished and not sustainable. Dale, who grew up in Maine, was skeptical. He said mackerel is oily and fishy, and I was not going to like it.

Chris, the author, says you can use mackerel interchangeably with tuna fish, and he also features it in recipes, including pasta, salads and soups. I made simple mackerel salad today. Just some mayo and diced pickle, and it was delicious. It tasted pretty much like tuna. Dale was shocked at how good it was.

Prices vary, but the better stuff costs more. At my store, a 5-ounce can of Bumble Bee solid white albacore in water was about $2.99, while a 4.4-ounce can of Cole’s mackerel in olive oil was $3.99. A 3.75-ounce can of King Oscar sardines was $2.59, while the 4.2 ounce can of Matiz sardines was $3.95.  

I’m not banning tuna from our household, but I can see myself substituting with mackerel on a regular basis. I would definitely buy the King Oscar sardines again, but those Matiz sardines are quite special.

The cost seemed reasonable to me, but some tinned fish can get pricey. Fresh, in some cases, is cheaper. Still, I like the idea of having fish in the pantry, and over time, I would like to try the premium brands of smoked trout, smoked oysters, squid, mussels, whole clams and octopus.

In other snobby food news, this article from the Washington Post says there’s a champagne shortage. If you have a favorite for the holidays, start looking for it now.

We’re from the government, and we’re here to help

Ralph, my indoor cannabis plant, complete with cat-proof fencing.

I turned 66 in September, and my Full Retirement Age for Social Security is 66 and two months. After much great discussion right here on this very blog, I decided to file for benefits.

It was easy to do online, however, I wasn’t sure how they calculated the month of November. I didn’t want to mess this up, so I adjusted the timing to be sure I was absolutely positively Full Retirement Age and opted to receive my first payment in January.

Imagine my surprise when the phone rang, and it was a most pleasant woman from the Social Security Administration. She asked why I chose January. I explained my paranoia and said I figured January would ensure I didn’t have money deducted because I filed too soon.

She laughed and said this happens all the time, and that’s why she was calling. If I reach Full Retirement Age anytime in November, I could get my first check in December. Deal! She made the adjustment, and now I’m good to go.

I have to admit, I was reminded of my working days when suited-up people arrived in the hinterlands and said, “Hi, we’re from Corporate, and we’re here to help.”

But this time it was the government, and it appears to be true.

Thanksgiving

I’m not sure what Thanksgiving is going to look like this year. We’re getting new cabinet faces in the kitchen and a new countertop, and then all new flooring downstairs. Our contractor was supposed to start in September, but now he’s scheduled to start next week. I figure this could run into November or even later.

Oh, well. We can always celebrate on a different day. Even with just the two of us, celebration means cooking. We do a big turkey and eventually eat every last bite of it. Some gets made into delicious leftovers and a whole breast goes into the freezer.

Dessert is the big question. Last year I made a command decision and went with pumpkin cheesecake. We both loved it, but Dale likes apple pie, and I figure it’s his turn to choose. I could probably tell the story of my life through apple pie – moderate success, excruciating failures. Bad crust, ill temper.

All my recipes have notes about what worked, what didn’t. It would seem I could get this right. This year, I’m going to gather my recipes and create a new one. Danger, danger, Will Robinson.

You may recall I bought a steel pie pan recently. One might trot that out for apple pie, however, the pan sucked. I thought the corrugated bottom would increase crispiness, but I found it did quite the opposite. Some parts didn’t connect with the steel, and they remained soggy.

One pie made me so mad, I just threw the whole thing away, pan and all. Now, it’s just me and my Pyrex. As it was meant to be.

The year of the osis

For me, this has been the year of the osis. Osteoporosis, spinal stenosis. While I do have some lower back pain, it’s not really in my back, more like in my buttocks. And it’s actually quite manageable. I still swim, walk, play golf and do weights. Sitting is the worst.

I did visit a pain management specialist upon the recommendation of my primary care physician, and it was pretty much a waste of time. She showed me the MRI results and basically guessed spinal stenosis is causing my pain. Because there has to be some explanation, right?

Steroid injections are an option, but I declined. It’s just not that bad, and she said it might not work and even if it does, the benefits don’t last all that long. A little short of sales skills. She was amazed I do all I do with the degree of stenosis she saw on the MRI. Which tells me maybe that’s not the cause.

Presumably, the human back hasn’t changed much in at least 500 years. And we didn’t always have MRIs to point the finger. People didn’t know what they didn’t know, and somehow, they managed to plod on, osis notwithstanding.

Cat-proofing cannabis

Finally, in the continuing adventures of a gentlewoman cannabis farmer, our cat, Riley, discovered the joys of destruction and killed my last seedling. There’s no THC in it at that point, so it’s not like he’s a kitty stoner. He just liked digging up the young plant and chomping on it.

Many thanks to Dale, who built me a cat-proof fence. Now, Riley sits there and stares at it. Weeping, one kitty tear at a time. How. Could. This. Happen.

We actually have two plants. Our outdoor plant, Steve, didn’t get enough sun and barely grew. However, there are a couple of nice buds, which are about ready for harvest. Next year, I will grow my outdoor plant in a container and put it where there’s lots of sun.

My indoor plant, Ralph, is coming along nicely with his new protective barrier. His power comes from a south-facing window and a 450-watt LED grow light.

I actually don’t use much cannabis, except for my homemade balm, but I enjoy the challenge of growing it. It’s a harmless (and in many places legal) retirement hobby for those of us who aren’t much into travel. You can always stay home with your plant and your Pyrex.

If you’re at all interested, I got started with a kit from A Pot for Pot. Easy and cost-effective. My best indoor plant yielded 30 grams, which is a nice little stash of weed, if one is so inclined.

I coulda been somebody!

While I don’t miss work, I confess early into my retirement I missed feeling important. Being a director for a large corporation was demanding. Once you got to that level, the company wanted everything you had but taunted us with money and perks to keep people like me crawling back for more.

After a while, you start to think you’re somebody.

Then you join the long list of retirees who used to have big jobs, and you realize no one cares about your glory days. I needed a new mindset, and as I was looking for answers, I stumbled upon this quote in an online forum:    

“We were never the somebody we thought. And we are never the nobody we fear.”

For me, that kind of says it all.

Double shot

Yesterday, I got my flu shot and COVID booster at the same time – one in each arm. I didn’t have any problems with the COVID vaccines first time around, but I have a history of fever and chills after getting the flu shot. I used to pre-medicate with Tylenol several days in advance, and that put an end to the chilly willies.

However, I’ve since read you’re not supposed to do that, since they don’t really know how it affects the vaccines. So, I toughed it out, and sure enough, I got fever and chills. Quite the miserable night, but it passed pretty quickly. Both arms are still sore, but I managed to play a little golf today.

COVID has completely stressed me out. I know – take a number, but I believe I’ve been unnecessarily paranoid. Now that I’m boosted and the case rates are going down here in California, I’m going to try hard to lighten up. We still haven’t been to a restaurant, even for outside dining.

Part of the problem is we’re kind of spoiled by our own home cooking, and most restaurants just aren’t that good. Still, a diversion would be nice. The weather is lovely, so maybe we can get our butts out the door and try someone else’s food.

Great British Baking Show

Speaking of food, I am finally getting into the Great British Baking Show. I can’t imagine what took me so long, but I love it. The baking is fantastic, of course, but as a Britophile, I also like the cast of characters.

I’m still watching the first season, so I have lots of shows in the queue. One of the first things I want to try is Mary Berry’s treacle tart.

A fluted tart pan with a removable bottom has been on my wish list for quite some time, and mine arrived today. Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? However, I don’t want to get in the trap of making sweets all the time, so I want to try a savory tart first. Or even a quiche. I’ve always made quiche in a regular pie pan, but the tart version just looks so inviting.

Cucko for coconut

We are still raving about the coconut layer cake I made for my birthday. Individual pieces are stowed safely in the freezer, but it seems someone has been eating them.

Dale said it is the best cake he’s ever had, and I have to agree. I called it the Thrilla in Manila. I mean, I know that’s a famous boxing match, but I just think it’s fun to say. And it could describe cake, right?

He said, no. It’s the Thrilla with Vanilla!

Sometimes it takes very little to amuse us.

Cooking with pumpkin

There’s a hint of fall in the air, and my thoughts turn to pumpkin. I’m not into pumpkin-flavored coffee or candles that smell like pumpkin pie, but I like both sweet and savory dishes made with this versatile winter squash.

I bought a magazine with pumpkin recipes at the grocery store and found another pumpkin cookbook at the library. So many tasty dishes to choose from! Some of the recipes call for canned pumpkin and some for fresh. I really hadn’t thought about using canned pumpkin for savory dishes, but it’s used commonly in soup, stew and pasta.

After careful study, I narrowed my list to the following:

  • Pumpkin and Italian Sausage Soup
  • Pumpkin and Beef Stew
  • Kale and Pumpkin Soup
  • Lentil Pumpkin Soup with Spinach and Smoked Sausage

I bought a cooking pumpkin at the farmer’s market, so that was sort of my turning point. I wanted to make something with big chunks of fresh pumpkin and went with Pumpkin and Beef Stew.

The recipe is also an opportunity to use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker, something I’ve been eager to try.

Anyway, the stew is cooking now. I started it early so if the slow cooker doesn’t work to my satisfaction, I have time to finish it on the cooktop. I made a fresh loaf of sourdough to go with.

I had some leftover beef but not enough to save for anything special, so I decided to cut it in chunks, brown it and then freeze it for stock later. It’s in the pan cooling now, and Dale walked upstairs and said he’ll just have that. I asked if he had a bite and he said, “Oh yes. Several.”

Nothing like little nibbles of hard-seared meat.

I like the recipes in the cookbook from the library, but I refuse to buy another cookbook! I think I’ll photocopy those that appeal to me the most.

Other recipes I want to try include Pumpkin Fudge, Wild Mushroom Pumpkin Risotto, Cheddar-Pumpkin Tart and White Bean, Chicken and Pumpkin Chili. I suppose we run the risk of getting pumpkined-out, but I’m willing to take a chance.  

Yesterday, I was talking with my golf buddies about what we’ve been cooking. It seems like a happy and politically neutral topic to me. They’re both men who don’t cook, so I probably need to find new material. One guy said, “I can’t believe you’re not as big as a house.”

I said, well, some of it is genetics, I guess, but a lot of it boils down to the choices we make. We both exercise and are careful with portion control. We haven’t eaten fast food in 15 years or so. Haven’t had a soda for at least that long. We eat almost exclusively at home and make most things from scratch. I can’t remember the last time I had a store-bought cookie.

They both looked at me like I was nuts. And so it goes. Another feeble attempt at being social. I believe I’ll go back to, “Nice putt.”

Doomscrolling to foodscrolling

My birthday came and went. In my continuing efforts to stay sane during these unprecedented times, I’ve successfully transitioned from doomscrolling horrible news to foodscrolling delicious recipes.

The cake was/is absolutely incredible. My husband started calling me Cake Boss.

Dale and I each had a piece, and I froze the rest, but I’ve already pulled one out to thaw. As they say when you go winetasting, I’d like to revisit that one, please.

The cake was a wee bit dense. Next time, I would be sure to beat the batter a little longer at a higher speed. Oh, about the buttercream roses. I couldn’t quite pull it off. They look more like tiny piles of fettuccine, which is fine with me. It’s a new thing. Fettuccini flowers. They are delicious.

I have a thing for coconut in all its forms, especially spicy food made with unsweetened coconut milk. Dale likes them well enough, but I’ve improvised a couple of dishes that turned out great, and I believe he is converted.

Yesterday, I started with this basic recipe for Coconut Shrimp Curry with Mushrooms. I got the recipe from the NY Times cooking section, which is behind a firewall. But the link above is the same recipe at a site that didn’t have restrictions.  

As I browsed the recipe, it seemed to me I could make it more Thai or more Indian, depending on seasonings and vegetables. I went with Thai and added chopped spinach, fish sauce and lime. Served it in a bowl with white rice and cilantro and toasted peanuts on top.

The broth was thick but reminiscent of Tom Kha Gai. You could add more coconut milk and/or stock to achieve a more soup-like consistency.

If I had gone Indian, I would have added garam masala and maybe some cauliflower.

My passion for cooking surprises me. Sometimes I wish I had gone to culinary school, but I grew up thinking cooking was a girly thing, and I wanted to break free from stereotypes. I suppose that’s why I joined the Army. Then 50 years later, you don’t care if it’s girly or manly or gender-neutral. You know what you like, and if you’re lucky, you get to do it.

While I might take a class here and there, my achy breaky parts are not likely to withstand the demands of culinary school. So, I’ll continue to poke around in the kitchen in my primitive fashion.

I’ve mentioned before we have years and years of Gourmet magazines. Some time ago, we ordered special binders to keep the years together with an annual index. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the heavy bulky binders are unwieldly, and the individual issues don’t exactly stay put.

I didn’t mind all that until my back started bothering me. Sitting for long periods is about the only thing that makes my pain worse, so much of my foodscrolling has gone low-tech. I still spend plenty of time at the computer, but I try to take little breaks throughout the day and lay flat for at least 15 minutes or so.

What a perfect opportunity to browse real cookbooks or actual Gourmet magazines! I remember back in the day when we subscribed, way before computers, I’d save the new issue to read in the bathtub. That, and National Lampoon. I miss that one.

The thing about Gourmet is that I’m eager to try some ambitious cooking projects, and it seems like a good place to start. But you can’t really rest comfortably with a 5-inch binder full of magazines.

We finally decided the binders were worthless at this point, possibly from having been moved across the country multiple times. On a bad air quality day with nothing better to do, I pulled all the magazines out of the binders and tossed the binders.

Then I lined up the issues on a bookshelf from oldest to newest, left to right. I had annual indexes for some but not all. If there was no annual index, I photocopied the index page of each magazine. Then I put all the indexes together in a magazine holder like you see at the library.

The idea is you grab the pile of indexes and browse those until something piques your interest. Then you go pull an individual magazine, lying upon the 43-year-old corduroy comfy couch to squander the afternoon daydreaming about food and what you’ll try next.

Just another way to scoll …