Tag Archives: cooking

A Little Sunday Cooking

Posted on December 22, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I decided to do a cooking post today. As regular readers know, this is far from a cooking blog, but sometimes I like to share my culinary adventures. For one reason, the joys of chopping and stirring are not to be denied. And for me the joy of anything is increased by writing about it.

I had some stew beef in the refrigerator I had meant to put in the crock pot. I decided to do something different and cook it in the oven, so I preheated that to 350 degrees, which I think is the most common cooking temperature. I peeled and crushed several cloves of garlic, setting the timer for 15 minutes (so it could “breathe” and reach its full health benefits).

While the garlic breathed I chopped an onion. I’m not sure of the cooking term for what I did (I did mention this is not a real cooking blog). It was more than sliced, less than diced. The pieces ended up looking like parentheses (how appropriate for me). I’m sure you know what I mean.

My next ingredient was a can of cream of mushroom soup. Real chefs (and authors of real cooking blogs) are shaking their heads in disapproval. Oh well, that little frisson of virtue you feel is my Christmas present to you. It was store brand, if that makes it any better or worse.

I added a little sweet-hot mustard. Full disclosure: it was one of those itty-bitty jars you get with a gift set and I wanted to use it up. Condiments last a long time, don’t they? There wasn’t a whole lot of that, but I put in a good splashing of Worcestershire sauce and a teeny titch of Tabasco (note to self: buy more Tabasco). I sprinkled a little cumin over that, largely because I accidentally bought an extra jar of it.

Whenever I use cream of mushroom soup I like to add a can of mushrooms, which I luckily had. That is something I try to always keep on hand but because I use a lot of it often run out. As I added the stew beef the timer for the garlic went off. I stirred everything in thoroughly and put it in the oven.

It is there now. When I stirred it earlier it smelled delicious. I suppose I ought to wait till we actually eat it to hit Publish, in case it sucks, but I think we can trust that everything will turn out fine. For one reason, I want to hit Publish and go back to enjoying my Sunday. Happy four days before Christmas, everybody!

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Cross It Off the List

Posted on July 20, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess I’ve already used the title “CRAP! I Forgot to Write my Blog Post!” In my defense, I’ve been busy. I’m having people over tonight and my last minute nature has asserted itself in full.

It really should not have been such a problem. It’s not a big party or a theme party or even really a party. It’s a few friends hanging out on my deck, weather permitting, in my living room otherwise. A few snacks, a few drinks, a few laughs. What could possibly be the problem?

I did not even foresee a problem this morning. I got up early (but still a little later than my work-day rising time, yes!) and took a long, easy paced run, taking plenty of mental notes so I could do a Saturday Running Commentary. I wrote a few postcards, as I like to do on a Saturday, and walked to the post office with my dog Tabby, which she likes to do. I could have done a Pedestrian Post.

When I got home, after checking Facebook and talking to a few family members on the telephone (you can’t rush into these things, my mother always says), I made a list of everything I wanted to get done. Yes, write a blog post was on the list. It was a long list. I did a couple of things and paused for a snack. Had to keep my strength up, after all.

My list, other than blog post and novel, which are on every to-do list I create, consisted of cleaning chores and cooking chores. I had some semi-ambitious cooking plans so thought I might do a cooking post. As I ran hither and thither around my house attempting to clean, I thought I might do a cleaning post.

I guess my astute readers have by now guessed I am doing a Why I Didn’t Write a Blog Post Today post. On the brighter side, now I can cross Write Blog Post off my list. Hope you’re all enjoying your Saturday.

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Friday Night Lame

Posted on December 21, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I have NOT written my blog post yet at 6:16 on this Lame Post Friday evening.

6:16 by the clock on my stove. I am perched on a stool, watching sausage, pepper and onion cook in a cast iron frying pan. I dare not leave the room. I must be here to stir at need.

Steven is due home in a short time. At least, I’m sure it will be longer than I want it to be. Retail employees sometimes find difficulties in leaving on time. No matter, it seems dinner will not be ready precisely as planned.

It is fortunate that I only require a lame post of myself today. I tried, tried, tried to write something at work. Nothing doing. Blame it on the season? Cop to it as an occupational hazard? Demand credit for At Least Trying? In any case, I crave your indulgence (isn’t that an elegant phrase? I rather enjoyed it).

As usual, I hope for at least one Mohawk Valley adventure this weekend. Or I may sit on my butt watching Christmas movies and crocheting frantically. Whatever happens, I will report back. Happy Friday, everybody.

Full disclosure: As I typed in that it was 6:16 and I was perched on a stool, stirring, it was in fact, closer to 6:40 and I was slouched in an office chair, typing. I knew that would happen. It just felt weird. Me and my strange obsession with accuracy.

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Oh, Just Write It!

Posted on August 19, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Is cooking conducive to writing? Discuss amongst yourselves.

I am not exactly cooking as I write this (by hand in a notebook, standing at my kitchen counter). I am popping popcorn (on the stove in oil, as God intended) (it’s JUST an EXPRESSION! Sheesh!).

I wrote that much and got stuck. Still, I got the urge to open the notebook and start writing as soon as I got the oil in the pot. I thought that was interesting.

You know, I think Wrist to Forehead Sunday is becoming even more deeply ingrained into my schedule than Lame Post Friday. Actually, this morning, I am more inclined to put the palm of my hand or my cold fingers on my forehead, because I have a dreadful headache. Partying too heartily on Saturday night, you ask? Well, I don’t know about that, but I did stay up later than normal.

Be all that as it may, what is a blogger to do when a post must be written (according to my rules, anyways) but her head is aching and she wants nothing better than to retreat into the TV watching and crocheting portion of the day (I got some new yarn especially for the purpose)? What I did do was eat the popcorn and think about it (Steven was hogging the computer anyways), then pour myself some blue Gatorade (for some reason good for headaches) and get onto the computer to Write The Damn Thing Anyways.

We did go for a most enjoyable walk with Tabby earlier (before the headache had kicked in). It was still cool out, not too sunny, which was good since I had forgotten my Crazy Old Lady hat. We stopped and chatted with some neighbors who were having a garage sale (didn’t buy anything for once). We discussed our respective flood experiences, what we’d heard about who lost what, and had anybody gotten any money from insurance or the government yet. We concluded that we had been more fortunate than some others.

Well, look at that, word count over 300. I call that respectable. Don’t worry (if you even were), I won’t be too lame in the coming days. We saw an awesomely cheesy movie last night (when I may or may not have been partying too heartily), and I hope to do some bloggable cooking today. As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Where’s Bill Murray When You Need Him?

Posted on July 18, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

OK, so I started to write a post this morning about how hot it is. I knew I had set a precedent for such a subject about a year ago with a post titled “I’m Me-elting” (I know how to make a ping-back to that, but I’m not sure it’s really worth a click) (although I did kind of like the last paragraph).

From that last parenthetical comment you see that I looked up the post. I had, in fact, just about decided not to use what I had written this morning but instead to make it a kind of a cooking post, telling about what I threw together for supper just now. Then I thought, oh what the hell, I’ll look at “I’m Me-elting” first, just to see what I said.

Well, I hadn’t said much about the heat but immediately went into a kind of a cooking post.

What is this, Groundhog Day?

So I’m going back to Plan A and write about the heat, making this another Wuss-Out Wednesday.

This year’s heat wave started just as I was dealing with my flooding woes (I’ll say it again: not as bad as some people’s, but bad enough to upset me!). I said to a friend at work, “I remember last year when the worst thing I had to deal with was how hot it was. Boy, those were the days!”

I thought about that for a minute then said, “Oh dear, do you suppose something worse is going to happen next year, so I’ll say, ‘Last year all I had to deal with was heat and a flooded basement. Boy, those were the days!'”

I live in fear.

Just kidding. I admit to sometimes trying to peer around that figurative bend in the road, to see what stupid thing is going to happen next. But that gets into half-baked philosophy, more suitable for Lame Post Friday. And I just thought of a silly headline that really makes today kind of like Non-Sequitur Thursday.

Incidentally, I thawed some shrimp, made cocktail sauce and cooked broccoli in the microwave. And served some black olives which happened to be in the refrigerator, by way of garnish. I include this information in case anybody is saying, “Gee, I wish she would have done the cooking post.”

I bet nobody was.

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Unable to Entertain with a Cooking Post

Posted on March 17, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday (Saturday) I thought to cook something good, so I could do a cooking post today instead of having Wrist to Forehead Sunday. I had some lovely sausage from Dino’s in Utica, NY that was thawed out and ready to go. What to do with it?

Of course, sausage is always good in spaghetti sauce, and I do love me some spaghetti. However, I did not have any green peppers. I have many times made perfectly tasty sauce without green peppers, but for some reason yesterday, I just did not feel that I could. And I was definitely not inclined to go to the store. Oh dear.

I thought, really, wouldn’t it be a good idea to go out to eat? After all, dinner at Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner would support a Main Street business, which I believe I mentioned in yesterday’s post is something I intend to do. I had mentioned dinner at Crazy Otto’s to Steven that morning, and he seemed a little unenthusiastic. Oh, he loves Crazy Otto’s. It’s just that after a long day of work, he would rather stay home, put on his sweats and relax.

Steven was working till 6:30. As the afternoon wore on, I started to think how happy Steven would feel to come home and see me in sweats. I do like to make my husband happy. I was ready for the sweats on, bra off portion of the day anyways. Surely I could cook SOMETHING.

Then I thought of Sausage Balls. We love to have appetizer-y things for dinner! I started to search for the recipe, first pouring myself a glass of wine, because I like to cook with wine.

And then the whole thing came to a grinding halt. We didn’t have enough Jiffy Baking Mix. I was already in my sweats. It was after 6:15.

I suppose as Saturday night disasters go, this was pretty minor. We still had plenty of options regarding food. I talked Steven into one of my favorites: we called Carney’s Corners and got delivery. A Chicken Bacon Ranch Sub and Potato Wedges. We also ate some cottage cheese, which I think goes delightfully with potato wedges (unless you are having ketchup; I don’t care for ketchup on my cottage cheese).

So here I am on Wrist to Forehead Sunday, unable to entertain you with a cooking post. I went to Hannaford this morning, though, so things may be looking up for tomorrow. Stay tuned.

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