Thursday, January 19, 2023

What's for Dinner? 1/19/23

 Good Morning!

Well, I'm happy to say that I survived two days in a row at the office.  The first day was not bad...I had lots to do and much to keep me occupied.  Yesterday?  I was twiddling my thumbs and bouncing around on my chair anxious to get home and do something else (knitting or stitching or napping).  It all worked out though.  There was plenty of left over breakfast and lunch and there were a fair number of people in the office (other than those in for the meeting), so I offered up the dregs and the hoards of folks bounded into the kitchen.  I did not have to clean up!

Today is looking to be a rain event.  It's still dark out, but my computer says it is raining now.


Fletch and I are going out later this morning to shop for a new washing machine.  Yup, mine has bitten the dust.  I did a couple of loads of laundry on Monday and then noticed that it would not stop dripping inside.  Fletch researched and I think solved the problem.  A minor repair - probably just a couple hundred dollars between the part and the repair person, BUT our machine is OLD...most likely over 20 years, so we agreed at this point it makes more sense to just get a new one.  Nothing fancy.  I want a top loader so I can felt things if I want and I don't need lots of fancy washes or loads, etc.  I just do regular laundry.  A delicate and a regular cycle will do me fine.  I wonder if we can find something so simple?

Meanwhile, let's talk food and one of the dishes I made this week.  It's a vegan dish and I had shared the recipe with Colin.  He made it first and said it was really good, so I gave it a try.  It is Beans and Broccolini With Crispy Shallots and has a wonderful dressing to go with it (pistachios, parsley, EVOO and lemon juice - YUM).


I made garlic bread to go with it and thought it was delicious.  Fletch was a bit under-whelmed.  He sprinkled parmesan on his, but even that didn't elevate it for him.  Funny as he likes all the ingredients.  He did not care for the sauce/dressing and honestly, I think the juice of half a lemon would have been sufficient (it was pretty strongly lemon flavored).  But still, it was good.

Last night I was in the mood for something to munch on (I don't usually eat anything after dinner), so I roasted some nuts.


So easy - take some raw nuts (last night I used Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds), sprinkle a tiny bit of EVOO on them and then sprinkle with red pepper flakes, sea salt and rosemary.  Roast at 350 for 5 minutes, take out the pan and shake or stir the nuts and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes.  Bingo - a tasty little nibble.

Well, it's Thursday and time for me to start my Thursday reports.  Wishing everyone a fine day - enjoy!

13 comments:

  1. Good luck with the appliance shopping, that's never fun even though it should be! And those nuts look so good, what a great snack!

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  2. Get a Speed Queen washer, they are very basic and dependable.

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  3. Best of luck with the washer shopping! I find it's getting harder and harder to find appliances without tons of bells and whistles -- and they don't last as long as they used to, either!

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  4. I hope you have an easy time choosing a new washer. A few years ago, we needed to replace ours (this was before the pandemic). Like you, I just wanted a high quality TOP loading washing machine. Luckily, we had a really great local appliance store (I'm so sad; they closed this year) and they pointed me to a Speed Queen. They told me it is nothing "sexy," but reliable and sturdy and built to last a long time. It is GREAT. I love it! Anyway. Good luck to you! (And roasted nuts are the best.) XO

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  5. Oh ugh! Good luck selecting a new washer! They have more bells and whistles now than Carter ever had pills! Ha!
    And those roasted nuts look delicious!

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  6. Wishing you good luck with the washing machine! We seem to need a new washer every five years or so, and I always look for the fewest bells and whistles. My current one has more settings than I will ever use, and it thinks it's smarter than I am because it supposedly "weighs" the clothes and chooses the water level itself. The one that came with Ryan's house plays a couple happy little tunes when you start and stop it. It's a fun little feature but I don't think I'd pay $$$ for it.

    John would want chicken with that bean dish but I may try it soon. The dressing sounds delicious!

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  7. I like my top load washer, too! Glad you found one without too much pain!

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  8. I HATE my new washer. It's a Samsung impeller top loader and it goes off balance with every load. I run up and down the stairs all day re-arranging everything I put it in several times a cycle. We calibrate it and it still doesn't help. I can't wait for it to die so I can get a new one. This time I'm going with front loader because the thing I wash most is towels and my new washer HATES towels or anything that gets in the least bit heavy.

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  9. I'll second Speed Queen. When we were having our Maytag repaired (my fault, not the machine's fault), the repair man highly recommended Speed Queen.

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  10. Good luck with the search. I'm sure you'll find something wonderful.

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  11. I love getting a new washing machine, that means it will work when you expect it to!!

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  12. I'm still using my original Maytag from more than twenty-plus years ago. I paid lots to have it repaired rather than replaced. Maytags are made by Whirlpool now, and they're nowhere near as good. The repairman waved us off getting a new one. But I'm with you about top loaders. I have a front loader at the lake and I detest it.

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  13. I'm glad you survived two days in the office. Good luck with the washing machine search. Appliances are so frustrating as they aren't made as well and don't last anywhere near as long as the older ones. The dinner dish sounds good to me. Thanks for the link.

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