In my home this week, I haven't been trolling around looking for images to share of late for the headspace of these posts. I stopped using my Pinterest account, because no matter how I tried, I couldn't change the algorithms that past saved pins generated. I'd see the very same Pins over and over and over and over until I felt it was a waste of my time to be there. I deleted all my pins, in the hopes that something new and fresh would come up. No. I'm at a bit of a loss since I haven't purchased any vintage magazines in ages upon, I no longer take current magazines (repeat articles from one publication to another bored me to tears). So beyond searching through Bing or some other search engine, I'm currently short of inspiration on houses and decor from years past.
Work:
I've already begun a second project.
The kitchen island has been wobbling and is dinged and scratched. It desperately needs some care and attention, so I decided to go ahead and tackle it. I cleaned it out yesterday morning, before lunch and wiped the surfaces down. I was going to tighten the screws that hold the piece together, but John seems to think I need L brackets to brace it up. He removed the two towel bars on the ends which only served to bang the snot out of running little boys' heads.
I hope to get a coat of paint on it this week. I'm thinking navy blue would be pretty, but I need to buy paint. On the other hand, I have several cans of deep red spray paint on hand and that wouldn't look too bad either. I could use the same vivid aqua teal blue I painted the sink window and stove shelves with last year. Then there's the idea of a deep charcoal grey...Decisions! At any rate, I plan to get this done this week.
I've told John I can work around his plans for the week ahead provided I get the two things I want from the week: him to finish the bathroom up and a fun thing I'll mention in Personal and Leisure segment.
Any other tasks I accomplish this week will be strictly run of the mill.
Kitchen:
It would be nice to get the pantry inventory done and shopping list made...So yeah, that's still on the list of work. I really ought to sort out the freezer again, too. That's a constant thing these days since it's full and things tend to get thrown on top.
I'd like to restock the kitchen food cabinet and maybe move some things out of the wall hung cabinet into that lower food cupboard. I prefer NOT to make continuous runs between the pantry and the kitchen. I find that #1 seeing all that food in the back can lead to an abundance of usage and #2 that it is a waste of my time and energy. I can use both in far better ways.
In February I've done pretty well with food waste overall, but while clearing out the fridge I found two half apples that had been tossed into the basket with the whole fruits and was mighty disappointed that neither was up for salvaging.
I was making Polska Kielbasa and cabbage on Friday and the outers leaves of the cabbage were just lovely, crisp and green. I peeled them away and decided that I must use them this week to make an old favorite we haven't had in too long. That prompted me to start thinking about foods I'd like to eat this next week and about the list I made back in January for dishes I'd like to serve this month. I've done pretty well, serving all but five of the entrees I'd written down.
It's a very mixed week weather wise. Our usual seasonably cool temperatures until Wednesday and then we've three days of temperatures soaring into the 80F's and almost up to 90F, then back down into the seasonal temperatures once more. That makes meal planning a tad more difficult.
Russian Stuffed Cabbage Leaves, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans This recipe was one I think Lena shared years ago. Her recipe has some Middle Eastern influences with cinnamon and raisins included in the filling. It's absolutely delicious.
BBQ Chicken, Coleslaw, Mexican Cornbread
Oven Baked Roast Beef, Beefy Rice with Mushrooms and Onions, Green Salad
Tuna Pinwheels, Peas, Lettuce and Tomato Salad
Potato Soup, Roast Beef and Swiss Sandwiches One reason I often hold off on making potato soup is that I find it glue-y and heavy. I was watching a chef earlier last week who made the suggestion to cook the potatoes first, drain and then mash slightly. Make your soup liquid in a separate pot and add in the chunky mashed potatoes which both thickened the soup and made it far less starchy and heavy. I'm going to give it a try and will let you know if it works for me.
Beef Pot Pie, Pear Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salads, Biscuits
I don't do a whole lot of baking lately. I took out a pie from Thanksgiving the other day and we ate that as dessert a few days. There are two recipes I really enjoy making after birthday cakes (by the way, still have two of those in the freezer from my mini cake baking day earlier this month), and both are not heavily sweet.
One is an Orange Meringue Pie. It's practically unheard of these days, but magazines from the 40's and 50's mention it often. That was in the days when oranges were pretty much seasonal fruits for most of the country. I have a big bowl of navel oranges on the counter and I'm the only one eating them. I'll use some of those to make an orange meringue pie. We may not eat it until later, but it freezes as well as lemon meringue and is such a nice refreshing pie to have on hand.
The other dessert is also made with seasonal fruits and isn't heavily sweet either: Cranberry Upside-Down Cake has a nice acidity and is a lovely cake. We'll probably eat this one right away. It's nice with a dollop of whipped cream but that isn't necessary either. It's a wonderful afternoon treat with a cup of coffee.
Both recipes are high in Vitamin C and other good for you antioxidants. It doesn't count too hard in the 'cutting back on sugar' department but I've found it's never necessary to eat a full-sized serving if you are cutting down. Pies and single layer cakes both can be cut in much smaller slices and not only will serve as well but stretch further.
Personal and Leisure:
I've asked for a day out to a special place we both love. John's agreed. I have no idea what day we will go but I'm looking forward to it. It's one of those destinations that is near home but always feels like we've been away and refreshes us greatly. I'm really looking forward to this.
If John doesn't make hard and fast plans, I'd like to go see Mama one day this week while I'm free and everyone is unquarantined and fairly well.
Senior Supper is this week.
I want to take a couple of hours this week to go play in the craft supplies. I mentioned wanting to make bookmarks and cards suitable for men and boys, as well as aprons. I guess I might start any one of those and enjoy the creative process.
12 comments:
I agree on the potato soup and I really don't like it loaded up with cheese.
We have Mac n cheese, Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, pork chops and baked sweet potato, spaghetti and meatballs, baked tilapia and nachos on our menu for the week.
I'm with you and Lana on the gommy potato soup. The potato soup most restaurants serve is so loaded with cheese that the spoon almost stands up in it. I use a vegetable broth with a touch of half and half. Orange meringue pie sounds wonderful. While checking out Russian Cabbage Leaves on Pinterest, I found a soup with the same ingredients. Most of the recipes called for pork, which we don't eat. Also found several recipes for orange meringue pie, which looks delicious.
I follow a blogger who used navy blue in her kitchen. Very pretty.
We had pot roast for Sabbath lunch, had some again today and will have tacos tomorrow. It didn't seem like a big piece of meat but it will last at least another couple of meals.
You have two events to look forward to; the Senior Supper and the excursion for you and John. It's always nice to have something to anticipate. We went to Rural King this morning to find out when seed potatoes would be in. The lady had no idea but folks traditionally plant potatoes on Good Friday, which will be April 13. Went to Menard's and bought what is called snow fencing but we use it to make barriers to keep critters out. It is a fabric like mesh and can be cut to size and used again and again. Soon be time to play in the dirt.
I found several free downloadable coloring pages and printed them out. Haven't done any coloring with gel pens for a while but the pages are really pretty with Scriptures.
Lana, I've had Salisbury Steaks on my list of 'make this month' entrees for two months running and have yet to make them. That sounds so good to me! Might have to move that onto this week's menu.
Donna, this recipe called for cheese, but not loads upon loads of it. And no cream cheese either which many call for these days.
Navy would be pretty, but I'd need to go buy paint and I think I'm going to stick with what I have on hand, unless after trying it I find it is utterly repellant to me...
You can sub in any type of ground meat, beef or chicken or turkey or venison for pork. I do that all of the time. And often use smoked turkey for ham, etc.
Hi Terri,
I love potato soup! It’s a good thing we all have our likes and dislikes. When I made it for my family, I would just cover the potatoes with water along with bouillon. When the potatoes were just tender, I would add a can of evaporated milk plus some cheese. Now that I’m dairy-free, I do something similar, but use non-flavored, dairy-free creamer. We each add our own cheese.
Please keep writing. In my professional career, I had to write. I got used to edits and feedback and always appreciated at least one person looking over what I’d written. Still, one editor insisted on taking out every “that” and “the” in what I’d written. From that point on I wrote “lean;” however, other editors would review an article I’d written and put “that” and “the” in. Go figure!
It seems to me what really matters is your personal voice! As long as it rings true and creates an emotional link with the reader, you’re golden. Beauty is in the “eye of the reader.”
Take care … have a great week!
I was considering making Salisbury steak this week, too. We'll have a winter-temperatures week, so some comfort food feels necessary.
With the exception of warming cans of chicken noodle soup and making toast, I haven't done much cooking. Greg brought me some hot and sour soup from the Chinese restaurant that yielded a couple of meals. I have no idea what he ate for the past few days. Lol.
About potato soup - my mom made potato soup maybe once a winter. I never learned how she made it, and I've never been able to duplicate it. It was soupy, milk-based, with chunks of potato, and maybe onion? It was delicious.
We make a recipe for the Instant Pot, and it is thick like a chowder, with cheese and bacon. It, too, is delicious.
I saw the grandkids for the first time in a week today. Layla and Silas came over to bring my girl scout cookies from their neighbor girl, and stayed to play Wordle unlimited with me for a bit. I truly enjoyed that.
I wish you a wonderful and productive week ahead!
Casey, Katie makes hers with instant potatoes and it's always really good. I've used instant to thicken mine a bit.
John is one of those that no soup or gravy is ever thick enough to suit him. He prefers the 'eat it with a fork and the fork will stand alone' sort of soup person. I like a mix of half filler and half broth. Katie was my one to prefer broth, so as the three bears we ate it all up, each taking just what they wanted, lol.
Tammy so glad to see you feeling better.
Greg at least can cook. John would live off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fried eggs and toast and wait for me to be better to cook. He used to cook a little bit more but he's at a disadvantage in my fairly basic kitchen stock. No pre-made burger patties, no pre=made bread, etc.
I bet you want to take a picnic lunch and go to your mountain spot if you have a nice warm day. It would be nice if you got to go to your favorite place in FL for a couple days and just be Terri and John, not mom and dad or Grampa and Gramma. Sounds like you have earned it. Gramma D
I rarely comment (but often read) and just had to share this recipe for “Rustic Carrot Potato Soup.” I don’t use the butter and fancy herbs in the recipe, but it’s still amazing. Just chop and sauté some onions, then add to a pot with cut up carrots, potatoes, & broth or stock. Once veggies are soft, the secret is to blend about half the soup in a blend(in batches) and then add it back to the pot. It gives the soup a creamy texture without needing any butter, cream, etc., but by only blending half of the soup, there are still nice chunks for texture. Plus, the carrots give it a lovely orange tone. It’s quick, easy, delicious, and very healthy-just 3 veggies & some broth!
https://therosetable.com/2015/01/09/rustic-potato-carrot-soup/
Terri, I highly recommend this potato soup recipe; my daughter shared it with me recently (so easy, and even her kids loved it, lol), and we really enjoyed it as well.
https://thewholecook.com/30-minute-dairy-free-potato-soup/
I used regular milk when I made it, though it calls for any unsweetened non-dairy
milk. It had a wonderful taste and texture, and reheated nicely, too.
Grammy Dora, The plan was a picnic or lunch out and a visit to the mountain, but John has sciatica and is barely able to walk, so it's a no go on the day out...Boo! But I did inform him that when he's better we now have enough to plan a visit to the beach, so I'm hoping it's giving him incentive, lol.
Lake Livin', That carrot and potato mix sounds so good to me. I love carrots, John not so much but if I can blend the carrots in he will eat them just fine.
Sharon, I love the idea of coconut milk in this soup. I've saved both the recipe you shared and the one LL has shared, too.
Terri, I think your vintage pictures are just lovely! And your meal planning sounds yummy too. Like Sharon, I love adding carrots and sweet potatoes to my potato soup for some flavour, colour and variety. I have some cranberries in the cupboard that need using, so perhaps I'll look up the recipe for that cranberry upside down cake. We've been at home far more than usual and the kids are always looking for something to eat!
Have a lovely week!
Kirsty x
Kristal, I found most of the images online, though some of the initial ones I had when I started using them were scanned from my vintage magazines.
I believe I have that cranberry upside down cake on my blog or the recipe blog, Blue House Journal recipes
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