Tag: food

SoCS: scones

I just finished eating some yummy apple cinnamon scones that B made.

It’s a recipe that he developed starting from a Bisquick base, so it is quick to put together. Less measuring than working totally from scratch, which he also does.

One of my favorite scratch recipes is his pumpkin scones, for which we often use frozen honey nut squash. Well, you do have to thaw the squash first. In the fall when the farm stands are about to close and are selling winter squash by the box, we often buy a bunch of honey nut squash to bake, mash, and portion out to freeze so that we can use it for recipes for months to come.

But today, the apple cinnamon scones hit the spot.

Starting from the Bisquick base, it’s easy to make lots of variations. Besides fresh fruits, like apples, peaches, or plums, we use dried fruits, such as cranberries, currants, or raisins. There are lots of variations for the recipe, depending on what you have on hand.

We also add a bit of sugar, white or brown, and spice, often cinnamon but possibly nutmeg or cardamon, depending on what we use for fruit.

I hope I’m not making you hungry….
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “recipe.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/05/31/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-1-2024/

a belated Thanksgiving

Because spouse B had contracted COVID and needed to isolate at home and daughter T and I were masking around each other in case one of us was infected, we didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving last Thursday – or, I should say, we celebrated with a nice, but not fancy, dinner of roast pork with roasted vegetables with T and I eating in the dining room and B at the kitchen table where we could talk to each other at a safe distance. Instead of the traditional pie, we had (the also-traditional) Aunt Gert’s Indian pudding for dessert.

That Thursday was Day 12 of B’s COVID experience and the first day he had tested negative. On average, Omicron infections last for eight days, so B was on the long side of the spectrum but someone has to be to balance out those who have a short infectious phase. Because he needed to have two negative tests 48 hours apart for us to be unmasked around each other, he decided that our fancier Thanksgiving dinner should be on Sunday.

While, for many years, I did the bulk of the cooking at our house, I don’t especially enjoy it. B, on the other hand, likes cooking and baking, so he chose the menu and made the meal. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of individual beef Wellington with roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and a Braeburn and Cortland apple pie for dessert.

One of the things for which we are most thankful is that B’s bout with COVID was relatively mild, even if his infectious period did hang on longer than expected. We are also thankful that T and I remained uninfected. The pool of people I know who have never had COVID has dwindled to just a few, so I know it’s likely we will contract it someday, but, for now, we are all happy to be able to spend time together at home unmasked in the same room, whether or not there is a fancy late-Thanksgiving meal on the table.

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

SoCS: meeting up

This will be super short because I’m going to meet up with a lot of people today. (Well, a lot for me, at least!)

This morning, I have a Creation Care Team meeting at church.

From early afternoon through early evening, I’ll be going to a gathering of women, organized by a friend and being held at the retreat space of another. There will be expressive arts, chair yoga, an opportunity to walk a labyrinth, companionship, and, of course, some food. I made a big bowl of applesauce to bring and share. Very indicative of fall in the Northeast.

I don’t usually see that many people in a day – or, perhaps, it’s more accurate to say I don’t usually interact with that many people in a day.

Change of pace…
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “meat/meet/mete.” Join us ! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/11/03/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-4-2023/

One-Liner Wednesday: strawberry season

Fresh strawberry pie, the last of our local strawberry season trifecta along with strawberry shortcake and strawberry-rhubarb pie

This delicious post is brought to you through Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays. Join us! Find out how here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/06/14/one-liner-wednesday-a-floral-gift/

One-Liner Wednesday: the day after

The aftermath of Pi Day.

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/03/15/one-liner-wednesday-what-day-is-it-anyway/

Pi Day!

The US tends to have a lot of whimsical “holidays” in honor of just about any food, activity, relationship, etc. imaginable. March 14 is celebrated as “Pi Day” because Pi is 3.14…

The celebration entails eating pie. While Brent often bakes for Pi Day, this year I bought a suitably dedicated cherry pie from Wegmans.


Wishing an equally delicious pie to all those celebrating!

yogurt

I try to keep yogurt in my refrigerator. Because B and T are lactose intolerant, I keep a large tub of Green Valley Creamery lactose-free plain yogurt, which they eat with various mix-ins and which we use in lieu of sour cream in recipes.

I had been eating Greek-style yogurt, usually Chobani or Fage, both of which are made here in upstate New York.

Lately, I’ve become a fan of skyr from Icelandic Provisions. It is also made with milk from our local dairies but uses heirloom Icelandic microbes to make a super-thick and creamy yogurt which is high in protein. They also use less added sugar than most commercial yogurts.

Sometimes, I’ll eat skyr as part of a meal but, more often, I’ll eat it as dessert, especially some of the flavors, such as cold brew coffee and key lime. It’s great to have a treat that is indulgent but nutritious.

I’ve been buying Icelandic Provisions most often at Wegmans because they have the best selection. I wish I could find some of the flavors listed on the brand website that feature mix-ins, but I’ve yet to see them in stores here.

I have, though, eaten some kinds of fruit that I hadn’t known existed, such as cloudberry and bilberry, which grow in Iceland. I’d love to travel to Iceland in person someday, see where they grow, and try them. Until then, I’ll content myself with eating delicious skyr in upstate New York.
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It’s not too late to join in with Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/30/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-30th-2023/

a trip to IKEA

I know it may seem as if I have fallen off the face of the earth lately because I’ve posted less often than usual but I am still here.

Well, not my usual “here” as I am in London visiting daughter E and her family. Yesterday, E and granddaughter JG took us to IKEA for the first time. While there are IKEAs in the US, none of them are near our home. E was explaining that in some places, like Germany, rentals tend to have just the four walls so stores like IKEA offer furnishings for whole rooms as a package.

We ate lunch there. Of course, I had to try the Swedish meatballs. They reminded me a bit of the Swedish meatballs my mom used to make using a recipe from her Swedish neighbor. None of this putting sour cream in the gravy nonsense!

I’m still struggling a bit with jet lag but slept almost normal hours last night. Today is the first day of the half-term break for granddaughter ABC and for son-in-law L. We are hoping to do a bit of sight-seeing next week, although we may try to do gardens and outdoor venues as much as possible. We need to stay COVID-free if at all possible!

I’ll try to get some posts out in the coming days. I had intended to write a post about the mass shooting in Buffalo but then the Texas school shooting happened so I need to expand somewhat.

Stay tuned…

SoCS: dinner?

“Whatever” is usually my first thought when the question is “What’s for dinner?”

Not that that is what I say…

For almost forty years, I’ve been the frontline person in the house for shopping and deciding what is for dinner.

It’s not one of my favorite tasks. I’ve tried at various points to enlist help and can sometimes get an answer if I give people a few choices of what is on hand. There have also been stretches of time when I did hand off meal planning to other household adults, especially during the illnesses of Nana and Paco when I was too overwhelmed to deal with such things – or even to care much about food.

While I have been trying to be better about menu planning and execution recently, I’m still struggling. I think part of it is that I’m still alternating between not feeling like eating or even thinking about food and just wanting to eat anything in sight but not caring much about what that is. It’s likely related to grieving and part of the more general problem of still having limited energy and decision-making capabilities. It’s still difficult to make myself do things.

Or maybe that’s just an excuse or rationalization.

Whatever…
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “whatever.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2022/02/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-19-2022/

(not) a party weekend

Here in the US, this past weekend was a major event for lots of folks. Sunday was the Super Bowl, which football fans watch for the game and lots of others watch for the innovative commercials and the halftime show. It’s a long period of time so there tends to be be lots of snacking with chips and dip and wings and pizza and beer and such. Some people are binging on winter Olympic viewing, instead of or in addition to the Super Bowl. Many people also moved their celebration of Valentine’s Day to the weekend, encouraged by restaurants who are still trying to re-build their business as the pandemic (maybe) winds down or, at least, this most recent wave.

Things were pretty quiet at our house, though.

We aren’t big football fans. We have only been watching limited amounts of the Olympics, mostly figure skating, and often via DVR so we can watch the events without all the ads and commentary. I admit that I usually watch more Olympic coverage but the complications of Chinese politics and the bizarre participation of Russia with the doping problem still hanging over them make me less enthused about these particular games. The threat of Russia to Ukraine is also casting a pall, especially since Russia has previously used the time of the Olympics to take military action, hoping the world was too preoccupied to notice.

We did observe Valentine’s Day, but quietly at home and on Monday instead of over the weekend. As I am at a point in my grief process where planning celebrations is still difficult, spouse B did the lion’s share of the work, with daughter T contributing thoughtful cards and candles for the table. I did bring home a pot of mini-daffodils and some dairy-free chocolate for B and T, a token nod to the tradition of flowers and chocolate for Valentine’s Day.

B planned and executed a lovely dinner for the three of us. He made individual Beef Wellington with mushrooms rather pâté, served with fresh sautéed green beans. For dessert, he made white chocolate mousse, which was rich and delicious. He chose that because I can no longer eat cocoa but still enjoy the luxurious melt-in-your-mouth-ness of cocoa butter.

A sweet and quiet Valentine’s Day suits me.

Thanks to B, it was what we were able to celebrate.