December 3rd Dinner Post

[livetobake]

Good Morning!

I am amazed I am still sitting in my home that is on its foundation the way the wind was blowing so hard late evening and overnight. It was just howling, raining, snowing and thundering. I am surprised the weather alert did not go off on my phone.

It is still raining but the wind has died down somewhat thank goodness with the high of 53 and the drop of 30 degrees for our overnight of 23 with the wind picking up again this morning and gusting strong winds again today.

Dinner is leaning towards beef and barley soup and some homemade bread along with a salad. One thing DGS and I totally agree upon is that homemade soup is something that can been eaten daily in the cold weather. I make enough that I can freeze some and it makes a good hot lunch and at times breakfast if it is cold enough or we are cold enough.

What will be your dinner this Saturday night?

[Chayote]

We had a stinker of a day... woke up this morning and already the temperature was 84°f and it slowly crept up to 91° by midday. We out to the final doll collectors meeting/Christmas party which was a lot of fun. John had to come with me. He usually spends the time visiting Andrew and Hannah, however a boy in Andrew's grade was at school for two days before being diagnosed with COVID and it was too big a risk to John to be with him. He thought he would hate the doll club but he actually enjoyed it. We sat at a table with three ladies who included him in the discussion. One of the ladies was raised in a town close to where John was born and raised so they talked about local landmarks and laughed about crazy things about the towns in the area. The eldest member is a lady of 84 and she travels everywhere by train. Being Saturday they only run every hour and she would have a 3km walk at each end of her journey so John insisted that we drive her home. It was nice seeing an area we hadn't seen before and we learned more about the dear lady. She was one of 8 children and the only one to live past 50. Her parents died when she was a young girl and her husband died from a heart attack shortly after they were married, before having children. She's totally alone in the world. It made us feel blessed to our own families. She has been a member of the doll club for 52 years. From now on I'll make sure I spend some time with her at future meetings.

It was close to dinner time when we arrived home so we bought fish, prawns and calamari from our fish and chip shop. It was very good and so much easier than cooking on a hot day. There are enough chips leftover to put in the airfryer tomorrow.

The weather tomorrow is expected to hit 101°f. I'll make sure I close the blinds before I go to bed and I'll put the airconditioning on early to keep the house cool. I don't like hot weather at all.

[Vera]

Chayote - Just like the sweet couple you are helping your new friend get home. Glad John enjoyed it and wasn't exposed to any COVID germs. Better safe than sorry.
Today is my neighborhood "Soup and Sandwich" day after our annual homeowners' meeting (small neighborhood). I am expecting a dozen people (not everyone is coming) at my dining room table. Glad there aren't more, because I didn't want to add another portable table to what I have already set up. One of my friends wants me to take a picture of my table before guests arrive. I will have Chayote post it here too as I have talked about this get together earlier in another post.

It is overcast and rainy here, but the temperature is mild (50s). Guess what is for dinner?? Soup and sandwiches (lol).

[MudderBear]

Soup! If we were not going to go to town and look after Kian today, my plan was to make a pot of potato leek soup...still have many bags of leeks in freezer from spring time that I need to use.
livetobake: can you share your recipe for your beef & barley soup? I have not made it for many years, mainly cuz I just can't seem to find the perfect taste.
we will pick up a pizza special on our way in to DS house.

[livetobake]

Mudder,

I don't really follow recipes I am more of a fly by the seat of my pants cook. I just use them as sort of a format and don't really measure either. I did use the Taste of Home years ago but felt like it needed garlic and a bay leaf as for starters so found on Allrecipes a Beef and Barley Soup III and I just checked, and they are still there. I just combined them and used what sounded good together for my taste. I did use more onion and garlic as I love both. Bay leaf is a yes. I read some of the reviews and they have good thoughts so might try that. I do not use wine is cooking, you might so go for it. I still have fresh thyme growing so do use that also.

Sorry I am not more help. but you are a great cook, I have smelled you cooking over the border , so know you will do a great job. I will say I use leftover roast beef and gravy for extra flavor in with the broth. So good.

Good luck and it makes a lot so you could freeze some also.

[CharleneG]

It’s been a beautiful day today but it’s been really cold. I cleaned all the bottles and wrappers out of my car and by the time I got them in the trash my fingers felt like ice cubes. It felt good to get back in the house.

I’m going to get a takeout order of teriyaki beef from Miyako’s Teriyaki for my dinner tonight. I’m craving beef and theirs is excellent.

[Chayote]

Chayote - Just like the sweet couple you are helping your new friend get home. Glad John enjoyed it and wasn't exposed to any COVID germs. Better safe than sorry.

We've never been called a "sweet couple" before but you made me smile. I'll send her a Christmas card before we leave for Melbourne. I just hate to think of her alone most of the time... She told us that she's been alone for most of her life but that doesn't mean that has to continue. She's just such a long way from where we live that I can't commit to visiting her. She most likely wouldn't let us into her home anyway.

The doll club members seem to like us. They welcomed John with open arms and he didn't feel awkward at all, despite only two men in attendance. I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to go to future meetings. There is one elderly lady there named Angela and she pulled me aside yesterday to say that she knew I collected Cabbage Patch Kids and she had a "little gift" for me. It was a huge gift... two beautiful CPKs and a 38yo CPK blanket. I was thrilled and couldn't stop thanking her. She then gave me her phone number and said that she would love to catch up before next meeting which is 8 weeks away. I thought we might meet for lunch before Christmas and make sure she has somewhere to spend the day.

We are slowly but surely making friends around Adelaide...

[MudderBear]

Thank you ltb I usually do the same thing when it comes to recipes, such as after the 1st or 2nd time, I just wing it. I do love the flavour of bay leaf in recipes, and also lots of onion/garlic...I do not add any wine to my cooking either. Next time I have leftover roast beef & gravy, I will save for the soup. I had in the past used ground beef in my soups, I don't really mind that

[livetobake]

You are welcome, Mudder.

I have used hamburger also in a lot of places that call for beef and it works just fine in soup and casseroles.

Thanks for understanding my lack of measuring and "winging" it. DGS is getting pretty good at that himself.