What's For Dinner?

 Hello!

It is a grey/overcast day here in Eastern PA.  Probably by mid-morning it will be raining here.  That's ok, I've a busy day ahead of me and the garden could use a good soaking.

True Confession:  Until yesterday, I had never made home-made sauce using fresh tomatoes!  I know!  I've made sauce using canned tomatoes or jarred marinara sauce that I "doctor."  But early yesterday morning (right after I posted yesterday's TNT post) I donned leggings and wellies and headed back over to Rob's to pick more tomatoes.  The bounty:

A nice haul, no?  The red and green bell pepper on the small plate at the back is from our garden.  The hot peppers are the ones I picked at Rob's on Saturday.

I hauled all the tomatoes into a collander and washed them.

That's a lot of tomatoes.  I found a NY Times recipe that calls for halving the tomatoes horizontally and then grating the halves against the large holes of a box grater and then discarding the skins.  Before doing that I got a bunch of things cooking in my pan:  an onion from the garden, the red/green bell pepper, part of another pepper, a shallot, fresh basil, a bunch of chopped mushrooms, a bit of oregano and some parsley.  And, of course, about 3-4 cloves of garlic minced.  While that simmered in a smear of EVOO, I set to grating the tomatoes.  Turns out there were 40!  My largest mixing bowl was filled pretty much 2/3 of the way up with tomatoe juice and pulp.  I added the previously cooked hot and sweet sausage to the mix of veggies in the pan and stirred that around a bit to let it cook some more.

Then I poured the tomato goodness into another pan, added a bit of salt, some basil sprigs and some tomato paste and got that simmering.  I let it cook down a bit and then added the veggie mixture with the sausage.  Oh man!  The house smelled wonderful and the tastes I had were delicious.  

We had planned on having this over pasta last night, but when I texted the above picture to Colin he asked if we could have it tonight when he will be coming over for dinner.  Being a nice Mom I said "of course" and promptly took some salmon out of the freezer for Fletch and me to have last night ("Firecracker Salmon" which is a recipe for another day!).  The decision tonight will be what kind of pasta?  We typically have a big salad with pasta and sauce, but Fletch picked a lot of green beans and has requested that we have those (steamed).

It was fun to make and I'm sure it will taste good tonight.  Next time I make this though, I think I will simply roast the tomatoes in the oven and then throw them in the food processor to chop a bit and then put in a pan to cook.  Roasting gives tomatoes such a deep (and somewhat sweeter I think) flavor.

Time for another cup of coffee and then start in on my Thursday reports.  Hope your week has been going well.

Unraveled Wednesday July 28, 2021

 Good Morning Everyone,

How are you this morning?  I'm a little weary, but it is still early and I'm still waking up.  It may be another hot one today, I'm not sure.  On my agenda is to make some sauce with all those Roma Tomatoes I picked at Rob's over the weekend.  I have an onion and a bell pepper from our garden to add as well as garlic (of course).  I will most likely add some mushrooms and then some grilled hot & sweet sausage that I took out of the freezer to thaw.

Thank you all for your comments on my stitching yesterday.  I haven't laid out the pink floss next to the whiskey (too tired after my day at the office yesterday), but I'm sure the two together will work and that's my plan - use them both...and on both sides.  I'll strive for an update next Tuesday.

Here we are on the last Wednesday in July!  Time for Unraveled Wednesday and a knitting and reading update.  Damon's "Out of This World" sock (the first) is slowly growing.

This is 15 rows of ribbing at the cuff and (so far) 40 rows on the leg.  I typically do 70 rows on the leg for manly socks (and mine too sometimes), so I'm a bit more than halfway down the leg.  The knitting on this (K 6, P2) can be so meditative that I often find I'm closing my eyes!  Trust me, this is not a good thing for me to do.  I have seen folks who knit while looking in another direction and carrying on a detailed conversation.  That is not me.  I need to look and...at times...really concentrate.  Thus, only minimal progress in the past week.  Even though these are being knit for a Christmas present, it is not a race and I have plenty of time.

On the reading front, I did finish The Four Winds last week.  I know that many are not Kristin Hannah fans and I would honestly count myself among them (I could not read "The Great Alone").  But, I really, really liked this book.  Fletch and I also finished reading The Gift of the Deer and now I want to read another book by Helen Hoover (with sketches by her husband).  but, we'll take a break from that kind of book for a little bit.  The other year we so enjoyed reading "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" that Fletch and I started another book by Jules Verne.  This time we are reading From the Earth to the Moon.  We've only just started (the introduction last night), so no report on that yet.  On my own, I am about halfway through The Narrowboat Summer which Jane recommended and I'm liking it quite a bit (when I can stay awake long enough to read more than a page or two).

As usual on a Wednesday, I'm linking up with Kat and the other Unravelers to talk about making and reading.  Whenever I say (or think) "Kat and the other Unravelers" it always makes me think of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters - LOL - a blast from the past.

Cheers to being mid-week!  Hope yours is going well.

Tiny Needle Tuesday July 27, 2021

 Good Morning!

The days are zipping by, aren't they?  We are in the last week of July which just does not seem possible.  And it's Tuesday, which means TNT time.  First up the Coverlet Birds piece which now has a mirror image of the first bird.

Well, amost completed.  the little leg and foot have yet to be stitched...then the branch or whatever it is next to the bird.  There are also some blue designs above the two birds.  Another day and more will be added.

The Pomegranate Bird Sampler is another story.  A little bit more has been accomplished, but it is slow going (40 count fabric and right eye needing cataract surgery and left eye trying to work with a glasses lens that is not correct now).

I realized, too, that I have been slow to work on this for another reason.  I don't particularly care for the color of that top left flower (the color is "whiskey").  The sample on the cover of the chart shows it to be a pink color which I prefer.  I was thinking all along, hand dyed threads and the color will vary from skein to skein (which it does), but then when I looked at the entire chart yesterday I realized the designer had used the incorrect symbol for the upper left flower.  The one that will appear on the right (eventually) is coded in the correct color.  Dilemma!  I will not be ripping it out and putting the correct color in.  The stitching is way too tiny to rip out and I'm sure I'd end up with a hole in the fabric.  So it will stay.  I may lay out the pink thread and see what that would look like to finish this left hand side flower.  Only about half of it is stitched.  And the pink is very pale, so it could appear as though this particular flower is beginning to "go by."  When I get to the other side I will determine whether or not to make it match what I have already stitched or make it the correct color.  A question for another day.  And, honestly, in the grand scheme of things it is not crucial...just annoying and I really wish I had noticed that the wrong symbol was used before I started stitching it.

Well, I'm in a bit of a rush today.  It's now 7 a.m. and I need to pour another cup of coffee, get dressed, wake up Fletch and then leave for the office.  I'm meeting up with Bill (the new Lame Duck!) to review some things and print a lot of things.  Hoping (as always) to be home by lunch, but time will tell.  It already feels a bit warm to me.

Have a great Tuesday!

Weekending

Hello and Good Morning!

How are you and how was your weekend?  Ours was full and wonderful.  Friday was spent avoiding work (ha!) and doing some grocery shopping.  That night I made strawberry sorbet (which no one had on Saturday...we were all too full from dinner...but Fletch and I tried it Sunday and it is so good!!).

Saturday I got up and made a couple of salads to go with dinner - corn & black bean salad and a cucumber salad.  Then I put on my wellies and went across the street to Rob's garden.  The weeds between his raised boxes are high, so I wanted my legs and feet protected.  There was plenty of bounty to pick:

Zinnias!!

Several kinds of tomatoes and hot peppers!  I could not find the zuchinni - the squash vines (he is growing several kinds) are so huge and creeping everywhere.  Honestly, I was worried about snakes!

The rest of Saturday was spent taking it easy and waiting for folks to arrive.  We did see a few creatures though.  First up some cute fawns.  Their mama was under our apple tree munching on some fallen fruit.

And we saw two tiny (very tiny) frogs,  Here is one of them:

You know Tyg was pleased!!

Colin & Mailing showed up late afternoon and then even later, Leslie, Jaimie and Emmy arrived.  I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to see them again.  It had been way too long.  Here is Leslie (my best friend since we were 12 years old!!):

And then here are Colin & Mailing with Jaimie and Emmy.

The weather was perfect (a little humid at times) and we had grilled burgers to go with the salads.  Emmy kept us entertained doing flips and handsprings in the yard while we all caught up for hours on end.  It was late when Colin and Mailing finally left to go home and we went to bed.  It was over way too soon and the girls left around 7 Sunday morning.  They had a long (8 hour) drive ahead and were anxious to be home.

Fletch and I relaxed on Sunday and I ended up having to do some work (which I had avoided on Friday).  I found a little time for stitching too.

Now it's back to routines.  I have a conference call at 10 and am planning to go to the office tomorrow.  Here's to a good week ahead!

TGIF

Good Friday Morning!

Yesterday saw me complete the cleaning I was needing and wanting to get done before Saturday.  A day early!  I still need to put clean sheets on the bed that one or two of the girls will use, and put sheets on the air mattress that someone else will use.  But that's easy peasy.  The hard stuff is over!  I even managed to make a run to the state store for wine.

And the weather was simply wonderful - about 60 in the morning and it barely made it to 80 during the day.  I stretched out after lunch to read some and then doze a little and actually needed a blanket.  It felt great!  Colin came over for dinner (ribs and chicken on the grill, broiled asparagus and summer squash) and we ended up sitting around a fire.  I hope this weather holds through the weekend.

Fletch and Colin picked a little bit from the garden for our dinner.  The first ripe sun gold cherry tomatoes and the very first figs!!

 Fletch and I also went over to Rob's garden and cut a few zinnias for the table.  I did not go in his "compound" as it has very tall weeds and I'm nervous about deer ticks.  Today at some point I will put on my wellies and go back over to see if I can pick some Roma tomatoes and some squash.  And I'm hoping there will be more figs ripe for the weekend.

My Friday is blissfully free of conference calls this week.  I have some work I'd like to do, but then I will tackle the grocery shopping.  Saturday I will just need to make some salads to go with dinner and wipe down the bathrooms.  Not bad!  There should be time for knitting and stitching some.

Cheers to the weekend ahead - enjoy!

What's for Dinner? July 22, 2021

 Good Morning All,

It's early (not yet 6 a.m.) and still kind of dark here.  The sun is just beginning to show itself.  Tyg was not on the patio this morning when I came downstairs, but it is earlier than usual, so I expect he will show up soon.

I've another busy day ahead of me!  It's Thursday, so I've my usual financial reports to run, and a few folks have been asking for other data.  Meanwhile I did not get the cleaning done that I expected to yesterday.  Mostly because Fletch was in the way - LOL.  But he will be out all morning today, so I want to get my reports out of the way and then I can concentrate on getting some personal chores finished!

It's chilly enough that I just got up to turn off the ceiling fan in the office!  And, when I looked out one of the windows I spotted a fox running across the road to our neighbor's yard.  I'll go check for Tyg in a moment.

One of the dishes I made this week (in my new oven!!) was Baked Ratatouille, and it was delicious.  This is the recipe I used:

I liked the idea of slicing the veggies and layering them...could be so pretty...but I didn't want to spoon out some and only get eggplant or only get zuchinni (God forbid in Fletcher's case).  So instead I chopped onions, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant and mixed in some minced garlic and fresh basil.  Sprinkled EVOO over it all and mixed well.  Then I layered the marinara sauce in my pan and covered that with the veggies.  I chopped up a bunch of Compari tomatoes and sprinkled those all over the top.  After baking it at 400 for about 40 minutes, I pulled it out of the oven, added shredded mozarella cheese and popped it back in the oven until the cheese melted.  There was one kaiser roll in the frig, so I split that, buttered it and added garlic and put that in the oven whlie the cheese was melting.  That was dinner!  So good.

This is a recipe that you could mix other things in as well.  Mushrooms would be good or some Italian sausage for added protein.  There was quite a bit left over and I froze a large container for later as well as put a smaller container in the frig for lunches.

Just checked and Tyg was curled up on one of the patio chairs, waiting for me to come to the door.  He's having breakfast now.  So all is well.

Time for me to get a jump on my reports.  Have a great Thursday!

Unraveled Wednesday 7/21/21

 Good Morning Everyone,

The light this morning makes it obvious that the days are slowly getting shorter.  I actually noticed that too last night when Fletch and I were sitting on the patio around 8:30.  I know some of you hate to see Summer go, but I'm a Fall girl and I'm looking forward to all things Fall.  Fletch discovered a volunteer squash plant of some kind coming up in our garden (thank you compost!!).  I'm more inclined to think it is some kind of gourd rather than a squash...so we may be growing our own Fall decorations!

Late afternoon yesterday this guy came wandering into the yard.  Fletch chased him away from the garden and he ended up on the backside between our garden and the neighbor's yard.

His ribs are showing!  The apples on our tree are not getting very big (still golf ball size) and some of them are beginning to fall.  Deer have been coming down to dine.  No fear of humans which is not a good thing.

I'm happy to say that work pretty much cooperated yesterday - at least in the morning.  I was able to get a lot of cleaning done.  There is still much to do, but progress is being made.  My afternoon got busy work-wise, so I was not able to get the stitching or knitting in that I had hoped to, but I was able to knit some last night and got a start on the socks for Damon.

This is the Static yarn by Knitpicks and the colorway is Neptune.  I think the name for these socks will be "Out of This World" socks.  I'm using #2 needles and knit 15 rows of 2x2 ribbing and, so far, have done 15 rows on the leg.  The leg is K6, P2 across.  The yarn is easy to knit with and (theoretically at least) these socks should go fairly quickly.

On the reading side of things I am about three quarters of the way through The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.  I'd best speed things up as I think it is due back to the library today (which is not going to happen).  Monday I picked up Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller at the library - not sure I will get through it or not.  I don't seem to be able to focus on her books, but I wanted to give it a try.

Here's hoping that today is another easy one work-wise.  I have a game plan for the balance of the cleaning I need and want to do.  And of course I'm always thinking of knitting and/or stitching in the afternoon.  As usual, I'm linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  Looking forward to seeing what everyone is making and reading!