Biscuit Day #549

An exceptionally good batch of biscuits today, but then again I say that every Sunday. Cheddar, a slight swipe of butter, bacon, and a smear of cranberry sauce. We’re gonna have to buy more cranberries. And I know, I know, you’re thinking, ‘bacon AND a swipe of butter?’ I can’t explain but it makes a huge difference.

My beloved friend, Ann, who is an absolute master of cooking and entertaining (and maker of the ultimate brownies), texted me the other day after a party at their house the night before and said, “parties feel like a lot more work now, don’t they?!” Man, I was grateful to hear that. Of course Ann is better at all this than I am but still, it IS harder than it used to be. My food isn’t as good (Ann’s is though) and I think sometimes it’s just not having the energy (or maybe the anxiety) to make those last minute checks that lead to a dash more salt or just the right browning. Now I just reach a point and say, “I’m DONE,” and let whatever will be, just be.

I remember the first time I had a party after Leo was born. I thought to myself that I would just simply cook during his nap and it would all be fine. It was not. I mean of course it was fine, nobody cared but me, but I remember looking at the blanched asparagus that usually stood up proudly in a EAPG spooner with a curry-lime dip on the side and it was sort of limply hanging over the side of the spooner. Whenever I think that I’m just not on top of things I just picture that limp asparagus.

Is it just aging, or is it some kind of mental fatigue?

Speaking of aging, I looked in the mirror the other day and realized I have menopause hair. Now, I know lots of women have thick wavy or curly hair after menopause but there’s also my contingent that end up with thin, limp hair. I’ve always had straight hair but never stick straight hair. In my late 30’s when I started having babies my hair got thicker and wavier. I had a damned good head of hair for a time. Now, my path to menopause was rather circuitous to say the least, but it wasn’t really until after my hysterectomy that my hair just gave up the fight. If my hair gave parties it would be saying, “the hell with it, just put it on the damn table.” Oh well. God knows Hattie’s fur has gone to hell in her old age so at least I have company.

Now that Ernie has become the biscuit master he is adding to his repertoire. He has fine-tuned his quesadilla. It’s not particularly authentic to anybody or anything except to how I like it (much like my mythical cover band, the Cynthias, which will do all songs I like). Corn tortillas folded over, just a little cheddar cheese, some arugula or other greens and done in a cast iron skillet, no oil. Oh, and lots of crispy melted cheese edges.

Our dinners have become much simpler of late and I was happy to add another to our arsenal. It’s a Mark Bittman recipe. It’s somewhat ironic that I tend not to love Mark Bittman recipes because he writes them just as I would. A lot of, “use this or that,” like all my recipes. You think I’d LIKE that. Shrug.

For some unknown reason I’ve been liking ground beef of late. Yes, just at the time we are trying to eat less meat. Normally we rarely buy ground beef except for tourtière and occasionally for a grilled burger in the summer. Maybe because I was hooked on that eggroll in a bowl recipe for awhile. Of course that’s usually ground pork. Damned if I know. Anyway, we had some ground beef we needed to use so I was poking around online and found Crispy Chickpeas with Ground Beef.

We ended up using garam masala, red pepper flakes, and some ancho chili powder for sseasoning. We added a big can of diced tomatoes and served it with a dollop of yoghurt on top. It was delightful. As we were eating we realized we forgot to add the green vegetables we’d meant to add. Eh. Next time I might try baking the chickpeas a bit ahead to make them crispier

Now a few more random Sunday notes.

The problem with cooking from your pantry is that your pantry gets bare.

Lovely visit from Teri. Uncle Mistletoe approved

Ernie worked on adding Christmas songs to the jukebox.

and relaxed.

Onward. Have a good Sunday, folks. And thanks to all of you that

have subscribed. ❤️