Ahhhh, spring.

Andy has initiated spring with this wonderful display of Johnny-Jump-Ups; his first trip to his favorite nursery.  All the plants and herbs in the conservatory survived the winter, so there will be a lot of planting going on as well as the arranging of large antique planters. Soon we will be dragging out the lawn furniture...oh, so much to do and plenty of time to do it.  Love this time of year.

On April 4th Andy and I will have been married 60 years. What a wonderful life trip we have had together.

Sunday morning breakfast

Is there anything tastier than Sunday morning breakfasts?  We had one today that was so simple but truly delicious.  It was a one skillet wonder.  First I took my trusty Cutco scissors and snipped off the end of a bacon package including a couple of inches of the bacon at the same time.  I had the skillet hot and I peeled the small squares of bacon into the hot pan adding a chopped shallot.  Once the bacon was starting to brown I put in two or three cups of frozen hash browns and stirred and mixed until I had a browned base on the potatoes and the bacon was really crispy.  I slid the contents over after giving them salt, pepper, and Sirach and slipped in three eggs in the vacant space stirring slowly until they were perfectly scrambled.  I summoned Andy and he was all in for the treat before he went outside to plant the first onions of the season.  Yes, It is spring.

We had Eric mend the fences yesterday.  I feel like we are on a ranch with miles of mending to be done.  Eric always does the job well, so the dogs may be safe for awhile although coyotes can jump a fence from a standing position just like a deer, or so I am told. I have seen deer do that.

We are not hosting Easter this year.  We have decided to go out for Easter because the following Saturday is an evening trip to Cincinnati for a much-anticipated wedding.  We figured everyone would be too busy to come to Columbus at this particular time and besides, it gives me another break from creating a couple of big meals.

Matt' s sideline sales on eBay are promising.  He and Stacy are creating a business in addition to their other jobs.  I remember when Andy and I sold on eBay.  It was so exciting, interesting, and rewarding.  It almost makes me want to go at it again, but nah; I'll leave it to them.  I am out of all businesses. 

I am into an exciting new book by James Patterson...I know, I know, I said I was done with him, but I read the blurb for The First Lady and was hooked.  Give it a try.  I am on chapter 15.Note: I finished this good book and also just finished The House Next Door by James Patterson.  It too was a good read.

Spring cleaning

The air is aroar with rug and floor cleaning.  It is time to welcome spring with a clean house. Winston is trying to bite the machines...he wants them gone and so do I.  It is a big disruption to daily life with the doors open, the machines gasping and gobbling up whatever is in their path. But in the end it is all worth it.  The grout alone in the two most used bathrooms is supposed to be white as snow...not quite. Sigh. They are working on the kitchen floor right now.  That is the most used room in the house and the floors are starting to show it. All in all, I am not impressed with the results, so it is back to the other company. The guys were nice as can be, but in the end I know what things can look like and this isn't it!

I want to tell you about the most luscious pizza to date.  Pizza Huts cheesy crust pizza with bacon and pepperoni is not only delicious but beautiful.  It looks like a flower with puddles of cheese accenting each slice.  I was going to take a picture, but everyone was grabbing the pieces before I could find my phone.  Believe me, you won't be sorry after you order this delight.  We have always been  Donatos fans, but no more.

Okay, I have to get ready for the window cleaners.  I have never seen them so dirty.  What is with this winter??? No cooking today.

Soup and fractions

As I stood at the stove this morning chopping and putting things in the fish chowder that was simmering away I thought about the time I made my first soup  It was at Sixth Avenue School in Columbus where I had a class of third graders who needed a BIG pot of soup and could have used one every day. I missed a lot back then being a new mother myself and teaching full time, I didn't see then what I can look back and notice now. These were poor children, some probably abused and some really neglected.  Others were taken care of as best the mother could do and there were caring eyes on this small group of nurtured children.  I'd say, now looking back, there were twenty-five that needed the soup as well as care. I had never made soup for thirty-five (or at all) and was afraid I would mess it up, but I set the children busy washing and chopping and stirring while discussing measurements (which were a bit of a mystery to the teacher too if truth be told.) The smell was incredible and all eyes were on that soup pot.  The custodian at my request stopped in several times that day to give advice and to taste the results.  I was stunned that you could add water to the pot without ruining the batch.  Once the recipe was followed it said nothing about stretching the soup by adding water.  That's how cooking clueless I was.  That day a tradition was started and every Monday morning something was cooking in room six at Sixth Avenue School. There are different degrees of poor.  My family had to work hard for a little bit of money, but I knew I was loved and when you are loved you can stand about anything.  Not all of this class had two-parent love or even love by one, but they were well behaved and eager to come to school. We had a lot of fun and on Mondays they had full stomachs and fractions.

Ahhh, I knew you would come

Thank God is correct! Five days until it is official, but a great relief nonetheless.

Beth has something going at church for Saturday and needs a French-inspired something that will feed 50 people for a tasting situation.  So, I have two slow cookers going with ham and bean soups that are Bistro type hearty soups. The French love their beans, so this is a perfect time to hang up the soup recipes (what recipes?) and start thinking spring fare.

Andy has started plants in the conservatory and Eric is coming Wednesday to weed and feed the entire property.  He is going to repair some fences as well, so spring has sprung here at Many Branches.

I need one more piece of clothing for my Italy trip and then I will be set for the year.  I am tired of clothes shopping I can tell you that.  It used to be satisfying and now it is a chore.
Looking at my shoe closet, I will never have to buy shoes again as long as I live.  I do think I might get a purse or two while in Italy.  I don't need them, but I do enjoy them.

I have been reading my trip journals from London and Paris and am exhausted just reading about these arduous but fun- filled excursions for buying, collecting, selling, and writing about antiques while constantly entertaining and keeping up with all I had to do. It is interesting to recall all the relationship balls that one had to keep in the air during all of these goings-on.  I was evidently lacking in that skill, by the way.

Well, happy spring...yesterday I sat 10 minutes in the sun and it felt so good.  I can't wait for longer sessions.  The dogs have started to roam again bit by bit after the coyote episode.  We keep a good eye on them and call 'cookie' if they stray too far and back they come for their treat.

I just read that John McCain's mother attended her son's funeral at the age of 106.  She had a twin sister who died but before that happened she and her sister at the age of 97 flew into Paris with the idea of renting a car and driving all over Europe as another adventure.  The French refused to rent them a car saying they were too old to drive so the ladies took a taxi to a BMW dealership, bought a red BMW and drove all over Europe and then when they were finished, had the car shipped to America.  Now those are role models!

Home again, home again

Happily, the sun is out today and it will warm up this week.  I knew spring was around the corner and here it is with a time change and everything to prove the point. Another way to tell that warm weather is coming, our happy wanderer is coming home tonight.  He's spent 3 months in Hawaii and hit Arizona and Colorado for short visits.  Mike has a ton of work ready for the gang to get to on Monday and we are off...

Carly, Brooks' bride to be, was here for a short visit.  We love her.  They are a great match. She's off to her parents' house for spring break and stopped by to spend the night.

Beth and I are running around this afternoon with stops at Trader Joe's and Fresh Thyme.  Andy's favorite store is Kroger, so he is there nearly every day to keep me caught up with supplies.

In a few days, Beth's friend is coming to give lessons with the Instant Pot.  I still have not used it since I am terrified of pressure cookers.  I know they are not the same as when I was a child, but I have seen them blow before and it haunts me still. Once I get the hang of it it will probably become a favorite too.

The only thing I will miss with the warm weather afoot will be the soups and stews.  I can get another couple of weeks out of them, but after that I will hang it up until fall.

So it is off to shop.  I will let you know if I find some things of interest at Trader Joe's.  Oh, I forgot to tell you.  Beth shopped Jungle Jim's for me in Cincinnati and that IS the place to buy the Rose shoulder hams for soups, green beans, scalloped potatoes etc.(Thanks, Carol for telling me.) Their price on this item was unbelievable. She got so many with the money I gave her I had to freeze most of them.  Remember I was buying them from Rose but to send four little hams it was $48.00??? Enough to buy 4 more hams.  Silly.  Then I started ordering them from Giant Eagle, but that store was across town, so that's out.  Now I know where to get them and there are plenty of people who will get them for me on their way to Columbus.

Another 'got you' atrocity is the tax on travel packages in Florida. The tax on these packages is enough to send another person free on the same trip.  I don't know if it is every place, but it is through AAA in Florida, so it might be wise to ask the price of tax on the package you order before committing. Nevertheless, we three ladies are ready for Italy.  It is a two week and a wedding event. We are looking forward to it.

Street market in Paris

Chat

Nate (our grandson) is coming home from three months in Hawaii.  We will be glad to see him and already he has weeks of work at the ready.

It snowed all day yesterday, yet the birds are chirping spring into place.  It is cold for the next couple of days, but it won't stop the spring thaw.  More good news, the fence is fixed after three weeks and now the dogs can roam with only the coyotes to worry us.

We are looking forward to Alex's wedding in Cincinnati next month.  It is hard to believe it is here already. Time flys on.

I have started The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker.  It's a brand new book and what I have read so far is good...not my usual fiction choice, but it seems to move in an interesting direction.

Chili is on the menu today.  I do love it and I like making it because it is never the same twice. I actually got waylaid and am making Andy's morning cereal--granola.  It is a process, but he does love it.  After 60 years of marriage, I know what the man likes. He is off to class at OSU and I will have it done by the time he gets home.  He had to make a coconut run for the granola and stopped to get me a hot macchiato to give me strength--so after 60 years, he too knows what I like. 

Beth is working in Cincinnati again this week.  She has spent two or three days a week there for several weeks helping to organize a move.  I think this may be the last week, so I am sending money with her to go to Jungle Jim's to pick up Rose's little shoulder hams which seem to have disappeared from the Columbus shelves. I hear Jungle Jim's has them.  What an interesting and large spot that is.  A group of Lechler women and I went there one time and could not cover it all in one go--it's acres. Beth is meeting some of these women for dinner and to pass on Alex's (our niece) wedding gift.  It is heavy and unwrapped.  Have you ever tried to lift a Kitchen Aid stand mixer let alone wrap it?  Alex and her husband to be have finished med school and are awaiting Residents assignments.  What a pair!

Well, enough news, I am off to make the chili.  Have a great week.

Andy's breakfast fuel

Yea! It's March

You can't know how excited I am to see March (even though we woke up to snow).  March is a sign that spring is around the corner.  So happy.

Also, Beth and I are going to New Orleans in May for Alyssa's first bridal shower.  We are staying at the Claiborne Mansion again...I do love it there. I will welcome the heat of New Orleans for my old bones.  They will be grateful too.  Alyssa is in Italy right now firming everything up for the destination wedding. I have a feeling we will be going and coming from New Orleans several times before this is over in October.  Angela, Johnna, and I are also firming up plans for two weeks in Italy. So things are hopping and spring is coming.

In April Andy and I will have been married 60 years. (Not a mistype) 60 years. I have a feeling a party is on order.  Can we cram anything else into this new year?

Mike is going to see Madeleine tonight and I am sending a big pot of green beans, ham, potatoes and corn.  Also some ribs.  Matt will be good and hungry I am sure.

Fence report:  Still not fixed three weeks later.  Other than that, all is well..  I will not write that too big, I don't want to start anything.

The forever learner

Things are looking up today.  The sun is out and none of our trees blew down during the wind storm that lasted into the night. I am optimistic that things are on the mend.

As you know my husband is 83 and still attending classes at Ohio State.  Yesterday he had a test.  The average grade for the class was 78; my husband's grade was 93.  He's still got it!

Well, A Star is Born only won best song.  What a waste for it should have gotten it all.  The Green Book??????? What the heck? I did not watch because that event has turned so mean and political and compliance demanding that I can barely stand to read about the antics that some of the men, especially, get up too.  Spike Lee for one! Remember too Kanya West hopping up on stage and taking the award out of Taylor Swift's winning hands? It was a different event, but all the same inappropriate. 

Oh well.  That's over until next Sunday.  Seems like every Sunday night the stars are dressing up and patting themselves while demanding our approval for bad behavior.

Carlsbadcravings blog had the most delicious recipe and picture for Mongolian beef today.  I started writing down the recipe but had to stop for a nap.  Good heavens guess I'll skip making that one. Detailed but I am sure very tasty.

A treat for the scholar

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A Star is Born...don't miss it

Well, if this isn't enough to make me cranky, I don't know what it would take.  The wind has howled all day like a banshee.  Trees are falling like sticks and we still have a fence that is not fixed from three weeks ago...nice neighbor. What is with this winter?  I will be so glad to welcome in March!

I just realized that Alex's wedding is in a couple of months so I tried to buy her a nice gift on Macy's site where she is registered.  I could have walked to the store from here, picked it up and carried it home (not really) by the time I found the tiny bag with the red star to check out.  I never did get it checked out because it said my bag was empty!  When I went back to retouch the Kitchen Aid mixer, it had been sold...RIGHT sold to me now let me pay for it.  Well, I gave up.  Maybe another day. Sorry, Alex.

Posy has kidney stones.  The vet sold me some dog food that is supposed to dissolve them if they are the correct kind of stones.  At the rate I am going it will not work and that would mean an operation.
Even the dogs are having a time of it.

Thank God things are not as bad as they could be. Some people have it a lot worse.  Just venting.

I watched A Star is Born.  I loved it!  It was such a great movie.  I am reading The Edge of Lost by K. McMorris, the author of Sold on a Monday. And, I have a soup kitchen going.  There is always a pot of soup on the stove or in the slow cooker.  It is a comfort.

Alyssa is going to Italy Wednesday to secure everything for the wedding.  Johnna, Angela, and I have secured our trip to Italy which is turning into a two-week event with the wedding in the middle. The travel insurance for someone my age is ridiculous.  I said no and that I just wanted insurance in case I could not go, so they cut it in half.  What are you going to do?  I used to travel without it hundreds of times, but now, I don't want to take the chance of losing my money if I can't travel. I am having fun buying my wardrobe for two weeks.  I think I am almost there.

Tips from The English Kitchen Blog

Tips from The English Kitchen (blog)

SECRET TIPS FOR ADDING EXTRA FLAVOR TO YOUR RECIPESHere are some other SPRUCE UP ideas! Next time you are cooking and you want to add that little touch of something extra try adding these . . .

BALSAMIC VINEGAR - add to your spaghetti sauce. It will taste like your sauce has been simmering all day long.

CELERY SEED - to barbecue sauce. This is a trick I learned from my mom. It adds a fresh green note, even to sauces which have been stored for weeks.

CINNAMON - Add to your chili. The sweetness of cinnamon is a perfect counterpoint to hot chili spices.

COCOA POWDER - add it to bread dough the next time you are making rye bread. This is the secret that bakers use to make their pumpernickel so dark. Try adding about 2 TBS of unsweetened cocoa powder to each loaf. IN addition to rich color, it also adds a nice bite. I also add some cocoa powder to my gingerbreads to give them that nice dark color that is so desired in a gingerbread. Start by adding 1 tsp.

COFFEE - add to chocolate bakes. Coffee amplifies the taste of chocolate goodies. Add a splash to cakes, brownies, hot fudge sauce, and the stronger the better. Try using espresso if you have it.

HOT SAUCE - add it to your cheese sauces. Just a few shakes of Tabasco sauce can make all the difference between a cheese sauce that is just humdrum and a cheese sauce that sparkles with flavor! This is a trick that also works to add flavor when you are making creamy and rich Guacamole!  

LEMON JUICE - add to creamy spreads and dips. A squirt of lemon juice helps to brighten the flavors in sour cream and cream cheese spreads, no matter how good they may taste without it. Try it, and you will see I am right.

LEMON ESSENCE - I always add a half tsp of lemon essence to my baked goods along with the vanilla. I'm not sure why it happens but they always taste even better with just that little pinch of lemon essence. Trust me on this!

HORSERADISH - try adding a tablespoon of horseradish or mustard to your beef stew the next time you make one. It makes a beautiful difference!

NUTMEG - try adding a subtle grating of fresh nutmeg to your muffins batters and bechamel sauces. Just a tiny pinch will have people wondering what your secret touch is that makes your muffins and sauces taste so much better!

OIL - a bit of oil added to your pasta cooking water helps to keep your pasta from clumping together and from sticking to the bottom of the pot. I also think it helps to keep the pot from boiling over, but that could just be my imagination.

PAPRIKA - when flouring pieces of meat, fish or chicken in preparation for frying add a generous dash of sweet paprika to the flour along with the salt and pepper. It helps to give color without altering the flavor. I also like to add a bit of garlic and onion powder and sometimes celery salt.

SALT - always add a healthy pinch of salt to the cooking water when you are cooking potatoes. They actually absorb more salt from the cooking water than they do when you add it later on, so you may actually reduce your overall sodium intake by adding it while cooking rather than later.

From the English Kitchen