Well, it’s that time of year again. Yes, that’s right, the better-half soaked and then cooked a country ham (low and slow, mind you) earlier this week.
Doesn’t this shot of the ham sort of look like a great big cake?
The better-half slices. The first slices went right into our mouths and the subsequent slices went right into scrambled eggs.
OK, it’s not enough that it is chilly outside, but it also has to be rainy and windy. Brilliant.
The university that employs me gave everyone a half-day. I walked over to campus early this morning and the place was dead. I wonder how many classes were actually held this morning. The coffee shop in between where I work and the campus had more employees than customers. While there, I had the fumbling experience of having to check jeans pockets and rain jacket pockets for my two bucks. How embarrassing would that have been? Take money out of wallet, put in pocket, walk over to coffee house, order coffee, wonder what happened to cash, walk out empty handed and with killer death rays from employees. Luckily I found the money, obtained coffee goodness, and tromped over to the other building for a meeting.
On the way back to my office, I saw a person getting a speeding ticket. Felt a little bit of schadenfreude since I get sick of people speeding down Main Street–hey, city street,pedestrians everywhere, get a clue.
Yesterday, after working in the yard, I really wanted something warm and hearty for dinner. I decided to let the ingredients be my guide (we watch Chef at Home on Discovery and can’t stop saying that we’ve let the ingredients be our guide).
We had a large pork loin in the refrigerator that we bought a few days ago and I wanted to cut it into smaller pieces and freeze for later use. Yesterday afternoon I sliced it into two 2lb pieces and then froze the other piece. I went on a pantry hunt to see what was available.
Here’s what I came up with. Sorry, didn’t measure a thing so this is all really a guess but the results were pretty darn amazing.
2lb pork loin, brown in 2 tbs of canola oil. Let it get nice and brown.
Remove pork to a plate and turn off heat because you haven’t cut up anything yet.
Chop a clove of garlic and throw it into the pan. Chop half of an onion and throw it into the pan.
Use up the dried red and green bell peppers from Penzey by reconstituting them in container filled with a mini bottle of white wine. The pan should be on by now at medium/medium high heat. After about 5 minutes throw the peppers into the pan. I would guess 1-2 small bell peppers finely chopped.
Remove the skin from a carrot and then slice and turn into matchsticks (thin matchsticks) throw them into the pot. Make sure the wine starts boiling off but not all the way–by about half. Add thickly sliced three medium to small yukon gold potatoes pretty close to the time the peppers go in. Add a cup of dried cherries and stir.
Add a healthy dose of chipotle powder. 1 tbs is a nice burn. Stir and then put the pork and its juices back into the pan. Add a cup of Southern Comfort into the mix and then a can of red enchilada sauce. Stir, flip pork and let it go into a good hot simmer for at least 30 minutes. Then let simmer on low for another hour or however long you can stand to wait.
The sauce got nice and thick and the interplay between sweet and spicy was pretty darn close to perfect. I served with a cauliflower recipe found here. I didn’t have exactly everything called for in the recipe but it turned out to be excellent and I’d make it again.
So, my brother-in-law who lives nearby totally rocks. On Saturday, he helped the better-half rip out our old front door and replace it with a new one and did the same for the door off our family room and onto the porch. These doors aren’t small 36-inchers either. The front door has side lights and the back door is a large glass French door.
Yesterday I planted eight or more shrubs/trees that have been sitting in large pots for no less than six months (and some for years). I have to say my arms are a little worn out today from all the digging and busting through old roots. I know the pain I’m feeling now is a small price to pay for what I hope will be Amazing Landscaping™ as the shrubs and trees grow into the space.
On tap for today? One very boring meeting that crosses the lunch hour and there will be no lunch provided. Who sets up meetings like that? After that meeting, I have another one to attend later in the afternoon. I have more meetings this week than I’ve had all month. I guess people see a short week on the calendar and just think up ways to pack in meetings.
Here’s what’s on my desk:
And, no I won’t be on a short-list for Photoshop prizes.
I used to work in HR for a mid-sized regional bank that was swallowed up by a large regional bank that was swallowed up by a really big freaking financial services organization. The mid-sized bank is actually the one who unleashed those kings of junk mail marketing, “what’s in your wallet”, folks on the world (sorry).
While the mid-sized bank was being swallowed up we referred to it as the Borg coming to town. I stayed for a little while in the Collective and then moved on.
Perhaps you have to have worked for a large regional bank and gone through upsizing, rightsizing or whatever it’s called these days to dig this clip, but it cracked me up and made me think if our Road Shows had been this cool, I may have been a good little Borg for longer.
The better-half built a bookcase for me. I stained it over the weekend and we put it in the room this afternoon. When he builds a bookcase, he builds it to last. We nearly died hauling it out of the garage, around the house and up the stairs. When we finally got it in the house, I asked him if he thought the floor upstairs was reinforced enough so we wouldn’t wake up with the bookcase downstairs. I’m a sweet and loving wife, yes I am.
I put a textbook on the shelf so you’d have an idea of scale. It is a big, bad bookcase and I’m thrilled to have storage.
If you haven’t heard of Vienna Teng, then you should run to your music outlet of choice and get with the program. You can listen to some of her songs on her website.
Remember back in the day how you really could wear out records or tapes with constant playing? Those days are over but if it is possible to burn out digital recordings, I’ll be doing that today. She’s on heavy rotation.
Last night we headed over to my sister’s for dinner. After getting in a little bit of Barbie/Polly/Princess playing, we sat down to a kickin’ dinner of pot roast (with gravy), potatoes & carrots, bread, fabulous roasted asparagus and wrapped up with a pumpkin spice cake and hot apple cider.
While I was playing Barbie/Polly/Princess with The Niece (somehow I ended up with the red-headed stepchild doll who had no name and went by “kid” and had to play second-fiddle to Jasmine who got all the furniture and as a result “kid” had to sleep on the floor), she dragged me into the bathroom and we stood in the dark so she could show me this. This is Fairytopia and she lights up. How far Barbies have come. We used to just pop their heads off and put their heads on Ken dolls and vice versa. Now they light up and fly around the house.
