Blueberries

 

Went to Lund's yesterday and pints of blueberries were on sale for $2.50 each. Last night we had them with scones and whipped cream. This morning I had them plain with whipped cream and Dale had them with cereal. I also sent this photo to my friend, Duvan as he's always sending me pictures of the breakfasts he makes for himself. 

Food That Tastes Particularly Good in the Summertime

 Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Very warm and very humid today and yesterday. We've had the central air on for the first time this season. Dale and I were craving hamburgers today so we headed to Lund's and got ourselves a couple of 'em and grilled 'em up!! They tasted so good and so did the cole slaw, potato salad, and baked beans. It's feeling like summer for sure.

Yummy.

Brats At Last

 Monday, May 25, 2026

We stopped by the store ealier today and picked up some more brats. Dale cooked them up on the grill...

...and they were delicious.

We also had baked beans, cole slaw, and potato salad. It's really starting to feel like summer. 

Cigar, Cocktails, and Then Dinner

 Sunday, May 24, 2026

Cigar and an Old Fashioned in the back yard this afternoon. As we got closer to dinner Dale joined me. He had a glass of wine. 

Beautiful day to sit in the yard. It was warm enough to feel like summer rather than spring. We were gonna use our new grill and make some brats we got just a week ago. They were fully packaged and in the fridge, however, when Dale opened them up the stank that was released was so nasty there was no way we were gonna eat 'em. And, they were still a few days away from the best-if-used-by day too! Dale had just gone to the store to pick up the fixings he was gonna make with the brats and, understandably, didn't feel like going back. However, he did grill up the asparagus for tonights dinner and we ate it as an appetizer. We ordered Chinese from our neighborhood take-out place. It was delicious. We'll pick up some more brats tomorrow. 

Thanksgiving 2025 - The Final Stretch

 Thursday, November 27, 2025

Picked Mom up at 1:30 and we were back to our house by 2:00. Dale chopped up the giblets while I was picking up Mom. He added them to the gravy later as he was making it. The turkey came out of the oven by 2:10. 

The sweet potato casserole went in at 2:20. The marshmallows were put on just before. It came out about a half hour later. Dale put it in the warmer. 

Made the fruit salad at 3:00. I used two cans of fruit cocktail. 

Dale did the stove top stuffing at the same time I made the fruit salad. 

Got the corn on at 3:10...

I carved the turkey. 

And we were eating by 3:25. Oh, and by the way, we also served Hawaiian King dinner rolls. 

It all came together nicely and goodness it was delicious!

Mom brought over an apple pie her friend Joanne baked for her.

Dale and I had a pumpkin pie from Lunds. I had a slice of each!

Turned out to be a great Thanksgiving. Mom expressed to us that she had a wonderful time.

Thanksgiving 2024 - Sweet Potatoes, Fruit Salad, and Dinner On the Table

 Thursday,  November 28, 2024

I got the sweet potatoes ready while the turkey was in the oven. I halved the recipe on the can.  

Ingredients: 1 29 oz can of sweet potatoes; 1 egg; 1/4 cup milk; 3/4 cups brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract;  1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. 

Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees; spray 9x9 in baking pan with Pam; mix ingredients in large bowl; add marshmallows on top. just before baking; bake 30-35 minutes and then take out of oven and let rest for 10 minutes

Mom arrived around 2:00 and Dale got the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes while I entertained her.  He got the sweet potatoes in the oven by 2:10 so they could be out by 2:45 and rest for 10 minutes. 

At 2:30 I got the fruit salad together. Easy to make. Two cans of mixed fruit with whipped cream. Dale got gravy ready using the giblets I cut up. He also got the stuffing ready.

Dinner was on the table by about 3:10 and it was delicious.

Dale seems to think I do a great job carving the turkey. I feel like I'm hacking away with an ax to the carcass but I guess I do okay since there's barely any meat on it when I'm finished. There's gotta be a youTube video out there that shows the most efficient and perfect way to cut it up. Maybe I'll look for that sometime. 

Mom brought over a pumpkin pie that some friends from church had made. She said they usually make about 100 pies every year to sell to people for Thanksgiving. It was delicious and one of the better pumpkin pies I've ever had. That's sayin' something cuz I LOVE pumpkin pie. 

She also brought over some port wine. Dale didn't think he'd ever had any before. I poured some for us after the pie. Mom and Dale didn't like it. They said the alcohol level was too hight (turned out it was 20%) and they just didn't like the taste. I thought it was fine but what do I know. 

Can't believe another Thanksgiving has come and gone.

Thanksgiving 2024 - The Turkey Part 2

 Thursday, November 28, 2024

At 11:30 Dale buttered the underside of the turkey. We flipped it over to the other side and moved it to the baking pan and buttered the other side. It sat until noon when Dale put it in the oven at 400 degrees. 

                                                             

Dale put the giblets in water and got them on the oven at medium heat (5.0) at 12:23. He realized he should have gotten them on a little earlier so he turned it up to 7.5.

At 12:30 Dale basted the turkey with white wine and turned the oven down to 350.  He then basted it at intervals of about 20 minutes. 

Just before1:30 we turned the turkey over. 

And basted it again. 

And put it back in the oven. 

When the turkey was back in the oven I went to work on chopping up the giblets. 

I diced it all up. The liver was pretty soft but the heart and gizzard were pretty tough. 

All ready for when Dale makes the gravy. 

Dale took the turkey out right around 2:00 and tented it. We let it rest for an hour. 

Thanksgiving 2024 - Cranberries

 Thursday, November 28, 2024

At 9:40 Dale started the cranberries. He brought 2 cups of water and a half cup of sugar (the recipe on the bag called for 2 cups) to a boil. 

He rinsed off the cranberries...

And by 9:43 added them back to the pot and took the burner temperature from hi to 3.0.

He let them sit for a while but continued to stir them from time to time. 

At 9:55 Dale called me in to taste them to see if they were sweet enough. He had turned the temp up to 4.0. At first I thought they might need a little more sugar but as I let them sit on my tongue a little longer I decided they were just right. 

At 10:02 Dale scooped them out of the pot.

They stayed out until they came down to room temperature and then we put them in the fridge.

Fall Golden Hour Kickoff 2024

 Saturday, November 23, 2024

Before dinner cigar.

Before dinner cocktail. 

Dale's famous baked pasta and broccoli.

We watched Desk Set. Cozy night in.