Posts from the ‘Food’ category

Easter candy

Over to the right in “Snippets of Life”, I commented last week that I suddenly had a craving for a chocolate creme egg. I had the wrong name and still not sure of the right name, but when I was a child we always had this rather large chocolate egg, dark chocolate on the outside and a creamier, lighter chocolate with nuts inside. It was very rich and I remember being allowed to have a small slice daily. It was in a box with a cellophane window. That’s my memory – I don’t always get the details :) !

Saturday, running a few errands, I stopped at a drug store that I knew would have a variety of Easter goodies. I don’t know… drugstore lighting, the garish colors – and no “box” as I remembered. Everything I saw just made me think of old, too sugary candy and I was not tempted.

I’m not sure of the exact date, but I think it is approaching a year since “ The Apple Trolley” opened in Bigfork. In a little retail space on the way out of town to the south, a young woman and her mother opened a “gourmet carmel apple” shop.

And it is thriving – Big Time! And at $5 an apple. I am thrilled for them and for Bigfork and for me – delicious treat, nice owners, pleasant little shop – it is fun.

Standing in the drugstore with everything looking unappealing to me, I suddenly thought of “ The Apple Trolley“…

My Easter candy.

**Lest you think they will not make it with $5 caramel apples, they were nearly sold out when I stopped just before noon on Saturday. And they had made extra for Easter, along with special bags and baskets available. Good on them!

A Wonderful Day

I got up.

I fed Bob.

I started the coffee…

My work day started early and went well.

I work with a team of 2 others – 2 wonderful men who are smart, professional, caring fathers and husbands, thoughtful of me and of each other. It is a pleasure to work with them. One, I have never met in person – the other just once. Most of our interaction is by email, phone and an internet conference program – the workplace of the 21st century.

Midday, I had a break and Karl and I went for a long walk/snowshoe. We are still under the inversion stratus, in the damp and cold, but as it is below freezing, the snow is hard, crusty and easy for both of us to stay on top of.

Afternoon – more work on my own.

Late afternoon, Big John’s picks up the snowblower for the second time. I have a nice visit with the young men who do the pickup. They ask good questions about the blower’s problems. I mention my trip to Blacktail – one of them skied at Big Mountain (Whitefish) yesterday and we compare notes about the beauty of being up in the sun. We laugh.

A bit more work and then a break for dinner, a glass of wine on the front porch while a lasagna from my freezer bakes in the oven.

Karl waits for some lasagna…

Karl shares some lasagna…

Some of us think about bedtime…

…a wonderful day.

Early morning

I am a morning person…it doesn’t matter what time zone I’m in or what time I’ve gone to bed, I am up with the chickens…maybe before. This morning it was 4:25 a.m. And this time of year, it is getting light by then. Sunrise is about 5:30 but there is light in the sky, behind the mountains, through the trees.

Karl and I walked down the driveway and across the front property line and back to the house through the front part of the woods – our usual beginning of the day little walk. I carry my first cup of coffee (AND the pepper spray…) and enjoy the morning air, the birds singing and the quiet.

We end up on the front porch where I like to sit for a moment and watch the day grow. This late spring, early summer ritual is a joy to me and I’m grateful for every beautiful morning and also for the circumstances in my life that allow me to start my days in this beautiful place.

follow up items…

Ginger Ale…I am happy to report that every last can of Vernor’s made the trip up, over and around all the mountains and mountain passes between Ohio and Montana – intact! (see comments on Goodbye Canada Dry Post). I am grateful! I had a recent comment from my brother, via Kristie, that he thought it was “scandalous” that I drank Diet Vernor’s and that he would have thrown the Canada Dry out. He-he! – well, he does a much better job maintaining his weight and I think has way more willpower regarding daily quantity consumed. Re the throwing away – WOW – see, I am definitely NOT frugal and he definitely IS…or was ??? …so that is saying quite a lot!

Speaking of weight – regarding Bob’s weight – Sara maintained the diet plan and Bob is down to 18.5 pounds. While we are still shooting for 16, .5 pound loss over the winter when he’s out less – not too bad!

Bob

Karl and his treats – this is not really a follow up thing. It is normal Karl – he “collects” a morning ration of treats from me and then buries some. Usually, he puts them here and there and later in the day I will see him go and get one. Yesterday morning, though, – maybe because I was out with him AND with the camera…

Karl

Put that thing where no one else can find it…

Karl

Hmmm – not sure that is right – dig it back up.

Karl

I think I’ll just keep an eye on it.

And today – a few of the neighbors came to say “Hey” and have some breakfast while they were at it.

Deer

There are 4 in the photo above ..hard to pick out…

Deer

They do blend in with the woods.

Deer

Deer

Iowa workday #2

The wind stopped and the clouds came back this morning. I am not complaining as the returning clouds made for a most glorious sunrise that Karl and I watched as we finished our morning walk.

Sunrise

Sunrise

In between fighting my fledgling knowledge of C# (C-Sharp – programming language) I tried out a new electric kettle…

Electric Kettle

I went hunting for a small crock pot yesterday and came home with this. It reportedly slow cooks, steams, deep frys and ??? – I guess anything else you need a medium large pot to do. So far it has dealt with one of those pasta-chicken-veg meals in a bag and today it was home to the makings for Italian Beef Sandwiches. About 3:30 after no lunch and living in close quarters with the smell of roast beef, italian sausage, green peppers and au jus on the simmer, I succumbed…

Sandwich

I think I’ll make it through the rest of the work day…

…but it did break my heart to make this without Bill – one step forward, two backward or something like that…

Biscuits 101

Ha! – I’m north of the Mason-Dixon Line by a good ways and I made a wonderful batch of biscuits. (see biscuit failure post)

Ok, I did not make them – I particpated…as in watching, photographing and generally playing the student to my college professor friend as she made them. AND…she gave me the recipe… Being extremely confident and pretty much of the mind that there is not much I can’t do, I feel sure that I’ll be able to duplicate this success. It might be a while before I try so I’m posting this recording of the lesson, just to keep my head in the game!

Biscuit baking lesson

Ready for the oven – they are rising already! …yeah, that’s a bottle AND GLASS of wine sitting there by the biscuits. We don’t do much at the house without wine. We pretty much live by the frig magnet that says “I always cook with wine…sometimes I put it in the food”. I say “pretty much” because in the week I’ve been here, NONE of the wine has gone in the food…

Biscuit baking lesson

Tall, lightly browned – gorgeous!!!

Biscuit baking lesson

The humble instructor.

THE RECIPE

2 cups sifted flour

3 t baking powder (measure heavy)
½ t salt
5 T shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in shortening, then add milk and work into soft dough. Knead lightly on floured board, roll to ½ inch thick. Cut and place on baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 12 minutes or until light brown.

Somewhere down the road – literally, I’ll report on my own, unsupervised effort…

Oh! – These were delicious. We had them with creamed chicken over top – yum!