snowangel

Pam, did you pick the blueberries yourself?

Correct!

First order of the day was breakfast. I think those sausages are sort of nasty, but Peter loves them, so I indulge him every so often. Another favorite is fried eggs on toast. Both Peter and I like to put the egg to one side of the piece of toast, fold it over and eat it like a sandwich, dunking it into all of the runny egg goodness that oozes out! Next order of business is laundry (think about it. I do laundry constantly, but when you think about it, I do 70 socks per week. It amasses fast! And, clean the kitchen floor, and get ready for a party, which is growing in size. I think I'm having about 20 over. I love to entertain, and I have a great house for entertaining. Sorry for the quality of the photos, but it is really bright outside! In the first photo, I am standing by the dining room table looking to the living room which opens onto a sunroom. Second photo I'm in the sunroom, which opens onto a huge deck. And, as you saw a uptopic with the Big Ass TV, we also have a very large family room. Lots of big open spaces make for great entertaining. Last summer, in fact, I had two parties for between 60 and 80 and another one for 45 (not to mention a lot of smaller gatherings.

I've used yogurt, too! When it sits on the counter, it is covered and you'll know when it is done because it is thick! Correct guesses on the potstickers and the word Farang. It's 15 below with a 35 below windchill. Drinking coffee, and when Heidi's done with her bath, I'll contemplate breakfast. Oh, as to the car last night. Diana went to a sleep-over, and the car would have had to sit out, so another mom picked up the girls and Paul will do the coming-home transportation.

Since I am entertaining tomorrow, and I have a boatload of stuff to do (and, I don't do daily lists on Saturdays), I need to get to bed, but, first, a question. Think back to what I purchased at the Asian Market, and look at the following two photos: What am I going to make? It's something I've made often enough that I don't even have to look at the recipe. I've loaded up the dishwasher with the prep items, and it is redolent of sesame oil and ginger. And, yes, I did cut my finger, and it bled all over my crocs. Which were easily washed. All praise to plastic shoes.

Apples and rutabagas? Surely you jest! But, I'm rather intrigued by an Italian Wedding Soup. Hints and suggestions, please, because it sounds liek just the trick for a family who wants meat and pasta, and a family that I think also needs some veg tossed in! (edited to add: the family turns their nose up at split pea soup, or any soup that is totally green)

Some answers to many questions! The vehicle in question is the only vehicle we have owned that did not have a plug thing, but trust me, if it did, we have plenty of the big orange cords! The danish pan and the kanom croc. I'm sure one could use mini-muffin tins. But, kanom krok is street food. Savour, sweet, and devoured on the spot. When it gets cold here, Paul and I get inspired to grill to prove we can do it. Many, many years ago, we were far up north (this was before kids) and it was so (insert naughty word) that we were all drinking whisky. It was so cold that booze was freezeing in our glasses. As we say in MN, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Bag Balm vs. Blistex. No contest. I've been bag balming for years. The stuff is greasy and wonderful, and according to Paul, the scent is decidedly unromantic. This stuff is really, really good! Plus, Blistex has some sort of minty or mentholy scene that I simply can't tolerate (long story). Stay tuned for another question in a minute or two!

We have lots and lots of it. Is it plugged in? ← Pam, I know you have lots of it from my last trip to Winnpeg for the Folk Fest! Is one particular ethnic cuisine/grocery store growing or changing? And, no the vehicle does not have a plug in, but, Diana's friend's mom realized that she could take them tonight and pick them up in the morning to avoid problems. Something we think about it here! Reminder to self. Install plug thing in vehicle (which I know how to do!). Off to get some more preps done for tomorrow! Oh, and Pam, do you grill when it is this cold?

Kanom krok!?!??! Which market was this? I'm going there the next time I'm in MSP! I've never seen them outside of Thailand (though I've never been to other areas in Canada or the US with large Thai populations). Kanom krok is like ableskiever (SP??). I prefer kanom bah bin, though ( or is it bin bah?). did they have that? ← Let me know when you're in the Cities next time, and I'll take you there, and we can have breakfast at Al's. But, back to kanom krok. One of the cookbooks in my collection is Crying TIger by Supatra Johnson. I'm not sure it's a great cookbook, and it isn't very big, but I love it for a couple of reasons. First off, she doesn't just describe the various vegetables and herbs, but shows acutal photos. Second, it is the only Thai cookbook I've seen that has a recipe for kanom krok (think rice flour, coconut cream, some sugar and salt, and green onions, in a pan almost identical to an aebleskiver pan). Growing up in Thailand, early on in the 60's, it was a common street food, but became less common as time went on. Think slightly sweet, slightly savory, crispy on the bottom and creamy in the middle and on the top.

So, I knew the troops would rebel over soup for 10 days. So, I pulled some steaks of the freezer tonight (chuck eyes; the price was way right), and Paul did the manly thing. (acutally, I was the one to start the grill). And, pretending it was summer, I fired up the stereo in the kitchen: Summer music! The stereo is a car stereo over the totally crappy hood we have (yes, we'll replace it, in time). On the other side of the soffit are some really great bose bookshelf speakers that were a reward for giving birth. A bottle of wine, bought soley because of the name, and actually drinkable: If we didn't have kids, we'd have a bunch of collectible cars and sports cars. Note that when I took this pic of Paul, it was 10 below with a screaming windchill. Yes, grilling in the winter is just a fine thing to do. Plated, and a horrid photo, but given the demands of motherhood once the food hits the table, understandable. Butter-sauteed frozen green beans on the side as well as salad. Note: the Pictsweet brand of green beans is not very good. And, another note that salad greens do not transport across a frozen parking lot at this time of year without a cooler or newspaper as insulation. Stay tuned for stories about the Super Bowl, and some preps for said event. Edit: replace a photo. These photos are hard to keep track of!

Oh, baby, it's cold outside!

Stephanie, basically, what I do is a cup of cream (heavy whipping kind) and two tablespoons of buttermilk. In a clean container on the counter for 24-48 hours. Longer in the winter than the summer. Hmmm. Thinking a dessert item for tomorrow now that you reminded me that I have the fraiche.

I've not tried Fraboni's bacon, but it is on the radar for this coming summer, some day when we take Hwy 73 home from the cabin. Another favorite meat market on the way to the cabin is F & D in Virginia, and I know for a fact that they carry a couple of sausages and porketta that bear the Fraboni's name. Are we better off getting there off 53 or 73? And, thanks for the info on Richard Braun! I'm hoping to resked my "picnic" lunch that was to be held last Friday with a friend for next week, and hopefully, provide more pics of the Mighty Miss and ice fishing in progress!

Dinner underway in a bit. But, the masses have rebelled and are feeling waterlogged. You are going to see an old favorite: And hard core cold-weather folks.

A couple more questions: In my immediately preceding photo, I'm wondering about shallots. The ones in the Asian market are very small and much more purple when skinned. The ones in the regular supermarket are much larger, and much "whiter." What gives? Are they of different types? Pam, talk about the ethnic dining and grocery scene in Winnipet. And, for anyone who has any information, if a vehicle sits outside all night with a 6 year-old battery, will it start the next day when it is this cold? It's currently -10 with an almost -30 windchill (I'm operatiing on F, not C).

Oh! and my take from the Golden Lion Supermarket: We're having a Super Bowl gathering tomorrow (all but two of us will NOT be watching the game). Can you guess what one of the requested food items is from this photo? And, what connection does the half-time entertainment have with my fair state?

So, on the way home from buying a bird feeder, we stopped at my local Asian market. The Twin Cities has tons of Asian markets; there is a huge Asian immigrant population here, and the markets and pho shops are thriving. I love shopping at this place, and they all know me as the Farang (who knows what that means?) who buys odd stuff. So, a collage of photos! (i'm finding the idea of pineapple biscuits and fried clams on the same shelf rather odd) (big deli area here, which even had kanom krok --sp?) (anyone know what that is?) Further notes. The boxes on top of most of the shelving units are cases of ramen noodles. Given those, and the quantity of noodles in one of the "fridge" cases leads me to believe that noodles are big business. The people who shop here LOVE pork belly. Their produce selection is fab! (edited to replace a photo)

Shopping is the "H" word when it is this cold. I'm sure that people's brain's freezer. The driving was awful; although the roads are dry, people are running red lights like crazy, and the parking lot stalking (so you see someone coming out of a store, and you look for them to go to a car in a parking space close to the door) makes for serious congestion. I don't have photos of our primary errand, which was a bird feeder, but I will tomorrow, so you can see the bird feeder. The lack of photos this afternoon has to do with the fact that it is sitting on the deck, which is just off the sun room, and the light is full on in the sunroom at this point. One of the things I do at this time of year is turn the furnace fan to "on all the time" at this time of day. The lack of leaves on the trees and the low angle of the sun make this room bake in the afternoon, although today is less of a "bake" day. It is bitter cold. But, as we left for our errands, we crossed the Mighty Miss which is about 3 blocks from our house, and not 4 minutes away, we crossed the Mighty Miss. I don't have a clue as to whom Richard Braun is, but I'll do some research. In all her glory! (Edited to add: my camera is really great (Canon PowerShot A620). These photos were taken through the car window at 65 MPH). What you can't tell is that the middle part of the river, which is open, is steaming. This is what happens when it is this cold, and the water is open.

Finally, I have access to the computer. We only have one right now, and when the 10th grader has a paper due, that takes priority. Then, Paul and I had some shopping to do, so first to breakfast while I upload and get some other photos ready to go. First up this morning (after coffee, that is) was bacon. Now, I think my love of bacon is fairly well known, and although I usually serve my own home-smoked bacin, I will buy bacon. Not just any bacon at any supermarket, but wow, Minnesota is loaded with meat markets who all do their own bacon. Regularly we do bacon taste-testings, but not this morning. So, out of the fridge, I dug out: One from McDonald's Meats in Clear Lake, one from a place in Albertville, and one in St. Michael. We were near Clear Lake not long ago, so had to stop. A friend and I hit the outlet mall the other day, and happened to be close to these two towns. Now, about the bacon. The McDonald's in Clear Lake was a clear winner last weekend, so that's what we went with. Their regular bacon is absolutely outstanding, as is the raspberry chipotle. The raspberry is not particularly noticable, and the chipotle is just right. Now, further to bacon, the thickness or thinness really does matter. We have all discovered (and trust me, by all I mean all of my friends and their kids too, who are subjected to bacon taste testings frequently during the summer!) that the thick cut is just a bit too thick, and the regular supermarket bacon is just too thin. Thus far, our two favorite Minnesota meat markets for bacon are McDonald's and Zups. Zups is a small Minnesota grocery store chain located in a few cities in northern MN. The flavor, the thickness...ah! These two are matches for what I'm doing, although the Sausage Shop in New Ulm is are close to McDonald's and Zups. I'm going to have to get to the meat market in Sleepy Eye because they have a reputation for doing great things with pork. One of the things that really annoys me is Minnesotan's proclaiming how good Neuske's is -- we have so much local stuff that is so much better! But, off my bacon soapbox and back to breakfast. Scrambled eggs. I like mine with plenty of dairy, slowly cooked and sort of creamy. Breakfast is Heidi's favorite meal of the day, and she can pack away 4 eggs. The color is right for her, and the texture makes this an easy to eat meal!

Beautiful challah, Pam! I've never used the food processor for bread. Oh, it's cold again (13 below with a 40 below windchill; F). The sunny days have been wonderful, but the price is cold! My question. I might not be able to find fresh mussels without a long drive. But, I see frozen mussels at the supermarket all of the time. Are they a reasonably acceptable substitute?

Pam! What a beautiful meal. I'm especially intrigued by the bread ravioli. Egg yolks, all runny, really are well, YUM! Juith, I can relate to the lack of greens. 'Bout this time of year, when it is this cold, whether I get them or not depends on the parking space. Last weekend, I saw great greens at Costco, realized that my parking space was far enough away to ensure that if I bought greens, they would be flash frozen before I got to the car. Forget walking; I'm one mile each way to the nearest supermarket. I live in the 'burbs. The house is nice and quiet. Peter did as he often does on a weekend night. Called my folks as I was getting dinner on the table with the same question he has every Friday or Saturday night: "Can I come and spend the night?" Sure as the sun sets, in about 20 minutes, either my mom or dad come and pick him up. So, off the youngster goes to keep the oldsters young. It's a wonderful thing. Diana no longer does this; she simply drives herself over and plops herself on the doorstep. So, the dishwasher has been unloaded and reloaded, and I have done some picking up around the house with Paul. And, as the camera batteries recharge, and Paul and I get ready to do the same, a couple of parting Friday night shots. My spoon rest. The sole remaining dish from the everyday dishes my folks got when they got married (1956). Francescan Desert Oasis. This is the only plate that survived trips from Nebraska to Florida (my dad was a Marine aircraft carrier pilot in a former life) and back to Michigan to Nigeria to Texas to Thailand and finally to Minnesota. It's a road warrior, and I love this plate. And, tomorrow's list. Plans change, and become defined. I've removed the drywalling until it gets warmer because the outside walls are just flat too cold. So, I'll work on other home improvement (like the dryer project). And, I'm prepping to have a mess of people here for the Souper Bowl. Sleep well all, recharge, and think of soups.

Dinner! I struggled with what to fix, but as I perused the fridge, the freeser, the outdoor fridge (a freezer at this point) and the pantry, I hd some ideas, and voila, it all came together when I dug Hot Sour Salty Sweet out from under my bed. It was that basil from the asiam market that was begging. Question: Why is is that that basil (Thai? Holy?) with the purple stem so "unstorable?" Most of the leafy herbs store well in the fridge, if wrapped in a paper towel and then in a plastic bag. This stuff does NOT store well. But, I had on hand what I needed, although charring the ginger and shallots (they needed to be used!) on the gas burners was a pain. But, I got the stock which I'd made earlier heating from it's frozen state, and got some essentials out while the ginger and shallots on the burner: This, my good friend Tiparos, is a constant in the kitchen. Which brings to mind a few questions. Why does this stuff appear in an Asian market in MN? There is no hint of any nutrition lable. And, why does this stuff sell for $.89/bottle? Some of the prices I see in my Asian market are, well, breathtaking. How can this stuff be manufactured, imported and transported to the middle of the country for these prices? Anyway, I digress. The other preps, and the finished product. I apologize in advance for the photo quality. My role today was to console and serve as confidante to friends, teen friends of my daughter, and to exclaim and give hugs and kisses to tthe three kids who have brought home outstanding report cards. The long hair and I discovered that we loved the little bamboo (?) wraps around the noodles. Paul and I agreed we really are starting to prefer that chili garlic sauce to shiricha sauce Pho is good, and if you have stock on hand, pho gai is fast and easy. Definitely a make again.

Lunch. Oh, before lunch, after the fabric search, I attacked the pineapple: The cutting board I used is a cool one. It is a Cuiz one, and I have had it for a long time, and use it often. What I love the most is that there is a "lip" around every edge, so it holds juice! Yep, it's all about the smell when you contemplate a pineapple. This one smelled ripe (at the bottom end), but unlike Pam's advice, did not want to give leaves easily. It was so good Peter and the boys in the 'hood and I pretty much pigged out on it! But, back to lunch. That Reuben I had last night was realy good, but I didn't have any more kraut, so Gedney's Jalapeno Babies to the rescue. I used the veg peeler to slice them thin: So on the bread, with the rest of the swiss and corned beef, buttered bread (not crisco'd) on the cast iron griddle (oh, and some thousand island!): Now, jalapeno dills make a nice sub for kraut, but I sure could have used more. So, I added a splotch of yellow mustard on the side. I'm a tang person, I've decided.

I've wondered, Steve, about Russ's west side of the road and the east side of the road. Interesting that the "bar" on the west side of the road seems to serve merely as an avenue to the can (bathroom) and a place to pack the boxes of smoked fish that will be UPS'd. Oh, and if you get there just about the time they decide to close, the place becomes even odder... But, to today. So, I finished what drywalling I could before I realized that I really should replace the "ceiling hugger dropped ciling" in the bathroom that is getting a makeover, and I just didn't feel like getting the ladder out, which brought me to the next project on my list. That elusive comment about "fabric" that keeps reappearing on my list. Every bed in my house had a handmade quilt on it. OK. So, I use a rotary cutter and the sewing machine. My grandmother admitted long ago that if they'd had rotary cutters and sewing machines capable of doing the quilts around the turn of the century, that's what they would have done. (I do do some by hand, but they are small!). And, the quilt on our bed needs replacing. So as I dug into the fabric stash, I found this mess and now have a fun quilt to plan. A food quilt! I need to augment the stash with some more food-print fabric. Then, it was time to ponder lunch.

Oh, it's all about the crust, and I considered it a landmark parent moment with the kids learned to love crust, which makes an epi the main focus. In fact, dinner last night, with grilled sandwiches made me realize that even a loaf of supermarket bread can be "saved" by grilling it and upping the crustiness factor.