Category Archives: Food and Drinks

Frost Warnings Again Tonight

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I cannot believe this is the last week of April and we are still having bitter cold nights. There is a frost warning again tonight – the third in this past week. this is getting frustrating! I have seedlings and bulbs that I want to get planted in my vegetable garden, but I cannot take the chance of them getting frostbit.

This year I am putting out two tomato plants of my favorite variety, “Big Boy.” I found them at Lowe’s after looking all over town for this particular variety. If I can find two plants that are “Better Boy” I will buy them, also. These two varieties always produce big, firm tomatoes that are perfect for slicing and layering on a summer sandwich. At the end of summer they make wonderful Fried Green Tomatoes, too.

I want to try a grape tomato plant, also. I think if I can count on plucking 5 or 6 ripe grape tomatoes every couple of days that I will be more inclined to have salads this summer. I will be buying more fresh greens and I love a couple of grape tomatoes scattered in the bowl.

I started a couple dozen green bean seeds that have sprouted and grown to several inches. They are just begging to be transplanted. But not yet – I think tonight is the last of this cold snap and it will be safe to move them outside tomorrow.

Summer Picnics

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One thing that really makes a summer picnic nice is a tray of deviled eggs as a side dish. I love to eat one or deviled eggs with my hamburger or hot dog, but I rarely make them. When I do make deviled eggs, I start with hard boiled eggs and then add just a dab of mayonnaise, pickle relish and salt to the yolks, stuff the yolks back into the white and then sprinkle some paprika over the tops.

How I Make Hard-Boiled Eggs
Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and add just enough water to cover the eggs. Over medium-high heat slowly bring the water to a simmer – not a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and cook the eggs at the barest simmer for 10 minutes.

To avoid the dark blue ring around the yolks, pour out the hot water into the sink and immediately run cold water over the eggs until completely cooled.

To peel, crack the shell several times on a hard surface and gently roll the egg between your palms to loosen shell. Peel off the shell by starting at the large end and discarding the shell into the trash or add the shell bits to your compost pile, but do not put shells down the garbage disposal. Rinse the peeled eggs under cold water or dip in water to remove bits of shell.

Craving PBJs

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For some reason I am craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today. I already ate lunch, so having a PBJ for dinner makes no sense. I wonder what brought that craving on?

My favorite PBJ is made with Reese’s brand peanut butter, Welch’s grape jelly and Wonder Bread white bread. If I don’t have any grape jelly, I am happy with Smucker’s strawberry jam. They are both good, but nobody makes grape jelly like Welch’s and that is always my favorite brand of grape jelly.

Have a Happy Easter

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easter-eggs

One of the advantages of being an adult over the holidays is that you can kick up the level of decorations and special touches just a notch. We don’t have any brown speckled eggs from the kids dipping their Easter eggs into every single color of dye instead of choosing just one color. We can make pretty things and, if they last, they can be handed down later as heirlooms.

Groceries are Going Up

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When I was first married, I could go grocery shopping for the two of us and buy a good variety of foods for an entire week and not spend more than twenty dollars for 4-5 big brown sacks of food.

Now that it is back to the two of us, I can go to the grocery store and buy 4-5 sacks of food, but they are the smaller plastic bags, not the big brown ones. And I spend over one hundred dollars.

However, last weekend we went grocery shopping together and I spent $140 dollars. I don’t recall buying anything unusual or extravagant, but it was forty dollars more than what I am used to spending for a week’s worth of groceries. I have a bad feeling that inflation is creeping up on us all.