Tag Archives: food

Am I Lame? Or Just a Lush?

Posted on August 31, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ah yes, Lame Post Friday (why did my predictive text thingy not offer me “Post Friday” when I typed in “Lame”?  I’m just asking). I have had a long-ish week.  Not as bad as some, not as onerous as others, and I am SO ready for a three day weekend!  OF COURSE  I am grateful for said weekend.  I KNOW some people do not get one.  For heaven’s sake, I used to be one of those people,  get off my back about the gratitude already!  Sheesh!

Where was I?  Ah yes sitting on my deck, trying to make some semblance of a blog post before the wine really kicks in and I fall asleep.   Don’t judge me.

We started our evening at a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY.  So fun!  I would in fact like to write a whole blog post about it so will say no more now.  After sipping some wine we  went to the End Zone Pub and Grub on North Main Street, where we had some more wine and a little food.

There is not much else to tell about my Friday.  Only that my predictive text thingy does not seem to be offering such responsive suggestions as it has in the past.  I really must get back to ten-fingered typing.  In the meantime, this will have to do for this week’s Lame Friday Post.   I hope you are all having a delightful start to your weekend.

 

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Copper Moose is Cool!

Posted on July 31, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

It was so hot and sticky today, all I wanted to do was to go someplace air conditioned for a while.  Luckily, my husband Steven agreed to dine out with me.  I suggested Copper Moose Ale House in Little Falls,  since I had noticed some yummy-sounding specials on Facebook.

I called to see if we needed a reservation, but was told they were quiet enough that we could just walk in.  Sure enough, there were several tables available.   However, after the waitress seated us at one, I asked if we could sit at a tall table in the bar area.  I do so love to sit at a tall table.

Isn’t he handsome?

They gave us a beer list; an impressive array of craft beer is available.  I asked if we would lose all cred by drinking wine and was reassured.  We both drank Chardonnay.  We also ordered the same thing: a cup of creamy mushroom soup and a chicken taco.

That soup was amazing!  Three kinds of mushrooms with croutons and parmesan cheese.  Yum!  The tacos were delicious as well.  We could have eaten more but decided to stop before we were stuffed.  I asked to take a picture of our bartender Henry, who had been taking such  good care of us.

Great bartender, great time.

Henry offered to take a picture of us and suggested we pose by the titular Copper Moose.

We love that Copper Moose!

It was a lovely evening.  I hope to return to the Copper Moose Ale House soon!

Copper Moose is located at 5518 E. Main St., Little Falls NY,  phone number 315-508-5156. They are open 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday,  4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

 

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Another Yummy Interlude

Posted on July 26, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

We needed to get my husband Steven a ticket for the Great American Irish Festival in Frankfort, so we headed to the Price Chopper in Little Falls.  Of course I cannot go to Little Falls for just one thing, so we also got a mid afternoon snack at Ruggiero’s Trattorio.

One of my favorite places for drinks and food.

We have eaten there before.  Our favorite place to sit is the bar, which is where we sat today.  We had some Chardonnay.  I got a bowl of French Onion Soup while Steven had a slice of pizza.  I had a bite or two of his pizza.  It had sausage, peppers and mushrooms. Yum!  I adored my soup. It felt so good on my stomach!

Steven enjoying a sip or two.

A fellow sat two seats down from us at the bar and gave the bartender a bottle of blueberry beer.

“I have to love a guy who pulls a bottle of beer out of his pocket.” I told him.

He told us how he likes to try different kinds of beer, but you often have to purchase a six- or twelve-pack at a time, so he sometimes gives some away to people he thinks will like them.  I referred him to Beer Belly Bob’s in Ilion, because he has a rack where you can mix and match a six-pack of craft beers.

We had a fun time there. I also got a picture of our bartender Carly.

A good bartender with one of my favorite names.

Ruggiero’s Trattorio is located at 546 E. Main St., Little Falls, NY, phone number 315-823-1414.  They are open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 7 p.m.

 

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Another Yummy Meal

Posted on July 24, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

I continue my posts about last Saturday’s Mohawk Valley Adventures with yet another shout-out to one of my favorite local spots, Salvatore’s in Herkimer, NY.

After leaving Little Falls after the Cheese Festival,  Steven, Kim and I were feeling peckish.  Salvatore’s sounded good.  As we walked in we saw our friend Thom, who played The Man With The Music in Where’s the Cheese Monger?, the Cheese play I referenced in yesterday’s post.  Of course we all sat together.

My dining companions.

Thom had a slice of pizza and a beer.  I had a chicken wrap sandwich with pasta salad.   Steven had a fish sandwich with fries.  I completely do not remember what Kim had, but she drank Moscato while Steven and I enjoyed Chardonnay.

As we sat there, Thom said something to Salvatore behind the corner.

“Are you THE Salvatore?”  I asked.  I had never met him.  Naturally I wanted to take a picture.

The man responsible for many great meals!

We had a fun time as always.  I know I have given many shout-out to Salvatore’s.   At least it makes a change from whining about how I can’t make a blog post today!

Salvatore’s is located at 650 1/2 West German Street,  Herkimer NY, phone number 315-866-2600.  They are open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

 

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Truman Capote Was Not Invited to Dinner

Posted on January 25, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a cooking post instead of my usual Non-Sequitur Thursday.  I make it a statement instead of a question, because I am making the post regardless.  It is a little non-sequitur-ish, though, because I made the stuff on Sunday, but Steven is heating it up as I type for tonight’s meal.

I had some Dino’s Sausage, made in Utica, NY, just to give this post a little local flavor (see what I did there?).  I put it in a frying pan and chopped up an onion to throw in with it.  Then I peeled and crushed up a few cloves of garlic, purchased at the Mohawk Valley Garlic and Herb Festival in Little Falls (more local flavor!).  I set the timer to let the garlic breathe for 15 minutes.  Just as an aside, it is a lot easier to wait for garlic to breathe than it is for wine.  Ahem, not that I drink a lot of wine.

After adding the garlic, I just kept stirring and breaking up the sausage till it was almost done.  Then I added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of mushroom pieces and stems.  I stirred in some basil, oregano and a very few hot peppers (I didn’t want to make Steven’s bald spot sweat).  I often put in a can of tomato paste at this point, but Steven thought it sounded lighter without.

We had the sauce over angel hair pasta, my favorite.  I put copious amounts of grated cheese on mine.  It was delicious.

It was just as good reheated tonight (I paused in my typing to eat midway through the second paragraph; could you tell?).  Is this blog post as good as some of the other nonsense I have been typing in lately (I reference Truman Capote:  “That’s not writing, that’s typing”)?  Only my readers can judge.  Some people say “Don’t judge,” but in this case, I don’t mind. Happy Thursday, everyone.

 

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My Favorite Lame Post Friday

Posted on December 15, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Lame Post Friday is getting lamer and lamer, I fear.  Perhaps I am coming to the end of my usefulness as a blogger.  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!!!

I have been having a fun evening.  My husband, Steven, and I went with our friend Kim to a beer tasting at Route 51 Beer Belly Bob’s Discount Beverage Center in Ilion. We purchased some beer, of course.  I do not drink as much beer as I used to, but sometimes a beer really hits the spot.

Kim had commitments elsewhere, so Steven and I continued to dinner alone at Salvatore’s in Herkimer.  We had soup and garlic knots.  Yum! Then Steven had a cup of coffee and I inadvisedly had a piece of chocolate spoon cake for dessert.  Oh, was it ever good!  However, it was also very rich and filling.  If I dare to step on the scale tomorrow morning I will no doubt find I have jumped up three or four pounds.

Now we are home, and Steven put in our DVD of Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, one of his (and my) favorites.

Oh, sure, just give away the ending!

Christmas time is all about revisiting old favorites, isn’t it?  When we got to Salvatore’s, we had to sit in the parking lot to hear the ending of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid.  I love that song and had not heard it yet this year.  Inside the restaurant, we enjoyed more favorites:   “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Sleigh Ride,” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,”  as well as another favorite I had not heard yet this year:  Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmas Time.”

Well, talking about that has put me in a sweet, cuddly Christmas mood. I’m going to knit and watch the rest of this Christmas special.  Full disclosure:  next I may watch Dateline.  After all, I still gotta be me. Happy Friday, everyone.

 

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What Weight Loss Goals?

Posted on December 11, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think it is time I admit to myself that I do not have weight loss goals, I have weight-loss daydreams.  Today at work, someone was selling candy bars for a kid’s sports team.  Obviously it is a good thing to support youth sports, and I am not one to just make a donation when a $2 donation will get me a candy bar.  Of course I took the candy bar!  Did I save it, or at least half of it for my skinny husband?  NO!

I thought, this is OK, because I am going running after work.  Shortly after I thought that, my legs informed me that I was not.  “We are going home and sitting on the couch like sensible people,” my body told me.  I did not have the oomph to argue.  It is Monday, after all.

If this wasn’t bad enough, Steven did not feel like the leftover pasta sauce I had suggested for dinner.  Oh, that is not the bad part.  The bad part is when he made a sensible alternative suggestion, I said, “Wouldn’t you like to send out for wings and antipasto?”  As a matter of fact, sending out for antipasto is not such a bad idea.  For one reason, it means I will have leftover salad for my lunch tomorrow.  For the chicken wings, I make no apology, but merely offer, in my defense, YUM!

Steven called Salvatore’s in Herkimer.  We got wings Siciliano, which are kind of a combination of medium sauce, garlic butter, and bleu cheese.  I repeat, yum.

On the brighter side, instead of a Monstrous Monday, I am giving a shout-out to a local business.  Salvatore’s is located at 650 1/2 W. German St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-2600.  For more intormation, you can visit their website at http://www.salvatores-herkimer.com.

And I can always go running tomorrow.

 

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Watch Out for the Women on Cinema Sunday

Posted on November 19, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Welcome to another edition of Sunday Cinema.  We got a later than usual start on the movie watching portion of our day so are only on our second movie.  I may have to pad this post with some remarks about the late lunch I made.  For one reason, I was making it during most of the first movie. Luckily, it was one I have seen before, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).

They are a steamy couple, yes.

Steven got the idea to watch this movie, because it was referenced on a short feature about film noir on TCM this morning.  Lana Turner certainly is a femme fatale, but she is far less evil than, for example, Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity (1944). Also, Turner seems to truly love Garfield, as opposed to just using him to get rid of an unwanted husband (although of course she does want to get rid of her husband; what femme fatale worth her salt doesn’t?).

A little less steamy, a lot more evil. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Maybe we should watch Double Indemnity next, if we decide to go for a third movie instead of switching over to Snapped, which used to be our Sunday afternoon staple (speaking of evil females).  Right now we are enjoying Sunset Boulevard, a rather atmospheric Gothic.

She is magnificent in the part.

I read Gloria Swanson’s autobiography.  I think it is funny she is so well known for playing this psychotic has-been, obsessing over her past career, when in reality, Swanson was a vibrantly alive woman, always looking for the next challenge.  I guess my take-away from today’s movies is I shall follow the lead not of the femme fatale nor the psychotic has-been, but of the real life Gloria Swanson.  What is the next challenge?  I guess to make a better blog post.  I’ll work on that tomorrow.

In the meantime, I haven’t even mentioned the meal I fixed earlier.  Oh, I guess it wasn’t such a much.  I made mini meatballs using some ground beef, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, eggs, garlic and spices.  While they baked, I grated mozzarella cheese.  Then I made a flat bread pizza with Dom Peppino’s Pizza Sauce (that’s is what my Mom and Dad use on their Christmas Eve pizza), canned mushrooms, and of course the meatballs and mozzarella.  It was quite delicious.

We are having a rather enjoyable Sunday, whether we go on to see another movie or tune in to Snapped.  I can only hope my good mood lasts till Monday.

 

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Not Too Mundane, I Hope

Posted on November 9, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Tasty Thursday does not have the same ring as Tasty Tuesday.  And yet, I just cooked and I don’t have much else to blog about today.  If only I had also concocted a special cocktail to go with dinner, we could have had Thirsty Thursday.

“Buy me a drink, Big Boy?”

Alas, I am sipping a mundane glass of Chardonnay. No matter, dinner was tasty.

We had some ground beef Steven had taken out to thaw two days ago but didn’t feel like cooking.  This morning he suggested he purchase a can of cream of mushroom soup and do something with that.  Now I have lost all cred with real cooks, but I grew up in the 1970’s; a can of cream of mushroom soup was a perfectly respectable ingredient in those days.

I put the ground beef on to cook and poured myself some Chardonnay, so I could cook with wine.  I put Worcestershire sauce on the meat and broke it up as it cooked.  When it was nearly done, I added the soup and a can of mushrooms.  Then it was time for the spices (my favorite part!): minced onion, garlic powder, and No Salt All Purpose Seasoning from the So Sweet Candy Cafe in Utica, NY (just to give the post a little local flair).  I would have added onion powder as well, but our bottle of it was completely solid.  I added it to the grocery list.  I had used the liquid from the mushrooms to get most of the soup out of the can, so the mixture looked a little thin.  I added some grated cheese to thicken it up, using that up too, so that was something else for the grocery list.

We had the stuff over some pasta I had in one of our canisters.  I don’t know what the shape is called, because I had thrown out the box.  They looked kind of like SpaghettiOs (that’s how it’s spelled, computer, I Googled it!).

It was a pretty tasty dinner, although I supposed it was kind of mundane, now that I look at what I wrote.  No matter.  It was dinner.  I cooked it, we ate it, I blogged about it.  I’m going to call that a win for Non-Sequitur Thursday.  I’ll just throw in a random picture, so I’m not too mundane.

I bet you thought I was going to use Nosferatu (you know who you are).

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Purple Potatoes on Tasty Tuesday

Posted on October 31, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I see I did a Tasty Tuesday post last week.  It may become a regular thing, because I intend to do another now.  For one reason: I can’t think of much else (oh why did I have to tell you that?  Sometimes I am too honest for my own good).

Last Sunday I roasted some purple potatoes.  I LOVE purple potatoes!  I got these at Hannaford, but I was introduced to them by T & J’s Fruits and Vegetables of Herkimer, NY, just to slip in a little local flavor (see what I did there?).  I used a 350 degree oven (does that mean I baked them?  I’m not up on my cooking terms) and tossed the potatoes in a casserole dish with oil and spices.  I used garlic powder, minced onion, paprika, basil, oregano, and Salt-Free All-Purpose Seasoning from the So Sweet Candy Cafe in Utica, NY (just to mention another local business).  They were yummy and there was a lot left over.

Tonight, after pouring myself a glass of Pinot Noir, so I could cook with wine, I put about half my leftover potatoes in a frying pan and started them heating.  While they sizzled, I grated some colby-jack cheese, taking frequent breaks to stir the spuds.  Once I had grated enough cheese, I cracked in two eggs and whisked.  There was more cheese than eggs, and it made an interesting kind of a pasty stuff.  I poured it over the potatoes, when I thought the potatoes were pretty much heated through.  I was kind of fascinated, because for the first time after many years of cooking eggs and cheese, I realized:  I was waiting for the eggs to HARDEN and the cheese to SOFTEN.  Paradox is a beautiful thing (I know, that little notion occurred to you years ago) (you know who you are).

It did not take long for the mixture to be done.  It was delicious.  Sometimes I am so pleased with myself as a cook.  I am far from a gourmet, but I likes what I makes!  Happy Tuesday, everyone!

 

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