...though it does not precisely qualify as 'cooking' it was pretty interesting. Not necessarily delicious or appealing, so you see that 'interesting' can apply to lots of things that you are not at all certain whether they are good or thoroughly distasteful. As my mom would say: "covers a multitude of sins".
The recipe was for a cold soup, so I guess you could describe it as a gazpacho sort of item. Being very fond of soups, I should like it - but due to the color could not bring myself to put it in my mouth. It was sort of a sea-foam green. I did not expect all the ingredients to readily fit into the small cannister we have for the blender at work. And was surprised when it all did go so I could screw the lid on and puree.
Ingredients included a cup of honeydew melon, one half of an English cucumber, diced green onions, jalapeno pepper...so you can imagine how green it was. There are several more ingredients, considerably more complicated than the pork loin on the same recipe card, but I don't recall. When you serve it you put a little dollop of yogurt on top. Mostly, they said it was surprisingly tasty - but some simply declined to even taste. (That would be me!) It does not look like something I would enjoy, but lots of tasters reported it was a good dip for the pork roast on their little sample plates...
Friday, August 14, 2015
cookin' at work...
...when I got back to The Real World. I made this recipe three times on Thursday, five times on Friday and five more times on Saturday. So yes, I think I had it pretty well memorized. But for the life of me I cannot remember what it was - so in reality not actually all that 'memorable, I guess.
The one I can tell you about is the one I cooked on Wednesday of this week. It was a pork roast. I did not taste it, as I could not be convinced to actually put the porker in my mouth. But had some really positive feed back. A number of passers-by, when asked if they would like to have a 'taste of this yummy new recipe', looked at what was in my casserole dish and asked if it was chicken. But if they had bothered to look at the sign on the front of the stand, would have seen it saying 'Pork' and something like sun-dried tomatoes with capers. I was surprised by some of the remarkably strong opinions people have about capers: both positive and negative. I'm take-it-or-leave-it, but there were people who asked for extra and people who refused to even take a taste due to the inclusion.
It was really simple. Using a pound pork roast, sprinkle with seasoned salt (Lawry's was what we used), and brown in a skillet. Coat it with half the 'finishing butter' that has been flavored with the sun-dried tomatoes mixed with capers and put in a pre-heated oven for twelve to fifteen minutes. That's about it.
The pork loin comes pre-packaged in a vacuum sealed bag and weighs in at about two pounds, so I used one half each time I made the recipe. You could double, or put half away for another day. I told many folk if you wanted to take the package to the meat department, they would cut it in half for you, and package it so you could put the part you didn't cook for supper tonight in the freezer for another meal. Plus it's on sale this week, so now is definitely the time to buy.
Most of the recipes we demo. come closer to being a complete meal, with the addition of a vegetable or carb. added. But this one had no rice or noodles included. But it did have a very strange item added: cold cucumber soup. That might or might not have been appetizing....
The one I can tell you about is the one I cooked on Wednesday of this week. It was a pork roast. I did not taste it, as I could not be convinced to actually put the porker in my mouth. But had some really positive feed back. A number of passers-by, when asked if they would like to have a 'taste of this yummy new recipe', looked at what was in my casserole dish and asked if it was chicken. But if they had bothered to look at the sign on the front of the stand, would have seen it saying 'Pork' and something like sun-dried tomatoes with capers. I was surprised by some of the remarkably strong opinions people have about capers: both positive and negative. I'm take-it-or-leave-it, but there were people who asked for extra and people who refused to even take a taste due to the inclusion.
It was really simple. Using a pound pork roast, sprinkle with seasoned salt (Lawry's was what we used), and brown in a skillet. Coat it with half the 'finishing butter' that has been flavored with the sun-dried tomatoes mixed with capers and put in a pre-heated oven for twelve to fifteen minutes. That's about it.
The pork loin comes pre-packaged in a vacuum sealed bag and weighs in at about two pounds, so I used one half each time I made the recipe. You could double, or put half away for another day. I told many folk if you wanted to take the package to the meat department, they would cut it in half for you, and package it so you could put the part you didn't cook for supper tonight in the freezer for another meal. Plus it's on sale this week, so now is definitely the time to buy.
Most of the recipes we demo. come closer to being a complete meal, with the addition of a vegetable or carb. added. But this one had no rice or noodles included. But it did have a very strange item added: cold cucumber soup. That might or might not have been appetizing....
Sunday, August 9, 2015
a book i read while traveling...
...and would have finished in a day, except for having to go to work when I got home, returning to the real world'. I'd taken a couple of paperbacks, intending to dispose of them if I got finished to lighten my load. But liked the one I read so much I could not let it go. And brought it back to GA, though I intended to lighten my load for the return trip. It was one of those Sue Grafton mysteries, with the dysfunctional PI Kinsey Millhone, named for letters of the alphabet. I haven't read them all, but this one was near the end: "W for Wasted."
The book I was given to read on the flight home was "The Ginger Tree" by Oswald Wynd. It was a paperback and pretty old, according to the discolored quality of the cheap newsprint it was printed on. A really interesting story. Written as a journal, from the point of view of a woman who was going from the UK to China to marry a man she barely knew in the earliest years of the 1900's. Travel that distance was by boat, taking months to reach China on the far side of the globe. She spent most of the rest of her life in China and Japan, had two children, who were both forcibly taken away from her when they were quite young. It progresses through her letters to her mother in Scotland, a friend who is married to a French diplomat and years of her journal entries over half a century, through two world wars. No spoiler here.... A really neat page-turner.
You get to the end of the story before you ever find out what the significance of the title is, and I am still sort of wondering. The actual ginger tree was such a non-entity, of practically no import, that I am even now baffled as to why the author gave it that title. It is a really interesting story, and worth the time to read., when I
The book I was given to read on the flight home was "The Ginger Tree" by Oswald Wynd. It was a paperback and pretty old, according to the discolored quality of the cheap newsprint it was printed on. A really interesting story. Written as a journal, from the point of view of a woman who was going from the UK to China to marry a man she barely knew in the earliest years of the 1900's. Travel that distance was by boat, taking months to reach China on the far side of the globe. She spent most of the rest of her life in China and Japan, had two children, who were both forcibly taken away from her when they were quite young. It progresses through her letters to her mother in Scotland, a friend who is married to a French diplomat and years of her journal entries over half a century, through two world wars. No spoiler here.... A really neat page-turner.
You get to the end of the story before you ever find out what the significance of the title is, and I am still sort of wondering. The actual ginger tree was such a non-entity, of practically no import, that I am even now baffled as to why the author gave it that title. It is a really interesting story, and worth the time to read., when I
inquiring minds want to know more...
about what we did and saw when we were traveling, right? After two days in the Seattle area, we left and drove west towards the coast, and south until we got to Oregon. There is a huge river separating the two, I think the one that finally got Lewis and Clark to the Pacific, after lots of mis-adventures and detours. It is the Columbia and as wide as a lake, or looking like one from the viewpoint of a south Georgia flat-lander. The trip along the sort-of coast was scenic, lots of little towns and water.
My traveling companions were anxious to put their toes in the ocean, so we stopped at a little resort-y town and they walked out on the beach, which was remarkably cold and windy. Inspected Haystack Rock, where puffins and seabirds nest and perch.
Then we drove across the bridge that spans the Columbia, and had eats at a neat little brew pub, tasting an assortment of beers, and enjoying the view of the river, after a short trolley to nowhere and back again. On to Portland area, where we spent three nights. We did several tourist-y things in Portland on Monday: Powell's Bookstore, the Voodoo Donut shop,(that was an experience -especially for someone who does not eat/like donuts) and an amazing Rose Garden. The part of the story I remember about the huge rose garden: it started with plants that were brought over to save from destruction in England before the Big War. And it has become a sort of national treasure, where lots of test/experimental roses are grown and lovingly cared for by a large contingent of volunteers with a few paid staff to supervise. It smelled heavenly. Thousands of fragrant roses of every color imaginable in full bloom, scenting the air with aromatic nose delight.
On Tuesday we drove the river gorge, inland along the Washington side, and across the bridge that transports walkers along the Pacific Coast Trail from Mexico to Canada. And back to Portland area along the Oregon side, where there a lots of protected areas, state parks, scenic stops, waterfalls, hiking trails, with the interstate highway hugging the river's edge in places. A really neat place to stop and enjoy the view is one of the highest points along the gorge, at Crown Point. Beautiful scenery. Mostly evergreen trees, things like spruce and fir, with not many of the deciduous trees we see in GA.
Got back on the plane in Portland to return to GA. I do understand it is about a four hour flight, but when you are time-traveling, returning east from the west coast, you gallop through three zones, and loose your bearings. So, we got on about 12:30 and got off about 8:30, though it only took four hours to actually get from point A to point B. My brain is still fuzzy.
My traveling companions were anxious to put their toes in the ocean, so we stopped at a little resort-y town and they walked out on the beach, which was remarkably cold and windy. Inspected Haystack Rock, where puffins and seabirds nest and perch.
Then we drove across the bridge that spans the Columbia, and had eats at a neat little brew pub, tasting an assortment of beers, and enjoying the view of the river, after a short trolley to nowhere and back again. On to Portland area, where we spent three nights. We did several tourist-y things in Portland on Monday: Powell's Bookstore, the Voodoo Donut shop,(that was an experience -especially for someone who does not eat/like donuts) and an amazing Rose Garden. The part of the story I remember about the huge rose garden: it started with plants that were brought over to save from destruction in England before the Big War. And it has become a sort of national treasure, where lots of test/experimental roses are grown and lovingly cared for by a large contingent of volunteers with a few paid staff to supervise. It smelled heavenly. Thousands of fragrant roses of every color imaginable in full bloom, scenting the air with aromatic nose delight.
On Tuesday we drove the river gorge, inland along the Washington side, and across the bridge that transports walkers along the Pacific Coast Trail from Mexico to Canada. And back to Portland area along the Oregon side, where there a lots of protected areas, state parks, scenic stops, waterfalls, hiking trails, with the interstate highway hugging the river's edge in places. A really neat place to stop and enjoy the view is one of the highest points along the gorge, at Crown Point. Beautiful scenery. Mostly evergreen trees, things like spruce and fir, with not many of the deciduous trees we see in GA.
Got back on the plane in Portland to return to GA. I do understand it is about a four hour flight, but when you are time-traveling, returning east from the west coast, you gallop through three zones, and loose your bearings. So, we got on about 12:30 and got off about 8:30, though it only took four hours to actually get from point A to point B. My brain is still fuzzy.
inquiring minds want to know...
...about the excursion, right? We had good time, saw lots of stuff, safely returned to our appropriate original starting points. I wrote a check to Mastercard yesterday, so it's practically paid for. How's that for fun?
We left GA for WA on Thursday, July 30. Really too late for me to be out wandering around in the dark: well past my bed time, and surprising to think that Miss-Go-To-Bed-At-Dark was in motion and getting on a flight at 10:30 at night. I did not make the travel arrangements and not yet sure why we were traveling in the wee hours. Hard to believe the price would be cheaper because you were willing to forgo sleep and start your travels sleep deprived, in addition to jet-lagged. But we did.
Plus doing it again the following night, to meet the third member of the party at the same time, when she could not get away from work to travel with us on Thurs/Fri. I'm pretty sure I am still not 100% caught up on shut-eye, as I generally cannot sleep sitting bolt upright squeezed in 'tourist' class seating. It was a uneventful trip. Even though my brain is still semi-frazzled four days after getting back to GA, due to traveling light years and back again in a five day span.
We spent a couple of days in Seattle, did some sightseeing on Friday. The only thing I was really interested in seeing was the Chihuly Glass Art Exhibit. It was definitely worth the price of admission. I am glad I did not get run over while I was gawking walking down the streets of Seattle, though I am fairly certain they do not drive like the maniacs in the largest city in Georgia. We went to see the Pike Place Market, flowers and fish galore. Rode on a ferry to one of the islands in the Sound, just because it was there, and available. We didn't actually get off when it got to the island, but waited for the driver to go to the other end of boat and take a different crowd back to the mainland port. Had dinner in a brewpub at the Market, and watched the huge full moon rise over the mountains to the east.
After retrieving P. at 1:30 a.m. GA time (three hours earlier PST, so only 10:30 if your brain is not smooshed in sideways from jet lag.), we went up to Mt. Rainier n Friday. All's I can say about that is Wow. It's so hard to fully grasp. The size and height. You can see it from miles away. And drive for hours to get closer, and see it from a Ranger Station/visitor's center in the park and still be saying: Wow. Beautiful drive up through old growth forest, with moss growing on every surface and ferns sprouting from every crevice. We were high enough to be nearly above the tree line, and saw lots of alpine meadows with gloriously blooming wildflowers all the way to the horizon. Really difficult to comprehend how you can be standing there in the brilliant sunshine, in T shirt and short pants, looking at a mountain covered in snow and glaciers in the middle of summer.
We left GA for WA on Thursday, July 30. Really too late for me to be out wandering around in the dark: well past my bed time, and surprising to think that Miss-Go-To-Bed-At-Dark was in motion and getting on a flight at 10:30 at night. I did not make the travel arrangements and not yet sure why we were traveling in the wee hours. Hard to believe the price would be cheaper because you were willing to forgo sleep and start your travels sleep deprived, in addition to jet-lagged. But we did.
Plus doing it again the following night, to meet the third member of the party at the same time, when she could not get away from work to travel with us on Thurs/Fri. I'm pretty sure I am still not 100% caught up on shut-eye, as I generally cannot sleep sitting bolt upright squeezed in 'tourist' class seating. It was a uneventful trip. Even though my brain is still semi-frazzled four days after getting back to GA, due to traveling light years and back again in a five day span.
We spent a couple of days in Seattle, did some sightseeing on Friday. The only thing I was really interested in seeing was the Chihuly Glass Art Exhibit. It was definitely worth the price of admission. I am glad I did not get run over while I was gawking walking down the streets of Seattle, though I am fairly certain they do not drive like the maniacs in the largest city in Georgia. We went to see the Pike Place Market, flowers and fish galore. Rode on a ferry to one of the islands in the Sound, just because it was there, and available. We didn't actually get off when it got to the island, but waited for the driver to go to the other end of boat and take a different crowd back to the mainland port. Had dinner in a brewpub at the Market, and watched the huge full moon rise over the mountains to the east.
After retrieving P. at 1:30 a.m. GA time (three hours earlier PST, so only 10:30 if your brain is not smooshed in sideways from jet lag.), we went up to Mt. Rainier n Friday. All's I can say about that is Wow. It's so hard to fully grasp. The size and height. You can see it from miles away. And drive for hours to get closer, and see it from a Ranger Station/visitor's center in the park and still be saying: Wow. Beautiful drive up through old growth forest, with moss growing on every surface and ferns sprouting from every crevice. We were high enough to be nearly above the tree line, and saw lots of alpine meadows with gloriously blooming wildflowers all the way to the horizon. Really difficult to comprehend how you can be standing there in the brilliant sunshine, in T shirt and short pants, looking at a mountain covered in snow and glaciers in the middle of summer.
Friday, August 7, 2015
cookin' at work....
...has been pretty easy for the past two days. A lot of compliments on the food the passers-by have been eating, as I have come to expect as the recipes are pretty much foo- proof by the time they land on the little six inch foam sample plates. They have liked it so well, I have to keep calling the grocery guys who do the shelf-stocking to bring more stuff as customers buy it out of the cooler that is right behind my little stand. The refrigerated area is designed to hold/merchandise every thing needed for the recipe we are making for people to sample, and this one is so good and Easy, they are buying all the makings and going right home to make for dinner.
Chicken and Rice. Starts with a package of flavored rice by Knorr. Make it according to the directions with two cups of water and a bit of butter. Add diced onions, RTU crumbles of bacon and cheese. Cook about a pound of seasoned chicken cutlets (size of a breast, but thin enough to be done in less than ten minutes). That's pretty much it. If you want you can brush some chipolte dressing on the chicken before you slice to serve it over the rice. Or not.
People come by all the time, asking for a recipe we did last week, or last month or last year. Occasionally they will find it on the little rack where cards are stored, but if it has been a while, not so likely. I will tell them: look on the internet. Go to the Publix website, pull up Aprons, type in the ingredients you remember and you can see all the recipes we have done with that ingredient, or combo. of things your taste buds recall. If you want the particulars for this one, you will have to look in the newspaper advertisement from Wednesday, pick it up at the store, or go to Publix.com. It's good and easy, and your family will gobble it up, ask you do make it again.
I have been telling people all day long, that I think it is probably the 'quickest' I have made since I have been doing the cooking demo. And would be quicker at home than me making it at the store, with only one burner to cook on. You could be cooking the rice, while you were getting the little thin chicken cutlets done, and have it ready to serve in less than fifteen minutes. Add a salad, and your all set... call the kids!
Chicken and Rice. Starts with a package of flavored rice by Knorr. Make it according to the directions with two cups of water and a bit of butter. Add diced onions, RTU crumbles of bacon and cheese. Cook about a pound of seasoned chicken cutlets (size of a breast, but thin enough to be done in less than ten minutes). That's pretty much it. If you want you can brush some chipolte dressing on the chicken before you slice to serve it over the rice. Or not.
People come by all the time, asking for a recipe we did last week, or last month or last year. Occasionally they will find it on the little rack where cards are stored, but if it has been a while, not so likely. I will tell them: look on the internet. Go to the Publix website, pull up Aprons, type in the ingredients you remember and you can see all the recipes we have done with that ingredient, or combo. of things your taste buds recall. If you want the particulars for this one, you will have to look in the newspaper advertisement from Wednesday, pick it up at the store, or go to Publix.com. It's good and easy, and your family will gobble it up, ask you do make it again.
I have been telling people all day long, that I think it is probably the 'quickest' I have made since I have been doing the cooking demo. And would be quicker at home than me making it at the store, with only one burner to cook on. You could be cooking the rice, while you were getting the little thin chicken cutlets done, and have it ready to serve in less than fifteen minutes. Add a salad, and your all set... call the kids!
Thursday, August 6, 2015
upon returning, and turning...
... onto my street from a few days away, I discovered a huge lighted, blinking, unavoidable sign at the intersection just past the traffic light. That very plainly, in large letters stated I should expect delays and be prepared for a detour Aug. 6 -8. My first thought was: ?????
With trepidation, expecting the asphalt to suddenly open into a yawing abyss, I cautiously continued towards home, weary from my travels, but anxious to finally alight. Nothing amiss as I turned into the familiar driveway, so I then I thought: 'hmmm....' as I did not fall into any quicksand, bear-traps or unfortunate circumstances.
As I sit here typing, looking out the window to the north, there are two huge piles of fill material. One is gravel, the other a small mountain of bright orange clay. Both piles are at least the size of a dump truck. I read a notice amongst the stacked up emails as I was deleting this morning providing information about the upcoming road closure. There is an underground/under street drainage culvert that has been problematic for years about two blocks north of our house. The two huge loads of gravel and fill have been dumped on the empty lot on the corner. Awaiting use as the city digs up what is apparently an undersized culvert. To replace with one more adequately sized for runoff. The city has patched, altered, cemented, graveled, diverted water runoff for years in futile attempts to resolve the problem... which as you can imagine, only occurs during heavy rains.
The notice via email from the city indicates they will take drastic measures; deciding to wait till schools are back in session to massively disrupt traffic, creating monumental problems with carpools and school busses. This could have been done any time in the past three months when both the nearby schools were closed for summer. So the planners cleverly choose to wait until students start back to classes to create major turmoil for commuters, bus drivers, carpool moms, and me, who will be unable to get out of the driveway due to clogged up traffic for several days. Already not looking forward to schools starting: the elementary a half mile away at the end of the street, and the middle a about a mile away on the street that has to feed into the one we live on. Oh, well. I will need to plan to leave home earlier to make a mad dash out of the driveway....
With trepidation, expecting the asphalt to suddenly open into a yawing abyss, I cautiously continued towards home, weary from my travels, but anxious to finally alight. Nothing amiss as I turned into the familiar driveway, so I then I thought: 'hmmm....' as I did not fall into any quicksand, bear-traps or unfortunate circumstances.
As I sit here typing, looking out the window to the north, there are two huge piles of fill material. One is gravel, the other a small mountain of bright orange clay. Both piles are at least the size of a dump truck. I read a notice amongst the stacked up emails as I was deleting this morning providing information about the upcoming road closure. There is an underground/under street drainage culvert that has been problematic for years about two blocks north of our house. The two huge loads of gravel and fill have been dumped on the empty lot on the corner. Awaiting use as the city digs up what is apparently an undersized culvert. To replace with one more adequately sized for runoff. The city has patched, altered, cemented, graveled, diverted water runoff for years in futile attempts to resolve the problem... which as you can imagine, only occurs during heavy rains.
The notice via email from the city indicates they will take drastic measures; deciding to wait till schools are back in session to massively disrupt traffic, creating monumental problems with carpools and school busses. This could have been done any time in the past three months when both the nearby schools were closed for summer. So the planners cleverly choose to wait until students start back to classes to create major turmoil for commuters, bus drivers, carpool moms, and me, who will be unable to get out of the driveway due to clogged up traffic for several days. Already not looking forward to schools starting: the elementary a half mile away at the end of the street, and the middle a about a mile away on the street that has to feed into the one we live on. Oh, well. I will need to plan to leave home earlier to make a mad dash out of the driveway....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)