Thunder. Lightning. Burton.

We had a humdinger of a thunderstorm overnight. Thunder shook the house and caused Frieda to fly through the air. Lots of rain fell and a little hail. We are probably now just in drought and not severe drought. I'd had plans to mow the lawn today, that plan won't happen now. The place is looking scruffy and will need to do so until it's dry.

My son sent me a text asking if we were free on Saturday. He has bad timing, he often asks to visit when we aren't free! Mark is on a tight deadline, and as all accountants seem to do, he procrastinated and now must put the proverbial nose to the grindstone. The son isn't available until October 23rd, which is actually perfect, as Mark has another deadline October 15th. So, we will see him then. Maybe he will take some frozen produce and some pickles home with him.

I don't know why, but this soup seemed particularly good. Maybe it's the changing of the season and how much I like this time of year. Whatever the reason, a soup no different from any other like it was so very good! We have enough for a repeat today. 

Oh, last evening during cocktail hour, yes we do that, we were listening to the Guess Who. It made me think of seeing Burton Cummings at a small venue concert. What is memorable about this, other than Burton Cummings, is the concert was interrupted by a voice over the PA system announcing Nixon was pulling us out of Vietnam. The place erupted. The rest of the evening had such a vibrant energy.  

Meandering

Can we say late 1970s? Oh, ya.

I have very straight hair and wanted curly hair. I was told by a stylist in the 80's to stop having my hair permed. She told me thick, fine textured hair does not perm well. Boy, was she right. This is what a Afghan puppy looks like. Fallon was maybe five-six months old. The absolute most trying dog ever. I loved her and I never wanted another. I have worn those bib aprons a long time, I am my grandmothers clone!

Mark commented a couple of days ago that the days are flying by. Yes, yes they are. I know many of us are at the stage of life where we stop, look around and say "what happened"? Time. Time happened while we weren't looking. Which leads me to how I have been attempting to live the rest of my life. I don't need to strive. I don't need to compete. I don't even have to work all that hard. I do need to appreciate life and all that comes with it. Not that I can actually appreciate everything that comes with it, but you know what I mean. I have always been a future thinker. I am not one to give much thought to the past, which is overall fine, but not always. Breeding horses was always about what comes next. I am now a for-the-moment thinker. The past is gone, the future is the next second. I had no intention of going in this direction. I guess my brain decided on its own. Anyway, my mantra, which I think I said before; Drink the wine (beer, tea, coffee, water) enjoy the food, pet animals, be kind. I have repeated it enough to myself that it has actually taken root. Self-talk maybe does work.

Enough of that. I've got soup simmering for lunch, to have with that unbelievably simple bread. It's overcast and 60sF outside. It's all good. Happy Thursday.

Easy Peasy

I made a second loaf of the simplest bread possible.

The first loaf stuck to the baking dish, even though it was well oiled, so this time I called parchment paper to my rescue. Anyone can make this, even if you have never, ever made bread. The YouTuber who made it said she came upon it because of a mistake she made with liquid in her standard focaccia recipe. I wish my mistakes turned out this well. 

https://youtu.be/a_EzxqhCcdw?si=2Rjrkz-hNUJoJv7n

Other than making bread I did no cooking yesterday. Mark had to go to town, so he picked up tacos from the deli for lunch. He had a dental appointment in the afternoon and bought pizza for dinner on his way home. It was a high calorie day. I like to cook but a reprieve is always welcome. 

Repurposing

Get a load of these fancy canisters!

Just kidding.

They are coffee cans. I used whole beans for as long as I can remember, until the grinder broke and I didn't get around to replacing it. The coffee I have been buying comes in these really nice cans, the label comes right off and there are these sturdy, nice looking cans. I stopped recycling them and have made them canisters. At some point I will need to let them go, but one of my foibles is saving containers and jars. Pity whoever has to clear out my house when I go toes up.

We seem to be living on tomatoes. 

We had another rainy day Monday. We have had over six inches of rain in three days. The trees needed this, I've been concerned for the pines. It's not supposed to rain today but it sure looks like it will. Boud, this looks like it could be a chili day. The horses have had a couple of soaking showers and they haven't minded a bit. 

Mark got his glasses and they are perfect. He is happy. Now it's my turn. Buying online saved us a boatload of cash. Which makes Mark really happy, now that he has them and they are good. A happy man is a positive thing.

Accomplished!

I did follow through with my plan yesterday. I turned the self-clean on in the morning, then when it cooled, I gave it a thorough scrubbing, range and vent hood. Badly needed, believe me. My life over the past couple of years has not been 'me'. It's hard to believe I bought this twenty-three years ago. Today is laundry but I will work on cleaning the open shelves, both the shelving and the items on them. I cook a lot, much of it on the stovetop, which means that greasy film of dust covers everything.

Speaking of cooking on the stovetop....after all that work, guess what I did? Yes, I sautéed chicken and vegetables. The pot you see on the stove was cooking rice. I added fresh tomato pesto to short grain brown rice. Very good. As you can see, I'm not afraid of olive oil!

I have to get moving before I lose my mojo. I'll visit you all later today. Happy Monday! 

Inspector Gatto

The Costco order passed inspection.

After receiving my order from Costco I was able to make the fresh tomato pesto with the cashews and EVOO I bought. I kept about a dozen or so to use as tomatoes. This is it for processing, I don't have any space left.

I felt better yesterday. Then another wonderful thing happened. It rained....starting around 5:00pm and lasting throughout the night. Hooray! And, more is expected over the next two days. Yippee-ki-yay, get along little dogey! It's made me feel so good I turned the oven onto the clean cycle and now I've smoked up the house. Ah, well, it needed doing. Badly. 

Mark went to his class reunion yesterday. About a dozen people were there. He went to a small, rural school, so when I say class I mean from kindergarten through high school. They were all in the same classroom all the years of primary. I went to a huge school, there were lots of people in my class I didn't know at all. He had a good time visiting with people he's known all of his life. We came from totally different planets. I have not attended any of mine and that's ok with me.

Let's see if this burst of interest, not so much energy, lasts and I actually get some work done today. I have medium hopes.

Gatto Meets Sam Adams

Keep walking, Frieda. My beer.

How do I get this open?

He is the package inspector. He spent considerable time trying to get it open. 

It will be mid-eighties today but the humidity isn't tropical, which does make a difference. I haven't been feeling well, my sinuses are bothering me. I suppose it's all the smoke that has been in the air. Ah, well. I saw a video last week of a different way to make focaccia. If I can feel well enough to mix dough I'm going to try it, although I think I wouldn't call it focaccia. It's made with a very wet dough. There really isn't any effort in making it, but when your head is pounding it doesn't take much to deter you. The medication has been upsetting my tummy. I think I'm outside of warranty.

Another Like the Other

We stayed outdoors yesterday until after dark. Making up for lost time.

It was a busy morning yesterday, at least compared to normal. My hay guy came over to unload some of the racks that were in the pole barn. He and Mark got two unloaded and stacked before Bob had to leave to do something else. While Bob was here Bill showed up with more tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Although Bob was on a time schedule, he and Bill had a long talk. Then Bill came inside and had a long talk with me. Cannot say we solved the world problems but Bill did explain to me what basil is and how you use it! I thanked him.

A friend suggested I make tomato jam with some of the tomatoes. I need to get ginger root, otherwise I have what's needed. I'll make a jar and see if I like it. I placed an order with Costco yesterday which included olive oil and cashews for fresh tomato pesto. I have found I really like it. Grazie, Giada De Laurentiis. Cashews are my idea, I think she used almonds.

I did braise the sinewy brisket yesterday and got plenty of usable beef for a pasta meal. It was in the liquid for about four hours. The liquid from the original oven time, used with some cream and cheese made a really good sauce. Yay, me!

Quiet Evening

An autumn evening on the kitchen deck, me with a glass of red wine, Mark with a beer. We have had very little of this outdoor time this year. Mostly too hot and when not.....bugs. It was pleasant listening to crickets as the evening darkened.

Then we went inside and I put together a twenty minute meal. We are still getting a few zucchini.

I made a brisket Sunday. The absolute worst cut of meat I have EVER had. Nothing but sinew. I get most of my meat from Butcher Box. Organic and pasture raised, it's of good quality. Except for this. I went to the website and did the complaint thing. They are a really good company, no problem at all. They refund the cost to my next box. Being the frugal kitchen person I am, I put that useless thing in the dutch oven with its cooking liquid and some water and braised it for several hours. I got some useable meat I'll put in a cream sauce with pasta. Not the delightful brisket I anticipated, but not a total letdown. Mark likes to tell me this is why they pay me the big bucks. I'd like to know who 'they' are and when I will see the bucks, big or not.

A Note

I didn't have a thing to say today and still don't. I do have a photo, though, of a small wild plum galette I made after lunch. I took a shortcut, using phyllo dough instead of making a short crust. We will have a slice after dinner, which will be beef brisket. A very simple-to-make meal ahead.

 We have a beautiful day and good food on the horizon. Is this la dolce vita?