Category Archives: cooking

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, home stuff, knee injury, Walking by

I’m in the process of canning tomatoes. I ordered a flat of Roma tomatoes from a local farm. They were 2.50 a pound, so a very good price. I did half the lug and have half to do tomorrow or Tuesday. I have 8 pints in the water bath and 2 more ready to go when these are done. I’ll add some jars filled with water so it fills the canner. I didn’t add any seasoning, just citric acid and a little salt. I’ll do seasoning when I open and use them. I’m a little tired from standing but I’m almost done.

I did go for a walk, and it was quite nice. A few other people, but not bad for a Sunday. My left knee (torn ACL and meniscus) seemed to tweak a few times, so I’ve been really careful, and I’ll probably put my knee sleeve on to help with stability. The only thing I’ve done differently is that I’ve added my PT exercises back into my workout, so maybe that tweaked it. So today I’ll back off since I’ve been on my feet a while now.

This is a busy week for me, which, as you know, I really dislike a lot of appts, but they must be done. That includes my Velcade on Thursday. I did change my dentist appt from Monday next week to Wednesday, as Monday is my labs and dex crash day. It doesn’t always happen, but I figured it would be better to change it if I could.

I also finished Calamity Club, and it’s as good as everyone says. Really, such insight!

I moved most of my cookbooks into B’s office bookcase.

I’ll see if I like them there or not. The other picture is the little fire pit I bought a while ago. I had a few nights of fires outside when it was cooler. Now with our temps dropping, I’ll sit outside again. Today’s high is supposed to be 75, so quite lovely.

Midweek and the freezer challenge

Posted in budgets, California, cooking by

So, following Kristen from Frugal Girl, I pulled almost everything out of the fridge freezer. There were lots of ziplock bags of one meal type things that I tossed. Some had been in there since last December. I don’t feel bad about clearing it out. But the lesson learned is: don’t try to save random 1-serving leftovers because we won’t eat them. an example is one serving of split pea ssoup from last winter, really? Now if Barclay were here, he probably would eat it> Ha ha.

anyway, I have 3 small bags of blueberries so I’m going to use them in pancakes, a small bag of leftover French fries ( using this week), some leftover meatballs, and other random stuff. It looks better and less cluttered/stuffed!

Yesterday, I went to the gym and the library. I finally got the Calamity Club book, which has been on hold forever. So I’m excited to start it. I also got another Sashiko book with patterns. I ordered some transfer paper from Amazon. I had tracing paper, which I guess in my mind was the same thing ( it’s not). So when that comes, I can transfer the pattern onto fabric.

Today, I’m going into Auburn to go to the bookstore and finally drop off the books, and then over to AAA to figure out how to add my son to the motorcycle title. It’s easy enough; I just want to go in and make sure I have the stuff on the right lines. Hopefully they won’t be too busy.

Then home, and some regular chores and then read.

Menu Monday

Posted in California, cooking, meal planning, Uncategorized by

I’m going to follow Frugal Girl’s lead and do a kitchen refrigerator freezer cleanout. It’s kind of funny that I just asked AI (ChatGPT) about some leftover chicken and some coconut milk I had in the freezer and got a recipe for chicken curry soup. This was especially nice since I wasn’t feeling great, and the warmth of the curry was nice. So after reading her blog, I thought I’ve never taken everything out to see what’s lurking so that’s my plan for today.

I still have some of the curry left for lunch, and there’s some leftover quiche from last night that my daughter heated up. The quiche is the 2-pack from Costco, which is very good and a good price. The other one I’ll freeze.

Not in any order of when I make these:

  • Hot dogs from Costco with beans( pantry)
  • brinner with scrambled eggs bacon and waffles
  • freezer surprise
  • freezer surprise
  • Frozen pizza
  • Breaded fish with french fries

My son is planning to come up and work out in the barn today. I’ll need to look around and see what I can have him do. I know there’s some wood to move to the splitter.

I might go into town to do a few random errands, but I’ll see how I feel. I do feel better today, for the most part. My errands include stopping at the auto store for antifreeze for Buggie (VW), dropping batteries off at Staples, and little things like that. I also have a lot of cardboard to take to recycling. But that’s tricky, as it gets filled up super fast. That may have to wait, although I could get it loaded in the Santa Fe. So I’ll see how the morning goes.

I watched the movie Mayday, with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh. It was good. It had a lot of “Deadpool-type” humor, which I love. Other than that, I need to find something to watch tonight.

I’m still checking LLS daily, but no luck. It’s been almost 2 months, but almost 5 months since I had funds in my grant. I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering when they’ll open funding for Myeloma. Just have to keep checking.

Well, what’s on your plate this week? Any new recipes?

Menu Monday

Posted in California, cooking, home stuff by

We did have the Di Fara pizza last night.

It was quite excellent. I was surprised. I will definitely try another one. I got this at Bel Air, but I think Safeway has them too.

Menu ideas, not in any order of when I’d make.

Tonight, I have some Dover sole to make. Costco had them in stock, and so I picked up a pack. It’s a nice, mild fish. I have a bit of salad stuff to use so I’ll do that.

I have some taco shells in the pantry box that I want to use, so either taco meat or beans.

I plan to defrost some chicken, so I’ll do something with that. I have brown rice I need to use as well, so I’ll put that in the Zojirushi. This brown rice is at least a year old so it needs to get used up. I had it in the freezer so that does extend it’s shelf life.

On the nights my daughter gets home late, I’ll probably do grilled cheese or something easy like that.

I have quite a few eggs also, so maybe a scrambled egg/ breakfast for dinner thing.

We did get to Home Depot and bought the garden soil and the smart light bulbs, and my daughter picked up a few bags of rocks for their rock garden.

Today, I think we’re going to try to get to the bookstore since I have 2 bags of books to go. It’s Monday, so I need to do a house reset for the week. Mostly, just tidying up and being sure the kitchen is tidy and clean. I did clean the stove and stove hood the other day, so that’s done. The Flylady zone is the entryway. I’ll do a sweep of both. I did change out my faux flowers for the fall ones.

The flash flood in the Grand Canyon looks devastating. Phantom Ranch and the campgrounds are all damaged. Mother Nature does it’s thing and it can be shocking. Also, the mudslide in Nepal is devastating. The loss of life is huge and very sad.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, decluttering, garden shed, Walking by

A very nice cooling trend we’re having. Fall is in the air. We might be able to take out a cooler or two earlier than usual. We usually wait till the end of September, but the forecast looks coolish for the next while.

I didn’t go walking yet (6:30) and woke up with a headache, so I’ll see how I am in the next 15 minutes or so. No walking; finally took an Advil!

We are planning to go into Home Depot for a few things, so that will also nix my gym time. That’s ok; I’m, if anything, flexible because I can be. We want to get some potting soil, some smart light bulbs, and check out a gate. OUt old wooden gate is the last remnant of the redwood fence and now it’s sagging and not quite opening. I’ll defer to what my daughter wants to do. It does need to open wide so if we have a delivery, it can come in through that gate.

They have been working on raking around the house and generally clearing debris like grass and leaves. They also set up an AI image of some plants away from the house, and it looks good.

I finally finished all 3 extended versions of LOTR. 12 hours!! I just started the extended version of The Hobbit. I guess that will take a while.

Last night we had some Udon noodles with chicken in soy sauce. Basically, I marinated the chunks of chicken in soy sauce, rice vinegar, and some hoisin sauce. It came out good. Tonight, I’m not sure, but I’ll check out the freezer. I do have a frozen pizza I’d like to use up.

I’m enjoying doing the Sashiko again. It’s basically a type of embroidering but I like to do it. I have a few patterns to trace from a library book. I like doing it on my Levi’s too; it makes a fun extra thing.

My goal for today, besides Home Depot, is to go out to the garden shed and clean it out. There are our iMac boxes, which can go to recycling, and my bin of children’s books I want to bring in and put on eBay. There’s a collection of Elsa Beskow books. Very darling, and I love them, but they should be read and loved, not stuffed in a box. I also have 2 small bins from the RV that I think I’ll relocate. So, I’ll see how far I get.

The week ahead includes my doctor’s appointment, at least a gym/library day, and a swim. I’m going to try to get back to Costco for some non-food items they have on sale, like Swiffer. And the Dawn Power Wash. That stuff is great if you haven’t tried it.

Well, since I’m not walking (headache still), I’m going to go download my Sleep HQ and see how my CPAP is doing.

Midweek Musings

Posted in budgets, California, cooking by

I had a good day yesterday. My energy was good and overall I felt good too. Nice. I do value these days of my life!!

I had the energy to go to the gym, library, Goodwill drop-off, and Winco. As I was coming out of Winco, it was almost 11 so on a whim I decided to go in to Nugget and get one of their pizzas. I’ve wanted to do this since they opened 10 years ago. Ha HA! Supposedly they are one of the best thin crust pizzas around. So in I go and order a plain cheese,as that is alway the gold standard to judge by. I waited a while and wasn’t too happy about that. So I get the pizza and decide I’ll eat one in the car before driving home. The crust was good and folded( like a NY pizza,) the cheese good ratio, the sauce , TERRIBLE!!! I was like WTF?

So I get home, I have a second piece, and then proceeded to write to that Nugget and comment. I said just what I said above and posted it. Within 30 minutes, the manager emailed back with an apology and offered a reimbursement. I wrote back that it wasn’t necessary, but they might want to have their food team go over what makes NY pizza unique: the sauce is a simple tomato but full of flavor. I suggested the brand Full REd, which comes in #10 cans and many pizzerias in NY use that. I also have bought it and and it’s full of tomato-ey flavor and the right consistency. Sigh, I was disappointed. Oh well, at least I know.

Today was a toss up between the pool or getting more things done around here. I opted to do stuff here since my energy is good. #1 is go do recycle. #2 is sweep the patio. # go out to trailer and start cleaning. ( that may not happen, as it’s supposed to get really warm again today. Since Dex is wearing off and I feel good, I plan to do some painting too. I have some touch-ups to do.

Last night I just had a turkey sandwich as my daughter was at work. I’m watching the original Forsythes. Quite excellent!

Tonight I have a baked potato and some kind of protein. My daughter is home late again so I’ll eat by 6:30. I’ll probably watch some more Forsythes.

Menus and misc.

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, Sashiko by

A few pictures. The champagne was delicious. And the Superiority Tofu burgers came out really great.

Last night we had nachos with home-canned beans. It was ok, and it used up some stuff. Tonight I have some potatoes to use, so I’ll figure out what to have with them. I have some chicken broth to use, so maybe a small pot pie or soup? We’ll see what inspires me later.

I’ll check the freezer and see what needs to be used up. The freezer is about half full, so I’m making progress for sure. I’m pretty sure I won’t get rid of it unless it stops working) But I do want to completely defrost it before winter.

I got my labs yesterday and came straight home. I didn’t have the energy to go down the hill to do anything. I did some house chores and tidying, but that’s it. I slept really badly last night, so today could be iffy. It’s early yet, so if anything, I’d go to the gym because I could do the treadmill. It’s too hot to walk later in the morning right now. I also have a Sashiko book to pick up at the library.

I hope I can get the Goodwill done today, as it’s sitting in the back of the Santa Fe. So I think that’s my goal today, plus the gym. I also need to do a recycle run this week.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MY DAUGHTER!!

THEIR BOOK WON GRAND PRIZE OUT OF 2000 ENTRIES!! I’m really proud of them. Now for an agent to sell the book.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, husband, Walking by

Happy 56th anniversary to me. Even though Barclay is not here physically, he is here with me forever in my heart. We had an extraordinary life. Having met so young, having a special Quaker wedding, going to college together, traveling, camping, and then finally having one child after being married for 15 years, and then our son was born 2 weeks before our 24th wedding anniversary. What a life!

I went for a nice walk this morning. I’m definitely walking slower these days. I guess my knees are still weaker than I’d like, so I don’t try to walk fast or even moderately fast. I just go at a slow speed. Oh well, it was a beautiful morning. Dex also causes muscle problems, so that’s an issue too.

I haven’t decided on the gym this morning as I’m just coming down from dex. I’ll decide before 8am. At least my sleep has been ok even with dex. A little restless but not too bad. ( It’s almost 8am, so I guess I’ll skip the gym and do some stuff around here.) On dex days, some stuff just gets put off till I feel better.

Today, I plan on making the Superiority tofu burgers for our dinner. It’s a bit involved since you marinate the tofu in dill pickle juice for a number of hours, and then the batter is not an egg batter but a slurry using mustard. Sounds strange, but it is delicious.

I’m working on my next month’s budget. I’ve been checking LLS every day, as that is what’s going to really help me with the insurance payment. I’m hoping it opens up in September. It will make a big difference.

I think September doesn’t bring any annual bills, but October will. I know our house/auto with AAA will come in. I need to check that date. Then the California Fair plan house insurance will come in. That comes separately from the AAA rider. Then finally, property taxes will be due.

I have labs tomorrow, so I may go to the gym after that, but I’ll see. Sometimes Monday after dex is my crash day, so I won’t commit just yet. After that, the rest of the week is open, so I’ll swim at some point.

I started watching the new Forsythes show on Prime. What a disaster. Whoever wrote it for this show should at least pick up the book and read it. The characters are all mixed up. Soames is not who he is in the book, and all the characters are not portrayed accurately. I’ll watch one more episode because the costumes are beautifully done and it’s a period piece, which I do love. But geez, the writers really messed this up. I have the original on DVD so I may start that. I think it was either PBS or Acorn?

This week I have a load to go to Goodwill, and I want to do the recycling. Neither is a lot, but I’d like to get it done. I’ll do the Goodwill in Roseville as it’s right on the way to the gym and is a very easy drop-off center.

Well, that’s my week. How’s yours going to be?

Mid-week Musings

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cooking, sleep apnea, social security, swimming by

Here’s the polenta and chickpea recipe. I used fresh tomatoes from costco because they weren’t tasty enough for sandwiches. I would advise against that and use the can of tomatoes. After I cut up 4 big tomatoes and cooked them down, it didnt add much flavor so opened a can of san Marzano and added about 1/2 a can. also, I didn’t have fennel seeds( who keeps fennel seeds on their spice rack?). Anyway, it was a good way to use chickpeas. I added a few shrimp for protein after it was done.

I love polenta so that was a win. I had leftover polenta for dinner last night!!

I’ve had PGE looking at a tree to take down. But the new supervisor( some kid practically) decided it didn’t need to come down. I was a little pissed as this tree has a serious lean toward the lines. I told him I disagreed with his assessment. Well, there’s not much I can do about it.

My budget ends this week and my last bill coming out is water. After that the coffers are a little low till my SS comes in. Fortunately, I don’t need any groceries and I have enough gas so I’m set. My budget was well set and all the bills paid.

I had a nice coffee and bagel with my son yesterday. He works nearby the cafe I went to so it was nice to catch up. Today, I’m meeting my library friends for a coffee too. It’s been a while since we could all meet.

I finally got the Sleep HQ to upload. It took half a dozen tries and then it was yesterday about 4pm that it finally did it. I haven’t checked it all but there’s a few hypopneas and some Rera’s which are probably when I might be adjusting my mask. Who knows? Overall it looked ok. I didnt look at all the days yet and will today. What’s good about the app is that it tells how your pressure was and when it changed and mask leaks. It helps to see that data.

I had a good swim yesterday although the guy in the lane I shared was kind of a PITA. I hadn’t seen him before and he was a splasher which I really dislike. Also, when I got in to share the lane( he was there first), he looked at me like I was crazy to share. sigh:(

Well, off to do some things before I go out.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, Walking by

Well, plans change. My son ended up not feeling well (sore throat), so he didn’t come up. I told him he should go to Urgent care and make sure it’s not something like strep that needs an antibiotic. He said he’s see how he is today. Stubborn! Anyway, I missed him and hope he can come up soon.

Today is another hot one. I really hate this 100 degree weather. The house is staying cool though but I do not look forward to our PGE bill next month. I think it’s hot today and tomorrow and then we drop down to the 80’s.

I really don’t feel very motivated when it’s this hot to do anything. I’ve been practicing some Sashiko stitches.

I had a nice walk this morning and only 2 other people there. Nice. The geese are learning to fly and most of the first batch of babies are flying away. There’s 2 more that are just starting to fly across the park to the upper field. Another season of life.

Yesterday, after the pool, I went over to Winco. It was busy as it was Saturday morning. I spent @ $50 for food. Then over to Trader Joes and spent @ $75 for food. I picked up 2 bags as one is a gift. I was pretty wiped out after I got home.

In my last post I mentioned the tax deductions for single( which I guess is what I am). Vicky commented that although the standard deduction is $16,100 there are 2 other deductions that are available until I believe 2028. I haven’t plugged anything in yet but if I owe, i think it’ll be very small. Or hopefully nothing. I guess I’ll find out next year. 🙁

This week, I again don’t have any appointments,so I’ll plan a Costco trip for coffee and TP and a few other things like some fruit.

Last night we just had a TJ’s salad and it was plenty. I have some mushrooms to use and spinach, so I might make a curry with some chicken.I’m not sure how the mushrooms are since I bought them on my last Winco shop.

Pictures of Gus. He does not like the heat, and so this chair is in the direct line of the window cooler. He’s chlling!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

This picture was from my 2010 on my son’s birthday. We went out for pizza! How young we look. I still had a good amount of hair which from 4 years of Velcade has thinned considerably. Barclay always had a great head of hair, so curly!