Category Archives: food

Habit

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When I go to the market for my weekly food shopping, I usually shop by habit.  I know the layout of the market so it shouldn’t be rocket science to shop.

I choose things by shape, color, and/or place.  And that works 99% of the time.

Except when they change things around.

Case in point:

Milk.1web

These two items were in the dairy case.  I grabbed what I thought was Half and Half.  Same color.  Same shape.  Same place.  Well, sort of.  They moved some of the dairy products around.

What I bought instead was Fat Free Lactose Free Milk.

Milk.2web

Now here’s the funny thing.  Neither Mr. Aitch nor I realized that I bought the wrong thing and he used the Fat Free Lactose Free Milk in his coffee all last week and the week before (when I wasn’t home).  He thought there was something wrong with the coffee as it didn’t taste as rich.

I discovered the error of my ways and told him about it Friday evening.  He didn’t have coffee on Saturday or Sunday once he found out all we had in the house Fat Free Lactose Free Milk and not of Half and Half.

Would you have had your coffee anyway or gone without?

I am the cook

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Yep.  That’s me.wine_1

Usually Mr. Aitch and I discuss what’s for dinner.  Just so he knows what wine to select.  But on Sunday I told him what we were having: Stuffed Shells.  He seemed a bit reluctant with that choice as he didn’t quite know what that meant. But I made my decision.  After all, I. Am. The. Cook.

I am the one who does most of the prep work regardless of what we’re having and how it’s cooked.  Mr. Aitch may do the actual grilling when it comes to our summer fare but during the rest of the year, it’s usually me in the kitchen from start to finish.

San Giorgio shells

So on Sunday I made (for the first time ever) cheese stuffed shells using the recipe on the back of the San Giorgio box.

 

I almost doubled the sauce amount (I don’t like dry pasta) and added cooked sweet Italian sausage and ground beef to the sauce as “some people” in my house need meat for dinner.

Mr. Aitch said it was the BEST pasta dish I’ve ever prepared.

This recipe is definitely a keeper.

shells-008

 

Sorry there’s no picture of our meal.

It didn’t last long enough…

 

The last day

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We try to take advantage of nice weather, longer days, and saving money at my work.  So for the past several years we have the option of working four ten-hour days from Memorial Day (May 30) to Labor Day (September 1 this year).  The work day goes from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.  That’s an hour earlier in the morning and an hour later in the afternoon than my typical work day.

We can choose between taking off a Monday or a Friday.  I chose Mondays.

Instead of getting up an hour earlier than my usual time, I only get up about 20-30 minutes earlier.  Ergo I don’t have time for breakfast at home so I eat something at work while I check my email and get ready for the day.

Today is the last day of “summer hours”.

And it’s the last day of eating the same breakfast I’ve eaten Every. Single. Work. Day. This. Summer.

I’m tired of it and I can barely get the food to my mouth.

breakfast-2014

Three Nekot cookies with peanut butter. A 16 ounce cup of peach green tea.  And one biotin tablet, one B-complex vitamin,  and two vitamin D caplets.

The apple is for lunch.

Quick.  Easy.  Non perishable.  No refrigeration required.

I almost stopped at McDonald’s for a breakfast sandwich but realized that it would not be as good as the ones my brother-in-law made for my sister and me last week.  He’s an excellent cook.  (Yeah I forgot to mention that I was at my sister’s house all last week and if I remember, I’ll post about what we did later.)

Oh, I’ll still drink the tea (at home) and eat the cookies (until they’re gone) and, well, take the vitamins (as always) but I can have more variety for breakfast starting next Tuesday.

Toast with peanut butter and honey or bananas.   Scrambled or fried eggs.  Warm toasted bagels with cream cheese.  Cereal.  Leftover cake or pie with ice cream – don’t judge.  I know you eat that, too.

Greenish thumb

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Last year we planted tomatoes in our front flower beds.  The front of our house gets more sun than the back and I wanted to grow some tomatoes.

And keep them close enough to the house that the deer wouldn’t get them.

deer

But a chipmunk decided to make himself at home and steal the tomatoes.

Tomato-thief-002

By that time the plants were too large to do much of anything so we reluctantly shared.

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This year I decided to be a bit more proactive and make the plants less accessible.

001-Tomatoes-and-peppers

Half-inch hardware cloth (it is not soft like cloth) rolled into 18-inch high circles/columns.  I secured the circles/columns with wire and put some duct tape around the tops to keep from getting scratched when I had to pull weeds, pick ripe tomatoes, etc.

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I wedged the tomato tag from the seedlings in the back between the overlapping screening.

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Red Beefsteak

So far so good.

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L to R: Red pepper, German Queen, Red pepper

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L to R: Roma, Cherry, Better Boy, Red Beefsteak

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Roma

 

009-tomatoes

Roma

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Husky Cherry Red

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Husky Cherry Red

 

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German Queen

I followed Martha Stewart’s suggestion for tying up the floppy plants using old panty hose.

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Better Boy

I even tried a couple of red pepper plants.

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Red pepper

From the top clockwise: Beefsteak, Beefsteak, German Queen, German Queen, Better Boy

From the top clockwise: Beefsteak, Beefsteak, German Queen, German Queen, Better Boy

Question:  Why do some tomatoes split or get those lines in them as in the beef steak above?

Those German Queen tomatoes are huge!  They aren’t the prettiest but measure at about 6 inches across the widest part.  Very meaty and makes a great tomato sandwich.  I had not heard of them before but decided to try one plant this year.  It’s an heirloom tomato so I will save some seeds and try to start my plants from seed next year.  Looking forward to eating more fresh veggies soon!