Saturday our guests left and I had most of the day to myself. I took a long walk and captured this cholla with my iphone. I love the blue sky! I did have to make a trip to the grocery store to restock the fridge. I did a lot of cooking for my guests. My favorite dinner was our last. Chilean sea bass (my favorite fish) and steamed clams (another all time favorite.)
Sunday, I tried to do nothing after another long walk, but sit in the backyard, read and listen to podcasts — and my favorite bird Red. His singing voice is simply a joy to hear. I had a visit to the bird buddy by a female Cardinal. Maybe it’s his mate?
I’m not sure what to name her. Because of her quieter voice and color, I don’t notice her like I do my buddy Red.
Our guests were so kind and grateful. They were here to scout a nearby lake for an upcoming National Spearfishing competition. They are serious and have won world championships before. This is the second visit to the lake for one of them. Then they are coming back to stay with us the week of the competition in April. They will spend more time underwater, looking for where the fish live. I wonder if other teams prepare like this?
I kind of wish I didn’t go all out cooking for them. (But it was nice to get their compliments.)They will be back in a few weeks with the third member of their crew. I may tell them in advance that I won’t be cooking every night! That they need to know they’ll be on their own. Our casita does have a full kitchen and of course they can go to restaurants.
Another photo from Saturday’s walk. I loved the blue sky and contrast with the beautiful plant. Although I don’t know what type if plant it is.
The other evening, I sprinted — or walked — up to a vacant spot in our neighborhood to catch this view of the sun setting.
After a few super busy months, I feel fatigue deep in my bones. As much as I’ve wanted to do nothing for a few days, I haven’t had that luxury. First, there are those pesky household duties like laundry, grocery shopping and cooking. Plus, we have friends staying with us for a week. They said that I didn’t need to worry about them. They’re here to scout out a local lake for a spearfishing competition in April.
But not fussing over them is not in my nature. I cooked corn beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. Tuesday was salmon, spinach, shishito peppers and rice. Wednesday, they treated us to dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant. Thursday was surf and turf. Haven’t figured out what to do tonight. Sleep instead of eat?
Things happen. Like a leak in the ceiling after four days of rain. It’s in my office and my husband looked up at the ceiling and said, “I’ve never noticed those stains before.”
When we stepped a few feet away, we spotted at the top of the wall next to the ceiling, hanging plaster and paint.
I walked outside with my trusty camera after taking pics inside. I went outside to see if I could see the problem on the roof.
It was in plain sight. The damage was done exactly where a solar panel support is anchored into the roof. I spent a few hours looking for paperwork online from doc-u-signs during the solar purchase and install. I read through the warranty and small print. None of this is helping my fatigue, by the way.
We went through Costco for solar. I wrote them a letter yesterday about our current roof issue. Plus, the first experience with this vendor. I wanted to contact Costco first — and not their solar vendor — to see if our problem can be solved.
When the solar panels were installed, they had to redo the breaker box. The vendor installed 220V into a kitchen outlet under the sink where the dishwasher and garbage disposal are plugged in. It should have been 120V. The dishwasher motors blew, but thanks to that little red button on the bottom of our garbage disposal, it was saved.
I paid for a repairman for the dishwasher. He said it was cheaper to buy a new one than replace the motors, which I did. Then I paid $190 for an electrician to fix the circuit. I emailed and called our rep at the solar company to tell her about our problems. She said they were so sorry! I asked the company to reimburse me for the electrician only. (The dishwasher was old and I didn’t think they should buy me a new one.)
She said they would reimburse me for the electrician. I got bounced from department to department for seven months for $190!
One day, an email arrived into my inbox from our rep, who was promoting solar to Scottsdale. The email cc’d all the solar companies in our area. I replied all and wrote about my experience with Costco’s vendor. (How many companies would love to have that contract?) A few days later, I got reimbursed.
Enough about my roof and solar issues. As Scarlett O’Hara said, “Tomorrow is another day.”
I remember my mom and what she called her “mung” days. She’d spend the entire day in her Lanz flannel nightie.
Right now, I’m thinking I would love to do that. (Hint to self — or family reading this — a Lanz flannel nightie for Mother’s Day?) I don’t have my Mom’s super power to “mung” all day. I think her manic depression as it was called back then — especially in her down cycles — helped her accomplish “munging” to level I’m not able to do. Yes, I miss my mom. I need to take a few pages from her life’s book and take a day or two off!
What is your favorite way to rest and recharge when you’re feeling over tired?
Remember the Monte Cristo sandwich? I went to a cooking class Friday and the menu included a Monte Cristo, salad and Harvey Wallbanger cake. This is a Monte Cristo I made at home for hubby and me. The class was held at Sweet Basil Culinary Center.
A neighbor who is president of the charity I’m involved with invited me to a second cooking class. Unlike the first one, where pairs of us were given assigned recipes to prepare, this class was called “Lunch and Learn.” That meant we sat and watched a demonstration and then ate lunch. It was fun and relaxing with no pressure.
I remembered Monte Cristo sandwiches from my younger days. They were popular and on many restaurant menus. Then they disappeared. Poof!
After eating two Monte Cristo sandwiches in two days, I figured out why the sandwiches are no long en vogue. Our dietary tastes have changed. It’s not a sandwich for light eaters. It’s on white bread with mayo, ham, turkey and cheese, dipped in egg and milk batter and fried in butter — the original ones were deep fried! Then sprinkled with powdered sugar and a dash of raspberry preserves. I could feel the sugar rush through my brain while the cholesterol roared through my veins.
At the class, they served an amazing salad that was light and citrusy and made a perfect contrast to the heavy sandwich. The Harvey Wallbanger cake (another blast from the past) was moist and delicious, but I could only manage a few bites. They served the cake in baby bundts, one for each student.
Here’s the salad recipe:
FYI, the instructor said the salad dressing keeps for up to two weeks in the fridge. It was really good. I plan on making some today.
What foods do you remember as being popular that we don’t often see anymore at home or in restaurants?
My mom used to make Oyster Stew and Liverwurst Sandwiches — haven’t seen either of those since my childhood.
With the cold weather the past two weeks, I have been indulging in comfort foods. Food that my mom taught me how to cook. Namely, oxtail soup last week and this week I made clam chowder.
After going through my recipes with a friend over the phone, I decided to check out how my great-grandmother’s recipes were different from mine.
This is the title page of the soup book. You can see my great-grandmother’s signature at the top of the page. This copy was a Christmas present to a relative or friend.
My great-grandmother, Ella Leighton Upton Owen, published a series of miniature cookbooks from 1898 to the early 1900s. I find it interesting that she went by her married name, “Mrs. Dewitt C. Owen” rather than her name — Ella Owen.
This soup book was the seventh in her series. I don’t know why she called them “Ripley Series of Cookbooks.” My great-grandfather, Dewitt Owen was a newspaper man in Dixon, Illinois. Eventually, they moved west to Washington state where he continued the trade. Great-grandmother Ella used her husband’s printing press to create her cookbooks. She had to set the type by hand! Can you imagine?
My mom told me that they hauled the printing press by covered wagon across our country. Don’t think the dates match up for that.
The cookbooks were sold throughout the country to women’s church auxiliary groups. At times, Ella supported the family with her ingenious little books.
I wrote more about her books HERE with excerpts from her “Sick Room Necessities” booklet. Two years ago, I wrote a post about comfort foods and shared snippets of the Soup book. You can read it HERE. When I wrote this post yesterday, I thought it was a brand new subject. You can imagine how I felt when I discovered I wrote the same title and subject matter two years ago! But no worries, I have more information in this post, than the one two years ago!
The recipe above is similar to my oxtail soup that I learned from my mom. But I quit dredging the oxtails in flour, because I like a clear broth. I also don’t use cayenne, wine or Worcestershire sauce. I skip the turnip cut in “fancy shapes” and I don’t “par-boil” the veggies. I do use lots of garlic and a bay leaf.
Another secret, is to refrigerate the soup overnight. The next day, I get rid of the fat that solidifies on top of the soup.
For clam chowder, I use canned clams. I cut bacon into small bits with my kitchen scissors (no fat salt pork — whatever that is) and fry it up. Then I add onions, celery and garlic to the bacon. I boil cubed potatoes in a separate pot. After the onions are clear, I stir in Wondra Flour and cook it in the bacon mixture. Add milk, let it thicken, then add clams and potatoes with the potato water. Delish and very comforting in our cold weather.
The Harris Hawks are feeling right at home in our yard. This was the second day of them hanging out. I wrote about hawks on Wednesday, HERE. This guy is looking mighty plump.
Next week is Thanksgiving. I have mixed emotions about the holiday. I do like getting together with family or friends. I enjoy cooking the meal and having a bounty of leftovers. I enjoy the compliments my Thanksgiving meal gets. It’s satisfying.
But the dark side of Thanksgiving awaits.
Thanksgiving 2021 our dear friend passed away.
Decades earlier: When I was unmarried, living in Seattle, a recent college graduate, this friend (who also lived in Seattle) introduced me to my husband. My husband was visiting for Seafair, which is a summer festival highlighted by hydro races and a Blue Angels show.
As they say, the rest is history.
Eventually our friend left Seattle, sold all his property (real estate was his business) and moved to Arizona. He turned his Seattle real estate into an even greater empire in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area. Prices were way more affordable. Taxes were much better and the business environment was exciting to him.
We would visit our friend in Scottsdale a mile or two from where we now live. We would drive for the weekend from Palm Springs and stay in his casita. My husband was convinced that when he retired, Arizona was the place to be. We’d say good-bye to the high cost of living and taxes of California and embrace Arizona life.
COVID hit and my husband worked remotely. Home prices were skyrocketing in Palm Springs because people wanted out of apartments in San Francisco and LA. They wanted space, a yard, pool and our prices were much lower. We had a new next door neighbor who moved in from SF with his mom sight unseen and called the home his “COVID” home. He was worried about his elderly mom’s health.
My husband decided that it was time to make our move. Especially since he was working from home. I wasn’t sold on it, but told our kids that I was going to ask for a ridiculous price for our home that nobody would consider. That was my secret plan to stay in my dream home. Our house of almost 30 years sold in four hours with offers above asking. So much for that.
So we moved to Arizona close to our friend. He was our first and only friend in the state. We had been friends for close to 40 years. He loved to grill steaks for us. We had him over to our house for dinner. We watched football together and went out to great sushi restaurants. My husband would help him with his properties on weekends, schlepping refrigerators into apartments, or other DIY stuff. Like I said, that was his business. He appreciated my husband’s help.
He introduced us to his entourage, his brother and wife who also moved from Seattle to Arizona. Then another couple who will be retiring from Seattle to Scottsdale in a few years.
A few weeks before Thanksgiving 2021, he was hospitalized. He had a cough and was having trouble breathing. He was put on a ventilator after a week. He’d call my husband to bring him things from his home, like his razor and a pillow. The hospital tested him eight times for COVID — all negative.
Thanksgiving night, 2021 we had our friends who moved from Palm Springs over for dinner. My husband told them that he was worried about our friend, who was finally diagnosed with Valley Fever. Thinking it was COVID, the hospital had treated him the entire time with antibiotics, which is the wrong thing to do to a fungus like Valley Fever. Antibiotics allowed the fungus to grow unchecked.
The harsh words from our dinner guest, who retired from running the ER in Palm Springs said, “He’s not going to make it.”
He died a few hours later.
What holiday that is supposed to be joyous has dark undertones for you?
It’s been quite the week for wildlife. I had two Harris Hawks hanging out on the fence yesterday. Here’s one of them.
Yesterday, after my two-hour zoom call, doing household chores, writing and all the other stuff, I went to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for Ina’s Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons that I wrote about Wednesday. I loved the recipe from Monday’s cooking class I attended.
I made a grocery list that was quite extensive. There were a lot of ingredients in the recipe that I never buy, like fennel and leeks. It took a bit of time to hunt everything down, plus get the things we ordinarily use. Plus I needed bird seed for my Bird Buddy AI feeder and for the quail.
Of course, all the lines were jam packed. I didn’t feel like self checkout so I waited and waited. Once I got everything out of the cart, I reached for my wallet.
My wallet wasn’t in my purse!
Then it dawned on my that I left my wallet in my swim bag the day before. I had gone lap swimming at the YMCA. The grocery clerk asked me to put everything back in my cart and go to the manager. I thought she’d at least check me out and they could hold onto my groceries until I came back with my wallet. But no, I was going to get to stand in line again plus schlep the groceries around again.
I called my husband. I called three times and he didn’t answer. I had talked to him moments before. But he was probably on the phone for work. I wanted him to meet me at the grocery store with his wallet.
The grocery store is 15 minutes away and for some unknown reason the street, of course, had a ton of traffic. Once I got to the main road to make a left-hand turn to go two miles to our street, a police car with a siren stopped in front of our turn lane and blocked us. I noticed the writing on his car. Funeral. He was blocking the road for a funeral procession. The deceased must have been famous or well-liked. Yes, there were a ton of cars.
Eventually, after driving back and forth for one hour, shopping, un-shopping and waiting to pay for groceries, I got everything home.
I was planning on prepping for the delicious soup when I called my partner for the HOA newsletter to confirm our meeting was in a week from Friday, not the next day.
“No, it has to be tomorrow,” she said. “I’m leaving town Saturday.” I was afraid of that. That’s why a little voice in my head made me call.
So much for cooking. I had to sit down and write newsletter copy. Hunt for photos, write captions and get ready for today’s meeting.
Then I got to cook. But I was exhausted!
Chicken Pot Pie Soup and and Puff Pastry Croutons
When was the last time you had “one of those days” and what happened that made it so?
Instructor Jan D’Artri helped us by cutting up the White Chocolate English Toffee I made with my neighbor during a cooking class at Sweet Basil Culinary Center.
Are you a spur of the moment person?
I’m not. I plan out my weeks and I like to follow a schedule. I make to do lists and enjoy crossing off items with a red pen.
My neighbor texted me and invited me to an Ina Garten cooking class. She said her friend couldn’t make it and would I like to take her place. I hesitated. It wasn’t on my schedule. It wasn’t on my list.
Then I said yes.
I had to look up who Ina Garten was. She had a show on the Food Network called the Barefoot Contessa. I watched her show occasionally, but I didn’t know her real name.
It was a hands on cooking class called Cooking Ina Garten Favorites (no she wasn’t there in person). Then we got to pick what we wanted to prepare out of the following recipes:
Spinach & Artichoke Dip with Garlic Bread Truffled Mac & Cheese Crispy Chicken Parmesan with English Roasted Potatoes Ina’s Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons White Chocolate English Toffee Beatty’s Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Paloma Cocktail
FYI, you can google any of these recipes and they show up from Ina Garten.
Crispy Chicken Parmesan with English Roasted Potatoes. Delicious.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons. This was my favorite and I’ll try it at home. Here’s a LINK to Ina’s recipe.
One of my neighbor’s friends making the Paloma cocktails.
A photo of the cooking area. We were assigned to stations with our ingredients, pots and pans, burners, ovens and recipes.
My neighbor and I chose White Chocolate English Toffee because it looked super easy. However, we couldn’t get our white chocolate morsels to melt. The instructor added vegetable oil and whipped it into shape. Here’s a LINK to Ina Garten’s recipe.
When we were done cooking, we sat down to a delicious meal. Everything was so good!
Sweet Basil’s is also a kitchen store with all sorts of fun gadgets, beautiful dishes, serving platters, knives and everything under the sun for cooking.
Have you tried any of Ina Garten’s recipes before? If so what ones?
From my list of recipes from the cooking class, which would you most likely want to prepare and eat?
