Olive Cheese ball prep day

 

Diced up:  1 lb cheddar cheese, 1/2 mild, 1/2 medium (also softened)

3 Tbsp butter.

Sifted together:

1 cup flour, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Add the flour mixture to the processor with the butter and cheese.

Pulse and process until it is the pictured consistency, ready to roll into balls with a consistency of pie dough.

Roll a "treat" inside, an olive or a small bit of cooked sausage, forming balls.

Roll into balls.  Freeze if desired, or bake right away.  (I froze them so they can be baked on Christmas Day).  450℉ oven for 10 minutes (or until golden brown, as the old recipes say).  Cool for a bit on a rack, but they are wonderful if eaten warm from the oven (cool enough so they don't burn your mouth, save that for the cayenne effect!)

The end result, baked.

I posted the photos on FB and got a nostalgic response from my niece, so I'm saving a few back for her, and she's coming over on Friday for a visit.  I see this niece rarely, so the visit will be a real treat.  She lost her labrador in August, and I'm thinking she and Ember will hit it off well.

Life's good.  Keep Sparking!

Coffee mugs are the new T-shirt

 

Lunch with my former co-worker on Sunday was a lovely catch-up.  She included me as an "Emerita" member of the team by presenting me with one of the mugs she got for the whole team.  She said she had considered T-shirts, but coffee mugs are one size fits all.  I'm cool with coffee mugs, in fact have quite the collection already, and I prize the design she worked on herself, representing not just the team but the tool we used to produce our piece of the system.

We sipped on coffee (decaf in my case) and noshed on salads while filling one another in on lives and pets and kids and what's happening at the old stomping grounds.  

The weather moderated even more Monday, getting up into the 50's, and Ember and I took advantage with a long visit at the dog park.  She came home from that nicely tired out.  I am grateful for the days when we can do this.

During puppy nap #1 Sunday I baked the Oatmeal Scotchies, the original recipe, that I haven't yet told "the kids" I shall be bringing on Christmas morning.  Now to just keep my own hands out of the cookie jar!  I gave some of them to my former co-worker.

During puppy nap #1 on Monday, I unwrapped and laid down the area rug in the family room.

Like everything else this year, there's a doggy reason for this.  It is to give her better footing for some training games that I want to do in that room.  It is yet to be seen if the area rug will survive it.

Sure enough, as soon as she was let into the room, she went after the far side of that rug, digging to chew on the pad under the rug.  I distracted her and put the gate back up.  I figure we'll have to do a few "introductions" to the room with some other things, like simple commands, games, treats, etc., to make that attractive nuisance less attractive.

We had an appointment for her heartworm test at the vet's office.  This is required once a year to have her on Simparica Trio for pest control.  The test came out negative, which clears her to continue on the preventative for 2025.  She has moved up a weight class for her dosage now, at about 90 pounds (she wiggles on the scale).  But the old weight class topped out at 88, and this one goes up to 132, so it will probably fit her adult weight.  I ordered six months' worth.  

Interesting observation of the day:  I notice that if Ember's doing something I'm not happy with and I get her jazzed about putting on her harness (the new one), she seems to become "all business" ready to go on our next mission.  It worked to get her away from that area rug and head over to the vet's office.  It worked again after puppy nap #2 when I figured we'd try this into to the area rug again.  We just went out in the back yard on harness and leash, took her off lead and the two of just existed out there, watching people walking by, listening to sirens or dogs barking in the distance.  It was something like 47F, a really pleasant afternoon to be outside.

After I fed Ember her supper, I decided to tackle the cheese puffs.  The plan was to form them, freeze them, and have DIL bake them Christmas morning.  I thought I might do this during puppy nap #1 on Christmas eve day, but I was feeling it Monday after supper, and I started my annual tradition:

Prep the dough.  16 ounces mild cheddar cheese, cubed, 3 Tbsp softened unsalted butter, 1 cup flour (barely had a cup), sifted with 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper.  Process in the food processor until it is in crumbles and can be worked.

  

Shape each ball, a good handful of the crumbles.  Add more until you have enough dough to cover the filling.

Insert the filling (in this case it's a sausage bite).

and in this case, it is a green olive with pimento.

I made about a dozen of each filling and put them in separate containers so I can tell which ones are olive and which ones sausage.  Yay!  The son and I will get our olive ones!

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets in a hot (450F) oven for 10 minutes and serve hot.

Merry Christmas!  I am now a bit ahead of the game!

And Happy Festivus to those who Seinfeld celebrate!

Life is good!  Spark on!

Into the New Year

 A starting point, I guess

New Year's Day, 2024.  I took a selfie, and amazingly I don't look as fat as I feel.  Reality check, though, I'm heavier than I have been in years... 20 pounds "crept" or "galloped" on during 2023.  I will not mention that they are the same 20 pounds I had dropped with intermittent fasting during the last quarter of 2022.  Sigh.  I still have an inner rebel to have some talks with.

It being a pretty day, I walked a mile walk outdoors, starting in on one goal.

I tracked my food in Cronometer, another stake in the ground.  It did not stop me from eating "whatever I felt like", but I did at least get it recorded.  That's another discipline that needs to be developed.

I poured the remaining baking ingredients leftover from the holiday seasons into the trash.  I had a salad at lunchtime.

I looked out the sliding door at the Prisoner and it seems like he's breaking all kinds of dietary "resolutions" too... but then, he's a cat, so murdering a feathered friend is chalked up to instinct.  Cats do not make resolutions.

I forgive him, because... he's a cat.  But feel bad, too, because that junco was just minding its own birdly business.

January 2nd, 2024

I am glad I took a hermit day on New Year's eve.  It made it easier to actually get that start on New Year's Day.  I have to admit that motivation to healthy habits is a wildly variable energy.  I remember several conversations back when everybody blogged in SparkPeople about will power and the brain's capacity for decision making.  Building habits about which one does not need to THINK on a daily basis (or hourly basis) is vital.

Another lapse I'm working to repair:  During 2023 I let the bubbles back into my life.  Not to the level that they had been before I gave up soda the end of 2009, but enough to experiment.  I have ONE, count it ONE, diet coke left in the 'fridge, from the last purchase.  I used to say that the best thing I did for my weight management success was giving up the bubbles!  Time to do that again.  I drank that last soda Tuesday afternoon.

I also got my mile outdoors, and shopped for groceries, in addition to the regular trainer workout.  Trainer's prices have gone up again for 2024.  Sigh.  But the benefit to my health and the boost to motivation is worth it.

January 3rd, 2024

Woke up one minute before the alarm I had set for 5 a.m.  This is a "medical taxi and extra ears" day, so I wanted to be sure to have time for a shower and a little putzing on the computer before I headed over to that duty.

Everything worked as smoothly as one could hope, I had Sis home by 10 ish, and I was home by 11 a.m.  We use these opportunities to catch up on one another... I got to see the Christmas photos on her phone from her trip to Kansas.  

Afternoon walk with another sister (Alicia) was on time.  It was cold, but the surfaces were good.  So that makes 3 days outdoors for a mile, at least.

January 4th, 2024

The rebel is rearing her head this morning, after three days of tracking and getting my "mile outdoors"... "I have to do this HOW long?"  Fortunately, this is not paired with a snow storm or the coldest temperatures that January is capable of dishing up.

I got Dexter out of the garage and began my drive to the trainer workout.  When I turned the first corner (a gentle uphill), I discovered the black ice.  Yikes!  Fortunately, there was no other traffic on that street at the time, so I just slowed it down and got around the curve to the main arterial and once I was there, OK for the rest of the drive.  On the way home, I knew where that bad patch was and was prepared to avoid it!

On the sidewalk on the way into the building, I also found slick areas.  So, the verdict is, no mile outside today.  But I biked an extra ten minutes on the recumbent bike (my normal "cool down" at the end of my workout) to make up for it.

January 6th, 2024

Friday was a "lost day" for me.  The rebel took over.

So Saturday I had a bit more energy stored up.  I am experimenting with a soup broth bomb I got for Christmas.

I freelanced a  bit on the ingredients.  It called for white beans, I only had black ones on hand.  It called for hash browns, and I shredded raw potatoes.  It called for kale, I didn't have any so I tossed in the can of artichoke hearts that are supposed to be an "optimal" veggie according to the GenoPalate list.

I'm only going to use about half of the broth bomb.

If you look closely you can see the package names it "Scarborough Fair", so of course you know it has to have parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme among the spices.

You don't add the "bomb" until the mixture is boiling.  And because the bomb contains baking soda, it naturally is going to bubble up.  Now we wait for it to simmer for a while.

This is a vegetarian, actually a vegan recipe.  It's printed on the box.

Now the house smells heavenly.

It's a grey chilly day outside.  I did manage to get out for a walk, but it wasn't a full mile.

Life is good.

Keep Sparking!

2023 is off and running (well, walking, at least)

One, two, three, four... the pebbles start to fill the jar as the days start marching into 2023.

This early in the year, it's easy to see the daily progress.  As the days and months pass, it becomes less clear.

One thing that has been surprising, after that deep cold snap the week leading up to Christmas has been the milder, more "normal" temperatures, and dodging the snow storms that are rocking other parts of the state.  It gives me that sense of "waiting for the other shoe to drop" that is the looming of what my memory might tell me January can bring. I'm all in for enjoying this while we can!

Wednesday is another gray day outside.  We did get some snow flurries dancing but as of 1:30 p.m. nothing has accumulated.  Yesterday we got a little moisture in the form of rain. 

Now that Christmas leftovers have been used up, Wednesday seemed an excellent day to pull out the big crock pot.

Chicken Breasts
on a bed of potatoes
 and other veggies.

I started prepping at 7:30 a.m. so that it would be ready well within my feeding window.  The leftovers will feed me for the week.  

It has "whatever was in the fridge" as the bed of veggies under the chicken breasts.  Potatoes, grape tomatoes, baby carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, and of course onions.  I made use of the Tuscan Rosemary seasoning I was given for Christmas, a can of cream of chicken soup, and a cup of skim milk.

While the slow cooker did its thing, I submitted my online grocery order, and drove over to pick it up.  

Here's how it turned out.

Wednesday is also "walk with my sister" day.  I haven't heard from her yet (usually she texts me as she gets off work and we confirm that we're on), but neither of us has called it off in advance (which we do if either of us is not up to the conditions of the day for whatever reason).

That's about it from here... I have read a bit more, still working on the color vision chapter of An Immense World.  Also read a chapter in Fast. Feast. Repeat.

In short, a quiet day!  

Hope you're having smooth sailing in whatever part of the world you inhabit.  Remember YOU are worth making a priority!

Life is good.  Spark on!

🔥✨💖❆⛄

Spiedies - since Speded2 asked

 

Since speded2 asked in the comments to yesterday's blog:  

For those of us not from that area, what is/are Spiedie?

As with many regional specialties, the spiedie was introduced by the immigrants who settled the area.  In the case of the Binghamton, New York area, those immigrants were from Italy and Greece.  So think about spices you have enjoyed in Italian and Greek dishes.

Next, let's think about the meat of the sandwich:  meat itself.  Spiedies can be made with any meat, pretty much, it's the spicing and preparation that makes it a spiedie.  If you think about the Greek influence, you'd think perhaps lamb.  Yes, folks make lamb spiedies.  If you think about the hunting country (James Fennimore Cooper novels are the classics) of the Susquehanna valley, you can easily see this as a venison thing.  Yes, there are folks who make venison spiedies.  Also the more available in America beef, pork and chicken.

The meat is cut into chunks, about an inch to inch and a half in size.  The chunks are marinated in the sauces of the griller's choosing.  I used to make my own after I moved back to Nebraska, experimenting and trying to re-create the flavors I remembered.  I never quite succeeded, but I tried for several years.  Oil, some acid, and dry spices added.  I soaked the meat at least 24 hours in the fridge.

When the day for eating arrives, the chunks are grilled on skewers.  IMHO the best ones are grilled over charcoal.  Finally, this grilled meat is delivered to the eater on seeded buns (rolls).  Sides to taste, but you've got plenty of starch and protein in the sandwich itself, so veggies are a good fit, fresh or grilled.

As with BBQ or chili, there are cookoffs for spiedies.  One of the more well-known is held in Binghamton, NY, in August, along with a rock concert and balloon launch.  Here you go, a link:

Spiedie Fest & Balloon Rally 2022

Still cold out there

 

To be specific, the high for the day was 12.  Fahrenheit.  

This week's crock meal:

4 or 5 peeled and sliced russet potatoes

Half an onion, diced

1 Green Bell pepper, chopped

1/2 pint baby bella mushrooms, sliced

Pre-cooked smoked chicken breast tenders (whatever I had left in the bag, these came frozen.  I didn't bother to thaw them.)

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Layer the ingredients into your crock pot.  Cover, set to high for a couple of hours, then turn to low and let it continue until dinner time.  Enjoy.

The eye doctor adventure

Sheesh, they are back to "normal", meaning once I get there, I'm at their office for nearly two hours.  Sometime in the first hour, they do the visual field test.  Then you wait.  After a while, they take you for retinal photos, move to an exam room, where the tech takes down my medication list, and measures the eye pressures.  Back to the waiting area where you TRY to keep social distance behind your masks (lots of other grey-hairs like myself are the other waiting patients... we keep our own counsel and stay safe inside our masks).  

Finally, back to an exam room, where I wait in the chair, peering at the computer screen that has all my tests displayed but it's just far enough away that I'd have to get out of my chair to actually read what it says... and I don't want to get caught being snoopy while they have left me alone, and could come back at any moment.

The doctor eventually shows up with two youngsters in tow, the gal who'd done my pressures and retinal photos.  He pronounces me stable, keep the same eye drops, see my optometrist at 6 and 12 months out, and I don't need to come back to him until 18 months.  Yay!  

It's a lesson in patience, right?  

Tomorrow's adventure:  fasting blood work.  

I've already started the fast.  After said blood draw, I get to find out what Medicare wants to know or wants me to know this year.  Next week I get to see my real doctor.

These are the tests our healthy habits are working up to, right? 

End of day pep talk:

Let's see if I can remember my Dr. Seuss:  "Today is gone.  Today was fun.  Tomorrow is another one.  Every day from here to there, funny things are everywhere."  No clue if that's right or not... wonder if there's some gadget that will look it up for me...

Ah-hah!  GoodReads quotes at least part of it:

“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!”

― Dr. Seuss, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

And Schmoop quotes had the earlier part:

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

This line is from the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, by Dr. Seuss (1960).

Back to me:  

OK, then, I stand corrected.  But the sentiment is the same:  let today go, be satisfied that whatever you did toward your health and well being was enough.  It was what you needed it to be.  Now rest well, you've earned it!

Life is Good.  Spark on!

Christmas Eve Day

 

Golden brown and ready to go

I had not made these in YEARS.  Seriously, it's been a long time since we had a big enough family gather to justify the work that goes into making them.  As I started getting ready for the effort, I looked high and low and could not find the printed out recipe!

Oh, well, I kind of punt on this one anyway, most years.  But it looks (and tastes) like I got it right.

These are the famous (or infamous) olive filled baked cheese balls.

  

Amounts for those who were asking yesterday, from how I threw it together today:

1 lb. mild cheddar cheese, diced.

3 Tbsp butter (I used lightly salted today, being out of unsalted)

1 cup flour

1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Sift the flour and cayenne together onto the softened cheese and butter.  I cheated this year at this point:  I used the food processor to mix the cheese (diced up), butter (softened), flour and cayenne (sifted together into the mix).

Then you work it into a dough, make balls of the dough, thumb press an olive into each ball, round it out, and bake at 450℉ for 10 minutes until golden brown.

And there you have it... a huge production... but done!  Yield:  2 dozen.  This recipe can be cut in half, by the way.  In fact, it's really doubled from the original which back in the early 1960's called for a blender, not a food processor, to combine.

Now I have to keep them safe from the cats and myself until time to go to the gather.

Rapid test, "if you can get it"

I had one on hand from the last time I tested.  They are saying omicron will only show up at your highest viral load on this one, so test hours ahead, not the day before.

About 1 p.m. I did my BinaxNOW test.  After the 15 minute wait, it came up negative, so I figure I'm safe for the gather at 4!

See you all on the flip side:  A very Merry (and safe, too) Christmas to all!

Be good to yourselves, this one and only Friday December 24, 2021 we'll ever get.  With hopes and prayers that a year from now we won't be having to be quite so careful!

🎄🕯