STIR FRIED CHICKEN PAPRIKA WITH BUTTERED NOODLES

I am making a new recipe this evening. It truly does look like a mouth full of pleasure. 
I am craving something creamy and flavorful tonight.  My side dish will be a nice accompaniment of buttered egg noodles with fresh parsley, lemon juice and of course lots of butter some salt and pepper. The contrasting flavors of each dish should make for a nice compatibility in ones mouth.
If the meal is a success tomorrow's blog will include the stir fried chicken paprika recipe.

I was disappointed today as I was going to make bread with my Kitchen-aid mixer. I was looking forward to watching it raise and smelling that yeasty  aroma from the oven while it baked. Sadly I forgot to buy yeast. I thought I still had a three pack in my pantry but was mistaken. So no bread baking for this gal on this old foggy cold day. Bad mistake.

I do have something to look forward to Thursday however. I am making raspberry filled white cupcakes with lemon frosting to have on hand while my daughter is here. Nothing says love more than a little treat like a gourmet cupcake. The frosting will be a rich butter cream with lemon zest and small amount of lemon juice. After the cupcakes are frosted I will zest a little extra peel over the tops for a bright bite.
I have a white cake recipe that is divine. It is as light as a feather, delicate and rich(lots of butter).
One has to be careful making cakes from scratch. If you over beat or put the mixer on a high speed the batter will become to dense and make for a compacted tough cake or worse yet one that will not even rise.
One needs to slowly beat air into to the batter and there is a method for doing that. Each step must be executed slowly and thoughtfully.
Something internal always told me to go easy on mixing up cake batter. Less is more. Once the ingredients are well incorporated quit mixing! As always eggs go in one at a time till blended in. A quick way to sift (as most folks do not take the time) is put your dry ingredients into a large bowl and use a whip by hand. Just circle through your dry ingredients until they are blended. And remember when baking you cannot fly by the seat of your pants. Your measurements must be perfect. Baking is a science, while cooking is an art.

My hubby just asked me if I would like to join him the hot tub. I think I will. We have bitter cold and fog so a hot soak will feel just fine.
So off I go!

MY MOM'S PYREX BOWLS

Here they are! 
I came by these bowls when my niece Chris  had cancer and her odd's of beating it seemed slim so she passed the bowls to me.
I had wanted them after my Mother passed but Chris asked for them so I said yes.
I am so happy she gave them to me who knows where they may have gone as Chris died not long after putting them in my hands.
These bowls have always meant much to me for various reasons. Big yellow bowl potato salad, green bowl mashed potatoes........you get the idea.
So when I brought them home I wrote a little story of how I felt about these bowls which I will share with you now.

THE BOWLS
As I looked at the bowls my heart was happy. I did not want to put them in the kitchen cabinet as I longed for the sight of them but I knew I could not keep them on my counter forever. I removed the old bowls from the shelf and replaced them with these delightful bright colored bowls that adorned the table when I was young and continued to do so through the years until Mom was cooking and baking no longer.
Today I made lemon batter for lemon bread in the bright yellow one and beat the eggs in the green one. I touched and fondled them as if they were a lover. I took such care to beat and blend by hand until all was perfect. I then washed the bowls tenderly in warm sudsy water and traced their rims with my soapy fingers. Knowing my Mother's hands had done these same tasks over and over gave me a sense of being with her in that very moment. I truly felt her presence so strongly that I was prompted to go the stereo and put on the old standards, the same songs that she would be listening to on the radio when I came through the door from school.
So my Mother and I tidied my kitchen together and swayed to the music as the aroma of lemon filled the air and our hearts danced with the bright joy of the afternoon.
Ah........it was a good day.

THOUGHTS

I titled this post thoughts for a reason. As there is nothing going on in our life right now except thoughts it seems.
We have been thinking about some little adventures later this year or next when the weather is suitable. Talking about perhaps a trip to Nashville Tenn for a week. We think it would be a fun place to go and listen to music in the out of the way cafe's etc. We could eat some good southern food and check the area out. We have not done anything like that for some time. We think it would be a fun trip.
Another trip we have been talking about for years is an Alaska cruise. We are not wanting to take a tropical cruise as we have been to a number of islands over the years and want to do something different. As we can board a cruise ship in Seattle it seems a feasible thing to do without much effort. So we have been having thoughts!
I suppose these grim winter days bring on such thoughts. One has to think of something to make the day brighter at least in spirit.
Yes we are still in gray today. I have lost count of how many days now in a row we have had this fog.
I have not been walking as it is just so bitter. I know I said I would walk every day regardless of the weather but easier said than done. The air is like a frozen stone.

I am reorganizing my book cases today. I am overloaded with books so I need to sort and take some books to the thrift store. I am also removing some family photos and such that sit atop my bookcases and will use that area for books also.

I finished a great book a couple of days ago as you know. The book I am reading now is wonderful in it's own right. It is called "The School of Essential Ingredients". by Erica Bauermeister. This is her first book but there will be more this woman knows how to write! She lives in Seattle and this book is set in the northwest. It is a book about cooking and allowing the sensuality of preparing a meal full of textures and spices and ingredients seep into your being. I have never read a book  like this and I love it! It takes your mind a step farther into the process of cooking.

I am now going to work on my books in those overloaded cases.
Have a nice Saturday. Perhaps cook up something divine and be in the moment of the whole process. You will be surprised how remarkable that experience can be.
I think I am going to bake something this afternoon and take in each step slowly and savor it just like meditation 
Bye for now.

TACO'S TONIGHT

We are hungry for taco's tonight. This is a photo I took of some pork verde taco's I made previously. Tonight our taco's will be ground beef as that is what I have on hand. Into them will be the usual toppers. Shredded lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, onions and cheese.
My husband is making a batch of tomatilla sauce today. We love that green fresh tasting sauce so that will be my sauce on my taco as well as on a side of rice and red beans.

I just had a pretty hardy breakfast/lunch combo for me. I gobbled down the half of baked pork chop I did not eat last evening as well as a small dish of homemade applesauce. So I will be content till taco time this evening.

Life with fog!!!!!!!! Oh we are so tired of this low hanging gray blanket. The hard part is knowing that just a small way above this  dense cover there is sun and warmth. If we were to go a ways on either pass out of this city we would be in the sunshine. 


We are painting one of our bathrooms this weekend. Tomorrow I will start the prep work and we will paint on Sunday.
I have had a hard time determining what color I want for this room. The floors are neutral large tiles, the counters are lovely in ceramic grained Mexican style tiles in neutral variations with a husky bullnose edging.
I have decided to go with a medium value canyon color. I just want to set a nice backdrop for some colorful thick bath rugs in a sea blue/green. 


For those of you still on a weekly work schedule today is your TGIF. Rejoice and be happy! All the years I was in the design field working I never had a Monday through Friday schedule. I sometimes had split days
off(nasty)or most likely I had Sunday and Monday. At least I could have one weekend day off to get together with family and friends that had weekends off. Seems so long ago that working gal life of mine however I have only been retired for eight years. Time sure flies when you get older.

I surely hope where you are that you are not trapped in grips of fog.

On a footnote for those of you that follow my blog daily. You are probably wondering why we are having taco's when I stated yesterday we were having wonderful fresh ling cod today. Well hubby went to get the fish and it did not come in as promised so we had to adapt. So taco's it is!

MY MOM'S APPLE FRITTERS

These yummy little tidbits were wonderful. I just used my Mother's old standby recipe. I ate many of these fritters throughout my young years. We finally finished them off yesterday. The recipe really makes too much for two people so from now on I will half it.

Wow! talk about cold weather. Brr and more brr.
We took a hot tub last night in freezing fog. I will say that hot water was incredible we so enjoyed that soak. We plugged in the icicle lights. It was a festive touch.

We did not go on our country drive that I had mentioned yesterday. The clouds did not lift and the same seems true for today. We are getting so weary of the gray and this stone cold. Nothing moves, just dense bone cold air in the stillness.

Our spaghetti sauce last night was once more  such a treat. Bright red sauce made with our own garden tomatoes from last summers harvest. They work out so well just roasting, slipping the skins,blending and freezing them. This batch was not seasoned in any way. It was just roasted tomato sauce.
So I added some olive oil into my red pot, tossed in some diced onion and a couple cloves of minced garlic and slowly cooked until the onion was transparent. Then I added the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, cracked black pepper, kosher salt,dried parsley and red wine and tiny meat balls. I let all simmer for about two hours removing the lid the last twenty minutes or so it could reduce somewhat. We made bruchetta with olive oil and a little mozzarella cheese and scallions and quickly toasted it under the broiler. It made for a lovely meal with a large glass of melbec. I added a romantic touch with candlelight and red and white checkered napkins. La Dolce Vita.
As is normal I made enough for tonight. So a repeat of dinner with the addition of a mixed green salad. 
We never mix the spaghetti noodles and sauce together if we know we are having the meal again as the noodles as you probably know will swell in the sauce. That rings true with all the pasta dishes I make, unless in a casserole.

I just fixed myself a hot buttered rum. I am chilled and that will certainly warm me up.
I do love them but will not have more than one. They are very fattening and rich.

We are looking forward to Friday as our fishmonger at the fish market told us they are having fresh pacific ling cod. It will be unadvertised. There will limited amounts so hubby is going to call first to make sure it is in and go and pick us enough for two days. It is a steal at just $5.99 a pound. Friday I am going to prepare it in the black iron skillet. I will very simply salt and pepper the fillets and put into the skillet with a little butter and olive oil mix. A nice sear on one side flip to sear the other side and out of the pan fast. With a squeeze of lemon it will be perfect.
My husband is going to prepare it the next day. He wants to make cod fish sandwiches. So he will season the fillets and bread them in egg and panko and fry them crispy. I will make my home made tarter sauce which we will slather on sesame buns with shredded lettuce, a slice of tomato and onion. Sounds pretty wonderful both ways.

I am in love with my beautiful book with all things Italian. So it is time now to sip my hot buttered rum before it cools down and stick that nose of mine into my book.

Ciao

READY FOR SPRING AND WINE COUNTRY......ALREADY!

Yes I am ready for spring and our annual trip to wine country. Tired of winter already! Though that is probably not a good thing as it will be with us for a while yet. Fortunately here in this southern end of the Willamette Valley springs shoots forward in mid march. By the end of March the sprout is on!
We always have two events to look forward to in spring. Wine country(see photo) as it is the most beautiful then so lush and green and our annual trip to Reno. A road trip we have been taking for many years. We usually go around my birthday time(May 1st) and spend four to five nights in a luxurious suite at the Eldorado hotel so that alone makes it fun for us. We know all the good eateries and fours star restaurants after years of trying most every one. So only two more months till spring in the valley.........yes! Then later the little trips.

Today looks promising. Woke to a stone cold gray sky but now the sky is brightening slowly, but perhaps...........sun?  Oh that would be lovely. We are hoping for a drive out in the country between Junction City and Monroe area toward the west. It is pure countryside out there rambling hills and big sky country. A sunny day, a picnic lunch and the camera will make us two happy souls. Hubby wants to check out the Long Tom river and find some fishing holes for springtime. So a little day trip this week if the sun shows it face.

I am ashamed to say I am still sitting here in morning attire. I must shower, dress and get my day going it is already after ten.
Oh on a note, I am loving my new book I started a couple of days ago. It is set in Tuscany. A love story about two Americans that find one another in Italy and fall in love. I adore books that are set in Italy. This one in particular is very descriptive and also has little sayings in Italian with English under. Lovely. So I intend to spend sometime today reading but I must linger as I need to savor this book.

So I am off.....enjoy your Monday not the best day in the week but a day of your life regardless.

TACO NIGHT

Saturday.
Taco night! Yum is all I can say. I had two taco's and no sides. Hubby ate four and Mexican rice...... he was a hungry man.

It is so cold brrrrr, 20 degrees tonight. The hot tub had icicles all day hanging off the sides........weird. Hubby took a hot tub late afternoon before dinner. When he came in we played games for a while before I fixed dinner. It was a fun relaxing day.

I went to the store first thing this morning. As I did not want a lot of folks out and about with the flu epidemic.  I could not believe the amount of people out and about coughing, blowing noses and sneezing. Please stay home if you are sick. They say this flu is so contagious that for instance someone can sneeze and the germs will fly six feet. Even if you are not there when  this happens if you walk through the area shortly after you will be exposed.
I am one of those that does not get a flu shot. Hubby did this year first time ever. I am just afraid I will have a reaction from it and I do not like putting things into my body that are not natural. There are fillers in the flu shot that make some folks very sick. I will take my chances and do everything I can to stay safe. We will not eat out for one thing during the duration of this epidemic. I use sanitizer the minute I get in my car before touching my steering wheel. I avoid close contact with people. Also I will only go out once a week early in the morning to do my grocery shopping.
The paper stated that workers are the worse offenders because they do not stay home when sick with the flu. They continue to work at their jobs and spread it everywhere among other workers and shoppers. For youngsters, seniors  folks that have health issues, this flu could be a death warrant.
Well enough doom and gloom.

Tomorrow I am fixing artichoke Parmesan ravioli's in vodka sauce with a fresh baked baguette. Just a simple little meal as I picked up the ravioli's at a  gourmet shop and they are already made.


There is no more news so I will say good-bye for now.