Is it bath day?

Into three weeks without a hot bath or shower.  Today is supposed to be the day, but it is 4:00 and they are not here yet.  I am beginning to get cranky.  The computer man, the pest control man, have all been here today, but where is Columbia Gas?

There was a nice gentle rain today and that is when baking lures me away from trouble into the kitchen.  I took a yellow cake mix, dried apricots diced, and a 1/2 bag of coconut, along with the regular things on the box plus a large spoon of sour cream.  It created a beautiful loaf cake or maybe a sweet bread, whatever...it was great.  Andy has had two pieces so far.

Bubba on the roof

You cannot imagine the month of July and early August at Many Branches.  We have been without Gas for three weeks therefore we have been without baths, showers, hot water of any kind and men running in and out of the house like ants to a picnic.  Yesterday, after 10 hours (in one day) the Water 'Works guy, Jimmy, declared that we were cleared to have Columbia Gas turn on the gas, but, it was Friday, after 5:00 with the week end ahead soooo we are still without gas, but at least it is fixed without them tearing up the front yard. The first inkling of 'condo' had registered in my mind and palm trees waved hello in the background. Owning a home is expensive as you all know and rarely without something needing doing. But, this is the first time the condo vision appeared on my horizon.  Now when I think of Bubba on the roof, refusing to come down, the vision becomes more clear.  Columbia Gas insisted we put a cap on the last of three chimneys so I called a 'specialist' who works on restoring chimneys and brick work etc.  Bubba said he would come out to look at it for $89. First red flag.  He came and gave us a price but RUN  Doris RUN, kept coming to mind.  Nevertheless, I ignored it and hired him to come on Wednesday. He came in a regular truck and I wondered where the tall ladder might have been carried, but let him proceed. (Run Doris Run) He got a ladder out of his truck that did not look like it would do the job, (and it didn't) but he was a professional, maybe even magical.  The next thing I knew he was on the roof but when I looked out the ladder was a one and a half story ladder leaning against a three story house with a slate roof.  How was he to get down?  He didn't get down.  He put the cap on and told Andy, my husband, to call 911 to get the firemen to come and get him off the roof--he was not going to get down.  A few minutes later four men and hook and ladder truck and a police car came to Cooke Road to get this guy off the roof while shutting down a lane of Cooke Road to accomplish this. Bubba was not, however, too scared to pick up his check which he insisted on having the check in his name rather than the company name.  So, I surmised that he was moonlighting with the company's truck, name, and equipment and therefore the company never actually got the money.  I called the company the next day...guess who answered, yep, it was Bubba. I was going to report him to the owners, but he was smart enough to by-pass this call.  I may get to it yet, after the other crisis is taken care of.

Needless to say we have been eating garden gifts for three weeks--corn on the cob and every way else one can think of to use corn; peaches from the outdoor markets, sliced tomatoes and squash from our garden...not so bad when you think about it.  We will be okay and I am trying to beat down the condo picture and the vision of a on-call handy man.

Cook's Corner if filled today

 I look forward to Wednesdays because it is the day The Columbus Dispatch has the Cook's Corner section for our pleasure.  Today is one of the best and I will give you some of the recipes that look enticing.  A series of pea salad recipes are given.  I first tasted pea salad very late in life when my husband's sister, Mary Alice, brought it to an event here at Many Branches.  I begged for the remains like a dog begs for kibble. I have found, also late in life, that some family members hate peas.  Can you imagine?  I remember my mother and aunt sitting on the porch shelling peas and sharing gossip.  It was a comforting sight because I knew a delicious dinner was approaching.  Mother made the best-creamed peas and new potatoes every spring. Followed by creamy stewed tomatoes and corn on the cob.  Many times there was not a piece of meat or fish in sight and neither was missed. I take comfort in these thoughts today as I have been fighting Columbia Gas Co. for over a week.  It is exhausting and it spoils the summer for me.  Oh well, stuff happens.

Pea salad
1 10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup diced celery
1 cup prepared ranch salad dressing
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1/4 cup diced green onions
1 cup chopped cashews
1French's crispy fried onions, for garnish which is optional
Combine all ingredients. Chill. Garnish before serving.

Creamy pea salad
2 cups frozen or fresh peas
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cup salted peanuts
 8 ounces crisp fried and chopped bacon
Blanch the peas and drain.  If frozen, rinse peas and drain.  In large mixing bowl combine the cheese, red onion, mayo, salt pepper, peanuts, and bacon. Top with peas and stir until combined.  Chill.

Pea salad

2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup unsalted redskin peanuts
1/2 cup Marzetti original slaw dressing.  Combine and chill.

There was also a recipe for Unforgettable Buffalo Chicken Casserole which I need to try.  If it turns out, I will give it here.

Have a great Wednesday.

Boo Columbia Gas of Ohio

I have no cooking or family news at this point because I am fighting with Columbia Gas of Ohio, except they are not fighting, they are silent.  So I have written a detailed letter to: Customer Service at Columbia Gas of Ohio, no response at all;  Clinton Township Trustees one of whom acknowledged he was passing the letter on to the members; The Columbus Dispatch editor whose Business Editor contacted me within thirty minutes; and the Public Utilities Commission just an hour ago.  I waited a couple of days in between letter sending to allow Columbia Gas to respond (we have had no gas for over a week; physically, one might consider that a good thing  but in this case...not so much.) Phone calls are not even picked up and the few that are causes us to be in a loop being sent here, then back, then to another and no one has any paper work for this address or any answers to the problem.  It is just as bad as dealing with the city. The TV channels are next, 10 and 6.  They always like a good fight even if it is one sided. Thank God it is summer and we don't need the heat.  There is always a silver lining.
I hope your week is better than ours.

Cabbage

When ever I want to lure Beth home I say cabbage.  She and I like it anyway it is presented.  A new favorite is pepper bacon, peppers, and vegetables from the garden.  Sliced tomatoes, corn on the cob and yippie dinner is served to the two of us but not the other three. (This picture is from the English Kitchen, with thanks.)  She does such a good job with her recipes and pictures.

 Then there is peach cobbler for dessert.  Every Saturday during the summer Andy comes home with a basket of peaches.  We have them every way except in cabbage.  There we draw the line.There is also two dozen ears of corn in the bag and this time it is white.  Little sweet pearls march up and down the cob and when tasted squirts of deliciousness pop and drip.  Not a pretty sight, but there you go; it's summer.

Can you believe it is the 23rd of July?  It seems the summer has just begun and now on TV they are selling Christmas.  Makes me uncomfortable.  Why can't we just enjoy one event at a time instead of looking ahead while missing every essence of the here and now? Well, I for one will not be putting up a tree anytime soon.

Fish, corn on the cob, sliced tomato salad, and peach cobbler...that's today's menu. Have a great week ahead.  Hopefully, our lawn will be torn up by Columbia Gas this week.  We have had it with the cold showers although they have been refreshing (don't tell them that or we will never get the job done.)

Pickled okra...yum

I love potato chips but a close second is now pickled okra.  I can eat it straight from the jar, chopped up in eggs and bacon, on a starter tray,  in corn off the cob, there is no place in savory food where pickled okra would not be welcome as far as I am concerned.

I am off to fight Columbis Gas today.  I thought my battles were over, but noooooo.  When you own property you own trouble. Even pickled okra won't make me happy right now.

Another summer favorite:

Shades of Paris markets

  Black berry cobbler.           

                   
We have two really good outdoor markets that I know about.  The one in Worthington is very large and diverse and very well attended.+  The one in Clintonville will find Andy standing in the peach line because he is a peach to do it and because the peach man grows really good peaches.  Good enough for a line which is the envy of all the other stall holders.  However, while Andy stood in the peach line the picture shows what I was doing...I really went to town on the fresh produce and fruit that was offered on this spectacular Saturday.  I won't do it in the muggy heat, but the breeze and the sun made the crowded affair worth every step.  I took my Paris red cart and shopped while Andy waited for his turn at the peaches.  He will be there every Saturday until they are gone. I will be there when the weather is just right, like today.  The blackberries were thimble sized and they are now in a cobbler in the oven.  The sweet corn was perfect and there a dozen ears ready for the taker.  We have used four dozen ears so far this season and all have been tasty.

I thought of the outdoor markets in Paris as soon as I stepped from the shaded car into the fray.  Carts, and dogs, and babies, and hand holders--it's an event as the couples stroll with their coffees through the crowded market. The cut flowers were glorious and the sunflowers were as big as luncheon plates...had to have a bouquet to mix with my mop head hydrangeas.

This place won't let me put a picture on now...But there is one in the post before this one. Just scroll down after this post.

Saturday market finds

He's a fruit cake...lover

Have you even known a man who loves fruitcake?  Well, I have one.  It may be his German heritage, or the memories of his mother's stollen, I don't know.  It is just that he will pick up that fruitcake at the Dollar Store if he sees it! It sends shivers down my spine when I see that in the grocery bag thinking what on earth holds it together and how does it keep so long?  SCARY.

Today I received one of the Australian Women's Weekly magazines that I ordered from Amazon.  I wondered how they were still publishing that glossy wonder every week money wise.  I think I have received part of the answer.  They cut the size down to pocketbook size but kept the glossy, rich look and content.  Andy was thrilled to see the issue, reprinted in a small size, of Christmas Cakes and Puddings.  It is filled with the most luscious fruitcake pictures and recipes that simply make me want to rush Christmas...and I NEVER want to rush Christmas. In the back of all their issues is a chart for conversion of dry, liquid, and helpful measures so that we can have the success of these lovely delights. I adore this 'cookbook' as they call it.  Chuck full of wonders.

I am devouring Mariah Stewart. She can write those beach novels where you know exactly what is going to happen but still wait with anticipation, and then she can write the most hair-raising crime novels that you have seen in print. I have read 20 of her books so far and there are probably 20 or more left.  I will be so sad when I reach the end of her offerings.  I love my Kindle and it is so refreshing not to have to wonder how to get rid of the books that are read.  The library is overflowing here, so it is pleasant to have found a solution and Kindle Paperwhite is it. (And, it leaves more room in my cookbook library for more cookbooks.)

Have a great week-end.  It is one of those gentle rain days here that make me want to bake.  I leave the kitchen door open and move around the kitchen in a bubble of contentment.  Life is good.

Beth is away this week end to Brooks' Ranger School graduation in Georgia.  What a man to have gone through the rigors they put the men and women through to achieve this goal in the preparation of keeping our nation safe. Bless his heart.

Plans-a-poppin

Booked, scheduled and assigned.  All seven northern women are ready for the frivolity in New Orleans the second long weekend of November. ( Now all I have to do is stay on foot and alive to enjoy it.)  We are looking forward to a non-stop flight to Nola and comfort in the luxury of the  Claiborne Mansion. Cleo, the owner, has given us 'birthday rates' because she liked Andy, Mike, Adam and me when we stayed there one November and she is also looking forward to meeting more of our family.  We have most of the main house and are secretly hoping we are her only booking for this time because sometimes we are a bit game-time loud but not reckless. I am looking forward to those Meyer lemons that are as big as softballs and sweeter than any lemon that I have tasted.  Her tree is loaded with them and she sent me home with a large bag of citrus delight.

This is a really busy summer with Stacy and Matt's wedding and the holiday celebration here at Many Branches the day after.  Matt and Stacy will be well on their way to a honeymoon, but the family will celebrate the occasion and Labor Day the day after the wedding.  There will be more showers and events before the wedding so there is no lacking of events in our lives this summer. The Cincinnati Lechlers have booked hotel rooms to stay over the night of the wedding (because all of our beds will be full) so they can zoom into Cooke Rd. for an all day affair.  Mike and Beth are hosting the rehearsal dinner and those plans are perking at the moment.

Writing about lemons, I noted David Lebovitz's recipe for ginger tea and thought it might be good in a gin and tonic as well.  I'll try that this week. Thank you, David.

Fresh Ginger Lemonade

1 quart (1l), about 4 servings

I like mine with lots of ginger so I use the larger amount indicated, but feel free to use either. If you think you'd like it less-sweet (although I don't find this too sweet), you could reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup (65g). If you wish to use a liquid sweetener, such as maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar in place of the sugar, I'd try starting off using 1/3 cup then tasting it, adding more if you wish.

2 to 3 ounces (55-85g) fresh ginger, unpeeled

3 cups (750ml) water

1/2 cup (100g) sugar

1 cup (250ml) lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1. Cut the ginger into thin slices (no need to peel). In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar, and ginger slices to a boil.

2. Remove from heat and cover. Steep for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Strain the ginger pieces from the sugar syrup and mix the ginger-infused syrup with the fresh lemon juice in a pitcher. Chill thoroughly. Serve with plenty of ice.

Ode to corn on the cob

The last of the 4th of July festivities and the events thereafter are now in the distance and corn on the cob is on my mind.  Pam gave me a de-stringer for corn which works very well.  It's a simple brush that is well constructed and with no fuss does the job with a little elbow grease.  There are several corn recipes in Cook's Corner today and some I have made variations of and some seem interesting enough to try.  We have gone through about four dozen ears of corn since the season started and we are finding it delicious this summer.  However, I have rarely found an ear of corn that I didn't like.  Some used to say if you are walking from the field with a load of corn and an ear falls to the ground, leave it, just rush to husk the bounty and leave the droppers because by the time you go to pick it up it won't be fresh enough. As haughty as we are about food and recipes nowadays, that seems even more extreme to me.

We had a summer place on the river in my hometown.  It was a wreck when my parents first bought it many years ago.  So bad that there was a handled pump in the front yard which was not discovered for several weeks as the area was cleared.  My mother, Elizabeth, was a master at fixing up and decorating a place.  I remember going with her to Zanesville to the wallpaper store, yes, a store just for wallpaper, go figure.  We got into the odds and ends bin and bought nearly the entire bin to decorate the Spook House...called the Spook House because Pearl and her sister Edna were known to still keep house there even though they had long departed the planet. Paint was a must and so all the trim in the house was white and all the rooms were wallpapered.  I was teaching at the time and Andy and I and our boys would go down on weekends to get the place ready and to sit in the sun to tan.  One day I asked Mother if I could bring my class down for the weekend and of course, she agreed that would be fun for the kids.  I had talked about the Spook House so the kids were prepared for something dark and spooky but were surprised to find a cozy ,pretty, old house on the river to enjoy a weekend of fun and fun we had!

Another adventure at the Spook House took place every summer for four or five years.  Andy worked with a man who grew corn in a big way.  Once a summer he allowed Andy to take our station wagon to the field and fill it with corn on the cob.  We loaded the family and off we would go to the Spook House where Mother would have a fire going outside with pots of boiling water and tables covered in paper, and knives for getting the corn from the cob, and bags and coolers--it was a big production with everyone getting their fill of corn on the cob before the work took over.  We froze the bounty and lived the experience all winter long as we consumed the corn. (We did the same in cherry season and the Cincinnati Lechlers were a part of that adventure.)