lindag

Breakfast today will be 1/2 an onion bagel, toasted and buttered alongside some watermelon cubes (pre-cut at the grocery store) with a bit of salt, of course..

I've been gathering together the ingredients for tonight’s meatloaf dinner. A new, to me, recipe that is a copycat of Cracker Barrel's. Never made this one before but it looks good. The heat wave is coming tomorrow so I'm looking forward to leftovers and sandwiches.

Well, if you and your spouse don't like it you could always let Maisie have it (in small increments) at least. i confess that I bought some for my older dog when she started being fussy and refused to eat her regular food. I mixed a bit of Spam with a it and it perked up her appetite for a time (she still requires my constant vigilance to keep her interested in anything) but I am very persistent, and so it goes. The heat is arriving in this neck of the woods starting tomorrow...ugh!.

I like my beers ice cold as well. In fact, I put mine, from a very cold fridge, into the freezer for 10+ minutes before drinking. (depending on whether it’s in a can or bottle.)

I confess to never having had Spam. Although I used to marvel at the vast stacks of the stuff in the drugstores during our trips to Hawaii. Growing up, my Mom, who was from Pennsylvania Dutch country loved scrapple; my Dad, however, would have nothing to do with it. I've never eaten that either.

I still make my iced tea the old-fashioned way. I think I gave away my sun tea container when I lived in Portland....never enough sun!

Cold Brew, I hope. I started making cold brew with Starbucks packs last summer and I'm totally hooked. I just add a tiny amount of French Vanilla syrup and then the cold milk. So good.

you mean, will the glass break? If so, yes, it is stone, the glass will break.

In my previous home we replaced the old countertops with Caesarstone, loved it! Current home, replaced the old tops with Granite, love it also. For me, the best thing about granite is that I can plop down a screaming hot pan on it with no worries. Besides, it's beautiful.

I really don't mind most any kind of soda, I love carbonation. However, I do not like Dr. Pepper which tastes like cough syrup. I also don't like diet tonic water.

I haven't tried this yet. Was thinking yesterday when I read about putting the berries through the food processor so that there are any big frozen bits. I think I'd have to do that with the air dried berries as well (after they're rehydrated?) As to how much to use, I guess we'd just have to eyeball the amount first and see how it works out. Maybe start with a quarter cup or so, don't know the weight.

Monday is usually the day that my friends and I all go to lunch together. Our favorite café caught fire in December and we were assured that it would be back in business in short order. However, my belief is that because the owners had done little to nothing in the way of fire prevention (no sprinkler system or even smoke detectors) that they took a big hit from the insurance company. They have decided not to re-open. I am so sad because this was our favorite spot. The food was very good, the service as well and it had a certain atmosphere that we really enjoyed. Now we meet up at a few different but similar places. Yesterday was another café in the same area with good food, friendly service and a fantastic salad bar. One friend and I had the Reuben, one had the cheeseburger special and one had the taco salad. All declared very good. Since I also had a big salad I brought home half of my Reuben which I'll enjoy today for lunch.

I can (almost) not remember the last time I bought an e-book...for me they're all audiobooks now. Love, love, love listening as today's fabulous narrators bring a whole new dimension to the stories. I did buy a softcover craft book recently but that was the first physical book I've bought in years.,

when I was younger I preferred milder cheeses...I used to say, the rubber-ier, the better. Now I've branched out some but can't say that I have tried many, if any, more exotic types. Probably couldn't find them here even if I wanted.

Some people just overdo lemon. ina Garten seems to add loads of lemon juice or zest to everything. I don't like that much lemon, too tart and overwhelming for my taste.

That Pub Cheese is good stuff! I'm partial to the cheddar-horseradish.

Yesterday my good friend and I took a day trip North to a lovely town that boasts a popular quilt shop for an hour or so of fabric shopping. It was a beautiful day and the first time I’ve had a real outing since my surgery nearly six weeks ago. Of course, the scenery is something to be seen to be believed! I've been semi confined to home (self-imposed) recovering, which took a lot longer than I had thought it would. We had a great time and since she drove I bought lunch. We stopped at a beautiful resort that has a very nice Western decor restaurant. We each had their prime rib dip sandwich and cole slaw along with a Corona for me, soda for her (non-drinker). No big fabric purchases, just a few small items.

I have a couple mandolins; one is an expensive one from about 20 years ago that is heavy and scary to use, the other is a plastic v- slicer that I like, in fact I’m using it this evening to make potatoes au gratin. I always use a no-cut glove with it but those things are no guarantee that you won't get hurt, I know that from experience. I got a bone bruise and a bad cut when using it to slice up a big rutabaga that required quite a bit of force to cut through.

Funny, I can't say that I'm particularly fond of peas by themselves but I always keep a couple packages in the freezer since I've several recipes that call for them and I'd never think of leaving them out. They do add a lot, especially color.

I love British slang. (or jargon, whichever)

Yes I used that recipe. The texture was good although it freezes really hard. I think I read somewhere that if you add alcohol to the recipe it helps keep it from being quite so hard. I will try that next time.

Cooks Illustrated testers' favorite were the Eden Organic in a jar - in first place, with Libby's canned in second.

Glad to see you posting as there was some concern about your being in the area of the recent earthquakes.

I don't think I’ve ever see milk-in-a-bag before. Here it’s only in cartons or plastic jugs.

I LOVE both ketchup and mayo (Best Foods, please). Ketchup on fries or hash browns, most any potatoes. And ketchup on pasties (of you don't have any gravy).