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Italian sausage day

Today is international Italian sausage day.

Well, it could be if someone decided to make it thus. So, I just did.

Today, I am making Italian sausage, from scratch. I found a pair of really good home cooks on YT yesterday, who are Italian, and just started on YT last year. Their channel is Cooking with the Coias, where Ivo, and his wife Laura Coias, both in their late 60’s, or early 70’s, show one how to cook different Italian dishes, step by step. Fortunately, for me, they made, wait for it, Italian sausage.

Almost 7 pounds of pork butt, a jar of red and orange bell peppers that I preserved a year ago in salt water, and the required spices. Yum

So, I have gathered up all of the spices, and, of course, the pork needed to make this deliciousness, and, am, currently, whilst I type this missive, defrosting the pork. When it is done defrosting, I will grind the pork through our amazing multitasking Kitchen Aid appliance, and make sausage.

It slices, it dices, it spews forth ground meats, grated cheeses, planed vegetables, handmade pastas, you name it; it does it all. (Of course, you have to have the requisite attachments, which, fortunately I do. They were, of course, birthday, and Christmas presents to myself. 😉

Recently, I have been so hungry for Italian sausage, or things made with it, that I searched the internet for recipes to make said sausage. We can buy it from Simply Sausages™ here, as you may remember, but it is too costly at the moment; especially since we have everything we need at hand.

So, while I make sausage, you stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones. I will show you how everything turned out. Next time.

Post script: a very happy 21st birthday to our first grandchild, Isaac, whom we love with our entire hearts.

It is done

Finally.

I cleaned the refrigerator. I could not stand opening the doors, and looking at the dirty shelves another minute. It took me almost two years to get to it, but only two hours to get it done. It was worth every minute. I did not even consider taking a before photo but I did take an after one. Here it is. (Some photos from in the process too.)

Please, understand that cleaning this refrigerator means that I have to pull the dang thing almost completely out of the wooden casement in which it resides. Let me show you.

If it is not pulled out, I cannot take any of the shelves, or drawers, out of it. However, once it is pulled out, as you can see, anything, and everything is possible.

In the above photo, you may be able to see that I was able to, finally, but with extreme trepidation, remove the glass that covers this drawer. It is standing upright in the sink. Can you see the light reflected on it?

So, everything is out of the dirty, disgusting fridge, and now, on the dirty, disgusting floor. (That cannot be good either. Oh well.)

Once again, everything is organized, finally. I cannot wait to need something from in here, and be able to go right to it.

I had taken one of the small white shelves off the left door almost a year ago, thinking, for some reason, that we did not need it. Duh! Those things that are now in said drawer were having to live on one of the glass shelves inside the fridge. Now, all of the small jars are grouped according to their specialty; catsup and mustards, pickles, tall bottles, Asian condiments and wines.

How long will it stay like this? One can only hope that it will last quite a long time. My mind does so much better when things are organized.

In the meantime, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones. I have to go wash the kitchen floor, now that the fridge is done. The floor took the brunt of this cleaning.

Bolillos

I made my first attempt at baking bolillos today, which turned out to be not as hoped. Onward, and upward.

They do not look bad, and, actually, look very much like the ones in the photo I was using as a comparison. Unfortunately, they are quite bagel-like in their external texture, and are a bit difficult to bite into. I, however, enjoy that texture, but others, (read everyone else except me) do not.

Again, I think this is because so much of the different breads eaten up North have different, and sometimes, tougher textures. Breads, and desserts here, are usually quite soft, and easy to chew. Tortillas are soft as well. Very few people eat tostadas even.

Anyway, the bolillos with which we have to compare are quite lovely here. They are easy to bite into, and pillowy soft inside. Damn. I have to find a recipe to replicate this phenomenon. It is not easy, I am here to tell you. Maybe just a bread recipe that I can shape into the bolillo shape. Hmmm. Worth trying.

The lighter ones in the foreground will be eaten as tortas, and the rest will become bread crumbs, and used later.

For now, most of these will become bread crumbs, as Liz, and I, both make milanesa fairly often. It is very similar to a chicken Parmesan, but we don not use a sauce, just bread the flattened protein. Yum.

While I figure out how to replicate the bolillos we buy in the store, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: I spoke too soon. Jesús, Liz, and Gaby just came down, and have eaten three of them. So, a batch will be going with them in the morning. They loved the flavor, and the texture. Score.

Kombucha

I have not made a batch of kombucha in months; four months, to be exact.

The end of October saw the last batch of kombucha that I made. I was sure that we were back in the buch drinking way of life, but, alas, once again, I was wrong.

Taken out of the fridge, waiting to be discarded.

Every time we open the fridge, we see all of these on the bottom shelf, in the back. Taunting us; calling to us; being ignored by us. Shame on us.

So, this week, I decided to open one of the buggers, and taste it. You may recall me saying that the last one I opened was ceremoniously spread all over the underside of the cabinets, on the windows to the laundry area, all over the hood of the exhaust fan; well, you get the idea; everywhere except in my glass. It had so much natural carbonation, for which I was, and am, extremely grateful, but, I would never have imagined. It was under such pressure, that the slightest hint of the bottle top being opened, even a millimeter, caused the flip top to burst open, and the geyser to erupt, just like the Grand Canyon’s Old Faithful.

That said, oh, and yes, I have since cleaned it all up, I had to come up with a way to open a bottle, with as much precaution as I could prepare. Here is what I decided to do.

I have put a metal mixing bowl, with moderately sloping sides, in the sink, put the bottle in the bowl, then, put another mixing bowl with steeper sides over the top. Holding on to the metal cage of the flip top with my left hand, I have to rest the top bowl on my arm, hold on to the bottle with my right hand, then gently, and ever-so-slowly start to pry off the flip top. I stop when I hear it start to fizz, and watch it as it runs down the side of the upper bowl, being contained in the bottle bowl, and not all over the kitchen.

Sorry. I got a bit carried away there, for a moment. I am quite recovered now.

I knew there had to be a way of opening them without spraying the contents all over the kitchen, and I finally figured it out. Now, we can enjoy the contents, and do not have to throw them out. However, I would really like to make another batch soon.

So now we can drink these little buggers instead of pouring them down the drain. The mixture in the dark bottles is blueberries with black raspberries, and, pineapple, only, in the clear. The pineapple has a much better flavor than the berries. The berries taste like dish soap. As they have so many health benefits, I will drink the dish soap and know that it is going to help improve my gut health. How much? I have no idea. And, I do not care. Anything is better than nothing.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones. I am back to my puzzle. 😉

Post script: I ended up dumping all but one, which was made completely of pineapple. The others, all of them, had too much ginger, and were awful. Onward to a new batch with just pineapple.

Fresh fruit

I know I spoke about this not very long ago; fresh fruit, here, is quite incredible.

Front row L-R: queso Oaxaca, plátanos, (bananas), jengibre, (ginger), serrano chiles, mangos ataúlfo, (yellow mañosos), pera, (pear), mandarinas, (mandarins). Back row L-R: zanahorias, (carrots), jitomates, (tomatoes), cilantro, melon.

In the fruit stand there are 2 kilos of fresh eggs. What more can you ask? Here is what I did with the fruit, not the veg, or the eggs. 😉

I peeled, and diced, two mangos, diced the pear, two different kinds of apples, two banana’s, and two mandarins, minus the seeds. It is delicious.

We do not eat fruit often, but when we do, it is so fresh, and sweet. It makes me wonder why we do not eat it more often.

We had a piece of the tres leches cake last night that I had left over, and put some cut up mango on it. Yummm. The cake is so mildly sweet, the mango pieces were exactly what it needed. As there is one more piece of the cake for us to share, we can put a scoop of the mixed fruit on top of it. Yeah!!!

Until we meet again, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Puzzles

Rompecabezas, in Spanish.

I have become quite addicted to doing puzzles on my laptop.

All of the pieces are going the correct way, thank God, though, I can change that to have them be shown all scattered around, as in real time. No thanks.

They are also separated as to the edges, and body of the puzzle pieces. Again, thank the Lord. I play them in the 440 pieces per puzzle, the largest quantity available on the app I use, which, usually takes me an hour and a half to upwards of two hours to finish a puzzle, depending on its complexity.

I really enjoy the puzzles that have the slight color variations, as in the puzzle I am working on currently.

The different shades of colors, melding into the next, the sublet gradation of one color into the next; I cannot get enough of them.

For me, it is so relaxing to start a new puzzle; I put in my earbuds, put on an Audible.com™ book, and can continue, as such for hours. And have. Like there is anything else to do during the day!?!

While a loaf, or two, of bread rises, I can listen, and do the puzzle. While a load of clothes is in the washer, or the dryer, I can listen, and do a puzzle. While waiting for the rice to cool, then cook, or the beans to soak, then cook, I can listen, and do a puzzle. It is almost as addictive as watching “Rachel cooks with love™, on YouTube.

The app I use is called Jigsaw HD. I do not remember how I got to the stage I am in, but the puzzles are quite beautiful. In this app, I can add photos I have taken, that are available on my laptop, and convert them into puzzles as well. I have several black and white photos of the land across the creek from our house in Iowa, taken just after the last snow we experienced, and they are breathtaking.

Whatever you do to take up the endless hours of confinement, I hope they are as pleasant as they can be. Make them so. Until then, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: this one took me almost 4 hours, off, and on. So much green.

Another update

It has been awhile since I showed you the pantry acquisitions.

I know; not very exciting, but we have not been out of the apartment in at least three weeks, so there has not been much to tell you.

Now, however, I am at whits end; looking for something interesting to write about. I have chosen to tell you about the pantry. Lucky you.

The top two shelves are holding our Mexican cookware, and the bottom two shelves contain our dried herbs, and spices. The middle row has some of the empty Bell jars, waiting to be filled with something fun.

Up close and personal with our dried chiles. We have acquired ten different chiles so far. They are as follows: (of *course* they are alphabetical), ancho chile, chile de árbol, cascabel, chile chilhuacle, New Mexico chile, (dried Hatch chiles), below are chile chipotle, guajillo, morita, pasilla, and puya.

I have tried to keep the type of chile and the Scoville Heat Units they each contain, on the side of each jar, though the liquid chalk does not stay on very long. This way, while I am learning to cook Mexican sauces, I will be able to choose the correct amount of heat, and flavors I want.

These are some whole spices we have been collecting; comino, whole stems of oregano, tomillo (thyme), anis, and dried verdolagas (purslane).

Here we have, in the back, mejorana, (marjoram), hojas de aguacate, (avocado leaves), epazote, and flor de Jamaica, (hibiscus flowers). In the front are anis estrella, (star anis), pimienta gorda, (whole allspice), and sal de la mesa, (table salt).

Beans, black tea, perejil, (parsley), romeritos, (rosemary).

That brings this exciting episode to a close. I am learning different combinations of the leaves, herbs, and spices, making more interesting foods than I have ever made before. Thankfully. I need more time to master any of them as there are only two of us to eat whatever I make.

Ivan has been very encouraging, too. He helps me by telling me if he thinks it needs another little bit of this, or that. Usually, however, I just need to add more salt. Fine by me. There is rarely anything left on his plate when we are finished eating; always a good sign.

All of this plus the homemade tortillas, or bread, beans, and Mexican rice; a complete meal, homemade, start to finish. I love being retired.

Until next we meet, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

A cold front

Brrrr.

Need I say more?

It has been any where from 8ºC/ 46ºF, in the mornings, to highs around 18ºC/64ºF, in the afternoons. My hands are so cold that I am finding it difficult to type. My shoulders are up around my ears, trying to keep my neck warm, (I wonder where I put those turtle neck shirts I bought a couple of years ago?) to no avail.

I know that is not really anything emember, there is no central heating or cooling here; either the windows are open, or closed. We only have the bedroom window open, at the moment, but it feels like I am in a refrigerator. Nude. (Yikes. That is an image you probably will not be able unsee. Hahaha.)

Having said that, yes, we are dressed in multiple layers of clothing, mostly in the form of pajama’s, as this is a weekend day as I type this. As we no longer have to go to Costco every two, or three weeks, (spending hundreds of dollars per visit), we do not have to get dressed on the weekends. Loving retirement.

I guess, now that Brandon’s baby blanket is finished, I need to start back on some of my other knitting projects; my Celtic shawl, dish clothes, fingerless mittens. I think the mitten may need to take priority.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Back in business

I am back to baking bread again, and I absolutely love it.

I enjoy baking so much more now that I am retired; I have all day to spend mixing, kneading, shaping, resting, and baking. In fact, I have been baking two loaves of bread, weekly, for the past two, or three weeks. I found a large two kilo bag of whole wheat flour on the top shelf of the pantry that I had forgotten all about. So, I have been making the best bread with 1/3 of the mixture as whole wheat and the rest bread flour. The loaves are soft, and tender, with the delicious, nutty flavor of the whole wheat.

I have never had any luck baking bread with whole wheat, but this has been turning out better than even using just the bread flour. Let me show you what I mean.

This was the first loaf, two weeks ago. I split the top, which is just dumb.

This is the first soft crust sourdough bread I made the other day; before I buttered the top. Yummy.

A denser crumb than normal, but it made good sandwiches.

I have learned, over time, that sourdough bread, with the wonderfully dark, crispy crust, and chewy crumb, is a Northern thing. Folks here do not care for the crispy crust, or all of the airy holes in their bread. The most common bread here is called Bimbo, and is very much a white Wonder Bread™ bread. Soft white bread without substance, but is easy to eat.

I have settled for the whole wheat version, and it is lovely. I just thought to take a photo of it before it was all gone. Here it is. The hole in the middle is from the temperature probe I use to check the temperature, making sure the bread has reached a final temp of 195º internally before calling it “done”.

It is so soft and nutty flavored. We really enjoy it.

All I can say is it is too bad that you cannot be here for me to make you a loaf too.

Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Rearranged

Again.

I was up half the night a few nights ago, and came up with a better arrangement for the kitchen counters. This is what I mean.

In the first photo, before I rearranged them, everything was opposite of where they are now. The oven was facing forward on the far left, and the coffee maker, the coffee grinder, and the paper towels were where the oven is now. That was great ‘cuz I use the oven most days, especially when I bake bread.

In the next photo, I cleaned most everything off of it so I could keep the Vitamix blender on the counter, as I have been using that more frequently of late, making sauces, etc.

In the top photo, you may be able to see that there is a lot more counter space than before. Now, I can roll out dough for tortillas, or pie crust without having to move half of the stuff around. I also put the electric kettle away, as I have two new stovetop kettles. Each kettle holds three liters of water; one kettle to wash dishes, the other to rinse.

Here, you can see all of the counter space plus the new kettles. I bought the red one first, but, as I kept using it, I kept burning my fingers where the red plastic handle meets the metal part. Duh! So, in order to save my little piggies, I bought the second one. It is by Pykal, a very popular brand in Australia, if I recall correctly, and it has a “stay cool” handle and a wider base. Both whistle, so when I am in the bedroom, on the computer, as I am now, I can be summarily summoned to the kitchen to do the dishes.

Speaking of the dishes, here is the set up I was telling you about. There are two red Rubbermaid™ heavy plastic bins in the sink, one to wash, the other to rinse. Then, with scalded hands, I set them in the drainer, on top of the washing machine. A lovely use for the machine, if I do say so myself.

The black thing hanging down on the left is the paddle for the wind chimes I have hanging there. The breeze, lately, has been playing beautiful melodies.

Well, that is about all I have to tell you for today. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.

Post script: I read on FB yesterday that Ivan’s aunt Gloria passed away this past week. Yesterday would have been her 95th birthday.