Tag Archives: visitors

Sometimes you get to do what you want and save money in the process

Sometimes, there’s a reason and a way to manage everything. I think it’s rare, but yesterday I got lucky and got to manage all of it. Including figuring out a way to modify the tomato sauce recipe I love so much that last year I froze a bunch for the winter.

Reading that post, I see I owe you guys a post on how it froze. I’ll get right on that. But this post is about managing to make tomato sauce for my freezer while focusing on the more important things I really had to get done. Though I suppose mentioning that I made more gives you guys some indication of how it froze, eh?

Anyway, I did manage to make tomato sauce yesterday. I did not go clothing shopping.… Continue reading →

I’d really rather make tomato sauce than go clothes shopping.

My last post briefly mentioned that we had guests arriving the following day. To our delight, they arrived a couple of hours earlier than expected (they were driving), and so we got extra time with some of our closest long-distance friends. They left last Thursday. Last Friday, Bill’s father and stepmother arrived. Today is our first full calendar day without someone arriving or leaving.

Today, my plan was to make tomato sauce. I was hoping to get a bunch of sauce in the freezer for future eating. Then I realized 1) I can buy jarred tomato sauce. I can buy it in the grocery store and I can buy it from Tomato Mountain and 2) I thus have other, more pressing issues.

So, today I’m not making tomato sauce.… Continue reading →

My feet are going to fall off.

Bill’s mother arrived Wednesday night, and we’ve been basically running around non-stop since she arrived. I’m not entirely convinced I won’t be walking on stubs by the time she leaves tomorrow afternoon.

Basically, we haven’t been home from about 9:00 am everyday until about 11:00 pm every night. In the interium, we’ve done a lot of cool stuff. Wednesday we took her to “Xoco,”:http://www.rickbayless.com/restaurants/xoco.html which everyone knows is Bill’s favorite. She said it was the best sandwich she’d ever eaten, so well done there, Mr. Bayless & Company.

Thursday I had a piano lesson, and then joined them for wandering Mag Mile. After lunch (Elephant and Castle on Lake & Wabash), we went to the Art Institute and nearly closed the place down. Then we ate at Uno, and wandered Mag Mile some more.… Continue reading →

Bummer

Yesterday I thawed about a pound of “tri-tip steak”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri-tip that Bill had purchased at the farmers’ market a couple months ago or so. It was big and beautiful and nicely lean. NONE of our cookbooks had a recipe for making it delicious. I forgive the vast majority of them (especially the vegetarian ones), but I was surprised that “_How to Cook Everything_”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764578650?ie=UTF8&tag=metaco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0764578650 and “_Joy of Cooking_”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0026045702?ie=UTF8&tag=metaco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0026045702 didn’t have anything. And, if you look at the Wikipedia link above, you’ll note that there’s a few names for tri-tip. None in either book.

Maybe there are yet more names. I don’t know them. I do know, however, that Bill threw that steak on our new friend, Rob’s loaner grill, and made something delicious. While keeping our five-year-old guest entertained and unburned.… Continue reading →