Ginger Steak Salad

We tried something different on Halloween evening

I started with this recipe

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/ginger-steak-salad/

We started with one good inch thick rib eye steak from the local cow in the freezer.  Used the marinade exactly. 

And the salad, Good greens,  I used several Roma Tomatoes sliced thinly, a big handful of mushrooms finely chopped. 

Now the steak. 

Marinade per the instructions for at least 24 hours.

Drain marinade.  Heat a couple T. olive oil or other good oil.  Sear for 4 minutes on one side the turn and sear 4 minutes on the other.  Into a 350 0ver for 15 minutes. (Grill the steak if it is easier for you).

Slice the steak and lay it across the salad. 

Used the salad dressing from the pioneer woman link above. 

Husband loved it.  Just delicious.  It was plenty for both of us.  We'll have it again.

Apple Bran Muffins

It's good to have a gallon zip lock in the freezer with muffins or breakfast cookies in it.  It's good for me to have something wholesome to throw in my bag on the way out the door.  It's good to have something to hand out to visitors, big and small. 

Now a secret.  One of my guilty pleasures:  blueberries muffins from Safeway.  But they are huge and very sweet.  It's got to be about like eating a piece of cake.  We really don't need much cake.

So I started out my morning meal planning for the week and making Apple Bran Muffins.  This is not an original recipe.  It was in a Taste of Home magazine this year.

Apple Bran Muffins
3 c. AP flour
2 t. baking powder
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 c. milk
4 eggs
2/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. canola oil
2 t. vanilla extract
3 c. All-Bran cereal
2 c. peeled and finely chopped tart apples
1 c. walnuts (optional)  I left them out because daughter-in-law has some concerns about the kids and nuts
1 c. Raisins (optional) Another secret:  I don't really like raisins

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  With a big spoon stir to combine, turning the mixture inward, just until all dry ingredients are moistened. 

Put muffin papers into the cups of the muffin pan.  I use an ice cream scoop to fill them.  If you don't use muffin papers, spray the pan well.  But the muffin papers work well when you are planning to freeze them or use them later.  

I decided I wanted them a little fancier so I made my muffin topping and sprinkled on half before baking.  Gave me some nuts and a nut less version

Topping:  1/3 c. packed brown sugar, 1T. all purpose flour, 1/8 t. cinnamon, 1T. butter soft or melted, 1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts or pecans. 

Bake these at 350 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes.  Cool thoroughly before packaging for the freezer.

 

Just in time for a little bit of baby sitting.

What a good boy you are, Caleb.  Meemaw loves you, Caleb.  Now close the cabinet door.  Yeahhhh,  (clap, clap)  Good job, Caleb.

And Caleb likes the muffins. He ate several stubby little fists full.  Or the dog did.   This is such as serious picture.  Caleb is going to be an actor or an athlete.  As long as you are looking at him, he usually has a huge smile on his face. 

A package went home to Caleb's parent's house and a package went into my freezer for the week ahead.  No stops at Safeway for us this week. 

 Remember the small things.

Game Day

Husband's favorite team of all time is in the World Series.  That would be the Giants.  He remembers his father taking him and his brothers to games.  To him, the Giants are a very happy thing.

Here he is in San Fancsico watching his Giants.  Doesn't he look happy?

If your favorite team is in the World Series you should watch every second that you can.  These moments don't last; live in them when you can.  Get any enjoyment from them you can.   I mean really.

 

These are pictures I took of another Giants game we were able to attend in the past.  When?   A couple years ago?

He couldn't see the game on Thursday night because we needed to finish up a presentation for our final project for a class we were taking. 




Step-Son kept texting the results throughout the game.  Somewhat entertaining by itself. 

Chili Night tonight.  After the game.  This is a very flavorful chili, but not one that is spicy.  If you like that, pass the Tabasco bottle. 

I should mention that this recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine around 7 or 8 years ago.  I've changed it a bit, but not enough to claim it.

 

I'll likely freeze at least one quart mason jar of this (maybe 2) for other meals.  We like this for week night meals with bread and cheese.

Ground Beef Chili
3 pounds ground beef
1 medium red pepper, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped.
1 T. dry onion flakes
 2 cans (16 oz each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (29 oz) tomato sauce
1 jar (16 oz) salsa.  (I use Pace Picanti sauce, but use your favorite)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 1/2 oz)  beef broth
2 cups water
1 T. chilli powder (Use 2 if you want)
2 T worcesterchire sauce
1T. dried basil
2 t. ground cumin
2 t. steak sauce (A-1)
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1 t. ground pepper

In a large pot, cook beef and vegetables until meat is no longer pink.  Drain any liquid.  Add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until chili reaches desired thickness. 

Freeze leftovers for another meal or package left overs for lunch.  This makes a big pot of chili and freezes well if you wish.

Just a thought

My mom used to say, "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar."  But do you really want more flies?

Okay, now that I have that out of my system, I just love these old bits of folk wisdom.   Some of the smartest people I've known were not educated, not worldly, not even cool. 

Here is what this saying means.  You can get cooperation and support from people more easily by being nice and kind than by being confrontational.

Kitchen talk #1; Life experience

Helpful hints for living: It is not necessary to agree with those around you. Personally, I prefer to associate with those who question everything and make up their own minds. Well, especially, if they can express their opinions in a logical and precise manner, but that’s me.

1. The first step is to listen. Understand what the other person is saying.
1. Stop talking. I don’t mean to offend. Do I need to be clearer?
2. Give your full attention to the other person, with an open mind.
2. The second step is to understand what they said.
1. You may need to ask a few questions. It doesn’t mean you are agreeing, just clarifying the other person’s thoughts.
2. Repeating the other person’s words is helpful. Ask them to confirm your understanding.
3. Patience and temperateness (yes, this is a legitimate word)
1. My second career (I’m on my third) was as a teacher. I taught adults at a trade school. One of the best things I learned from the experience was from a wonderful woman, Merrily. She was my boss and a wonderful teacher. I loved her. She died of cancer some years back. Hmm. Her picture is still on my fridge.  One day, I noticed that in a difficult discussion, she said “umm”, and “hmm” many times. I asked her about that. She said that she used “umm” and “hmm” to acknowledge the persons position without agreeing with it.
2. When I started doing the same and it changed my world. There is great power in acknowledging another person. But it is equally helpful to keep some emotional distance from ideas or opinions you find unacceptable.
4. Analysis. The next step is up to you. You can accept the opinions, attitudes, beliefs you’ve listened to. You can reject them completely. You can find some value in some of them while rejecting others.
1. While teaching, I had a student, Cory. His mother is a follower of my Blog. Hi, Karen. Cory is exceptionally bright. He has amazing ideas and a power and clarity that just boggled the mind. He also had an ego that just didn’t stop and controlled everything. The class I taught was introduction to business management. I use lowercase because it is a boring class. Did I mention it is boring? But it is the basis of other business concepts which are much less boring. Cory didn’t read the text, didn’t participate well in classroom discussions and didn’t understand the information presented which meant he didn’t do well. Now he had all sorts of other ideas, conspiracy theories and alternate ideas, some of them brilliant, but flunked my class because he didn’t learn anything from it.  (I might mention that I personally disagree with some of the concepts that I taught in that class.  That doesn't mean they are invalid or not transformational.)
2. It is okay to disagree, but you can’t grow without exposing yourself to experiences outside of yourself. Listen and understand. You can do that without agreement.
3. The rest of us are not idiots. We have value. Just saying, Dude.
5. Resolution
1. It is okay to be yourself. In fact, I recommend it. I like people who are just plain unique. Find value where you can. Incorporate life experiences where you find them.
2. But, shelter your Heart and Soul from things that you must. Grow from the experience. I ask Step-Son constantly “What did you learn”. Recently, he has started answering me. Oh Crap!

Hopefully I haven’t sounded too preachy or new age. But remember to grow throughout your life. And thanks for letting me rant.

Savorty Sausage and Potato Skillet

We are feeling better and starting to have an appetite.  I'm cooking tonight and looking forward to it.  I miss it when I don't cook. It makes me happy.  Oh, and I can't recommend drinking wine when you are sick.  Just saying.

I have friends who say they are frustrated because they get to dinner time and have no idea what to fix.  They stop by Safeway for prepared food, or even inspiration.  Or they bring home Chinese food or pizza. Or they go to Costco for frozen food like items in a plastic bag. 

I don't think it is optional that we eat real food regularly.  Apples Oranges, Grapes, Broccoli, Beans.  This is not special occasion food.  On one of those nights when I didn't know that to fix, I started rummaging through my pantry and fridge and created this dish.  This is an original recipe.  I offer it for those special days when you just need some help.


Savory Sausage and Potato Skillet
2 T. olive oil or good oil of your choice
5 cups coarsely chopped small red potatoes, clean, skin on
15 oz package smoked beef sausage ring, sliced
1 scallion, finely chopped.
 and 2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 oz can tomato sauce.
1/2 t. salt
2 t. Italian seasoning
Pinch of cayenne

Heat the oil to high in a good skillet.  Add potatoes, moving them with a spoon as they cook for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup water.  Reduce heat to medium and add a lid.  Stir every minute or so for a few more minutes until the potatoes are starting to soften.  If this doesn't happen fast enough for you, cut them smaller next time.

Add the scallion, garlic Tomato sauce, and seasoning.  Toss to combine.  Reduce heat to a simmer with the lid on.  Stir every couple minutes for 5 minutes total. 

Once the potatoes are cooked, you are ready to serve. 

By the way, if you are in the market for an oven/stove, I highly recommend looking into a warming drawer.  I recently bought a stove with a warming drawer and it has changed everything.  If we are not quite ready to eat, everything goes into the warming drawer until we are.  No worries about cold food, or scorching the bottom of the pan.  Move onto an other dish without worry for the first.  Can't say enough.

Remember to get better.   

Sick

Sick at the Osbornes.  We have one of those viruses.  It started with the young ones.  Wish we could take it all on ourselves, but no.  It spread to the parents, then to us. We have to work each day.  "No rest for the weary," as my mother used to say.  I'm spending my evenings knitting, just a little drunk of Cepacol lozenges.

When we first got it, I froze everything fresh in the fridge.  I bought a large stew chicken from the Safeway at 99 hwy and 134th and made chicken noodle soup in my largest pot. 

If you have a Betty Crocker or Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that is 15 years or older, you've got the recipe.   If not, go to an Antique store and buy one.  Homemade Chicken Noodle soup is cooking 101.  It has a whole chicken, cleaned in the sink, internal bits and extra fat removed with a small knife or kitchen shears.  A good kettle full of water, the chicken, and bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Add any combination of the following:  A good palm full of granulated chicken broth, an onion chopped, the leaves off a head of celery, Italian fresh parsley chopped, a good palm full of good salt, and several twists off of the pepper grinder.  Simmer on low until the leg bone is loose and pulls away easily.   The first time you do this well, you'll understand this concept.    Set the pot off the fire to cool.  Once it is cool enough to reach in and handle the chicken (1/2 hour), you can do what Paul Dean calls "picking the chicken".  

But first, reserve the broth.  Put a large bowl in the sink and a large colander into it.  Pour the contents of the pot into the colander carefully.  If it is still hot, feel free to run cold water from the faucet into the sink (not in the bowl) to avoid steam in your face and to keep from boiling your sink pipes.  Return the broth less the bits from the colandar into the pot.

Picking a chicken is a very tactile thing.  Get your fingers into it.  Anything that you might want to eat goes back into the pot.  The rest stays in the colander.  This is not an easy task.  Take your time and run your thumb across your fingers.  Feel the chicken and make real decisions.  For me, I pick out the dark blood veins.  There are parts that feel slick or slimy.  They go for me, but that is up to you.  Pick out anything you don't want to eat.  

Broth, chicken, three or four carrots chopped.  2 or 3 celery stalks chopped.  A good mess of fresh green beans or a couple cans of Santiam green beans.  Several good garlic cloves minced.  More salt and pepper.  Start with a 2 t salt and 1 t. pepper. Taste and add more until you are happy.  2 cups dry noodles.  Simmer slowly until the vegetables are done.  Turn off the heat and serve or reheat bowl after bowl as we did.  

Tonight, we are tired of it and ready for a change.   I made a large pot we call "'sgettiti" because I've served it to generations of children who are now adults or near.  I can make it in my sleep and have.  This is a commonly marketed bottle of spaghetti sauce.  The "robusto" version of this sauce, I use with a small tomato sauce and a little additional herbs.  The "original" version of this sauce, I add considerable Italian seasoning and pinches of Cayenne until I get the flavors I want.  Hamburger, browned with salt and pepper.  Spaghetti noodles cooked per the package, drained with extra virgin olive oil poured over top.  I'm impressed with ground beef from the 1/2 cow we bought .  Really nice. 

It is Saturday morning as I post this.  I wrote it on Wednesday.  It was filled with spelling and grammatical errors and faulty thinking, which is not like me.  Not kidding about that Cepacol.  Good stuff.  Or maybe I'm getting better.

Remember that you will breath well at some point in the future .  In the mean time, take good care of your animals, serve the people as best you can, and everything will be fine.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

I'm a soup girl.  No doubt about it.  And I'm planning to make more beans this winter.  While Husband is finishing up the chicken fried cube steak and mushroom gravy, I'll be eating this.

http://www.homemadesimple.com/en-us/foodandrecipes/pages/pumpkin-black-bean-soup.aspx

It's really delicious.  I decreased the cumin to 1 T.  (I'm mean 3 T. cumin?  Really?) and added about 1 T. of Italian Seasoning.  I used chicken broth because I didn't have vegetable broth.  If you know the Osbornes, you know vegetarians don't eat here.  Husband is a carnivore. 

Remember to try things.

My Mom's Raw Apple & Nut Cake

Does anyone reading this have a suggestion?  I just love this recipe in the fall, but it is an old recipe.  Something, my mom made, and it calls for shortening.  Can I substitute another oil and get the same result?

It comes out with a crunchy top but so soft and nice inside.  I suspect you would loose some of the texture with another oil. 

Mom's Raw Apple & Nut Cake

Cream 1/2 c. shortening, 2 c. sugar.  Beat well:  2 eggs; then add to creamed mixture with 1 t. vanilla. 

Sift together and add to creamed mixture:  2 c. flour, 2 t. soda, 1 t. cinnamon, 1 t. nutmeg.  Then add 4 c. raw apples, peeled and diced fine, 1/2 c. nuts and 3/4 c. raisins (optional).

This is a very stiff dough.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

My 8 x 13 Pyrex sprayed with cooking spray is what I've always used.

Remember to get your apple a day!

Date Night at the Osbornes

We've lived on somewhat less income over the last couple years.  The recession changed our world, but I really don't mind.  We got into the habit of date nights with a movie and something nice to eat at home.  We work together and live together.  We are together 24/7 and we both have strong personalities.  We've been married forever.  We need date nights.
Tonight, I've got cube steak.  I'm planning on turning it into a sort of chicken fried steak with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes with brocolli.  Both of us had two parents who grew up in Oklahoma.  His parents ended up in California.  Mine in Oregon.  But we are Okies at our core, both of us.

I should mention that this meal was inspired by Rocquie at SageTriffle.blogspot.com.  I do not know her, but she made a lovely dinner very similar to the one I'm making tonight for her own husband. 

http://sagetrifle.blogspot.com/2010/09/cube-steak-with-mushroom-onion-gravy.html

It is exactly what he likes, so thanks to Rocquie for the inspiration.

Chicken Fried Cube Steak and Mushroom gravy.

1 lb cube steak.   Cube steak is one of the tougher cuts that has been run through the butcher's equipment to render it softer and easier to use.  It has a lot of beef flavor if handled well.  This is from my freezer stash of the 1/2 cow we bought.

I pounded it some more with my meat mallot.  If you don't have one, I recommend it.  But a small sauce pan is what my mother used.  Hold the handle and pound away.  Remember to be happy. 

Cover the meat with butchers paper.  Or the sack from a package of crackers or cereal, which stands the pounding better than plastic wrap or wax paper.

Now sprinkle some flour over top and move the pieces around to coat them.  Sprinkle on the salt.  I don't have a recipe for this type of cooking.  This is my Mom.

A skillet good and hot with several tablespoons of good oil.  Tongs are the best tool here.  Lay the meat in the hot oil and brown on one side.  Move them around a bit and keep the temperature hot so the coating stays on.    Turn them over as they brown.  And over again until done.

Into the warming drawer, you go. If you don't have a warming drawer, cover them with a lid and stick them on the back of the stove. 

Now for the gravy.  Scrap up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  That's the flavor.  Bring up the heat.  Another T. canola oil and 1 T. flour.  Stir to blend as it heats.  Add a good pile of sliced mushrooms.

Then add Alpenrose milk.  As the liquid approaches a simmer, the flour thickens it.  Add more milk until it is the right thickness.  You may want more salt and pepper.  Taste at this time and decide.  And a big spoon of Tillamook sour cream for richness. 

And we have a happy husband.  We watch a movie named "Date Night."  It seemed appropriate for the occasion, but it was completely stupid.  It may make sense if you are from New York, but I've never been there and, for me, the humor was just stupid. 

Remember not to skip Date Night.

Milk - Or Does It Matter

I'm giving more consideration to our food choices.  Having been raised in a family of cooks and eaters, I've always been interested in good food - good taste, good quality, trying new things.  My recent interest is to support local food production much the way I already support local hardware store owners and so forth.  When I recently bought some furniture, I shopped as much as I wanted but I bought from Main Street Furniture, Vancouver, WA and purchased from the owner of the business.  Then I called Husband on my cell phone and asked him to bring the truck and trailer to get it.  Being the good Husband that he is, he did so immediately and with minimal grumbles.

But part of me says, "hey, I work 9 or 10 hours a day and I keep a busy household!"  I need it to be easier!  Why can't I live in a world where small business owners, such as myself, are easily accessible and carry the products I need.  I mean, sometimes the stuff I need is at Home Depot, not at Grover Electric and Plumbing.  What's up with that?

So I'm on a milk thing, right now.  I've been buying Darigold, which is distributed out of Seattle.  The Portland metro area has a local Dairy - Alpenrose.  It has a long history in the area and family owned.  But none of the stores I normally shop at carries it.  

To their website I go. http://alpenrose.com/pages/index.html
I find that Albertson's carries Alpenrose.  I'm not normally an Albertson's shopper, but there is one in my community.  They carry only gallons, but that's okay, since I make yogurt out of it, too.  So, now I've decided to buy Willamette Farms Eggs from one place, produce from Diane's and Gateway Produce, I have a bread source at another place.  Safeway carries Santiam Cannery and Nor Pac canned and frozen vegetables.  But am I really going to make several stops per week for basic staples?

Have I mentioned that I work 9 or 10 hours a day and I keep a busy household?  There must be a way to support local food producers without this much work.  Is it a commercial idea to start a business that carries only locally produced food?  Don Pancho tortillas, Willamette Valley Cheese Company cheese,  local wine, Tillamook products.  There must be others.  It wasn't really that hard to buy 1/2 a cow, so why doesn't some store carry local meat?  Probably not a workable business plan for this or someone would be doing it.  The entrepreneur in me is staying awake at night thinking about it.

Remember to buy local.        

Santiam Cannery

I've blogged about Santiam Cannery before. 

http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/04/santiam-cannery.html

My grandparents were farmers near Stayton.  They grew beans, corn, wheat, peppermint, strawberries and other crops.  Every year, Grandpa negotiated a contract with the "cannery man."  Grandpa agreed to plant certain numbers of acres of the crops they wanted and the cannery agreed to buy the entire crop at an agreed upon price per pound. 

When the crop was ready, they hawled it in two ton farm trucks round the clock to a cannery in Stayton owned by Santiam Cannery.  I drove some of those trucks a couple years.  The Santiam Cannery brand is still out there, but now it is owned by Norpac.  Norpac has its corporate offices in Lake Oswego, Oregon.  Norpac also owns Flav R Pac. 

So there you are.  My brands for frozen and canned vegetables through the winter.

Tater Tot Casserole

The hamburger from the 1/2 cow we bought is awesome, lean and pretty.  Clearly a quality improvement over grocery store hamburger. 

Click here for that story.
http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/08/local-meat.html

Tonight I'm cooking one pound of my hamburger, a chopped shallot and a good tablespoon of my elephant garlic from Diane's Produce Market 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Into the cooked hamburger, I'm adding 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of Santiam brand green beans, drained.  Salt and pepper to taste.  You can turn it into a big casserole dish or start with a large oven safe skillet. 

Arrange 1 package (28 oz) frozen tator tots on top.  Bake 60 minutes or until the tator tots are hot and crispy.  Okay, so it's not gourmet, but it smells good and reminds me of happy things.  Husband comes through the kitchen saying he is looking forward to eating it. And just tell me that the kids won't eat that!  I wouldn't tell on you if you put catchup on it.

Remember to play with your food.

Linked with Simple Lives at Sustainable Eats

http://www.sustainableeats.com/2010/10/14/simple-lives-october-14-2010/

Men with Tools, part 2

Deviled Eggs are both a simple thing and a personal thing.  Every cook who makes them does it a little different.  But Men with Tools are back hard at work and this is one of their favorite snacks.  I can't hang dry wall, but I can feed those who do.  So, here is my take on deviled eggs.

Halve 6 hard-cooked eggs.  Remove yolks and mash with the tines of a fork.

Add to the yolks 1/4 c. mayo, 1 t. vinegar, 1 t. prepared yellow mustard, 1/2 t. dijon mustard, 1/8 t. salt .  Combine with the fork.

Now let me be very clear about this.  I do not own a piping bag and I don't plan to at any point in the future.  I am a simple girl.  Piping into eggs is not something I'm likely to do.  

But my melon ball scoop is just the right tool for for filling deviled eggs in my kitchen.  That's all I have to say about that.

Into the beer fridge you go, little eggs.

Remember to be happy.

Diane's Produce & Roast Potatoes

If you are local to Vancouver, WA, you really should check out Diane's Produce Market.  It is owned by Diane, go figure, who is in the store every time I'm there.  This is the type of business I want to shop at.  She is making a go of small business ownership, like me.  She is local.  She remembers me when I go there.  Okay, it isn't like going to the produce section at Freddy's or Safeway, but I'm starting to really not care.

You can find Diane's at 7702 NE 94th Avenue.  On the corner of 76th Street and 94th Avenue, just South of Padden Parkway, East of 205.

 
Here's what I bought there yesterday.

Elephant Garlic.  I haven't used it much, but I've got some that needs to get planted right now.  This one had just a little oniony smell which is very nice.  I'm looking forward to my early summer crop, assuming I get mine planted.

Red potatoes. A 15 lb sack.  It says number 2 on the sack, but they are nice and round and firm and clean.  The sack says they were distributed by a company in Sherwood, OR.

Willamette Egg Farm Eggs.  I'm becoming convinced that this is my egg source for now.  It is clear that I'm not going to do the backyard chicken thing.  The neighborhood association would flip.  But also, I have about as much responsibility as I can handle right now.  If one of them died, I'd feel horrible.

Grape Seed Oil.  I have bought olive oil from her, but she didn't have any.  I've had this stuff before.  It is not as distinct a taste as olive oil, but it is nice.


And I bought some apples which I'm going to use to make my mom's recipe for Raw Apple Cake, a fall thing for me.  I live in, well near, apple country.  Eating apples in the fall is natural.  Buying apples which were grown in Australia isn't.  I'm really getting so off of the Granny Smith thing.

Roast Potatoes are a nice change, tasty and special.  It starts with scrubbing the potatoes within an inch of their lives.  If you don't have a vegetable brush, I recommend one.  If you find a spot that you don't want to eat, now is the time to remove it with a small paring knife.

And some of that good garlic, finely chopped.

The potatoes get cut up and put on a large flat pan lined with two layers of foil.  I recommend cutting the potatoes fairly small.  You want a lot of potato surface to season and to get browned.

Add good lot of the oil, then a little more.  If you use good quality oil, don't think of it as a bad thing.  And salt and pepper.  Go ahead and season it well, unless you need to cut back on those types of things.  It's good.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.  Or fresh Rosemary finely chopped, if you have it.

Into a 450 oven.  Yes, this is hot, but it gets you the texture of roast potatoes.  Crispy some places, soft to the bite.  And here is the important part.  Take it out every 10 minutes or so and turn the potato pieces as much as you can.  Flip them over, move them around, then back in the oven.  You are looking at about an hour depending upon how many potatoes you have and what size you cut them.

You want the crispy browned edges.  That's what this is all about.

This together with a big chuck roast from our frozen stash of local beef made a feast and a good reward for my hard working man.

Remember to look your food in the eyes.

This post was linked to Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.  Check it out.

http://amoderatelife.com/2010/10/hearth-and-soul-hop-volume-18/

Men with Tools

There have been some serious changes at the Osbornes - all thanks to the Forced Remodel.  We've spent the summer fixing everthing.  Decisions, Insurance Money, Construction Dust.  Our stuff in Boxes.  I'm happy to say that we are nearly back to normal.  The china is still boxed in the garage and I'm still looking for a few things which have been misplaced while moving things around for the construction, but nearly. 

I'm getting hardware for the kitchen cabinets today.  Husband and Step Son had a good time drinking beer, listening to Beetles music, arguing with each other, while installing my new door pulls and drawer knobs. 

I can't update the oak cabinets, but hardware should help.

And this mirror.  Really hate it.  Have for a while.  It's the gold.

Considered getting rid of it, but I have a really hard time getting rid of things.  That's another story.

I should buy stock in a spray paint company.  Old joke, but I've spray painted a ton of things.  This is copper metalic.  I'm hoping it will look similar to a finish on a lamp I've got in the living room.

The oak cabinets look a lot less dated and sad with the hardware, don't they? 

Oh, and the mirror.  I hate it a lot less with the bronze paint.  It's hard to take a picture of a mirror, so you'll have to trust me. 

I have to wait for Men with Tools to hang it.  It is heavy and the biggest nail I have doesn't seem big enough to me.  

Now off to Dianne's Produce.  I need a few things. Tonight, a big pot roast and garlic roast potatoes.

Remember to stay busy.