Anything but (coronavirus) ..what are you reading, have you tried a new recipe....

[Guest]

I've been reading the Cosy Corgi mysteries, which are on Kindle Unlimited. I'm making a big pot of Mexican-seasoned Beans and Rice. I'm hoping it will be more than one meal. 

[Pippen]

46 minutes ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

 

Oh my those look delicious.  We randomly have shallots, so I might have to try that.

That cake looks fantastic.  My birthday is coming up and my resident bakers want to know what I am asking for.  Maybe I will order some berries on our next grocery order and ask for that!

I've had some shallots with really long shelf life lately, so I picked up a bunch of them.

The cake really is small, so if I were going to make for more than just a few people, I'd probably make several. It's a very nice cake, though, and it made me happy baking it. 

[KrissiK]

1 hour ago, Annie G said:

Reading Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile, which is about Churchill during WW2. 
 

What do you think of that book?? I read his book “In the Garden of Beasts” which was about William Dodds, America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany. It was an amazing book. The book I’m reading now, “Chanel’s Riviera” (about the French Riviera in the 1930’s) has Churchill as a regular in the social scene in the south of France at that time. I’ve thought about picking up the Larson book about Churchill, too,

[Tiberia]

I'm re-learning to play the piano.

I've also been baking a lot: bread, bagels, tortillas. First batch of bagels didn't rise, but I've had success after that. It's kinda fun when I have the time. I have the time now😀

We pulled out all of our board games that we've accumulated over 20 years, and we're playing a different game every day. We have about 40 games. If we like the game, we'll keep it. If we don't like it, or have outgrown it, we'll donate to other families during the isolation period.

I've been exercising and weightlifting. And eating.

We do a family movie night once a week. Just introduced dd16 to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

Thanks for all the great ideas. Our weather is about to get nice, so I might start to garden. I've never been interested before.

[May]

DH and I are making a table with some barn wood he brought back from MO. We are hoping to finish it this week if we can find the stain we want. The bottom will be an old Singer sewing machine. After that, I’ll start in earnest, the staining of my kitchen table. I’m wanting to get rid of the golden oak stain and stain it a warmer brown. 

[Denise Still in Florida]

Today's dinner was Lamb shoulder chops. I have never cooked lamb before but I had these chops in the freezer and decided to try something new. 

Browned in a pan with garlic and onion (3 minutes each side), and then poached with the liquid from a can of black olives for two hours. Added red wine and sliced mushrooms at the end. Served with mashed potatoes and creamed collard beans. Yum. So good, my family ate every bite. 

 

[mommyoffive]

I love this thread.  I am so sick of talking and stressing about the C.   I started prepping really early and I got sick of doing that too. 

I am so excited to get our chicks this week.   I am also spending a lot of time looking at dogs.  We have one.   

It is funny some days my kids miss their activities and some days they are so much happier being at home so much more.  I know it would be so different if we didn't have a 2 plus hour commute to their activity.  But it was nice to get forced out of that for a little bit.

[Annie G]

42 minutes ago, KrissiK said:

What do you think of that book?? I read his book “In the Garden of Beasts” which was about William Dodds, America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany. It was an amazing book. The book I’m reading now, “Chanel’s Riviera” (about the French Riviera in the 1930’s) has Churchill as a regular in the social scene in the south of France at that time. I’ve thought about picking up the Larson book about Churchill, too,

I’ve loved all of his books-  In the Garden of Beasts was so good!  I’m enjoying the latest, and learning a lot.   I added Chanel’s Riviera to my list- thanks for the recommendation!

[Ottakee]

I am trying to get in as much outdoor time as I can.  My goal for this year (set back Jan 1st) was to visit all 70 parks in our township/city/village area.  My daughter and I did 3 of them today.  We biked to two different ones and then this evening drove to one we had never been to before.  It was a small nature reserve that was completely empty.

 

[Familia]

@Kareni below is the recipe I follow.  It is from Baking Illustrated by the America’s Test Kitchen folks. They’re all about helping you master the technique, so the directions are even more vital than the ingredients.  The articles that precede each recipe are what finally taught me how to get great results in baking every time.

Notes:

• I made the dough right after dinner, as it needs to sit overnight.  The morning steps are then so easy! 
•  this recipe calls for a stand mixer because it is such a heavy dough (crank head best).  With determined string wrists, it should work fine by hand. o
• I used sugar in place of malt syrup and regular AP flour, not high gluten.
• I do think the malt syrup would add good flavor and the high gluten flour would yield even more chewy bagels - next time I intend to add gluten to the flour.

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Familia

[ScoutTN]

On 4/4/2020 at 8:15 PM, fairfarmhand said:

This is my daughters birthday cake. She turned 15 today. It’s a Neapolitan cake, with a chocolate strawberry and vanilla layer. Chocolate filling inside. 

Fabulous!!!!

[ScoutTN]

I have been birdwatching in my backyard, esp. in the early morning. Put up two new houses, one for bluebirds and the other for wrens or chickadees. Our old bluebird house is occupied. I've seen a crow attack a robin's nest, bluebirds feeding their chicks, a mockingbird catch and eat a wasp, mourning doves building their nest, and robins mating. This week I hope to get our hummingbird feeder up. 

Gardening! Planting flowers and herbs. And maybe some tomatoes. 

I am taking Angelina Stanford's class for teachers and we are finishing up the year with Jayber Crow. I liked it the first time I read it, but an really loving it this time around.

Also reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I am making good progress on the Literary Life's 20 for 2020 list! Setting aside good time to read daily.

[Junie]

2 hours ago, kdsuomi said:

I've been reading a lot. I've been on a WWII kick and also just finished Argo. Now I'm reading The Yellow Wind and a book about Magellan. 

Did you enjoy Argo?  I have it checked out of the library right now.  It's late, but we have no late fees at the moment so I'm considering keeping it and reading it this week.

[Tree Frog]

Dd and I made a hummingbird cake last night. I put together all the dry ingredients while she did the wet ingredients. It didn't rise much while baking, which surprised us because the recipe makes 3 layers and according to the notes, a 9 X 13 inch pan isn't big enough for it all. Though it tasted ok, it came out very rubbery. Turns out I forgot the baking soda. Oops! 😂😂

Since dd really wanted something sweet and we had all the frosting from the other cake, we made a crazy chocolate cake. Yum!

Edited April 8, 2020 by wilrunner
removed monster sized video!

[Carol in Cal.]

I taught my husband how to make bread last week.  It came out pretty good.  I had not really realized that he had never done it before.

I also cooked Peruvian mayacoba beans for the first time, and wow, they are so good!  Way creamier and milder than pintos.  I made some of them into refritos, and was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out considering that I was doing the recipe entirely from memory.  I also made homemade maseca tortillas for the first time in years.  We had a feast--street tacos, raw veggies, and Margaritas.  I've had the Costco Margarita mix moldering in the larder for about 4 years, and we finally used some.  It's good!  

I had the maycobas available because I have a cousin who gives us Rancho Gordo fancy dried beans every year for Christmas.  And I put them aside and don't use them because I usually am not around enough to fuss with them, and I hate to smell them cooking all day and then have to eat them.  But I have a better stove fan where I'm sheltering in place, and decided I had nothing to lose in trying this.  Plus I have a slow cooker there that was my fallback if the smell bugged me anyway.  But it didn't.  🙂

Edited April 6, 2020 by Carol in Cal.

[Pippen]

I'm making this pork tenderloin right now.  Bummer I don't have any spinach.

https://callhimyeschef.com/2014/08/08/pork-its-whats-for-supper-pork-tenderloin-salad/

 

[Moonhawk]

5 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

I have been birdwatching in my backyard, esp. in the early morning. Put up two new houses, one for bluebirds and the other for wrens or chickadees. Our old bluebird house is occupied. I've seen a crow attack a robin's nest, bluebirds feeding their chicks, a mockingbird catch and eat a wasp, mourning doves building their nest, and robins mating. This week I hope to get our hummingbird feeder up. 

 

I know *nothing* about bird houses and until you said "our old bluebird house is occupied" I didn't realize birds would actually LIVE in a bird house....

So... do you have a sign above saying "bluebirds" or "wrens and/or chickadees, please respect" ? I can imagine a cardinal, twig-in-beak, sadly reading the sign....

[ScoutTN]

2 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

 

I know *nothing* about bird houses and until you said "our old bluebird house is occupied" I didn't realize birds would actually LIVE in a bird house....

So... do you have a sign above saying "bluebirds" or "wrens and/or chickadees, please respect" ? I can imagine a cardinal, twig-in-beak, sadly reading the sign....

Some birds are cavity nesters, some are not. I don't think a cardinal would nest in a birdhouse.  But they are nesting in my Carolina Jasmine! I heard one right behind me and over my head this morning when I was enjoying my breakfast outside. Birdee, birdee, birdee! We have mourning doves up there too. 

The houses have different sized holes. Bluebird houses have a small entry hole, but the wren/chickadee one is even smaller. Also, they prefer different locations. My bluebird houses are on fenceposts, looking out into my yard. The wren house is among leafy branches, as they prefer a more concealed spot. Barn swallows prefer eaves or rafters. We almost always have robins nest on a downspout.

I'll try to get some pics this week and post back!

[Kareni]

8 hours ago, Familia said:

@Kareni below is the recipe I follow.  It is from Baking Illustrated by the America’s Test Kitchen folks.

Thanks so much for sharing the recipe, Familia!

I hope all is well with you and yours.

Regards,

Kareni

[Pippen]

I can't go back to sleep so I'm starting on baking hot cross buns. It's one of my favorite baking tasks of the year. 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Pippen

[ScoutTN]

Making cut out cookies with kids today. We have cutters in these shapes: egg, flower(2) , cross, chick, bunny. My grandmother's recipe is so good. No leavening. Cream cheese in the the cookie. Buttercream icing. About a month ago I picked up some fun spring/Easter sprinkles and such. 

Not a new activity or recipe, but fun to do. (Even if I can't eat them. Diabetes stinks!) We'll get a later start than I'd hoped bc dh didn't get the butter out at 6:30 when he got up, but time is something we have plenty of right now!

Also boiling eggs today for kids to dye tomorrow. 

[alisoncooks]

I can't seem to find anything I want to read, so I've been bingeing The Durrell's in Corfu. 

I've also discovered Pahla B. on YouTube, and I am enjoying her workouts for a change of pace. They're very gentle and encouraging. 

[AngelaGT]

I have been having a great time experimenting and creating in my kitchen with my own versions of keto and dairy free recipes. 

So far, most of them have turned out delicious.  Just put keto zucchini bread in the oven and was able to figure out how to use coconut cream w/ lemon juice instead of sour cream.  New for me:)

Reading lots of classic mystery novels and doing tons of yoga.

 

[gstharr]

I've been playing with this recipe for homemade Katz Pastrami.  I have not tired katz, but I have had  Langer's and Canter's.  Takes about 30 minutes of total  labor spread over 4 days.  I start with the packaged corned beef, and use the oven cooking  method.  I brushed  it with liquid smoke before cooking. Must smoke or use liquid smoke for true authentic flavor.  If you have a good countertop oven, you might want to bake outside.  Your whole house will smell like a Jewish deli for a couple of days.     https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/beef-and-bison-recipes/home-made-pastrami-thats-close-katzs-recipe.  Also, for younger eaters, and those whose can't take spicy,  cut away some of the bark when serving. The spiciness is concentrated in the herb rub.  A 3 pound piece of corned beef will turn in 4-6  thick sandwiches for less than the price of pastrami combo.

[PrincessMommy]

I've discovered Mary Berry's cooking show on Youtube.  First, it's just beautiful to look at, but her reassuring demeanor is very appealing right now.   I'm also enjoying "The Middle Sized Garden" youtube channel.  Even though I have a large garden there are lots of ideas.  And HortTube has been a weekly fav even before the quarantine started. 

I'm listening to a book about Queen Isabella wife of Edward II.  I just started it though.  

[gardenmom5]

mostly working on Spanish.  doing some gardening.  I did go buy lily bulbs - 36 of them.  so I've started planting them.  bought some violas to put in the pots in front of my garage (currently have small daphne shrubs - so this gives them some color after the blossoms have faded.  - they're winter blooming. some wonderful.)

[mommyoffive]

I really loved this thread, can we get back to it?   Any little thing you have going on or doing please talk about.  

[TrixieB]

One of my kids and I are re-potting neglected houseplants.  Meaning, pretty much all of our houseplants!  The ones we have re-potted look a lot happier. 

[Scarlett]

I am going to make my dog homemade treats.  I am more excited about that than one would think.  Lol

Also  focusing hard on the four things I promised myself I would do this year.  1)taking my vitamins and supplements 2)eating a high fiber diet which for me is easier to do with mainly breakfast 2) a Bible reading schedule to finish in one year 4) walking our new pup for both of us to exercise.  

[gardenmom5]

Gardening . .

I have since cleared out one clump of irises (indian chief - dates to 1920s) in the same bed as a spreading rugosa rose.  the rugosa was winning the war . . .  I gave the irises to my dd to plant at her house.   I had also planted a very small 4" pot of acanthus there back in the 1990's . . . . . oh my . . . It had grown into a very large clump, of many many many plants and would always look very sad come august because it didn't have enough water.  both acanthus and rugosas don't need much water . . . .  I had so. many. plants . . . . gave some to the neighbor (probably more than she'll ever want), gave some to my daughter, kept some (we'll see if I actually plant them.).  rumor has it they'll  sprout from roots - so I figure I'll be ripping them out for quiet awhile.  I swear my rugosas be like " wow, look at all the space we've got, and all the water we've got - we don't have to share anymore!  

I do want to get some candytuft (iberis sempervirins) for where I ripped out the acanthus and Irises.  2 or 3 should be plenty.  I have some sporadically at the VERY FRONT of the beds where they can spill over the rocks - and there's a hole in the line.   candy tuft and roses tend to get along.

as for the iris I shipped off to my dd.   back in the mid 80s, I found one (maybe two?) in a vacant lot across the street from me.  So, being broke - I dug it up and brought it home.  Man is it prolific and very vigorous. I've broken up clumps and replanted multiple times over the years.    I still have another two oversized clumps of it that need to be divided.  (despite having given two oversized clumps worth to her.)For me, the color has never been "quite right".  I wanted the ones my mom had when I was growing up - except a subsequent homeowner ripped them out when they remodeled the house.  So, I had to guess.  My first guess was wrong - and those clumps need to be divided.    Pretty sure the right ones are Alcazar  - lavender/purple compared to mauve/burgundy.   I went into some Old Iris sites to try and figure out what they were - and these were the ones I'm constantly seeing from people who are thinning their "grandmother's" Iris beds that looked the closest.  

[Heather in MD]

Puzzles.  Dd and I usually do two or three 1,000 piece Ravensburger puzzles each year.  We have already completed three of them in the last month and a half.

So we decided to up our game and I ordered this 3,000 piece puzzle from Barnes and Noble.  I think it will take up most of the space on the dining room table!

[Tiberia]

Yellowstone National Park has made it possible to get a Junior Ranger patch online. It’s mostly for kids, so I shared the link with my grandkids. Then I read that a 104 year old woman got her patch, and adults can be junior rangers, too. So I’m working on that myself!

 

[Kareni]

For the readers here. 

One free Murderbot book per day starting today and continuing.

Regards,

 Kareni

The Tor.com Ebook Club is Offering...

ALL OF MARTHA WELLS’ MURDERBOT BOOKS!

Leading up to the May 5th release of NETWORK EFFECT, the first full-length novel featuring everyone’s favorite Murderbot!

“I love Murderbot!”—Ann Leckie
 

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPIES

 

---

 

One Book-Per-Day Will Be Available:

Monday, April 20: All Systems Red (Book 1)(Expires 6 AM April 21)
Tuesday, April 21: Artificial Condition (Book 2)(Expires 6 AM April 22)
Wednesday, April 22: Rogue Protocol (Book 3)(Expires 6 AM April 23)
Thursday, April 23: Exit Strategy (Book 4)(Expires 6 AM April 24)

[meena]

I made whole wheat bagels and cream cheese. It started with finding a packet of starter culture while reorganizing my pantry and having some extra milk. And just like in "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", if you have a bunch of cream cheese you are definitely going to need bagels to go with it. This was my first time making bagels from fresh-ground wheat. It was pretty easy, but I'm going to try some different techniques to get them to taste more bagel-y and less like circle-shaped bread.

[fairfarmhand]

I've planted some herbs. Also started rooting random plants.

A piece of my geranium broke off the plant accidentally? Let's see if it'll root. 

Found a random piece of mint? Let's root it! My rosemary is growing all kinds of roots from the bits I broke off of it.

My 15 yo dd discovered macrame plant holders so I have all kinds of places to put these plants.

[J-rap]

On 4/5/2020 at 7:48 PM, KrissiK said:

What do you think of that book?? I read his book “In the Garden of Beasts” which was about William Dodds, America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany. It was an amazing book. The book I’m reading now, “Chanel’s Riviera” (about the French Riviera in the 1930’s) has Churchill as a regular in the social scene in the south of France at that time. I’ve thought about picking up the Larson book about Churchill, too,

I learned so much from reading that book (In the Garden of Beasts).  Very eye-opening.

[J-rap]

I've been cooking a lot more with inexpensive ingredients that we happen to have on hand, the way I did when our five children were at home and always hungry!

Last week I made a soup with dried navy beans and leftover Easter ham.  I always make it with celery but our celery was gone, so I used chopped up broccoli stems instead, and you would never know!   Later in the week I made a big pot of potato soup with potatoes (obviously!) and lots of other random veggies I had on-hand.   When I make big pots I package them up into small containers and drive first to one dd's apt. to drop off a container, then our other dd's apt, then to a good friend who is at-home and very isolated, then my dad's.  (Always practicing social distancing ~  the only home I actually step inside of is my dad's because I'm helping him as a caregiver.)

I also planted some lavender from a kit that I got from my kids for my birthday.  🙂 

 

Edited April 20, 2020 by J-rap

[meena]

On 4/6/2020 at 4:25 PM, Carol in Cal. said:

I taught my husband how to make bread last week.  It came out pretty good.  I had not really realized that he had never done it before.

I also cooked Peruvian mayacoba beans for the first time, and wow, they are so good!  Way creamier and milder than pintos.  I made some of them into refritos, and was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out considering that I was doing the recipe entirely from memory.  I also made homemade maseca tortillas for the first time in years.  We had a feast--street tacos, raw veggies, and Margaritas.  I've had the Costco Margarita mix moldering in the larder for about 4 years, and we finally used some.  It's good!  

I had the maycobas available because I have a cousin who gives us Rancho Gordo fancy dried beans every year for Christmas.  And I put them aside and don't use them because I usually am not around enough to fuss with them, and I hate to smell them cooking all day and then have to eat them.  But I have a better stove fan where I'm sheltering in place, and decided I had nothing to lose in trying this.  Plus I have a slow cooker there that was my fallback if the smell bugged me anyway.  But it didn't.  🙂

I love homemade "refried" beans made from pintos. Now I really want to try using mayacobas in their place! I also love that your cousin gives you fancy beans for Christmas. Beans don't necessarily come to mind as the first choice for a gift, but that would be a completely welcome treat to me. 

[Carol in Cal.]

5 hours ago, meena said:

I love homemade "refried" beans made from pintos. Now I really want to try using mayacobas in their place! I also love that your cousin gives you fancy beans for Christmas. Beans don't necessarily come to mind as the first choice for a gift, but that would be a completely welcome treat to me. 

This particular cousin gives presents that introduce people to new things, and/or that support cool localish businesses.

Other  than the Rancho Gordo lima beans, which I don't really know what to do with as DH hates lima beans, her presents have been spot on.  "Who gives a crap" toilet paper is a standard.  Last year she got me the best everyday lip balm I have ever had--nice and fat so you don't need multiple passes, much softer than others so no pulling, and in a cardboard container instead of a plastic one!  The year before I gave her a metal straw and straw cleaner set in a little carry case.  It's how we roll.

PS  BTW, I love refritos from dry pintos--it's the only way I have ever made them before.  But these are crazy better, and I have also read that it's pretty common to use small red beans in Central American dishes, so I want to try those as well.

Edited April 21, 2020 by Carol in Cal.

[ScoutTN]

I made mashed/pureed cauliflower with herbed goat cheese tonight and it was yummy! 

The new issue of Southern Living  has three yummy-looking berry cobbler dessert recipes. I'll report back later in the week when dd has made one of them! 

My zinnias and wildflowers are up! 

 

[mommyoffive]

Well now it is 9pm and I am so hungry.  The stuff you guys are making sound amazing.   Thank you so much for everyone posting and giving me something to "talk" about besides the big C.   

[alisoncooks]

Every few days, the girls and I go out and decorate the walkway with sidewalk chalk. It lasts a few days, and then it rains and we repeat. 

We've been working collaboratively; each of us completes one square to create the final picture.  Here's today:

[Scarlett]

The homemade dog treats turned out so great!  I am so pleased!