BOO!
I am back. Sorry about not doing the blog for October. We were in Montana and time got away from me hence no blog. It is also more difficult to find content since we are not having as many activities in and around the building to report and write about. So, if you have any suggestions please let me know. Do you want more recipes, hints, gossip, Help! I’m floundering?
RMC News
Carol DePaoli and Bruce Rawlingson in unit 206 have put their unit up on the market. They have moved to Mt. Vernon in a 55 and older community. We wish them well in their new adventure.
Our new neighbors in unit 307, Charles and Venita Hynden will be moving in on Nov. 11th. We were looking forward to getting to know them.
New Fence
I am sure you have noticed the new fence in the NW corner of our property. I think it looks fabulous. I think it really adds some polish to our great property.
Book Club
I really miss our book club get together, not only for the great social interaction but also for the great book recommendations. Without those recommendations I have had to go back to reading my old standby “bad Nazi” books, but I am running out of options. So, if you have any new titles you would recommend let me know and I will have a list on next months blog.
Jerry has a recommendation of an author for history buffs. Victor Davis Hanson– he is a prolific history writer from Greek history to present day topics.
Sick list
Judy is starting a new round of chemo so keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
Recipe du Jour
Apple Cake
I made this cake recently and shared it with some of our neighbors, I got Rave reviews so I thought I would share the recipe with everyone.
Preheat oven to 350F
Ingredients
4 cups of diced apples-I used Granny Smith apples
1 ½ cup sugar- Mix these two together
Add to
½ cup vegetable oil
1 C chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans, your choice
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Mix
2 ½ cups flour
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Add dry ingredients and wet mixture together. The mixture will be very thick so mix until no streaks of flour remain then spread into a buttered 9 X 13 pan
Bake 1 hour
Chicken or Turkey Sausage Lentil Soup
Another hearty soup for our upcoming winter weather.
Ingredients
2 large, chopped onions
½ lb., chicken, or turkey sausage (Italian)6 cups water
1 ¼ cup dried lentils
1 can garbanzo beans
½ tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 lb. cubed potatoes
½ lb. cubed carrots
Directions
- Sauté sausage for 8-10 minutes, drain and cut into pieces
- Add. Onion cook 3-5 minutes or until soft. Add sausage, water, lentils, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Simmer covered 30 minutes.
- Add potatoes, carrots, and beans. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, and cook for 1 hour.
Serves 8
Tips du Jour
Freezing bacon
An easy to freeze bacon so you can take out as few or many of the bacon you have stored in the freezer.
- Take a 16X 12 piece of waxed paper.
- Fold the paper over the bacon, then top with another slice and repeat the process, accordion fashion.
- Place in a zipper-lock freezer bag until ready to use.
Frozen Assets
Often when making a casserole you produce too much food. A way to use this is to freeze it.
- Let the casserole cool and then slice it into individual servings. Arrange the servings on a baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer.
- Move the frozen servings into a zipper-lock freezer bag to reheat as needed.
Fresh Ginger
I do not think I have ever used all the ginger root when I buy a knob for a recipe. To keep from it going to waste an easy fix is to cut the left-over unpeeled ginger into 1 inch pieces and place them in a zip-lock bag. Store in the freezer for one month or longer. Whenever fresh ginger is needed simply pull a piece from the freezer, allow it to thaw, peel and grate or chop as required for your freezer.
Another easy fix for the same issue, using fresh ginger and or fresh garlic is easily remedied by shopping at Trader Joes. They have both crushed ginger and garlic in easy to use cubes. 1 cube equals on tsp. of ginger or garlic.
Citrus Zest
Needing a teaspoon of lemon or orange zest is another challenge. Zest the citrus, put a teaspoon or other measure on a plate, put it in the freezer until frozen, then place in a zipper-lock bag and freeze for future use.
October Birthdays
Kaare Otnes, David Ridge and Dawson Harvey all had birthdays in October.
Enjoy all the beautiful fall color. Have a happy Halloween, we are expecting fewer goblins visiting this year, we will miss our usual scary visitors.
