2020 COOKATHON #2

It is raining today – and that will continue off and on, into the weekend.

I woke up this morning to see a man walking around my Lot, casing the place out. Then I noticed the Maintenance Man golf cart and him glancing now and then at a green slip of paper, and realized he must be the man candy sent over to have the ornamental maple out front pruned back. So, I pulled a pair of jeans on over my PJ’s and went outside to show him what needed to be trimmed back. And he started going crazy with the clippers! My eyes got big, and I’m sure my mouth dropped open while he was hacking wildly at the tree limbs. He didn’t even try to blend the pruned ends in with the other foliage as most people do when they prune (as I would have done if allowed to tend to my own tree). But, candy insists that “professionals” do the pruning of all the trees in the Park.

So, now, the “professional” has whacked out the leafy limbs that were brushing my windows … and I have an ugly chop job staring at me every time I look out my livingroom window:

While he was out there, he saw the suckers coming up in my Lot rock from the tree next door, and cut those suckers off, too. Then he said the neighboring tree had branches encroaching onto my roof and he’d have to remove those limbs also: I didn’t argue. Bob, if he were still here, would have said the same thing. So, he got busy sawing – and removed several limbs …

Since I couldn’t get outside (rain, and maintenance man activity), I got busy cooking – I took the last freezer meal out of the little chest freezer the other night, so this morning seemed like a good time to get busy with another cookathon ;-)

Bread baking was already on my ‘to do’ list for the day, so I just expanded the cooking agenda :-D

(http://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2018/07/low-cholesterol-challah-shabbat-bread.html) 

Which is a good thing on 2 counts: I really need to restock my freezer meals cache – and the Dental Office called to tell me they could see me Tuesday morning. I’m glad … and I may not feel like cooking for a few days. This tooth was scheduled to be tended to before inslee was in biden’s inner circle lineup for VP position, and businesses were shuttered in a political power-grab. Now, it’s crucial it be taken care of. Covid-19 doesn’t concern me as much as a building abscess does. I’ve had an abscess before, and it’s not something I want to repeat; especially in a lockdown situation.

I also received this text from my youngest sister, Carla:

GOOD start to my Sabbath weekend :-D

The Fruited Chicken recipe sounded good when I read the recipe: and I had everything on hand – I substituted grapefruit juice for the crushed pineapple because I don’t like pineapple; the house smelled wonderful while it cooked. It looked good too when it came out of the oven :-D

I bought this brand of wine of to use in the recipe because of the heron on the label ;-)

And, of course, seeing the heron made me think of Bob – Bob liked seeing herons when we went walking along the dike on 48^th …

Video from August 6^th, 2019 when I braved “our dike hike” solo lobo. It seems like no matter what I am doing … Bob is always – and always will BE, a part of it. Because he will always be a part of me and my life. Everywhere I turn has reminders of the man I love.

I have been hungering lately for this Tortilla Casserole – so this morning I made it ;-) I use regular corn tortillas, baked and crumbled because they are lower in salt and fat. The tofu provides a low-fat protein and texture without distorting the Mexican flavor of the dish. This meal can also be frozen without distorting the texture of the tofu.

The Penne w-Shrimp & Pepper Sauce sounded good, too; and it whipped up speedily. This is an untried recipe, so I’m not sure what it’s supposed to look like … but mine looks like a thick soup. I’m game to try it – the ingredients are appealing. And red bell peppers are good for whole body health (https://www.chatelaine.com/health/healthy-recipes-health/five-health-benefits-of-red-peppers/).

The Short Ribs of Beef was made because I need to use some of the oldest sitting meats in the freezer. My husband was a meat-n-potatoes man. He loved my short ribs when I cooked them for him, and I have been reluctant to stir up those memories; but now, it’s time. With a hope and a prayer. The ribs need to be cooked, and I think I am strong enough emotionally to ‘go there’ today.

And last, but not least, Steak Supper in Foil. Just because every now and then I get a hankering for this simple tasty casserole-style dish :-D

I take some license with written recipes … I cook the meals as works for me and my style of cooking – but I post the recipes in their original format for recipe purists: my picture may not match exactly what the written recipe says, so FOLLOW THE RECIPE as posted; at least for the first time you make one of these dishes.

==FRUITED CHICKEN ~ serves 2

1-1/2 pounds skinned Chicken parts * 2 teaspoons enriched Flour * 2 teaspoons Margarine * ½ cup Orange juice * ¼ cup crushed pineapple * 1 Tablespoon Raisins * Sugar substitute to equal 3 teaspoons * 2 teaspoons White Wine * ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard * ¼ teaspoon ground Cinnamon * 1/8 teaspoon ground Cloves

Dredge chicken in flour; set aside:

Melt margarine in medium skillet; add chicken and sauté until lightly browned on all sides …

Transfer chicken to a shallow baking pan. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake 35 minutes at 350-degrees; basting often:

Broil a few minutes to brown top slightly. Remove from oven …

I cook my meals for freezer fare – I portioned the chicken out for 2 meals (added some veggies – covered the food with plastic wrap and added a roll); covered the filled pan with its lid, trimmed the excess foil & wrap & labeled it. Then I froze them.

==TORTILLA CASSEROLE

This is a repeat recipe already posted to my Blog: (http://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2018/02/tortilla-casserole.html)

I cook my meals for freezer fare – I portioned the casserole out for 4 meals (covered the food with plastic wrap); covered the filled pan with its lid, trimmed the excess foil & wrap & labeled it. Then I froze them.

==PENNE w-SHRIMP & PEPPER SAUCE ~ makes 4 servings

I did my recipe a little different … I’m a weirdo, and this works for me ;-) I think the original writ of the recipe indicates you serve the sauce with whole shrimp over the penne noodles.

This peppery sauce is a treat. Allow time to peel and devein the shrimp – you’ll need the shells to make the shrimp stock.

12 medium Shrimp * 1 Bay leaf * ¼ teaspoon ground Thyme * 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Olive Oil * 2 cups cubed Red Bell Pepper * 1 cup low-sodium Tomato Sauce * ½ cup chopped Parsley * ¼ teaspoon Salt * ¼ teaspoon dried Basil * Pinch dried Cayenne pepper flakes * ¼ cup sliced Scallions * 3 ounces COOKED Penne or other tubular pasta

Start the pasta cooking …

I used white rice noodles. They are sticky when cooked, and the cooking liquid will be kinda thickened with the rice starch.

Peel and devein shrimp; set aside. Place shells in a large saucepan; add bay leaf, thyme, and ¾ cup water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 8 minutes, stirring, until shells turn opaque. Strain into small bowl, pressing shells to extract all liquid. Discard shells:

Stock simmering. I already had shrimp stock in my freezer, so I just added the herbs and simmered it for 8 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add bell pepper and sauté 10-12 minutes; stirring until peppers are soft – remove from heat and cool slightly. Place peppers in food processor (or blender) with tomato sauce, parsley, salt, basil, cayenne flakes, and reserved shrimp sauce; process until smooth …

I added my shrimp to the blender ingredients – it just seemed like the shrimp would be more evenly divided between the portions I intend to freeze … and wouldn’t toughen either in the freezer.

Scrape stock puree into skillet. Add scallions and shrimp; cook 3 minutes, until shrimp turn pink – stirring occasionally. (If mixture becomes too thick, add water – 1 Tablespoon at a time). Place penne in a large serving bowl; pour shrimp mixture over, and toss to mix well.

I cook my meals for freezer fare – I portioned the finished meal out for 4 meals (covered the food with plastic wrap, and added a roll); covered the filled pan with its lid, trimmed the excess foil & wrap, & labeled it. Then I froze them.

==SHORT RIBS OF BEEF ~ 2 to 3 servings

This is a 2-step recipe, so expect to spend some time in the kitchen, tenderizing the ribs first – then crisping them in the oven just before serving.

2 lb. Beef Short Ribs

Place in a heavy pot with a lid: 5 cups Water * 1 small Onion, sliced * 1 small Carrot, sliced * 4 or more Ribs of celery with leaves, sliced

Bring these ingredients to the boiling point. Add the meat. Simmer, covered, until nearly tender – about 2 hours. Take out meat; strain and degrease the stock. Make about 3 cups of thin gravy (recipe follows).

Tenderizing ribs and making stock for gravy.

Preheat oven to 325-degrees.

Heat in a heavy skillet:

¼ cup fat

Slice, add, and stir until golden:

1 small onion

Brown the meat in the hot fat.

Pour over it, half the gravy. Bake uncovered about 45 minutes until brown and crisp. You may baste occasionally with the drippings.

Reheat the gravy; season it with: 1 teaspoon Marjoram, preferably fresh

Place the meat on a hot platter, garnish with Mashed Potatoes served piping hot with gravy.

MEAT PAN GRAVY ~ 3 cups

Remove the meat from the pan. Place meat where it will remain hot; pour off all but:

6 Tablespoons drippings

Blend into the drippings:

3 to 6 Tablespoons Flour

Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened and until the mixture is well combined and smooth. Continue to cook slowly and stir constantly, while adding:

The degreased pan juices and milk, water, stock, cream, wine or flat beer to make 3 cups.

Season the gravy with:

Salt

Pepper

Fresh or minced herbs

Grated lemon rind

Tint if necessary, with:

A few drops of Kitchen Bouquet flavoring

You may strain the gravy; reheat before serving.

I cook my meals for freezer fare – I portioned the finished meal out for 3 meals (added some veggies – covered the food with plastic wrap, and added a roll); covered the filled pan with its lid, trimmed the excess foil & wrap, & labeled it. Then I froze them.

==STEAK SUPPER IN FOIL ~4 servings

1-1/2 pound Chuck Steak, 1-inch thick * 1 can (10-1/2 ounce) condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup * 1 envelope dry Onion Soup Mix * 3 medium Carrots, quartered * 2 stalks Celery, cut into 2-inch pieces * 3 medium Potatoes, pared and quartered * 2 Tablespoons Water

Heat oven to 450-degrees.

Place 24 x 18-inch piece of heavy-duty foil in a large baking pan; place meat on foil. Stir together mushroom soup and onion soup; spread on meat. Top meat with vegetables: sprinkle water on vegetables.

Fold foil over and seal securely. Cook 1-1/2 hours … or until meat is tender and potatoes are cooked through.

I had some finely chopped celery that needed to be used first, so I spread that on top of the mushroom mixture; works for me ;-)

I cook my meals for freezer fare – I portioned the finished meal out for 3 meals (added some peas because Bob was on my mind, and he liked peas – covered the food with plastic wrap, and added a roll); covered the filled pan with its lid, trimmed the excess foil & wrap, & labeled it. Then I froze them.

Now, I’m going to enjoy my Shabbat evening meal (Fruited Chicken) with a small goblet of wine … and have some Challah with honey butter later ;-)

L’Chiam!

SIMPLE CAN BE GOOD, TOO

My day was a relatively simple one today. Noticing there was a lull in the rainfall, I looked out the livingroom window and saw that my variegated Iris’ are blooming; and the purple-striped-petunias in the Leek/Snow-pea planter box is filling out pretty nice, too. So, encouraged by those bright spots of color and the silence of a break in the spotty light, but very wetting rainfall, I hurried outside and fleshed out a few more garden boxes with veggie transplants …

Hopefully my tomatoes will survive the transplant ... a full-blown-rainstorm blew in later on.

Listening to the playback on the videos, I realized my aching tooth is affecting the sound affect – my jaw hurts clear into my ear; it hurts to move my jaw too much.

So, after I was done dinking around in the garden boxes, I came inside and left a voice message in Dr. Anderson’s mailbox to get back to me with a scheduled appointment to have my tooth attended to: I was supposed to get this done before inslee started his nazi muscle flexing that shut everything down; now the tooth is really letting me know it needs to be attended to. The Dental Office is “closed until further notice”, but Dr. Anderson is “on call for emergencies” … this tooth pain is beginning to feel like the start of an abscess building: to me that qualifies as an emergency. Covid-19 doesn't concern me as much as an infectious abscess does. I hope Dr. Anderson hears my message the same way.

Practically as soon as the phone convo ended – another began.

Apparently, my friends are feeling safe enough to start socializing again – and that is okay by May 11^th’s State Guidelines (‘no more than 5 people from outside your immediate family’ to a gathering: we’re safe). Supper invitations are being extended to me as people’s social bubbles expand. Monday, I had Supper with some friends out Coal Creek Road; and this afternoon I got a phone call from a friend up Toutle way, calling to see how I’m doing. He said, “We heard about Bob’s passing a while ago, but wanted to give you your space; I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you. You guys were always holding hands and smiling at each other like you had a secret. You two had real love; it must be hard on you. But now, we want to see you, Val. We want you to come for Supper soon … and stop in next time you’re in the neighborhood – also text me your address, so we can pop in. We miss you.” It was good to hear his voice; Carl and I were friends first … we met one afternoon when we each took our kids out on their Hot Wheels trikes around the Paradise Cove Park grounds – we started talking to each other, and never stopped. LOL. We all became fast friends 22 years ago, while neighbors at Paradise Cove – our granddaughter and their son were the same age, and grew up together for several years; no matter where we all had moved on to, we stayed in touch. Now our kids are married. He understood about the 2 year lapse, but he also said, “I can’t believe it’s coming up on 2 years. It’s time, Val; we need to get together.” I agree.

I’ve missed him and Becky – it felt good to smile when I heard Carl’s voice; it felt good to laugh at his lame jokes that he knew would make me laugh. It was music to my ears … and balm to my healing heart when he spoke Bob’s Name without hesitation or uneasiness.

Bob loved my smile and the sound of my laughter.

I smiled and laughed a lot because Bob was in my life. I wore my smile like some women wear jewelry – bold and flamboyant. I laughed because Bob loved me just the way I am. It felt good to be loved so unconditionally.

My life was magical and beautiful because he was in it.

We gave each other joy, and that joy permeated the air around us. Bob was a joyful man; he laughed all the time – I learned to laugh because he filled my life with love and passion. Our laughter echoed off everyone near us. We looked at each other with a love that everyone could feel sizzle the air; our words were always laced with heartfelt love … and people that heard us loving on each other knew it was real.

The smile Bob loved to see me wear was effortless: he put that smile there, and I beamed it back at him.

Life was good for 44 years.

And that is an understatement.

Life can be good again – not as good as it was when Bob brought magic into it; but it can be simple good again ;-)

My friends know how to tap into that smile and laughter Bob left me with.

Simple can be good, too :-D