....and I am still in bed! Oh, the sun is so bright this morning and reflecting on the water, making me squint against the light. This is not a complaint, this is merely a statement. The water is not sudsy yet this a.m. but that may come later. Apparently a chemical of some sort has been added to the water to help kill the algae bloom, which was causing the fish to die. While I was gone to WI in June, there was a fish kill in the river outside our building and certainly elsewhere due to the algae bloom. Guess it got rather smelly for a while. I did see some of the dead fish but not the hundreds like were reported to have been there. When I was talking to my young man neighbor about fishing in the river, he said he would not eat the fish caught in the river right now because of the chemicals but in about a month, who knows?
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Most of the day yesterday I was able to have the doors opened for the breezes to move through. It must have looked funny to see me scampering through the house trying to prop the doors open before the wind blew them shut. I used odds and ends like laundry baskets and even my pool noodle for this. During the day I could hear other people's doors slamming shut, mainly their exterior doors closing with a mighty thud when the wind caught it. When I finally ventured out to the grocery store for the stamps and a few odds 'n ends, I closed the house in case of rain and put the A/C on to cure the swelling doors.
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In recent days I have been sort of cleaning out my freezer, with some of my frozen foods being in there over 6 months. This may be arbitrary on my part but it is unlikely that I will eat it so down the disposal it goes. First, of course, I had to defrost it and boy, did that bean soup ever smell delicious before I ground it up! Yesterday I removed a container of chili which I may or may not grind up because I really like my chili! In so doing, though, I unearthed a somewhat damaged pie crust. The other part of the package, I am guessing, was used for the apple and sausage pie I made for our Julia Child dinner when Lynn and Linda were here in February. Hmmm.....can I heal this broken crust and make a pie or something????
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On my Facebook page I threw it out there that I had this broken pie crust plus a partial bag of red apples in the fridge, a bit wrinkly but not yet squishy. I asked for suggestions of what to make and I got a great response, including one friend remarking that she thought Midwesterners were big pie makers. My sister sure is but somehow I missed the pie-making gene. The desire to stand in the kitchen at the stove is not there either. That is, unless I have company coming! All bets are off in that case!
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One person suggested taking the crust out of the pan and press some into the bottom of muffin pans to make tarts. I got the muffin pan out but when I looked at the crust, I figured I could fix the broken parts and make it look like a pie again. Using my handy-dandy apple slicer from Pampered Chef, I made wedges of three unpeeled apples (Linda is cringing at this point....) and put them in the crust. Sprinkled some granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter pats over the apples and baked it too long at 400 degrees. I say too long because the crust turned dark brown but does not taste burned at all. And, I must say, it is delicious!!!! Where I dropped the ball, though, was not buying some vanilla ice cream or whipped topping to put on top. I am just tickled that I had all the supplies on hand, including a crust!
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In discussing the pie crust, apples, and their uses, Lisa, my niece in WI, was getting serious hunger pangs for pie. Her hubby had her van and he came through for her, stopping at McDonalds to pick up an apple pie for her lunch. The power of suggestion. I wonder what I should talk about today on Facebook that will send Noah on a wild-goose chase....When at Publix yesterday, I was able once more find Johnsonville Summer Sausage. It pays to ask for the things you like---you will get it! More than once I have gone looking for Johnsonville products, and the meat lady said that they usually get that in around the holidays. I assumed she meant Thanksgiving or Christmas but it seems she meant Independence Day as this is the second time I have found it in a month! The lady in the deli who sliced it for me commented on the wonderful aroma and asked me about the brand. It gave me a chance to brag on WI again!
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About 6:30 or so I got a call from Jessica, my upstairs neighbor, asking if I was at home and if I had eaten dinner yet. She had kept her two nieces over the weekend and fed them Aron's pizza but with half of one left over, Jessica was pizza'd out so offered it to me. How nice! I went up to get it and took her dishes back to her, including a tea bag from a box picked up at Publix. It is green tea like she made for me last week, but it is also fruit-flavors acai and something else that smells wonderful. I have not made any tea yet, having dumped the ice cubes from the bin and starting fresh. My ice does not taste good so that is one thing standing in the way of my making a batch of tea. When upstairs at Jessica's, I saw they had a lock box on their door again which means they are back on the market. She wants to get a house with a yard for Beckham, and somewhere they do not have to be quiet. But who could give up this life, where people offer pizza and green tea and home-made s'mores???? She was making dinner for Travis and her, and she showed me the ingredients for making three chicken breasts. I told her when I first got upstairs that I had planned to have a cup of instant mac 'n cheese and she offered me the third chicken breast she was making. Of course not! She was already giving half of a pepperoni pizza, I certainly will not eat all of that in one sitting. But that girl does enjoy her cooking.
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It is nearly 81 already and I am getting antsy to be down at the pool. We have water aerobics this morning and then I have nothing until Bible study tonight. Martie is going to join me for the political hobnob on Thursday so I will not be going downtown alone. I still have the coupon given to me at the Tax Rally for free appetizers at the Hyatt so we can enjoy that little treat as well. At the Tax Rally, a young man who was waiting tables below the steps I was standing on, came up to listen to the speakers with us. Of course, I smiled at him and he then dashed back down to the restaurant. I figured he had to get back to work and not get caught dawdling, but in a few moments, he came back with three coupons, printed on glossy paper, for me. No one else around us was given any so I gave two to Peggy and John, who were with me. That was so nice of him and now I have another chance to be downtown to use the remaining coupon. It is also good for a free glass of wine but I do not drink wine, so appetizers it is!
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Besides making the pseudo-pie last night, believe it if you will, I watched the Food Network! One of the programs was filmed in Jacksonville last fall, I guess, and the host visited a couple local eateries to check out the fare. I had not heard of the restaurants, more like hole in the wall places with unique menus but on the chance that I saw anyone I knew, I tuned it. I just don't get it...
