What are you doing?

[cjmmytunes]

Went and got some Rocky Hock cantaloupes and a watermelon yesterday after Mom's cooking shows went off. Went to Walmart first and got some nightgowns for us that were on clearance for $3 each, and stopped by one of our local Food Lion stores and grabbed a package of their rib eye steaks that they had on sale for $7.99/lb. Will fix a couple in the broiler for lunch today and have leftovers for supper.

 

[Rparrny]

Not allowed to take any motrin or medical marijuana this close to surgery, so I am making and herbal medicine in hopes it will take the edge off the pain for the next few days.
Lots of cooking today...no kosher food available in the hospital, so I will make my own. Shepards pie, beef stew, grilled chicken breasts and some fruit yogurt combos...

 

[medtran49]

As Craig mentioned in another thread, we had been looking all over for guanciale and couldn't find it. In my search, I had found a place that sold hog jowls from Mangalitsa and Berkshire pigs so I was going to get that and try my hand at charcuterie again. They also have waygu-black angus hybrid grass fed beef, as well as sheep, lamb, goat, and rabbit. They also have raw cow and goat milk. Surpringly very reasonable prices. It's a small consortium of farms up in central to north Florida that got together. They have a distibutor down here that vends in a large farmer's market and delivers larger orders on weekends. So, we took a drive down south a bit this morning. Went there before we found ready to go guanciale, so now I have 3.7 pounds of hog jowl to figure out what to do with, and Craig got a couple of lamb shanks, plus they also had various stone ground grains, including grits, which I got since I'm about out. The tomahawk steak they had out looked really good. I was hoping Craig would make that his choice, but he chose the lamb instead. Next time.

We also got some black cumin seed and juniper berries from the spice place, plus some different variety mangoes from 1 of the vege vendors. We passed by a place that had incense and essential oils and bracelets, so I called our DD. Ended up getting a whole bunch of incense for her and a new bracelet for essential oils. Way better prices than she can get online.

 

[GotGarlic]

Not allowed to take any motrin or medical marijuana this close to surgery, so I am making and herbal medicine in hopes it will take the edge off the pain for the next few days.
Lots of cooking today...no kosher food available in the hospital, so I will make my own. Shepards pie, beef stew, grilled chicken breasts and some fruit yogurt combos...

I'm sure you know this, but herbal medicine can interact in a bad way with conventional medicine. I hope your surgeon knows what you're doing.

 

[Katie H]

Just finished making a batch of Cajun potato salad to have with tonight's meal. Man, oh, man the house smells like a Louisiana bayou kitchen. Of course, I had to sample a little before I put it in the fridge. Quality control, you know.

 

[Kayelle]

I hope your friend feels better soon, simonbaker.


I trade soup for services with a neighbor friend. Her daughter used to get our mail and take care of our kitty when we would go out-of-town. After our cat died, she decided that it wasn't as much fun just getting the mail. I paid the same anyway, so it wasn't about the pay. The mom said to me "I go right past your house at least twice a day. I'll just grab it and give it to you when you get home". I kiddingly told her I wasn't paying her since she was a grown-up. She wasn't expecting me to anyway! But I knew she liked soup; since she worked she didn't make it from scratch. So I now exchange tubs of soup for mail pick-up service. Win-win.

The soup/mail exchange sounds like fun CG but why don't you just have the mail stopped when you're away? SC goes online to do that and then picks it all up at the post office when we return. It's worked perfectly every single time and the neighbors don't get to know our business.

 

[simonbaker]

Thank you C.G. she's been in & out of the hospital with kidney transplants. She's back on dialysis but they cannot figure out why she keeps spiking Temp's.
I just got off work, plans to go to the hospital.

 

[GotGarlic]

The soup/mail exchange sounds like fun CG but why don't you just have the mail stopped when you're away? SC goes online to do that and then picks it all up at the post office when we return. It's worked perfectly every single time and the neighbors don't get to know our business.

I have tried to have the mail stopped during vacations and it never seems to work out. We also have two cats that need food, water and litter box cleaning when we're away; we either bring the dog with us or board her.

Luckily I have a neighbor who is also a friend. We pay her daughter to take care of the cats (our friend comes with her)and bring in the mail and the paper (we only get it Wed-Sun). It's a bargain and works out for all of us [emoji2]

 

[Cooking Goddess]

The soup/mail exchange sounds like fun CG but why don't you just have the mail stopped when you're away? SC goes online to do that and then picks it all up at the post office when we return. It's worked perfectly every single time and the neighbors don't get to know our business.

Well, like GG, my mail "girl" is a friend whom I trust. My SIL actually picked up our mail after they moved here, and we'd do the same for them. However, I had to scare up someone every Christmastime since we both headed back to where kids live since Himself stopped working. So Juliet is the beneficiary nowadays. Also, our local post office isn't the one that holds our mail. We have to notify them when we want to pick it up, then they have to make arrangements to have it brought to the local office. The bother of living in a small town. We tried a mail hold once - took us three days from notice to actually being able to get it. I like seeing what came in the same night we get home.

 

[LPBeier]

It's more about what I am NOT doing! I have the day off!

I have been pushing myself with all the smoke and pollution in the air to do housework, handle a couple of writing/transcribing projects, look after the pets including all Violet's medications and walks, cooking, and picking up the grocery order.

So, since we have a 3-day weekend here, TB decided to give me the day off. He was up with Vi at 8 am for her meds and the first walk, fed them both, and made our breakfast, letting me sleep in until after 11 am. Right now he has gone to pick up our groceries and to get what he needs for making dinner (no idea what it is).

I am going back for another nap, then plan to curl up with a good movie later.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

That sounds like just what you need, LP! Enjoy your day off!

I've just been goofing off today, but I should get something "real" done. Yesterday I pitted and chopped a cup and a half of fresh cherries and cooked them down to "preserves". The sites I read said that cherries don't set up as thickly as some other fruits, and not using pectin (or any pectin-containing food) probably didn't help. It will be "preserves" if it's on something like an absorbent scone or holey English muffin, but I wouldn't trust it on toast! So I adjusted...and am now calling it "sauce".

Oh, yeah, that cup-and-a-half cooked down to less than a pint. I guess it's "quality over quantity".

 

[Andy M.]

Took a Boston butt out of the freezer. Once it thaws I plan to rub it and smoke it on the Weber then finish it in the oven for pulled pork.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

...so now I have 3.7 pounds of hog jowl to figure out what to do with...

I coarsely chop the jowls and place in my Electric pressure cooker with about 1/2 cup water, salt and pepper. You can add whatever flavor profile you like. Cook till done...about 30 minutes in the EPC...the collagen and fat melts, making a nice smooth meat paste. Portioned you can add to soups or just eat it with a fork, heated or cold.

Of course, if you don't have an EPC you can use your favorite braising pan and put it in the oven. You will need more water, wine, stock...whatever you use.

 

[medtran49]

I coarsely chop the jowls and place in my Electric pressure cooker with about 1/2 cup water, salt and pepper. You can add whatever flavor profile you like. Cook till done...about 30 minutes in the EPC...the collagen and fat melts, making a nice smooth meat paste. Portioned you can add to soups or just eat it with a fork, heated or cold.

Of course, if you don't have an EPC you can use your favorite braising pan and put it in the oven. You will need more water, wine, stock...whatever you use.

I have a stove top pressure cooker. Does it make sort of a short cut lardo-like product?

 

[Addie]

I got up this morning, had a big cup of hot tea, then tackled the kitchen. It wasn't dirty, but it needed wiping down. the cabinet fronts, the appliances, etc. Then I tackled the freezer. That is when I should have yelled for me to STOP! What a job. On Friday I just wrapped all the meats and other foods and tossed them in. I figured I would straighten it out yesterday. Yesterday never happened. At the end of that ordeal, I really had to get off my leg. Next came the dish I had been promising Spike and Pirate since Thursday. A Greek Spinach Pie. I had bought three pounds of spinach when I went shopping on the third. And all the other ingredients. No getting out of it. That was a lot of work, but so worth it. Even though the recipe I was using didn't call for it, I added lemon juice to the spinach. It just didn't sound right being a Greek dish and not put lemon in it. That made the whole dish worth all the work. Now I am finally resting.

A couple of months ago Pirate sent me a site for surveys. I was skeptic at first. But his one pays you cash. You don't have to bid on some magical vacation, or any other gimmick. Plain hard cash. So far since June, I have netted $40. Now that may not seem like much, but the money is deposited right into my credit card and pays my monthly payment, plus. The money goes right into my Pay Pal account. And since I am sitting here at the computer just puttering around, I may as well put the time to good use.

Oh and one more thing. I pulled out all the beef and chicken bones from the freezer and made a pan of stock with each pile while doing all the other work.

So here I sit here going between DC and the survey. Just resting and killing time.

 

[GotGarlic]

That sounds like just what you need, LP! Enjoy your day off!

I've just been goofing off today, but I should get something "real" done. Yesterday I pitted and chopped a cup and a half of fresh cherries and cooked them down to "preserves". The sites I read said that cherries don't set up as thickly as some other fruits, and not using pectin (or any pectin-containing food) probably didn't help. It will be "preserves" if it's on something like an absorbent scone or holey English muffin, but I wouldn't trust it on toast! So I adjusted...and am now calling it "sauce". [emoji38]

Oh, yeah, that cup-and-a-half cooked down to less than a pint. I guess it's "quality over quantity".

A cup and a half is less than a pint to start with...

 

[taxlady]

A cup and a half is less than a pint to start with...

That's what I was thinking.

 

[Farmer Jon]

My wife went to Wal-Mart and came home with a 60 at pot. I guess she finally got tire of me complaining I need a bigger stock pot.

 

[Andy M.]

A great tool. So many uses.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I have a stove top pressure cooker. Does it make sort of a short cut lardo-like product?

The stove top pressure cooker works well. It is more jelled when cooked down. You can chill it and slice.