Friday, January 30, 2009

New Vehicle

OK, so our trip on 29 January to Twin Falls, was supposed to be to see Rudy's - A Cooks Paradise (see the post on the Boise Foodie Guild Blog), but, like some of our sojourns, they can get involved. This one was no different!

We went to see Robin's cousin, Randy Perrine, who works at Bob Green's GMC dealership on Blue Lakes Blvd, Twin Falls (Your're welcome for the plug, Randy!). Robin wanted to sit in a Cadillac Escalade. She did. $40K worth!

Instead of the Cady, we looked at this one - a delightful 2008 Chevrolet Equinox. Large, roomy, you can see over the guard rails of a bridge, smooth ride and comfortable seats and the maintenance and mileage on the vehicle won't be much more than the 1996 Subaru we are trading in on it. The back is large enough for probably 12 cases of wine, well, maybe 8-10!
I drove it back to Boise and the electronics on the car are awesome: MPG info, average speed, how many miles are left on the tank of gas, good cruise control, great radio and CD player and a great security system. This will be a great vehicle when we travel to San Diego later this year and maybe Texas.
OH, well, such is retirement! Cheers!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Presidential Inaugural Luncheon

President Obama and his staff released the menu and recipes from the Inaugural Luncheon. Click Here for an amazing lunch menu! Good luck on preparing some of these. Wonder how long it took to come up with the menu and then the preparation.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Artichoke Bottoms

Beth,
Bob had an abscessed molar removed yesterday and I had remembered we had a can of artichoke bottoms [from Spain found at the Basque section of our supermarket] or you can prepare them from fresh artichokes - remove the tooth scraping edible leaves and interior thistle flower after boiling them whole in salted water... saute them in some butter and fill with any number of goodies from pureed veggies to crab salad. So I chose the minted purreed peas and layered them on a slice of polenta. It makes an interesting side dish veggie - layers of different tastes and textures, but soft enough for a dental patient. The sauteed fresh sole was a great soft main dish - lemon butter, Salt & Pepper, lemon zest and a little pecorino romano finely grated - YUmmmO Bob just got up and said those pain pills really work well - he slept hard.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Artichoke Bottoms and Peas

So after a morning of oral surgery, it becomes somewhat of a challenge to eat potato chips. So, let's puree the steak! Or, if you are inventive, try this one (photo below)and I'm not sure the recipe name is correct:

Frozen peas, thawed
Mint
Cream
Artichoke Bottoms
Polenta with Basil and Garlic (Available in your super market in the vegetable dept)

Thaw the peas. Place in a food processor along with some mint and cream. Cream until smooth. Place about 3 Tablespoons in the artichoke bottoms and on some polenta rounds and "nuke" until warm.

Try this with some sauteed Sole. It also might be a good one for St Patricks' Day. Something to think about. Certainly better than pureed steak!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

website

Well - I THOUGHT the web address was going to show up! I am not that Web savvy!

http://www.howetoknit.etsy.com/

Website

All -

As many of you know, I am an avid knitter and crafter. Therefore, I have decided to show off my artistic side in public! Please check out my website.

Pass it along to others so I can spread the word!

Beth Howe

Sunday, January 4, 2009

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Now don't let the title fool you! Ever get the urge for chocolate cake and you didn't have enough time to make it? Here is really a delicious and simple remedy. Robin came up with this from somewhere:

"5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

will serve two if you are willing to share ... a little whipped cream or ice cream on top makes it more decadent."


Enjoy this!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year

Here we are again! A new year! A fresh start! Who knows what will happen this year? Interesting. Happy New Year to everyone and, as Robin's Mother would say, "May you always have the strength to enjoy all of your weaknesses!". And with that in mind ...

"Auld Lang Syne''.

Many of us did not know what those "three little words" exactly meant, albeit appreciating what they signified. It [is] an old Scottish poem written by Robert Burns around 1788 and the title when translated literally [means] "Old Long Since" in keeping with the strange English phrases of that era.

The 1st verse is:

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?"
For auld lang syne, my Jo (meaning "my dear")
For auld lang syne
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne."

The 2nd verse is hardly sung or known:

"And surely ye'll be your pint cup
And surely I'll buy mine
We'll take a right goodwill draught
For auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my Jo
For auld lang syne
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne."

It's all about a toast to the old year with draughts of beer or ale.


So at the next New Year Party, or on January 25th, take this printed copy with you or memorize the two verses. Your friends will be amazed. And what are your resolutions? Mine are:
1. I will not sky dive,
2. I will not try ski jumping,
3. I probably will not eat escargot, again,
4. I found a pretty good whisky, Buchannans, and will probably keep some on hand,

At least that's a start. Cheers!