And Now for Something Good

Today I received a statement in the mail from Nothing But Nets. Someone recently donated $250 in my name.

The letter was unclear about whether it was a cumulative amount from multiple donations during my birthday charity drive event or a single gift--but either way, it was incredibly generous!

Whoever you are, thank you. I'm humbled, and so very pleased.

A Watermelon Day

I'm feeling rather overwhelmed lately, and very, very cranky.

Dang if it doesn't feel like autumn most days. My parents still have their furnace on at night! Today seems to be warming up nicely--Mr.W might even get some pool time in this evening. Alas, I don't dare take a dip, myself, but I'll get to that in a minute.

Meathead is driving me bonkers. I let her out, and she happily stays outside as long as I'll leave her there. Pickle is usually the one who sounds the alarm that it's time to be let in--I want to make sure they have plenty of time to do their business, you know. I always tell myself, "Self, if you leave the meat outside she'll be good inside." Clearly that's wishful thinking on my part, because she continues to do her naughty deeds in the house. My life can not be all about cleaning up after a dog! And I feel bad scolding her for it, because somehow my dear old grandmother has trained her this way (to use papers--but still, ew). Does anyone have pet-retraining tips to offer? Other than taking her to the vet for a final visit? (Yes, I've considered it.)

But it's the fertility treatments that particularly have me on edge. I've been taking lots of meds that make me over-emotional about, well, silly things, and other meds that make me nauseated. The doc's office overcharged me by $100 and have yet to rectify the problem. And I had a procedure done last week that--well, we're waiting and hoping for a desirable outcome, but won't know until next week. And if all of that weren't enough, I've come down with a cold--lots of head & chest congestion and, because of the possibility of pregnancy, I can't take any meds for it (except Tylenol, which does nothing). So I sit & suffer, sniffle & snot, and cough & pee my pants. (Sorry, but I think we've known each other long enough to be honest, haven't we?)

With all of this going on, as I was tending to some laundry today my blood sugar suddenly started to drop. That doesn't normally happen to me. And there was this lovely watermelon in the kitchen just waiting to be cut into, and I felt it would offer a most delightful solution to my predicament.

I cut into that bad boy, and wouldn't you know half of it smashed right onto my kitchen floor? A few unseemly but no less appropriate words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. And I left that horrible mess right on the floor, too. I was just too mad to clean it up. Do you ever do that?

So I ate my watermelon, ignored the explosion on the floor, coughed & sniffled some more, and told Mr.W that, by God, we're eating out tonight.

Oh, the Horror!

It happened Saturday. My house was being fumigated, and I had packed up all foodstuffs.

Except my herb plant.

We returned into the house and as my eyes landed on my lush plant, I realized the horrible mistake I'd made. All of my beautiful herbs were poisoned.

I trimmed everything to dirt level and discarded them all. Do you think the dirt is ruined, too? Should the whole thing be trashed?

I'm really beating myself up over this one. When I'd finally had success in growing a plant--a mindless moment destroys it all.

And I was so looking forward to fried sage leaves this fall.

More Food Product Recalls - Possible Salmonella Contamination

I found this article by the Associated Press. I won't copy it verbatim; here are the effected products:

- Nonfat dry milk supplied by Plainview Milk Products Cooperative (many brand names) and related products using the dry milk powder.

- Anaheim peppers shipped to stores in New York, Ohio and Massachusetts.

Click over to the AP's article, complete with contact phone numbers.

Taking This Week Off--July 6-10, 2009

It was a hard workin' weekend. The cleanup project was a major success--removal of layers of carpet & linoleum and new flooring installed. I used muscles I didn't know I had--at least I think I must have, because stuff is sore in places that I didn't know could hurt. I guess this body isn't made for hard physical labor.

Mr.W left this morning for a business trip this week, and I have a ton of fertility appointments this week while he's gone... so I'm taking this week off from blogging. I won't be doing any fabulous cooking. In fact, I think I'll mostly be eating on-the-go. I'm actually still eating that lovely brisket I made last week. Frozen in portions and defrosted as needed, that stuff is the bomb. My favorite way to snarf it on-the-go is in the style of the Piggy Potato--only with beef, obviously. A baked potato with butter, cheese, chopped meat tossed in a tiny bit of bbq sauce for flavor, a dollop of sour cream and voila--lunch or dinner, fast and delish.

If this past weekend was a holiday for you, I hope it was a happy one. If not, well, I hope it was a happy weekend anyway.

See you next week.

Independence Day

This Saturday is Independence Day here in the United States--a celebration of our adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring our independence from England.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcolman/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Commemorated by parades, barbecues, picnics and--most of all--fireworks, it's an opportunity to gather with loved ones to enjoy a special holiday.

My favorite memory of a 4th of July was while we lived in Georgia. My husband's uncle and his family had a camp on Lake Allatoona, which is truly a gorgeous area. On that particular visit we enjoyed food and merriment, followed by an evening boat ride on the lake to watch fireworks from the water. It was a great day, followed by a beautiful fiery display in the sky.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cameraslayer/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I love fireworks. They make me feel like a little kid, giddy to see more, more, more! That's really my only requirement for every summer--we must see fireworks at least once over the course of the summer. I don't need a fancy vacation, a trip to the beach or any such things. Just fireworks.

This year we're not going to any parties, not hosting a bbq and not planning any get-together per se. You see, Mr.W and I will be helping some family members with a large housecleaning project this Saturday, which is sure to last all day long. It needs to be done, and hey, what's family for if not to help with the dirty jobs, eh? Fortunately it's scheduled to be a cool weekend.




I've never been much of a housekeeper, myself. Cleaning certainly isn't something I choose to do--I see it as a necessary evil. But sometimes it also feels rather therapeutic. There have been times when I've been angry or upset, or have a problem that needs to be sorted out--and really the way I worked through it was by getting into a cleaning project. It's a great time to think, to pray, and to work out aggression.

So I guess that'll be what I'm doing Saturday! Think of me as you enjoy whatever you're doing this weekend.

Which brings me to my next thought... what are you doing this 4th of July? A cookout? A picnic? A boatride at the beach? And what will you be eating there?

Instead of dazzling you with an array of cookout-themed recipes, today I just want to remind you that we're just in time for the very short fig season--and any cookout or picnic is the perfect time to enjoy one of those luscious little gems!





I bought two perfectly ripe specimens this past Wednesday and happily gobbled them right out-of-hand. But for company, I have two yummy fig recipes for you--a fig tart and simply sliced figs topped with mascarpone cheese, hazelnuts and a drizzle of agave nectar. So decadent and so refreshing.

As far as what we'll be eating, I need to come up with some easy-fix no-mess food to bring to our cleaning extravaganza so we can eat as necessary without leaving the job site or taking too much time off. I'm thinking something fruit and something one-bowl. It needs to be kept in a cooler outside. Do you have any suggestions?

Pineapple-Teriyaki Chicken

Dump Chicken.

It doesn't sound very appetizing, does it?

I found the term while reading a frugality blog that I frequent, and thought, "Uh, that can't be good." I find that many people, just trying to get the job done while not spending a fortune, often resort to meals that, well, I wouldn't choose. But out of curiosity I googled 'dump chicken recipes' and--I won't lie to you--I saw some horrid concoctions with various cream-of-something soups and other throw-together convenience items of which I am not a fan. But some of them looked very good (particularly here), and the concept is a good one. A pound and a half of chicken pieces? Good. A blend of ingredients that can be added to your freezer bag to make mealtime planning easier? Good. Slow cooker option? Good.

I decided to experiment on this for myself, and I have to admit that we've got a winner with this Pineapple-Teriyaki Chicken. Mr.W was tremendously pleased, too, declaring that the flavors are from his favorite Mongolian-BBQ-concoctions. This can be put together and frozen or tossed together just before baking. I'd even try it in the slow cooker--probably with skinless poultry in that case.

I'm sorry to say I don't have a good photo of this meal. I snatched the crisped skin right out of the oven before even thinking about grabbing the camera. Yeah, it was a piggy moment, and I should be embarassed to tell you--but I think we can be honest with each other by now.

The chicken browned to a lovely mahogany, as did the pineapple chunks. The reduced sweet-and-salty juices were fantastic, too.


Pineapple-Teriyaki Chicken
serves 2-4, depending on the kind of chicken pieces you use

1 16-ounce can pineapple chunks in juice
2/3 cup soy sauce
about 1/2 inch knob ginger root, grated (I grate directly from the frozen root and don't bother peeling)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 jalapeno, sliced (I used the seeds and all--added some nice heat, and the slices allowed you to get or avoid as much heat as you want)
about 10 grinds asian spice blend (this is a mixture of salt, sesame seeds, black pepper, fennel, coriander, garlic, onion, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and aniseed; alternates would be a sprinkle or two of jerk seasoning blend or a dash each of the individual ingredients)
1-1/2 pounds chicken pieces (mine was a half chicken; use whatever your family enjoys)

Combine all ingredients in a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; cover tightly with foil and bake at 350*F for 1-3/4 hours. Remove foil and baste chicken with juices. Return to oven for another 10-15 minutes to crisp the skin. Serve over steamed brown (or white) rice.