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Blah Humbug

Procrastination strikes again

It's so easy to waste time scrolling through all the apps on my phone, instead of what I should be doing. I know I need to get a column written, typed up (iPad usage), proofread, and sent in. But figuring out what to write about is daunting. And I get to do this every week!

It's especially hard to come up with topics during these non-gardening months of the year. There are so many more of those than actual gardening months. Yes, I do have many (too many) houseplants, but the weekly watering doesn't offer the thrills that working outside in the sunshine, fresh air, and warmth does. There is another amaryllis blooming right now, but it just isn't the same.

There hasn't been much done lately in the way of cooking with new recipes, either. I did make a deep dish pizza yesterday, using my crazy bread recipe (shared in the distant past) for the crust. It always turns out great. Sometimes I'll actually make breadsticks as that's what the recipe is for. Once in a while, when used as pizza crust, I'll slather the edges with melted butter mixed with garlic salt and crumbled, dried parsley for a pop of color and for the breadstick flavor.

Anyway, I topped the crust with light coating of canned pizza sauce, then pepperoni slices. A pound of hamburger was browned and seasoned with sausage seasoning, then drained and crumbled atop the pepperoni. We both like our pizza to be heavy on the meat. Both (pre-shredded) parmesan and shredded mozzarella were spread atop the meat. Twenty minutes at 400° made it just right.

The other food I was excited about this week was oven-roasted cauliflower. I chopped a full head of cauliflower into bite-sized chunks, and added the rest of my baby carrots (well-scrubbed, not peeled) to the bowl. A few onions, both red and white (also from my garden - I grew a great onion crop this year) were peeled and quartered, and added to that bowl. The bowlful was generously drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, then liberally sprinkled with a citrus/herb seasoning mix I'd recently purchased but hadn't yet tried. All of that was spread out into a single layer on a foil-lined jelly roll pan, then put into a 400° oven for 25 minutes. I did stir the veggies halfway through the roasting time.

I'd also cut a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1/3" slices. Slicing meats works much easier when the meat is still partially frozen, or well-chilled. The chicken marinated in a bottled teriyaki sauce for several hours. While the cauliflower roasted, I stir-fried the chicken in a mix of EVOO and butter. (Dennis still isn't into cruciferous veggies, so he had a microwaved baked potato.)

I've just cut up and enjoyed my last pomegranate of this year. It was the best one, in my opinion, having lots of pips that were very plump and juicy. My hands were stained red by the time I finished separating those pips from the peel and other innards. Perhaps I just think it was the best because I expect it to be the last one I'll enjoy before next fall.

We'd purchased apples and pears through the Opheim FFA. It's one of their main fundraisers ever year, and we try to always support them. Those were delivered very early this month. I'd left both boxes, with the fruit covered, in a cool back room. I'd bring a few pears at a time into the warm kitchen to ripen. These last couple pears have been extremely sweet. The apples are now all in the fridge, where they'll keep much longer. We did have an apple crisp, earlier this month. That recipe had also been shared in the past.

Merry Christmas from our home to you. We hope everyone remains healthy. We've endured a most crazy year, which needs to be done. Do your best to enjoy the coming holidays.

 

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