What day is it? That is the question frequently asked by one of us. Retirement does that, everyday is the same and believe me I am not complaining. Life is just the way we like it at Cook'n by the Creek. The only demanding schedule is the animals in winter time. Their alarm clock is working just perfect. By 8 am the horses are standing at the gate looking towards the house. I can almost hear them thinking, come on it's time for breakfast. This morning was no exception. They were munching away on a round bale and like an inner alarm clock went off they both left it and moved to the gate. It's time to get the day going. Dick is doing barn chores and I am finishing the last of my coffee. The best part, my mind said.....time to write a blog. I love these times when my mind and fingers connect. What better place to be than on the couch looking out the glass doors to the view that takes my breath away, one of the nice things about an open floor plan. The other is if I'm in the kitchen I get to see and talk to everyone. The not so nice thing, dishes need to be done immediately otherwise the living room and dining room get to see a messy kitchen.
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As I do a blog I can keep an eye on
the great outdoors and horses. |
Snow is predicted to hit this afternoon. We are hoping for enough to get the snowshoes out tomorrow. January 17, 2016 and still have not had enough snow to get out and enjoy. Today might be the day. Dinner will be roast beef cooked in the pressure cooker which will take about 30 minutes for a 2 pound roast. It will be fork tender with a beautiful rich juice. I dust the roast with a little flour, salt and pepper, brown it and then pour about 4 cups of water over it. Then throw in some onion, celery and carrots. The vegetable will be so soft that a fork or potato masher will blend them into the juice to make it a little thicker. If you have never used a pressure cooker please don't be afraid of them. The pressure cooker will make cooking meats so much faster. Who can get a roast fork tender in 30 minutes?
Since I am on the food subject (always in the morning because I have to plan for the evening meal) I will tell you what we had yesterday. Saturday was also a day of R & R. Some days we just need to regroup, rest and get ready for whatever is thrown our way. Lunch was just a plate of salami, ham, Swiss Cheese, a variety of olives, crackers and a spicy mustard. I might have had a few pieces of chocolate too (such a sweet hound I am). Saturday night supper was pork schnitzel, potato cakes and green beans. The schnitzel is nothing more than pork loin pounded thin, dusted with flour, salt and pepper and fried in butter. Now, the potato cake is a recipe that our exchange student from the Czech Republic showed me how to make 30 years ago. Wow that doesn't seem possible. He said they are sold by street vendors in his country. Very easy and very tasty. The hardest part is grating the potatoes on the fine side of a grater and not grating your knuckles. I grated about 2 cups, adding 5 TBSP flour, a little salt and pepper, 1 tsp of dried marjoram and one beaten egg. Mix all together and drop by large spoonful into hot oil. I used canola because my lard supply is dwindling and would rather save it for pie crust. Fry until golden brown on both sides. They can be topped with any sauce you like. I'm a sour cream type and the husband likes my chipotle sauce which is spicy and sweet. I like applesauce also but didn't get it out of the freezer in time to thaw.
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Potato cakes with sour cream,
pork schnitzel with a little
Chipotle Sauce. |
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| Lunch for two. |
Time to get on with the day, a little crocheting, cooking and watching for the storm to pull in. Do I trust the weather forecast? Not really, they have been wrong so many times. It might just be easier to head out on the porch and give a sniff up the valley and down the valley like my oldest brother always said he did. Either way that air will smell fresh and clean, nothing better than good old country air.
