Category Archives: Recipe Ideas

These are ideas that can let your personality shine

Here Comes The Sun

Posted on March 7, 2016 | Leave a comment

As the Beatles sang, I never imagined my life as it is. When my husband is home and we’ve our old dog Zoe I lift her up to the bed at night, all 32 lbs. of her. If the shades are up when the sun starts coming up (in summer before 5 a.m.) she jumps down and becomes UBD.

UBD is under bed dog. She comes to my side so I can’t get away as I am the morning person and food wench, and she crawls underneath our sleigh bed to get her beauty sleep. I don’t know anything that 20 hours of sleep per day wouldn’t cure as she’s gorgeous. In “people years” she’s got nearly 20 on me.

This morning at 6:45 a.m. I felt a paw holding onto my arm. Lo and behold, it’s guest dog L. Zoe was sound asleep on my husband’s pillow. Yes, shades were down halfway so they can see and I protect the art. “Hey, Aunt Dee, get up, I want to go out and have my dinner!”

I got up and took them for a nice walk and fed them then they played and went to separate rooms to soak up the sun (they heard you, Sheryl Crow). Zoe asleep, no sun. Zoe awake, all sun until noon when there is no direct source, only reflected.

Husband will be back this weekend, so will L’s mom to take her home. I was wondering how we would all sleep together but there’s no need. They return on the same day. How’s that for planning?

Our guest, I looked up the breed, is a mix of Borzoi and Whippet. When Zoe and I are alone on a walk everyone pets her and says this Aussie mutt is cute. When we’re with L everyone says “She’s beautiful, what kind of dog is she?” I’m expecting a rush for purebred dogs like L in our neighborhood shortly. Perhaps I’ll stop saying exactly what breed she is.

Now, if a magic elf (not the funny, enigmatic Will Ferrell) could somehow do our taxes all would be well. Cheers from Dee, Z and L

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Posted in editorial pets, Family, food, job description, loving life, Recipe Ideas, Zoe

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You say Pot-ay-to

Posted on March 6, 2016 | Leave a comment

I say po-tah-to. Let’s call the whole thing off.

At 19 I got a college apartment with five other gals. First day I made dinner and said I had to be on a corner because I’m leftie and don’t want to elbow anyone in the ribs. They were ALL lefties. We got our own softball team named Lefties, Inc. and made it to the finals because nobody showed up for our games! Of course I was pitcher.

That first night we found out no-one knew how to cook, anything. I think cereal and milk might have been a challenge. I said they had to learn breakfast, eat lunch at the college cafeteria and I’d make dinner every night.

Caveats were that I would provide a list and they would shop. I would prep and cook, they would set the table, clean up and do dishes.

Then one day three other gals came to live with us (one bulimic, so enlightening to see all the food in our frig going down the toilet) and two guys from upstairs who came over to play Uno most evenings started staying for dinner so I was cooking for eleven with a budget for six. That was probably $60 per week. With the others we stretched it to $120.

I asked the gals to get me a 50# bag of potatoes. They came back and said cans were on sale for $.20 apiece. The list was going to pieces. I decided to drive the cart and the list and they could grab things off the shelves as I called them out. It worked.

We ate simple food. Mom’s pasta with a bit of beef, noodles and tomato sauce, chicken thighs with caramelized onions, occasionally a dessert. I never washed a dish, spoon, pot or pan in that place. They were happy. I was happy.

My mother was not happy because mise en place (everything in its’ place before cooking) allowed me to cook but use every dish in her place while visiting, then I had to clean everything!

Hey, Guy Fieri, when I was 19 I could have excelled at Grocery Games! Now I go daily to a high-end grocery and choose what I want as to what is fresh. Fruits, shishito peppers, lemongrass. And my butchers are beyond compare. Don’t ask, Guy. I’m too old to run with a cart.  And my old dog would have to be outside the window asking for me to be eliminated so I could take her home to Napping Dog Press. Cheers! Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Education, Family, Recipe Ideas

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Teacher

Posted on March 2, 2016 | 1 comment

Yes, that is what I am and have been for years. I would like to give a gift to my nephew. It’ll take a while to put together. Ten recipes with instructions and completed with whatever is needed to finish the dish.

I know that he’s going to be OK but as he needs to eat while getting an education I may have to go to our local university to check out dorm rooms. Plus, he has to wow the girl of his dreams, whoever she may be.

Years ago my father, as a gift, brought a psychic to dinner to read my fortune. She said I was a teacher. I am, a leader, visionary and teacher since I was a child.

Going to cooking school has enlightened me and I worry about college students eating food that is not good for them or their education. Hopefully college moms (hear me PDXKnitterati) will help on this quest. Few ingredients, pots or pans, healthy and fast. No, not just ramen noodles….. Cheers! Dee

 

 

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Posted in Editorial, Education, loving life, Recipe Ideas, Recommended Pantry Contents, teaching, The Ranch

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Ingredients

Posted on March 2, 2016 | Leave a comment

I’ve a bunch of heirloom carrots. Sadly, the refrigerator drawers designed for fruit and veg freeze everything. I’ve even placed kitchen towels on the bottom and placed them at the highest temperature.

Soup is the order of the day. Due to the colors of the carrots it will make an elegant or dismal display. I have to walk to the market today. Will take dog Zoe out for a walk.

I wrote to Cesar Millan today. I know he deals with tough cases and doesn’t like purebred dogs. I wrote him the sweetest story about our 12 year rescued herder, Zoe, Greek for Life. She’s under my desk right now and follows me through kitchen (she’s not allowed in my kitchen except to eat her dinner or drink her water) and bedroom and laundry and office).

Success stories are what I always want to tell. Our Zoe was a mess coming out of the shelter, needed shots, fluids, two hip surgeries. No-one who had spent $75 for a shelter dog who needed a thousand more for hip surgeries and rehabilitation. Luckily, we found her and she found us. She just turned 12 years old and we adopted her that year four days hence. What a wonderful world it can be.

I’m working on my carrot soup but need to take the little one out for a longer walk and we may even see her favorite USPS mail carrier. My old dog hated men and uniforms, Zoe looks for mail carriers pants and wags her tail and greets all. She’s a peach. Dee

 

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Posted in food, loving life, Recipe Ideas

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Oatmeal

Posted on February 23, 2016 | 2 comments

Perhaps as a child I placed it in the category of rice pudding, which I disliked.

Now we have oatmeal for breakfast often. For two my husband makes one cup oats, 1 3/4 cups milk. Stir about seven minutes. At the beginning I add a pinch of cinnamon and salt. Perhaps at the end I add a bit of honey. It all depends upon the day.

When it’s ready I pour it into these great French onion soup bowls with special Japanese ceramic spoons. I add a dollop of Greek non-fat vanilla yogurt on top and whatever berries I have on hand. Good to go.

Teach your children well, said CSNY back in the day. I say feed your family well, and teach everyone. Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Recipe Ideas

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It’s About Everything

Posted on February 9, 2016 | Leave a comment

Yes, that’s life, as Frank Sinatra sang it. Many people concentrate on one facet, whether it be sports, math or English literature.

Youth is, indeed, wasted on the young. Older doesn’t necessarily mean wiser but in my case, it works. I had a great family and was taught so much.

When every experience from being bullied to volunteering for a soup kitchen line to cooking school, helping feral cats and adopting four rescues over the past twenty years, I had an education that rivaled my formal education and career. Yes, I also credit my two favorite priests, Fr. Cap and Fr. John, both gone now.

They wove meaning into the fabric of my life. I learned about how history and traditions make us who we are, to accept people we don’t know and, above all, respect, appreciation and honesty.

Through my parents, relatives, teachers and friends I’ve learned much. And my husband teaches me physics lessons while listening to country music on the car radio on long drives. Do you know what’s coming out of that smokestack? No, dear. I can tell by the color……….

Also, having a pet can make a difference. There’s a real responsibility and I’m shirking mine now as I’ve taken her out for “last chance” and she is not by my side. She wants me to lift her up to the bed for her beauty sleep. She’s gorgeous and just turned 84 in people years. She has no hips so cannot jump up by herself. If I slept 20 hours a day I might look that good.

A pet is a grounding experience, especially without a child. So is music, the written word, writing a blog or Haiku or poems.

My husband’s gone for work but I still read cookbooks and make my own recipes and wish for him to come home soon to try them. Yes, my hobbies are cooking, writing and shelter pets/feral cats (spay/neuter). I have had perhaps my last shelter pet, hopefully not, because a dog gets me out to walk and meet people and other dogs. Zoe is old but fine.

Life is about everything and how playing touch football on a dead-end street or softball in our back yard was so special as a kid. The neighborhood kids called on us early and asked for Dad. Mom said they had to wait until the end of dinner. Dad’s only rule was that everyone got to play and play fair. I remember one kid picking up his little brother and running him from first to second base, a tree, and home (we didn’t have that much space) and everybody won because were all the home team. Even toddlers got to play on Dad’s team.

Honesty, integrity, a sense of fairness for everyone, life is about everything. Cheers to you and your family, Dee

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Posted in animals, Cook Books, Cooking Utensils, dogs, Editorial, Family, Greece, Italy, loving life, Recipe Ideas, Scotland, truth, Zoe

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To Non-Boxed Foods

Posted on February 8, 2016 | Leave a comment

This is an editorial to The New Republic for saying what many people who can cook say this is horrible, to those can’t cook say there are terrible instructions.

I’ve never done one of these companies. I chose one in the Rockies for their apple juice, so fresh and tasty. Then I bought the cooler that they would leave at our door at 3 a.m. every week.

I got to choose the bacon, OJ, apple juice, milk and many other ingredients, a lot frozen but I didn’t go that route.

The real reason I chose them was that every week a heavy basket (cooler) was filled at my door and I also asked them for a mystery box and I had to make all those local ingredients no matter the season. No, they didn’t give it to me, they sold it to me but I was in a rut, cooking-wise, and whether it was berries in the summer, chanterelles, butternut squash I was enamored of this mystery box. I’ve always thought out of the box so this was a treat for me to cook for us, family and friends.

If you would like to know of this company please write in. I think they give (sell) local people who actually cook a way to use local, vital ingredients and they don’t give you packets. I believe that when someone one fills my cooler with juices, bacon, milk and perfect lamb et al they do well and it serves my husband and pantry so I can fill it up at the grocery for veg in winter. I can make up my own recipes for whatever I wish to make. That is my challenge.

Yes, if I were back in that town I’d put a call in and place my cooler outside the door and look forward to those weekly deliveries and what are the ingredients in the surprise box I need to use. Kiwis? Spaghetti squash? Pummelo? Bring it on. All the best to your cooking adventures, check out farmers’ markets soon. Dee

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Posted in Editorial, food, Recipe Ideas

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Clearing the Decks

Posted on February 4, 2016 | Leave a comment

In more ways than one. First, there is a story. Achieving goals is my husband’s premise. Now he is trying to cook a few things I’m teaching him. He gets the goal but leaves it to his teacher and minion, the dog, to clean up after he uses every pot, pan and dish in the kitchen! Yes, has had staff.

In the end it is my kitchen to keep and keep up. He is very tall so does not get to the lower cabinets very easily. I do not get to the upper cabinets so it’s a match made over 14 years ago, in heaven.

When I get ready to prep, cook and clean up, it’s time to clear the decks. The Navy Captain, a gent who married us 13 years ago would agree, wholeheartedly. We flew to his burial at Annapolis, where I’m invited to visit any time. I would worry if he ever got into his lovely wife’s kitchen.

Anything drying on a dish mat, anything in the sink, run the dishwasher, do hand wash of knives and others. He wants a meal. I work to make it happen but do clear the decks completely before I prepare food. That may even mean placing tea towels and dish mats in the laundry and running that as well. Both take forever.

That said, I’ve been trying to change up our menu these nights. Last night I cleaned and cut up a pork tenderloin and submerged in salt and pepper, and hard apple cider for an hour then cooked it on the stove with roasted red potatoes and a salad I’d pre-made with a lemon vinaigrette I poured on at the last minute.

The other night I made Acorn-fed pork ribs, sort of St. Louis style, with a rub of salt, pepper, Ancho chile powder and smoked Paprika, and a pinch of sugar. 1.5 hours in a 325 degree oven covered in foil then I slathered on some Rufus Teague bbq sauce and my husband placed it on the grill for five minutes, served with baked potatoes.

Tonight I may go back to an old favorite we haven’t had in a couple of years. I just need some chicken, prosciutto and Fontina d’Aosta. I have butter, bread crumbs, potatoes and garlic with which to saute the remainder of the arugula. Who knew I could become an Italian grandmother? Certainly not our German, Swiss, Scottish ancestry.

Cheers and have a great day. Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Recipe Ideas

Birds, Mistakes, Well Done!

Posted on February 2, 2016 | 1 comment

Yesterday the sidewalks on the County side looked clear, but were crystalline and a bit slippery, especially for a gal wearing crocs with no tread…. The foot of snow was iced over on top so much that my shoes did not sink down as I picked up after Zoe, but it was melting at the edges.

I heard the first birds of the season chirping, and several squirrels running about, sshhhh don’t tell Zoe as she wants to kill one of those critters (she’s 12 now, and they’re faster). As I removed the jingle bell wreath from our door a few weeks ago I replaced it with a welcome hanging with bluebirds, twigs and leaves and it all came true.

As to mistakes, years ago we bought a tan microsuede L-shaped sofa. I’d measured everything then realized I hadn’t compensated for the “L.” Another four feet. It left us 18″ to walk around it. Now we have a place that requires many feet to get around anything. Nothing but the sofa is where I would want it to be. It’s probably six years old and needs to be cleaned but we can both fit on either end and watch a Netflix movie, with Zoe on a dog bed below.

The design of our place demands at least five feet from every piece of furniture. Yes, it looks good but it is frustrating because I’d like to move several things around, like the dining table and I always wanted to get him a comfy chair with a lamp and table so he could read his phone and computer.

They designed these places for the fantastic views but then placed all the outlets and cable on the opposite side of the room so now we have cat-5 cable throughout the living room and master bedroom, just laying there. It’s a mess, but whenever a guest enters and sees the view, nothing else matters.

When it comes to the sofa my husband and I had a disagreement. He said the only place to put it was blocking the floor to ceiling windows and looking into the kitchen. I told him that I make the food and don’t want to look at dirty pots and pans and we’re paying for a view, for heaven’s sake! He finally agreed with my point of view.

As to well done, I’ve been trying to mix up our menus. Last night I had to call my M-I-L for tacos. She told me not to deep-fry corn tortillas.

I ended up not frying corn tortillas, just scorching flour tortillas to soften and serving with beef, onions, Fresno chiles and serving them with homemade salsa, sliced avocado, shredded Monterey Jack and a hint of lime and sour cream. Yum.

We’ve been having a lot of oatmeal for breakfast these days, five minutes cooked in milk, topped with a dollop of nonfat vanilla yogurt and a few berries on top. It’s good but I can’t have it every day. So I bought my husband two slices of his favorite house-made bacon from our butcher yesterday and he’ll have bacon, eggs and toast with pear jam this morning.

It’s going to be a good day. Hope yours is as well. Dee

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Posted in animals, Recipe Ideas, telling the truth

I Have a Friend

Posted on February 1, 2016 | 1 comment

This can never be uncategorized, as you deem every post. We started our WordPress blogs the same week and were deemed worthy of reading. I’m sure she has tons more readers than I as she is so talented in many areas.

I visited her, she visited me and after all these years, we’ve never met. If I had a “bucket list” it would include meeting PDX. She gave me means to recruit a great singer/songwriter for our listening and enjoyment at Nanny’s 82nd birthday. Surprise!

PDX gave me a hand-made Pippi Longstocking hat I wear all the time. I gave her signed CD’s from her vocal heroine, our singer/songwriter and guest for several visits who wrote and sang Fellina’s version of the legendary Marty Robbins’ El Paso.

My husband actually sang El Paso our final night in Scotland. No, he does not drink, then all the restaurant patrons stood up and sang “Deep in The Heart of Texas” with us. My husband sings a great baritone. I do harmony in music and life.

We love the people who make a difference in our lives. Tomorrow I’ll try to make braids to go with Pippi as I take our old dog out for a walk. Dee

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Posted in Family, loving life, media, Music, Recipe Ideas, teaching

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