DAY NINETEEN COOKING COURSE

 I know I promised pizza today but I realized that I didn't have the right flour. After the debacle with the pasta dough, I didn't want a repeat so I bought the right flour.  The flour will be delivered on Saturday.  Then I will start the two day process to make pizza dough.

Instead I made Ribollita.  Ribollita is a Tuscany Soup.  It is also a bread soup meaning it has bread in it.  There are no spices in the soup but salt and pepper.  The flavor comes from the vegetables in the soup.  It has fennel, leek, carrot, celery, kale, spinach, beans, and potato.  It is a thick soup kind of like a stew due to the bread that goes in the soup.  It has very little liquid in it.  The recipe mad enough for three bowls and I can't wait to eat them.  

I received a phone call from the rheumatoid arthritis doctor's office today.  They were calling to schedule an appointment for January.  They asked if I wanted to come in or do it virtually.  Uh, virtually please!  

Then I had to call my eye doctor to get a prescription.  My sjogren's is acting up and my eye got so dry that I have another eye situation.  I got out my prescription and put it on my eye and then I looked at the expiration date and it said Jan 2020.  Oops.  It is too old for the pharmacy to get me a refill so I had to call the doctor's office and the nice doctor questioned me.  She wanted to make sure I knew what I had.  Yes, I do, the same thing I always get.  So, she called in the prescription and I should get it on Monday.  Meanwhile I will just keep using the expired prescription.  I am sure it okay.  I look at it sort of like expiration dates on soy milk.  Yeah, it is a day past but does it still smell okay?  Then I would still use it.  It will be fine. 

Until tomorrow...

GUT DOCTOR APPOINTMENT

 I had a virtual doctor appointment with my gut doctor today.  We spoke about my stress levels and my new vegan cooking and how that is effecting my stomach.  She agreed that anything I can do to reduce my stress in this crazy time is paramount.  Whether it is yoga, meditation, exercise or cooking, I need to do it.  I agree.  I think I need to many of those things combined.

Then we talked about heartburn since I have been cooking a lot of Italian food.  I agreed that I have been having some heartburn so she sent in a prescription for more medicine.  But really overall I have not been having many heartburn or stomach issues in the past three months.  

Overall it was a good discussion.  I also asked since I am high risk, how someone gets on the list to get the vaccine when it gets here and it is time for tier 3.  She said I would need to get in touch with my primary doctor and get on a list when tier 3 is announced.  Who knows if there will be enough vaccines for me to get one but I can wait until it is my turn.  I am not going anywhere.

Tomorrow is pizza day!

 Until tomrrow...

DAY EIGHTEEN COOKING COURSE

 Today was Pasta Day!  Yesterday I made the pasta dough and put it in the refrigerator.  Today I took it out and rolled it out to make two different types of pasta.  This pasta is different than the pasta you would buy in the store.  It is made with semolina flour, water, salt and olive oil.  There is no egg so it is a little denser.  The chef says it is common in the South of Italy.  

I rolled out the first batch to make Orecchiette Pasta.  They look like little ears.  I made enough to eat one meal and freeze some for another meal or two. 

I ate mine with Pesto Alla Trapanese the pesto I made last week with the nuts and sun dried tomatoes.

It was really good.  The pasta takes a little getting used to since it is a little different texture than I am used to and I probably made some of the orecchiette a bit too thick.  It is an art to make those ears.

After making a batch of orecchiette, I took a break and then I started on the Pici pasta.  Pici Pasta is long noodle pasta.  Once again mine are probably a bit thick but my hands were getting tired.  I rolled a lot of pasta.  I froze the whole batch for another evenings dinner.

It was a fun but exhausting day of pasta.  I am not sure how often I will make pasta by hand.  Maybe I will try it again to see if I can do it better.  It is a lot of work for little output for one person.  But then I think about how much better it is for me to make it from scratch.

Thursday or Friday will be Pizza day!  Everyone loves pizza.  

Let's see how my hands feel tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVENTEEN COOKING COURSE

 Today was a day of learning.  I started with vegan Panna Cotta.  Last night I got ready by putting the frozen strawberries and a can of coconut milk  in the refrigerator.  This morning I used the strawberries to make Strawberry Coulis.  I used the firm cream part of the top of the coconut milk to make the cream base of the Panna Cotta.  

It is a two step process that took hours.  I tried Panna Cotta many years ago and didn't like the texture.  My opinion has now changed.  I really liked this panna cotta.  The cream portion was not that texture from years ago, it was much firmer.  The strawberry coulis was sweet but tart and the lemon zest made it taste so good I wanted to lick the bowl.  

While the Panna Cotta was chilling, I started my pasta dough.  The recipes from the cooking course have many of the measurements in ounces and grams.  Since the recipes are from Europe, I didn't know they use different measurements for different items.  Well, I found out today.  I measured out the ingredients for the dough and put them in the mixer.  It was not right and too runny.  That was mistake number 1.  Then I tried to fix it.  That was mistake number 2.  I finally had to bail on that try at dough and start over.  I found a conversion app and started again and this time it looked right.  It is chilling in the fridge.  Tomorrow will be the day we find out if I can make pasta.

Until tomorrow...
 

STARTING CHRISTMAS DECORATING

 I finally put together my new Christmas tree.  My new Christmas tree is a disco Christmas tree.  It is a silver tree.  I have always wanted a silver tree and I thought that of all years to get one, this was the year!  I want to shine this year!  I want to stare at a shiny tree with sparkly lights.  Not to mention, there was no way for me to get outside to get a real Christmas tree and my little Charlie Brown Christmas tree is getting a bit worn.  

It is a sweet Charlie Brown tree for sure.  It is supposed to be 4' tall but that is a stretch.  I have it sitting on a box.  

This year's tree is about 6' tall with the stand.  It is the perfect size for my space.  I have to put lights and decorations on it to make it ready for Christmas.  I am going to decorate and make the place look like Christmas.  I love the sparkly lights and smell of Christmas and Christmas songs and Christmas baking.  

I signed myself up for a few activities to get in the spirit.  I am watching a live (recorded ) performance of a Christmas play and a reading of A Christmas Carol.  I think those things are what I would normally participate in and doing them from home will feel like some sort of normal.  

Until tomorrow...

REORGANIZING THE PANTRY

 I call it the pantry but my kitchen is so small that it is really a cabinet. I keep my dry goods and canned food in a cabinet. I should have taken a before photo but I forgot. There was food on top of food. Food falling out every time  I opened the doors. It was a mess. 

The jars arrived yesterday and I wanted to get them in action right away. I wanted to organize the cabinet. First off I could not find my yeast or national yeast. Both things I need. Then I started realizing I had no idea what was in the cabinet at all. 

I woke up this morning and got to work. First, I began filling the jars. They looked so great. Then I had so much room that I wanted more room. I began clearing out another shelf, then another, then another cabinet.  I threw away so much old and useless food. The expiration dates scared even me. I had Crystal Light that had a use by date of the year 2000. I don’t even drink Crystal Light. 

After I cleared out, I sorted and made zones. I now have a baking shelf. I have a shelf with all the vinegars and such. Then I put all my boxed food snacks on a shelf. I organized my grains and rice on a shelf.

It all looks so much better. I still have more to do but I can open the cabinet and things don’t fall out like they used to.  

It’s my brother and sister-in-law’s anniversary today. Happy anniversary! It was my brother and his husband's anniversary earlier this week. Happy anniversary!

Until tomorrow...

DAY SIXTEEN COOKING COURSE

 I woke up early to go to the post office. I got cooking early by making the Castagnaccio (Chestnut Cake) first. Castagnaccio is a typically autumnal dessert from Tuscany. It isn’t very sweet but it is nutty and would be good served with ice cream.

Then I continued to cook and I made Brushetta. I have never eaten brushetta before because I can’t eat garlic and brushetta has garlic. I made it with the amount of garlic I can tolerate. It was very good. I could see eating brushetta with a salad or soup. 

I had one more recipe to make and that is Bean Salad. I didn’t have the arugula for the topping but it is COVID time so I had to make due. This was probably the most disappointing dish so far. It was pretty tasteless. 

I got my delivery of jars. I was pretty surprised. I thought I ordered 3 jars to try them out. Well, shopping at night has struck again. I must have ordered 3 cases of jars (3jars in a case). I got 9 jars. Turns out I like them and they fit the space so it all worked out! They look great.

I am going to fill them with rice, sun dried tomatoes, cranberries, flour, and quinoa. I can’t wait.

Until tomorrow...

NIGHT SCHOOL FOR MOUNTAIN LIONS

 I got my Christmas cards in the mail today.  They look great.  Better than I expected.  I am going to spend this weekend getting them put together and out the door.  I am just waiting for the stamps to arrive. They are holiday stamps.  This year I am using a sticker to close them instead of licking them to close.  I got some cute stickers that match my cards.  The only part I have left to do is printing my labels.  

Tonight I went to night school and learned all about mountain lions.  Mountain Lions are also called pumas, cougars, panther, painter, and catamount.  Who knew? I thought they were all different animals.  It just reminded me of the time there was a mountain lion in my neighbor's backyard. Now I understand how the mountain lion wandered into an urban neighborhood.  It was probably a young mountain lion and it wondered off looking for adventure and got more than it bargained for.  It is interesting to hear about all the research happening about the movements of mountain lions and how we can make it better for them.  Making tunnels or bridges so the wildlife can move from one mountain range to another and not have to cross freeways and highways.  That way the animals don't end up in populated areas.  

My hands felt better today.  I took it much easier today. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY FIFTEEN COOKING COURSE

 This was the day to finish the Sweet Pears with Non-Alcoholic Wine.  It was more involved than I thought it was going to be.  I had to design the pears into the shape they needed to be.  Then I needed to make the English Cream.  That made it so wonderful.  It was a lemony sort of custard that sat in the bottom of the bowl.  The pear and the custard made such perfect partners.  

I ate this pear and I gave the second pear to my dog walker.  I have another to eat tomorrow.  That third pear was my "mistake".  I don't care, it will still taste amazing.

I was given a very nice compliment today.  Someone told me that I write good descriptions to go with the photos of my food.  I guess all those hours of watching cooking shows have come in handy!

I am having some serious stiffness in my hands.  I think I need to figure out some ways to sort this out. Maybe some hot gloves (which I have), stretching, or a hand bath.  All good ideas.

Until tomorrow...

DAY FOURTEEN COOKING COURSE & WORKING ON SORE HANDS

 I made Pumpkin and Potato Curry last night.  It is not on the Cooking Course Curriculum; it is on the supplemental cooking section.  I needed to use up the pumpkin from the pumpkin risotto I made on Thanksgiving.  It made a lot of Curry so I may freeze some for a later date.  It is a very different recipe than I made before because it has lentils in it.  It is good and I would make it again because it filling on a cold day.

Today I started my new schedule of cooking more recipes each day.  I started today with Sweet Pear with Red Wine.  I don't drink wine nor do I have any so I used sparkling non-alcoholic grape wine.  It seemed to work.  I cooked the pears.

This made the house smell so wonderful and Christmasy.  Once it was done cooking, I then put the pears in a container (I only had a vase big enough) and put them in the fridge. 

They stay there for 24 hours and then I get to finish the recipe. Stay tuned for Pears Part II.

Simultaneously I was making a Fennel Salad.  It is fennel and orange and a dressing.  It was so light and delicious to eat.

Once I gobbled the salad down, I started in on the third recipe.  It was Pesto alla Trapanese.  This recipe didn't go quite as easy as the other two.  I tried halfing the recipe and I am not sure what went wrong but it didn't get a creamy as the guy in the video.  It still tasted fantastic, tart and like I wanted to spread it on a piece of toast.  It just doesn't look as creamy.

It was a cooking day and I got a lot of things accomplished.  

I have been having sore hands and I hope it isn't from all this cooking.  Using knives and peelers is hard on my hands.  Peeling things for some reason is really hard on my hands.  Today trying to peel three pears was SO hard and I was trying to come up with ways to do it easier. I finally used a cloth to hold the slippery pear since trying to hold a slippery pear hurts to much.  I need to find better ways to do things in the kitchen so I am not hurting my hand and wrist joints. I will focus on making it easier.

Today is World AIDS Day.  Time to remember the people lost to AIDS.  

Until tomorrow...

Stiff hands.