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I crept downstairs in the wee hours to check on the progress of my laundry detergent and lo! It had gelled to the consistency of lemon curd. Scoopable with a spoon. The wrongness! It abounds!

So, all that is left is to try it out on my laundry this afternoon.

Found

• A billion lighter flints, safety pins, thumbtacks, rubber bands, keys, hinges, and screws.
• All of my measuring cups and spoons.
• Many Gladware® lids, not so many Gladware containers.
• Assorted coins, which Rebecca immediately claimed for her piggy bank.
• All of the pieces of my cookie press, meat grinder attachment, grating attachment, and pastry bag.
• Cookie cutters galore!

Discarded

• Two dead onions. Really dead. Or undead. They were hiding their zombie status.
• Two Pyrex lids whose casseroles were long gone. (I weep at the loss of my casseroles, though.)
• Rubber baby bottle nipples.
• Dead batteries. Again with the dead.

I also took the opportunity to re-season my Lodge® cast iron Dutch oven, and to wash each bin in the bathtub before putting it back on the clean counter and re-organizing all of the contents. Tomorrow, the cabinets and the other kitchen counter.

My laundry is nice and clean and oddly enough produced very little lint when I ran it through the dryer. No suds are produced in the wash cycle, but odors and (I’m assuming) soil were eliminated.

Sweet.

Found

• One small round casserole.
• One medium shallow casserole.
• One medium deep casserole.
• One square casserole.
• Ice cream, popsicle, and pancake molds.

Moved to the shed for further consideration

• The roasting pan and cover.
• The coffeemaker, because we drink instant. When we had one child, it was easy to mostly keep up with the coffee machine. Now, not so much.
• The coffee grinder, because again, instant.
• The blender, because it released its magic smoke and now only operates on one speed.
• The mini food processor, because it is too small for a single avocado worth of guacamole, which means I never really use it.

No time for the top of the refridgerator, unfortunately, but i may be able to catch that after an interview/coffee chat with a friend tomorrow.

I’m finally sick as a dog; it only took a week for the germs to get to me. Evil germs.

But they won, and I lost, and now my sinuses are popping and crackling like a bowl of Rice Krispies® and my head hurts and I can’t decide if I’m freezing or having hot flashes and I spent the day feeling sick to my stomach and trying really hard to not throw up.

Today, I did one load of dishes. I did not fold laundry. I did not clean.

Ugh.

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Dragonwater tea co. sells quality loose-leaf teas and accessories, including caffeine-free blends.

Lefse are a round flatbread of Norwegian origin, traditionally made of a potato-based dough and baked on a griddle. I make them because Matthew loves them dearly.

Continue reading "Lefse" →

I love green beans and the thought of drowning mine in cream of mushroom soup makes me cringe.

Ingredients

(ingredients)* 1 lb green beans

• (amount) {1/4} C water
• (amount) {1/4} C lemon juice
• 3 T butter
• 1 ts lemon zest
• 1 ts fresh parsley, chopped

Procedure

(procedure)# Place beans in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover saucepan and steam 5-7 minutes or until green beans are tender. Rinse under cold water and drain.

1. Combine water and lemon juice in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Simmer 2-3 minutes or until reduced by half. Stir in butter. Add green beans and lemon zest. Simmer 3-4 minutes or until green beans are heated throughout. Remove from heat.
2. Add parsley and salt to taste and toss.

I like making sausage-cheese balls because the children can help. The dough is about the same consistency as play dough, but tastes a lot better (especially when baked to a nice toasty golden crunch).

Ingredients

(ingredients)* 3 {1/2} C Bisquik®

• 1 lb sausage, smoked or spicy
• 10 oz sharp cheddar cheese

Procedure

(procedure)# Melt cheese in top of double broiler. Remove sausage from casing and mix well with Bisquick, using
pastry blender to break sausage into small pieces. Add melted cheese to sausage mixture and blend well.

1. Roll into 1{”} balls and place in a 9{”} {x} 9{”} pan or tray. Separate layers with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Place in freezer and freeze until firm, then store in plastic bag in freezer.

Serving suggestions

To serve, place frozen balls on ungreased baking dish or cookie sheet bake at 350F for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.