Cooking 101

[copied from dland]

Here are my criteria for a good recipe, i.e., something I'm willing to make:

• It has to have less than 5 ingredients.
• It has to use one cooking method. No "brown in skillet, then transfer to oven-proof casserole." It's a skillet meal or a casserole meal, it can't be both.
• No cilantro. If I see cilantro in the ingredients list, I'm outta there.
• No weird ingredients that no one has in their house. No "freshly grated orange zest", for example. No "freshly grated ginger root." Any spice or herb has got to be in my cabinet, or I'm leaving it out.

Okay, so the crock pot experiment turned out well, so I've got something else in there now, a mushroom and wild rice stew. Even the Hubs can eat it, and if he does, it'll be the first time in years he will have a eaten a dinner that I prepared. Don't ask.

This is Day One of a three-day vacation, and what have I done? Lots, actually, and relaxed, too (although the relaxation had a premature end, which I'll get to.) I started at the gym, go me! Then I bopped across the mall parking lot from the gym to the supermarket and picked up tonight's few ingredients. I made a variety of phone calls and appointments (so now the rest of my vacation is busy) and crossed things off my list with mad abandon. I've eaten all the right things, and I've even washed my hair.

Ahhhhhh.

Part of Monday is that K is in class until about 8 pm, so, around 2:30, having finished everything I could possibly do (but one), I was all ready to nap on the couch when she called and said she was skipping her night class because she didn't feel well. Relaxation period over, as far as the couch is concerned, anyway. So now she's here, and not cranky, particularly, but I haven't had my hearing aids on all day and now I'll have to put them on because she's talking softly, and I suppose she'll want me to answer.

The only callback I'm waiting for is from the audiologist's office, and I'll call them in a few minutes. The woman I need to speak to to find out what's going on comes in at two, which is an hour and a half ago, so I've given her time to call and now I can be OCD me and call again.

I've got a handyman coming at 8:30 tomorrow morning to look into putting a door at the bottom of the upstairs steps, the better to keep Boo the Cat from randomly pooping in K's room up there.

I got an appointment with the accountant on Wednesday because there was a cancellation, which is good, because I'd completely forgotten to call in January, and by now, I figured I'd be lucky to see someone in April. I even made an appointment with a podiatrist for Wednesday morning because, man, my feet hurt all the time! Is that part of the delightful getting old process? Because I don't think I've heard old people all my life say Man, my feet hurt all the time! The Sibs says I need orthotics for my shoes, so I'm going. This podiatrist is such an odd duck, though. For one, he answered his own phone when I called, which I thought was strange. I have met him, but I don't remember why; I think I took one of the kids there for something years ago. But the Sibs goes to him for her orthotics, and he was very nice to my parents for the years that they saw him. (He made house calls to the senior citizens building they lived in.)

And that's that. Now, I'm hungry. Aw, I've got a few points to spare, I guess. I just need to find something to eat that'll fill me up. (See, if I'd been asleep now, this wouldn't have been a problem.)

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Hey, renovatingme, do I know you by another name? If you'd like to email me your password, I'd be happy to take a look.


WATCHING KING OF THE HILL :: ENTRY #1381