Gourmet Food on a Budget
When I was a child, my mother would sometimes bring home the white asparagus in the can. That was a big treat – except it didn’t have much flavor. When I saw white spears that looked a lot fresher and nicer than their green brethren, I knew I could so a lot better, so I decided to bring them home and marinate them.
Basil pine nut pesto is one of the most delicious and easy things to make. It’s even better in the summer when your basil plant is fat with big green leaves.
A funny story here. My friend Amber and her husband, Stevie went to the local Home Depot some time in 2010, and I was looking at Weber barbecues. The last one I had got toppled by a BVM Sister – the Sister was not hurt, but the Weber was a goner. The Weber at the Home Depot was on sale, and Stevie said I should get it, and I could keep it their house until Spane and I found a place with a yard. Stevie has one of those big drum barbecues, and he barbecues enough for a few days on that grill, so he likes to use mine for smaller meals. I get to “borrow” my barbecue about once a year. We’re good friends, and we laugh about this all the time.
So, tonight I decided to do kind of like Stevie does. I cooked a few things on the barbecue so I won’t have to cook tomorrow. I grilled a fillet mignon, bake potatoes wrapped in foil, and the Asian pork chops.
Amber came by tonight and shared our dinner. The Asian pork chops were moist, tender and full of flavor. The steaks with their blue cheese were just fine, accompanied by the wonderfully smoky baked potatoes and balsamic grilled vegetables. It was a great dinner to share with a very good friend.
A few weeks ago, I bought an electric skillet at the Goodwill Store. My parents always had one, and I thought it would be a good idea to have one, just in case Bertha was broken. Then, when Father’s Day came, I was reminded of the wonderful pancakes my father would make in the electric skillet on Sunday mornings. This morning, with fresh blueberries in hand, I continued the Boswell tradition by making pancakes in the electric skillet.
When I buy blueberries, I use some of them for pancakes and the rest for making Blueberry Muffin Morning Cake. But, it’s getting hot, and I really don’t want to heat Bertha if I don’t have to. Why not combine the two?
You have to try these pancakes. Making pancakes from scratch is really easy. As a matter of fact, you can just put the dry ingredients together and put them in a sealed bag for later use. Then you only have to add the liquid ingredients.
What great stories you can tell about how these hens got flat. Flattened “Highway” chicken cooks evenly on the grill. Put potatoes wedges “chips” on the grill at the same time, and have a BBQ feast!
Estimated reading time: 16 minutes
So, Spane comes home and says that he has to make a diorama for his third-grade class to be shown at Open House. I’ve never made a diorama before, but I love crafts, and I’m very interested in renewable energy.
When I asked Spane what his diorama was going to be, he said a farm. His farm has corn, a house, a river, and a cherry tree. He’s actually right on target, there are a lot of things on his farm that can use or create renewable energy.
Part of the project was the diorama itself, the other was the research that I did for the project. I have included sources for my research in this post, so you can find more about it.
Update: Parents were treated to all the wonderful dioramas at Open House on Thursday, May 31, 2012. The children got to see other classrooms the next day, Friday, so the diorama had to be up for one more day. I got to do a little repair work at Open House as the kids had been spinning the windmill and touching the cherry tree. I quickly glued the “leaves” back on the tree, sadly only one of the “cherries” were left, I guess the rest got eaten! The good thing about this diorama is when Spane went to take it home, everything collapsed, he closed up the box, and put it in his backpack.
Yes, this was made by a kid, but guess what? It’s really good, and good for you. Don’t be afraid of roses, they are delicious and very good for you. Use plain yogurt for the best taste.
Spane was upset on Friday when he told me that he had forgotten my Mother’s Day present at school. He started crying and I hugged him and said that he, himself, was the best present I had ever gotten. I mean that.
Last year, with the help of our roommate and friend, Maria, Spane made a whole tablescape and breakfast parfait. This year, since he’s now eight, he wanted to do everything himself. We have a knitted throw blanket that he used as a table-cloth, and he cleaned the kitchen all by himself! I was so proud!
When I was sleeping this morning our lovely Maine Coon, Rolo, came up to me and touched my face with his paw. Opening one eye, I saw he was getting ready to do it again, only this time there were claws. I said to him, “Did Spane tell you to wake me up?” That cat nodded his head, I swear he did! I got out of bed, and Spane was excited to show me a neat and clean kitchen.
Spane went to the trouble this morning of making me his very own Rosy Smoothie, all by himself. It was delicious!
I hope everyone has a Happy Mother’s Day – even if you’re not a mother!
Seafood stuffed avocado is a delight in the spring when perky asparagus comes into play. Here we marinated it to give it extra flavor. Enjoy!
So, a few weeks ago I was at the market and there was a package of Uncle Ben’s Taco rice in the Manager’s Special section. I thought, hey, why not? It might be good. I prepared it according to package directions on Tuesday. When Spane tasted it, he made a face. I tasted it, and I made a face, too. I even put Tapatio on it, and sour cream, and it still tasted like dirty, old socks. Mind you, I’ve never tasted dirty, old socks, but I imagine they probably taste like that rice – horrible. Moral of the story, don’t by Uncle Ben’s flavored rice.
After that debacle, I was determined to make good Mexican rice, but my stove, Bertha, is on the fritz. I had to find another way to make it.
I also had a pork loin roast, and I wanted to marinate it, but, it too, could not be roasted in Bertha. I had to find another way for that as well.
The PTA at John Muir Elementary School puts on a staff luncheon every year. Parents are asked to bring in their best dish. Our teachers and staff are very lucky, as a lot of our parents are very good cooks. This year, in fact, the recipes are going to be collected and the PTA is publishing a cookbook. The luncheon was going to take place in the newly planted Teachers’ Garden. I decided to make a cake and decorate it as a garden.
The cake looked lovely tilted up at the dessert station. In fact, it looked so lovely, and so real, that no one ate it. Some guests thought it was too pretty to cut, a few thought it was art, and a few didn’t think it was really edible. I wound up taking it home and will share it with family and friends.