Sunday nights, and cozy days

I have grown very fond of Sunday night television.  At 6:00 on public television Downton Abbey is on for an hour.  Then Victoria came on after that and showed several episodes including the newest ones. I know it was after 11:00 when it was finished and I watched every second. Sadly the final one for the season is next Sunday and it seems it has just begun.  I don't understand programming. I am, however, grateful for WOSU and the shows they present. I know there are many more to come on Sunday nights.

I finally struggled through the latest Patterson book. Very disappointing, but then some might like it we can't all have the same taste.  I am determined to finish the newest Lee Child's book and it is another struggle. These two authors might want to hang it up.  They have had a good run. I just ordered Stuart Woods latest, said I wouldn't but I did and I read over half of it today.

I have two new products to figure out how to use. I wish I had not bought them, but I did so I am going to learn how to use them.  I have the pressure cooker/slow cooker.  I am still afraid of the pressure cooker but I could not resist the price slash, so I fell for it. This winter when I am trapped in the house and things are cozy and the fireplace is blazing, I will give it a go and probably fall in love with it.  Who knows? The other is an induction cooktop which looks to me like just another hot plate.
I will work on it.  Maybe I will find a big use for it when we have large gatherings.  But first I need to practice.  Next time something new comes on the market, stop me.

chocolate swirl brioche

I think Paris every time I find this euro classic French chocolate swirl brioche.  Last night I rediscovered it and it is just as soft and pillowy as I remembered. I used to get it at The Anderson's but that store has been gone for years and now high end apartments are being built there.  It looks like hundreds of them. 

Beth and I ran to two stores last night and Whole Foods was one.  I keep getting disappointed in Whole Foods because I remember it when it was really special.  The store had plenty of business and many empty shelves, so someone is buying there.  I am just not one of them.  I remember having a winter open house and I bought all of the desserts there.  It was an array like I have never had before out on the three seasons porch.  I kept the desserts there for the party so things would stay cool and perfect.  People were over joyed as they wandered out to the porch to select a beautiful tart or a lovely slice of cake.  It was a difficult decision because it all looked scrumptious. My favorite was their pear tarts; large or small, perfect.  The store had been open a short time and every department was one to be visited.  Sadly, I was eager to get out of there last night.

Fresh Thyme is the second store we visited last evening.  There are several locations in Columbus and we went to the one that is hidden in Worthington.  I would never have known it existed, but Beth knows where everything in Columbus is located. That's where I found the brioche products. I am not a chocolate lover, but I cannot resist this chocolate swirl brioche.  I will have it all to myself because everyone here is on a diet.  I will get to that, but not until this is gone. After all, the first wedding isn't until the end of April.

Andy's garden

The last of Andy's big gardening has just gone into the oven.  Butternut squash will end not only the summer but the plot that he has tended for 32 years here at Many Branches. He has decided on container gardening from now on.  He likes to putter around and has tried several vegetables that grow successfully in a container, so that is what is going to do.  The weeds got the best of the big garden along with the wild animals that cut through the property on the way to Adena creek.  (They even eat the tomato plants!

I am not too fond of the wild animals at this point; they maul my dogs and eat our produce and I am glad that not one has been seen since the mauling of Winston. Also on a warm and sunny day like today (1/5/2019 the dogs roamed the acreage.  Now we have to have a guard out there at all times because harm happens fast.

We have not heard a word from Nate the traveler.  We have no idea where he is.  He is a grown-up, so I am sure he can take care of himself.

We are so happy with the weather so far this month, Mike says Ohio is turning into Florida.  I hope your 2019 is turning out well.

Oh my, delicious warm from the oven.

Naan

  

I remember the one and only time I have tasted Naan, it was 1979 in London.  My mother, a friend of mine, and her mother were in London for a study tour of England.  My friend suggested this restaurant and I could not get enough of Naan.  Now that I have a two-ingredient recipe, I am about to rectify that.

It was 1979, that trip that launched my collecting and dealing in antiques and powered the many trips that I made to London and then Paris. I can count on one hand the food that I have tasted and chased and Naan is one of them. It only calls for self-rising flour and Greek yogurt.  That's it. We don't have one of those special ovens and neither did the woman who put this recipe on line.  She just fried hers in an iron skillet and that's what I will do too. (You will find the simple details on the Gunny Sack Blog)

Spring has come early to Columbus.  It is a beautiful day for January 4, 2019.

Dull girl here

I have come to the conclusion that I am too pedestrian for Netflix.  I have watched several of its offerings and have enjoyed most of them.  Sooo, today when their top ten list appeared on my phone and I had not watched one of those movies that they had offered, I was eager to get started.  Roma was first.  Turns out I had actually watched one half of the first part.  It was slow going to get to that part but when a full frontal man jumped around flinging this way and that as he pretended to be a Ninja warrior or something, I gave up and crossed Roma from the list.

Sunday's Illness was next.  There was a lot of pausing and staring in this one, but when she killed the sick bird and started to bury her healthy dog, that was about my length of patience with that one. That's two out of ten, the first two.  Annihilation is next and the name does not make me want to go there either. The fourth on the list Ballad of Buster Scruggs--I'm shaking my head because I see no promise there.

I guess I'll go back to my own choices on Netflix and let the cool gang have the list of top ten.  I actually just finished the entire season (s) of Wanted.  It was a bit Thelma and Louise, but kept me interested and wanting to see more.

I am not cooking today at all. Andy has gone off to buy us something prepared by hands other than mine.  I am lazy today and wanted a good movie.  I bet I can find one on Netflix just not one in their top ten.  Several million watched Bird Box the first week and it actually broke a record of some kind.  I don't think I can watch that one either.  I am hopeless. 

Lunch and a movie

Beth and I are off to lunch and a movie today. She had a very late night last night, so she will probably nap through the film.  I, on the other hand, watched the full monty of Dirty John on Bravo on Demand. It finished at exactly 12:00 so I said 'rabbits' and went to bed.  (That word if said right at 12:00 New Year's Eve is supposed to bring good fortune for the new year.) I am hoping that includes no dog mauls or old age maladies.

Tomorrow starts salads days.  I am tired of them already, but hey, Italy beckons.  Mike bought doughnuts today for the last hurrah, but I don't have a sweet tooth (today) so I can pass them by. Popcorn and a movie, however, sounds great.

Andy and I were watching the Rose Bowl parade and OSU marching band never catches a break.  They were on less than 10 seconds and an ad for Trader Joe's knocked them off.  After all their hard work and expense to go out there, they were hardly noticed.  It is the same way with half-time OSU games. The yappers come on and nanny us to death and we never get to see the band.  Those students work as hard as the team and get hardly any recognition unless they toot their own horns. There should be a movement... that is to move off the yappers and show the half-time band show on TV. THEN, if there is time, let them yap.

The elegant egg

You can turn almost any ingredient into a frittata, it is the most elegant and forgiving dish there is in my repertoire. Yesterday I showed you crack bread and today the left overs were toasted in butter in the skillet with hash browns, prosciutto, herbs, eggs and cheese and flipped as a glorious, delicious frittata. A dish perfect for any time of day or evening that can be prepared in minutes and slipped into a preheated oven for the most glorious results.  I have never had the exact same ingredients in one frittata that I have made except for eggs--you really need those. lol

Andy and I are quietly seeing the new year in as usual.  We really don't care for New Year's Eve parties any more.  Everyone seems to try too hard to have a good time, and maybe they do and I just don't realize it.  I don't, however, think in all the parties I have hosted that I have ever had a really successful New Year's Eve party. But parties we will have and enjoy in 2019.  Andy and I will be married sixty years in April and Joe and Glenda were married one month later than we were, so we will have some kind of celebration I bet. Then the weddings start and we are off...

Have a lovely 2019.

 

Crack bread

When I have a big dinner or party I usually forget to serve several dishes.  Christmas Day was no exception.  I was in rib roast mode and forgot the bread.  I had a nice oval loaf from Trader Joe's which I should have cut diamond slits in the surface and filled in between with cheese, butter, and herbs for pull-apart bread which is wrapped in foil and put in an oven for it to absorb the cheese which melts to perfection.  Oh well, Matt and Madeleine are coming over today, so I will fix this for them. These pictures are from Recipe Tin which is a good food blog to check out every once in a while.  Hopefully, the pictures will stay on, but you never know on this blog what you can or cannot have. Try it, you will be a fan.

Pictures from Recipe Tin

Beef and noodles

I have been brave today and I dealt with the hunk of prime rib in the fridge.  Andy will be happy with beef and noodles today.  Beth and I will enjoy them as well.  Everyone, however, is going on a diet January 2nd so we must get the goodies out to skinny people so they can enjoy the fruits of Christmas Day.  I have a large pot of roast's bones with vegetables making a lovely stock that can be frozen if there is too much to use in the next couple of days.  It is a scrumptious pot and it is full of trimmings, bones, herbs, onions, and vegetables that need using. The lovely rare pieces are snug in the fridge for sandwiches and stir-fry and other assorted delicate goodies. I feel relieved that that business is taken care of--now to the sweets. What to do, what to do.  If only we had a sweet loving family.  What?  We do? (Me?  Not so much.)

We have a warm day coming tomorrow and I am thinking of getting someone to deal with the last of the leaves.  They are driving me wild. Then there are the decorations to be taken down and carefully put away.  That's a sad thing to me. I love the lighted porch and the trees in different rooms.  Oh well, hopefully, there is 2019.  We surely have a lot going on during that new year.

Mike comes home tomorrow.  We missed him during our festivities.  Nate is...where? Not a word.

Rich beef broth with Amish noodles, waiting for the prime rib slices.  That's lunch.

Passports

I am renewing my passport today in anticipation of Italy in October.  Many changes have gone on in the realm of passport pictures.  You can now go to CVS or Walgreen and they will take the picture for you but, YOU CAN'T SMILE. It's more like a mug shot now: mouth closed and not smiling, eyes looking straight ahead, eyes open, eye glasses glare not to be present, horizontal/vertical face position...11 factors to be considered before the machine will print the picture.  Then you take all matter of paperwork to the post office and I bet there will be something forgotten.  Oh well, it will get done and Beth and I are going to have lunch out so I don't have to open the fridge and see this giant roast shaming me into doing something else with it.  I will get it done, but not today.  I have lovely bones from this roast and they are more interesting to me; I'd rather consider what to do with those than that hunk of succulent meat.

We woke up to an ethereal sight this morning, the trees were all covered with frost and the air held fog.  I love the look of the backyard when it looks that way.  But, the sun has shone and now it is just another December day.  Do you know this December is the first time in 823 years that there are 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays and 5 Mondays in a month? (The Chinese call it A Bag Full Of Money) Here's hoping the money comes our way.  Happy New Year.

Note:  The postmistress told me the reason you can't smile for a passport is they can't get a good read on the eyes and they need the eyes for identification recognition.

What a lovely time we had

We had a great Christmas even though some of our kin had other things to do.  Last night we went to 6:00 church and sang our hearts out.  It was so inspirational.  Then we had a nice dinner out and finished up about 11:00. We were bushed, but happy. Today the family elf  (Beth dressed the part) was busy as we cooked and ate, and opened packages and cooked some more.  I had a 9 1/2 pound standing rib roast and I thought it would never get done.  Seems as though my thermometers banging around in the drawer might have caused a misread.  I think from now on we will order in Chinese. (The roast was fine and really good, but...)  Beth and Alyssa are such great help Alyssa printed out pictures for our albums from the phone, helped me renew my passport on line, and firmed up some details about her wedding in Italy. Andy got three new hats to add to his mounting collection, so he was a happy man. Everyone seemed happy with their gifts and now it is done, thank you, for the season.

Nate has started his wandering and it is always a surprise to see where he ends up.  Mike is still with Adam in Colorado and they are skiing today, Christmas day.  Brooks is about to fly home to prepare for his deployment. Beth is going to see him off early in January.

Winston is doing well, but he is cranky.  He and Posy get into it pretty often and it is disheartening. They are getting old, but look young and spry so their set-to(s) are serious. Oh well, if that is my only problem, then I have no problems.

It's time to wish all of you a Happy New Year.  I am so glad 2018 is coming to an end.