Happy Halloween!
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| image from the article linked below |
Here's more about the origins of the day. The link will open in a new window.
Whether it's Halloween for you or not, have a great day!
Sunday, October 31, 2021
From the Place Where It Began...
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Sunday, October 24, 2021
A Chance Glance
dance of clouds and moon
softening autumn landscape
as the dark descends
As I glanced out the bedroom window the other night, the moon and clouds caught my attention. I got my camera, even though I figured the picture would be blurry. When I looked at it, I loved that about it--all the soft edges create a seasonal vibe I didn't expect.
Friday, October 22, 2021
A Bit of This and a Bit of That
We headed out to the library this afternoon to return books and to pick up more. It's been a changeable day, weatherwise and our walk was no exception. When we left, the sun was shining. A couple minutes later, when we turned onto the little lane, it was grey. As I stopped to look at this scene, it started spitting rain.
Then Bill pointed out the rainbow behind me.
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Not Bad!
It's not a bad walk to the grocery store. The sea and sky were lovely today, even with the tide being out.
I hope it's a lovely day in your neck of the woods today, too.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Love!
I have never been a fan of the ovens and hobs I've had since we came to Ireland. In the US, I always had electric stoves and ovens, with one exception. Our cabin in North Pole had propane and it was horrible. The burners were either on high or off--there was no in between. We ended up buying an electric hot plate because that was better to use. If I remember correctly, all of the hobs I had in the US were part of a unit with the oven. But here, none of them have been. The hobs are just set into the counter. I have no idea whether that makes any difference whatsoever, but they've all been quite slow to heat up. With each one, I learned how 'early' to turn on a burner while I was still chopping so that by the time the food was ready to hit the pan, the burner would be hot. The hob in this place was at a whole other level, though. The first time I cooked something, it took 20 minutes for water to boil on the front burner. After that, I used the back ones, which are better, but still not great.
When we were moving, the friend who helped us said that he had an induction hob he wasn't using. he has a gas stove, but there was a problem with it at one point, so he started using one of the two induction hob/hot plate things he had and kept on using it because it works so well. He said he wasn't using the other one and thought I might like it. He said to check my pots and pans, though, because not all of them can be used on induction burners. If a magnet sticks to it, it can be used. I was kind of noncommittal, because I try not to accumulate too much stuff, but I did go to do the magnet test. Turns out there was no need, because on the bottom of the pots and pans it says 'induction' so I knew they'd be fine. After I'd waited 20 minutes for water to boil, my mind was made up. I said I'd love to have it. He came for a visit with some other friends about a week and a half ago and he brought it.
I was shocked the first time I used it. It required a different way of working. Instead of turning the burner on while still prepping the food, with this the food has to be in the pan and the pan on the hob before it's turned on (and an empty pot/pan should never be left on the burner as it will melt). And when it's turned on, the sizzle begins within 30 seconds! It is so fast! I put hot water in a pot the other day and it was boiling in a minute or two. When I turn down the heat, it immediately cools down. I was reheating leftovers the other day and it was faster than the microwave. Because it's so fast, it's not a problem to cook things in succession if I need two pots and pans. The other day, rather than turn on the regular hob, I used this to make pasta and veggies. I cooked the veggies first, then took the pan off the burner and cooked the pasta. When that was done, I took that off the burner and put the pan of veggies back on while I drained the pasta, just to be sure they were piping hot. It was still quicker than using the regular hob would have been. In addition to be nicer to use, it will use a lot less energy than the regular sloooow hob. I love this thing!
Monday, October 18, 2021
I Promise
A friend sent me a picture of some wild mushrooms someone gave her. I am not a fan of mushrooms myself--don't like the texture or the taste and they make me itch when I eat them. But her picture reminded me of when I cooked in the soup kitchen. My day was Thursday, usually, although I'd fill in on a different day if needed. There were various people on my crew, including a pot washer, who I will call Jack (not his real name). When I started cooking there, Jack would ask me every week if there were mushrooms in the meal, because he did not like mushrooms. I would always reassure him that there were no mushrooms, so he could feel free to enjoy his lunch. After several weeks, I told him, 'Jack, I don't like mushrooms myself, so I promise you that when I am cooking, I will not be adding mushrooms to anything. I give you my word.' His face lit up and he said, 'OK!' and gave me a hug.
The soup kitchen coordinator always gave the 'chefs,' as we were called, advance notice of what we'd be cooking with on our day. One day I got an email from her asking if I would make beef stroganoff, because there was a lot of beef and a lot of sour cream. When that happened, stroganoff was the default. I wasn't keen on the stroganoff idea, since I don't like beef, either. And there was my promise to Jack. So I asked if it had to be stroganoff. The coordinator said that if I could think of a different way to use up the beef and the sour cream, I could make whatever I wanted. I thought a while and came up with a taco casserole. I emailed and asked if we had the various ingredients I was thinking about. We did and she said it sounded good and she was looking forward to trying it. It was a big hit, Jack was very happy, and I was asked to make it again and a again after that. The coordinator later told me that it was her favourite soup kitchen meal. I thought it was way better than stroganoff for many reasons, one of which was that I could get a lot more veggies in the meal! Taco casserole rotated with fish chowder, which I thought was pretty funny, because I didn't have a lot of experience with fish in my home kitchen.
I had never made it before, so the first time I was asked to make chowder, I was nervous. But I did it my way, much to the chagrin of one of the people who worked at the food bank, who wanted it with just onion, celery, spuds, bacon, loads of butter, and cream along with the fish. That's not how I roll, so I asked the coordinator what veggies we had that needed to be used and she brought out a bunch of stuff. She was happy that these things were being used, but had not thought to bring them out before, since that wasn't usually how the chowder was done. I wasn't sure how the diners would feel about having all the veggies in the chowder--it was New England and as my co-worker illustrated, some people like things a certain way. But I figured that for many of the people coming for lunch, it would be the only decent meal they would have that day, so providing as much nutritious food as possible within that meal while making it taste good was a good thing. And there we had all that healthy food that needed to be used up. So in the veggies went. I nervously ladled the chowder into bowls and watched as the servers brought them to the diners. They seemed to like it. People wanted seconds and then even thirds. What a relief!
One Monday, when I was doing my usual shift at the food bank, I had to speak to someone in the office, so I walked down the hall to go there. People were sitting there waiting for the soup kitchen to open and I heard murmuring as I walked by. I heard someone say to her neighbour, 'She's the one who puts all the veggies in her chowder. It's so good!' That made me smile.
I felt so bad one freezing cold winter day, when one of the guys who worked there came in near the end of the shift, rubbing his hands together. he'd been out doing deliveries or something and said he was hungry and looking forward to some chowder. His face fell when I said there was none left, so all I could offer him was some broth or I could make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He took the broth.
On my last day in the soup kitchen, before we moved to Ireland, I was asked if I wanted to make chowder or taco casserole. I chose chowder, simply because it was less labour intensive. The taco casserole was always a race to the finish and it took every minute to get it done before the doors opened.
I did a lot at that organization, as did a couple hundred other volunteers and the paid staff. There was a lot of community support, donations from local farms, restaurants, and grocery stores. People who needed it were able to get high quality, healthy food that would have otherwise been thrown away. But what a shame that such a place is needed and that without it, so many more people would go hungry and so much more food would be wasted.
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