Friday, May 3rd "What's Cookin'?"

[annrms]

Good morning! A partly cloudy & warm Spring day is on the daily menu.
Meatloaf dinner was great last night. I did 2x baked mashed potatoes. Used a new spice blend, Penzey's Fox Point, and a small amount of minced bacon and drippings in them...Yummy! Cauliflower with butter, salt & pepper was delicious, too.
Tonight we are having fish tacos on corn tortillas...all from the freezer except the cabbage chipotle slaw that I will make.
We are the first stop for the shredding company at 6:30. Guy called yesterday afternoon, and wanted to know when was the earliest they could come. Told them I was up at 3ish everyday!!
Have a wonderful day! Hope to get back for a chat later! Waving!

[tasty]

Good morning all. What a lovely red sky this morning - I know a red sky in the morning is not a good prediction, but it was still lovely!  46F at 6am but  we will likely hit 70 this afternoon, late on before the rain arrives for the weekend. At the moment the forecast is rain all weekend 😔 .  Personally, I will take rain this weekend if we can have a dry opening day at the market on mother's day. Nothing exciting or even vaguely interesting on my agenda today.  The best I know of is making some French bread for supper and that hardly qualifies as interesting!
Here's hoping things are starting to dry up round Tammy's  way this morning.  I'll  check in later and see what is happening on here.  Have a fabulous Friday 🌞. 

[emr]

Tasty, I didn't get out to see the sun rise this morning but we have rain and storms in our weekend forecast too. Looks like it will stay mostly dry today but rainy all day Saturday and into Sunday morning. I don't mind -- we only have one thing we need to get out for on Saturday and it's close to home.

Ann, fish tacos and cabbage chipotle slaw sound delicious! I first tried fish tacos on a visit to San Diego, CA, back in the late 90s/early 2000s and I've been a fan ever since. That's great that you can get your shredding picked up first thing.

I'll be back later -- have a good Friday, everybody!

[tamaralynn]

DH checked the shop and we have power there so I am going to work today. My cashier cannot make it in, but my Thursday girl is willing to come in and work today since she was off yesterday.
Thank you for the prayers and good thoughts. I have not heard an update on the church property.

[wilderness]

Good morning.  If was 47°here this morning and to get into the low 60's.  It is overcast however and we won't see much of the sun if any today.  Our rain isn't expected until Sunday.  Yesterday we hit 70°with partly sunny skies.  The wind however got quite cool in the afternoon.  I ended up having to work Wednesday to get all my work done for the week.  I still have one 1/2 job to do here in town today but I am off until Wednesday.  Yesterday I spent a bit of time here in the house in the morning.  Had a couple of Lions crisis that had to be addressed immediately and the houseplants need watering badly.  I did get outside and cleaned up the hosta bed along the sidewalkand got on hosta split and that is quite a chore.  Weede it and then put down fertilizer and tilled that in.

This morning I plan on spending a bit of time trying to get my internet working better.  I plan on calling my provider as soon as they open this morning.  The speed is fluctuating terribly and I lost service completely last night for at least an hour.  I think there may be something wrong with the router. I need to empty the dishwasher, clarify my frying oil and get some stale bread ground into bread Crumbs.  By then it should be warmed up enough to get outside.  Once it hits 60 I want to spray the side yard by the sidewalk where all the containers of flowers go.  Then I think I will start on the driveway bet.  That is going to take a long time.  It is a real mess.  I should get the asparagus bed done also but maybe tomorrow.  The battery for my 4 wheeler will be here today and that makes it easier to get down to the lower yard with equipment etc. to work down there.

Ann, been reading and you are really making progress with the move.  I am sure you are stressed but things have a way of just all coming together when needed.

Chris, glad you enjoyed your trip to Boston.  You have some busy times traveling coming up.

Tasty, it must seem good to be back playing golf after miss last year.  Are in back in the league?  It is had to believe you have your first sale of the year next weekend.

Elsa, sounds like you enjoyed a couple nice concerts by the children recently.  We had a great piano tuner when the kids played.

Lori, so glad you enjoyed your last trip to see your girls.  That is a lot of driving however.  You must be exhausted after.

Tammy, hope mother nature lets up on your area and there is no damage to the church.

Birdy, it is always great to see you here.  How was the trip to your house yesterday?  I am sure it was good to get out for a bit.  Enjoy those chocolates.

Elaine, haven't heard much from you lately.  Still busy caring for others dogs.

Helen, always enjoy reading about your meals.

Have a great day.

Bet

[cooktocook]

Hello to all! Today is National Chocolate Custard Day, and both National Raspberry Tart and Raspberry Popover Day. I love raspberries anyway I can get them; have several containers in the freezer and wanted to make some muffins with them, but no time today.

In my never-ending attempt to use what I have in the freezer, I pulled out 4 hotdogs and 2 leftover hotdog buns. Two for the buns, two for the plate. Going to quickly make up a quinoa and kale salad for a side this morning so it can chill, and when we get back from grocery shopping late this afternoon all we'll need to do is char those hotdogs. Tomorrow I was planning to make Lecho, but found a container of it from back in February that I froze, so pulled that from the freezer too.

Hot out there this morning. We hit 88* yesterday, up just up the road about 25-30 miles, it hit 95* yesterday. Weather people say next week we should hit the low 90's here.

Will try to get back here later, but if not, have a fantastic Friday, friends!
Lori 

[Jan in BC]

Good morning everyone.
   Ann, the shredding company will make fast work of all your paperwork. That’ll take care of a few boxes I’m sure. Moving day is fast approaching. When is it? Next week?
   Tasty, nothing much happening here today either. Had a long day yesterday. Decided to make a quick trip to Kelowna, yesterday. DH’s sister will be moving to Nanaimo, on Vancouver island next week. She’ll be 96 in August. We’ll probably never see her again as it’s much too far for us to drive. Had a very good visit with her, she was very ‘with it’, not confused at all. Glad we went. We were gone 10 1/2 hrs. Lots of road construction. Stopped for coffee and meals,  a couple of stores. Resting up today.
   Emr, no rain predicted here this weekend but we sure could use some.
    Tammy, sure do hope your church is not damaged in the flooding.
   Bet, hope you can get your internet working properly. You depend on your computer a lot. 
   Lori, I love raspberries too. Think I’ll pull something readymade from the freezer for supper too. Never got the ribs made I planned to make a couple days ago, maybe sometime this weekend.
   Ok, off to do more nothing.  Jan
   

[wilderness]

Jan, that was a long day yesterday.  I would be resting up also.  Sorry you may never see DH's sister again.  That must be painful for both of you.

Lori, have a good shopping trip.  Only thing I bought were mini cucumbers that were on sale.  I have been doing pretty good living on already prepared meals in the freezer but have a long way to go.

Bet

[Jan in BC]

         Bet, yes, a long day. Not as painful for me as for DH. Last time I saw her, early March, I didn’t want to see her again. She was completely out of it, A very mixed up day for her. I carried that memory with me. I would never expect DH to travel that far alone. So off we went. I now have a new, good memory, and so does DH. He, however, realizes he will probably never see her again, and they were very close. Makes him sad. There’s always the phone though.   Jan

[weebill]

Good morning. I am waiting until time for shuffleboard. We are down to 3 people now so we rotate,so it gets quite hot. I told dh it's time to start at 9 but he doesn't get up until then.

Today is national lunch lady day. I have heard from former students that I was their favorite. So it's made my day already.

Elaine

[mamma482]

A nice coolish walk to the pet area this morning. Poor Mandy was waiting and watching for her friends but no one showed up. She was just dragging on our walk home.

Late afternoon yesterday I called for a hair cut. Dawn gave me her personal number to call. The online doesn't work very well and many times they get double booked or not at all. It's the shop in WM. Last time Bobbi gave me such a bad haircut that I'm going back to Dawn again. They are cheaper and I get a senior discount too. Win win. Although the price may have gone up by now like everything else. I'm just so happy I can get in today. :)

Sheets are changed, mattress turned and the spring bedspread has to go on the bed yet. I'm resting my arms. I had planned on hanging the sheets oh the lines but my arms are done in. That is all I have planned for today.

taco salad for lunch, sandwich for supper.

[helen]

It did rain last nite but not bad. It's sunny here and 80s today. No place I have to be til next week so that makes me happy. Good luck with getting your internet up to speed, Bet. Good grief, my new computer is fighting me to the point I'm now making a list and checking it twice for DD to have a go. Bittersweet to see DH sister, Jan. Glad you have a good memory to hold onto now. Hugs to all three of you. Elaine, sorry you're getting lonesome for your winter snowbird friends. I had to smile that the students remember you as their favorite lunch lady. I visit a site that specializes in old Lunch Lady Recipes. Reminds me I haven't been there for awhile. Will look them up. I'm having a French bread pizza for supper. Funny as it sounds, I'm also going to roust out some frozen cauliflower for buttered cauliflower as a side. Your's sounded too good to pass up, Ann. Have a great weekend, friends.

[nybirder]

Afternoon everybody. Things have been a bit busy here for me. I did survive my trip home only to find that Troy has been building piles of stuff and one huge area is right in front of my bedroom door where most of what I wanted was hidden. So I told them by next week I had better be able to get in there! Gina, Terry, and Troy set up a chair on the porch with a milkshake next to it and took turns bringing me bags of things to sort. That worked out pretty well so I did get some things accomplished.

We got permission to put up a hummingbird feeder in front of the dining room window. One of our paralyzed patients used to be a wildlife photographer like me and loves to watch outdoors. Troy is bringing me a hanging pole from home and some clear hummingbird nectar from Walmart. I already have a bee proof feeder so we are good to go. They won't allow regular bird feeders because they draw in mice, Etc. But it's hard for those people who have always enjoyed watching birds.

Tammy, I hope all is well at your church and that that sinkhole has stopped opening. Everyone down south and in the Midwest seem to be facing some pretty nasty events. I'm praying for all of you.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Birdy

[weebill]

Hi.

Tasty- have you ever made strawberry muffins? My neighbor gave me some frozen strawberries. 2 large bags. I've never had a strawberry muffin but need to use them up.

I made rhubarb muffins using your blueberry muffin recipe.


Things are so bad here in the park that's why i haven't been posting.

Elaine

[tasty]

Good morning Elaine!

Strawberry rhubarb muffins would be lovely 😍 .  I would chop the strawberries fairly small but I see no reason not to use them in muffins - all you're doing is swapping one fruit for another.
I'm sorry things are not good in the park - is it just because the snowbirds are leaving and numbers are down or is it more of a management issue?  I know there have been issues before.

I was just looking thru some old muffin recipes Elaine and came across this.  I have not tried it but thought you may be interested.
Strawberry muffins



1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries


In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in strawberries.

Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with paper liners two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutritional Analysis: One muffin equals 173 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 46 mg cholesterol, 163 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 fat.