Carol’s Chronicles

I’ve been thinking that something was missing here at Oaks and Magnolias, and so I decided to start this page – just for fun! I remember when blogs just got started – we used the old word, “weblogs.” Wow, we have come a long way! But you know, there was something really friendly and community-oriented In the tradition of those older blogs. I’ll be posting frequent updates here of what’s going on in my life, what’s happening at Oaks and Magnolias, and all sorts of fun things. I hope you’ll stop by often and take a peek – I know you will find something that’s fun, interesting, or even – useful.

So – here we go!

July 19, 2020

It seems as if these days I am spending most of our money on food from the grocery! Yes, that’s because we aren’t eating in restaurants, except for a few times when we opted for take-out. Before COVID19 – we ate out rather often – probably too often. I am having fun, though, exploring possibilities in the kitchen and trying some items I haven’t made in a long while.

One of our “old standbys” is Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (you know, the kind restaurants call “Spaghetti Bolognese”). I often just use the recipe my mother-in-law handed down – my grandmother did it more from scratch but I’ve never had the time or the patience for that. However, for a while now, even before things changed, I have been playing with modifications or making the sauce more “from scratch.” Not totally – but sometimes I get closer to true “scratch” preparation! I had a box of cherry tomatoes from the grocery that sat longer than intended – and the skins were starting to wrinkle. I decided to use these as the base for a sauce, rather than toss them out (I hate waste), and then perhaps add more canned sauce or paste – and that’s what I did. I sauteed the little tomatoes in olive oil, helping them “pop” as they cooked, and added chopped garlic and onion, the usual herbs, and let it all cook down. Added some ground meat and after that was browned, I added more liquid volume – water and tomato sauce. I followed that with some sweet Italian sausage that I’d browned and then cut up. This recipe isn’t terribly authentically Italian – but it works. Frankly, that’s all I care about. Here are a couple of photos of the process and the finished product.

Get the recipe here.

Do you like making your own pasta sauce? Or do you buy it in a jar (I do that, too, sometimes)? Tell us in the comments below – and add your own special suggestions for making a dynamite sauce, even if you start with pre-prepared products.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

It’s been a busy week. I helped our granddaughter bake cookies for some farmer’s markets (artisan markets) that have been taking place (socially distanced, of course). That was an experience – I like to bake, but had not baked quantities of cookies in more than twenty years! It was definitely a rewarding experience, but I’m glad this is something she (not me!) is doing. Baking and cooking is something I want to do just for pleasure! Before I could start baking, I had to obtain my Texas Food Handler’s Certification, which required completion of an online course, so that had to be factored into how much time I spent, too.

Have you ever baked LOTS of cookies? Like 5 dozen or more in one day? I’m glad I still have a decent electric mixer. I wouldn’t have wanted to try that without one. Sadly, I don’t even have a photo of those chocolate chip cookies. I’ll try to get one from our granddaughter and add it in. They were delicious! They’re still site building, but their Facebook page is up and running. Take a peek if you like! In the meantime, here’s a photo of one of their other cookies that my granddaughter worked hard on to develop a perfect recipe. It’s my hands-down favorite – their Sugar Land Shortbread!

A quick note, in case you are curious, as I was: This cookie is sitting on a special baking surface that you lay onto the cookie sheet or pan before baking. It’s non-stick and so easy – no mess with parchment paper or greasing a pan. My granddaughter purchased these a while ago, but I have the ones shown below on order – and I know they are going to be a real blessing for baking! You know, I am constantly amazed by the new products and how they make life in general, and especially our efforts in the kitchen, so much easier. I can still “see” my mom trying to bake a pan of cookies – using butter or shortening to grease the pan, and then having them get too brown, or the cookies were stuck – I’m sure you get the idea! I had similar experiences earlier on – parchment paper was a great advance for me – but these silicone baking sheets are much better as there is no waste added to the environment, even heat distribution is facilitated – just an overall advantage, I think. These are the ones I have on order. Check them out if you like to bake, and don’t already have another you prefer:

These come with 2 little storage bands to keep them tidy and compact for storage when not in use. The pack is three mats, each just 0.7 mm thick and standard half-sheet size (16.5″ x 11.6″), and so useful for baking not just cookies, but pizza, bread, special items like macarons (one mat is especially designed for those, but all 3 can be used for a variety of purposes) – really, for just about anything where you would want or need a non-stick surface. That includes kneading bread, or preparing meatballs or segments of fruit for the freezer. Note: I would probably dedicate one just for meat prep, if this were something I was going to do frequently. Another important item to consider: using these also helps avoid the health hazards of chemical release from some other non-stick surfaces. For me, this is a win-win!

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Staying home more means I’m cooking more. I like to cook. I always have! Some years ago, when we were active in a homeschooling group, we visited one of our member families that actually lives on a working farm. They have a lot of land, and a huge “kitchen garden” that generates a lot of produce – vegetables and some fruit (mostly berries). They shared some recipes with us, and one of them was a great refrigerator pickle recipe. Unfortunately, I lost that recipe. However, not too long ago, I was gifted with some Mexican sour gherkins. These are tiny (no more than an inch long in this case) little pickle-like, cucumber-like veggies that, honestly, don’t seem to taste like either a cucumber. However, they make a super pickle – or pickled vegetable, if you prefer. Since the other recipe had disappeared, I searched around and found a different recipe that I modified quite a bit, took the cup of gherkins, and made pickles! Here they are – before and after.

Want the recipe? Get it here.

This was ever so much fun! I am totally going to do this again soon – and if my cucumber plants make enough, I’m going to make refrigerator pickles from some of those, too!

One last thing…

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PS – Read the August edition of Carol’s Chronicles, too – first entry just went up – find it here.