very chilly here today brrrrr. about 28 i think it said but sunny.
pumpkin loaf is a yummy
not much here
dh did get his one paycheck. lets hope for the rest in the next few days. he may be home by thanksgiving ? or not . depends on the pay check if he gets it or not.
off and running
Brrrr- Winter is knocking at the door
Pat the secret to Pie Crust is touch.
Most people use way too much water or liquid and then work the dough way too long.
My Mother and G-Mom made the best crusts ever.
But Mom only as she started loosing her sight and had to work it by feel.
Then she realized what G-Mom had been telling her.
Try watching Alton Brown's The Crust Never Sleeps.
Google or Bing
good eats crust
Then hit Video
Thanks, Ric, I'll watch it-- maybe. I do enjoy Alton Brown. For the most part, though he obviously knows more about food than God forgot, he doesn't act like a "chef." I had to stop watching Top Chef because I just wanted to kick the teeth out of most of the contestants, they were so obnoxious! I don't think that cooking should be elevated to the scale of brain surgery, and IMHO, most of the brain surgeons I know are less dramatic than the reality show chefs.
Herman, I'm not sure why, but when I read your most recent post, I thought you referring to a bra size, not your offspring. Wondered why you were giving a pie recipe to a well endowed lady over the phone.
Sue, Neil's condition is actually good news. When they sent him to the hematologist/ oncologist, all the other causes of his low platelet counts were much grimmer, i.e. aplastic anemia, leukemia, hodgkins lymphoma, multiple myeloma, etc. My mother died of the last one, although she had 6 pretty good years between diagnosis and death. Neil was pretty new to the family circle at that point, & just getting used to my mother's matter of fact approach to life. She was telling him abt getting the diagnosis, & then writing for a booklet on her type of cancer. "What did it say?" Neil asked. "Don't plan any long trips, basically," she replied. He told me later that he wasn't sure how to take it, but he laughed, which was exactly the response she wanted.
DS had to take her car in for brake pads, which turned into add discs & rotors, too. Merry Xmas!
Pat
Sorry Pat, in the future I'll add the number after. But I guess it wouldn't matter if it was DD 1,23,3,or4. Today it was yoga and weight room after, then shopping, lunch and moved the rest of the bags of leaves back to the shredder. Still some ice left from the AM and the wind was bitter. Tomorrow I have to put the fig tree to sleep for the winter. Quite a chore for 1 old man, but it will be done. I have it cut back and tied. Even ran the cuttings through the shredder. Wrapping and covering is the worst part. Weather should be better.
Herman
Pat I agree on the Chef's for the most part.
(Especially the TV competition chef's. Iron, etc.)
I worked w/ them for over 20 years when we were in the restaurant supply business.
Most were OK but there were certainly some Prima Dona's.
I find 'Good Eats' Alton Brown to be more like Mr Wizard or Bill Nye.
Very good educators and passionate about the subjects.
His Ice Cream recipes and techniques are all I use.
I think TV 'reality' show Alton Brown is dumb..... but hey it's acting and pays the bills.... lol!
Herman what variety of Figs do you grow?
Pat sorry i guess i miss understood about Neils condition . So its good news about his condition . yes it could have been much worse prognosis .
I love Alton B. i always do his turkey cooking method and it has yet to fail me. BAsting is evil and stuffing is wrong IMHO.
Ric remember i got a Chicago hardy with your name on it . if you want one.
Yep Thanks Sue!
Ric, as far as I know it is "Celeste". All I know for sure is it came from Italy originally.
Ric is right about the pie crusts, I've made some blue ribbon county fair pies. Too much water = too tough, not flaky, and kinda biscuity crust.
I love Alton Brown ;) Paula Deen and Rachel Ray make me want to stick a fork in my eye.
Celene to funny LOL
I will admit i m a Martha Stewart Junkie but i don't always agree with her cooking techniques.
I like Paula too but good god, not a diet for everyday living ! LOL just on occasion. i love her cakes . but not the ones the sell at Walmart. yuk.
maybe at our next round up we should do a pie crust demo ... ? hint hint
yes keeping the chunks of lard or butter some big and some small is key . IMHO.
all is quiet on the homefront here .
I can skype you for a pie crust demo, I'm doing it for one of my husband's coworkers. She is a newlywed, never made pie, and invited BOTH sets of in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner. And she's never cooked a real meal before. I see most of turkey day morning on the computer. lol I helped her pick a few make-ahead dishes, and each set of guests is bringing something.
I like Martha Stewart's recipes. She annoys me as well, but she can cook. I actually own two of her cookbooks, and I publicly admit it. When I flip through Rachael Ray recipes, I see things like....oh, put three scoops of different sherbets in a bowl. Thanks, Rach, I got that one without a recipe, sweetie. Paula Deen was tolerable (if artery-clogging) when she first started on the Food Network, but she's become a caricature of herself. That's what happens when you become a product instead of a person, I guess.
LOL....Good morning all!
Just had to jump in here and make a few comments...lol.
First....Pat...I just absolutely cracked up at your post to Herman..and the bra size..hahahaa!! Really started my day out right..both of you!! Hilarious!
As for all the tv cooks...well...what is left to say??
I have always been an adventurous cook...ask Dave. I don't worry about things...I just DO them. I don't "take to heart" what the tv tells me either...but sometimes you do learn a few things from it.
My grandma...was an excellent cook and baker. Everything was homemade back then.
I learned much just by watching her...and listening.
And when you walked into her kitchen...and she asked if you wanted a cookie..you better not ask what kind..or you didnt get any! LOL...yes...learned that the hard way!
And now I will admit to one failure...lol...only one..hahahaa.
I never did learn to make noodles like grandma! I still maintain it was because I don't have radiators in my kitchen...!! She always hung her noodles over a clean dish towel...up over the radiator..to dry! Ahhh...fond memories!
I used to have to cook supper for my family when I was a young teen, as my mother worked. So that taught me a lot too....hmmm...come to think of it...all of my family is gone now but me?????? Oops!
But my hubby and kids have all survived...so guess I did learn along the way...lol.
Ok..I know..I'm silly..so what?
I hope you all have a great day...I'm going to!
cold and windy day here.
Celene i may take you up on it . :)
i want to win at next year's county fair pie contest.
Marcy your not silly :) i tried making noodles but alas, i don't have the patience.
I do have the RR 30 min cookbooks. but honestly ummmm some of them are just not 30 in the real world, so i don't know what world she is from ?
Marcy, remind me and I'll make you some homemade fettucine. I was born to roll noodles. lol I have been able to do it since I stood on a chair to reach the table, and my nonna put a shower curtain on the floor to protect from the flying flour, apparently I was liberal with that.
Um, no. I'm not photogenic, and I stutter. That'd probably work poorly, lol.
The problem with celebrity recipes is that they call for a little bit of something you have to buy a lot of and the rest you never use.
I got the fig tree wrapped and with tar paper instead of plastic. I have cuttings, 3 with roots if anyone wants. Plenty without. Wind wasn't too bad and I had it cut low enough that I only had to use a 3-step ladder to finish. The clouds rolled in as I finished but no rain. Picked some mustard for dinner, some for the neighbor, too. Had oven-fried chicken, mashed sweet potato and baked apple for dessert. Belly full, dishes done. nothing left but to sleep.
Herman
I don't know what my problem was, Marcy, but I'm glad it gave you a good laugh!
I'm still pondering my cooking dilemmas. The things that I do know how to do, limited tho they are, I learned by watching someone else do them repeatedly. My dad always made the mashed potatoes, & I do that now & do it well. My mother made homemeade caramels and toffee, and every Xmas I have people in three states that ask if I'm making them, so they must be pretty good. I have lots of stuff I bake successfully, just not pie crust.
Now I need to eat!
I ordered a wooden dog gate to keep puppy out of the bedrooms, and it arrived yesterday. I showed pup how to get over the stile when the gate was open, & then I shut the latch. 3 minutes later a cat jumped over the gate and puppy went right through the bars to go after the cat. I guess I forgot how much of her exterior is hair!
I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year! And then Winterfair on the weekend. I'll have my fireplace done soon, too. Whoopee!
Pat
Pat, is it a working fireplace? That is so cozy in the winter, being able to have a fire in the fireplace, and sitting with a good book. Well, if you consider energy efficiency, not a good source for heating the whole house! Ruined that idylic picture didn't I? Ah, well the gate was a good idea, even if you will have to wait until he grows some for that to be successful.
I was cooking when I had to stand on a chair in front of the stove. My DM liked to work outside rather than be inside, so me and my twin would trade off. One week I would cook, she would clean, next week, I would clean, she would cook. DD was a farmer, and DM would much rather be in the fields working. Maybe it was to escape "twins"! I remember teaching DH's grandmother when she was in her 70's how to make milk gravy. She was a good cook, but confessed she never made gravy, because it always turned out lumpy.
Some of the tv cooking programs like RR, are only a course on how to assemble things. She doesn't really cook. Have you noticed how many pasta dishes she does, and how many hamburgers? Well, it doesn't take a gourmet to do that!
I never made good pie crusts till my twin sister gave me her recipe. Now it is a never fail.
Marcy, you were being silly today, but that must mean that you are feeling better, and we all need a good dose of laughter and if silliness is what does it, then so be it.
Celene, I have never made noodles of any kind. Just always thought it was too intimidating. So guess we need a you to do a you tube video showing us how. That is funny about the shower curtain on the floor. Sometimes, I could still use one.
Sue, now if you do enter the pies in the fair, you will have to share the awards with all your friends here who gave advice. I don't do cakes at least to take anywhere. That is a sure way to ask for a lopsided cake or some other disaster. DH has a cousin who makes the best fresh coconut cake, and I got her recipe and when I tried it, it was more like crumbling it in a bowl and eating it. It was still good, but nothing to look at.
Herman, thanks for the offer of a fig cutting. I am just not up to covering it every year, so I would just end up killing it. I am sure it is a pretty tree, and when it blooms in the spring I bet it is spectacular. We went out to eat tonight, as I had cooked all day foods to take to our church Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Cooked a ham and a turkey, and will do the dressing and gravy in the morning.
It is an inside, wood burning fireplace. I know that the fire draws air out of the room and up the chimney, but nothing smells as good as a wood fire, or feels as good to just sit in front of and bask in the heat.
Been warm here today, and very windy. They say rain is coming in, but my joints haven't notified me yet.
Pat
My joints notified me last night, and sure enough, rain this morning! Maybe your joints are just asleep, hope they warn you soon, as I think it is on the way.
Hi everyone! Celene..thats a deal..on the fettucine!
Greatttt...on the fireplace Pat! I have a woodburning stove in my kitchen...and I love to have a fire in the winter while I'm working in there...even though it runs me out sometimes...lol! I keep saying I'm going to get one of those small corner fans..that fits in a doorway, to direct the heat to the other rooms....but haven't so far. That stove will heat the whole house.
Well..the weather let me know it was coming too, Bonnie. I woke during the night to aching legs...big time. Some of it might have been because we went to this open house at a big antique mall in New Paris, Ohio. 4 floors..4 sets of steps..big wide steps...up and down. That was quite a workout for me! I know my fake knees felt it right away...LOL!
Yes....I am feeling better, Bonnie, except for not wanting to eat. NOTHING seems to sound good or taste right to me????? I'm wondering if maybe the dr disturbed my taste buds in some way???????? I should call and ask.
Ok...off to get ready here!
Marcy, I've had a ton of facial surgery, any of them that jostled my salivary glands or some facial nerves messed with my sense of taste for 3 or 6 months. It always came back, but they told me it'd depend on whether it was a saliva production issue (food tastes different with less saliva) or nerve damage (which may or may not heal in the way they want). I have a chunk of skin about the size of a silver dollar on my cheek that I can't feel very well, thankfully it wasn't taste buds. lol
good morning everyone.
well just a bit warmer today here ? uhg.
Pat congrats on the fireplace. I told my Dh when we built this house we needed a wood burning stove , but alas he insisted on a traditional fireplace ? ...... he gave such a fit i gave in and welllll..... we have never used it . i just give him that look of " i told you dummy " . I do agree that the smell and crackle of a warm fire is nice. :)
Marcy are you still taking pain meds for your surgery ? i think that could cause taste to be funny ?
not much here.
its official that DH will be home on sat ... the ticket is bought . we hope he will get paid the rest of what is owed but we are not optimistic on it. :(
Its so disgraceful on this job he is on. The owner is building this golf course for his family use ! and drives two Masaratti's and yet won't pay any of the people who have building this golf course ? its just a disgrace that behaviour of people.
many of the villagers have gone with out pay for over 3 months ...
Wow Celene...interesting! They DID remove 3/4 of that Parotid salivary gland...along with the tumor...and a benign lymph gland....so guess maybe that is my problem with the taste then! Also...that particular parotid gland is the largest of the three salivary glands. Thanks!
Sue..no..not taking any meds now for that. I thought at first..that was it too....but I've been off the meds for over a week now?
Great Sue, that hubby gets to come home! Bummer on the "no pay" crap!
Bonnie, my turn to laugh. My fig trees have never bloomed in Spring. The fruit itself is the bloom. It requires no fertilization to mature. I believe fertilization takes place by only a tiny fly that lives only in certain regions.
Warm and cloudy today. 70% chance it won't rain. Guess I'll clean the flower beds today.
It turned out to be a miserable, just misty drizzle most of the day, and then intermittant showers, ground fog which made visibility a problem.
The church thanksgiving dinner was good, some of the best food, and plenty of desserts. I think there were about 40 there to eat. Not many leftovers.
Herman, I thought surely with the fig producing fruit that it would have blooms in the spring. That is how much I know about the fig tree.
Celene, I didn't know that you had had facial surgery. A wreck maybe? I know my sister was in a horrible car accident and she has facial scars, even after plastic surgery. I barely notice it but she is so self conscious of it.
Marcy, the salvary glands could be the cause of the diminished taste and the desire for food. Just eat whether you want to or not. You are little enough, you don't need to lose any weight.
defoecat, one of the customers of the store where I worked in college followed me home, and kinda beat his way into my apartment and across my face. I was 20 at the time, living in a campus dump. I have bone grafts across my cheekbone, and a good chunk of my left mandible is plastic and metal. I had 21 surgeries to correct the scars, 3 were kinda major and the rest were piddly little nip and tuck sort of things--I qualify that because 21 sounds like such a high number, lol. That's why I hate being photographed.
Celene, I am so sorry for your ordeal. I hope I didn't bring up memories best left buried. Honestly, I didn't stare at you, but I couldn't tell there was anything that was not flesh and bone. You must have had a very good plastic surgeon. ((gentle hugs)) to you.
It wasn't an ordeal, and I'm not sensitive about it, so it's okay. If you're at the next roundup, I'll show you the scars. I did have a good surgeon, but you also haven't seen me before the injury.
Celene, OMG! Did the guy do some time for his hissy fit? I'm the same as Bonnie; I hadn't noticed anything at all. But so much of our identity seems to be centered in the face. I have big scars from back surgery, neck surgery, breast cancer surgery, and knee surgery, but the one that I'm most conscious of is the relatively small scar on my neck. I don't even think abt the back surgery scars until I put on a bathing suit. They'd probably do that surgery now with an endoscope and cover it up with a bandaid, lol. 25 years ago they basically cut me in half.
Marcy, when I was on chemo everything tasted pretty strange. I did discover a few things that tasted "normal," like cottage cheese. So keep on trying things until you find a few that become your new favorites until things heal up and you hit your new normal.
Fireplace guy didn't come today because he got sick. I found out that the stone will take 10 days to 2 weeks to get cut, honed, & edged. Contractor has to get the drywall up so we can get the final dimensions on the stone. So I'm REALLY hoping he's better by tomorrow! DS & I debated & finally chose a granite over the slate that we also liked. I was afraid I'd drop a log on the hearth and that it would break the slate. I'll take pictures & bore you all with my remodeled fireplace.
Pat
Compared to all that, I can't complain. I wasn't hurt that badly, and I healed up perfectly.
Good morning all. Wow...Celene...I had no idea either! So sorry all that happened to you!
You look normal to me...lol!!! Good surgeons are the best!!
Pat...sounds like you and I have all the same scars...except for the breast cancer ones. I've never been sensitive about mine either...and doubt this one will bother me either. It is...what it is.
Yea...I shouldn't complain about the food tastes...at least I can eat....and I am. Dave makes me...lol.
Bonnie so glad your church dinner went well. Sounded good! I'm ready for Thanksgiving!
Pat...please DO bore us with pics...love to see what others are doing!
And no..it won't be boring...lol.
We are going to our youngest son's house for Thanksgiving. He is going to smoke a turkey on his smoker grill and also do one in the oven. He invites not only family....but friends that have no place else to go...so will be a big crowd. Everyone brings food...so there will be a large variety. I will make all the desserts...(pies)...sugar cream..pumpkin...pecan...apple....6 altogether...Thank you for crusts Pilsbury!!!
Also making a fresh veggie tray...cranberry salad...hmm what else? Ohh I know...going to make some parmesan crisps to munch on before dinner. Oh and of course...turkey cookies..gkids have to have those. Sounds like I better get busy huh??????
Everyone have a great day out there!!!
I am having pumpkin gnocchi, roasted asparagus, rosemary dinner rolls, salad, and corn. And whatever other sides I end up making because people ask me to do, that'll be last minute fun :)
Fireplace guy got part of the framing up yesterday for the drywall, and pulled up the ugly marble heart, at which point he scratched his cornea, refusing, of course, to do anything about it until the end of the day. Finally saw someone at Walgreens "care center" last night, who numbed it, washed it out, & told him to wait 48 hours, & it should be better by then. I'm relieved that he hasn't ruined his eye & yet selfishly thinking this means I won't have my fireplace done in time for Xmas. I could fire him & get someone who would wear their safety glasses, except I know this guiy's family & I don't want to do that to him or them. Hopefully he can come Friday & finish the framing enough for us to get the final dimensions for the granite. Stone place says it takes about 10 days to get granite fabrication done, so I need to adjust my expectations.
Still looking forward immensely to turkey day!
Pat
Pat gosh that is to bad. Sure hope he can get it done for you. Yes safety glasses should have been worn.
well got things ready for our TG
turkey
corn
stuffing
cranberry sauce
mash pot's
pie
the usual
nothing fancy as its just me and the kids. Heck they would be happy with mac and cheese and hot dogs LOL