Tag Archives: food

Too Busy to Blog?

So yesterday was a Wuss-out Wednesday,  blog-wise.  I went for a walk in the morning and a run in the afternoon.  I had a Mohawk Valley Adventure of going to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort for music and food.  And I took some pictures of crocuses in my back yard.

But I did not make a blog post about any of it.  What the hell, me?

Now it is Thursday morning, and I contemplate the coming day with dread.  How’s that for a little bit of melodrama?  I need to get over myself.  Never mind, let’s get on with the blog post.

I knew it wouldn’t be a great picture, but I had to try.

On my morning walk, I admired the full moon.  Full disclosure:  I like to see the moon at whatever phase it is in.

I love to see them every year!

I felt the need to take pictures of all the crocuses that were there.  It occurred to me that some people might shame me for it (you know who you are): “We all know what a crocus looks like.  We see them every year.”  Like how some people don’t want to keep seeing pictures of the snow.  I can’t worry about those people now.

They were awesome.

This is the new to me band I heard at Fratello’s:  Gridley Paige Naked and Scared.  I loved them.

So once again I give you a blog post about what I could have written a blog post about.  At least it was over 200 words.

 

Music and Fun at Fratello’s

Wednesday night I went to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, because I saw that Mark Nanni was playing.  He’s awesome!  He plays keyboard, guitar, and accordion (no, not all at once, as I am sure some of you were about to say) (you know who you are).  When I walked in, one of the workers greeted me and told me Mark Nanni was playing.

“I know, that’s why I’m here,”  I said.

I love his sound.

While I waited for the music to start I ordered some food and a glass of wine.  Then I got into a discussion with some other patrons about my flowered headband, which I wore because it goes so nicely with my Beer Belly Bob’s tie-dye t-shirt.

“I was a little worried it would make me look like that lady they said killed her husband and fed him to the tigers,” I admitted.  I further admitted I never saw the popular Netflix series on the case, although I did see Dateline episode about it.  One of them looked up the lady’s name, and another shared me a picture.

This is me, by the way.

I believe the resemblance is only superficial, but it was a funny conversation.  I did wonder while I was getting dressed if I would remind people of that lady, and it seems I did, because they were the ones that brought it up.  I told them a friend said I looked like Frieda Kahlo and that they would sound more cultured if they made that reference instead.   I kind of lost them there.

I was delighted when the music started,  Nanni opened with a jazzy tune, which further delighted me.  In one song he transitioned smoothly from guitar to keyboard and back to guitar.  Nice!

It was a lovely evening.  I shall return to Fratello’s soon for more music and food, perhaps wearing a different hair ornament.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, 315-894-8484.

 

There Are No Words

I was reading a few other blogs hoping to get some inspiration for today’s post, and there it was: Wordless Wednesday.  If only I had a good, evocative picture to share.  Damn!

He was so handsome!

After looking through a LOT of pictures on my Tablet, I came across several of my dearly missed husband, Steven.  This one caught my eye, because I am wearing that same shirt tonight. I spilled a little sauce on it when I was eating supper.  I’d better remember to rub in a little soap when I take it off later.

Anyways, the picture was taken at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort,  NY, when we used to go almost every Wednesday for music and food.  That adds a little symmetry to the post, I think.

Full disclosure:  I did not want to make a cheerful, chatty post today.  I was rather inclined to give a grief update.  It occurred to me today that my sadness is just a chronic condition I have to get used to, like a bad back or knees (both of which I have, but they are not constant, so I count my blessings).  This is actually a helpful thought: Just something I have to get used to.  I can get used to something.

So I am over 200 words on this Wordless Wednesday.  I can never get these things right.

 

Bad Sunday, Good Pizza

My Sunday was really crappy, although I’ll admit my problems were primarily of the first world variety.  Then again, when you feel your desires are simple, it can be twice as frustrating to be unable to meet them. Additionally, my whole life these days is overshadowed by the grief of losing my husband.  I am afraid anything that sucks is going to suck a little bit more for the foreseeable future.  One must live through these things.

All I wanted to do was watch television.  A little news in the morning while I played solitaire (on the floor with a regular deck of cards), a little Snapped in the afternoon while I knitted.  A relaxing Sunday.  However, it did not work out that way.  Once again, my television persistently told me “No Signal.”

I spent time on the phone with cable people, I drove to New Hartford, NY to pick up a cable they said I needed, I figured out how to replace said cable, I spent more time on the phone, I drove to Little Falls so the UPS store could send my (brand new) cable box back to the cable company, I required two more phone calls to actually cancel service.  Phew!  That is the short version, but I did not want to skip any steps.

So now I sit in silence on Monday morning, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet (I always feel the need to tell you that), making my Sunday blog post late once again.  As you see, I did not cancel internet.  I am not a savage, after all.

Just to add a plug for a local business,  in between the last two phone calls, I went to Mangia Macrina’s which is handily located in the same building, for a wood-fired pizza and a glass of wine.  While I sipped and munched, I wrote another character sheet for my upcoming murder mystery, Shooting at the Grange (more about that later) (preview of coming attractions).

Good pizza!

Mangia Macrina’s (Macrina’s, not Marine’s, autocorrect!  Sheesh!) is located at Canal Place in Little Falls, NY.

 

Post about Pasta

How about a cooking post instead of my usual Tired Tuesday Post.  I make it a statement instead of a question, because I intend to do so regardless.  At first I thought not so much a cooking as a fixing post, because I didn’t cook the salad, then I remembered there was pasta involved.  That was cooked.

It was, in fact, leftover ziti, which I had cooked to go with some leftover cheesy sauce I was finishing up (maybe I should have done a cooking post on the sauce).  I cooked all the ziti left in the canister.  I was out of the tossed salad I have been bringing to work for my lunch, so I wondered if I could come up with something involving pasta.

I had a jar of marinaded artichoke hearts in the fridge, along with the rest of the rainbow peppers I had used in the cheesy sauce (yes, I totally should have led with the cheesy sauce).  I try to always have a can of black olives in my cupboard. As Gene Wilder said in Young Frankenstein,  “It! Could! Work!”

First I put the ziti in a bowl.  I chopped some rainbow peppers and added those. I also chopped the artichoke hearts, adding the marinade to be the salad dressing.  Sliced black olives completed the mixture.  It seemed a little bland when I tasted it, so I added lemon pepper and dill.  I put it in the refrigerator to let the flavors blend.

I did not taste it again till lunch time today.  It was yummy!  I look forward to lunch tomorrow.

 

Wussed on Blog, But Cooked with Wine

Once again I entirely wussed out on Wednesday by not making a post at all (as opposed to making a foolish post and billing it as Wuss-out Wednesday.  Why didn’t I do that?  What the hell, me?) (And for future reference,  autocorrect,  I almost never mean “he’ll”).

Where was I?  Ah yes, making a blog post.  One thing I did not wuss out on last night was cooking.  Lately I have been having restaurant leftovers, sometimes going so far as to heat them up, or frozen dinners, or not much at all for supper.  Last night I actually cooked.

I had a green pepper I had picked up last Sunday when I grocery shopped.  I had meant to do something with it then but was too lazy.  It was looking a little peaky, and I am very Waste Not, Want Not, so I chopped it up while it was still edible.  I put it in a frying pan with the last of a bottle of Baco Noir from Adirondack  Winery (just to add a little regional flair).  Yes, so etimes when I cook with wine, I put it in the food.  Full disclosure:  I also poured myself a glass from a box I just happened to have on hand.

I chopped up an onion to add and lamented that I had no fresh garlic.  When the wine had entirely boiled away, I added some oil, making the joke of what if I had mistaken the bottle of Karo syrup for olive oil?  When the pepper and onion were pretty well cooked, I added a can of diced tomatoes and some spices:  granulated garlic, basil, oregano, and parsley.

I had the mixture over ziti with grated parmesan cheese.  Yum!  And I have plenty left over.  Maybe I could use it as pizza sauce…

 

Not Much Post But Cute Pictures

I was too tired on Tuesday to make even a Tired Tuesday Post.  I would only have whined for 200 words, as I have done in the past.  It is now Wednesday morning.  I did not take my daily walk (can you still call it a daily walk when you miss a day once a week?), but I thought I would try to come up with some semblance of a blog post.

One thing I have is a couple of cute pictures I took at FarmHouse Restaurant in Ilion, NY, when I went there for a breakfast that I neglected to make a blog post about.

It looks like the creamer is talking to the cup.

I actually did not put creamer in my coffee, but it was so cute I had to include it in the picture.   I ordered a breakfast sandwich, which I did not take a picture of (I will end a sentence with a preposition if I decide to).  However, when I finished it,  I noticed the frogs on the plate.  My husband, Steve, collects frogs.  I took a picture so he could be jealous.

So cute!

Who knows, maybe the frog plates will entice Steve to join me for breakfast one day!

FarmHouse Restaurant is located at  9 Central Ave, Ilion, NY, phone number 315-895-0770.  They are open 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday and Tuesday,  8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, closed Wednesday.   However,  I noticed on Facebook that they would like to expand their hours, based on staffing.

 

Another Fun Fratello’s Night

Regular readers remember my Wednesday Night Thing,  which I have not indulged in recently.  Today I went to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort in hopes of seeing a local musician.  Imagine my chagrin when there was no music this evening!  However, I had an enjoyable evening and thought I could make a blog post about it.

One thing that made it a good evening was that I encountered my niece Kim and her boyfriend Matt.  Everybody knows good company makes for a good evening!

A fun couple!

We had some good laughs as well as enjoying good food and great service.  Our bartender was named Kim too. She remembered that I like Pinot Noir and that I prefer a coaster above as well as beneath.  In fact, the coaster above is most useful in the summer, when there might be little bugs flying around.  But I like to  be in the habit, just in case.

Excellent service!

Kim the bartender graciously offered to take a picture of the three of us.

We did have a nice time.

I enjoyed my evening and took home leftovers for subsequent lunches or dinners.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort,  NY, phone number 315-894-8484.  They are open 11 a.m, to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday.

 

Sunday Yum!

This morning I indulged in my new Sunday thing of treating myself to breakfast at Farm House Restaurant in Ilion.

It is small but mighty.

I felt I deserved the treat, but perhaps I flatter myself.  I slept in till after six then went for a run immediately.  After the run and before my shower,  I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen,  including sweeping and mopping the floor.  At the risk of making myself look even worse than usual, I will confess I had not done dishes since Friday.

With a veritable tower of dishes air drying (I refuse to waste effort on what patience will accomplish), I was disinclined to dirty anything more.  I have had a few breakfasts at Farmhouse since discovering they are open Sundays.  I was delighted to return.

The restaurant is tiny but welcoming.  Last week I was fancy and had Eggs Benedict but today I had an egg sandwich with bacon and provolone on an Everything bagel.  Yum!  I also had coffee.  Since it was a good three hours later than I usually have my first cup, the hot brew was more than welcome.

The magic elixir that makes my morning better!

I greatly enjoyed my breakfast and may return on every possible Sunday.

Farmhouse Restaurant is located at  9 Central Ave., Ilion, NY,  phone number 315-895-0770.  They are open Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Wednesday.