Just to catch up

Sometimes I post comments on forum related to beading, another love that allows me to express myself.  I dared to respond recently to someone's post about starting a blog by offering "my insights" and realized that I hadn't actually done any blogging in quite a while.  Here is it Christmas time again, and I never even had a chance to finish sharing the delights of last year's presents.  Time flies, and elder care can be fairly time consuming even when it doesn't seem that I am doing all that much.  For writing, it's the interruptions that take their toll.  Come to think of it, I haven't been able to do much beading either.  Interruptions, again.

All is quiet right now.  My Prince has arrived to spend a week with us and share our Christmas celebration.  Mama is resting--for now.  And I really ought to take this opportunity to catch up a little.  Who knows when there will be another chance to do this?

So.  The aforementioned Yoshi blade (ceramic knife) has actually been quite the boon this past year.  I have used it almost daily for cutting vegetables, meats (even semi-frozen), and tomatoes.  I have to say, tho, that the special tomato slicer (oddly serrated knife) that I picked up at a dollar store is even better for those tough old tomato hides.  Still, I love the ceramic blade so much that I have asked Santa to bring me another one (or more).

I never had a chance to blog about my favorite new toy from last year:  An immersion blender (Quisinart Smart Stick).  While I haven't had as many opportunities to use the stick blender as I have the ceramic knife, I have to say that it works a treat.  I feel all Top Chef-y when I use it, chortling like a mad woman as I turn those veggies into a puree.

This year, Christmas is a quite a bit tamer.  Even though I had already scaled things back in 2010, working hard to be "smarter" and more relaxed about it all, there was still too much activity for one person to do.  My Prince is indeed a prince, but he's more a watcher than a doer when it comes to Christmas.  Mama gave up doing a long time ago, but she is still the focus of all our celebrations.

This year I have pretty much called it quits on anything that involves anyone else besides Mama and My Prince.  We did have three friends over last week to sing carols and share a pot luck dinner, but this week has been (and will be, I hope) very quiet.  So far, Mama and I have driven around the neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights.  Tonight we had an old family favorite for dinner.  Saturday--if the turkey thaws out--I'll cook it.  We'll have a quiet Christmas Eve, a relaxed Christmas morning, and hope for some magic in the kitchen (I'm thinking elves here, not a sudden improvement in my cooking skills).  Whatever happens, we won't starve.

Tonight's treat was Corned Beef Stew.  This was something my late father cooked.  It was always a treat.  I have changed the recipe slightly to lower the carbs (a little).

• Corned beef (canned is "traditional" at our house) - the meatier the dish, the less need for carbs.  Tonight I only had one can of corned beef in the pantry, so we here heavier on the carbs.
• Potatoes - I used red potatoes to reduce the starch a little; Daddy used Irish potatoes.  Quantity depends on how far you need to stretch the soup and how many carbs your table-mates can handle.  
• Onions - I used white onions, halved and sliced.  Actually I load up the stew with onions; suit yourself.
• Salt and pepper - I favor coarse ground pepper.  I have to go lightly on both because of assorted dietary needs (and people-who-get-cranky-about-too-much-pepper), but the stew can handle a heavy hand on the pepper.

Throw it in a pot with some water (cover the vegetables, add more if you need to stretch the stew).  Cook the vegetables until tender.   Since I am lazy about chopping the potatoes (and never peel them anymore), just quartering the smaller ones and hacking up the bigger ones, I use a potato masher to smash the potatoes once they are cooked.  This releases a little starch into the broth, but that's pretty much in the nature of potatoes anyway, I reckon.

My father thickened the broth with a flour and water paste.  I stopped doing that long ago, wanting to cut down on carbs wherever I could.  I don't think he really liked my version of the stew without that extra dose of starch, so you might want to try it both ways.

Traditionally, we serve this with cornbread.  It's yummy to crumble your cornbread into the stew, soaking up most of the broth with the bread.  Since I have to worry more about carbs, I have started eating the stew without any bread at all.  It turns out that that broth is quite yummy, and I don't miss the cornbread at all.

Tomorrow, we'll have another Christmas favorite:  Tamales.  Those we will have to buy.  I think if you remove the corn husk tamales don't actually have any carbs.  Right?


Merry Christmas!  Happy Hannukah!  Safe and happy holidays!

Christmas Toys (2)

I also helped Santa Claus out by picking up some new cutting boards.  The old ones were getting pretty chewed up.  Even though they went through the dishwasher after each use, the effect of much chopping made me worry that I would just be creating a haven for bacteria if I continued to use them.  The new ones are basic plastic cutting boards sold two in a pack at Walmart (Mainstays brand).  I chose the "letter" size as most convenient for storage and use on limited counter space. 

Last year I picked up some thin plastic sheets sold as cutting mats and found them to be quite handy.  They, too, had seen better days, so I got new ones at Walmart (also Mainstays brand).  These were sold three in a pack and were almost twice the size of the hard cutting boards. 

I am happy with the firm ones, less so with the mats.  The problem with the mats is that they now seem so large.  It doesn't help that my Yoshi knife made a brand new mat look very like one of the old ones after only one use.  Two chicken breasts, one onion, some green onions, and a couple of roasted red pepper sections--and the cutting mat is badly scored.  How long before the Yoshi blade slices completely through it?  This could be a problem. 

Still, I think I need to get more of the firm boards, since I can go through my entire supply of cutting boards before I ever get the dishwasher full enough to run.  If I do, I with try to check the label for dimensions and such before I toss the wrapping away. 

As for the old boards, I am still looking for potential new uses.  They don't seem to be labeled with recycling codes, so I expect they will go into a landfill if we don't figure out some other way to use them.  One, I have already mentioned, now serves as a "coaster" for the little tray that holds my vinegars and jar opener on the newly cleared counter.  This will prevent any rust from developing or staining the tile counter.  My prince may need one or two.  Repurposing will become a bigger issue as time goes on and we feel the need to replace more cutting boards. 

Christmas Toys (1)

I had a good Christmas this year--if raking in a lot of toys counts for making it a good one.  Now that I have a little time to look at all the goodies, I have to admit that Santa Claus (and My Prince) treated me very well.

Toy #1 is a Yoshi Knife (yes, as-seen-on-TV).  I actually picked it up myself (Santa Claus is not a terrific shopper, so I have to help him out).  I have wanted a ceramic knife for some time, but the prices I have seen have been more than I feel comfortable spending on a knife.  The TV ad for the Yoshi made me want this more affordable version.  When I saw it advertised at Big Lots, I stopped by on my round of errands to pick one up and saved it for my Christmas stocking.

I didn't have time to look at the thing until this past Friday when I opened the package and tried it out with Little Sister.  Opening the package was an ordeal.  The stiff plastic container is impossible to open without very sharp kitchen scissors.  The jagged edges that crop up during the opening process are alarmingly sharp and quite dangerous in themselves.  It was all I could do to get the package open.  Once I managed to pry the thing open enough to work out the knife, I had to tear the paper label to do so.  Not a happy experience.

I read the directions before trying the knife.  Cleaning is simple.  Use, however, comes with a lot of caveats that I had not expected, e.g., use the knife only for slicing, not for chopping.  Most of the "rules" make sense, e.g., ceramics can be incredibly strong (and, we are hoping in this case, sharp), but they can be shattered with improper use.  After all, even diamonds are "cut" to shape.  Storage may be simple enough, but I am still nervous when re-sheathing the blade.  Using only wooden or plastic cutting boards is fine by me. 

The knife's first test was on an onion.  It was not quite like slicing butter,  but it was certainly easier than any previous onion-cutting experience I have had.  I could also get better control over the thickness of slices, making some of them quite thin.  (I need better control over my wrists before I get all of them to be that thin.)  I was pleased.

When LS came over, I showed her the knife and let her play with it a bit.  She was even better at making thin slices and reminded me of the tomato demonstration in the commercial.  I didn't get to that test until last night, when I actually needed to slice some tomatoes.  Sure enough, the Yoshi knife did a good job on them and let me get some nicely thin slices.  I was surprised, however, that even this sharp blade was not so razor sharp as to get through the skin without some extra pressure.  (Tomatoes are tough these days.)

Despite being less than overwhelmed by the knife, I am pleased enough to think I will continue to use it with some frequency.  I also will think about getting some other knife styles with ceramic blades. 

Last night I used the knife to make a side dish to go with turkey patties.  I sliced one onion, two tomatoes, and some roasted red peppers (from a jar).  These were sauteed in the pan used to cook the turkey, picking up flavors and the dab of oil left over from cooking the turkey.  I added a little salt while I was sweating the onions and then a little garlic/herb seasoning mix while the vegetables were cooking down.  I served the resulting vegetable mixture over the turkey patty for a delicious dinner.  Sadly, I am not enough of a cook to know what others would call what I made.  Happily, the Yoshi Blade worked a treat to make preparation easy and quick.  Even better, I have another low carb dish to avert a food coma.

Kitchen cleaning #1

One of my major issues in Mama's kitchen is that the kitchen is so small.  Worse, there is very little counter space.  I don't know what genius designed this house in the 1950s, well before the Women's Liberation Movement moved a lot of women out of the kitchen and into an office, but the guy was definitely well before his time.  This tiny kitchen would do well on a modest-sized boat.  It doesn't help that a fair chunk of counter space was lost when a den was added to the house my senior year in high school, lo, these many years ago.

To be fair, the kitchen as designed and even as remodeled fit Mama's needs.  Mama was working outside the home long before Gloria or Bella or even Betty would fight for her right to do so.  Teaching full time and coping with her handicap was more than enough for Mama to handle in those days.  She needed a small kitchen that reduced her steps.  She prepared comparatively simple Southern-style meals that suited my late father's appetite and her skillset.  The tiny kitchen was enough.  I am pretty sure she never missed the lost counter space when it was replaced with a large den just as I am pretty sure she never missed the loss of a big chunk of lower cabinets when a dishwasher was installed. 

I, on the other hand, want to chop things up and then mix them together and even cook several dishes at once.  There just isn't enough room to do that when food and equipment take up already limited counter space.

My first kitchen cleaning strategy has been to clear the counter tops so that I have more work room.  That's easier said than done, but here's what I've managed to do so far--for only half of the counter space.  (I said I was slow.)

• Removed the old knife holder and the blender.  Both stored on a top shelf in the kitchen.  This may need re-evaluation when/if I get to that shelf.
• Limited on-counter equipment to toaster, coffee maker, and coffee grinder.  The coffee maker is a small 4-cup item, so it and the grinder still take up less space than the old full sized coffee maker.  (Did I mention that these kitchen counters are tiny?)
• Replaced rusting metal tray with "silver-toned" tray.  Set tray on top of old plastic cutting board (to avoid rust).  Stored vinegars along with knife sharpener and battery powered jar opener on tray.
• Limited on-counter food storage to the aforementioned vinegars, cooking oil (too tall for shelves), and about 5 large containers of seasonings.  
• Re-purposed napkin holder used to hold cutting boards upright.  Replaced old plastic cutting boards with new ones.
• Left napkin holder, salt/pepper shakers used in cooking as before.

The end result is cleaner (after wiping and scrubbing) and more efficient (tools and condiments are handily available) and less cluttered (only items used frequently are given counter space).  I also have two, maybe three, times as much clear counter space as before. 

Sadly, there is more to be done, because I haven't found a home for all of the things I had to remove in order to get these results.  The work goes on . . .

Cleaning house

I think there is some superstition or tradition hanging out there that tells me that the house needs to be cleaned before the new year begins, or else I will have bad luck  Oh noes! 

I never can get the house cleaned before the new year.  Eeek!

I don't actually believe not having the house cleaned by New Year's Day will bring me actual bad luck, but I do manage to feel somewhat guilty and a bit of a failure when New Year's Day rolls around and I can still see dust bunnies frolicking in the corners.  Oh, heck, let's be honest:  They play soccer in the middle of the room.  You wouldn't believe all the racket they make when one of them scores.

Perhaps that's why January always brings the urge to do some spring cleaning (Spring itself never does that to me, so I have to wonder why this urge hits in January).  This January is no different.  I've been working (in my own slow pokey way) to get the Christmas decorations put away and . . . here's the food point at long last . . . to get the kitchen here at Mama's house somewhat better organized. 

I went through this process soon after I started staying with Mama full time.  Over time, I managed to get through most of the kitchen, clearing out some of the clutter and making room for better food supplies.  As time has passed, more clutter has accumulated and the food supply issue has changed from convenience and hurricane preparedness to better taste and nutrition.  

Accommodating this change will no doubt take some time.  Still, it needs to be done.  Aren't you glad to be sharing all the details of the really fun time I'll be having cleaning Mama's kitchen?  Thought so. 

Food therapy

Sorta. 

It's more like blogging therapy, I suppose.  Long story short:  I've been urged to write more to gain more control of my life/body/health.  Since food is at the center of much of what is happening (and going wrong) in my life/body/health, I may as well try to channel the activity in a semi-productive way and make an effort to keep this blog going.  (I say "effort," because it's not the blogging that takes energy.  Time and space to concentrate have been challenges for well over a year.  Caregiving has taken precedence.  Now I am reminded that taking care of myself needs to be higher on the list of things to do so that I can continue to be a caregiver.)  Let's see how it goes.

So, hi, subscribers (both of you!) and readers (undetermined).  Happy New Year!  How have you greeted the new year?  So far so good?