Food

My ex-daughter-in-law gave me a coupon for a free dinner at Outback; I was delighted, since that's one of my favorite places to eat.  There were stipulations to the coupon:  It must be used Monday through Thursday, and I had two weeks to use it.  
Today is the last opportunity to get my free dinner, and it doesn't look to me like we'll be getting it.  
Of course, it goes without saying that we'd have to buy one dinner, because Cliff is not going to sit in the car while I eat.  Still, we could choose one of the cheaper meals, drink water, and get by for ten bucks; but then the right thing to do is tip the waiter or waitress for two meals, even though you are only paying for one.  Because they are serving two people.  I doubt we'd get out of there for less than $15, and you can buy a lot of beans, canned or frozen vegetables, and bananas for that amount of money.  
Then there's the fact that Outback doesn't open until 4 P.M.  If we eat out, we like to do so at mid-day.  
Besides, we have a freezer full of meat here at home that my Jersey cow has graciously provided us.

 I made sure my hand was in the picture so you can see the size of the roasts we get from a yearling, half-Jersey steer.  It isn't a lot of meat, but then we are two old folks who don't need a lot of meat.

Here it is in a two-quart pan, ready to cook.  
It's amazing how my attitudes about eating out have changed.  We recently met Cliff's cousin and his wife in Sedalia at Golden Corral.  I was eagerly looking forward to all the choices, especially the fattening desserts, since I don't allow myself to make many calorie-laden desserts these days.  
As I considered what I was eating, I realized there was nothing on my plate that was outstanding in taste.  The meat and vegetables were too salty, and the desserts were mediocre.  When given a choice, I usually choose fruit pie and ice cream:  This pie crust wasn't flaky, there weren't enough spices in the apple filling, and the ice cream wasn't really ice cream... more like ice milk.  
I need to pay more attention to what I am eating when a meal is costing us $25.   
Because I wanted to taste decent apple pie one more time before I die, I made one Sunday.  We each had one 1/8 sized piece of pie each day, and then the grandson happened by and helped himself to a bigger piece.  The pie is gone now, but I can honestly say it was a dessert that was worth the calories and the effort.  
Dang it, I could live on apple pie and ice cream.  
Today it's back to red beans and rice.

aging apples

In late October we went to our favorite orchard and bought two bushels of Fuji apples, our favorite variety. Cliff eats at least one apple a day, often more. I like them too, although with the state of my teeth these days it takes longer than it used to.

We stored them in as cool a place as possible, and they stayed in good condition until after Christmas. Then some of them started getting wrinkly skin. I don't mind eating wrinkly skin, and Cliff just peeled his apples and ate them that way.


We were down to the last layer of apples in the second box when we lost a couple of them to rot.


Since the daughter's family is coming for Superbowl tacos this evening, I decided to get rid of most of our remaining apples in a cobbler. I peeled apples while I watched CBS Sunday Morning.

I put the cobbler in the oven; then the dogs and I went for our walk (Cliff doesn't walk on Sundays... he likes a day off).


By the time we returned, it was time to get the finished product out and cooling. This is going to be really good with some vanilla ice cream.

I make those designs on pies and cobblers because that's how my mom did it. At some point in my childhood she explained to me that the larger design is a leaf, and the smaller is a twig. I don't think I would have ever figured that out on my own.

On another food note, this morning I had the world's most terrible waffles. And I made them myself.

Waffles are one of my favorite foods, and I have a recipe I absolutely love. So why I thought I should try these "overnight waffles", I don't know. The recipe calls for yeast as the leavening agent, and the batter is mixed up the night before and placed in the refrigerator. Sounded good, but no.

I wasted all those calories on two lousy waffles. And we only eat waffles a couple of times a year.

Now I have a huge mess in the kitchen; Cliff's out in the shop, and I don't think the dogs are going to volunteer to clean it up.

Bye bye.

Have a piece of apple pie...

Cliff's sister cooked dinner for all of us today (meat loaf and mashed potatoes), so I baked an apple pie for our dessert. Help yourself: there are four pieces left (I had Rena take another piece for her lunch at work tonight).

Time was when I turned these babies out like an assembly line every year, come apple season. My favorite dessert of all is warm apple pie with ice cream, and Cliff loves it too. With age and heart issues and weight problems, we can't have pies around very often. When I do bake one, I've changed the serving size. I used to cut a pie into six pieces; that's how my mother always did it. That's a big piece of pie, let me tell you. These days, one pie makes eight pieces.

Now, settle back with your pie and coffee, and I'll tell you about my ghost. Yep, we seem to have a ghost.

We started hearing a noise from time to time that sounded like someone at a distance honking a horn; that's what we thought it was. Sadie would bark and go look out a window, trying to find the source of the sound.

After awhile, I figured out the noise was coming from the kitchen, and I think I now have it nailed down: it's in my freezer. I have a ghost in my freezer!

I googled the words "refrigerator makes strange noise", and found some links that suggest the noise could be coming from a fan in the freezer part of the fridge.

I liked it better when it was a ghost. Refrigerators cost too much money.

At least Sadie's used to the sound now, and doesn't even raise her head when it honks.