Beet Greens
27/07/12 07:15
I'm doing my level best to carve out some vacation time this summer. In anticipation of Evan having a summer job where he was unable to go off with us for our usual Lake George vacation, we did not schedule any time at the lake. Nancy just did not want to go the lake and leave him home alone. But dear, I reminded her as I often do, he is 18 years-old and capable of taking care of himself. I think that is true for the most part and he is a self sufficient lad although I would hasten to add that he does a woeful job of cleaning up after himself. I'm not even sure that I can count on him to turn off the lights and close the doors of the house when he leaves to go wherever he goes. One gets the impression when arriving home at the end of the day that there must have been an emergency of sorts since it looks as though he just dropped everything and left. To tease this notion out just little more, I have stopped making the bed in the morning because he lays in our bed and watches countless hours of god only knows what and then doesn't bother to remake the bed. I just don't know where we went wrong with that boy. Did I mention that he leaves his dishes here, there, and everywhere?
I have to say. That quiche turned out quite nice last night. I had some beet greens from Betsi's garden that I would just not let go to waste. As it was, the greens were probably sitting in our fridge for a day or two more than I would like to admit before I decided to use them but they were fine after a quick rinse. Not sure it was necessary but I deveined them like you would a parcel of shrimp before sauteing with garlic and onions. I'm always amazed by how beet greens cook away to almost nothing but are rich in flavor and melt-in-your mouth delicious once cooked. The recipe I used called for spinach so I arranged for a quick substitution and never looked back. I opted to use more eggs and less milk for a richer consistency and that too turned out to be good decision. I would have preferred crimini mushrooms to the baby bella's that I used but you work with what you have. Only as a last resort would I even consider buying standard mushrooms available most everywhere. They are just too garden-variety and limp away to nothing under the heat when cooked. Just to clarify, I despise using recipes as much as I do following instructions when putting things together but there are certain things one can't fiddle with when cooking. That would be, of course, the temperature of the oven when baking. The "how long" question is another one I might be interested in. Everything else is negotiable.
I really have to work a little harder at finding bargains on the internet before dealing with the local brick and mortar establishments. I ordered a few things from Ebay and Amazon last week and all were bargains in their own right. The oil filter for my car was half the price that I paid recently at a local Advanced Auto Parts. I bought a center hub cap for my Volvo which looked to be a bargain at $8.99. It arrived packed in newspaper inside a small cardboard box. It was definitely not straight from Sweden and the quality was suspect until I opened it and found it to be just fine. It snapped in like it was custom made for the car and I took great satisfaction in finding a reasonably priced solution to a quirky little shortfall in this new used car of mine. That is to say, it was missing one of the four center hubcaps. And all of these lovely purchases ended up on my doorstep without lifting a finger or hearing the actual cha-ching of the cash register. I'm not sure about the treadmill belt in terms of discounts and all but there are definitely not any stores around here to buy that sort of thing. Now I just need to figure out how to install it.
I have to say. That quiche turned out quite nice last night. I had some beet greens from Betsi's garden that I would just not let go to waste. As it was, the greens were probably sitting in our fridge for a day or two more than I would like to admit before I decided to use them but they were fine after a quick rinse. Not sure it was necessary but I deveined them like you would a parcel of shrimp before sauteing with garlic and onions. I'm always amazed by how beet greens cook away to almost nothing but are rich in flavor and melt-in-your mouth delicious once cooked. The recipe I used called for spinach so I arranged for a quick substitution and never looked back. I opted to use more eggs and less milk for a richer consistency and that too turned out to be good decision. I would have preferred crimini mushrooms to the baby bella's that I used but you work with what you have. Only as a last resort would I even consider buying standard mushrooms available most everywhere. They are just too garden-variety and limp away to nothing under the heat when cooked. Just to clarify, I despise using recipes as much as I do following instructions when putting things together but there are certain things one can't fiddle with when cooking. That would be, of course, the temperature of the oven when baking. The "how long" question is another one I might be interested in. Everything else is negotiable.
I really have to work a little harder at finding bargains on the internet before dealing with the local brick and mortar establishments. I ordered a few things from Ebay and Amazon last week and all were bargains in their own right. The oil filter for my car was half the price that I paid recently at a local Advanced Auto Parts. I bought a center hub cap for my Volvo which looked to be a bargain at $8.99. It arrived packed in newspaper inside a small cardboard box. It was definitely not straight from Sweden and the quality was suspect until I opened it and found it to be just fine. It snapped in like it was custom made for the car and I took great satisfaction in finding a reasonably priced solution to a quirky little shortfall in this new used car of mine. That is to say, it was missing one of the four center hubcaps. And all of these lovely purchases ended up on my doorstep without lifting a finger or hearing the actual cha-ching of the cash register. I'm not sure about the treadmill belt in terms of discounts and all but there are definitely not any stores around here to buy that sort of thing. Now I just need to figure out how to install it.