A BLOG BREAK AND LEAVING THIS AS MY LAST POST FOR A WHILE

"People who think life must get boring with age, clearly have not experienced the joy of watching the bird feeder while taking that first sip of coffee in the morning" 

My imaginary cats agree with me.  

I hope this gave you a smile too.  

I added the cats because I love cats, though I have not had one since childhood, and there are none in the house. Hubs is a dog person (I love them too) but at this stage of the game, that won't be happening either. He sees me hobbling around and says, "Nuh-uh" and words to that effect. He gets a scrunched-up nose and eyes rolled to the ceiling from me (hello Dad), but he's right and I content myself with doggy fixes when we are out and about.

In the picture I gave myself a pair of dangly earrings because I love earrings and dangly ones especially, since teen-hood. My father couldn't stand mine, he thought they weren't ladylike (this is going back 60 plus years). He was an old lovable post-era Victorian man, what can I say? But could that man laugh, he would laugh until he had us all laughing with one of his funny stories, and tears ran down our cheeks, salt of the earth. Mum didn't like dangly ones either, but I used to ogle the Indian shop window on my way home from school and look at all that exotic jewelry on display in the window. Absolutely loved what I saw but never could afford as the price was way above what I could save with my pocket money. Hints for Christmas were ignored, and I continued to get my Bunty and Judy annuals, and I think Rupert the Bear was in there somewhere, another book I favored. No, I'm not knocking books, as they were my all-time favorite Christmas gifts and reading them on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, after our festivities had ended, was a real treat and I always looked forward to them.

We were talking about earrings weren't we? The saga continues! At the age of 50 mum finally had her ears pierced, also my sister. They went to a jeweler to get them done, not at the same time. I think mother saw sister's newly pierced ears and followed soon after. My dad was not a happy man. I can still see him scrunching up his nose in disgust and rolling his eyes to the ceiling. No, I don't have pierced ears. Whether it was my dad's influence or not, the infections both my sister and mother had from theirs (sorry for that image) put me right off! They did all the right things, but they had a terrible time. I couldn't stand the thought of having holes in my ears after that. And as for dad I think there was a 'told you so' in there somewhere, and he and I nodded at each other sagely as we scrunched our noses and rolled our eyes up to the ceiling. He put up with my dangly earrings after that.

So, the birds and feeder are a given and when I saw the saying online, I thought it was perfect. I added the flower myself and I love hearts, so that had to go on the flowerpot.

 Coffee is my favorite drink first thing in the morning. I drink green tea in the afternoon, with a cup of chamomile infused with vanilla and honey in the evening (no caffeine that late in the day). I haven't had a proper cuppa in a while, it's overdue. Maybe tomorrow!

The birds are slowly coming back and so have the squirrels (and chipmunks). One of those naughty squirrels has been eating the leaves off my mums (flowers), but they are looking a bit past it now the colder weather is arriving at night. I have truly enjoyed them though.

Enough of the blathering, as I wanted to tell you I am taking a blog break. Nothing too exciting, just things I have to take care of. I am not sure how long for, a few days, a week or two, I'm not really sure. I know I am going to miss you all, but I need to make a clean break. I'll be catching up with you when I get back.

For those of you who are having life challenges, whether it's a loved one's health or your own, know that you are never very far from my thoughts and I am sending all the prayers I can muster. I love you all and am sending hugs.

Thanks for always being there for me,

and have a continued outstanding October.

(The graphic was a request from me done in BingAI, plus graphics from pixabay.com, a royalty free graphic program, which I put on the original request picture using Paint Shop Pro, a program I have had for many, many years. I found the phrase online. I believe it fits many of us).

HAPPY EASTER

 

(This was pre-posted for today. I am still on a blog break with family visiting but wanted to wish you A Very Happy Easter.  I look forward to catching up with you all when I get back.  Comments are off for today.)

A BLOG BREAK - MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CREAMY CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN

Hello Dear Friends, it has been a while but I am taking a blog break. I hope to be back in a couple weeks.

My photos for this recipe didn’t turn out very well. At the end of the cooking time I decided to put it under the broiler to give it a nice golden brown color.  Unfortunately, I got distracted and forgot!  It wasn’t too long past what I intended but it got a bit burnt in parts, which I tried to rescue by scraping said burnt bits off the top. Fortunately it didn’t detract from the taste and was actually a delicious tasting recipe.  But!!! I must remember to ‘babysit’ next time, and not leave it to fend for itself. Even with all this being said, we gave it a 10 out of 10.

The recipe comes from Laughing Spatula hosted by Kathi and Rachel. It is an Ina Garten recipe and they increased the amount of cheese sauce and cauliflower for a bigger casserole.You can see theirs at this link. Their recipe index can be found here. Ina's recipe is at the Food Network website here. I always recommend going to the food blog where I find my recipes. Always fun to look through them for others and also to see the great photos for this one, plus the tips. Also suggestions as to what main course would go well as an accompaniment.

Creamy Cauliflower Au Gratin

Servings: 8

Calories:  268 per serving

8 cups cauliflower florets about 3 pounds

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

3 cups milk 2 percent or whole

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated Swiss is a great substitute

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For Topping:

1/2 cup panko crumbs regular bread crumbs would work too

1/3 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate cauliflower into florets and either steam for 5 minutes or boil in large pot of water for 5 minutes, until just barely tender. Drain and set aside.

In sauce pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add 1/3 cup of flour and whisk until smooth and mixture is bubbling.

Add milk and continue to stir until thickened. Add one cup of gruyere cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir until melted. Sauce should cover the back of a spoon.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce into an au gratin baking dish or baking dish about that same size.We used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish but a10 x 10 was suggested. If using the 9 x 13 the casserole will be a bit thinner.

Place partly cooked cauliflower on top. Sprinkle with salt.

Pour remaining sauce on top of second layer of cauliflower.

For Topping: combine melted butter, gruyere and bread crumbs in small bowl. Sprinkle on top of cauliflower.

Bake for 30 minutes or until top is crispy and cauliflower is tender.

Notes

Substitute swiss cheese or any other big flavored cheese in place of gruyere.

Do not use fat free milk. Whole milk is best.  2% in a pinch. (Denise: I always use 2% and it still tastes creamy enough for us.)

Par cook the cauliflower until just barely fork tender, careful not to over cook.

 

Some of the comments asked at the end of the recipe I found interesting. 

1) Can you use coconut milk.The answer was yes, it would thicken up just like regular milk.

2) Can you make the day before and reheat? Yes and for best results assemble, cover and refrigerate, then bake next day if possible.

3) Can you use frozen cauliflower or would that be too mushy? That answer was yes, it would be mushy, but still delicious, only with more of a mashed potato consistency.

4) One commenter's store didn't have Gruyère cheese, so they used a good quality sharp Cheddar cheese. Also they were only cooking for one so used 1/2 the measurements. She loved the recipe. (Denise’s note: the only cheese I ever used before Gruyère was Cheddar. Always delicious! I did enjoy the creamy taste of the Gruyère however.)

This is a recipe I remember making at school in my Domestic Science Class. I took it home afterwards for my family, and happy to say it was a big success. It became a regular one from then on and my dear mother was very happy as it was the start of me helping her with making dinners. She appreciated the extra hands.

Laughing Spatula's website for this recipe can be found here:

https://laughingspatula.com/creamy-cauliflower-au-gratin/

Ina Garten's recipe can be found at Food Network here:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cauliflower-gratin-recipe-1917463

Blog hostess note: Would pair great with a baked ham or a roast chicken!  

Denise’s note: My protein part of the meal was already cooked and frozen lobster cakes from Trader Joe. There were two in one package, one for each of us, and at first my dear other half wasn’t too keen. I wasn’t so sure either but wanted to try one time for something special, but easy, on Memorial Day. (It was just the two of us.) However, as they were small cakes, I persuaded him to try at least one time. I was very happy when he said he enjoyed them so much, that he would definitely have them again.

An already cooked rotisserie chicken from your favorite supermarket would be a wonderful and easy addition, not to mention a faster prep time in the kitchen. In fact, for the second night’s meal, we bought one from CostCo.  We always enjoy theirs.  

I added a mixed green salad.  

Instead of using store-bought panko crumbs, I had a large-ish heel of sourdough bread left, broke it into pieces and put into a blender. I whirled it long enough to make into breadcrumbs, and followed the recipe from there.

There were leftovers for two more meals. At dinner the next day it tasted even better. We still had leftovers after the second time, smaller portions this time for a light snack.

Blog host’s final note: You want the cauliflower just slightly fork tender. Careful not to over cook so you don’t have cauliflower mush casserole. Would still taste good…just mushy.

BACK FOR A BIT....

I am very happy to be back on line but still getting over a bad ear infection and a nasty dose of bronchitis.  Going to our local walk-in clinic is never a favorite thing to do, but the medical professionals were very nice.  With the right medication I am beginning to feel better, though it will still be a few days before I am back to normal.

I am that shadow, still a bit dark and discomfobulated.  Soon I hope to feel like dancing, just as you see the sweet little dancer in this delightful photo.  I love it!  My niece sent it to me recently.  Thank you dear niece, it was a great pick-me-up.  

Not quite back to normal yet but hope to be participating in the memes again soon, and adding normal posts.  I will also be answering all those sweet messages you've been leaving.  I will answer those before I do another post.  Not sure how long it will be before I get back to normal blogging, but thanks for thinking of me and being so kind.  

The cold continues....

My cold has turned into a doozy and it may take longer than I thought to get back to regular posting.  I have been bedbound and housebound and not feeling like doing a whole lot.  I hope to get back to normal in a few days and will read through and publish the backlog of those lovely comments you have left. Thank you for your continued support and patience.   

BLOG BREAK CONTINUES....

I hope to be back soon but at the moment not sure when that will be.