I Had to do Something!

I’m a collector of potato water, kept in the freezer. There's leafy green celery ends in the fridge, an onion that’s been taking up space on the cupboard, one lonely piece of bacon and three large mushrooms. Put those together with 3 bay leaves, salt and the few black peppercorns available. Put the lid on and let them bubble and simmer for a few hours. 

The other ingredients:(added to the broth just before storing)

~ 1/2 bag of frozen mixed vegetables

~ 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli cuts

~ boredom and little stamina. 

This resting and recovering is hard work!   

“I’d rather regret doing something than not doing something.”

~ James Hetfield, musician

A Cracker of an Experiment

I had the dough. Pizza dough, in fact. The kind you get in the refrigerated section in the grocery store. The dough, compressed in the little ultramarine blue tube, waited for me to make pizza. Every time I opened the fridge door, it seemed to stare accusingly at me. Yesterday, I decided enough was enough. I didn’t have the ingredients for a pizza, but dough is dough. Right? Not quite. Stiff and unyielding, I did manage to make several small rolls, but they didn’t cooperate. Not soft and fluffy. Dense and when I tasted one, too salty!! What to do, what to do? Crackers. I’ve wanted to make my own crackers for a long time, so bread knife in hand, I sliced them all up. Into a slow oven for about an hour, they crisped up beautifully, the white bread turned caramel brown. Although still too salty, a little cracker worked nicely with cream cheese and a little marmalade!

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking 

you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

~ Julia Child

p.s. - Julia's quotation is one I’ve used often and will probably use it again.

Swedish Meat Pies

My latest venture into the land of interesting foods, meat pies have never been on my menu. They are now. After eating a whole one tonight, I decided to cut them all in half before freezing them. I made a few mistakes, but they are delicious and will be a great accompaniment to my noon time salad. Or whenever I want a snack. I’ll be making some tweaks to both this recipe and to my pastry skills!

“Cooking is not a science but an art, mistakes are okay, messes are fine - 

the pleasure is in the creating and the sharing of the result.”

~ Lori Pollan, The Pollan Family Table: The Best Recipes and 

Kitchen Wisdom for Delicious, Healthy Family Meals.

Resurrection: Cooking Lessons

Fancy footwork has been needed this last ten days. Christmas preparations, dinners, New Years festivities, but that’s not the only thing that has consumed my life. For years I have talked about wanting to take a Cooking course, but have never pursued it. I actually love being home, and I need to eat. Well, I like to eat. After years of watching cooking shows and gathering cookbooks, I am moving forward with at home, self taught lessons. That would satisfy all three: being at home, cooking lessons, and eating. The danger? I’ll need to buy a new wardrobe. In the last week or so, I have cooked something different each day. Some from google, the rest from my cookbooks, including handwritten recipes I have been given or are from google. One goal is to use my books as much as possible, but online is important to answer many questions - and to get a recipe in a hurry! As life slows down, I’ll get better at using my cook books.

Today: Home made chilli from my freezer - (a google recipe from two years ago)

New Years Day: Norwegian Silver Dollar Pancakes (Scandinavian Gatherings - a Christmas gift.

New Years Eve: Pan boiled potatoes (Jacque Pépin - Facebook) - a happy accident as I was scrolling.

Before that:

Potato Scones: from Cooking with Potatoes by Jenny Stacy

Bread pudding from Better Homes and Gardens new Cookbook, from the late 1960’s

Muffins: (google)

Christmas Coleslaw - another google recipe in a hurry

Devilled Eggs - another google recipe in a hurry

My very loose schedule: 

Writing projects in the morning

Cooking ‘lesson’ in the afternoon/evening

Writing in the evening

The fancy footwork?

Family, friends, living and reading in-between - ‘cause I’m not giving any of those up!!

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, 

a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations 

of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, 

the wisdom of cookbook writers.”

~ Laurie Colwin

A Good Start

Cooking with Potatoes is the beginning of another creative journey. This is not the cookbook I had planned to begin with, but I have an overabundance of the starchy spuds! So I melded two goals together - use up the potatoes and begin my at home cooking lessons. I began with Potato & Meatballs in Spicy Sauce. Despite the name, the potatoes, the starchy element, are mixed with meat and spices.

I have been cooking from childhood til today. One of my early kitchen memories is watching mom or one of my sisters preparing and cooking food. I don’t often use recipes, even though I have more cookbooks than I need. Tonight, I followed the recipe, almost perfectly. I have potatoes, just not mealy potatoes which the recipe called for. The meatballs should have been made smaller than I made them. So, while the flavours were delicious, the meatballs fell apart. Not a bad start, just a lesson learned. Don’t overcook the potatoes - get’s rid of all the starch needed to bind the meat.

The result was my supper, as well as two freezer meals. A good start!

“What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, 

he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.”

~ A.A.Milne

Before and After ~ 2

Have I ever made a pizza? If I have that’s in the Forgotten File. But I do have a pizza pan, so I must have…..a long time ago. But a couple of days ago, I made up my mind to cook something different every day. Today is was to be pizza. I hesitated, but I had all the fixings. My considered opinion at the time was that I’d better try it first before I serve it to someone else.

Disclaimer: I didn’t make my own pizza dough. Bought one of those tubes of pizza dough in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. I wanted to work with it first, see what pizza dough felt like. The other ingredients purchased were: onions that I caramelized, tomato sauce in a jar, mushrooms, feta cheese, marble cheddar cheese, pepperoni and cherry tomatoes. I sprinkled it with oregano and black pepper. 

Then I over cooked it! Good thing I was the only one I was serving pizza to tonight. The crust was, well, crusty. Very crusty. I did have a timer set, but the aroma from my kitchen told me it was past done while there were still over two minutes on the timer. It did taste quite good regardless of the crusty crust.

How many of us get tired of our own cooking? I never thought I would say that, but recently my meals have become rote and boring. I have delicious meals in the freezer that no longer taste so delicious anymore. Ordering out is just too costly, and I want to learn more about different meals. Pizza may not be considered a healthy meal - or even a meal, but my stomach is full and I did get my veggies! This pizza is too overcooked to be stored in the freezer but that is my goal for pizza making. I’ve stored it in the refrigerator for a breakfast bite and for a snack when I want one. Should be gone by tomorrow night? Freezer pizza meals will come later.

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. 

In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

~ Julia Child

Christmas Baking

I love watching the Christmas baking contests. They are fun and pique my creative muscles. In my kitchen, Christmas baking hasn’t seen much of such baking for a long time. I did get banana muffins baked today though. 

In most of the shows that I watch, contestants have everything they may need for their product. There’s always a twist half way through. So I decided to twist myself a challenge. There was a part of me that just didn’t want to take the time to walk to the grocery store. But my fridge has needed a good cull, starting with some rather black bananas. I also wanted to make muffins - haven’t made muffins for probably 20 years or more. My next preference was using whole wheat flour and oatmeal. With those parameters in mind, I turned my attention to Google and found the perfect recipe. Their list of ingredients required ‘3 extra ripe bananas’. So my black bananas found a home - there were only two but I had one other that was merely over ripe. Spices: I doubled the amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Nuts: the recipe asked for crushed walnuts. Don’t have any but I have cashews and almonds. Out came the food processor to chop and mix a balance of the nuts. At the last minute I threw into the batter a good handful of dried cranberries! Digging in my cupboard I found my long unused muffin tin and a little container of muffin cups. The recipe said it made a dozen muffins, but I got a dozen muffins + a little loaf.

They are delicious. True statement: I sampled a muffin and a slice from the little loaf. One never knows - a different pan may change the taste! Just doing my duty as official taster. The only thing missing would have been a cream cheese frosting with a dusting of cinnamon - or maybe some crushed candy canes. When my challenge is to use what I have, I’ll have to make sure I have those ingredients. 

All the muffins are safely and readily accessible in the freezer. So the frosting could be for another day?

“The more you know, the more you can create. 

There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.”

~ Julia Child

Rusty's Christmas Surprises

“I’ve saved some for you, brother dear.” Rusty’s bed was made! And there was a box on the bed. With a note: “I’ve saved some for  you, brother dear.” He noticed the made bed first ~ he never made his bed unless his mother insisted, so she must have done it. He held the box up to his nose and took a deep breath. 10 year old Rusty was happy. He’d had a great weekend at his friend’s house. He came home to his room cleaned up and his bed made. And to top it off - there was a box of cookies on his pillow. Now he’d have to figure out what to do for Annabelle. Their mother had started them on it. Every year in December, they exchanged gifts. Not just on Christmas Day, but every day. Taking a big bite out of the first cookie, he looked in his closet for his change jar. He kept it hidden in the far corner on the floor behind his boxes of soldiers. Holding the half eaten cookie in his mouth he dumped the coins on his bed. Crumbs at the corners of his mouth he mumbled to himself  “What does Annabelle like to do? It’s getting harder every year to get all these things for her.” She had a whole collection of stuffed animals arranged around her bedroom from the last three years. She’d lost interest in them, so that wouldn’t work anymore. “I can’t get her one of her fancy cookbooks. That would take all my money for one gift! Then what will I do?”

Closing his bedroom door tight, and after eating his way through half of his cookies and hiding the rest in his bottom drawer under his T-shirts, he opened his laptop. The Dollar Store! He looked through all their ads. Cake decorating supplies!! “That’s it!! She’s always wanting mom to get her own supply of baking supplies!” Rusty had found exactly what would get him through to Christmas. He didn’t know what most of the stuff was but he’d talk to the clerks to help him. There were funny little plastic things, and things that looked like folded pieces of paper, and red and green sprinkles and special tools for smearing icing. Lots of stuff!” Now all he had to do was try and get something for tomorrow!

“Christmas is doing little something extra for someone.”

~ Charles M. Schulz

Sweet Creativity

Sweet Creativity

Annabelle had worked hard to bake the dozens of cookies and decorate them with sparkles. “When did I make my first cookies, mom?” They were just finished packing them. She fussed over each one she thought wasn’t perfect. “Well, honey, when you were old enough to get up on a chair to help. You didn’t make finished cookies that day, but did a great job of putting the flour in the mixing bowl. You looked so serious!” Madge laughed at the thought. It was a memory that always made her smile. “You wanted to make cookies everyday for the next two weeks, putting on a real pout when I said we had to wait. Your dad and little Rusty didn’t help. They would have loved to have fresh cookies every day.” 

“Let’s go, we’ve got to meet the others at the Senior’s Residence in a half hour.” Madge had been keeping an eye on the clock. “Is that box coming too?” There was one box left on the table with a note on top. “No, mom. That’s the one for Rusty. I’ll take it up and put it on his bed so he’ll find it when he comes home from Mr. Sampson’s.” She put her coat on and looked out the front room window for her brother. “Good. He’s not coming.” She raced up the stairs with his early Christmas gift. “I’ll be right out, mom!” 

Madge was proud of her daughter’s creativity and was amazed at how curious her daughter was about baking. She had read all her mother’s cook books for cookie and cake recipes, loved going to her grandma’s to help with her Christmas baking and was happier browsing in a fancy bake shop than going to a movie. In a library, she could be found in the Cooking Section when other friends were in the Graphic Novel section. Madge tooted the horn. Annabelle locked the front door and ran to the car. As she got in, she glanced in the back to see that her packages were safe. “Ok, mom, I’ve got my seat belt on. I hope my cookies will be all right.” Madge smiled and patted her daughter’s shoulder. “They are beautiful, honey, and delicious.” She backed out of the driveway and drove down their tree lined street to meet with their friends. 

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

~ Maya Angelou

Cookies for Christmas ~ CREATIVITY ~ Theme for December, 2023

        Cookies for Christmas

 “Cookie’s for breakfast, yay!”

“Rusty, leave those alone, we’re delivering them after lunch.”

Everyone had been told the cookies were Christmas presents.

Annabelle had worked hard to bake the dozens of cookies and decorate them with sparkles.

The sad look on Rusty’s face made her feel almost guilty.

“I’ve saved some for you, brother dear.”

Vowing to behave himself, he slipped a cookie into his pocket!

Innocently, Annabelle told him she had seen the cookie disappear.

Their mom came into the kitchen to see what they were doing.

“You can have a cookie, mom ~ just not Rusty right now.

“Creativity takes courage.”

~ Henri Matisse

Family Special

Supper for my sister Betty and I tonight

Each of us share a love of food, especially when we have guests. Or maybe, when we go out to a restaurant and let someone else cook for us. I love them both. It is a rare treat for me to have guests in my home for a meal. This summer has rewarded me handsomely. Returning to my home province has created many opportunities to practice my cooking skills and welcome family more frequently. 

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.”

~ Anthony Brandt

Cabbage Rolls!

Every big idea is made better with food. The idea this weekend is, for many, a family gathering on this Thanksgiving. My challenge? Bring cabbage rolls, a dish I have made maybe once, on my own, in the last forty years. I approached this….this intimating challenge cautiously. But dammit! I would make them and do a good job! From cookbooks and YouTube videos, I researched what was needed. Purchased the groceries needed. Cleared my kitchen. Gathered my tools and ingredients. And then, something interesting happened. I slipped into ‘the zone’ as I cooked brown rice, chopped onions and garlic, parsley and celery, measured out dill weed and smoked paprika and made tomato sauce. Over a dozen cabbage rolls later, tucked in and covered with bacon, they went into the oven for a two hour bake. I did reserve one small piece of filling and cooked a tiny meatloaf to taste the finished product. The flavours are quite good - but I’ll wait till tomorrow to get more objective opinions.

“….no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.”

~ Julia Child, My Life in France

Afternoon Outing ~ Regina's Big Book Sale!!

Laundry, make the bed, do my exercises, feed the cat and go to the Big Book Sale. But as the morning wore on, it became afternoon. Afternoon ~ when I get kind of sleepy. My avoidance mechanism threatened. After all I don’t really need any more books. And I don’t have anymore book shelf space. They would be heavy and it’s really hot and I’ve never been there before and…….. listening to all that chatter was really getting annoying. Laundry done, no time to tidy the place ~ but that can wait ~ I’m not expecting company.

I saw the big blue and yellow Big Book Sale sign! I had arrived at the Highland Curling Club. People going inside empty and others coming out ~ bags of books leaving with them. Inside, where once were sheets of curling ice there were long rows and tables of books! Organized by author, categorized by type, children’s books, fiction, history, self help and so much more..… almost overwhelming. I wandered….picked up this book and that book….put them back. Then I thought of cook books. I pulled out the little map I was given when I arrived. Then, like a fridge magnet headed for the fridge door, I headed for its location. Right beside the Tally tables - that’s where they add up how many books you have and send you to the cashier. Do I need more cookbooks - well, these three, I do. I’ve never had one about Mustard, or about Barbecue tips, or about peppers. And they’re only small, I can fit them in …….

“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, 

but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”

~ Sir Francis Bacon

Honey Mustard Chicken and Potatoes

Online from 

'Cafe Delites for all good food lovers'

Far be it from me to alter any recipe! That is unless I’m missing one or two ingredients. In this case it was only one - mustard seed. Not to worry, the recipe also called for dijon mustard, so substitutions were not necessary. I did add a squirt of mayonnaise just to pump up the flavour. This delicious garlicky dish started out on the stove, browning the chicken and creating the honey mustard sauce. When the potatoes were added, there just seemed to be something missing…….ahh…..mushrooms. Some lovely little crimini mushrooms in the fridge were just begging to be used. So in they went. No green beans per the recipe? Not a problem. A sprinkling of frozen peas fixed that. It was a delicious late supper ~ that’s what happens when I sleep the afternoon away.

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. 

In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

~ Julia Child

Chapter Two, Episode Thirty - Old Friends - Situationally Theirs

Review, Revision, Edit and Update

Today's review was just that. A review. Could I have made some revisions? Possibly, but I had absolutely no writerly urge to tinker with this episode. 

This brings me to character development. To be believable and real, relationships between characters need to show human connection. In the midst of heavy grief, the relationship between Elizabeth and Martha seemed solid and comfortable. Elizabeth's profound grief asked for some distance, which Martha offered. 

One of the values of review, is to catch missteps. After posting, I recognized one such misstep. The original title: Two Old Friends confused the order of episodes, so I have taken two out of the title to read Old Friends. 

Old Friends

Elizabeth finally got out of bed. She was fed up with tossing and turning. Sleep interrupted by shadowed dreams. She and Lily playing in the field behind their house. Reading her sister’s letters. Writing letters to her sister. The day she got on the ship that would take her half way across the world from her dear sister, Lily. She had come down to the wharf and given her a small heart shaped gold pendant. Elizabeth woke up, holding the locket, a tear escaping one eye. “No sense in trying to get back to sleep.” Elizabeth Saunders, Cook at the Beaufort Estate, sat up stiffly, dragging her legs over the bedside. Only for a moment, she held her head in her hands. “Get up, Lizzie-girl. Get to the kitchen where it feels normal. I’ll try not to waken Martha.”

~~~~~

Martha Haverstock-Digby was confused. Where was she? The bed was warm and cosy but felt different. She could smell coffee brewing. James was up already? She opened her eyes, squinting against the morning light. Slowly, she remembered the evening before. Coming to Elizabeth, sending Samuel to James and something about fresh banana bread. Martha sat up, rubbing her eyes. “My goodness, I hope Elizabeth slept last night.”

Martha put on the robe Elizabeth had given her the night before and slipped her feet into borrowed slippers. She found Elizabeth in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a mug of coffee, reading letters. Cautiously, Martha said “Good morning, Elizabeth.” Still holding one of the letters, she raised her eyes. “Oh…..Martha…I’ve set a mug for you by the coffee. There’s scones warming in the oven.” She went back to reading the letter. She finished it, folded it carefully, and slid it back into its envelope. Stacking them up, she retied them with the maroon ribbon that had held them. “Martha. I’m done with it. This grieving, crying and sadness………” She held up her hands. “…don’t say it. It’s too early. I know I’ve said grieving takes a lot longer than a day. But that’s when it was somebody else. I just can’t live like this.” She filled her mug with the coffee that Martha set on the table. Stirred in a big spoon of sugar and some cream. “Elizabeth, that’s not like you. Oh, not the grieving but the way you’ve fixed your coffee. We all must grieve in our own way and time.” Gently she said “You might consider writing to Charlie. Your letter may be a comfort to him and would keep you in touch with his grandson, Clayton. But enough of that. Lets the two of us have a good breakfast and go for a walk. You can walk me home!” 

~~~~~

Anyone listening in, would have heard the two old friends talking over many things. What they were having for breakfast. When Miss Emelina would be back from the city. How many shifts Dr. Jeremy would have before he was out to the Estate. Whether the snow drops were still blooming. What other flowers were decorating the landscape around the Estate grounds. Anything but grieving, crying or sadness. While Elizabeth tidied the kitchen, Martha went to her room to dress and take up the sheets from the bed. The morning was lovely; damp after a light rain in the night. Everything glistened in the morning sun. They walked onto the estate, looking at the spring flowers.”Look Martha, the apple trees are lovely and green, flowers budding. Samuel should be bringing me a good crop of apples this fall.” Even as she spoke with hope in her voice, she brushed a tear away. “Dear, would you mind if I stop at the Estate and get to work in the kitchen. There should be food ready for the Dr. and Miss Emelina - I’m not sure what’s there.” Martha put her hand gently on her friend’s arm. “Are you sure? I don’t mind at all. James should be in his office - I’ll stop to say good morning to him, then go home. If I don’t rest at home, he’ll fuss at me like an old mother hen.” Arm in arm, they continued their slow walk to the Estate manor. Elizabeth would put head and hands to use in cooking and organizing. Martha would leave her friend to her grief and return home.

“You care so much you feel as though you 

will bleed to death with the pain of it.”

J.K.Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order for the Phoenix

A Quick Detour

Intimidated by a business call

I had to make about……

SC-R-E-E-C-H!

Yesterday was more fun

and tonight I’m still exhausted.

Forget intimidation!                                      

A family Zoom gender reveal party

from my from brother in Florida

bouncing from Poland to the U.K.

to Canada….It’s a girl!

An awesome 10 K walk with 

my walking buddy started out

against the wild prairie wind

masked against the dust in the air

cooked a roast that didn’t have

the taste I expected from a roast beef ~

very odd tasting gravy so tonight 

it’s thin slices for sandwiches and a beef stew.

and then there was a fuse blown

shutting out my lights, fridge and TV

along with a plugged kitchen sink drain ~

one phone call to maintenance got it fixed.

“Sometimes it takes a wrong turn to get you to the right place.”

~ Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

There's Something

There’s something about cooking

that settles me.

Using recipes with only

my cupboards contents.

Adding spice to blandness

to suit my taste.

Bubbling broth, cheese sauce, baking squash ~

aromas in my home.

Chopping, peeling, tasting, sampling ~

playing with food.

There’s something about cooking

that shows me abundance.

“Some people saw cooking as a chore, but not Lila. 

For her it was a way to express her love. 

It made her feel motherly and full of life.”

~ Bette Lee Crosby,  The Summer of New Beginnings