The Iron Giant

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129167/ We have not seen this in a while. When Rob and I saw this in the theater, he says I decided that the moral of this movie was "Guns are bad; beatniks make great dads." (My memory is of him saying it, but he says I did. I want my brain cells back, damnit!) Highly Recommended! We found the toy on clearance at Meijer the next year.

Hoppin' John

Blackeyed peas are supposed to be good luck on New Year's. pick over and rinse a half pound of blackeyed peas. (about a cup and a half) soak overnight. drain them when you are about to cook them, and add: 4 cups of water 2 medium onions, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 4 ounces smoked ham (I used leftover ham from Xmas), diced 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp dried red pepper 2 large bay leaves simmer gently, uncovered, for about 20-30 minutes, or until soft. discard the bay leaves, and drain the peas, reserving about a cup of liquid. add chicken stock to the liquid to make 2 3/4 cups. preheat oven to 325 F cook: 4 slices of chopped bacon in 2 TB butter (I used 2 TB saved bacon drippings and some more leftover ham) until crispy. stir in: 1.5 cups rice and 1 tsp salt cook for one minute, stirring the rice so it gets coated with fat. bring to a simmer, cover, and place in oven. cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice is cooked. remove from oven, top with the bean mixture and put back in oven to warm- 5 minutes or so take out of the oven and mix in some parsley (I don't have any atm), and let stand for 10-20 minutes before serving.

New Year's eve

Shrimp cocktail. For benefit of Lisa ;) : thaw bag of cooked cocktail shrimp in refrigerator overnight, or under cold water in a colander for a few minutes. artfully arrange on plate with a small bowl of cocktail sauce. eat.

Ham and bean soup.

Last night when this was cooling on the porch, I hard a funny noise outside. A raccoon was trying to climb up onto the chair it was sitting on- presumably to eat the contents. I shooed him away and brought the pot in and put it in the refrigerator after cleaning it off. Either the poor guy must be really hungry, or my soup just smelled that terrific :) I made the biscuits last night, too, and froze 'em. worked pretty well. I guess I have another 'cook ahead' idea. Biscuits are pretty easy to make, though, so I'm not sure I'll be using that idea in the near future. Ham and Bean Soup take one meaty ham bone, and put it in a big pot. add water until the bone is covered with water. add 2 medium onions, chopped, a few stalks of celery, chopped, a few cloves of garlic, minced, a few medium potatoes, peeled and diced, and a couple of diced carrots. add a pound of rinsed-and-picked over dry beans and some salt, a bay leaf,pepper, and spicy condiment of your choice (I used some hot sauce, but worchestershire sauce and crushed red pepper are also nice) bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer covered for a few hours. remove the bay leaf and discard. take out the ham bone, let cool somewhat, and remove the ham from the bone and put it in the pot. you can also take some of the beans out and smash them to give the soup more texture. I think this soup is best cooled and refrigerated, and reheated the next day. Biscuits: (if you are baking these right away, preheat the oven to 450 F. If not, don't :>) whisk together: 2 cups flour 2.5 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt Blend in with your fingers or a pastry cutter: 6 TB cold butter, cut into small pieces (I used margarine and they turned out fine. they taste alot better made with butter, though) when the flour and butter have amalgamated somewhat (you dont want them blended, you just want to sort of push the flour into the butter, and vice versa), add 3/4 cup of milk. mix with a spoon, and when everything is blended, flour your hands, gather it into a ball, and knead it gently against the side of the bowl until all the flour has been incorporated. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, and roll out until it is about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick. cut with a metal biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. to freeze, place on a baking sheet, and place in freezer. when biscuits are partially frozen, put them in bags, seal out the air, and keep in freezer. I don't know how long they last there, but I imagine even freezer-burnt homemade biscuits are better than the "whack on the counter" variety. bake @ 450 for 10-12 minutes, or browned nicely on the tops.

Fried Rice

I forgot the celery, but it still turned out yummy. A wonderful way to stretch one chicken breast to feed two people for two meals :) (at least!)

Third night of Chanukah.

We went over to my mom's to make latkes. Fun was had by all, but my clothes still smell like grease :)

Hi down there!

Ellie looking down my mom's laundry chute.

Christmas Breakfast

Fried yeasted doughnuts, bacon and eggs over easy. mmmm!

Christmas cookies!

Butter hearts, Orange butter flowers, Almond butter stars, Gingerbread rounds, Gingerbread hearts with crystallized ginger, Chocolate Chip, and Oatmeal raisin.