Concoction

A mixture of various ingredients - Yes, that is what I created today. I have been eager to use my new casserole dish. I thought about it and thought about it. I am only one person to eat it, whatever I make, but....

After cooking for my large growing and hungry family for so many years I had to invent meals often with whatever was on hand. This is what I did today.

I had a few small elbow macaroni in a jar; maybe about 1 1/2 cups. I had a small can of chunk white albacore tuna packed in water. I had a can of cream of mushroom soup. I had several packages of freshly blanched and frozen string beans in the freezer. I had milk. I had butter. I had dried parsley, onion powder, paprika, celery salt, black pepper and a final chunk of garden tomato. 

This is what I did: 

I cooked the macaroni and drained it. Then, in a separate bowl I mixed the drained tuna fish into the soup. I took some of the frozen string beans and chopped them into small pieces, then added them into the mixture. Some of the parsley, onion powder, celery salt, and black pepper were incorporated. I put a chunk of butter into the clean casserole dish and zapped it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. I poured the mixture into the dish, added a coating of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of some milk. Topped it off with some paprika and tomato chunks. Baked it all in my new dish for about an hour at 325°. Then I hit the broil level for about 5! OH MY GOODNESS! SooooGood SooooGood SooooGood SooooGood! Yes I'm still a "foodie." I almost forgot how much fun it is to make up a tasty and nutritious meal.

Before 

Baked

There is a lot left over! Now I know why casseroles are favored for gatherings. I'll have to freeze portions to enjoy at another time. This sure was a success! YUM!

You can't smell it,

You can't taste it,

You CAN see it larger by tapping on image!

The Nutcracker

Through my teen years I will always remember a wooden bowl that sat on the dining room table, especially during all holidays, that was loaded with a variety of nuts! My mother would even name each of the different varieties and we soon learned our favorites to consume. It was allowed for us to pick up the nutcracker and break any one open and then pick out the inside meats. There was a hard pedestal in the middle of the bowl, and a hammer too that could be used if the cracker wouldn't open one with the first try. The bowl was in the shape of a log with bark and the middle was the nut storage place. I have no idea today whatever happen to it. Well just look! I  found one very similar on the internet! This is from the 1950's.

Most interesting to me though, are the nutcracker and picks that were always available next to that bowl! After some research I found that the silver plate vintage nutcracker I have, has been passed down through the generations is marked Wallace Bros. It dates back to the early 1800s to the early 1900s! I only found two picks and believe several have been lost in the past. What started all of this was my hunt for a good tool to crack open the king crab legs and claws that I was having for Christmas day dinner. I have never prepared these at home before and was planning to use pliers, scissors and a fork! Then my memory kicked in and I recalled seeing the nutcracker at the back and bottom of a kitchen drawer!

As you can see, they worked well and my dinner was a success.

The little cup in the back of this image had Baileys Irish Cream and the cup with the drawn butter is back in the refrigerator as I still have six more frozen legs. I only ate three today so I can share with my daughter when she visits tomorrow.

In case you're wondering, I ordered these legs from Schwan's Home Delivery early in November and they were finally in stock and delivered last week. 1.75 lbs. cost was not near the prices you are seeing on TV or in your markets! 

Don't forget to tap on photo to see a real nutcracker

This and That

Marinated salmon filets for dinner last night! With sautéed brussels sprouts too! Yum!

This morning I cut up the three very large remaining Cortland apples into chunks and bagged them in a gallon bag for the freezer. They will be used later on in the season for a pie or apple crisp . The owner at the orchard says she does this often and they will be just perfect after thawing for the bake. 

I had to put the Macoun apples in the refrigerator as the weather is too warm for them to keep well. I eat one a day!

Oh! and I made another spooky creation.

please tap on image to view larger

Again and Again

I win! I make the best quiche. Mr. says so! I say so!

This is spinach with pre-cooked Perdue chicken breast pieces. It was wonderful and we topped it off with brownies. 

Comfort food for cold weather.

Birthday Dinner

Friends here alerted us that there is a grill restaurant here that gives a complete free dinner of choice to a person on his or her birthday. We seldom eat out but figured that we would try it. It was an “interesting” meal and a memorable event.

I asked the hostess to please seat us at a table, rather than a booth and she did - a table for 6. We sat in the middle and had an overlooking view of the beach and ocean through a massive expanse of windows. We had just arrived and as we were sitting down, the strong wind came up and the rain poured down and the sea and surf looked very angry. Then, magically, all stopped and a huge and vivid rainbow appeared over the ocean, reaching right into the sea. Then! A second rainbow showed itself. They lasted for the longest time I have ever experienced and many other diners left their seats to rush out on the balcony to photograph them with telephones. It was wonderful to see such a spectacular rainbow event over the ocean. 

After making our selections from the menu, the waitress (they call them “servers” I noticed) asked us if we would like anything to drink and we ordered coffee. When it came, she left the table so quickly we didn’t have a chance to ask for creamers, which weren’t delivered. I caught her as she passed by, and asked for them. She returned - after a while - with four little creamers. Then she tripped away before I could ask her for spoons so we could stir in our sweeteners and creamers. I caught her again in a while, and ask her for spoons to stir. "Oh! OK!" And - get this - she returned with one spoon - a large round bowl soup spoon. I looked at the Mister and smiled, as she disappeared quickly. We shared our spoon.

Then the salads were delivered with a nice looking tiny loaf of bread with each. There was no butter served. I had to catch her eye again and ask for butter. I asked for real butter, not a spread, please. She replied, “real butter?” I said, “Yes, real butter,” and later on she brought us little frozen squares of real butter. FROZEN like a rock! Are you getting a picture here, folks?

The salad was very fine, the bread was very fine, and the coffee was getting very cold. Later, and I might say quite a bit later, our main course was served. I asked to have our coffee warmed up. We started eating, me with my crab cakes and he with his rib eye steak, medium. The crab cakes were wonderful and very tasty, The steak was inedible. When she returned with the coffee pot she asked how the dinners were. We told her the steak was tough and stringy. She left. Just like that. She left. In a bit, a grill cook, who could even have been the manager, came out to see the steak and ask about it. After convincing him it was inedible, he took it away and brought another - only a bit more tender but the Mister got the middle part cut out and it was OK. Meanwhile, the waitress asked me for my driver’s license to show to the manager so my meal would not be charged to our bill. Do you know, can you believe, that when she returned with the bill and my cake in a box, as I had requested, she forgot she still hadn’t returned my license. I asked for its return and it was in her apron pocket! Surprise! Surprise!

This was a real learning experience for her, wasn’t it? The check was for two coffees $5.00 and one meal $19.99, and tax. There was a stamped suggested gratuity on the bill giving the amounts to leave the waitress (oops! server) at 18%, 20% and 25%. We left $5.00, and were glad to give her something, because she sure didn’t know how to do her job and seemed to be innocent of her mistakes or should I say inadequate skills at this occupation. 

I can only laugh it off and found the humor of the evening - 2 1/2 hours for a simple meal at a so-called “popular” place to eat with an overlooking view of the ocean. 

The memory of the beautiful rainbows on my 78th birthday will always be with us. It was a very nice evening after all. The cake was delicious for our lunch treat today.

Both of the pictures below were posted online by our local weatherman.

Dustin Matthews took this great shot of a double rainbow after the hail and rain in Pawleys Island. We were 22 miles north of Pawleys Island at the restaurant.

This shot was taken by Fred Gibson, a Snowbird from Kincardine, Ontario. 
He had to be nearby where we were. It looks as if the 2nd rainbow hadn't yet appeared.

Perfect

On January 9th I posted about making Red Beet Pickled Eggs. I posted the picture of the finished product on the 10th. Well, this evening we tasted them for the first time. They are supposed to cure for 3 days.
Oh! My!

I have never taken a photo right in the middle of a meal but that's exactly what I did this night. The pickled eggs and beets were SO DELICIOUS that I put my half eaten plate of leftover ham, corn casserole, mashed potatoes and my first-time taste of the preserved beets and eggs on the counter where I have to be able to shoot well. WOW! That is all I can say.

I really think the difference was that I used a newer product of vinegar with peppers. We don't like anything hot, but it wasn't hot at all. I was afraid the eggs and beets were really too dark in color and would be too strong in flavor. They were NOT.

Please forgive me.  I was overwhelmed with my meal and my Mister was too. Yea! Winner!

No dessert yet. We are full.