Sunday, February 01, 2015

What to do on a snowy day

Cleaning the kitchen seemed like a good idea. It is cleaner than it was first thing this morning, but a lot has happened in the meantime.

This, for instance.



The basic recipe for this is from a NYT article. As usual, however, I made a few changes, since I didn't have everything listed. Russet potatoes in place of Yukon Gold, onion rather than leek, dried thyme rather than sprigs, fontina rather than gruyere (swiss would have done, but I'm out of that, too) and garlic powder, because I didn't feel like chopping the fresh stuff.

One of my go-to recipes is also a form of au gratin potatoes. While the basic ingredients and technique in the two recipes is very similar, the results differ greatly in taste. The first tastes mostly of cheese and potatoes, with just a bit of sauce. The second, with the real cream, is much smoother and, well, creamier tasting. It's earned a permanent spot in the rotation.

The good news is leftovers for lunch for tomorrow, as well as enough potatoes for dinner both Tuesday and Wednesday. The Pioneer Woman makes a sandwich with a base of cube steak; the piece I had was about half a pound, giving me enough left of that for lunch tomorrow as well.

This frenzied bout of cooking came later this afternoon. That wasn't the first foray into the ingredient bin today. A veggie omelet over the last of the bag of diced potatoes, plus a side of bacon started off the day.

My poor fingers are wrinkled from washing pans.

Other than the cooking and accompanying dish washing, I've spent a good part of the day going through old quilt magazines. Standing about fifteen inches tall, the stack threatened to slide off the shelf every time I went to add another magazine. Armed with a scissors, post its and a folder, I go through each, pulling out patterns I might like to try, tip sheets and anything that may come in handy in the future. The rest goes in the recycle bag.

I'm not quite done, but since there seems to be nothing but some football game* on television. I'd rather get a bit extra shut eye.

The drift in the corner of the patio looks to be about three feet deep. It's hard to tell what is really on the sidewalk; the contractors came and cleared it around noon, just before the wind kicked up. Can't tell if it is still snowing. Tomorrow's commute will be interesting, as will be the state of the parking lot at work, if the wind keeps up as they say it will.

The big question, of course, is whether the groundhog will see his shadow or not tomorrow. Heck, I'm not sure he's even going to be able to get out of his burrow, given the snow.

*I kid, I kid. I even know who is playing, and sincerely hope the cheating-cheaters Patriots get their cheating-cheaters rear ends handed to them on a platter.



No comments: