There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.  Celia Thaxter

And we're going to need to be extra grateful this week, because snow is on the way.

January 8:

I finished this stupid book today. I'd never read Dean Koontz before. This was my first and last time. Too weird. But maybe the author was privy to information about government coverup which wasn't so widely known as it is today. The copyright date is 1981. And he cited how LBJ cheated at the ballot box to win his first elected position. Maybe he was trying to give us a heads up. And we didn't know about Hoover's spying on individuals through the FBI for years. Hmmmm.....

I splashed my way to Walmart this morning. Emergency! I need cat food. I'd have found something to eat for myself, but cats rule. There's definitely a problem here. My bill was $88.70. Cat food - $35.45; people food - $53.25. And my part included a rotisserie chicken which the cats like for treats, but since I had a chicken sandwich for lunch, I put it in my column; otherwise, it would have been cats - $41.91; me - $46.79.

Fried apples, where thriftiness clashes with dieting, as they're cooked in butter and brown sugar. I have to gather up all my will power so that I don't eat them all in one go. A good way to salvage apples about to shrivel up and die. I think I'll have some on oatmeal in the morning. With chopped pecans. And maybe some more brown sugar. And some cream. Oh, dear!

The spreadsheet of the Explorers is finished. 

I could spend a year studying these incredible guys AND the wife of Robert Peary who traveled to the Artic with him when she was eight months pregnant.

There's so much info on YouTube and Internet, I got carried away just compiling my spreadsheet. My goal was to study American History this year; starting with Christopher Columbus, of course. Then the question arose about whether he actually touched the land we know as the USA. That led to a question of what did all those explorers whose names we know actually do? I must put them on the back burner for now and move on. 

Is it possible that John Cabot might have been the first European to set foot on what we know as the USA?

January 9:

I've been listening to Jim Rohn's YouTube vlogs on the kitchen TV, and he has me all fired up.

I got busy and made Butternut Squash Comfort Soup just for the photo for the Soup Book.

Who says that you can't eat soup for breakfast with cinnamon toast?

I wonder how long Google will leave my Teas and T's blog online? I wonder if I should repost my recipes here, in case it disappears?

Then I made a new salad dressing recipe. I don't know where I got this recipe. I only tweaked it a little.

GREEN ONION SALAD DRESSING

3/4 cup real mayonnaise (not lite)

3/4 cup plain Green yogurt

1 Tbs oil

2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

1 cup buttermilk

4 green onions, sliced, including tops

1 clove garlic

Salt and Pepper 

Add all ingredients to blender. 

Pulse, then blend to pulverize the green onions. 

Refrigerate. Dressing will thicken.

 Keep refrigerated up to two weeks. 

Makes about 2-1/4 cups.

January 10:

I didn't do anything exciting today. I tried a new recipe which I like (too much).

CHOCOLATE SAUCE

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 Tbs butter 

Put all in a small saucepan over low heat. 

Stir until chips and butter are melted, leaving a smooth sauce.

I ate some over ice cream with the orange wafers I found on Kevin's vlog.

ORANGE WAFERS

(Kevin) 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 egg yolk

1 Tbs Grand Marnier

2 cups flour

 

Beat butter until creamy. 

Beat in sugar, then egg yolk, then liqueur. 

Gradually beat in flour. 

Cover bowl with plastic film and refrigerate 2-3 hours. 

Heat oven to 325°. 

Roll pieces of dough to size of walnut and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. 

Bake until starting to brown – 20-25 minutes. 

Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet before removing. 

Serve plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or drizzled with orange glaze. 

Dough can be frozen up to one month.

January 11:

Today was a computer and TV day. I cleaned up my desktop, and now I can find what I want. It was totally covered with icons, and now it looks like this. Much better.

I ate Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Mexicorn, Tossed Salad with Green Onion Dressing, and miracle Biscuit Rolls for lunch.

I need to make the rolls again with some tweaks. First of all, I think my self-rising flour is past its prime. I think if I rolled the dough in balls before putting it in the muffin tins I'd like it better. Sure is an easy recipe, however, so I'm not giving up on it. Self-rising flour, mayonnaise, and milk.

I'm so in love with YouTube. Today I watched some world history, the rest of the Ultimate Texas Road Trip, and the 10 Road Trips Not To Miss in 2024. Then I saw that Kevin has a new vlog: a beautiful walk through his snow-covered garden, and a good-looking salmon recipe. I don't think I'm ready for chickpea brownies though.

I worked on my Salad Schedule and I'm only 10 away from being finished, subject to testing, at which time I might switch. And I might rearrange the order, but at least I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I'd love to just jump in and make them all and have it finished, but think how much food would go to waste.

January 12:

I was just thinking. If the USA is named after Amerigo Vespucci, pronounced Am-a-ree'-go, shouldn't we be the United States of Am-mer-a'-cah? No? Well, fortunately his name is pronounced many ways, including our most-used A-mer-a-go.

I spent the day internet diving into history. I've jumped from Christopher Columbus to Explorers to Sumerians and Hittities. I have to settle down and decide my path. 

I discovered that Hillshire Farms Andouille Sausage is spicier than Johnsonville. And I assumed all along that it was made from beef, but it's made from pork. I don't care for green peppers and I don't really like using Minute Rice, but I love this recipe.

And why can't I make it in a 13" x 9" baking pan instead of in foil packets? I'll try it next time.

January 13:

I tweaked the biscuit rolls and now this is a keeper recipe. And these biscuits are much cheaper than frozen or canned biscuits and not as many preservatives.

BISCUIT ROLLS

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 Tbs baking powder

3 heaping Tbs mayonnaise

1 cup milk 

Heat oven to 375°. 

Grease a regular-size 12-muffin tin. 

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. 

In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise and milk. 

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk together. 

Drop dough into muffin tin with an ice cream scoop. 

Bake 8 minutes; remove and brush tops with melted butter. 

Bake 2 minutes more. 

Note: Bake on top rack – second slot.

One more salad finished; nine to go.

MY MOTHER’S BEAN SALAD 

1 15-oz can dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet pickles

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Celery leaves for garnish (optional) 

In a medium-sized saucepan, mix all ingredients except the celery leaves. 

Heat salad over medium heat until just warm. Don’t skip this step. I don’t know why it’s important, but it does make a difference. 

Pour into a salad bowl, cover, and chill. 

Garnish with chopped celery leaves, if desired.

My Temu order arrived. Thinking ahead. The pillow covers are zippered, and nice fabric.The pillow covers were $2.45 each, and the earrings cost only .79 cents.

I wonder if someone will think I stole some escaped prisoner's clothes and made pillow tops.

January 14:

The time is 12:49 p.m.; the temperature is 2F degrees; it's snowing and will continue all day; and outside already looks like this:

This winter weather has me so depressed, I had to eat French toast for breakfast.

I spent most of the day in Mesopotamia and Egypt. I continue to be amazed at what's available on the internet. If we'd had all this info plus computers when I was young, I might have liked world history. Now I'm wondering if I have enough years left to delve into all this wonderful world of learning to the point where I can say, "Okay. I know enough now. I can die happy."

I took another afghan out to my Sweetie Face to shore up his blanket wall in front of his heated house. He seems to be doing fine. He would like to be a house cat, but my two inside brat cats told him, "No!" Pepper even went into attack mode.

I ate leftover Jambalaya for lunch and got to wondering about the difference between Cajun and Creole food. More internet diving.

I knew the Cajuns were really Acadians - French people expelled from Canada when the English took charge and felt the French couldn't possibly be loyal to the crown. So their food should be wonderful.

The Creoles are people of combined races in New Orleans - African-Americans, French, Spanish, Native-Americans, but predominately French. 

Creoles - think city people, local fish and shellfish, tomato-based food, their gumbo would be more soup and Cajun gumbo would be more of a stew.

Cajuns - think country folk, spicier food, more pork and shellfish. In the beginning, they probably ate whatever they could find since they were just dumped in Louisiana, and some on the Carolinas coast along the way. They're more Layfayette than New Orleans like the Creoles.

Either way, they have great food in southern Louisiana.

And now it's time to call it a day and travel to Cape Cod and see what Gladys Taber is up to at Stillmeadow Farm.