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ksmithThis Monday is, I’m pretty sure, the last day that the city will pick up yard waste. So, I spent 4 hours in the front yard raking and blowing leaves. Spent about 3 hours yesterday doing the same in the back. The result? About 15 lawn bags filled with leaves and pine needles, and a long mound of leaves blown along the curb, waiting for the city’s mondo humongo vacuum.
Had a massage and facial yesterday. Face still feels good, but the benefits of the massage were pretty much sacrificed on the altar of the rake. I have a long-needle pine in the front, along with the dreaded honey locust. The needles combine with the honey locust’s teeny leaves to make a godless mass that can only be blown so far until it gets too damned heavy to budge. That means the rake, which get clogged with pine needles. When it isn’t getting clogged with pine needles, the teeny tiny honey locust leaves take up the PITA slack by slipping between the tines. But your hostess persevered, with swearing. I didn’t do as thorough a job as I should have, but I didn’t have time during the week, what with doggy vet visits and all.
Next year, I swear. Lawn care service.
After that came time to prepare dinner. I had some chicken breasts, and some apple-pecan stuffing that I had made earlier in the week. The stuffing had a nice flavor, but it was of the dry/crumbly variety. The recipe only called for 1.5 cups stock for 12 cups of breadcrumbs. The stuffing Mom always made was, I finally realized, more a savory bread pudding. So I heated a half-cup of 50:50 milk:water, whisked it into a beaten egg, and poured the result over about three cups of the apple-pecan stuffing. The bread soaked it up completely, so I did it again. Then I put it in a baking dish, buried the breasts in the middle of the mess, and baked it at 375F until the chicken was almost done. At that point, I removed the lid, and let it bake until most of the liquid had cooked out and the top had browned.
The result was, hey, a savory bread pudding. Definitely more the consistency I’m used to. The added liquid diluted some of the flavor, so I should add more herbs and seasoning when I do this again. The texture was deceptively light. I say deceptively because it proved as filling as stuffing always does. Which is the real reason they call it stuffing, I guess. Had it with the cranberry-orange relish I made two weeks ago. I had added 1/4 cup Grand Marnier to this batch of relish, which I think added some depth without being really detectable. I don’t think it made it any more watery than it otherwise would have been. Even if it did, the stuff is still great. I should remember to buy/freeze some cranberries so I can have this stuff year ‘round, because it’s spoiled me for storebought.
It’s dark already. The Bears are losing to the Broncos. Last night, I watched the Blackhearts hawks (what am I thinking?) lose a sudden death shootout to the Oilers--yes, sports fans, I’ve started watching hockey. The Bears are losing, and the Bulls can’t find the hoop. The ‘Hawks, meanwhile, aren’t doing too badly. They have a winning record, and some sharp young players. They’ve started showing homegames on cable, and they hired John McDonough away from the Cubs to serve as team president. I can’t speak to McDonough’s sports smarts, but he’s a marketing whiz. If the ‘Hawks keep playing well, Chicago may remember that they have a hockey team.
But the sudden death shootout? I rank it with the designated hitter as an abomination.
UPDATE: Bears won in OT. Amazing!
,
Had a massage and facial yesterday. Face still feels good, but the benefits of the massage were pretty much sacrificed on the altar of the rake. I have a long-needle pine in the front, along with the dreaded honey locust. The needles combine with the honey locust’s teeny leaves to make a godless mass that can only be blown so far until it gets too damned heavy to budge. That means the rake, which get clogged with pine needles. When it isn’t getting clogged with pine needles, the teeny tiny honey locust leaves take up the PITA slack by slipping between the tines. But your hostess persevered, with swearing. I didn’t do as thorough a job as I should have, but I didn’t have time during the week, what with doggy vet visits and all.
Next year, I swear. Lawn care service.
After that came time to prepare dinner. I had some chicken breasts, and some apple-pecan stuffing that I had made earlier in the week. The stuffing had a nice flavor, but it was of the dry/crumbly variety. The recipe only called for 1.5 cups stock for 12 cups of breadcrumbs. The stuffing Mom always made was, I finally realized, more a savory bread pudding. So I heated a half-cup of 50:50 milk:water, whisked it into a beaten egg, and poured the result over about three cups of the apple-pecan stuffing. The bread soaked it up completely, so I did it again. Then I put it in a baking dish, buried the breasts in the middle of the mess, and baked it at 375F until the chicken was almost done. At that point, I removed the lid, and let it bake until most of the liquid had cooked out and the top had browned.
The result was, hey, a savory bread pudding. Definitely more the consistency I’m used to. The added liquid diluted some of the flavor, so I should add more herbs and seasoning when I do this again. The texture was deceptively light. I say deceptively because it proved as filling as stuffing always does. Which is the real reason they call it stuffing, I guess. Had it with the cranberry-orange relish I made two weeks ago. I had added 1/4 cup Grand Marnier to this batch of relish, which I think added some depth without being really detectable. I don’t think it made it any more watery than it otherwise would have been. Even if it did, the stuff is still great. I should remember to buy/freeze some cranberries so I can have this stuff year ‘round, because it’s spoiled me for storebought.
It’s dark already. The Bears are losing to the Broncos. Last night, I watched the Black
But the sudden death shootout? I rank it with the designated hitter as an abomination.
UPDATE: Bears won in OT. Amazing!
,
