The Dress-Up Dress Down

 

Groceries. You can't live with them and you can't live without them.

Well, more like you can't live with the price of them and you can't live without them.

Potato, Potahto.

Speaking of potato . . .

I learned a lesson in relinquishing control during the height of Covid. I ordered my groceries online for pick up. At first, I ordered most of my staples, but still needed to pick out the meats and fresh vegetables myself. Doing it this way meant still going into the stores, but for much less time.

Then things got worse, vaccinations were just being developed, people around here would not follow social distancing rules and didn't wear masks. I had to order all of my groceries. It was difficult for me, but when balanced with trying to stay alive, a no brainer.

Sometimes the vegetables were very close to what I would have picked out myself. Sometimes, not so much. A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about a sweet potato in my order that would feed a small country. Just after that, fully vaccinated, I went back to shopping just for my produce and meats, I'd gotten too used to the ease of ordering everything else.

Recently, though, I started ordering more and shopping for less. Yes, you guessed it, I ordered sweet potatoes. Two, one for me and one for College Boy. Oh, I got two sweet potatoes, I also got a lesson in perspective. That one I got a few years ago? That was small compared to the two I got this time. I think 50% of my bill was sweet potato. It's a wonder I could lift them. They were the size of pumpkins. I could carve them up, put a candle in them and stick them on the front porch. 

Figuring out what to do with one was a challenge. I cooked it, shared it with College Boy at dinner, but we didn't even put a dent in it. The leftovers provided lots of recipe development inspiration. I made Ginger Snap Sweet Potato Cake, Apple Pecan Sweet Potatoes, and Sweet Potato Blinis.

Sweet Potato Blinis

 

And I still had one left. 

So, working with that whole turn it into a jack-o-lantern vibe, and in honor of today being Halloween, I decided to share. In a Halloween meets politics meets produce. In a Mr. (Sweet) Potato Head kinda way. 

For instance:

I hear Ron DeSantis likes to talk a lot about drag performers and drag shows, seems sort of obsessed, actually. I bet he'd love to be gifted his very own queen.

Or perhaps Greg border-buoy-death-trap-in-the-Rio-Grande Abbott should get a look at what those of us with a moral compass see when we look at him.

And there are at least 19 defendants in Georgia who may be drastically lowering their clothing and barber shop budgets. I could give them a helpful glimpse into their future fashion style options.

Whether you're spending this Halloween partying, giving out candy, or dressing up your vegetables, I hope you're having fun.

Probably not as much fun as I'm having. That is, unless you order your groceries online too.

Sweet Potato Blinis         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
about 2 medium sweet potatoes

2 oz cream cheese

1 packet instant maple and brown sugar oatmeal

1/4 cup quick oats

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup mini marshmallows, halved

3 TBSP butter

maple syrup 

Directions:

*Cook the sweet potatoes in the oven or microwave until fork tender. Discard the skin and refrigerate the rest to cool.

*While the sweet potato is cooling, allow the cream cheese to soften in a medium sized bowl.

*Once the sweet potato has cooled and the cream cheese has softened, measure out 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato and add it to the bowl with the cream cheese. Beat until smooth, then beat in the oatmeal packet, quick oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add the egg and beat again. Mix in the mini marshmallows. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

*Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

*Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, melt 1 TBSP butter over medium heat. Add some of the sweet potato mixture (about 1 heaping TBSP per blini) to the hot pan. Leave space between each blini. Form into about 2 - 2 1/2 inch circles.

*Cook for 2 minutes, then lower the heat to just above low and cook until the bottoms start to brown, about 8 - 10 minutes. Flip over, pressing them down gently, and cook the other side, about another 8 minutes. Repeat this process with additional cooking spray, butter, and sweet potato mixture.

*Place the blinis on the prepared baking sheet and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

*To serve, drizzle with maple syrup. Provide more maple syrup for dipping.

Midnight Message: Monthly Poetry Group

 

 

Last Friday of the month is for

Monthly Poetry Group to rhyme.

Diane, Mimi, and I take turns,

Message Me is the theme this time.

 

As usual, today I'll try,

a poem to write . . . or fudge.

Whether I'm successful or not,

you get to be the judge.  

 

Midnight Message

"Message me," the text had said,

it had me seeing red.

Was the middle of the night and I'd

been asleep, in bed.

Messages alert for me, 

always, 'cause . . . just in case.

Delete and block, the thing to do,

return dreams to my head space.

Just got back to sleep and my

chocolate breakfast dream,

when another alert came through, and I

thought that I would scream. 

 

Chocolate French Toast

"Message me," it said again,

not sure how that could be,

the delete and block was supposed to have 

permanently set me free.

Angry now I answered,

though really not too smart,

"who the hell are you," I said,

"how do I make you depart?"

"I just want to talk," he said.

I answered in no time,

"well, do you know that stalking is,

a serious legal crime?"

"Blocking me does nothing,"

was his scary retort.

"I can get through anything,

so forget a police report."

"As for who I am, perhaps,

a selfie explanation will do."

Ding went my cell phone alert,

a picture had come through.

"The picture is of nothing,

it's just completely blank.

And if you want the truth, I'm sick

of your stupid prank."

"The picture is of me," he said,

"I'm more transparent than most,

and I'm already departed, 'cause

the truth is, I'm a ghost."

Happy (almost) Halloween!

and perhaps it's time we started,

to give some thought to making friends,

with the invisible (semi)departed.

 

Before you go, stop by these blogs for more poetry:

 

On the Border

Messymimi's Meanderings

 

Chocolate French Toast

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chocolate ice cream

2 eggs

1 tsp brewed coffee, cooled

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

7 slices white bread

3 1/2 TBSP butter

OPT: serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and/or with syrup.

Directions:
*Thaw the ice cream in a pie plate. Once liquid, whisk with the eggs, coffee, vanilla, and salt.

*Heat 1 TBSP over medium heat in a large skillet. Swirl to cover the bottom of the pan.

*One at a time, dip both sides of two slices of bread into the liquid in the pie plate. Place into the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, until the bottom has browned. Flip over. Reduce heat a little if the pan gets too hot, and cook the other side for about another 3 minutes.

*Remove and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining butter and bread slices.

*OPT: serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and/or with syrup.

 

 

Pro Pumpkin Pride

 

Pumpkin shaming. 

It's a thing. And you know it.

Fall is the only season I can think of, when it comes to food, and pumpkin the only tasty target, in which bigotry is widely accepted. Not only accepted, but prevalent everywhere, embraced by many as indisputable.

I'm here to represent. Show support. Solidarity. Not that I am one, a pumpkin, but you don't need to be a member of a group, any group {{hint, hint}}, to stand against blatant, widespread bigotry.

And really, it affects me, this constant attack starting as early as August (no judgement, but even I admit that timing is a bit rushed), but running rampant in October. Affected because I do post a few pumpkin recipes in this Halloween month. And I hope that rather than be discriminated against due to the color of their ingredients, that they will instead be judged simply by what they have to offer society. And your holiday menu. It's only fair.

Even if this gourd chooses to identify as a fruit, it is not our place to criticize.

And if these lovely cookies are brave enough to identify, loud and proud, as pumpkin, then who are we to shame them without even giving them a chance I say support them, embrace them. Foster and environment of inclusion when it comes to your holiday baking schedule. Proudly share then with your friends and neighbors. Be a voice of reason.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Rugelach

 

After all, they make the ultimate sacrifice. We carve them up like a turkey, light them on fire from the insides, roast them, mash them, and turn them into delicious side dishes and desserts for our holiday festivity pleasure.

The least we can do is show some respect. Stop the public shaming, the prejudice, and the discrimination. 

It's Fall, and it's holiday season, ride the tide, embrace the taste, join team Pro Pumpkin Pride.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Rugelach         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 TBSP butter, softened

1/4 cup speculoos cookie butter

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup flour

powdered sugar for rolling

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup pepitas

Directions:
*Cream together the butter, speculoos, and cream cheese until smooth. Carefully beat in or stir in the flour until incorporated. Form the dough into two equal sized balls, enclose separately in plastic wrap, flatten, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

*Press the pumpkin puree between paper towels to release as much as the moisture as you can, leaving you with a firmer pumpkin pulp.

*Mix together the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar. Set aside.

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, sprinkle a rolling surface with powdered sugar.

*NOTE: it's easiest to place plastic wrap over the dough for rolling. Roll each dough round, separately, into about 8 to 9 inch circles.
*Remove the plastic wrap from the top and spread about half of the filling onto each round to within about 1/2 inch of the edges. Sprinkle with the pepitas.
*Cut each dough round, like a pizza, into 12 long triangular shaped slices. Run a spatula under them to losen and start to separate them before, starting at the outside, rolling up to the tips to form 24 crescents. Place, point side down, on the baking sheet.

*Bake for 18 - 22 minutes, or until they start to brown. Allow to set for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to cool completely.

Fasting and Creaking: Fly on the Wall

 

 Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 2 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you’ll find links to this month’s other participants’ posts.

I was in the den working on my laptop when I heard Hubs coming up from the man cave. Before he got to the top step, I started talking to him.

Hubs (coming up the last few steps and looking around the wall at me): You were talking to me?
Me: Yeah, I do that now and then.

Hubs: But how did you know I was coming up?
Me: I heard the creaking.

Hubs: Those steps don't creak.

Me: No, you do.

 

 

From the "be careful what you wish for" files:

Every October we inevitably end up with bugs that get ino the house. I can't stand having flies in the kitchen but spiders are the worst.

I said something to Hubs about wishing those bugs didn't find their way inside every year at this time. A few days later he came upstairs holding a tissue.

Hubs: You know how you wished bugs would stop getting in the house?

Me: Yes.

Hubs (showing me what's in the tissue he's holding): Be careful what you wish for.

Fly on the wall, toad on the stairs

Hubs was in the kitchen when I came racing down from upstairs.

Me: Oh no, oh no, oh no . . .

Hubs: What's wrong?

Me: It's raining on my avocado.

Hubs: It's what?

Me (running out to the deck in the pouring rain): It's raining on my avocado.

Hubs (looking at me and mumbling under his breath to himself): Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask.

I had walked up to a local park and sat down on a bench before heading home. I smiled at a woman sitting on another bench with her grandson playing on the ground in front of her.

Little boy: Grandma, you're old.

Woman: Oh really? How old am I?

Little boy: You're ninety hundred.

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation, I decided to get out of there before it was my turn . . .

I was cooking dinner when College Boy walked in:

College Boy: What do I smell?
Me: If it's a good smell, dinner. If it's a bad smell, not dinner.

College Boy: Smells like pot.

Skillet Taco Chicken

Me: Ummm . . . the appetizer?

I joke a lot about aging, forgetfulness in particular. But this past month I shared something new about it on my Baking In A Tornado Facebook page.

Yes! Note to self: look for those silver linings.

Me: You know, I've been reading a few articles about health in general, and boosting your immune system specifically.

Hubs: Really, what does it entail?

Me: Well, it's about the benefits of fasting once a month.

Hubs: {{thinking}} {{thinking}} so . . . what you're saying is that you don't have anything planned for dinner, right?

Me: Maybe . . .

Damn, he saw right through me.

The way our master bedroom is set up, if you walk most of the way through the room, just before the sitting area, to the right is the master bath. You can't see it all in this picture, but when you walk into the bathroom, directly to your left is a room with the toilet and some storage shelves, further down is shower and bathtub. Directly to your right is the linen closet, further down are the double sinks.

Straight ahead is a large, long, walk in closet. The closet door is usually closed, including when we change our clothes in there, since the mirror is on the back of that door.

One afternoon, I didn't realize that Hubs was in the closet changing, and he didn't realize that I had gone into the toilet room, until he heard me yell:

Me: YAY!

Hubs (coming out of the closet): So . . . I guess things are going pretty well for you in there?

OK, that could be embarrassing . . .

. . . but actually, out there is where things were going pretty well. I had turned on the TV as I walked through the bedroom, and had just heard the Patriots get a touchdown.

I had done the laundry and handed Hubs some of his clothes to put away since he was heading upstairs anyway.

Hubs (coming back downstairs and into the laundry room): Do you have any more of my clothes here?
Me: No, why?
Hubs: I only had one brown sock, and I had 5 white socks.

Me: Well, either that's what you wore . . .

Hubs: It isn't.

Me: Or there's something you need to know.

Hubs: What's that?

Me: When it comes to socks, we have no control. The dryer giveth, and the dryer taketh away.

I get really anxious when the boys travel. Maybe it's my having been traumatized when PurDude was in college and I'd checked on the airline flight map, found his flight, and as I was trying to figure out where it was, it disappeared off the map. And didn't come back.

Or it could have been from the years of him driving alone from here to college, and then from here to his current home in Colorado. Along the way there are long stretched of nothingness, nowhere really where he could get help.

When the boys travel, they know to text all along the way: when they leave home, when they stop for gas, or get to the airport, when they board . . . it just helps if I know where they are.

Tomorrow was going to be a tough day for me. PurDude is traveling alone. He has to walk 20 minutes at 4:00am, to catch a 4:30am bus to the airport, to take his first flight to LAX, then get to his second 11 hour flight, then make his way to the first place they'll be staying, where he'll meet up with his friends (all flying in from different states).

College Boy then came to me at the beginning of this week:

College Boy: Mom, I have to tell you something but first I want to ask you a question.

Me: What's the question?
College Boy: Do you have a prescription for valium? Or should I roll you a few joints?
Me: Now you're scaring me. Just tell me, What?

College Boy: One of my favorite artists is having a pop-up album sale on Saturday in NY. I think I'm going to fly out to Laguardia on Friday, stay in Staten Island with a friend or a hotel in Manhattan, go to the pop up in the Bronx on Saturday and fly back on Sunday.

Me: So you'll be traveling on Friday, your brother will be traveling on Saturday, and you'll be traveling on Sunday?

College Boy: Yes.

Me: Both.

College Boy: Both what?

Me: Valium AND a couple of joints. 

 

 

 

Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

Menopausal Mother

Skillet Taco Chicken

                                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup orzo

2 lg boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 small onion

1 small jalapeno

1 TBSP taco seasoning

1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes

1 can (15 oz) corn niblets

1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

fresh cilantro to taste

OPT: top with shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, corn chips, tortilla chips, and/or serve with tortillas

Directions:
*Cook the orzo. Drain and set aside.
*Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Chop the onion. Remove the top and seeds and chop the jalapeno.

*Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium heat, and add the chicken, onion, and jalapeno. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Cook, stirring now and then, until the chicken is fully cooked. 

*Drain the corn niblets and kidney beans.

*Add the tomatoes and their juices to the skillet along with the garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, pepper, and salt. Stir, breaking up the tomatoes. 

*Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the corn, kidney beans, and orzo. Cook, stirring, until hot. Sprinkle with cilantro.

The Apple Bites Back: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again.

 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

 This month's number is 45. 
It was chosen by Diane of On the Border.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen the theme The Apple Bites Back.

 

 

~ Can an apple frustrate you for a day? A week? A month? I lived all of these years not realizing just how aggravating an apple can be. Now I know. And although this story has an acceptable ending, the beginning and middle? Not so much.

~ It started with changing cell providers. They rewarded us well. I wrote about all of the perks in my post Swag Bag Sister Wife. One of them was free Apple TV, which sometimes had the only rights to a Red Sox game. Sign me up!

~ The cell store clerk had Hubs to set up an Apple account, associate it with their free offer, and just in time to get the first Sox game Apple TV was showing. Signed into the IPad app (for later use), and watched via our Roku.

~ First sign of trouble, whenever I got on my IPad, it asked if I wanted to sign in as Hubs. Nope, declined. A month later, Apple sent Hubs an email saying our free month was over and we had to pay to continue. Wait. What? 

~ At game time Apple TV wouldn't let us in. Cell provider app showed us as active on Apple TV, but Apple would not recognize the login we'd set up. We missed the game. I started a DM with the cell provider.

~ The customer service agent worked with me for two days via DMs. We had to delete Hubs' original Apple account, set up a new one with his personal email, connect that to the cell account, and we were good to go. Or so it seemed.

~ Got onto the channel. Yay. It required payment to watch. Boo. Three days, more cell account reps and a trip to a cell store, nothing. THEY promised us free TV, THEY, not us, had the Apple agreement, but told us to deal with Apple ourselves.

~ Hubs drove to the store where he'd originally signed up for the cell service. Yes! Five time's the charm. They deleted Hubs' second Apple account, signed us up for the free TV using my IPad account, and we had Apple TV. For reals this time.

~ Then I tried to updating an IPad app. It would not allow me to unless I signed in as Hubs' original Apple account, now deleted, nonexistent. Which, of course, it wouldn't recognize. What else wouldn't it let me do? Download any app. Oh, HELL no!

~ So, my IPad in hand, Hubs ended up at the Apple store after all. After explaining the whole loooong story to the rep there, who answered with "you need to see a tech, I'm just the door guy," Hubs got an appointment. In an hour. 

~ When granted an audience with an actual tech, Hus once again explained the whole long story, then he turned my IPad over. The tech did his tech stuff and looked at Hubs. Good news: he could delete the nonexistent account and restore my IPad. BUT . . .

~ Bad news: although I could then use the IPad as before, wiping Hubs' original Apple account would . . . wait for it . . . lose us Apple TV. We'd come full circle. Full nauseating, frustrating circle. We bit the apple and that damn apple, it bit us back. Again.

Apple Gingerbread Cheesecake Parfait

~ But why? The TV used my Apple account and I'd deleted the app from my IPad, so there should be no association. But the tech was adamant, I had to choose. I waived the white flag, give me my IPad, take your freakin' Apple TV.

~ Confused though, I checked and was right, we still had Apple TV. Hubs drove home feeling good. My IPad had relinquished authority back to me. It worked! Apple TV worked!. Unfortunately, when he got here he realized that one of our garage doors . . . did not.

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Apple Gingerbread Cheesecake Parfait         
                                   ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (makes 4):
1 Milky Way candy bar

1 TBSP butter

1 apple

1 TBSP sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

10 oz cream cheese, softened

3 TBSP apple juice

5 TBSP sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups gingerbread, chopped 

      My Caramel Apple Gingerbread recipe HERE

Directions:
*Place the candy bar in the freezer for 30 minutes, then take out, chop, and set aside.

*Core, peel, and chop the apple. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the apple, 1 TBSP sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, just until the apple starts to soften. Refrigerate to cool.

*Beat the cream cheese with the apple juice, 5 TBSP sugar, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. 

*Divide the chopped gingerbread into the bottom of 4 short (8 oz) rocks or juice glasses. Press lightly.

*Add an apple layer onto the gingerbread. Spoon or pipe the cream cheese mixture onto the apple layer.

*Top with the chopped candy pieces. Refrigerate.