I'm coming to the conclusion that those of us in the age bracket that advertisers hate should shop from home and ignore the stores. A few days ago, I asked the butcher at our supermarket if they had either a hambone or hamhocks, and they did not. Recommended salt pork which I had to chop up and brown to render the fat, adding an extra step to the recipe, a greasy stove, greasy skillet and finding a can to put the grease in. Grrrr. Make it if you dare:
Garbure: a delicious Basque Peasant Soup
Today, I went to Ocean State Job Lot to get some baked beans that I had forgotten yesterday. Looked at the Coldwater Creek (sob) clothes, but they had no mirror or changing rooms. Didn't want to risk it. Some of the knit items were torn or frayed. Big crowd of shoppers, mostly old.
Found a rack of stuff from Land's End and Eddie Bauer. Figurered out right away that the clothes had the wrong sizes on them, and this is why they were on sale at the Job Lot and woe be to anyone who bought without trying on.
Found the baked beans (yay!) and approached the check out line. Two old lady shoppers with some (but not a lot of) Coldwater Creek sweaters in one line. A woman with a whole cart of snowshoes in the other line. Hmmm. Chose the old ladies, and now with a gent with 2 items. Bad mistake. The showshoe purchaser was gone and a now had formed at that checkout counter. Old ladies chatted, yada yada, and took friggin' forever. One, two, three shoppers passed thru the line I bypassed. The gentlemen in front of me, it turned out, did not really speak English and did not understand the question about donating to children's hospital. He left without his change, creating more chaos. By then I was so pissed and didn't donate anything which I had done yesterday anyway.
On to Kohl's because my aerobic shoes are so worn out they are getting holes in the toe. Kohl's had mostly running shoes, mostly expensive, mostly wide widths, frequently white. White sneakers make your feet look like gunboats, and they also scream TOURIST, and one does not want to look touristy in one's own turf. Left without shoes, but grabbed some athletic socks, because mine have myseriously disappeared. The washer likes to snack on them perhaps.
Even worse check out line hell. Lots of people with lots of stuff and not one, but TWO meat ball deals, one in each line. Neither line moved. Stood there just about forever, and then after much paging a clerk finally appeared, not to open a new line but to assist the clerk in the line I was in. Not going to get out of this store for twenty minutes! I put the socks down and walked out. Way too much aggro.
I need to cut 16,000 words from my novel, and this is causing a major time suck and aggravation is my constant companion. Shopping is hell.
The soup that was made without ham bone or ham hocks is called Garbure, and it's from the Basque ares of Spain. Spanish food rocks! See recipe above. Hope you can find some ham hocks.
Showing posts with label Kohl's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kohl's. Show all posts
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2008
Mad about Madoff - it's Only Money
Gosh, we're all going to be poor, not just us retired slobs who have seen our IRAs tank, the fools who bought houses with no money down and no assets, and the working stiffs out of a job or with their 401Ks in tatters. Now, it's the super rich who have invested with Mr. Madoff who may be selling pencils on the street.
Does anyone actually sell pencils on the street? I don't think so. For everyone out of money or in reduced circumstances, there is fallout for the rest of the economy. The New York Times had an article about nannies and cleaning help out of a job. We haven't gone out to eat nearly so much in the last few months. Drove to Chicago instead of flying to California. Shopped at Kohl's and Eddie Bauer's outlet instead of Macy's and, well, you know. Baking bread, getting creative with leftovers, shopping the grocery store specials.
In days of yore, I spent some time in Palm Beach, shopping and visiting trendy restaurants. It was fun and I loved to have lunch at Ta-Boo on Worth Avenue, and watch the passing scene.
http://www.taboorestaurant.com/ For a writer, it should be a write-off. Of course it would help to publish something. In Palm Beach I discovered Sesto Miucci shoes ( http://www.zappos.com/n/br/b/145/Sesto%20Meucci.html) that my feet love so well. Saw the Chuli glass at the Museum. Walked Worth Avenue gaping at the show windows.
One would think that resorts and winter homes would be more casual and laid back, but I saw these hideous formal gew-gaws and knick-knacks and table settings and lamps that looked like something in the Newport mansions of the 1800's. Why? Nothing informal about it. Stiff and pretentious and totally boring.
On always thinks of the very rich as somehow financially savvy, folks who would know to diversity and realize that slow and steady wins the race. Apparently not. Why settle for 5% on your investment if you can get 10%?
I feel sorry for the charities that will be busted, but not so much for anyone else. Greed, you know. The greedy have been getting their comeuppance. Is gluttony next?
Tomorrow we'll unpack the ancient ornaments collected over four lifetimes for the real tree and decorate the house as it has been done forever. I make my Mom's cookies and my own and try some new recipes. It would never occur to me to buy Christmas cookies.
We ate the pork roast again last night, and it looks like there's two more meals left. The last two will be our own stir fry, with yummy veggies and not much fat. Cheap, nutritious and filling, with good Basmati rice.
In my new novel, I'm contrasting the Cuban sandwich in the eyes of the bad guy and the heroine. I think the economy being in the toilet will give the bad guy some fits, too. After all, maybe his clients will be using less cocaine. The high cost of transportation. Yes, everyone feels the economic crisis, even drug lords.
Onward with baking and writing and holiday prep. Don't be too depressed. It's only money.
Grapeshot
Does anyone actually sell pencils on the street? I don't think so. For everyone out of money or in reduced circumstances, there is fallout for the rest of the economy. The New York Times had an article about nannies and cleaning help out of a job. We haven't gone out to eat nearly so much in the last few months. Drove to Chicago instead of flying to California. Shopped at Kohl's and Eddie Bauer's outlet instead of Macy's and, well, you know. Baking bread, getting creative with leftovers, shopping the grocery store specials.
In days of yore, I spent some time in Palm Beach, shopping and visiting trendy restaurants. It was fun and I loved to have lunch at Ta-Boo on Worth Avenue, and watch the passing scene.
http://www.taboorestaurant.com/ For a writer, it should be a write-off. Of course it would help to publish something. In Palm Beach I discovered Sesto Miucci shoes ( http://www.zappos.com/n/br/b/145/Sesto%20Meucci.html) that my feet love so well. Saw the Chuli glass at the Museum. Walked Worth Avenue gaping at the show windows.
One would think that resorts and winter homes would be more casual and laid back, but I saw these hideous formal gew-gaws and knick-knacks and table settings and lamps that looked like something in the Newport mansions of the 1800's. Why? Nothing informal about it. Stiff and pretentious and totally boring.
On always thinks of the very rich as somehow financially savvy, folks who would know to diversity and realize that slow and steady wins the race. Apparently not. Why settle for 5% on your investment if you can get 10%?
I feel sorry for the charities that will be busted, but not so much for anyone else. Greed, you know. The greedy have been getting their comeuppance. Is gluttony next?
Tomorrow we'll unpack the ancient ornaments collected over four lifetimes for the real tree and decorate the house as it has been done forever. I make my Mom's cookies and my own and try some new recipes. It would never occur to me to buy Christmas cookies.
We ate the pork roast again last night, and it looks like there's two more meals left. The last two will be our own stir fry, with yummy veggies and not much fat. Cheap, nutritious and filling, with good Basmati rice.
In my new novel, I'm contrasting the Cuban sandwich in the eyes of the bad guy and the heroine. I think the economy being in the toilet will give the bad guy some fits, too. After all, maybe his clients will be using less cocaine. The high cost of transportation. Yes, everyone feels the economic crisis, even drug lords.
Onward with baking and writing and holiday prep. Don't be too depressed. It's only money.
Grapeshot
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Trash Day - My Garbage Runneth Over and Jeri's Praline Brownies
Not only do houseguests cause more shopping, cooking and laundry, they create more garbage due to the additional shopping and cooking.
Wednesday is trash day, and the street in front of our house looks like an apartment house put out the trash. I mean how could so few people create so much waste, and we recycle all the plastic bags, glass and plastic bottles. Sometimes we sneak into another town's recycling area and surreptitiously leave recyclables. Weird huh?
Of course today was the day the cat litter was also changed, and there must be some law that no matter how large the litter box, someone (usually a cat) will invariably miss, and the hotter the weather, the more likely this is to happen.
S.O. went to Home Depot and bought three of those containers of orange odor eating stuff. One for the store room, one for the furnace room and one for the litter box area.
As the economy worsens, we think of ways to staunch the hemorrhage of money. Don't buy new clothing. You probably have enough stuff in your closet for the next five years. This does not go for socks and underwear, which need to be replaced rather more often. I have found good towels at Kohl's and at Ocean State Job Lot, by the way. Martex brand at the Job Lot. Who knew?
One needs to be a little bit creative and to bone up on recipes like Puerto Rican Rice and Beans, esp. now that the garden will yield tomatoes and peppers for a great linzano sauce. Email me for the recipe.
On the writing front, and there's always a writing front, I am fifty pages into my new book, with plot twists and turns coming faster than space ships. It's so much fun again. All I need is a bad guy. Have to have a bad guy. Or girl. Love those villians.
Have I touted my most favorite summer annual and perrenial flower/tomato food? It's called Super Bloom. (The begonia in the photo shows it in action). My mom introduced it to me, and for a while I bought it in Arizona, then I bought it in Florida. Still have a two year supply, so maybe I'll get back to Florida before I run out. Weird that you can't buy it in these parts. Viva la regional difference.
Today I'm making the world's best brownies, something called "Jeri's Praline Brownies." You can't imagine how good. We're having a Tanglewood weekend soon, and I need to get some goodies into the freezer to take along.
How many blogs give you the best flower food and the best brownies in one post? I'll print the recipe for the brownies for all my e-friends.
Wednesday is trash day, and the street in front of our house looks like an apartment house put out the trash. I mean how could so few people create so much waste, and we recycle all the plastic bags, glass and plastic bottles. Sometimes we sneak into another town's recycling area and surreptitiously leave recyclables. Weird huh?
Of course today was the day the cat litter was also changed, and there must be some law that no matter how large the litter box, someone (usually a cat) will invariably miss, and the hotter the weather, the more likely this is to happen.
S.O. went to Home Depot and bought three of those containers of orange odor eating stuff. One for the store room, one for the furnace room and one for the litter box area.
As the economy worsens, we think of ways to staunch the hemorrhage of money. Don't buy new clothing. You probably have enough stuff in your closet for the next five years. This does not go for socks and underwear, which need to be replaced rather more often. I have found good towels at Kohl's and at Ocean State Job Lot, by the way. Martex brand at the Job Lot. Who knew?
One needs to be a little bit creative and to bone up on recipes like Puerto Rican Rice and Beans, esp. now that the garden will yield tomatoes and peppers for a great linzano sauce. Email me for the recipe.
On the writing front, and there's always a writing front, I am fifty pages into my new book, with plot twists and turns coming faster than space ships. It's so much fun again. All I need is a bad guy. Have to have a bad guy. Or girl. Love those villians.
Have I touted my most favorite summer annual and perrenial flower/tomato food? It's called Super Bloom. (The begonia in the photo shows it in action). My mom introduced it to me, and for a while I bought it in Arizona, then I bought it in Florida. Still have a two year supply, so maybe I'll get back to Florida before I run out. Weird that you can't buy it in these parts. Viva la regional difference.
Today I'm making the world's best brownies, something called "Jeri's Praline Brownies." You can't imagine how good. We're having a Tanglewood weekend soon, and I need to get some goodies into the freezer to take along.
How many blogs give you the best flower food and the best brownies in one post? I'll print the recipe for the brownies for all my e-friends.
Jeri’s Praline Brownies
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
4 squares bitter chocolate (unsweetened)
3 eggs
½ lb. Butter
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Melt chocolate and butter together. Cool. Add sugar and beat until light. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour, salt and vanilla.
Topping:
3 tablespoons melted butter (cool slightly).
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup chopped pecans.
Spread topping over unbaked brownies and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Important: Use a 7 x 10 inch pan.
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
4 squares bitter chocolate (unsweetened)
3 eggs
½ lb. Butter
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Melt chocolate and butter together. Cool. Add sugar and beat until light. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour, salt and vanilla.
Topping:
3 tablespoons melted butter (cool slightly).
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup chopped pecans.
Spread topping over unbaked brownies and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Important: Use a 7 x 10 inch pan.
Jeri was a member of the Riverwoods Super Aces, a ladies bridge club once featured in a famous bridge column much to their delight as they yakked and ate as much as they played cards.
Grapeshot
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