Breakfast is Back

I was delighted when I saw that the Lady Elks were again offering Sunday Breakfasts in January. Last year I went all four Sundays and wrote a blog post about each one. This year Steven had to work the first Sunday, but he had the second Sunday off, so we made a definite plan to attend.

They begin serving at eight. We arrived shortly after nine and were fortunate enough to find a parking space right in front of the Elks Lodge. I paid for breakfast ($8 for adults), bought ten 50/50 tickets for $5 and put $4 in the tip basket, knowing we were assured of excellent service.

Steven ordered eggs sunny side up, wheat toast, pancakes, bacon and home fries. When he hesitated over with or without onions, I said, “You might as well get with, because I’m getting onions and you’re going to kiss me regardless.” I got scrambled eggs, wheat toast, bacon, beans and, as I said, home fries with onions. I think I mentioned last year how I had never had or heard of beans for breakfast before the Elks. I find they are a yummy addition to the meal.

We got our numbers and found a seat. They were doing a booming business, but a small table was free. Steven borrowed a pen from me to write our name and number on the 50/50 tickets. Two gentlemen brought us coffee and orange juice (we could also have chosen tomato or cranberry, I believe).

Ladies were bringing out breakfasts and calling numbers. I had a moment of panic when I thought I heard 5. We were 52 and 53! It was actually 45. Phew! We did not have long to wait.

A wide variety of people were also enjoying breakfast. I saw at least two family groups with three generations represented. A couple of people were taking pictures with their phones. Note to self: Try not to do anything embarrassing in public. Somebody might take a picture.

It was a very enjoyable breakfast. As we left several people said, “Thank you.” No, no, thank you, Elks Club. The breakfasts continue Sundays, January 20 and 27 at the Elks Lodge, 24 Mary St., Herkimer, NY. I may be there next week.

Suddenly Supper

How about a new feature? Instead of Wrist to Forehead Sunday, I’ll have What’s for Supper Sunday. I’ll talk about what I cooked on Saturday. It worked last week, maybe it’ll work this week.

Unfortunately, it is not that exciting this week. I had thought to spend the afternoon lovingly creating my creamy potato soup, which Steven loves. It is labor intensive, and I was in a labor adverse mood. I thought I could throw something together at the last minute instead.

I actually did not wait until quite the last minute, which would have been after Steven got home. He worked till 6:30. I started moving about ten after six. I started, as I often do, by peeling and pressing garlic, then setting the timer for fifteen minutes. I had in mind to do something with some frozen, already cooked chicken breast tenders. Such a handy item to keep in the freezer.

I also had two avocados I thought I’d better do something with. I figured they had reached the mushy stage, so guacamole seemed a good bet. For another reason, that’s about all I know to do with avocados anyways. I did not have any green chiles, which my favorite recipe calls for, so I thought I’d just wing it.

I used garlic, dehydrated minced onion, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. It seemed a little bland, but I put it in the fridge to let the flavors blend.

In the meantime I had put the chicken in a frying pan and was heating it through. I took some tomato sauce out of the freezer and put it in a bowl of warm water to thaw. I’ve mentioned this sauce before: it comes with some pizza crust we sometimes buy but we absolutely never use it in the pizzas. Waste not, want not, I always say (among other things).

When the chicken was somewhat heated, I added the sauce, the rest of the crushed garlic, some fresh portabella mushrooms I happened to have and a can of pieces and stems along with the water in the can. I added some tap water too, because the sauce seemed a little thick. I added basil and oregano and covered it.

And that was about it. I kept lifting the lid to stir it around. Then I cooked some shells to put it over. It turned out pretty good.

The guacamole, however, was not one of my better efforts. We didn’t get into it last night, but I did taste it after it had set for a while. Still a little bland. I may add something more to it before we consume it, probably later today. I’ll let you know.

I had big plans for today’s dinner too, so you may have been in for another cooking post tomorrow. However, a sinus headache intervened. You’ll be happy to know that drugs, rest and coffee helped, so at least you will be spared another post detailing my pain. Only I don’t feel like cooking. Is that a wrist I feel against my forehead? Ah well, it is Sunday.

My Feet Thank Me

I may have mentioned in passing the steel-toed work shoes that are part of my blue collar regalia. I get them at Melfe’s in Ilion, NY. Saturday I went to get my yearly pair, paid for by my employer.

My employer has a contract with Melfe’s so that I don’t have to purchase the shoes myself and get reimbursed, which is handy. However, even if this were not the case, I would probably go to Melfe’s. They offer the kind of knowledgeable, one-on-one service that is hard to come by these days.

I was fortunate enough to arrive at a time when they were not too busy. I had it from a couple of co-workers that last Saturday was nuts. I did not have long to wait before a young man asked how he could help me. He measured my feet to be sure of the size (seven-and-a-half wide; I’m not self-conscious about it) then went to see what he had in my size.

I prefer the sneaker style to the boot style. Women can often get two pair for the allowance. I love this deal, because it is so much better for your feet to alternate and give each pair a chance to dry out (don’t tell me your feet don’t sweat; everybody’s do) (and I can’t even pretend mine don’t. Stinky!).

It did not take me long to find two pair I liked. He had to order the second pair though, because some sizes had gotten mixed up and he had a seven-and-a -half and an eight in one box. I guess that means somebody went home with the opposite and will wonder why her shoes feel different.

I noticed that Melfe’s also has running shoes, nurses’ shoes and even a few pair of high quality, comfortable looking dress shoes and sandals. I may return to check the latter out in the spring.

It was a very good shopping experience. The clerk knew all about the shoes, and we chatted in a friendly fashion. I complimented him on how well the staff takes care of multiple customers efficiently, remembering previous experiences in the store. He told me how crazy it had been the previous weekend (that’s probably how the seven-and-a-halfs and eights got mixed up).

Before I left I asked his name.

“Mike.”

“Do you mind if I mention you in my blog post?” I actually had not mentioned my blog, but I figured he knew what a blog was.

“Mike Shue.” He spelled it.

“I love it!”

Melfe’s is located at 64 Central Ave, Ilion, NY 13357, phone number 315-894-4049. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Bringing It to a Headache

It’s raining, so I can’t do my old standby of go for a walk or run and write about that. Movies take at least an hour, so I can’t watch a cheesy movie and write about that. I have not had a Mohawk Valley adventure this week. I have made no random observations and am fresh out of half-baked philosophy.

In other words, this is shaping up to be the Lamest Friday Post yet.

In my defense, it’s been a terrible week. For one thing, it’s been my first five-day week after two three-day weeks (actually, I worked Saturday overtime last week, so one three-day and one four-day week, but still) (ooh, that means my last weekend was only a day and a half, after two four-day weekends. No wonder I’m beat!). Tuesday I twisted my ankle. Thursday I had a RAGING sinus headache, and we had to go to calling hours for a truly sweet man from our church.

I really think Thursday’s headache is what screwed me up for Friday, so I will write a little more about that.

It had reached truly nightmare proportions by the time I left work. I seriously considered calling Steven to come get me, but thought I could drive very carefully through village streets (no highways). Luckily nothing requiring a quick reaction time happened.

I walked into the house (slowly, because parts of our driveway are glare ice, but that’s another story) and sat down in the closest living room chair. It is the chair we rarely sit in and is usually a catch-all for coats, bags, etc. It happened to be bare, because Steven had recently moved our newest stuffed Santa from it and it hadn’t catch-alled anything else yet.

Steven, a little worried by my haggard appearance, brought me coffee. It didn’t help much. I took some Claritin-D (the stuff you have to get from the pharmacist by bringing her the little card from the display) and a hot, hot shower. I laid down on the bed.

Eventually I got up and got dressed for calling hours, which were not for another hour. I wrote yesterday’s blog post (which, incredibly, got some “likes” from some obviously generous-minded bloggers). I called to Steven to bring me another cup of coffee while I typed.

I went downstairs and ate a little deli potato salad, just so I would have some food in my stomach before taking ibuprofen. I took 800 milligrams (that is the dose they usually give you in the Army, so I am in the habit).

It was as we drove to the calling hours that I realized the headache had dissipated. Oh, thank heavens. I went to bed early and woke with… could it be? Yes! NOT a headache! I spent the morning tremulously grateful to not be in searing pain. When my sinuses started to twinge again, I obtained some sudafed from a co-worker (I had stupidly forgotten to replenish my own supplies).

“I can’t go through that again,” I told myself. And I didn’t. Let me tell you, that Dollar General sudafed is powerful stuff. Unfortunately, it dopes you up. I apologize for this lengthy, dull post. We can only hope I’ll do better tomorrow. Please, stay with me.

Joan Crawford? Or a Shar Pei?

I came up with that headline earlier in the week. The post I started to write for it wasn’t working out so well, so I thought I’d save it for Non Sequitur Thursday (my new favorite day).

Once again, I got nuthin’ (yes, it must be “nuthin'” not “nothing” and of course it’s “I got” not “I have,” what are you people thinking?).

In my defense, I’m in pain. It’s the sinuses again. January thaw be damned!

I do have a question. Why do people always make up names of their friends or relatives when they write do “Dear Abby” and when they do, why do they feel it is necessary to tell us they are doing so? Suppose I had a problem with Sally at work. Well, in the first place I would be unlikely to write to “Dear Abby,” because I think she gives stupid advice since the daughter started writing it. Come to think of it, the original Abby sometimes gave dumb advice too.

And once again, Non Sequitur Thursday veers into Stream of Consciousness Thursday.

By the way, I rarely have problems with anybody at work and when I do I go to other co-workers to let off steam and/or get advice. These things usually blow over, I’ve found.

I am pushing myself through this day one painful minute at a time (seventy-nine more to go) (That’s actually not true. It’s eighty, but I thought seventy-nine would be funnier) (Perhaps I should have waited till it was actually seventy-nine; who can thrash out these moral dilemmas?).

And that’s what I wrote on the final break at work. It seems a touch surreal now, saying there are 79 or 80 minutes left at work, now that I am out of work and at home typing it into my computer. But my head still hurts, I got nuthin’ else.

Actually, there are two or three more paragraphs I wrote at work, but I see no reason to inflict any more on you nice people. How many sick days is a blogger allowed? Call this my first one for 2013. Hope to see you on Lame Post Friday.

Popeye Would Have Liked It

I got such good results with my Chicken Cordon Bleu, I thought I would invent a recipe for Chicken Florentine.

I learned a long time ago from Mr. Food (may he rest in peace) that “florentine” means “with spinach.” I’ve made Mr. Food’s recipe for Steak Florentine. I’ve eaten Eggs Florentine at a Chauncey’s Restaurant in Vermont. I could get silly and say the old Popeye cartoons were Violence Florentine, but, you know, I used to like those. My sisters and I would sing the Popeye song every time our mother fixed spinach.

Where was I? Ah yes, inventing a recipe. We preheated the oven to 350 degrees. Steven put in potatoes to bake (he was helping me cook because of my bad ankle) (see yesterday’s post).

I grated some mozzarella cheese (not as much as I grated for the Cordon Bleu, because I did not intend to make a cheese sauce). Once again, I did not pound the boneless skinless thighs (once again, instead of breasts), but sliced them so that I could kind of sort of fold them open. I put cheese, spinach and baby portobello mushrooms on them (I bought the pre-washed, pre-sliced mushrooms. I’m not too lazy to slice, but it is such a pain to wash mushrooms) (and I used fresh spinach, although I suppose the frozen kind would work just as well). I folded the chickens over and rolled them in breadcrumbs as best I could.

A word about the breadcrumbs. I normally buy the Italian Seasoned, but when I shopped on Sunday, I noticed 4C were made in Brooklyn, NY (Hannaford puts out helpful signs telling you these things). They were “Seasoned” not “Italian Seasoned,” but when I read the ingredients, it looked to me like they used all the same stuff. I thought, why quibble over an adjective? I went with the New York State brand.

One further note: I saw the word “wheat gluten” in the ingredients, too, and made a mental note not to use breadcrumbs in anything I may fix for my friend Phyllis. I have become more aware of gluten since I found out Phyllis has Celiac’s. Is that a HIPPA violation to mention that? Oh dear.

After I got the chicken in the oven I put some spinach and mushrooms in a casserole dish, drizzled olive oil over them, sprinkled on a little lemon pepper, garlic power and minced onion (oh, stop shaking your purist gourmet fingers at me! I’m sure garlic powder and dehydrated onions are perfectly respectable), and tossed it with a bamboo spoon and fork (just to give you an accurate picture). I did not put that in the oven till the last ten minutes or so.

As a matter of fact, Steven put them in. I set the timer for twenty minutes, showered, then flipped the chicken while Steven poked the potatoes. I set the timer for a second twenty minutes and left Steven with instructions to check things again, decide how much longer it needed, and put the spinach/mushroom mixture in for the last ten minutes or so. Then I went upstairs and started writing yesterday’s blog post (which I composed at the computer. Today I am writing in a regular paper notebook on a break at work) (again, in the interests of an accurate picture).

Steven cooked the chicken and potatoes an additional ten minutes while the other vegetables cooked. The potatoes perhaps could have baked a little longer, but it was a yummy dinner. I felt pleased with myself. Perhaps I’m no Rachel Ray, but I do my best.

In My Defense, It Still Hurts a Little

I mentioned recently that I don’t usually blog about work. I mentioned it in a post in which I told a story of something that happened at work. So just to get really post-post-ironic on you (I have no idea what that means, I just thought it sounded cool), here is another post about the work that I don’t usually blog about.

I had no handy topic for a post, so I thought to do something I used to do quite frequently: run and then write about that. Regular readers know I have not been running lately and have been beating myself up about it (which is not as good exercise as you might think). The weather was supposed to be warm. It would be great!

I am SO my own worst enemy. You see, I had a slight problem at work today. I was carrying a small pan when I tripped on a wooden pallet and twisted my ankle. Ouch! In fact, all I could do for about two minutes afterward was say, “Ow! Ow! Ow!” I am rarely articulate when in pain.

I finally was able to limp over to some co-workers, get some sympathy, inspect the ankle, then limp back to work. Soon the pain gave way to feeling really, really foolish. You see, on a pillar right near the pallet is a sign reading, “Caution: Tripping Hazard.” I first saw that sign months ago when they put it up and I laughed my head off (not literally, although that would have made a good blog post). Apparently somebody had tripped over a pallet and the safety guy made them put up the sign to warn others.

To add to the irony (I guess that’s taking a few steps back from my post-ironic stance of the first paragraph), a day or so after that, I tripped over something in another section. In my defense, what I tripped over had been left in a stupid place. That day I went around saying, “If ONLY there would have been a sign saying, ‘Caution: Tripping Hazard.'”

How the mighty have fallen (No, I don’t really think I’m mighty. It’s an expression. Sheesh!). In conclusion, my ankle is probably not sprained, but it is a little swollen and tender, so I opted not to run, but to write a silly blog post which will give some of you a chance to point and laugh (you know who you are).

Oh dear, I can just hear the naysayers I was complaining about in yesterday’s post saying, “Oh, sure, there’s always an excuse! You should have gone running anyways!” Come on, people! Cut me a break! Say I go running. Then what if I have to go into work tomorrow with my ankle the size of a balloon? “Well, you see, boss, I was following the advice of some purely hypothetical people who may or may not read my blog.”

No, I Don’t Have a Plan

I must check to be certain, but I believe last week I eschewed Non Sequitur Thursday, Lame Post Friday (cue jokes about all my posts being somewhat lame) and Wrist to Forehead Sunday. So today is Middle-aged Musings Monday, and anybody who doesn’t like it should stop reading now.

I’m not sure I like it much myself, now that I’m writing it, but I shall persevere. And I shall continue to refer to myself as middle-aged, because there is no reason to think that I will not live to be 98 years old (I can see some of you doing the math now; I had to). After all, I quit smoking, I exercise regularly and I only occasionally eat deep fried foods (at first I made a typo and said occaSINally. A Freudian slip? You be the judge).

Be that as it may, I have been musing over my life lately. I thought perhaps to use this post to outline a grand plan for at last getting organized and accomplishing my life’s goals, after first setting a few. Mind you, I do not actually have such a plan. I had hoped that if I started writing about it, one would magically appear, much the same way characters and plot points magically appear when I write fiction.

Then I remembered what a truly terrible idea it is to share plans of any kind with anybody. I have been more likely to meet with discouragement than otherwise. Career plans get, “Those jobs are hard to get” or “You need a lot of education for that.” Novel ideas get, “That’s been done,” often with an eye roll. General life organization plans get, “Will you actually do that?”

Does this happen to anybody else or is it just me? I suppose it is possible that all my plans happen to be stupid. Well, one can’t be good at everything. Maybe I’m just not good at having a plan.

I do seem to recall once meeting with a not discouraging response to a plan. I said I was going to write a romance novel, and the fellow I was talking with said, “Oh, are you thinking of writing?” in a casually interested tone of voice, as if it were not a completely ridiculous ambition.

“I’m always thinking of writing,” I said. “I’m just never writing.”

I never did write the romance novel, by the way, although I worked on one for a while. I would dress in a fancy nightgown with high heels and sip water from a champagne flute while I wrote. I later learned that many romance novelists work in sweats, drinking coffee out of a ceramic mug like a normal person. I think my way is more fun.

I’m still always thinking about writing. But now, thanks to the internet, I actually write every day (as you see). I think for a writer, a blog is a beautiful thing. I’m sure there are people out there ready to say things like, “You need to write more than just a blog to be a writer” or “There are so many people writing blogs, you’ll never amount to anything” or even “You blog isn’t really very good, you know.”

OK, nobody has been rude enough to say the last thing to me, and I think I said the first one to myself. And the person that said the middle one didn’t EXACTLY say I’d never amount to anything.

But let us not give ear to discouraging sayings. Let us make our plans, write our novels and our blogs, and feel good about it. It’s Monday. We have a whole week ahead of us. Let’s enjoy it (Oh, I can just hear somebody saying, “It’s not a WHOLE week; we’ve already had Sunday and Monday, you know.” Some people just have to be that way).

Waste Not, Want Not

In lieu of Wrist to Forehead Sunday, I offer the following cooking post:

For dinner last night, I decided to use up some leftovers. We had some meatballs and some cheese dip. The cheese dip was an attempt I had made at Horned Dorset Dip, which I have enjoyed at wine tastings at Ilion Wine and Spirits. The guy there told me the recipe and I wrote it down.

The recipe is basically equal parts chopped onion, grated cheddar cheese and mayonnaise. You mix, put in oven and bake at 350 degrees till bubbly. I think. I confess, I relied on memory rather than searching through various notebooks I may have written it in (although now that I think about it, I bet it’s in my wine tasting notebook in my purse. Silly me!).

The dip did not turn out as well as what they served at the wine tasting. I don’t know if my oven was too hot or I baked it too long, but the cheese kind of separated, as melted cheddar sometimes does. We ate it and liked it anyways. We put what was left over in the refrigerator.

Regarding the meatballs, well, shake your gourmet fingers at me if you must, they were the pre-made frozen kind. I had heated them in the oven and we had dipped them in sauce as an appetizer/munchy kind of thing. The leftovers had no sauce on them so were open to many possibilities.

I set the oven to 350 degrees to preheat (kind of the universal temperature, isn’t it?) and grated some mozzarella cheese. I put on water to boil for macaroni then thought some garlic would be welcome. I peeled and crushed a few cloves, then set the stove timer for fifteen minutes, so it would reach its full antioxidant potential (or is it cancer fighting? I can never keep these things straight).

Where I somehow managed to time things right: the water in the pot came to a boil almost as the timer was at eleven minutes, the time needed to cook the rigatonis (my chosen pasta shape of the day). Once the pasta was cooked and drained, I added the leftover cheese dip, the freshly grated cheese, the leftover meatballs and a little butter for good measure (I used the butter that came with the Italian bread we didn’t eat the last time we ordered from Salvatore’s). I almost forgot the garlic but remembered it in time.

It was immediately after I put the stuff in the oven that I remembered that I had intended to add a can of mushrooms (pieces and stems) for a vegetable. It wasn’t too late: I pulled the casserole dish out and added them. This had the added benefit that I was now sure the garlic was thoroughly mixed in as well.

I baked it for fifteen minutes, stirred it, then fifteen minutes more, covered. Then I sprinkled the last of my Italian style breadcrumbs over top of it and baked it uncovered for five minutes more. I immediately added Italian style breadcrumbs to my grocery list (preview of coming attractions).

Even if I do say it myself (and who else is here to say it?), it tasted pretty darn good. There is a little bit left over, but I intend to heat that up for my dinner tomorrow. Steven won’t be home before seven, and I have a meeting at 6:30. So I’m feeling all kinds of pleased with myself today: used up left overs, have a plan to use up the left over left overs, and avoided a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post. Hope to see you Monday.

And Here’s Another Walk

Once again I substitute a pedestrian post for Saturday Running Commentary. I offer no apologies for this. If I choose not to risk slipping on the ice and falling on my fat butt or foolish face, it is not for others to judge.

Did that sound a little defensive? Well, I suppose I do harbor a little guilt. But there is no point in worrying about it, because for some people (notably my inner critic), nothing is ever good enough.

So much for self analysis (or was that self indulgence? Oh well, we’re all allowed sometimes), on with the walk.

The Wait Five Minute Mohawk Valley Weather (you know, “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes”) did us all a favor and warmed up, relatively speaking. I could do a whole post on how 30 degrees feels a whole lot nicer when the temperature rises to it in January than it felt when the temperature first fell to it in October (weight does the same thing, only in the other direction, if you see what I mean). But no Middle-aged Musings on a Saturday, please.

I still put on toque, gloves and insulated sweatshirt. Steven contented himself with his coat, and Tabby, as usual, went au naturel. Our plan was to walk to Smoker Friendly so Steven could indulge in his worst habit (unhealthy and expensive; what’s to like? But it’s not for me to judge). This necessitated walking by Tabby’s favorite Historic Four Corners. She particularly likes to sniff the wrought iron fence at Herkimer Reformed Church.

We were able to cross Main Street with no problem. I said that it might be nice to see a little more traffic in downtown Herkimer on a Saturday afternoon. Still, I do like crossing the street with no dangers.

We continued down Main Street after Steven transacted his business at Smokers Friendly (he also bought me a scratch off lottery ticket). Past many closed businesses (some permanently, some just on Saturday afternoon). It looks as if somebody might be doing something in the space that formerly housed Brownie’s. We also observed a new barbershop, but it was on the other side of the street, so I can’t offer any details.

We crossed back over at the bottom of the street and walked by Crazy Otto’s, Hummel’s Office Plus and the Belly Up Pub. There is another store next to Hummel’s whose name escapes me. I think it is a second hand store and they also sell stuff on ebay. Another local business for me to get more details on for a future blog post.

We walked one block up Prospect then over to Meyers Park. The wind picked up a little and felt cold on our faces, but the sun was still bright. We walked for about a half hour.

If anyone found this post depressingly similar to a hundred other posts I’ve written about walking in Herkimer, I’m sorry. My legs certainly appreciated it. And I have to say I enjoyed writing about it. Furthermore, Steven and Tabby were entertained and exercised. And I have a whole year ahead of me in which to write more interesting posts (but probably not in which I will break myself of the habit of beginning sentences with “And”).