This and that

 I had forgotten the blog The English Kitchen and revisited it today. She posts every day and she must have gotten a new camera device because the pictures are so much better than before. She always has good common recipes that can be made by anyone who can read a recipe.  She loves potatoes and has glorious pictures and recipes featuring the potato, but do not miss her other recipes. She has a really large cookbook out with a bad index but tons of wonderful recipes.  She cooks for two but writes to do this or do that if you are serving more people.

We are planting flowers like crazy people. We are also happy with the progress of Nate's new fruit orchard.  The deer have found a new path to the creek and only appear once in a while in the back yard and we shoo them away.

The pool looks glacial and has never looked better.  Once we get things arranged I will post some pictures. I hope we can have some family here for a swim party day when it warms up and all the renovations are complete outside.  We have ordered a whole house generator to be installed.  Since we are planning to stay here in our old age, we are installing helpful items that will aid us as we age.  I hate it when the electricity goes out, so I am glad to have this device in place soon. Thank you, Mike and Nate.

Bless you, the readers here in this blog.

Where the Crawdads Sing is a movie coming out June 2022. I can't wait.  It is one of my favorite books. Don't miss this good read.

 

Cauliflower gnocchi

 Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi is a new product for me and I am putting it in an unusual stir fry; no recipe as usual, just adding and tasting as I go along.  It is pretty too until it gets overcooked which I hope doesn't happen. But I am writing this blog while it is working on a slow stove.  I have to set timers now days because I forget what is on until I smell something, hopefully, it is a good smell rather than the other kind. (I just tried a spoon full of the gnocchi--too doughy in this dish, but fried crisply might be better although I won't buy it again.) I am not knowledgeable about gnocchi, so I will leave you with that.

Note: I tried it again and again and could find no trace of cauliflower, just miniature dumplings. It is a BIG no for me.

All about beef

 OH, look, it's beef for dinner today. Beef, beef, beef! The beef will go in the slow cooker with wine potatoes and carrots...the multi-colored carrots from Trader Joe's.  Andy and I made some rounds yesterday and went to Joe's and Carfagna's. We are stocked and ready.

The ducks are back and have taken their morning swim in the new, clean pool. Bella went nuts running around and around the pool but they paid no attention to her. Finally, she realized it was breakfast time and gave up, they swam on. They have not come here for two or three years because of Winston and Posy. Those dogs were relentless in their quest to guard the property. But now they are gone, sadly, and Bella is left to protect us.  She does her best as do we all.

The rain is so gentle this morning and the air so clean. This is a favorite morning here and I appreciate having it. There is also the scent of BEEF in the air, something else to look forward to several hours down the road.

Here's the beef!

What's next?

 

Epicurious stops the publication of beef recipes... Every morning when I get up I find another pleasure has been taken away from the American people or threatened to be taken away if radicals have their way. And, their way is prevailing on many fronts. I am not sure how many people read Epicurious now days, or if ever, but it provided the means for a head shake and a what's next from me this morning. I bet the Drummond family from the Pioneer Woman franchise is nervous; cows are very important to that empire, and Ree Drummond is very important to Bravo.

Flowers are still allowed, however, maybe they will just ban the edible ones. Sigh.'

Our yard was full again yesterday with four men opening, draining, and replacing the pool liner which was supposed to last seven years and lasted seventeen and still did not have a leak. Watching paint dry and watching the pool fill equaled excitement for the day.  It will take another couple of days to get where it should be but it is looking spiffy.

We started filling the big planters yesterday.  Lowe's had the best selection but we are keeping our eyes out for the other store's offerings. I think we will go out again today because what we bought is sorted and planted.

I have to tell on Andy.  He turned the soup on high and walked away.  I came into the kitchen to steam and a ruined soup pot...my favorite one. I will forgive him if he takes me flower shopping today. We are going to have to watch that stove thing.  It is so easy to get distracted with everything that is going on in this world.  It is one distraction after another. That's why I walk around with a timer.  It keeps me alert and watchful.

Good luck today. Maybe buy some beef.

Frost and flowers

 It's Friday and Andy and I are going to run around.  We lost some flowers during the frost...surprised?  We always do, but that does not stop us from going after more. We have discovered ranunculus, a spirling circled blossom that comes back every year and is a great cut flower that lasts in water for a good length of time.  Brilliant flowers and my new favorite.  I discovered these in Paris and used to buy bouquets of them for the apartment there so that I could enjoy my stay even more. Here in Columbus they have flourished during two touches of frost and are still standing, being the only ones. The name is difficult to say and spell, so I hope I have done it justice. I will try to find a picture to show you.

I think we need to go to Trader Joe's today too, but Columbus is now on unrest mode so one has to think about where it is safe to go. We, as a nation, have lost our minds and God surely must be fed up with us.

 

In person shopping makes for a good salad result...Nice outing and we didn't get shot.

favorite products

 About once a month, Andy and I take a drive to Plain City to visit the Cheese Shop in Amish country. Each trip I find a new untried product and rekindle some that I had forgotten about.  They also have great pepper bacon, cold cuts, and cheese bread. The last time I stocked up on their hot sweet pickles which are paper-thin packed with a welcome punch.  I even use the juice from the pickles in the anti-pasta salads that I make for Andy and Beth. That's Hershburgers cannery Hot Sweet pickles. Yum.

Last time I rediscovered the mini marshmallows that are perfect to use in the Rice Krispy squares that I like to make if I know when Madeleine and McKenna are coming to visit.  I missed the mark yesterday with their surprise visit to announce a new addition is on the way...Owlett, if it is a girl or Cat Boy if it is a boy. (Madeleine's suggestions.)

Also special and in jars are delicious pickled cauliflower, sweet baby corn, and corn salsa...all good in the anti-pasta salad.  I tend to throw everything in this dish and then pour the juice from the baby corn or cauliflower over to just make enough liquid to be absorbed in a short time.  If it needs other ingredients I don't hesitate to put in cheese squares, Genoa salami chunks, and even cooked pasta rendering it not the anti-pasta salad, but still good. There are no mistakes with this salad, I think I have added just about everything I see in the fridge at one time or another.  One new addition is the fresh, raw cauliflower pearls right out of the bag.  It gives the salad a nice crunch.

All is well on Many Branches and repairs and renovations are still going on.  I try not to leave the property because when I do, Oakland Park Nursery will be my destination and it is STILL too early to plant the containers, Doris!!! Don't ask me how I know this.

  

Easily entertained

 Last night we had the most delicious Chinese take out.  I had given up on Lucky's on High Stree under new ownership.  Beth had a client that raved about Hunan Lion on Bethal Road, although if memory serves me, I think there is also one near the Sanctuary where Mike once owned a house. We had four different main dishes and each one was scrumptious. The egg rolls were a bit different and not to my liking, but the other food was wonderful and well packaged and still warm, neat, clean and we will now have a new Chinese treat to look forward to, usually on Sunday nights now days.  Gone are the Sundays when the entire Lechler family gathered for a feast after church. We are now spread all over the place.  Well, change happens and we make do.

Something exciting is happening tomorrow!  After more than 25 years of weak signals Spectrum (once Time Warner) has heard my pleas and a new system is closing down Cooke Rd. while the changes are being made.  No more fading Internet, or ribbons over a show on tv that I wanted to see, they finally realized that we were paying the same amount of money as those homes receiving good signals.  One line, the mainline, crosses Cooke Rd. from our house to the house across the street.  The squirrels treat that as their bridge and stop along the way to nibble the wires.  Now the wires are in tatters and the reception is really bad. Just add that renovation to the list from yesterday and also the still-to-be-done work around here and know that soon we will be good as new. I am a happy woman.  (Doesn't take much to entertain me now days.)

See the big picture

 Wow! Who said retirement was slow and easy? We are in the throws of repairs and maintenance and do we have the good guys who know what they are doing.  Johnny spent a week on the roof alone and says it will last another 83 years.  The chimneys are point tucked, and the entire area is power washed and the tennis court is next on the agenda. (Oh, and a new liner for the pool goes in in a few days as well.)  The old liner was to have lasted 7 years and it lasted 14 years, so we got our money's worth.)  Then a full house generator is going in for when the electricity goes out which is a few times a year and then I kind of lose it.  I just don't like it and I don't know why.  I must have sundown syndrome. We are preparing to stay in this home in our old age and a very ugly stairlift is now sitting on the stairs.  It is handy and useful, but it is not quiet or pretty, so I waited as long as I could before getting it.  I still use the stairs unless it is a really bad day, but there you have it.  Getting ahead of the game is the answer. The bright spot is going to Oakland Park to pick out the plants for the season.  Two big containers have very hearty herbs, big enough to add to a frittata on Saturday--they do make a difference in a dish. We jump the gun with the flowers and pay again down the road, we just can't resist.

We had a lovely group of family here for Easter.  Kathy showed everyone pickleball which is a new game for the tennis court..new to us.  When the repairs are done the man said he would add the lines for pickleball to the court and then we will have a pickleball tournament one day soon with family. It will be a pizza party and later in the day a grill out.  I am done with the lavish big parties.  It is exhausting, but fun. I now know my limits.

I love spring.

62 years

 Count down to Easter. My fridge is weeping for space. Strange as it seems that big Sub Zero lacks space and I don't know what is taking up all that area for it certainly isn't inside usable space. I heard the Sub Zeros can really cost now days...can it be that one is $18,000? I bought mine in 1997 and I am sure I did not pay anyways near that price.

Later today I am taking the beef tenderloin out of the freezer and letting it thaw in the fridge. Then I will be generous with the salt and pepper while it is marinating. It is a beautiful piece of beef from Carfagna's and since it is special I have waited for special people to visit with us and celebrate our 62nd wedding anniversary and Easter. Have a lovely day.

What is going on?

 What's going on here?  The driveway is full of trucks and they are not here for a party.  There is a cherry picker in the front yard because John is redoing the chimneys...no small job, but he is methodical. The pergola is being repaired and spray painted.  Joe and Glenda are hoping we can play cards under that on Sunday between feasts. I fed the workers chicken and noodles and mac and cheese with pepperoni, cheese bread, enhanced oyster crackers and slices of a sweet treat. It will be a long day. Oh, the slate roof is getting cleaned and the bricks are getting power washed. Well, that's enough of that.

I have two tables ready for Easter but I still do not know who all is coming. Never mind, I'll be ready.

I am looking for another good book, and some good tv in the evenings...so far, not so much.

At least it is warm and spring is here.

Help is on its way!

 Yea!! Tomorrow and the next day we will be happily inundated with workers. There is so much to be done although Eric left things in great order at the end of the summer. These are things we have had to do for years at this time of year. The difference is there will be a cherry picker involved. The chimneys need point tucked. And, they need a wire cap on the opening because we have visitors, especially in the spring.  Unwelcome, but they don't care; this is home to them too.

I feed the workers. Always have. So they come hungry and I intend to be ready for them with pork, potatoes, and carrots, and, Amish cheese bread. I can't give them the cheese bread croutons--Andy would not like that a bit.  He is very possessive when it comes to homemade croutons. I should have something sweet, but by now you know that door seems to be closed for good. No matter what I see in magazines and on the food network, I cannot make myself bake! Oh, I just thought.  I have a chocolate Babka in the freezer or I have little cakes that could be used in bread pudding. (I never used bread in that, just something sweet because the stuff I pour over the chunks of cake is delicious.) It is so easy and not like baking at all, except you do have to put it in the oven. lol) I can manage that.

We have bouquets of daffodils all over the house. They line the driveway, they are in the secret garden, and hover inside the hydrangea patch. Nate has bought and planted a fruit garden with three apple and three nectarines trees. I must admit, we have NO LUCK with fruit trees. The deer ruin them and it is so sad because the trees really want to be here. He also planted a dawn redwood..no fruit on that hardy tree and it will get to be a hundred feet tall, but I won't get to see that.

Better get busy, twelve people will be here Easter Day. First time in a year. I have the ham from Carfagna's. Carfagna's is moving from route 161 to Polaris. It will be a grand big store a bit like the one in New York that Lidia of public tv fame has. I like her show on Saturdays, but it is only half an hour for some strange reason, but, leave it to public tv they might pull it and have some infomercial going on in its place for three weeks! Don't get me started on that!