Bond, Butterfly, An Apron and a Meme

OK, so this was a bit of a big weekend for me. I didn't cook a damn thing. And dinner tonight, although fairly tasty wasn't anything terribly exciting and so there's no food being posted today. Instead I'm going to let you know what happened this past weekend and fill you in on my ideas about Thanksgiving. And yeah this one's a little long, so you may want to go get a snack or something.

First this weekend I went and saw Madame Butterfly at the Michigan Opera Theatre with my best friend T. I'd like to say we had a lovely time and really enjoyed ourselves. Butterfly is actually one of my favorite operas and although this is the first time I've seen it live, I have seen it on PBS. Really PBS is a great place to catch an opera. The singing was absolutely beautiful as the Michigan Opera Theatre usually has a good show. The scenery was another story. The entire opera was set in the house that Pinkerton buys for himself and his Geisha bride Butterfly (Cio Cio San). This house is supposed to be up on a high hill that faces the ocean. The problem was there was a walkway set high up on this hill for the actors to get to the house. From our fairly cheap balcony seats, it was difficult to see what action was actually going on on that walkway. Mostly we could only see mid-calf and below of actors on that walkway. Memo to opera scenery group: Test out what the balcony people can see when designing a set. The other problem was that people continued to be sat for the first 15 minutes of the opera. While I understand that unforeseen circumstances happen, I just don't get how people can feel justified crawling over me to get to their seats because they just couldn't get to the opera anywhere near when it actually started. And this happened a LOT on Friday. My friend and I got climbed over and missed a bit. The people in front of us got climbed over and we missed a bit. And two rows in front of them got climbed over too. Then the guy behind us started opening bags of potato chips (we know because he littered the opera house floor with them). My friend T. and I came away really discouraged with how inconsiderate some people are.

OK, so sorry about the rant. Then we went and saw the new James Bond movie and all I can say is Daniel Craig is freakin' HOT. Like sizzling hot. Before I was uninterested in him as James Bond and now I'm regretting not actually having watched Casino Royale. Oh yeah, and if I had watched Casino Royale I might have a better idea about the plot of this one. I really liked the pissed off, butt kicking Latino woman too. And I thought the villain (Mr. Greene) was nice and sniveling. The naked girl drenched in oil was slightly reminiscent of the gold girl in Goldfinger, but overall there really wasn't enough sex. It's a Bond movie for crying out loud. There's supposed to be loads of sexy scenes. Have I mentioned Daniel Craig is dreamy? He's bumped Matthew McConaughey for the top spot in my head.

Also at my mom's this weekend I made a pretty fun apron.

Here's a lovely photo of my mom modeling it. She's trying to look domestic. Even though she doesn't cook, somehow we always get photos of her in the kitchen. You'll have to check Mom's blog for a photo of me. She does wash dishes. Unfortunately, my stepdad (who does the cooking) had to have surgery today. He came out of it just fine, but now he's got to deal with my mom and her ubiquitous stir frying until he's fully recuperated. They do have a plan for Thanksgiving though. They've ordered it from Bob Evans.

And finally, Amanda has tagged me for a Thanksgiving Meme. I'm not sure who has time to do it with all the cooking coming up, so I'm not tagging anyone specifically, but instead I tag people generally. If you'd like to do it, go ahead!

1.) Which do you like better, hosting Thanksgiving at home or going elsewhere?

Um I used to like hosting Thanksgiving in my home, but given the number of people I'd have to invite if I hosted, I'm now preferring to go elsewhere.

2.) Do you buy a fresh or frozen turkey? Organic? Free Range?

I buy whatever is cheapest and not injected with anything. Which most often is frozen. However I just learned last week that most of those frozen turkeys come from somewhere around here so I may find a fresh one next year.

3.) Do you make stuffing or dressing? What kind?

I make this Betty Crocker stuffing. And I love it.

4.) Sweet potato or pumpkin pie?

Neither. I don't like pie. I did make a pumpkin mousse one year. Pumpkin ice cream is good too.

5.) Are leftovers a blessing or a curse?

Blessing. Definitely.

6.) What side dishes are a must in your family?

Salad. I just don't understand big family meals without a salad. I'm just weird that way.

7.) What do you wish you had that might make Thanksgiving easier?

A Viking 6 burner stove. Or a turkey baster.

8.) If/When you go to someone else's house for the holiday, do you bring a dish? If so what is it?

Um. Salad. And wine.

9.) What do you wish one of your guests would bring to your house?

Booze. There's always room for more booze. Or pie. Other people seem to like pie and I'm pretty bad at making it.

10.) What do you wish one of your guests would NOT bring to your house?

Olives. I hate them. They give me the heeby jeebies.

11.) Do you stick with a particular menu from year to year, or do you mix it up?

I go with how I'm feeling. There's no hard and fast rules except that one about having to have salad.

12.) Is Thanksgiving a religious or secular holiday in your home?

I think it's both. We celebrate family (secular) and we definitely thank God for our blessings.

13) Share one Thanksgiving tradition.

I have no Thanksgiving traditions. Unless you count thanking God for my blessings.

14.) Share one Thanksgiving memory.

When I lived in Chicago, I didn't go home for Thanksgiving because I was on a budget that didn't afford trips home. So I would cook Thanksgiving dinner for any of my friends who also couldn't make it home. One year, my friend Scott, my friend Amy, and I had Thanksgiving. There was far too much food to all fit on the table and we pulled up a coffee table and filled that full of food too. We ate and drank wine and laughed ourselves silly for hours. It was the Thanksgiving that taught me that friends can be a family too.

15.) Name 5 things your are thankful for.

-my very sweet and oh so sexy husband who I love very much.

-that my stepdad is going to be just fine.

-that my baby sister Super G. is a math teacher and that she helps me with my homework all the time.

-my very supportive family.

-that I have everything I really need.

First Annual Dinner of Giving Thanks!

Today was the First Annual Dinner of Giving Thanks. It was delicious. My mom and step dad, my sister M., and Grandma joined the Brain and me for dinner. I've decided this is going to be an annual event on the first Sunday in November. It works out good because it's smack in between the Canadian Thanksgiving and the United States Thanksgiving, and after all Canada is just across the lake from us. (Which would give me foreign relations experience, except I can't see it from my house.) But I digress.

I liked this way better than holding a Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday. Number one is Christmas. My third favorite would be my birthday and there are only 68 shopping days until then. But this was better than Thanksgiving itself because there's no drama about having to invite family. Whatever family was available could come. Maybe next year I'll invite friends. Mom was put to work making gravy and bringing a pie, but there wasn't any rules about having to have cranberry sauce or sweet potato marshmallow casserole. I figure we'll get all those traditional side dishes when we go off to the real Thanksgiving dinner. And I'll have recipes in the next posts.

But doesn't it beg the question that shouldn't we have dinners of giving thanks regularly? Shouldn't we stop and take a moment to realize how fortunate we really are? It's not necessary for us to cook a turkey (although I do love the leftovers) and get dressed up and drink heavily and endure having to be around family (I'm speaking in generalities here and not directing the remark at any of my family in specific). But really when the economy is so bad and so many people have lost their jobs and are facing dire situations, wouldn't it be a good idea to sit down and think about what a multitude of good things we do have?

My Fridge, of A Place to Hang Things

So Wendy over at A Wee Bit of Cooking had a Fridge Door Competition. And she's posted the roundup today. And I am just plain goofy sometimes, because although I managed to send my photos in on time, I did almost forget to post about the roundup today. So go over to Wendy's at check out some really neat looking refrigerator doors. Apparently most people do not plaster their fridges with junk like I do. Wendy also has a really cool blog so you may want to poke around on it too.

Here are the photos I sent.

The top photo is actually the side of my fridge. It is plastered with the photos of the many many nieces and nephews and godchildren the Brain and I have. There's also a couple photos of us up there. And one of Han Solo and Princess Leia. There's also our engagement announcement from the paper, a letter from a nephew, a timer, a love voodoo doll, and a sourdough starter recipe.

The bottom photo is the front of our fridge. Here you will find another photo of a nephew, a drawing made by a very sweet little girl at our wedding (which I love because in the drawing I tower over the Brain and I'm skinny, and he's got hair). There's also some artwork of a different nephew and a godson, the menu plan for the week, a schedule of when assignments are due in classes, some save the date cards, and a religious card given to me by my 6 year old niece.

I didn't show the other side, there's just spare magnets over there. Actually what's really frightening would be what's on TOP of the fridge. Or even what's behind it. But I"m not taking photos of that.

Life in the Country

When I agreed to move to Nowhere, Ohio, I knew things would be different. I had lived in big cities (or the suburbs of big cities) all of my life. The smallest town I'd ever lived in was Ann Arbor, Michigan and that can hardly be called a small town. I have to admit, if I didn't love my husband and agree with his reasoning, I would have never ended up here. But let me tell you, small town life has some serious advantages.

For example, I have a garden here. This year I planted seven tomato plants and I now have probably 10 more "volunteer" tomato plants. I've rediscovered my love of beets and turnips as well as the simple joy of taking a plot of land and through a little work (very little on my part this year, but I have an amazing husband) be able to produce food. Like where there was dirt in the spring, there are now zucchinis and cabbages and onions and chili peppers. I'm also able to have fresh herbs any time I want them because I'm not restricted to growing them in pots on a window sill.

And then there's the county fair.

Growing up I thought that county fairs didn't really exist anymore. I mean they were the stuff of Judy Garland movies. Or Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Let me tell you people, county fairs not only exist, but they are a whole new world for out of place city girls like me. I love going to the fair. And not just because of the "fair food". In case you were wondering, batter dipped, deep fried cheese on a stick is a very bad idea that took me a week to digest. So what do I love about the fair if it's not the food?

It's the animals. There are cages and cages of chickens.

I love this one that looks like it's wearing a fancy hat. It reminds me of Cloris Leachman. She's hilarious! (And it's rumored she's going to be on Dancing With the Stars! Yippee!)

And prior to this year, I'd never touched a cow. Really people, when would I come close to a cow living in the Metro Detroit Area. Or Chicago? It's not like they take the El. So this beautiful bovine head was sticking out of the dairy barn and I walked right up to it and patted it's nose. I should also mention that after living in Kansas City and discovering that cows are roughly the size of Buicks that I'd been hesitant to come up to anything that big and that dumb. And I know they kick, but do cows ever bite? I have so many farm questions. Eventually we decided to go into the dairy barn and see all the enormous cows. I wish I'd taken a photo because that apparently wasn't a cow, but a bull for sale. Another myth shattered. In my head bulls are black. And have nose rings. And snort a lot. And are fairly dangerous. They're men for crying out loud. Think raging testosterone. I didn't think bulls had pretty eyelashes and look like something you want to pat and say "How Now Brown Cow!" to.

Which brings me, finally, to the main meat (hee hee) of this blog. So what was I cleaning out the freezer for? The Grand Champion Market Barrow Hog! Woot! Yep that's my hog. The one with the spots.

It's currently taking up 2/3 of our brand spanking new chest freezer. And we still don't have the feet, or the bacon, or the sausage links, or the 30 pound ham the Brain tells me we're getting. What the hell am I going to do with a 30 pound ham? Could I refreeze that? I supposed I could have some holiday meal here, except I don't think I could fit the number of people it would require to eat a 30 pound ham in our cozy little house. I wonder if I could bring it to a pot luck. Maybe I'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

But wait! There's more! Sometime this week, I think tomorrow actually, we're getting this here lamb. Yay! I will no longer have to travel to Michigan to get ground lamb! And all those delicious cuts of lamb that I hesitate to buy because they are so expensive will be sitting happily in my freezer. I have decided this must be the best way to buy lamb.

I'm not sure how exactly these county fair livestock auctions work, but it's something like this; some little kid's parents buy a baby livestock, then this little kid is in charge of feeding and taking care of the livestock. It's some program called 4-H which I think is like the farming version of scouting that also allows both boys and girls to participate. I'm fairly clueless on that one. So over the course of the year these kids take care of the livestock and help the livestock be the best it can be. The Brain had sheep and he told me you have to walk around with it on a leash enough times so that the sheep will follow you wherever you go. Then you have to be able to pose the sheep so it's showing off it's muscles the best. The Brain also had cows, but they ran away. (Cows on the lamb! How silly.) Eventually, the kids take these livestock to the fair and they get judged on how good the animals are.

Then they take these livestock to this auction. The auction is fun. They make the poor little kid stand in front of a fairly large group of people. Mostly a crowd of parents and local business owners. The parents have by this time sent out emails to all their acquaintances saying "buy our livestock! Little Joey has a goat in this year's auction!" And of course there's photos of little Joey with his goat. So people bid like crazy in this auction so little Joey feels good about raising his goat well. Meanwhile little Joey is standing up there looking like he's going to wet his pants. I really wish I had a photo of the auction. The little kids were hilarious. There are kids who are smiling ear to ear. There are kids who look like deer in headlights. There are some really scared kids. And then there are the older kids who try to stand there and look cool. Once a person, or more likely a business (if you win the grand champion, you get your photo in the paper and it's good advertising), wins the auction, that's apparently the premium price. Then the person or business has the option of buying the livestock at the predetermined market price or they can say no we don't want a freezer full of pig and they send it off to market. It's a really neat process. And why I don't need to buy meat for the rest of the year. Yahoo for small town living!

And the winners of my prize giveaway are Mrs. White and Amanda! Email me your addresses at marylonz at gmail.com.

The Lady Wasn't There

In case you were wondering where I've been.... Yes, I've been on the annual family vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina. With all of my in-laws. In one house. Yep. That's 11 children, and 10 adults. Before you break into a cold sweat. It's a very lovely, very BIG house. And the children are all great kids. It's a nice chance every year for the Brain to spend time with his brothers and sisters and their spouses and for everyone to take a little time out of otherwise very busy lives. But we're back now. And it was back to frying donuts this morning.

Besides being relaxing, there were some exciting points to the trip too. We got to stop in Columbia, South Carolina and spend some time with the Brain's aunt and uncle who are really great people. We stopped by on the way back because we had such a good time on the way down. We also got to meet two of the Brain's cousins and their families, that I've never met before. It really was a fun time. We also got to spend a week with my newest little nephew. He's such a cutie!

The other exciting thing the Brain and I did was to spend the day in Savannah. We took a "trolley" bus tour which was hugely informative and a lot of fun. We saw beautiful old houses and landmarks like the home of Juliet Gordon Lowe (founder of the Girl Scouts). And we went to see Savannah's great lady. You know who I'm talking about. I'm talking about Paula Deen. The woman who I watch and drool over. The woman who's cookbook I so desperately want to buy, but I don't because I would be hippo sized if I ate food like that. Her food is for naturally bone thin people who have a light speed metabolism, and my metabolism is more like molasses in January. I may never cook her food, but I figured just once I could go eat at her restaurant.

Oh Lordy it was good. It was SPECTACULAR. I had these lovely fried green tomatoes. Yes, the food of the South. It was an appetizer. The Brain had ordered the buffet and went to wait in line behind about 100 people and I really had to restrain myself when these deliciously tart tomatoes arrived. I had to sit on my hands after tasting the spicy red pepper sauce and Vidalia Onion relish. Otherwise, by the time the Brain finally returned from the buffet, there would be none left. I did manage to be fairly dainty and not lick the plate when I finished.

I also have to say Paula makes it glaringly obvious that I can't make a biscuit. Well, I make biscuits like a Yankee of German/Irish descent. Hard little white lumps. Paula's biscuits were crispy almost on the outside and yet so fluffy and steaming on the inside. Unbelievable. I wonder how many sticks of butter there were in there.

For lunch I indulged in the pulled pork sandwich. When I lived in Kansas, I would drive past a barbecue joint every single morning. You have no idea how enticing the smell of pork in the morning can be. When I moved to Kansas I had no real idea what barbecue even was. But after living in Kansas, I craved pulled pork. Just so you know there is no real pulled pork in Ann Arbor or Indianapolis. But there was in Savannah. Of course, I knew that South Carolina barbecue was different than Kansas City barbecue. Fortunately I discovered, thanks to Paula Deen, that I like them both. My pulled pork sandwich was so delicious that although I was way full, I ate it all. I licked my fingers. My pulled pork cravings have been satisfied for the next couple of months.

Paula and the boys weren't there, and I don't think I was the only person who was asking for her. After eating there, don't be surprised if I try to cook Southern food. But I'll probably try to do it without a stick of butter, some bread crumbs, and mayonnaise.

Greek Week: The Tragic End.

What happens when the entire town of Nowhere, Ohio loses power at 3am on a Sunday morning and doesn't regain it for 3 hours? Pretty much the donut fryer is Screwed. Yes that's with a capital S. See on Sundays I fry by myself. I don't have any deliveries to worry about, but I do have the after church, I want my donut NOW and it better look good crowd. For church going people they can be pretty testy. Now, the store opens at 6. So the donuts have to be done and beautiful by 6. This doesn't happen when the power doesn't come back on until 6. And that church crowd? They get pretty annoyed. And in case you're wondering what happens to yeast donuts that are already proofed and ready to fry when the power decides to blink off for a considerable amount of time, they shrivel up and die. Yep, they lose the will to live and nothing, I mean nothing brings them back. The morning did have a couple high points; using the light of my cell phone to pull some donut rings out of the sizzling fryer in the dark to prevent them from burning (I was worried about fire), and the packing up and hand filling of 10 dozen donuts by flashlight because the customer had already paid and was picking them up at 6. And after working from midnight to 1:30 this afternoon on 3 hours of sleep (and producing some very pathetic looking donuts), I came home, showered and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I'm going in at 11 tonight, so now that I'm awake, it's time to go back to sleep.

The Brain had McDonald's for dinner and I might have a handful of blueberries or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Please forgive me that Greek Week has come to a sudden end. I can tell you that I learned a bunch from this experience. I learned that the library is a useful place to check out cookbooks that you might not have even thought about previously. I learned that I really like the Greek cuisine that doesn't have that icky bechamel sauce. I've learned that Greek cooking requires the use of a surprising amount of olive oil. And I've learned that sometimes it's a really good thing to try out a different culture. Even if it's just for a brief moment.

Fruits of My Labor

Remember how I was saying I got this ridiculously fun, but hard work job of frying donuts? Well this lovely assortment of donuts, all made by me, is a mere sampling of my handiwork. Yes, this is what I get to be surrounded with while I'm working. I'm a lucky girl.


My physical therapists are also lucky. Because they're getting this lovely assortment of donuts. And to top it off, Wilma the Knee has decided to regress so I'll be in physical therapy for much much longer. They probably will get more donuts. Wilma has decided to continue to swell and cause me pain (which I faithfully report on a 0-10 scale, 0 being pain free and 10 being agony. Today is about a 4 1/2.) The doctor says that I'm still in the normal range for recovery, just at the bottom of it. So I am no longer allowed to ride my bike, work out, take long walks. It's highly annoying. No working out means no eating donuts. Shoot.


So while I'm pretty much laying on the couch icing and elevating (again) while I'm not at work, I've taken up a new hobby. Partly because interesting TV dies around 2:00. I've begun to knit. I'm currently looking for something cool to knit so that I can buy some of the buttons on this website. One of my physical therapy team members (yes, I have a team) just had a baby. So I made her this cute baby beanie and old man style cardigan sweater. The set is modeled by the oh so lovely Travel Bear.


Don't worry, I'm still cooking, it's just hot here and I thought you might like to see what I've been up to.

Curse my need to be usefull....

So Tuesday, I decided I was going to be useful. No more of this lying on the couch with the leg up in the air. I wanted a clean house. I need a clean house. I didn't even mind cleaning the house. So there I went straightening things up. Doing the moderate sized mountain of dishes from this month's Daring Baker Challenge. Changing the bedsheets (no simple task when you're not allowed to kneel). Doing the laundry.

Damn laundry. The washer and dryer are in the basement. Now perhaps you may remember my basement stairs. I would have to travel down these basement stairs to do my swiftly accumulating pile of laundry. And I did. The Brain has been wonderful enough to do laundry for the last 6 weeks and I figured it was time to give him a break. I can do stairs. I've been doing stairs like a normal person for about 2 weeks.

Finally the day started to draw to a close and the brace I have to wear started getting annoying (it does that). And I still had on my super grippy trail running shoes and I rarely wear shoes in the house. And really I was ready to head back to the couch even though the house wasn't completely clean. But I decided to get that last load of laundry first. So down the stairs I went. In an acrobatic leap.

Really.

See I'm 5 feet 8 inches tall. I'm taller than the average person was when the basement was dug out. Because of that, on the last step I have to duck my head or get smacked with the wall of the back of the pantry. SO I was walking down the stairs, being careful, like I'd been all day, and I thought to duck, which you'd be amazed how many times I forget, and it all went terribly wrong.

In my ducking I stopped paying attention to my feet and I sort of almost missed the last step. Half my foot got it though and my ankle went sideways. What followed was a panicked flailing of arms and flying laundry basket as I tried desperately to regain my balance or at least not fall on Wilma the Knee. Wilma is fine. My physical therapist checked her out good and she doesn't think I damaged my graft at all. whew. Thank You Jesus! I do have a sprained ankle, an enormous bruise on my behind, some wrenched muscles in my back, bruises on both my arms, a scrape on one arm, and a sprained wrist. We're thinking of decorating the basement in bubble wrap.

Not to worry though, I drove up to Michigan for the last opera of the season, La Traviatta. It was great. Especially the death scene. So now I'm at my mom's and my grandma has sent over a cane for me to use. And I hope you all don't mind, but I think I'll be taking just a little break while I'm up here to recuperate and let the bumps and bruises heal. Don't worry, I'm not damaged bad. I'll most likely be back on Monday.

Where Have I Been?

I have overdone it yet again by making the Daring Baker Challenge and then driving up to Michigan to go see Puccini's La Rondine at the Michigan Opera Theater. The opera was beautiful and the employees of the Michigan Opera Theater were the most wonderful and accommodating people to me. (I had to go back on the crutches for a bit). So I had a great time, but now I'm dealing with a lot of swelling and haven't really been cooking. I will be posting tomorrow though so stay tuned!

So for now, I'm spending my time looking at my unplanted garden. We picked up our tomato and pepper plants (both jalapeno and bell) and some rosemary and basil plants, plus I have last year's parsley and sage. So I lay here on the couch surrounded by my soon to be garden and I'm waiting for the two weeks before we're sort of out of the frost danger zone. Come on planting season!

Some Fun Stuff

So, I'm still not cooking, but I have some interesting stuff to share with you.

The first, and I should have pointed this out a while ago when I first found out, is that I am not the only Shazam in the kitchen. I'm not even the first. There's Calamity Shazaam in the Kitchen. She and I both visit this particularly funny blog from Massachusetts. At first I didn't tell you about her, because I was stupid and I wanted to be the ONLY Shazam. And then I realized that she had the name first and I was embarrassed. And now that I've become a somewhat habitual lurker on her site, I'm even more embarrassed I didn't spread word of her because she's really really funny. So please go check out Calamity Shazaam. I promise she's worth it.

Then I thought I'd also share with you the Potato Song, which, maybe it's the drugs or maybe it's the artistry, fascinated me so much that I had to play it twice. This lovely piece of performance was found on Amanda's blog, Mrs. W's Kitchen. You should also check out what she can do to deviled eggs!


Then this lovely bit of fun is from Batter-Splattered, another blog I lurk on. You can find out what type of donut you are. This is me...

You Are a Glazed Donut

Okay, you know that you're plain - and you're cool with that. You prefer not to let anything distract from your sweetness. Your appeal is understated yet universal. Everyone dig you. And in a pinch, you'll probably get eaten.

What Donut Are You?

Seriously. I'm drooling on myself now. Could be the drugs. Or it could be all the marvelous types of fish and recipes to go with them she's got on her blog. It makes me wish we could even fish for the humble Lake Erie Perch or Walleye right now.

And finally, go check out my lovely friend Lisa's blog because not only is she just fabulous, but she's got the roundup for the WCC challenge going. And there are some fantastic looking foods to make in your pressure cooker, slow cooker, or dutch oven right now.

A Couch With A View

The "less is more" concept does not apply to Percocet. Well, not to Percocet and my knees after this latest surgery. See Vicadin makes me ill, unfortunately, so I don't get to experience the wonders of it in recovery. Well, it would make for a tough recovery. How do you keep your knee from swelling while sticking your head in the toilet? So I'm on Percocet. I'm not finding it terribly effective. I could probably write a tome on the different kinds of knee pains I'm experiencing, but frankly that would be a bit of a downer and nobody can really do anything about it so what would be the point. So a very nice friend of the Brain's who has had knee surgery before pointed out to me this morning when he called that perhaps I should take the 2 every 4 hours instead of just the 1 especially if I'm not really feeling any effects of the one. I should also point out the bottle says take one or two as needed every four to six hours. Well they're still not killing the pain, but this is definitely more fun.

So let me show you around my view from the couch...

This is my foot in the lovely sock that the hospital gave me that has rubber grippers on the bottom. They gave me two pairs because they happen to be really really nice people. My other foot and leg are somewhere in the pile of the wedding quilt that my mom made for me and the Brain. The big blue thing is an icy water pack. Thus the nozzle and the little towel to catch the leaks.

These are my bears standing guard because I am awake. If I were asleep they'd be down on the couch with me. The "white" one is Bear. I've had him since 1986 (I'm not telling how I old I was then, but it was probably too old to get a stuffed animal.) The brown one is Travel Bear. I got him from the Brain this Christmas, and I'm definitely too old to be getting a stuffed animal. But they are good bears and they stay out of trouble.

This is everything I need. Well with the exception of my mother in law and the Brain. I can safely say that I need them too. But everything else is on the coffee table and keeps me occupied, safe, relatively comfortable, and hydrated while I'm all by myself. Yep, there's the get well card I got this morning with the fluff magazine and some chocolate bars. I have to say that I think Jennifer Lopez is seriously beautiful. And I spent a frightening amount of time trying to decide which parent those twins look like more. (This was after following M's advice to up the amount of Percocet I'm taking.) Also on there is my cell phone with a new alarm set for when I can take more drugs and the home phone all charged up. There's also the empty soup bowl and Easter napkin from the homemade corn chowder I got to eat for lunch. My wonderful mother in law made it for me and the Brain came home and heated it up. ((It was really really good too!) There's also my glasses, Diet Coke, Sprite (in case I get nauseous), aspirin to prevent clotting, Percocet, a pen and paper (to write things down I want to remember), and my Life is Good water bottle. The beautiful yellow mums are from my friend the Queen Geek, and the pretty Hydrangea plant is from my sister in law. Oh yeah and there's the thermometer and the the Robitusson.

Now here's the area between the couch and the coffee table with the rest of the necessities. Here's my crutches, so I can move around if I have the energy to get off the couch. and a hair brush that I've pretty much given up on using. (I have no idea how pioneer people did it, but going 5 days without a shower is torture for me. I don't smell because I'm washclothing off every day, but boy do I feel gross.) Here's where my current selection of library books are too. As well as another fun magazine and a fleece in case I suddenly get shivery.

So why would I get shivery? And why wouldn't I have any energy to get off the couch? And why do I have a thermometer and Robitusson on the coffee table? Because I can never do anything small and managed to catch the flu. Yay me! I'm such an overacheiver. But at least we know I won't be pushing myself to do things I shouldn't be doing yet. Like walking.

And really I can't complain. I'm really blessed that although this is by far the most painfull knee surgery I've ever had, and I have the flu, and I'm completely dependent on other people, that I have wonderful and loving people taking care of me. I'm not alone. And I'm not living far far away from my family. These are things that make the whole thing a lot better. And I have you commenters who are expressing so much support. I'm really really blessed. Thank you.

Hello my Lovelies!

So I'm not going to be doing a lot of cooking for the next couple of weeks. I'm pretty much on couch rest until April 4th (at least). Fortunately I have a lot of backlog. It was a sucessful knee surgery though. They seem to have fixed all the problems, but I can't put hardly any weight on it and I'll be on crutches for a while. Like a LONG while. It also hurts like no pain I've ever had before.

SO let's take care of some old business shall we?

Laurie at Quirky Cupcake gave me a You Make My Day Award. Isn't she so sweet? Seriously check out her blog for a healthy amount of food porn. She consistently makes me want to lick my screen.

SO who am I passing it on to?

Well, I'm passing it on to Marti at Standing Still. She's a super talented potter, has a pissy cat (honestly) and has really been supportive of me.

And I'm passing it on to LIsa at La Mia Cucina. Because she is so super sweet. She's let me know that I'm not a complete idiot for simply standing up and ending up with a massive injury. I just love her.

And to Mrs. W because she's got seriously the most beautiful handwriting I've ever seen and I'm so excited to try her spice packets. And she's super nice too. And it's her birthday. So go check out her website and donate to Shaohannah's Hope, Inc. I would, but I'm fairly drugged up right now. And I'm not aloud to pull out the debit/credit card when I'm drugged.

And I'm passing it on to Pixie who is cute as a button and brings New York to Britain.

And Lisa Rene, because seriously for vegetarian cooking, yes NO bacon, her blog is seriously mouthwatering.

And Mrs. White at Pretty to Think so because her book reviews are spot on and give me loads of ideas. That and she's hillarious.

And to Deb at Taste and Tell who understands how hard it is to find some products when you live in unusual places.

And I Heart Cuppycakes who sent me a prize today and introduced me to an amazing cupcake shipping prototype system that I'll be blogging about tomorrow.

And to my mom because she came down on Monday and stayed through this morning and took really good care of me (and cleaned my house!)

And even though she doesn't have a blog, to my mother in law because she's seriously awesome. She changed my dressing without getting squeemish or anything. And she was super compationate without making me feel like an invalid. (Even though I might qualify right now.)

And to all you lovely people who have wished me such kindness. It's for you too! I'm going back to the couch now.

It must be an Ohio thing

I have to admit, in preparing to move to Ohio. I could come up with a whole lot for the minus column. No job for me. Ohio State fans. Shopping at Walmart. I prepared for things I've never before up close experienced. Small town life. Farmers. I knew there were regional foods here. Biscuits and gravy (ew). Buckeyes (yum). But I in no way could have prepared myself for sauerkraut balls.

After we went to a party last year where sauerkraut balls were served, I asked my mother in law about them. In case you haven't noticed she's an EXCELLENT reference for me. It turns out she has a recipe for them from a very old Joy of Cooking. We made them last year for Christmas and this year we made a double batch to share with my family when I go up to Michigan for Christmas. They've never heard of them either.

What are sauerkraut balls? They are sauerkraut, pork, ham, corned beef, cream sauce, and dry mustard. The cream sauce is made with milk and flour- my mother in law says it's way better than the cream cheese variety. Who am I to argue? Then they're chilled overnight and the next day we roll them into balls. The balls then get rolled in flour, egg wash and bread crumbs. Then my mother in law deep fries them and they're done. And yummy to boot.

Even though I love them, I think it would be physically impossible to eat an entire batch in one sitting. Fortunately, they freeze well and then can be reheated in the oven. This makes them the perfect party snack because you can make them ahead of time.

I realize by now your mouth is watering and you are ready to try these tasty delights and are just reading this to get to the recipe. Well. I don't have it. Sorry. I don't really want it. I like making them with my mother in law and as long as she has the recipe I'm OK with that.

Finished!

After falling down the stairs at church on Sunday and deciding to reward myself with a Spin class tonight, I'm ever so grateful that my mother-in-law decided to send over leftovers from a luncheon she had today so I didn't have to cook. As much as I want to spend the rest of the night in a hot bath, I still have Christmas cards to write and cookie packages to pack up. I wonder if I can do it all standing up. I have a bruise on my hiney.

But the cookies at least are finished and I can share my little round up with you...

I'll list them off top to bottom, left to right:

Top Row: spritz, double chocolate walnut biscotti, 7-layer bars (aka Hello Dolly bars), Aunt Nicky's butter cookies, snickerdoodles.

Second Row: gingerbread man, rumball, chocolate mint cookie, shortbread cookie, Laura Bush's cowboy cookie (ok I'm totally embarrassed about it, but I really like these cookies).

Third Row: peanut butter cookie, Hershey macaroon kiss, oatmeal craisin, lemon coconut pixie, chocolate chip cookie.

Fourth Row: Mexican wedding cookie, pumpkin cookie, Mrs. Eder's toffee bars, golden biscotti, billy goat.

Now I just have to box them up and send them out. Yay! The cookies will be out of my house in less than a week. Be prepared for a January full of vegetables.

The Gingerbread House that Wasn't

I don't quit easily. But I think the time has come to admit that the gingerbread house has gotten the better of me. First there seems to be something like 4 billion pieces to this thing. Then it's been raining for a week. Well, now there's snow. And a lot more on the way. And there's that whole powdered sugar shortage going on. But I digress. Once the pieces were baked, I noticed they were getting squishier by the day. This is not a new gingerbread recipe for me and the house I built last year was happily destroyed by a bunch of little kids.

I bravely attempted to put the roof together. That didn't work.

OH the crumbling. the horror.

And then I started putting in candy cane reinforcements and plastering the walls with royal icing. But the walls started breaking.

I patched some together.

But you know how I can sometimes take things as signs from God...

I have decided this is the house just isn't meant to be. This time of year can be so stressful and there's no need to stress myself out over some silly house that nobody's pressuring me to make. It's supposed to be a fun season and there's some fun fun stuff coming up in the next week or so. There's the very challenging Daring Baker's challenge (I'm not telling what it is. It's a secret.) There's something very exciting for tomorrow based on a story about a sharpshooting lion. And there's also going to be a yummy goody that I've never had before moving to Ohio. So who needs this silly little house anyway?

so a little about me

This has been going around and it looks like fun...
The way it works is I put in bold the things I've done on the list.

"Bold" things I've done in my 35+ years:
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight (and went to confession for it!)
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business (the Brain did and I think that counts. We're a team.)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone (many)
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (fish)
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

So I've done 68 "bold" things in my life. What a fun way to look back and think about my "accomplishments. If things like falling off a bicycle can be considered an accomplishment.

Baking with Grandma

My grandma, the one who cooked dinner to death, was a fabulous baker. She was also brilliant and scientific and completely unusual for a woman her age. She even had a Master's Degree in Math from Harvard. Technically she went to Radcliffe (the women's school), but from my understanding Radcliffe didn't have a math program, and her diploma says Harvard. Anyhow, Grandma taught me how to bake. Grandma is probably the reason I passed Organic Chemistry lab. She taught me how to measure precisely.

For example, I am simply unable to measure flour now without carefully scooping it into the measuring cup with a spoon and then leveling it off with a knife. I just know if I were to scoop in the measuring cup into the flour container it would pack in and I would get more than exactly the amount needed. And if I don't level it off with a knife then it won't be exact. I may let my OCD tendencies run wild while baking.

Grandma also showed me neat things like measuring butter by displacement. First you fill a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup about half full with water. It doesn't really matter how full with water as long as there's more than the amount you want to measure. Make sure you know how much water is in the measuring cup and then add the butter, or oleo, or Crisco, until the water in the measuring cup reaches however much butter you want more in the cup. For example if you start with 1 cup of water and you want 1/2 cup of butter then you scoop the butter in until the water level hits 1 1/2 cups. It's pretty easy and an interesting way to teach kids about physical properties of fluid dynamics. (it's the only way I would understand something like that.)

Grandma also let us do something forbidden in my mom's house. She let us lick the beaters. Mom would yell about salmonella, but Grandma licked the beaters. I had no idea about licking beaters or tasting batter before Grandma let me bake cookies at the cottage.

Grandma also taught me to let my cookies cool on cut up paper bags. Call me crazy, but cooling the cookies on paper bags does something special to them. This year, I've been using cloth bags for groceries, so I don't have the overabundance of paper grocery bags I usually have at Christmas. I also have a limited amount of counter space, and these really cool stacking cooling racks. So for the first time since I started, the Christmas cookies will be air cooled on racks.

Grandma died at the ripe old age of 91 the summer before I met my husband. I'm grateful that she showed me how to bake and I think of her every time I pull out my trusty kitchen aid mixer.

Leftovers and Shopping

So my Friday morning Spin class got moved to Wednesday because everyone else wanted to shop. Thus, I had no excuse not to go shopping this morning. Yikes. People are crazy. I discovered that hanging out waiting in line while everyone else shopped was my best coping strategy and ended up pretty unscathed. I did get some nice loot though. Unfortunately, I did not get any batteries, so today's post has no pictures.

In the tradition of the day after Thanksgiving, I also had leftovers for lunch. I had the Moroccan Stew over pasta because I didn't cook dinner yesterday and so I have no turkey. Well, that's kind of a white lie. I have a turkey breast in the oven now. I pushed about 3 Tbsp of butter with 1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage and 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley under the skin and salted and peppered it inside and out. Hopefully it will be tasty, but it looks like I'll have to wait 'till later to eat my turkey sandwiches.

And now for a nap...

Blecch Fruit

It has been said, that it is far better for a person to eat a fruit or vegetable than to drink the juice. And while I seriously love all vegetables,( Well, excepting olives of course, but olives don't really count as a vegetable, they're more of an optional beverage accessory.) I just don't like fruit.

So I have been diligently over the last couple years attempting to find fruits that I like. Sadly this list is small. And, no, tomatoes don't count as a fruit, they're a vegetable in my book.

Fruits I like are:
Apples
Blueberries
Fresh Raspberries (like off the bramble fresh, none of the soggy grocery store ones)
Bananas

So in a desire to find another fruit to add to the list, I attempted a pomegranate. They were on sale and they've been taunting me for a while. "C'mon, we're different. We take a LOT of work. We're mysterious. We're unbelievably good for you. C'mon we're on sale."

Mysterious? A fruit I can get at the local grocery without having to leave the county? Actually if you look for it, pomegranates have many biblical and mythological references. Shoot you've heard the story of Persephone before haven't you? Like the whole she ate 6 pomegranate seeds so we have 6 months of winter thing? So I bought a big red one and followed the directions to make sure it was heavy for it size and sounded slightly metallic when tapped. What the hell does tapping a slightly metallic pomegranate sound like anyway? It didn't sound like a clink or anything, but I figured it was good enough.

So I bring this beautiful and mysterious pomegranate home and I slice it open and whack the crap out of it to get the little seeds out of it. The Brain had never had one either, so he watched intently for the first 10 minutes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity I had pulled apart all the white pulp and gotten out the pretty ruby seeds. I do have to say it is one of the prettier fruit.

While the Brain happily ate his bowlful, I just couldn't get past eating seeds. It was like, a burst of oooooooh tasty, followed by a minute of crunch crunch crunch here's a seed. Maybe I'm a little paranoid, but crunchy things like seeds are a darn good way to break a tooth. No teeth were harmed in the eating of this pomegranate, but this fruit again ends up on my dislike list. It's kind of a shame, because I really wanted to like a pomegranate, and I have half of one left in my fridge.....

Maybe I'll just buy the juice.