Good Things Come to Those Who Cake

The above was on the birthday card from Janet. Thanks, Janet!  She knows me well. Well, I did cake! And, I lost another pound. 

 I survived!

Despite having only two nights' sleep last night and a grueling doctor visit all the way across Birmingham, I think I might be getting better. 

This affliction has not caused my temperature to rise. Neck hurt one day. I had a few of my normal sneezing fits. Once in a while, I coughed a week little clearing-my-throat cough. Other than that, I have been almost to the point of not being able to walk, wobbly, weak, pain all over. I truly hope whatever it is going away. 

As you may remember, besides the gifts for my birthday, I had food visits planned. Tuesday, when I was in Publix, I decided that over the weekend, I would get Chicken Mushroom Wild Rice from Publix soup bar. It was on their chart for Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday. I was so ill on Saturday and decided today was the day. No soup for me! It did not come in. So, I wanted something. Tommy suggested ice cream cone. 

Then, he mentioned DQ and I wanted a Blizzard. He usually gets me a small because I want a 'small one.' That is not smallest! This time I said 'tiniest' one. The mini was what I wanted--something that was chocolate twice. It was $4.97 for the 6 oz. mini. There are 128 ounces in a gallon. That makes 21 mini servings in a gallon. So $4.97 x 21= $104.37/gal. Can you imagine anything so expensive??? I think this is the first Blizzard I have had in over a year. 

Sunday, I had my taste buds set for the soup that was not there on Saturday, Tommy brought it out and vegetable soup for him. It was so delicious! Free from Publix for my birthday, I received a bar cake. Carrot Cake. 

Today, after Tommy's appointment, we had a Chic-fil-A sandwich, no pickle. He asked for mustard for me. I heard him ask twice. I didn't say anything because I figured maybe they had no mustard. Gues what? They do! He, of course, swears he said "honey mustard." grrr

Because of the four-day holiday, Tommy was without his Dexcom G7 for a week. Then, because of incorrect information, he had to pay $150.00 for one sensor that lasts 10 days! Because Tommy does not give complete information, I chimed in. Based on what I said, she reversed what she had just said. He does not realize what is relevant information. 

When she heard from me what his breakfast is, she vetoed that because his blood sugar was rising too much eating Honey Nut Cheerios and milk. She told him to eat an egg. I told her he does not like egg. So, she said to eat cottage cheese. No, he hates that. So, she told me to find a protein he would eat and give him that...lol. When I lived alone, I would grab and small bit of chicken breast about two thumb sized piece. It worked for me. He is not too eager to eat that. I asked her what would work, something he could carry with him in the car. She suggested protein bars or protein shakes. 

I have been telling him for years that his breakfast makes his blood sugar rise too high! 

In the car I mentioned protein bites with oats, chocolate, peanut butter and whatever. He said it did not sound good. I would love those. I refuse to put chia in mine, but he might like chia. 

They copied his receiver information and he turned in his food log. I told her when we at popcorn, it was free of salt or butter. She said what mattered was how much he ate. He put down everything he ate, but he left off amounts. 

So maybe Tommy learned something from the exchanges between the doctor and myself. I told him I would get him a smaller cereal bowl. He said he would just eat less. Well, I am trying to get rid of the Cool Whip Bowl that he never washes, just stores it and the spoon in the refrigerator. I tried for about 3 years to get him to change bowls. Maybe I need to get a Dr. Who bowl for him. 

I need a nap, but, I need to cook chicken before it goes off. Two quarts of strawberries are waiting, too. 

I wore pants I ordered from eBay and love them. From Walmart I ordered two nightgowns and a bathrobe. The bathrobe smells of chemical. One nightgown does not fit. One, I love. So, those two pieces must go back. The other nightgown is okay. (I tried it on and it is nice and long, love it. The fabric for Tommy's curb chairs came and is great. I may order some from this place to upholster my kitchen chairs. When all is said and done, I suppose these four chairs will cost about $40. I had to have new seat bottoms cut, bought this material, and will need to purchase padding for the chairs since the other was about 50 years old and rotten. Four years ago, I paid $20 for someone to cut four new chair bottoms since the others were pressed wood and disintegrating. 

Okay, I slept only three hours. I feel almost fully recovered from this sinus problem. It is almost 10 pm. I just gt up. I have to sleep well tonight. 

I told Tommy I want a new, large tv for the living room. He has been adamant that is not happening. So, I told him I want another necklace from Jared's or a new tv. My birthday is Wednesday, so we will see. I would not claim the tv, just have access to something larger than the 32" tv that is sitting very and low hard to see. Oh, I want it hung on the wall, too, for easy viewing. Plus, I have stumbled toward the tv many times. Once, I even touched it, grabbing it for support and righting it. Besides, I have a console table I want to put on that wall that is so much nicer than the very short coffee table on which the tv sits. 

I do want to eat at Cracker Barrel and get the four meals for $5 each. Or, maybe it is another place. 

Oh, I am tired of his dragging his feet on car purchase! Football has started and he informed me on Friday when Auburn was playing on Saturday. I told him if he cannot plan and carry through on car shopping, we will go whenever, even during Auburn games. This will assure he plans! Football games will be my nap time. 

Okay, need to go plate my dinner. 

Do you have any recipes for protein bites/bars? I want ones you have tried. 

Tuesday

 Monday night, we put six bscb in cooking bag with too many carrots and six small potatoes. Sprinkled only with garlic powder and onion powder and several slices of onion, they were delicious after baking. I made slaw. A few days ago, I made slaw from a kit that was nasty tasting. Tommy liked it and may eat it. I will probably freeze one or two of the bscb. 

I am having trouble with Amazon. When I order two of an item each month, I keep getting three. I will have to stop the order, I suppose, and start again when I run out of this six-month supply! Is anyone else having this problem? Also, orders are set to be delivered on a certain date, then the order is delayed. This aspect has not caused a problem yet, but it is different than their usual practices. It keeps me looking for packages, keeps me on my toes. 

My toothbrushes are on subscribe and save, too. With the extra percentage off from subscribe and save, I will use that, and then quit when I get a year's supply of toothbrushes. Every 5% helps. 

We need to take recycling to Publix since we have so much stored. Tommy takes care of that, so I am behind on how much we have ready to go. I have a recycling wastebasket by my chair so I don't have to hand him one or two items at a time. This way, I can deposit bottles, newspapers and he can sort it in the kitchen/dining area at his leisure. We try to be efficient and work together. By the way, the recycling wastebasket is just a plain white wastebasket that we have designated recycling as opposed to trash. 

Dinner: chicken, potato, carrots, slaw. Delicious again tonight.

I have had no energy today, just a sloth. My whole body hurts and it is hard to swallow. But, it was a beautiful, hot day. So, all is well. I have been making plans.

How are things with you?

Chicken or Not Chicken

 Tommy and I have had a discussion off and on for about four days. I asked him if he put the whole chicken in the refrigerator to thaw. He said no, that he put it in freezer. I told him I wanted it to thaw. He said I told him to put it in the freezer. I looked in refrigerator for milk and saw a bulging chicken-like thing. I felt it--smooth like a chicken and not too hard, maybe thawing?

When I sat down, we discussed this. I asked him why he put chicken in a plastic bag on the top shelf. He said the chicken was sitting on a small cookie pan. I calmed down then. 

Wednesday, I wanted to roast that chicken. He once again told me there was no chicken. I reminded him about him saying it was sitting on a pan. I described exactly where it was located. Then, he knew what I was talking about. He declared:

"That is a cabbage!" 

We had a good laugh. So, I won't be roasting chicken or cabbage. 

He did not want the freshly shucked corn on the cob, so it did not get cooked. I think we finished the squash and cabbage we cooked earlier this week. I hope the tomatoes are still good. 

Tommy now has two walkers. The one I ordered in a hurry because his broke and he had to use mine is huge and very heavy to lift in and out of the car. Besides, he was beating up furniture and doors. Then, he was given a replacement walker for the one that broke. I suggested he use the heavier. larger one in the car and use the lighter. smaller one in the house. So, now he drives the lighter one to car, unloads things like our water bottles to car, then turns around and leaves it on the lawn next to the ramp. 

Usually, when we get home, I push his walker to him so he does not have to walk to it and then back to the car to get groceries and stuff from the car. This will all work as long as it does not get ruined in the rain or this winter. When I have to hold onto the car, like when I get in, I think I will get burns on my hands. I don't know how he holds onto the hot car all the way across the back of the car and then to driver door. 

Today, we finally made the return at a store and dropped off the UPS. I said for the fortieth time, "Why don't we stop and look at a car," as I gestured toward a Ford dealership. I finally found an SUV I could get into and one that did not hurt my back. We found many that won't work for us. More tomorrow.

Do you hate shopping for a car? I do.

We are still laughing and joking about the cabbage chicken.

We watched the debate. Did you?  

Better Friday

 Why do I watch the weather forecast? The see what the weather will the next day. Well, it seems like the weather is not listening to the forecast. I expected some rain today, and so far have see nary a drop. That has happened several times lately. That's okay, but my plans were thwarted. 

Today, I am not dizzy. I don't have vertigo. I am just wobbly when I walk. I did not realize how ill I was until I got over it. Yesterday, even glancing up at the TV or moving my eyes caused a massive whirl in my head. Once I was sitting still, the inside of my head felt like it was whirling. 

My nose is not drippy, but all day I have been sniffling. That is a firm win! Since I felt so much better, I went into Publix today.

I almost knocked over one of the tiny light tables they put displays on near the door. I was so embarrassed, but two employees caught the table so it did not fall. My milk was marked down to $4.49/half gallon. I really needed more at that price, but I bought one. We have until Tuesday to get that price. Activia yogurt was bogo, so bought four 4-packs. Strawberries were 3 packages for $10. I found one package of good green grapes. We have a bag of peaches, one orange. I needed celery, but it was not on sale, bought it anyway. 

We have a couple of dozen green apples, and about four dozen red delicious. So, we are not low on fruit. I never did cook the Granny Smith apples, so maybe I can get that done. 

Tommy broke several branches off the purslane. I broke one. We managed to break off all the stems with flowers! That was yesterday, so today I went out to rescue them. I only found one of the four. Maybe Tommy can find the others. Other succulents are easy to transplant, so maybe this will work for purslane. 

The dead-ish knockout rose looks 100% better. I revive things from Lowe's all the time and for years. Some days, I look at the reduced plants and wonder why the employees don't use water and maybe one minute of time, pruning dead stuff. I am not talking about intensive care. Any thoughts on that? 

I got another tomato from Lowe's. I had permission. 

My dinner tonight--basically a cheeseburger--chopped ground beef on a bun, cheese, tomato, plus helping of slaw and grapes, apple later. All this is stuff in the refrigerator. I won't cook or prepare anything, just have leftovers and the fruit. Tommy will do the same--choose what he wants. Okay, he had a chicken sandwich, slaw, salad with tomato. 

We put chicken cutlets in oven to cook and chicken cutlets in skillet to cook and put two more packages back into refrigerator. All packages are cutlets, so Tommy will be happy to be making chicken sandwiches with these very thin cuts of chicken. I will slice it up and put mine in Mediterranean Pasta.

I just had an unspeakable accident. I am not prepping, but I think I could be ready for the colonoscopy. Now, I have to clean carpet. Now, I am so weak, but not dizzy or having vertigo!

Has it seemed the weather forecast has not been happening for the last two weeks? 

Do you ever transplant purslane from broken stems?

Thursday Nothings and Being Ill

 Thursday, we planned to go to Cullman to collect the mail, buy Ball canning jars with a bee on them, drive by my lot  and a few other things.

When Tommy woke me, I felt as though I was getting really sick, no other symptoms. This happened back in early Fall, too. As then, now I have no concrete symptoms--one place on face has a slight pain as though sinuses are full/infected,   body aches, cough about once an hour--a slight, pitiful cough that is not productive, nothing else except this malaise. When full-blown symptoms finally appeared, I was on way to getting better.

I went back to bed at noon and told Tommy to wake me at 3 pm. When he did, he said I groan and flopped my arm. He called me at 3;30, 4, with me moving a bit. When he was coming at 4:30 to wake me again, I was up. Still, I felt ill. 

We went to the store for milk. That effort, with him shopping, wiped me out. 

For dinner I made slaw. I ate chicken with bbq sauce, slaw, and potato salad. Tommy had honey baked turkey, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. There is still more of everything except the baked chicken I had. 

The potato salad was as bad today as it was yesterday. Tommy did not put enough water on the potatoes to boil, and then boiled them almost dry! I should have given better instructions. He did not know. The potatoes on top got gray, and very hard. They were awful in the potato salad, so I took them out of my mouth. Chewing them was hard to do and gross. 

One day this week, forgot when, I bought one chicken tender to eat. I had trouble with a bite and finally swallowed it. The next bite I found a hard piece of plastic and fished it from my mouth. I wonder if I should call an attorney or just get a new chicken tender. I think the offending plastic was in the breading. I have no idea what I swallowed. 

We both called the guy who had a cleaner in mind. He will call back. I asked him about doing a few things himself. I need the printer connected correctly. I have no idea what the last cleaner did, but she said after the fact, that she had never connected a printer. I have done dozens, but I cannot get to it to work.   

Guy with cleaner friend finally called me. He said he told her about the house (mess I suppose) and she said $350. Well, I want someone to only stay four hours because it exhausts me. So, she would probably fill the garbage can, and we could find nothing we needed! Just NO.

He said he another guy could come help with yard things. He said he could do the things in the house, too. That might work, too. 

Tommy has not had a front porch light since 1986. He told me he was not going to spend money on a new light or electrical work. Well, tonight, while I was talking to the guy, Tommy said he could not get to the light to change it. So, what is the truth? 

This is some progress. He can take apart the deer, too. He will put out the Amdro correctly, too. Tommy gets it on the fire ant mound and scares them away. It appears you kill the mound, but they just evacuate and set up house somewhere else close by.  They take the queen and run. It needs to be put in the yard so they take it to queen to eat. 

Plus, I need the St. Augustine grass sprayed with weed killer. A special application does not kill the St. Augustine grass, just the weeds. 

Things are looking up. Typing tonight has made me incredibly exhausted. It also exhausts me thinking about the chance of losing power on Friday. I know some of you are in the same area or other areas of the US facing the threat of bad weather. Maybe you have a generator.

Tonight, Tommy promised he would get the Santa and two small deer from the bookcase to be boxed. Hurray. 

later

I leaned back and slept three hours. I awoke a bit groggy with both arms numb from sleeping in that position. And, I felt well once again. Who knows why I recovered? (rhetorical only) 

At least I feel well for whatever bad weather happens tomorrow. Have you ever had a day of coming down with something only to have it mysteriously go away?

What would you do about the food with something extraneous that you swallowed and the piece I took from my mouth? 

TEMU Redeems Itself...sort of

 

This metal sign redeemed Temu's reputation for the time being. Yes, I ordered it from China. But, you can probably go to a local farm store and buy one. Nothing was broken. The sign is thick metal and the paint is rusty around the edge.

I TAKE IT BACK! The sign has dings on its back. The thin little packaging does not protect anything. 

We ventured out on this dank, dreary day to get two of my meds. And, then the meds were not there. Different story for both, but I don't have them. Some days, getting meds is a real pain. First world problem? At least they will be forthcoming, so I suppose I should not complain. 

Laughter is good for a body. Today, we got our belly laughs and snickers. Mike and Molly has got to be one of the funniest shows around. The writers outdid themselves on the four episodes we watched today. I would highly recommend this sitcom, but delicate ears should not be allowed in the room.

Christmas Note: I will unstack the three tomato cages so I will have three trees next year. I had two cheap strings of lights, but gave away one string.  I left the cages stacked for convenience this year. 

By putting back together the vacuum cleaner, I saved having to buy a new one. Tommy took it apart to empty the dirt. He said he put it back together, but the first time the cleaner touched it, it came apart in three pieces. She tried to put it back together, but I took it because she was not even putting the right pieces together. I tried for a few more minutes, and we all gave up. Finally, on Friday, I decided I would get it back together or we would buy a new one. 

I took all the parts off that Tommy had put back on. Well, he had not put them on correctly, so the rest would not fit. It took me two minutes, and the vacuum is whole again. I am good at putting things together, fixing broken things. So, now he did not have to pay for a new vacuum. When I take things apart, I pay attention so I can get the thing back together!

Tonight, I made a blueberry cobbler with fresh blueberries and twice the amount called for in the recipe. Delicious.

Dinner: honey baked turkey, cabbage, green beans, sweet potato. 

Tommy is considering getting a different tub or shower, something we can actually use. Does anyone have any caveats, recommendations, or thoughts on brands or dealers, anything?

Do you watch Mike and Molly?

I Cracked the Code with Amazon

 I placed an order with Amazon and somehow I ordered something that came in a set of 2. The resulting order was $55 more than I expected. And, I wanted to complain about a thrown package, and my hair color was crushed once again. Another item was ruined from the factory. 

On Sunday night I tried to rectify these and complain. However, the Amazon agent could not find my telephone number or my email connected to any Amazon account. She insisted! I gave up. 

Monday night, I tried again and was told the same thing--twice. Finally, I decided on a new strategy.

Anything I was asked by the automated agent who said he could understand me, I only had one response. 

My response--"United States agent" It worked, sort of. The guy was in Colombia but a citizen of the US who was working for Amazon. That call saved me $74. And, he commented several times that I was a nice person.

Since I have not been able to find someone to clean who does not demand to know the square footage of the house or wants to bring a team of four people to get it done in one day, I decided on another tactic. I am going to call a church and see if there is anyone who will help. And, I will make it clear I will pay, want to pay, and insist on paying. I will just keep calling churches and make it clear I do not want it done free or someone with a business.

I want to pay a good price and the person cleaning to get it all. One woman was so efficient, good cleaner, and all around good worker that we gave her $18/hour even though she came for $15/hr. Of course, Tommy will pay for it. I don't want a woman to work and get $7.50/hour, if even that. 

If they live too far away, we will pay $10 for the gas. We will not take advantage. 

On Monday night we had our first rain of more than hundredths of an inch in a couple of months. I am not sure this will end our drought. Maybe it will lower the odds for fires. Wow, maybe more than two inches of rain. That will be a novelty around here lately. 

Usually, November is dreary, damp, and depressing. I suppose we had 19 days of pretty weather, so I cannot complain. 

Tuesday

It is dreary and dry. This kind of dreary depresses me and makes me groggy. I have a list of calls to make, so I better slog through that. 

Okay, Tommy made the roux for gravy. Only, I called it white sauce and then had him brown it. The only thing not made is dressing. We may just have Stove Top Dressing. 

Tonight, I took two casseroles large enough for two huge bscb each. I added 'no salt added" Cream of chicken soup to Tommy's and cream of mushroom soup to mine. The soup is so bland. I added a tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder to each, broccoli to both, and jar of pimiento to mine. I forgot to put cheese in mine, so I am slicing it thin for my portion, Tommy hates cheese on chicken, hates cheese in rice! 

Each casserole had to be put on baking pan. We had to use a pan for each since they were so heavy.  In an hour we can eat. Yum. And, there will be another meal, most likely for Wed night since we have a daylong chore on Wednesday. Actually, we will probably get four meals from each casserole because the breasts are huge. 

I have garlic and onions. But, it is so much easier spoon in powder. I never did this before the last two years. 

It seems that there is lots of drama next door. Dogs bark incessantly. I think I talked about a huge fire in the carport during a burn ban. Yesterday as we pulled into the driveway, Tommy said there was a detective in one vehicle and a policeman and police car in front of their house. Well, it appears on of the fathers was picking up a child for visitation. On Monday? The father had his arms crossed and looked grim or angry. The policeman did not interact with anyone and stayed right by his car. Obviously, there is a problem. I would prefer to think the father was causing a problem, but that would be unfair. 

The two children ran to the car and put their things inside. Then, a child still in the house who was obviously not leaving came out to hug one of the children leaving. Then, the mother twice hugged her children as they left. Of course, we will never know the particulars because we would never ask. That mother is hostile to us. 

She is the mother who made her child run for punishment until he cried and was begging to stop. Plus, she pushed his face forward and pushed him along and would not let him speak to me in Publix. Mean woman. 

AND, their cat has always sat and walked all over my car. Well, since it is cooler, it warms up on Tommy's car. Plus, it has decided sitting on the table on the front porch is the thing to do. Grrr...

Dinner should be done in less than an hour. It will be interesting to see how the lack of sodium affects the taste. We are saving over 800 mg of sodium in each dish of two meals, so over 400 mg in the meal.

The rain that covered the state missed this county. We had less than half an inch while north part of the state had over two inches, and south part of state had over four inches in some places. 

It seems things are more difficult with Amazon. At least, I figured out the system even if late. Have you found the same and had problems? 

Do you have a neighbor who seems to attract or cause drama? 

Tuesday Cooking and NO Waste Day

No waste is saving money instead of throwing it away

But first--The CHAIR  has no stretchers. If I had not been so tired, I would have noticed and maybe not have bought it. Oh, well, if it tears up, it does. I will take it back.

Last night's dinner:

baked chicken
baked carrots
slaw
whole strawberries
leaf lettuce
water

I had about a cup of the free salad that was kale, radicchio, and Brussels Sprouts, so I put that in the cole slaw. I could not find the Miracle Whip, so I was going to make his cole slaw with Mayo and just eat the raw, shredded mix myself. So, I used up the cole slaw shredded mix and the salad. Neither was going off, but now it won't. savings

THEN, I found MW in the refrigerator, and my heart soared. That was mighty good cole slaw! I just hate mayo. savings

I put the three chicken breasts and about four pounds of carrots in a cooking bag. The carrots were on the bottom with chicken on top, and salt and pepper. I was so tired I forgot to put in garlic, onions, and celery for flavor. I even forgot to shake flour in the bag to keep it from exploding. It didn't.

However, I did set the bag on fire as I bent to put the pan in the oven. Since there was so little in the large bag and in a small pan, the end that was loose was long and waving around. I did not bend far enough and the top element came in contact with the bag, and, boy, did that stink for a loooong time. There was only one flare of fire, but it kept melting once it was away from the element. savings

He was looking forward to canned pineapple I mentioned and was very disappointed with fresh strawberries. How was I to know. ???  I try to eat the leaf lettuce every day, and the strawberries were going to go bad. I meant to send pineapple home with him, but I forgot. savings

Since I am so much better, I am not wasting food like I did for a while when I was very ill. It is still hard to bend down, especially to find that Miracle Whip lying on a bottom shelf and shoved to the very back. It hurt, but at least I was well enough to take the pain and not feel like I was going to fall on my head.

Even after I sent food home with him, enough food for two meals of chicken, carrots and slaw, there is plenty for me to have another two meals, too. So, that is six meals from one cooking session. Actually, we might both get one or two sandwiches or salads from the meat because there was a lot left for both of us. savings

A round roll of sausage, Jimmy Dean Mild, had swollen and looked scary, so I swapped that out at WM instead of wasting $3 worth of food. I ate a banana for breakfast that was pretty black on the outside and perfect on the inside. No wasted banana. savings

So, free lunch, soaking up the sun, easy food  preparation, six meals, nutritious meals, no waste, used up three foods, did not burn down the house... I call Tuesday a total savings win.

Cooking this Week or Not

Sunday: six large chicken breasts
Monday: pork shoulder butt roast. five or six potatoes
Tuesday: cabbage, carrots
Wednesday: turnips
Thursday: sweet potatoes, bean soup

That was the plan. This is how it happened. I got Sunday and Monday done. Felt worse. And now I am stuck with the plan below. However, I felt much better last night. Today, I awoke overheated and with a sore throat and throbbing forehead.

Cabbage. carrots, and turnips will be cooked in the pork broth as were the potatoes. I am freezing the chicken broth to use in dressing. I bought five pounds of carrots to cook. The turnip will cook next week.

Friday, I won't be cooking as exbf is coming. Hopefully, I won't have to cook because it is all done ahead of time. Now, my plan for tonight is cooking cabbage and carrots, at least carrots. I am going to a Christmas party, so we will see.

I told me to remind me to give him some grapes because I always forget those. Many times, I make a list. Other times, I have him write as I tell him what there is.

Last week, I sent home peanuts with him that I got from Five Guys. He loves peanuts, Since I left them in his car, I didn't forget to give them to him.

I have frozen half a cherry pie to share with him. No, I did not bake it. I think I will make an Apple Betty with Granny Smith apples I have. Probably not. Saturday is his birthday--64, just a young'un.

Two weeks ago, I was given an Elephant garlic or something like that. I have 14 cloves to plant. I was going to do that today, but I am achy. However, this is my record of what I have to plant.

Re-reading this post, it feels disjointed but I really don't care.

Your turn
Do you ever awake overheated and then have a sore throat, feel achy, and make yourself sick by covering up too much? Do cooking plans ever go awry?

Free Peppers

At a meeting last month someone offered me free bell peppers and various peppers. I accepted and took just a few. She pointed out that everyone had taken some, so I could have the rest. Well, give me a plastic bag. The rest of the basket was cleaned out by me!

Some of the green, yellow, and orange bell peppers were so tiny. Remember, these were home grown. Later in the week I saw the tiny colored peppers in Publix and they were tiny. I thought they were tiny because someone grew them at home and they just did not get big. Now, I wonder if I was given bell peppers.

Foolishly, I passed on the hot peppers. It never occurred to me until too late that I could string these and dry them, later making hot pepper relish. When I grew peppers, I either dried them on a string or gave them to a friend to eat. Later in the winter I ground up the dried cayenne peppers and made pepper jelly.

Cooking With Schmaltz

Schmaltz is chicken fat. You know it as the fat you skim from chicken broth. Maybe you have used lots of chicken fat and skin to render it. I used the skimmed fat from broth.

After I skimmed the fat, I decided to use it to cook. But, what would I cook? Biscuits seemed like the easiest thing--drop biscuits.

I used the correct ratio of flour to fat, but this was the softest biscuit dough I have ever seen. Maybe I should have refrigerated it. Maybe I did. I have forgotten.

The resulting biscuits were okay, just not what I was aiming for. It was probably not the final product anyone wishes for when baking biscuits. I ate them, not unhappy at all with the resulting taste or texture.

While I baked these biscuits months ago, today, I finally read a bit about chicken fat. It appears that this is a popular fat for those who are religious Jews and do not eat pork products. Of course, the cultural Jews use it too, most likely from tradition.

Even though I have only cooked with chicken fat once, I have never wasted it. I put it over Dominique's oats or just over her food.

"Chicken Fat" is a song composed for JFK's youth fitness program in schools. Just a bit of trivia.

Your turn
What do you do with chicken fat? Do you cook with it?

Perpetual Crockpot Meals

resting in the cold oven
 

 After the solidly frozen hen cooked for about 22 hours in the crockpot, I felt it was thawed and done. I lacked potable water, so I put a can of chicken broth in the crockpot.

In order to retain the least amount of chicken fat, I have been draining the whole chickens in a colander. Today, a fly buzzed about, so I stuck the whole thing, resting on a plate, in the cold oven. It is colder inside than out. I may make chicken and dressing with this meat. The chickens will flip out over the skin. I will give the hens the bones and skin over four days. There are four full sandwich bags in the refrigerator.

Okay, I took the meat off the hen and am going to make chicken and dumplings. There were four cups of meat. Exbf was moaning over the phone when I told him I would cook it for Friday when he is here. He loves chicken and dumplings.

added six boneless, skinless breasts to hen broth

 

As you can see, the broth was dark and rich because of the commercial broth and the whole chicken. Since I put in broth, I barely salted and peppered the hen. I left the broth in the crockpot and added six breast, one package of the six I bought on Saturday. I added sage on top and a little in the broth. This chicken will be used for sandwiches, salads, or whatever. With the sage, it will be tasty with dressing. Now, these breasts are in the refrigerator.

The sage bottle had a flip lid, but no little sifter to shake, so I had to carefully pour from the large opening. That's why the sage is in lumps.

 

Another six breasts in the broth

broken bones, also.

 

 

This is the third use of the broth today. This will be done tonight before I go to bed. All these will go into another gallon bag and sit in the refrigerator with the first six. Some will go into the freezer. Whew! I have never cooked so much chicken in one day.

If I had had water today, I would have made the cornbread for the dressing and other dishes. I am going to make soup especially for exbf: chicken, dehydrated vegetables, organic whole grain noodles. I might thicken the broth a bit. So I have the basis of three meals: chicken and dressing, chicken and dumplings, soup. Then, there is all the meat for salads and sandwiches. Plus, I have a turkey in this freezer and two more packages of the breasts for a total of twelve breasts.

This has been a long Sunday of cooking, too long. Cleaning the raw chicken from my hands and then the cooked chicken that is greasy is a chore. I know this chicken cooking marathon is not as great as the marathons udy with a J has going some days.

Your turn
Do you ever have marathon cooking sessions? Tell me about those. Do you like chicken and dumplings? The broken bones will make this a more healthful broth?

Warning: Chicken Talk

Pepper is not as abused as before, but she still gets pecked occasionally. Even when no one pecks or looks at her, she eats warily, head thrust waaaay out, so she can withdraw and be out of reach, I suppose. If Louise looks or walks her way, she runs for her life. I really hate she feels threatened so often. She gives me an egg six days out of seven. She continues to sleep atop the boxes. Thelma and Louise sleep in the top box and the lower box is left for egg laying.

Only Thelma and Pepper are laying right now. About once a month Louise gives me an egg. I suppose her laying days are ended.  She can be a pet. I mean, how else is Pepper going to know her place if Louise doesn't peck her occasionally. I suppose that some would eat Louise. It's not that I am overly fond of her or anything. I suppose it sounds mean of me, but I wish it had been Thelma or Louise or even Pepper that died instead of Fancy.

There is no telling who did it. It is probably a group endeavor, but they have dug a huge hole right in front of the table where I go to look in for eggs. Remember, their blue Rubbermaid boxes sit on a table. So, now I have to try to straddle the hole  to look for eggs. This is not easy on my back and knee. I just wish they would not dig so many holes! 

I just happened to look out the window and they were digging a hole and flopping around right in front of my swing, AND it was right where I like to sit. So, now it will be muddy, and I will be staggering around trying to sit in my place that I like!

Do you know how hens signal danger to each other? There is a steady buk buk buk buk buk about once a second. The hens stand very still. Once, a raccoon was very close. They all made the danger sound and just stood there. I suppose they know they cannot outrun it.They did try and managed to outrun a dog that chased them. What a ruckus they raised as they ran.

Sunday morning, just about sunrise, I was still awake. So, I fed the hens so they would not have to wait until noon. I had put cornmeal into some chicken scraps and chicken broth and fat. Overnight in the refrigerator, it hardened. So, in the used paper plate, it had hardened. I put it down and Pepper jumped to one side. Louise landed in it with both feet. I suppose she was demonstrating her dominance. Silly hen.

Tonight, about 6:30, still light but approaching dusk rapidly, I hear one hen buk buk bukking danger. I told Charlie I had to go and ran to the door barefoot, not ready to do battle and give chase to anything. There was Thelma on the porch rail, right close to the door.

"What is it?"  I looked around. She murmured.  "What is wrong?" Another murmur. "Are you hungry? Did they send you for food?" Another murmur. "Okay, I will be right out. I have food."

I hurried and put on my shoes and got a bit of dry oats. This took less than a minute, so I expected her to be still on the rail or at least in sight. No, as I round the back of the house, she was nowhere to be seen. I continued to the pen, talking and calling to her. She was already in her blue Rubbermaid box with Louise. They cuddle even though there is room for four big hens. Pepper was on top, as usual. I feel sad she cannot cuddle. I should have gotten two hens instead of one.

When they saw I had a food container in my hand (everything in my hand looks like a food container to them) they poked their heads our farther and stood up. I threw out the oats and they flew down to eat. When I last saw them, they were eating like mad.

Last Saturday, I was sitting here, sleep-deprived and hot, wanting to doze in the chair but trying hard to stay awake. The window was up half an inch. I kept hearing a scuttling noise, not a regular sound but intermittent. The sound didn't seem important; I never checked to see what it was. Usually, I do see what a strange noise is that close to the house.

Later, I went out and just happened to notice a box of tomatoes on the ground, tomatoes for the hens. It had been ravaged by the hens. Now, I wish I had peeped out the window to see was helping herself.

Chickens are so smart. I think they just act dumb to throw us off.

Last Wednesday exbf was outdoors and checked for eggs. I think this is like camp for him. He loves to be around the chickens once a week. He reports to me the cute things they do. However, he wants nothing of chickens at his house permanently.

Anyway, he told me that he checked for eggs after Louise had been on the nest for awhile and left. But, he said the egg looked deflated. Now, I was in pain and sleep-deprived crazy. But, this I had to see. The egg looked like a deflated balloon.When I lifted it up by the edge, lots of liquid was underneath. It was definitely a soft-shelled egg. That day, I increased their egg shell ration. Actually, I had been remiss in giving them crushed egg shells for about a week. Bad me.

Your turn
Hmmm, I published and this part was left off.
Do your hens dig lots of holes and right where you don't want them. What do they do that amuses you? Do you eat the ones that don't lay? Do they ever give the danger signal? Do you have a bully hen? What else are your hens up to lately?

Stabbing Cranberries

It's not as serious as my stab, but it is with the same knife. Even though I have read/watched how to dehydrate cranberries, I am not going to blanch them so they will pop. That seems to sacrifice too much of the juice. Oh, no, I am going to stand at the sink, sopping from popped cranberries instead of carrying my knife to the ottoman and sit to do this job. When I stand, I shake/tremble from the pain, so I have to sit ever so often. Below, is how many cranberries I can pop at one standing.

Also, the knife that stabbed me in the chest

Rather than heat the cranberries to popping open stage, I took a knife and stabbed them. I would have cut them slightly, but the skins were too tough and I was mashing cranberries.

Once I put them in the dehydrator, I drank the juice that had drained through the colander. Straight lemon juice has met its match for sourness. But, it was only 1/3 of a cup, so I drank it down, thinking how good it was for me.

If you ever decide to dehydrate cranberries and don't want to heat them in water until they pop, I would suggest you slit or stab each one while it is frozen or semi-frozen. I lost juice and being mushy made the cranberries difficult to cut open. That is why I stabbed.

Why cut them open? I think it is called "case hardened." If not, let me know the correct term. All it means is that the outside dried faster than the inside can and moisture is locked inside. You don't want this to happen to your cranberries or anything else. That is what happened to the slices of sweet potato. 

How many I had to go to finish

ready for dehydrator

two leg/thigh quarters cooking away on the stove

Whether this will be chicken and dumplings or not is still up in the air. If I feel like making dumplings tonight, it will be chicken and dumplings. I don't like thighs, but this is what I had, so I may just give all this to exbf who is coming to help me tomorrow. He will not want the broth, so that will be just more broth for me for Thanksgiving. We will see. But, I am so hungry for dumplings.

The kitchen smells good and is warm with cranberries in the dehydrator and chicken boiling away. Maybe I will make cornbread for dressing.   I think not.

front-frozen for exbf, scraps for hens,

back--quart of broth, bit of meat for me

Some day, I will try canning broth. But, I would need more than one quart, maybe four pints?

It's done. My day is mostly over. One last thing--I will mix all the dry ingredients for a chocolate pound cake, my contribution to a Thanksgiving Dinner that starts at noon! UGH! I am accustomed to my friends who say, "We eat at five; come at four to visit." Then, we eat at six. Okay, I can do this. I know I can! And, I will cook my turkey next week.

If I get out all the pans for the three pound cakes, have the wax paper cut, and all wet ingredients ready, this will not be hard tomorrow night. I hope I have enough eggs. I think there are only four and the ingredients call for five. So, I may use dehydrated egg whites for the missing egg.  I bought it awhile ago for the one egg unless the girls lay another before tomorrow night.

Your turn

Have you ever dehydrated cranberries? Did you heat the berries to pop them? Or, did you just puncture them? Raise your hand if you like chicken and dumplings? Do you use the fat on top of the broth in the chicken/dumplings? I hate to remove all of it. What do you do with it if you take it off the broth? Personally, I consider it part of the broth.