Category Archives: cooking

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgets, California, cancer, cooking, home stuff, instant pot recipes, simple foods, Walking by

A nice Sunday walk with cool temperatures. This coming week looks really nice with highs in the 80’s, finally!

This morning I’m processing more tomatoes and will water bath them tomorrow. I am also making some chicken broth in the IP. If anything, the IP is worth the money just for chicken broth and beans!! After it cools, I’ll put it in the fridge and then pressure can later.

I tried a new recipe from Cooks Illustrated, where you roll the lasagna noodles to make a mock manicotti. I thought it was ok but both B and my daughter liked it and I thought it was better the second day. I’m not sure I’ll keep the book, but I’ll see if I want to try another recipe in it.

I’m not going into the Auburn gym as I feel tired this morning. Probably from swimming yesterday. I often have a down day after a swim day I guess, because I’ve used a lot of muscles.

I did the bathroom zone and with the new tile and floor it’s super easy to keep clean. I’m hoping we can get the bedroom and closet done in the same flooring next month. I do love the Wabi Sabi-ness of the old fir floors but they are impossible to really get clean. I suppose if we were ambitious enough we’d rent a floor sander and redo them and seal them. That’s what we did 30 years ago. But I think I’d rather have the laminate.

This week is my Velcade shot and the B’s biopsy on Friday. So a few appts, but manageable. When we get too many appts. I get anxious. Based on the last biopsy, it’s going to be at least a week if not more to get results. Last time it was 2 weeks. I have a feeling it’s going to be inconclusive again, but what do I know.

Here’s one of our dinners this week. A spinach tomatoe frittata.

What have you been cooking? One of my favorite bloggers, Sue from A simpler life, always posts her shopping and food. I really enjoy seeing what she buys. Plus the prices seem way cheaper than here.

Simple Sunday

Posted in bread, California, cancer, cooking, home stuff, Walking by

We had a nice Sunday walk and only one other person showed up at the end. My arthritis has definitely kicked in and I feel pretty stiff to start. After one round I loosen up some but my feet have been hurting again recently. I’m not sure why it comes and goes but?

I’ve just finished making some baked tofu. The tofu was dated so I figured I better use it right away. I started a sourdough cran-raisin cinnamon loaf. I think it might bulk ferment by this afternoon since it’s warm in my kitchen. If so I’ll bake it then otherwise I’ll refrigerate it till tomorrow.

Yesterday, I canned 6 pints of tomato sauce and I’ll get another batch ready to go tomorrow. Usually I do it in 2 days. On day one I put the tomatoes in boiling water and then through the food mill. Day two, cook down and then can.

It’s the kitchen zone this week so I might start that later. I do need to use the steam mop at least today. Other than that, I ran Bender(robot vacuum) yesterday. He does a good job.

Today, I’m not going to the gym. I might go to town with my daughter. She wants to get some paint at Ace. The nursery is close by so we could stop in there too. I need to get some pots to repot some house plants.

I hope we get some news tomorrow on the PET scan. It is frustrating, to say the least.

Friday things

Posted in bread, California, cancer, cooking, library by

So the colonoscopy went great and of course, he only had one tiny polyp. Figures. That’s after 15 years since his last one. Leave it to Barclay to only have one small polyp but some strange rare cancer. ( still source unknown). So nothing was conclusive. They did do the endoscopy and again everything was ok. So that leaves us with what does the PET scan show? As of now, Friday pm, we haven’t heard so ???

I went to the gym in Roseville and then picked up my hold at the library. It’s the Jaqueline Winspear book so I didn’t want to miss it.

Then I came home and processed more tomatoes but didn’t can them. I’ll do that tomorrow. I have 2 more boxes of tomatoes but they’re not quite ripe yet.

This weekend should be mellow. I don’t have any plans except maybe the Auburn gym on Sunday. I need to write out a fall ‘to-do list’, like washing the outside windows, etc. If I don’t write it down it doesn’t happen. I don’t think I need any groceries but do need to make a menu up. I started to do the monthly menu again so I’ll go and finish that.

I also made a loaf of sourdough gruyere and pumpkin seed bread. Sounds odd but it’s pretty yummy. My starter is doing great!

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, home stuff, simple foods by

We have some smoke in the air due to the Chico fire. That’s the one where the guy pushed a burning car into a gully. He has been arrested so there’s that. But our temperatures are cool and today’s high is only in the mid 80’s.

We had a nice walk. A few other people showed up but we were leaving by then. The other day B found a dollar bill by where we parked and that was fun. He’s going to buy a lottery ticket with it. 🙂

Yesterday was very busy around here. My son came to do some things in the barn. He’s over Covid and feeling good. He helped B take the last load to the dump and also they did cardboard. I think he’s quite concerned about his Dad and wants to help here where he can. His birthday is August 7, so he’ll come over after work. We’ll have some kind of dinner and then cake.

After getting home from the pool, I started the pressure canner for black beans. I got 5 pints done. Then I had to process the tomatoes from the other day so I water bathed them and got 4 pints. So, it was a busy kitchen day.

Today, I’m trying out the Instant Pot for French Onion soup. It’s a simple recipe so we’ll see how it tastes. I didn’t have any sherry(it called for cream sherry??) so I just did the vegetable broth. I’ll make some croutons from leftover sourdough and I have some gruyere cheese.

Other than that, not much.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, home stuff, knee injury, Political things, swimming, Walking by

Still no biopsy results. My guess is someone dropped the ball as to who was going to call. Tomorrow is his NP video appt so we’ll know then. Still, I hate to go into the things uninformed. Because he doesn’t have the oncologist yet, and his PC didn’t do anything, I’m guessing the results are just sitting there waiting for someone to release them.PITA>

I’m grateful at least he has the appt tomorrow. I’ll sit in and hear what is being said.

My doctor is on his way to Croatia so I think my labs are going to be stuck in cyber space too. He’s gone for 2 weeks. I may call down there and ask that another doctor release the labs.

I’m thankful our temperatures are finally dropping out of the 100’s. since we just had the 2 hottest days on record, I think heat waves like this will be the norm:( But wait, Republicans think climate change is a hoax. Remember the movie ‘Day after tomorrow’, when it’s too late, it’ll be too late.

I’m grateful my sourdough starter is working perfectly. I had made at least 3 loaves that didn’t bake right and looked up why. First, the starter needs to be robust and second, the bulk fermentation phase is the most important. So I was underproofing the dough. I’m quite pleased with the loaves I’m getting.

I am thankful I had a good swim yesterday. I got there a little later than usual, and it was mellow. I still shared a lane but that’s ok.

I’m grateful my daughter loves gardening and right now I’m processing another pan of tomatoes for sauce. Since this is a water bath process, I don’t worry too much about exact quantities because it’s just tomatoes. If this was a meat sauce or a pressure canned recipe exact measurements are necessary. I like the baking of the tomatoes as the skins come right off.

I’m grateful to be walking in the park. It’s been almost a year since my torn ACL and meniscus. So I’m really happy to just be walking. It’s still not a lot but that’s ok. On any given day I do between 2-3 miles. So I’m good with that. If I could do more I would.

Here’s giant Gus and his momma, Ciri.

Finally, I’M INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL THAT KAMALA HARRIS IS THE NOMINEE. I THINK WE CAN BEAT THE ORANGE GUY, WHO NOW IS THE OLD MAN:)

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, books, bread, California, cancer, canning tomato salsa, cooking, home stuff, reading by

Update: B called the NP and she said it could take up to 2 weeks to get results. I kind of doubt that especially if there are cancer cells. So maybe soon. I don’t think that there’s going to be any surprise as it seems to be peritoneal cancer which basically is cancer masses in the abdomen. Hopefully, chemo and maybe some surgery will help and extend life. Who knows,? right?

So I opted to not go into the Auburn gym so I could do my first batch of salsa.

I only got 3 pints. The recipe called for 3 lbs cored tomatoes which I did but I think after baking they shrunk down so next time I’ll make more and then weigh the 3 lbs.

Then I got the bread going.

All in all, I started at 7 and I’m done now at 10. So, a good start to the week.

Tomorrow I have my labs and then I’ll go to the Roseville gym. So I’ll get my weights done for the week.

I just finished this book. It was good and I think by him writing stuff that was so emotional will help others. Worth reading.

The next book was about Judith Jones. What an amazing woman and what an amazing life she had.

There were so many books she helped get published including”Diary of Ann Frank”.

Truly a remarkable life.

Here’s a Gus picture;

I think that’s Cherry Ratski under the chair.

Well, I’m off to read or collapse one or the other. Probably read.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in books, bread, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, husband, velcade, Walking by

No reports back on the biopsy. I thought for sure, we’d hear something yesterday. So waiting, waiting. Not that I’m expecting anything but bad news but at least we’ll know what the official diagnosis is. 😦

After that, no doctor appts until next Friday and that’s with his NP from his transplant team so I’m not sure how that will play out. The new oncologist appt isn’t until the week after that so it’s definitely a waiting game. Wait, Wait, Wait.

Things to be thankful for though:

We are getting LOTS of tomatoes and I plan on having my favorite tomato and mayonnaise sandwich later today.

I have Velcade this morning and I am always thankful for efficient and knowledgeable nurses. After that, I will go down to the library and pick up my hold.

I’m thankful we had some days of cooler weather but we’re on an upward swing again. It was nice and cool this morning walking. There were LOTS of people walking even at 6am. I guess it’s the summer crowd.

I’m thankful my son has a nice apartment and is staying cool especially since he just down with covid. It’s the first time he’s had it. I miss him being here so I can hover over him!!!:) But he’s a grown man and knows what to do.

I’m thankful the sourdough boule I made yesterday came out perfect. The last two were dismal and I had to throw them out. I read on the problem and I wasn’t letting my starter mature enough. So I’ve been feeding twice a day and it’s very active now. I plan on doing another one soon. Also, with the heat, proofing time and bulk fermentation are different because it’s warm, so that was a factor as well.

Menu Monday

Posted in budgets, California, cooking, meal planning, swimming by

Now that this week is going to be cooler, I’ll try and plan a regular menu.

When I do menu planning, I don’t always do them in order or as listed for a day. I might switch Taco Tuesday to Wednesday but the dinner is still the same.

Monday- I’m going to make a pie crust and do a quiche. I have spinach to use and gruyere cheese to add.

Tuesday- I have beans, RG, in the freezer so I’m going to pull them and do nachos. I still have 2 avocados from Costco in the fridge. Did you know that as soon as they are almost ripe( slightly press on them) if you put them in the fridge they will literally last for weeks. The ones I have in there are close to 3 weeks from when I bought them.

Wednesday- I have a piece of steak to use for the meat eaters and I’ll do tofu for B. A big salad too and maybe something else on the side. Corn on the cob would be good.

Thursday- I think I’ll try an IP recipe of some sort. I saw a lasagna that looked interesting. I’d have to go buy the cheese but have noodles and the sauce.

Friday- pizza of some sort. I’ll either make one or we’ll do takeout.

Saturday- If the weather stays coolish, I’ll use Weber for a BBQ night. I’d probably do chicken and more tofu. Plus salad of some sort.

Sunday- Unknown at this point. I’d like to go through the chest freezer and use something that’s been in there a while. I know I have a piece of pork roast lingering in there so maybe that. Pulled pork sandwiches would work.

Today is a pool day and then home. I don’t think I’ll go over to the library today but probably soon.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, Flylady, instant pot recipes, Myeloma, Political things, velcade by

It’s not so hot but there’s more humidity because of some cloud cover. Still, it’s not going to be over a 100 so that’s something. I think the rest of the week is in the 90’s.

I went to the gym and did some weights and then headed over to Target to get a few things. It wasn’t very busy which is odd.

This coming week is not too filled with appts. I have Velcade on Thursday and that’s it. I do plan to swim at least one time maybe two. I have a hold to pick up at the library so I’ll do that too.

I made some Instant Pot polenta yesterday and it was yummy. I love polenta. The recipe called for 4 1/2 c water but it was too much so 4 c. is what I’ll do next time. It was one of the reasons I wanted the IP again was to make polenta. So easy.

Not sure what the rest of the day holds. Maybe a quick tidy. I used the steam mop yesterday after vacuuming so that’s done. Flylady zone is the bathroom so I will mop the floor with my microfiber mop, not the steam mop.

Other than that, not much! It’s somewhat depressing around here with the impending diagnosis out there. I guess we’ll just carry on. After all, what choice do you have really?

On the political front, I’m hoping Republicans don’t start in with this assassination attempt being somehow from Democrats. I believe the shooter was registered as Republican. Also, trump was fist pumping and saying fight, fight, as he was escorted away. So where’s that going? Still, violence is not the answer but banning A-15 rifles just might be.

Frugal Friday

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, frugalism, instant pot recipes, Myeloma by

Well, to continue the non- frugalness, our PGE bill estimate same in and it’s just under $400. OUCH!! The exact number isn’t there yet but I suspect at least $350. So with coolers running all day for the last 3 weeks, it’s understandable. Yesterday topped out at 109. So, still hot. And today, I believe is another scorcher and then temperatures start to drop. Next week the temperatures look to be in the 90’s and then an increase again next Saturday.

In frugalness though, I gassed up at Costco which is a significant savings. I only drove to the pool twice so that too saved money/gas.

I shopped at Costco and spent $125 or so but that included 2 bottles of wine. Nothing expensive, I like the Kirkland brand sauvignon and pinot grigio. The new Costco is so convenient and I was in and out in 20 minutes.

No other grocery shopping, if I recall. Today I need to pick up half and half and some corn tortillas and wine for the weekend.

As part of Amazon’s prePrime days, I bought an Instant Pot for 42% off. My instant pot died about 2 years ago and I’ve debated getting one but decided that if a deal came up, I’d get one. I think the end cost was $72. I plan on using it today as it’ll be hot and I can cook something without heating up the kitchen.

Yesterday, B had his ultrasound needle biopsy. We should get the official diagnosis next week, but certainly, cancer. The question is what treatment is there.? I’m not sure surgery is an option as there are multiple soft masses so chemo? radiation? I guess we’ll know soon enough. ( sad sigh)

Today, I’m meeting my library friends for coffee. One of them is the one whose husband died this past year of Myeloma. She’s done really well and has her two adult daughters as support. Being we’re meeting at the local cafe at 10, I won’t plan on the gym.

We had tacos and burritos from the Taco Tree after we came up from Sacramento so that was $22. But I didn’t need to cook dinner.

I got the notice that I need to renew my license and take the test etc. I’m not worried about that, just the eye exam as I don’t see much out of my right eye. I guess I’ll do my best and if necessary I’ll get my eye doctor to fill in the form that I can see 20-20 out of my left eye. Still being over 70 is challenging with these new things. But I guess, safety is key here.

I’m looking forward next week to being able to sit outside for dinner and afternoons. It feels like we’ve been stuck inside for weeks. Oh, we have:)