New Year's Wish

I'm trucking around the house in my pjs and slippers over Christmas because I have a cold, a nasty cold. I drank gallons of tea and hot cocoa and chicken noodle soup. Blarg. The main sewer line had backed up a bit into the house so there was limited use of water until it could be rodded out on the 26th. I found something to do with myself (See post below.), but I spent some time cleaning the room where the litter boxes are. 

Still, there seemed to be this crunch, crunch when I walked around that I couldn't eradicate, no matter how many times I went over the floor with a broom. It was getting on my nerves. Hamlet is terrible about digging in the litter. It goes flying and winds up outside the box, but there wasn't a lot tracked through the house. What was making this crunch noise and the feeling, underfoot, that the floor wasn't clean. I looked at the bottom of my slippers. 

Oh. 

Well, to be honest, I have had these slippers for, gee, maybe 8+ years. I loved the hard sole. I would wear them to get the mail or take the recycling to the can. They were comfortable; oh were they comfortable. But this would explain the crunch and why things didn't feel right. It was a sad day to toss them in the garbage. 

I have a pair of Hawkeye slippers which I've had now for a couple years. They do not have the sturdy sole shown here, but a slim hard plastic. They are comfortable, but they have stretched to allow the wearing of a sock. When I get out of bed in the morning and want to wear slippers, my bare feet walk right out of them. They are great for during the day; warm and cozy; but they just don't fit anymore. I needed new slippers. 

Thank goodness for after Christmas sales. 

I give these Isotoner slippers from JC Penney 5 stars. They are incredibly comfortable. They are true to size and fit perfectly. I've worn them with and without socks, but they are my 'go to' in the morning. They have a hard sole exactly like the ones which disintegrated. There were leopard print slippers on the web site, but only in small size. I like these. 

It got me thinking about the new year. I haven't been a very good blogger. After posting in October, we got swamped with a huge inspection job and I wound up doing most of the work. After that came the write up of the reports. Add a splash of a vacation in Virginia over Thanksgiving. Stir in a heavy cold and two holidays and posting here was the last of my thoughts. Yet, I did come up with something on my Facebook feed which I'm going to share here. 

Here is my advice for starting 2017. I had to get new slippers because my 10+ year old ones with the hard sole broke. They were very comfortable and slippers are kind of a personal thing. Thanks to after Christmas sales, I got a pair of "memory foam" slippers from JC Penney for $13.00.

Folks, if you are having a really bad day, feeling like life is against you, check your shoes. Are you wearing comfortable shoes? I mean, really comfortable? If not change your shoes. Go find a pair you can live in, really live in; wear 18 hours a day. In the late spring through late fall, I'm not in shoes when I'm at home. I prefer barefoot, but these slippers are amazing. I have other shoes (Clarks) which are just as comfortable. Ya gotta move through life. You can't be standing still. Make sure you have comfortable shoes for your journey. That's my advice. 

So, amongst all the canned words which have filled your email or Facebook, trying to be inspiring while not glib or eye-rolling, this is what I give you. Wear comfortable shoes. 

Beverage:  Assam

Deb

A Discerning Choice

Everyone has a comfort food. For some, it's as simple as a hot mug of tea. For others, it's steak and potatoes. There is something we reach for when the going has been akin to walking uphill through molasses in January in Helsinki.

For me, comfort food is situation determinate. Hot cocoa. Macaroni and cheese. Chocolate. They all fit the bill. It can simply be a matter of what's on hand or what I can have access to with the least amount of preparation. Let's face it. If you're stressed and want comfort food, you don't want to have to spend 90 minutes preparing it. It needs to be ready.

Viola. Comfort food at the ready.

The egg nog ice cream is only available from Thanksgiving through the second week of January. Oh my. It's so good.

Egg nog is such a diet buster. I have never liked rum so the pairing of egg nog and rum has never appealed to me. That's where something like this ice cream comes in handy. I drenched my bowls of it with warmed chocolate sauce and sprinkled chopped walnuts or'top.

The chocolate peanut butter is a silky semi-sweet chocolate with ribbons of creamy peanut butter. It didn't need any ornamentation, although I chopped more walnuts than I wanted for the egg nog so there is no harm in adding them to the chocolate peanut butter.

Given the stress of moving the office and all the travel and inspections I've had to do, either of these were a fantastic way to wind down. And yes, it was supper on more than one occasion. Both are gone now, but there will be a New Year's Day delivery. I adore their banana chocolate walnut but felt three quarts was too much for the freezer. I may need to move some things around or, what a novel concept, cook some of the frozen stuff I have in there. Then there's room for three quarts of ice cream.

Beverage:  water

Deb

On Vacation-The 2nd Best Thing

We'd just shoveled another 8 inches out of the driveway back in January but the office chat turned to vacations. Being a small office, we try not to have two of us out at one time. If  you're flying somewhere, you might have to leave or return on a day when someone else is coming or going, but having two people out for more than one day is just inviting the phone to ring with "I need this now" requests.

I get 3 weeks because of my 14 years here so I started thinking about where to spend the time. Because Carole has settled in Virginia, traveling there once a year until I can't travel anymore, is what I will do. I want to see where she lives in all kinds of seasons. I'd been there in mid-May and August. After talking to her, I decided to travel around Memorial Day. I have members of my World of Warcraft guild in Virginia, too, so getting together with them for a party would be easier when there is an extra day to travel.

Now, I love my Jeep. It fits me, fits my lifestyle and what I do. But, with RA, the age of my Jeep and the fact that it's a stick shift make the prospect of a long drive less appealing. In March, I made the decision that, if possible, I was going to rent a car to drive out there. It would be more comfortable than the Jeep. I'd have air conditioning which the Jeep doesn't have. I wouldn't have to shift. I wouldn't have wear and tear on the Jeep and there would be cruise control, allowing me to stretch out my legs in between those times when I stop to actually get out and walk around. Then I fell on May 1st.

My right foot still swells at night, although not like it used to. There is no pain in the knee and the bruises are all gone. But that trauma made the desire to rent very strong and when the cost of renting dropped $100 between the time I checked in April and when I went to reserve a car in May, the deal was sealed. This is what I got.

This is a Nissan Versa. With a large back seat AND a large trunk, I was able to take boxes and bins of Carole's stuff from the basement to her house. I never would have fit 2 boxes and a bin in the Jeep, along with the 2 boxes and 2 suitcases I had with me.

This was the 2nd best idea I had on vacation. (The best idea was going to visit Carole over Memorial Day.) The car drove like a dream. It was nimble, maneuvering easily through traffic leaving Chicago. It was stingy on gas.

My first fill-up, after picking it up with half a tank, was just inside the Ohio border. This is half-way through Pennsylvania. On this tank of gas, I made it to Warrenton. Two fill-ups is all. Had I taken the Jeep, last year's trip leads me to believe I would have needed 4 fill-ups. A smaller tank and better gas mileage made the cost of gas less than $100 one way.

All the room in the back meant the most important things could be in the passenger seat next to me.

That's lunch, Dr Pepper, my cell phone and my music. I could keep my life right there at easy reach. Last year, my music got sandwiched behind a suitcase I was bringing because there was no other place to put it. Having non-essentials in the back was wonderful.

Traveling with an I-Pass to breeze along tollways is a bit of a problem when you have a rental car.

I know how to add and delete cars from my I-Pass account. I was told NOT to add the rental car because any outstanding tolls attached to that car would automatically be deducted from my account and getting a refund from the Tollway was worse than pulling hen's teeth. "Just go through the manual lanes" I was told. That did result in some slow-down in my travel time, and I forgot on a few occasions because I'm so used to just breezing through the lanes. But this small nuisance is not enough to detract me from renting again the next time I go visit Carole.

One thing came up that I hadn't considered. Mountains.

Last year, the drive to and from Carole's involved my spending time in the slow lane to the right. In fact, the Jeep was so slow that not only did I have to put on my flashers, but I got passed by semi trucks hauling thousands of pounds of stuff. This slow travel contributed to the 16 hour drive on the way home.

But I set the cruise control and, as the mountains and their slow lanes arrived, felt the car compensate for this. A steady speed was maintained up and down. I didn't have to move over unless I got behind someone slower than me. This contributed to my trip out taking 11 hours and 40 minutes. I came back in rush hour on a Friday night so my trip back was an hour longer due to stop and go traffic. I'll need to remember that next time.

All-in-all, this was a fantastic way to enjoy my vacation. We used the rental car to go everywhere. It made me realize that, as much as I love my Jeep, as much as it fits with my personality, I need to get a newer car. I'd love something like this Versa, although not in black. The only problem with it would be getting it out of the drive in the winter. What the Jeep plows through with ease would cause the Versa to become stuck. But that would be a small price to pay for the lack of car repairs, the ease of getting around and the savings on gas. I cannot afford a car this year, even used. I try not to think about the Jeep dying and being forced into needing a car.

Here's the final mileage.

That was two thousand of the most comfortable miles I think I have driven in a long time. Renting a car. Brilliant idea. I'm glad I thought of it.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Another Tradition, At Least With Us

When I go home to visit my mother, one of the first things she asks is, "What would you like to eat?" Certain kinds of food are tradition in some families. My mother is a great cook and I'll eat pretty much anything she makes. When Carole was younger, mom made pot roast. Carole's dad liked the way my mother made that dish. My answer to the inevitable question is usually, "I like whatever you're going to make, mom." She's made some great things in recent years, things I wouldn't have probably tried.

I asked the same thing of Carole when the date grew close for her trip back. "Is there going to be time for me to cook dinner? If so, is there something you want?" While their weekend was stuffed to the gills, there was Friday night and that night revolved around Italian Meatloaf.

Essentially, all this is is meatloaf with shredded mozzarella cheese in the center, rolled up in a log. Oh there's more oregano than you'd put in a regular meatloaf and the binder is crushed saltine crackers. You also add a third of a cup of tomato sauce to the meat and bake the thing for an hour. After an hour, you take it out and pour 2/3 cup of sauce over the top and bake it again for 15 minutes. Fragrant and simple, it's been a staple of our family for decades. It represents home.

To this, I added cottage fries and Green Giant niblets corn.

It took an hour and a half to get everything assembled and on the plates. Even with us eating our fill, I have two meals of leftovers and this is the perfect meal to take to work for lunches.

Sometimes I think I want to try something new or cook something different. But then I realize that sometimes, the familiar is what's called for. They had traveled for 13 hours, slept for 4 and spent the afternoon running around to see people. Carole hadn't been in Wheaton for almost 3 years. Things change. Having a well-loved meal in one's former home brought comfort.

Food does that.

Beverage:  Huckleberry tea

Deb

For the Comfort of the Cats, Naturally

On this overcast Sunday, one of the things I wanted to do was laundry. I am okay. I have enough clothing but it never hurts to do a load to stay on top of it. There is, however, a 17 pound impediment.

Since I returned from Connecticut and let her sleep on the clothes pulled from my suitcase, she's been doing that with the every day dirty clothes. I have a laundry chute and I usually toss everything down the chute. But I let a small pile develop and, the next thing I know, it's her nest. If St. Francis cut the arm off his robe so as not to disturb a sleeping cat, how can I toss all the clothes down the chute, except, of course, if I were to have someone pay me a visit?

I think some of this is because it has my scent on it and that is comforting. I think another part is that it's warm where the clothes are. That part of the floor is near the furnace and there are a number of pipes for heat running under this section. Another thing is that the pile is in my home office and this puts her close to me. She can monitor my comings and goings and she doesn't have to move. Whatever the cat reasoning is, it's fine with me. I know exactly where she is, can reach down and provide ear scratches when I go get more tea and she's happy.

Mija, on the other hand, prefers to sleep on my bathrobe. This is fine, until morning when I want to wear it. Well, I think I want to wear it. Maybe I can do without it.

Beverage: Lapsang Souchong tea

Deb

There are some things one simply MUST have.

After spending an afternoon on a job site and then driving back home in a light drizzle (Wait! Was that a snowflake?), I decided I did not want to cook when I got home. Instead, I would stop some place. In this day and age, that "some place" could be anything from asiago cheese bread sandwiches to ziti in a marinara sauce with sausage.

As I drove west, I considered all my options. Stopping here would get me x and x and x. Stopping there would get me y and y and y. Dessert. I have earned dessert. Who has dessert and what do they have?

Portillos. Bingo. A Chicagoland institution with good food.

Now I wasn't sure if I wanted a polish but chocolate cake, yes, please. I did wind up getting a polish with mustard, fries and a Coke. I can't go into Portillos without getting a piece of chocolate cake. I just can't. It's sweet and moist and the frosting certainly tastes more homemade than other places who mass produce food. Yup. When in Portillos, order the chocolate cake.

Good end to a long day.

Beverage: Dr Pepper

Deb

A new favorite.

I love to cook but, since it's just me, I don't try new recipes from the thousands I have. This one was in a September Wednesday cooking supplement in the Daily Herald, the newspaper I probably should let go of but can't seem to go cold-turkey from.

I love fall, as we all know, and this time of year is when I get the urge the most to cook. The abundance of fall fruits and vegetables gets me revved up in the kitchen. Botanically speaking, a squash is a fruit, not a vegetable, for it is the fruit, with seeds, of a flower. We have classified it as a vegetable because it is not sweet and we generally associate sweetness with our fruits. Whether fruit or vegetable, butternut squash is good.

This soup is now my favorite butternut squash soup, bar none. I am not fond of onions so I left those out. I didn't have Granny Smith apples. I had some apples from visiting my mother. The aroma of cooking squash and then cooking squash and apples together was intoxicating. This is the smell of fall.

I thought I could get by with using a hand mixer to combine the ingredients but that didn't work. So, I had to get out my 30+ year old blender and puree the mixture. You need to puree it. Just trust me on this. It is so very smooth and it finishes the combination of flavors.

After I heat the soup, I drizzle the top with honey, about 1/2 teaspoon per bowl, and mix that in, not thoroughly, but just enough that it's mixed in. Some spoonfuls get the sweetness of honey, some do not and that juxtaposition of flavors is, for me, wonderful. This makes a huge amount. I have two pint containers in the freezer and a container in the fridge for this weekend, not to mention the three meals I got out of the soup before I froze it.

I'm considering making the recipe with different apples to see how the apple variety affects the taste. I didn't have ginger root so I used the powdered spice. I think I would like to increase that to see if I can bring out more of the ginger flavor. This recipe has so much potential.

I can see myself on a snowy December evening, curled up in the settee with a cat, a mug of tea, this soup and a hunk of bread. Now that's a meal.

Beverage: Scottish Blend tea

Deb

Another recommendation.

I love this stuff. It's more, much more, expensive than the Kraft mac and cheese, but honestly, it is so much better.

I bought a box years ago. I saw it in Whole Foods and I like the taste of white cheddar. We called it "farmer cheese" because farmers often made this kind of cheddar and didn't have the orange additive. It's got a different flavor than orange cheddar.

Homemade mac and cheese is a much loved comfort food. I make mine with Velveeta which is probably as far from "organic" cheese as you can get. But it melts evenly and, when cool, doesn't solidify into a stringy mass as I find real cheddar can.

This box cooks up the same as the Kraft kind but you mix the cheese sauce in a mixing cup and add it to the cooked pasta. I also add peas and, brace yourself, diced Spam. What can I say? I like Spam. With these things added, it makes a hearty and comforting meal that reheats wonderfully the next day.

Unless you eat the entire pot full over the course of the evening.

Beverage: Blackberry sage tea

Deb

Never order something because it's cute.

Pam took me to Steak 'n Shake on Tuesday after we picked up the car. Actually, I paid for the car and left it parked in the lot until after we'd had supper because the mechanic was on the way home after going to Steak 'n Shake.

Pam knows me very well. She knew that I would go home and not eat because I was stressed, even though I could pay for the car. I wouldn't exactly mope about but I certainly would stand in front of the open refrigerator and think, "I don't want to cook, but I should eat, but I don't want to." So, she kindly insisted we go for dinner.

We walked into Steak 'n Shake and this was on the table. Back last year, they were pushing these mini-hamburgers. Pam always orders the Frisco Melt but, on this occasion, she ordered the mini-hamburgers. They were a disappointment and she uttered the title of this post. Tuesday, I sat down, looked at the placard and thought, "Ooooh." But her original comment and her subsequent disappointment rose to the top of my thoughts. This is a manufactured picture. It can't possibly be decent.

I'm not that fond of cheese fries. The are very high in fat. But, after the 2 days I'd had, I decided I needed comfort food and fried potatoes, cheese and bacon are, most definately, comfort food. So, having made that decision, I perused the menu to find the rest of the meal. The next item to be considered was the shake portion.

They have a huge variety of shakes and it was difficult to pick, but I settled on the turtle shake. Finally, did I want a sandwich? Well, of course. Since I was already ordering something very high in fat, I decided the bacon double cheeseburger was out of the question. I considered ordering a salad but we had agreed on the drive there that, while Steak 'n Shake does have 3 salads on the menu, we don't go there for salads. I settled on the grilled chicken breast sandwich with no tomato and no mayo. I don't like mayonnaise and raw tomato. It wound up being a bun, a breast and a leaf of lettuce, which was fine because I was justifying ordering cheese fries with bacon.

The waitress was very nice and even laughed with us as Pam was in stitches across from me listening to my justifications for having bacon cheese fries. Here's my meal.

Pam had a double chocolate shake which was a chocolate shake with hot fudge on top. Mine was vanilla with hot fudge, whipped cream, cherry and pecan pieces. It was very good.

And, actually, the bacon cheese fries were good too, surprisingly good. I like Steak 'n Shake's fries. They have a good flavor to them. The sandwich was also good and the right compliment to the fries. The best part was that it wasn't that expensive. We ate for a bit over $20 for two of us and got food that hadn't been sitting under a heat lamp for an hour.

So, while you probably shouldn't order something because it's cute or because it looks very good in a staged photo, this turned out okay. I would recommend the bacon cheese fries to someone. But, I won't order them again for awhile. I need to let that congealed cheese work its way out of my system.

Beverage: Irish Breakfast tea

Deb

It's all Amber's fault.

I have a friend in Australia named Amber. She's been going through a rough patch at the moment. It's been hugely stressful and her boyfriend and I have decided she's not eating. It's not a case of not eating properly, she's just not eating.

So, 2 days ago we were talking online as we are want to do and she mentioned how upset her life was making her. Aha! Just the opening I needed. "Do you want some 'motherly' advice?" I asked. "Sure," she replied.

I then told her to go to the grocery and buy $20 of anything she wanted. "Don't just hang out in the produce section unless that's what you want. I do hereby give you permission to fill up your cart with junk. You need comfort food right now."

Yesterday, she makes the comment that her boyfriend brought her Oreos. I have not thought about Oreos in months, yes, months. I have noticed them in the store, but I'm really not all that interested in them, unless a friend says she has some and I don't. (sigh)

With the July 4th holiday approaching, I headed off to the grocery after being allowed to leave work early. I needed to get a few things which included, you guessed it...

I don't believe I've had this kind.

I set the bag down so I could photograph it for the blog and it was instantly scrutinized. When she realized there was nothing for cats, she expressed her displeasure.

I guess I should be grateful she didn't lie on the bag.

I brought the bag into the office so I could blog about this and decided to open it. I half figured the "Lift" tab on the front would make it into my list of "vexes". It actually opened quite nicely. We'll see how it closes.

Mija came charging into the office because the rustle of the bag sounded just like the bag with kitty treats in it. That's actually pretty funny to watch. They can be sound asleep and all I have to do is shake a treat bag and, I swear, Mija materializes at my feet. Let's just say she was more than a bit disappointed when the smell emanating from the bag was one of peanut butter.

I will eat a few while playing the game today. I may or may not have milk with these initial cookies. I figure, as a public service, I should try these without milk and then with milk.

Hey, it's the least I can do on a holiday weekend.

Beverage: V8 Fusion

Deb

One Box Left

Part of cleaning out the cupboard was to consume all the Jell-O I found. The next step has been to consume all the instant pudding I found. There wasn't as much of that as there was of the gelatin.

The first box was banana. The second box has been this pistachio. The last box is tapioca. I prefer to make Bob's Red Mill tapioca, which is a cook on the stove method. It makes a lovely tapioca pudding and I like to eat it warm, just after being made. The Jell-O brand will be cold although I could nuke it for warmth. I find tapioca to be one of those wonderful comfort foods, like tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, and when you're having comfort food, to finish the meal off with comfort dessert, well, that make the meal more special.

I can't remember what year this was released to the general public. It is one of those items that my grandmother seized upon as being perfect for cooking. It also helped that a couple of recipes came out in 1974, right after the Watergate break-in, which used the pudding as a base ingredient.

Watergate Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together pudding mix, pineapple with juice, marshmallows, and nuts. Fold in whipped topping. Chill.

See? It's ridiculously easy.

This is the Watergate Cake.

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
• 1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 3/4 cup flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 (1.3 ounce) envelopes whipped topping mix
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup flaked coconut

Directions

1. Mix cake mix, oil, eggs, soda drink, and 1 package pudding well, about 5 minutes. Fold in coconut and nuts. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes. Cool.
3. To Make Icing: Combine dream whip, milk, and 1 package pudding. Beat until thick. Spread over cake. Sprinkle nuts and coconut on top.

Knowing that I don't care for pineapple or coconut, both ingredients were left out of the salad and the cake. It wasn't until I was making this for church events that I encountered the versions that contained pineapple and coconut. Some people would put the colored miniature marshmallows in their salad, particularly around Easter.

So I'm sitting at supper last night, eating my spaghetti and having my pistachio pudding and remembering the boxes of this that were in my grandmother's pantry. It was a staple of her cooking. It's much better if I put aerosol whipped cream on the top of it rather than eat it straight.

I was looking at my bundt pan when I put the Dutch oven away. My grandmother lived for bundt pan recipes and Watergate cake was something she always made. Heck, I made it, for years. I'm sure the recipe lingers, sans coconut, in my recipe box.

I'll make the tapioca pudding over the weekend and that will be it for instant pudding. I probably won't purchase any more instant pudding unless I need to take a cake some where and something in a cook book catches my eye. I won't say my tastes are more sophisticated. They are just different now.

Winter is poised to return over the weekend. What could be better than tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and tapioca pudding?

Beverage: Water

Deb

She wuvs me.

This past weekend marked a great change in Pilchard. I have taken to coming home, doing a couple of household chores and then sitting down in the settee in the living room to play with them and read a bit. Pilchard has started to come sit in my lap for upwards of 30 minutes. In fact, when I came home on Friday and didn't sit down in the settee, she followed me around meowing. I scratch ears and chin and back and the base of her tail. After about 30 minutes, she gets up and walks off.

So, I'm sitting at the computer late Friday night. She hops up into the chair next to me, stands on my right leg, looks at me and starts meowing. Now, 16 pounds of cat standing on your leg is not the most comfortable thing ever. I raised up my arms so she could see my lap. She climbed in and sat down. Immediately, she looked up at me with this very contented, self-satisfied look on her face.

But imagine trying to type at your computer with a pillow in front of you. I may have my office chair at a good height but my computer desk is not the best in the world. Add a cat in my lap, particularly one who expects ear and chin scratches and I'm not typing or pushing buttons in my game very well. My online gaming friends know my productivity will be lessened when I type, "COL". She leaves after about 30 minutes, sometimes less depending upon what I'm trying to do while she's lying there.

This happened every time I spent more than an hour at the computer. She would come in and demand my lap. This is new and it's not unwelcome. I think it's another example of feeling comfortable in my house. Mija will come and sit in my lap occasionally but she hasn't taken to lying down in it.

It's a wonderful feeling knowing the big black cat is happy.

Beverage: Huckleberry tea

Deb

The month should always start out...blue?

It's a new month. Hard to believe the year is 2 months from being over. I made oatmeal for breakfast today. Start the new month right with something hearty. What to drink with that oatmeal? How about some hot cocoa?

Carole gave me a set of three instant hot cocoas for Valentine's Day. Just add water and the mix and, well, the result could be red or green or blue. Blue got shoved to the back of the cabinet. There was just enough left to make one mug full.

Warm. Comforting. Not so much cocoa as simply a beverage. Perfect way to start a day, a week and a month.

Beverage: Um...duh?

Deb

Happy Dance

Pam called me yesterday and reminded me that one of the best comfort foods is macaroni and cheese and I had the temerity to FORGET that on my last post.

(gasp)

(faint)

Yup.

But...

I make macaroni and cheese with Velveeta and I love to add Spam and peas. I think I blogged about this before, how much I like Spam. I grew up with it as there were some very hard times for my family at the end of the 1960's and into the early 1970's. Spam was one thing we could afford. I've eaten it just about any way you can fix it. That would be a nice Christmas gift for me, a Spam cookbook. I'm pretty sure you can get one on the Spam web site.

But that's not why I'm doing a happy dance. Pam called and said it was time for a girls night out dinner and I replied that she's been reading my mind because the paper has had coupons in it for...

Steak 'n Shake.

Monday night...before we both suffer from withdrawals. The only problem is going to be which seasonal shake do I get, the chocolate fudge one or the caramel apple one.

If only all life choices could be like that.

Beverage: Assam tea

Deb

It's time for comfort

I've beaten it to death how much I love fall, the sights, sounds and smells of this season. But here's another reason:

'tis the season for the return of comfort food.

I was thinking about that last night as I tossed a load of blankets into the washing machine and cleared off a section of basement shelves for the soups and broth I bought a couple weeks ago. (Hmmmm. This can has a best by date of '97. I think I can toss that.) I found a can of Campbells Pork and Beans to which I added sliced smoked sausage, Hillshire Farms brand as it was "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" at Dominicks. They don't carry Campbells brand Pork and Beans any more and I had to get Van de Kamps which I grew up with. I really prefer Campbells as I don't like the chunks of fat I see in Van de Kamps when you remove the top. Plus, Campbells has gone to the "pop top" lids with the ring so no need to fish in the drawer for the can opener.

I add ketchup (or is it catsup), yellow mustard and brown sugar to the beans, slice the sausage and add to the pot and then heat the whole thing together. I had the last of a jar of applesauce which I warmed. Total comfort food.

I bought tomato soup to go with grilled cheese sandwiches. I need to make pancakes in quantity and freeze those. I found the raisins in my cleaning of the cupboards so oatmeal with raisins and walnuts is back on the menu for weekend breakfasts. I haven't had a pot roast in awhile, with potatoes and carrots. I haven't made scalloped ham and potatoes or meatball pasta soup in ages. Perry was eating a meatball and sausage sandwich for lunch yesterday which caused me to want a polish and fries for lunch. Jon and I took care of that craving.

I know in the dim reaches of the past, you had to eat hearty at this time of year because, long about March, you were lean from not having the abundance of food at your finger tips that you had as fall was in full swing. But I think there's more to it than just a remnant of my ancestors. These foods improve my mood and make me feel snug and warm. I have two meals of beans and sausage and then, on Friday, I can cook something else or wait until the weekend and really go to town. The cooking process makes the whole house smell wonderful, too, and if you're going to finally close up the house for the winter, you want it to smell like something other than an antiseptically clean bathroom.

So I need to finish clearing the cupboards and then put everything back so I can begin the process of never having any counter space because I was cooking. Oh look! Here's another bag of semi-sweet morsels. I haven't made dump cookies in ages...

Beverage: Blackberry Sage tea

Deb