Big Top by Rob Harrell for November 07, 2010

Breakfast Menu: Grilled cheese sandwich Fajita (Chicken or steak) patty melt Sloppy Joes hot dogs, or bratwurst sausages cocktail wieners. corn on the cob charbroiled steakburgers, or hamburgers oven fresh Pizza hot or cold Vegetable platter (Olives. celery sticks, carrot sticks, broccoli, cauliflower, artichokes, asparagus, bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, Crackers, salami, cheese, potato chips, Choice of bean dip, guacamole dip hot or mild salsa dip,or sour cream and onion dip. Cinnamon rolls Beverages: Regular or Doc’s World Famous Nuclear Coffee Starbright’s Divine CocoMocha courtesy of Johanan Rakkav & Chris Alan milk, chocolate milk Asst. fruit juices and teas Soft drinks like Pepsi and other sodas Floats, or milkshakes Premium or imported beer Chardonnay, Zinfandel, or Merlot Bloody mary, margarita, martini and other cocktails. Big Sister’s Berry Delightful breakfast smoothies V8 vegetable juice. Water DESSERT: Chocolate cake and Cheese cake

Uh oh! Looks like even crystal balls get viruses.

Good Morning Angelic Little Sister

(grumbling under breath…. show… no presents…. stink…. little brats….. toys…… probably donates …… everybody is going to…… thought you know…. )

Darling, dearest, sweet Little Sister, may I have a Berry Delicious Smoothie, a Chocolate Cake and a glass of milk? Please?

A Special Addition to Today’s Menu: Anything from Lifeway Kefir’s entire stock of products, courtesy of the Boss and myself.

See you tomorrow morning (6:00 CST now), when I’d like a large pomegranate kefir smoothie, OJ and CocoMocha. Nothing solid so early…

Yes you may Big Sister.

Good Morning Little Sister and Luv Is Angelic!

I’ll have a patty melt and a piece of chocolate cake please.

It will be ready for you when you arrive Johannan Rakkav.

Hi and Bye Johanan!

Big Sister Whenever a member of my family ask me what I want for Christmas, I always tell them that I don’t want anything. I’ve been that way ever since I was little.

Thank you, kind and benevolent, Little Sister

Do you think I can make a Grinch Reaper or Duckie? I am not sure this angelic thing is working for me. Of course both the Grinch and Scrooge were turncoats in the end. Hmmm…. this bears thinking.

Here you go Sojo enjoy the meal.

Thank you Little Sister. :-)

My family gets annoyed because I ask for what I really want. Lets see I’ve asked for a mop, a frying pan etc. I buy my own toys for the most part. Oh! I got a microwave one year.

Hello Johanan & Sojo

Don’t over-work your brain Big Sister Just go with the flow and the rest will come.

I’m innocent by the way. The grease fire is not my fault.

A grinch reaper or duckie, I don’t see why not.

Yes Miss Innocent, I’m use to that drill!

But it isn’t my fault…………….

I was happily cooking and then Poof! It surprise the heck out of me.

We need more baking soda by the way.

I like baking soda for washing clothes. Who made dinner last night? Let us blame that person?

So your blaming me then.

:-(

Ha! Making excuses before thinking! :-)

Haven’t you ever made a mistake in the kitchen

(Sniff! sniff! sob!)

It was a freak accident but nothing got damaged at least.

Well, I am not a lawyer! How do you expect me to help if you are GUILTY?

I’m Innocent! :-)

You mean like hiding dirty dishes in the stove and then forgeting it when you preheat .. . never mind.

I would never do that Sojo.

Oh! Well in that case I don’t remember seeing Serenasakitty around recently. I bet she left it there when she was sneaking all the ice cream.

I would never do it either! (again)

(opens giant freezer and starts tossing out empty ice cream containers)

(sadly shakes head) She ate it all gone. Doc better remember to bring more in the morning.

I would never blame anybody, It was just a freak incident, that’s all. Sometime weird things happen.

I do that all the time, but usually it is clean pans and baking dishes. Though sometimes maybe something I just fried eggs in.

Well it did scare me little. But I’m fine. It may have been Dusty’s doing since he’s been a bad dog lately. but who knows.

Well, freak accident or not all the ice scream is definitely gone! Only one person is capable of finishing it all off that fast. Guess I should clean this up, you need any help with your stuff Little Sister?

No I’m fine, Big Sister

I wonder how bad the brain freeze was?

Time for my zzzzzz’s.

♪ P&L ♪ ≡≡ POOF! ≡≡

All done so good night everyone.

I don’t know Sojo, I do know that you never want to run out of ice cream unless she finished. Serenasakitty is super nice and fun unless…….

SNERK giggle CHORTLE GUFFAW

Have to agree with Doc.

this “Angelic” thing is hilarious….. seriously, is this a camo job to lull us into a false sense of security….???? BTW who are you and what have you done with LuvH8??? I’m watching you……

 Good Morning Peoples!

Runs With Beer, how about 67? It is a good prime number. I think from now on you shall always be 67 to me. Though it may be strange when I am older than you.

Hello Doc, does this mean you get extra sleep? It is very sweet of you all to support me in my efforts to get on Santa’s nice list.

I was sleeping less than an hour ago. Then someone decided it was time to eat and that I should get up and fix them eggs and toast. (spoiled….. what ….can’t ……window….. clock)

Well shoot cans out of trees. I am awake now..

Good Morning, Little Sister, Luv is (snicker) Angelic, Sojourner, Doctor Toon and….

Good Morning, RwB, Grog &LuvH8 & Doc!

Just D’sWFNC for me right now.

Good Morning, ♠Lonewolf♠

Hey guys! Wassup today?

The usual for a fall Sunday, ♠Lonewolf♠

With you I know what it is, Grog.

(Me too!)

Heheh Doc.

No kidding?? LOL

I’ll be watching the Bucs/Falcons early and the Chefs/Rrrrrraiders late. I think I’ll turn in before the Cowboys/Packers has started the second half as I’m sure the Cowboys will, too.

Sleep is over-rated.

Good one on the ‘Boys, Grog. That has been there M.O. lately.

I have the Jets/Lions and Bears/Bills early followed by the Colts/Eagles. I hope the ‘Boys beat the Packers tonight.

I, too, feel that sleep is over-rated, but when you have a virus it is almost impossible to avoid.

I much prefer watching a movie to staring blankly up into darkness waiting to fall asleep.

Locally we get Chargers/Texans early and Giants/Seahawks and Colts/Eagles late.

I’m glad I get Sunday Ticket.

I’ve never been able to bring myself to pay for that Grog. I am content to watch what I can on cable and the ‘puter.

I’d never be content watching the Texans. I wasn’t content watching the Seahawks, when I was up in Edmonton either. The plus side though was we got a lot of games from the black & blue division, but very few Cowboy games unless they were on National Television. Fortunately, I could subscribe to Sunday Ticket with Shaw Cable while I was there. We got a lot of boring Giants & Jets games while living in Montreal.

I’m watching the Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Chiller right now. Love the theme music to that show.

Time to make some breakfast. Be back in a bit.

Grog - - A few weeks ago, the Vikings game would have been on in this region. Man, how things have changed in a few weeks.

You’ll get to see them next week, ♠Lonewolf♠, as will I. Vikings/Bears is a game I don’t want to miss. I keep picturing Ditka on roller skates.

I hear you loud and clear, Grog.

Sleep well, Doc

Have a good rest, Doc. We’ll catch you later on.

My Mountain Man will be watching all the action on Dish’s “Red Zone”, and I’ll start a new Nancy Taylor Rosenberg mystery. During tonight’s game, I’ll watch a “chick flick”. Don’t mind football Sundays after all….:)))

Good Morning, Montana Lady. Have a great Sunday!

Good Morning, MontanaLady

I like the feature that I have where I can see up to 8 games on one screen. It helps when I can’t decide what to watch or am interested in more than one game. It happens some times.

Hey! I slept some!

That was hilarious Doc. Pleasant Dreams

I hate the stupid time change. I’m used to waking up at 5:00 AM every morning. I wake up this morning with aches as a result from yesterdays work and it is only 4:00 AM.

Have fun Montana Lady!

Good Morning, Luv Is Trying To Put One Over On Santa and Little Sister

Good Morning, Lil’ Sister & LuvH8.

I see coal in your future, Luv Is Angelic.

I hope I make it to Santas naughty list.

Why would you hope for that, Lil’ Sister?

Because being good is okay but everyone knows that Santa likes bad girls.

Hmmm, I never knew that. I need to pay more attention I guess!

≡≡ P O P ! ≡≡ ♪ Hello TRIBE! ♪

Hello to all those here!

And he traded his reindeer in for a killer Harley.

Good Morning Little Sister, Lonewolf and Grog

Do you think Santa can read minds like You-Know-Who? If he can, I might never make the nice list.

If he has a good crystal ball with high speed internet and good connection.

Sojo I’m hungry. Hey do you think I can beat Goku in an eating contest? :-))

Remindsof this scene in The Santa Clause

Santa: Veronica, very nice. Veronica: In your dreams, sleigh boy.

That was a good movie.

Hello Luv Is Angelic and Grog!

Hello Little Sister - I hope not! (What a mess that would be.)

Hi Sojo!

Thanks for breakfast, Little Sister. Time on target, as usual, grease fire notwithstanding.

In real life I may have found the perfect recipe for Starbright’s Divine CocoMocha. (I cheat because I usually use almond milk rather than coconut milk, which even under the SoDelicious brand is harder to find.)

1) A “Pessimist Mug” full of Silk’s Pure Almond (the kind with dark chocolate added) 2) One ThinkGreek titanium spork-full of Mount Hagen instand organic coffee (unbelieveably mellow, that stuff)

Heat 1) in your microwave and add 2). Stir.

120 calories, it passes the Boss’ strictest taste test, it’s easy to make if you have the ingredients… and you can vary the coffee input depending on your taste.

Oh yes… it reacts non-explosively to admixture of Doctor Toon’s Nuclear Coffee.

Hello Johanan! - Thank you, it sounds great!

Hello Johanan Rakkav.

I have the first design iteration of the Pessimist’s Mug. I don’t like the current edition stylistically quite as much. Despair.com has added other kinds of drinkware.

http://www.despair.com/pessimistsmug.html

And, I have two of these (one of them being a STAR TREK limited edition collectible):

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/8ace/

Yeah, I took this photo:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/8ace/action/2133215/

Oops, I forgot the depth of my geekiness. I have THREE of those sporks (one being the limited edition).

Greetings Johanan

That is good news. I’ve never heard of the second ingredient, it sounds worth trying. Usually instant is to bitter or burnt tasting for me.

Wow! That’s pretty cool Johanan Rakkav. :-)

Good Morning, Johanan.

My CocoaMocha consists of Keurig dark blend coffees with two teaspoons of Nestles Chocolate and a couple dabs of cream.

Dangit Now I need another one!

Hello ♠Lonewolf♠!

I want a spork now. Hey Johanan Rakkav I’ll wrestle you for that spork you have in your hand.

Hi, Sojo!

I have a spork and napkin tidily wrapped to keep it clean.

I don’t have a spork but like them. Might get some sometime.

A spork would go great for making coffee in the morning.

I am suddenly afraid of coffee.

Kick-off!!

My coffee is not thick enough for a spork. A teaspoon is fine.

67 is a good prime number. Glad I’m not quite to prime. WOW with my son’s calling…. PLAY NICE Sleep fast Doc

I happen to like my morning cup of coffee. Just one cup is enough to get me through the day.

Hey there RwB. Have a good Sunday!

Hello RwB! - Enjoy your day.

Halftime. 7-7 Bears/Bills. Unreal

Browns up on the Patriots by 10 at the half

My game is what I’d thought it would be Atlanta up by 3

Bears up 14-7!

Vikes losing to the (Cardinals)!

Clevand 24-7

That’s definitely another surprise, Grog.

Happy afternoon to all football and chick-flick watchers!

Little Sister thanks for a really good breakfast…..and the entertainment throughout the comments between you and Luv, Sojo, Doc Toon and others

No rest for the wicked today–this afternoon, I have to miss one meeting to go to a bingo party, then hustle on over to another meeting this p.m.

And I don’t even like bingo!

Luv is Angelic You seem like a Pixie to me…a woodland creature full of mischief without meaness but a good sense of humor. Not sure whether a Pixie is quite right….Urchin maybe…Sea urchin?? ( giggle) in my dictionary it says something about meaning HEDGEHOG too…

I think I had better leave your name and avatar up to you before I get HEXED! * : o

Hi bmonk We have a saying around here, “No rest for the wicked and very little for the righteous” Your name might suggest the latter???? Have fun!!

Hurry Scurry…guess I will see what is happening in fooball!

Let’s see B1…and then 2G…

Hello HopeandJoy and bmonk!

woof, woof

Haa haa haa haa haa! :-))

Let’s see Grogs Raiders againsts HopeandJoy’s Chiefs. This could be a tough game.

Or Giants and Seahawks. Which game should I watch?

Sojo You like the Chiefs don’t you? I’ll watch the Raiders and Chiefs then.

It is all I can do to watch.

It’s all I can watch also (which is what I would probably watch anyway). Thanks Little Sister.

(Bites fingernails)

Who to root for

Chiefs?

They be the good guys.

Great catch.

Touchdown Chiefs at last!

How will the the Raiders respond now?

They fumbled and the Chiefs have it!

Good afternoon everyone!

Hi, HopeandJoy & Bmonk!

Got an oil change and winterize done for a customer of mine, went to my mother’s house to unjam her garbage disposal and watched the Bears beat the Bills in football! Great afternoon so far! And James helped me with all three things. WooHoo!!

Sounds good, Lonewolf and James How are you at stopping rain in Oakland???

Heheh! I’m not sure I am qualified to take on that task HopeandJoy.

This is getting serious….no penalties on that run!!!!

I wish I could see that game, HopeandJoy.

I’m watching the Colts and the Eagles.

Pretty good game so far.

Hi, tribe! I think Doc’s got me beat - I think I watch about one football game a decade.

Hi, Rmom!

I’m watching the football game only because I’m sore and don’t want to go out as a result.

Hello Rmom!

But football today has been pretty entertaining. So I’m not complaining.

Hi, Wolfie & Lil’ Sis!

Hi Rmom

Nice avatar Sojo

Thanks Little Sister.

Hi, Sojo!

I don’t have a yellow flag to toss, but maybe this here yellow banana peel will work.

(Tosses yellow Banana peel on the field and calls a penalty on the referee).

Your avatar IS pretty cool, Sojo I hiding out in the BT to keep from watching Chiefs/Raiders

Can Chiefs score a touchdown is the question??….Can they keep the Raiders from scoring??? Who is going to win the PENALTY BOWL???

How ya doing Rmom

Good Grief….CHIEFS TOUCHDOWN

The chiefs just took the lead. Wow! What a game.

Thanks HopeandJoy.

The Chiefs are ahead again!

i like YOUR PENALTY FLAG, Little Sister May the force be with you!!

I am listening, SOJO …I am not watching until after the play, though.

Cheers

I bet the referee doesn’t. How many can I toss before I get ejected from the game, for being a rowdy fan?

Why you’re a cute little sister, they wouldn’t toss you out. Hide among the cheerleaders or something.

Hi, Hope&joy! Just a little distracted - hubby has to be at work at 4am tomorrow, so he’s heading to his 2nd home tonight.

Whoopie! Another penalty.

Quick, somebody grab the ref’s yellow flags and run!

We are going to set a record, Little Sister for yellow flags!!

‘Tis o.k. Rmom Take care of your man first.

And yet another flag is thrown. Can we declare this day a national holiday yet?

All these flags and not a spammer in sight.

Hope&joy - Thankfully, he doesn’t need too much taking care of! I was just at his place last week, so he asked me to take inventory to see what he needed. Much of the stuff I buy in bulk at Sam’s, so I just have to raid our pantry to stock up his trailer. At least there’s a Wal-Mart about 1/2 mile from where he works, so he can go there if he runs out of something he really needs/wants.

Stop that horse collar business!!

No No No

Whoa! Tie game in Oakland!

I smell overtime.

It’s a Chiefs/Raiders game alright ….and here we go!

You want to make the game really interesting then add some thick mud.

Rmom You sound organized to me and no doubt need to be.

If Janikowski hadn’t missed that field goal, this game wouldn’t be in OT. But what a game!!!

The Colts game disappointend me.

(Oh, I’m back!)

Three and outs are not recipes for victories!

It is in OT, Grog.

Just win, Baby.

Wow! This stadium is pumped up.

O. K. Maybe I will say, We will see how they fare in Arrowhead!

No flags?

Yet another victory for the Raiders.

What a game.

Sorry, Chiefs fans. I hope the last game of the season (Raiders/Chiefs) is for the Division.

I also hope there are a few less penalties.

It was exciting! Right down to the wire.

Thanks, hope&joy! Many people tell me that I am organized, but why do I not feel like I am? Probably because there’s always more organizing I need to do.

What a come from behind win for the Rrrrrrrrrraiders!

Sorry about that HopeandJoy.

:^(

It is never easy to play at Arrowhead but if the Chiefs can return to their few penalties days and the Raiders can commit fewer penalities……

I think I’d rather watch the Simpsons tree house of horrors over the Cowboys/Packers. I can only take so much punishment.

it was a good game! I just wish it was the Chiefs that had won. :-(

Thanks Lonewolf We all have our teams and our games and even though this one was sloppy, there were still some really good plays.

Grog, I have faith that the Cowboys will figure this one out. I hope so anyhow! :^)

Sojo I guess we should be glad we are still in first place and that the Chiefs generally have a bright future if they keep developing their young players…My son is an avid, rabid fan!!

Regardless of outcome, it was still an excellent game, Hopeandjoy. I was surprised that the Raiders reacted so well after being down by 10 at the half and after they had such an easy time of it the past two weeks.

And now for the next game. With a delicious dinner.

KFC Anyone. :-)

Sounds pretty good, Lil’ Sis! But I think I’m still full from the homemade spaghetti & cheese bread from dinner. I’ve got 1/2 of a leftover calzone in the fridge, too.

Little Sister - Sounds good to me!

KFC? I can eat virtual KFC. But I haven’t had the ral thing in over a year. I miss it.

Who doesn’t love trans-fats?

Even with a great defensive stand they still get a dumb penalty.

Grog if you take the skin off KFC, would you ok’d to have it then?

hmmmm…that spagetti sounds good…angel hair, thin, or reg? or maybe you “roll your own” RMOM

Give it up, ♠Lonewolf♠. The Pack will win. And I won’t be awake for the 2 minute warning….of the first half!

Vermicelli for spaghetti! Mmm, mmmm, good!

The skin is the best part.

Yeah and that’s where the trans-fats are, Little Sister. You’ll have to look out for that as you get older.

Touchdown Packers! :-)

Hope&joy - I just use store bought pasta, the regular size. But I make the meat sauce pretty much from scratch, although I use a can each of tomato sauce & paste. An old boyfriend of mine taught me, I grew up on canned Chef Boy-O-dee spaghetti. My hubby browns the ground beef, as he is more patient to get it finely crumbly than I am, but I’m in charge of dumping all the spices in. Whoever isn’t busy with the sauce, works on the garlic bread (with mozzarella cheese on top.) So, it is a joint project, as is most Sunday dinners. My hubby is a big help with cooking - not at all with the cleaning part, but he does more in the kitchen than either one of our fathers, so I’m grateful for the help I get from him. Our sons aren’t crazy about spaghetti, but it had been a while since we’d served it.

Grog - I love breading, but I can do without the extra fat with the skin, so I’ve started ordering the chicken strips instead. KFC here has them in original recipe (my favorite) and I think extra crispy. However, I don’t go to KFC very often, but it is nice for a change of pace.

I’ve never been crazy about spaghetti, but I do admit to liking angel hair pasta every once in a while. In general, I’m not crazy about Italian food - or French.

Having your family involved is nice. My husband is actually good at clearing the table and cleaning up the pans that don’t go in the dishwasher…but he doesn’t do counter tops or stove tops, He would do some cooking and I should make room for him to do that more.

I love trying various spices and growing my own. He doesn’t very spicy things if he considers them “hot” or eat Mexican food which drives me nuts as I have wonderful recipes…I sneak some in from time to time.

He does love spagetti however.

Rmom, I love KFC. There was a time when I had it once a week. I haven’t had it yet this year. I might stop by for lunch after my Doctor’s appointment next Monday.

We both love soups and I enjoy making that.

Grog and Rmom We eat KFC once every 2 months when the bridge club circles into our house and I am too busy preparing for them. We eat the original but I remove the crust and it still tastes good.

Hope&joy - It sound like your hubby has my Dad’s taste buds. Mine, too, to a certain degree. Dad never cared for anything spicy, but my Mom liked spicy foods. My hubby likes hot spicy foods, but I have to have mild. After our first child was born, we started going to my parents’ home each Friday evening. We were so broke, it was the only entertainment we could afford. Mom loved to cook chili and share it with my hubby, which he enjoyed. Dad would add sweet pickle juice and maybe ketchup to her chili in an attempt to make it less spicy for him to eat.

I’m not up on Mexican either. For spice I always turn to Cajun cooking.

I go the “mild Salsa” route and we are generally pretty normal and ordinary around here with meat, chicken, pastas and soups in various combinations. Chili is an exception to the bland but not tooo hot. *:)

My husband still makes chili, but I’ve given up on him being able to make chili that will suit both of us. Especially because it can easily set off my digestive system with unpleasant results. He just made a batch of chili last weekend, and took it with him in glass jars (that he could throw away instead of washing). He had a guy from work bring a crockpot to warm it up in, and the chili was gone before lunch time!

Although there’s some nice dishes from the Orient with a little kick…….they just don’t include refried beans and the like..

Gumbo in New Orleans was pretty tasty.

Different recipients of the United Way Fund have an annual Chili Cook-off here in our Burg our Literacy group wins with our recipe a lot of years…it is determined by the number of tickets bought and I am afraid we “stuff” the ballot box a bit.

Grog - I don’t like refried beans, either. That does limit my choices for Mexican food, but I can still find a few things that I enjoy. Good thing too, since we eat at least weekly at a Mexican restaurant. Tacos, enchiladas & sanchos all usually don’t have beans in them. Fajitas probably don’t either, if I’m not mistaken.

Lots of lettace and salsa on toastados will hide the refried beans but I like them as long as cheese is about and lettace.

Have a good evening and rest, friends…I best close for now. It was good talking with you.

They just had a chili cook-off at our church last month. But between the distance and the mega hours my hubby’s working, he didn’t enter.

Good night, hope&joy!

All this talk about chili made me realize that I don’t think I’ve ever made any in my whole life! Since it was only after I was an adult that I started eating it (probably because Mom’s was too spicy for my taste), and once I got married, my hubby soon learned to cook. I taught him much of what he knows, but when it comes to chili, I’m guessing my mom taught him more. I was just telling him a few days ago, that I may try to fix a batch of chili that is to my liking. I’m not sure it will taste like “chili” to most people, but at least I could create something I’d enjoy and hopefully won’t upset my system.

Good Night HopeandJoy. Rest well.

Mexican food is one of my faves and as long as the Asian cuisine is spicy, I like that very much also.

Chili is pretty much at the top of my list of faves and I do make a mean spicy chili my own self! Tasty, too!

Wolfie - Would you believe that I think I’m almost done with the legal part of my mom’s estate? Tuesday, we are to meet with the lawyer, and I’m to clean out the bank account. I had hoped by this point I’d be done sorting through all of the stuff I brought home from her house, like the photo albums & such. Well, it isn’t so much sorting that’s left, it is more of getting everything into digital form that I (and maybe my siblings) want before I let go of the originals.

I made a chile that got raves while living in Edmonton.

The thing about Gumbo, though is there are so many different ways of making it. One night I went to a place that had a very spicy gumbo and the next night one that was lighter on the spices but the gumbo was still quite flavorfull.

Good Night HopeandJoy.

Wow, Rmom! It’s been a long time since you started the legal part. Bet you’ll be glad when all is said and done.

Grog - Just what all is in gumbo? Is it seafood or what? My folks’ farm had “gumbo” for their soil type. Actually, I think it is clay, but my parents always called it “gumbo’.

You were right about the Cowboys, Grog. I should remove my post before someone thinks I’m off my rocker!

Lots of yapping even for a Sunday evening!

Wolfie - You ain’t a kiddin’! Mom’s been gone for over a year now, and I would have thought it would have been much easier than this, since they had done all the legal work ahead of time that they could think of. I suppose it could have been a lot worse. None of the beneficiaries are contesting the trust - of course, my Dad wasn’t naive. He put a bit in it that if anyone contested it, they would only get ten dollars for their share. But I do think I have the trust of everyone, so no one has accused me of not being ethical or anything.

I don’t know how much time I’ll have to get on during the week. I’ve been asked to bake cookies for the Senior Recital of my son’s math tutor, in exchange for a couple tutoring sessions. She’s familar with my chocolate chip cookies, but I thought I ought to let her sample some of my other kinds.

You’ve got to be on enough to bring some of them thar cookies to The Big Top, Rmom!

I’m turning in early as I have to get up early and will be busy until around noon. I’m not taking my laptop to bed so I can turn off my router until I get back around noon tomorrow. It’s getting flaky again and hopefully I can replace it soon!

♪ P&L ♪ ≡≡ POOF! ≡≡

Rmom, gumbo can be made with various ingredients. Chicken and sausage gumbo is ok, but I prefer a seafood gumbo with sausage thrown in for good measure. It doesn’t need to be spicy, but I think you have to start with a good roux.

Now I have this urge to make gumbo sometime soon.

Grog - What the heck is “roux”?!

Wolfie - How about some peanut butter cookies? I just made some yesterday evening. My husband used to take them to work, and he would get people begging for him to bring them. I used to do a lot of baking, but it got to the point where I was “burned out” - sorry for the pun. These are best when a quality brand (like Jif) peanut butter is used, and slightly underbaked. Actually, I underbake most of my cookies if they aren’t going to be eaten immediately, as I’ve found out they are more moist that way.

Good to see you, Doc! My problem is instead of getting an extra hour of sleep, it seems we just put off going to bed that hour.

Good Night, Sojo. Rest well and we’ll catch you in the morrow!

Good evening, Doc. I hope you have a good night at work!

Rmom, peanut butter cookies sound great right about now!

Good night, Sojo! Hopefully your new router will come soon.

Rmom, roux is a mixture of flour and oil. The basic reason for making a roux is for the taste and texture it lends to food. (Paul Prudhomme) There are different roux for different dishes from light to dark, depending on the dish. But flour is generally added to oil on high heat. From there you can create a light or dark roux depending on how long you heat it for but you can’t scorch it. From there, you would add the Cajjun trilogy and the whole thing turns to a sort of paste that you would add to a boiling soup stock in a good Gumbo recipe or even other types of recipes.

I’ll be back on in a little while.

When I have the time, I will post the recipe for you on one of my upcoming vacation days - as well as a gumbo Recipe from Prudhomme’s book for you. I espcially love Cajun in the winter months.

It gets my blood to circulating for a bit.

Grog - Thanks! I’ve never tried much Cajun, just can’t handle the hot spices. Not many Cajuns live in Kansas, either.

Rmom, don’t forget that I was born in Montreal - the land of Blechy French and Italian food. My first visit to N’Orleans was an eye-opener that changed my thinking forever. I’ll now eat anything but French, Italian and Mexican/. As ♠Lonewolf♠ stated, I like Oriental with a litlle kick to it - not singling out any one nation. There are some forms of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese that I love for their spicy flavors.

It’s time I finally called it a night.

♠Lonewolf♠, it looks like it’s up to the Bears to knock off their divisional rivals and not their competition. Bears/Vikes and Bears/Pack are looking like some interesting must-win matchups in their schedule.

Gunite,Ttribeandall

Hi Rmom and Grog just passing through from the LR and checked the conversation.

Grog, I thought you didn’t like French cooking unless it was cajun..but my roux is always more oil than flour and I usually brown it for flavor…it is not a gravy but I have used pan drippings..anyway, will check out your Gumbo recipe. Not sure I could “stomach” the andouille (sp?) sausage though. *:) Good reading and sharing with you and Rmom.

I guess it’s all in their hands to put the competition away. Riiiight! Good Night, Grog. Rest well, my friend!

You too, Lonewolf

Ditto with you too, HopeandJoy!

Grog - I didn’t remember which city in Canada, but I did remember you came from there. I doubt my hubby had chili until he was in college. He went to college in KS & TX, so found a lot of new foods that they didn’t serve back in PA.

Good night, Grog & Hope&Joy!

Foo Ball over?

I don’t know if foo ball is over, but the game they were all watching seems to be.

Good evening, LuvH8!

It is so disturbing to find out that people burn food and beverages on purpose. First fish, chicken and whatever else they charge you an extra $10 to be ‘blackened’ on the outside and barely done on the inside. Then I accidently discover that if you cook all the water out of your vegetable soup and burn it slightly then add more water and eat it anyway it tastes like canned vegetable soup. (yup, their secret ingredient is overcooking without enough liquid) Now people are burning flour and oil. Do you know some people purposefully light their marshmallows on fire before eating them?!?!?

Luv - LOL! If something gets overdone, we just call it “Cajun”. I always thought the people who burn their marshmallows were too impatient to get them just browned. I don’t like the taste of ash, myself. I remember when I was a teenager and Mom bought a toaster oven for the first time. I would take some aluminum foil, occasionally a graham cracker, but not always, and bake a marshmallow until just perfectly browned. Yummy! So much easier to just watch it through the glass door than to have to hold it over a fire.

They burn coffee ON PURPOSE? I’ve burnt it a lot of times by accident, but not on purpose.

Sojo said that they get the darker blends by cooking them too long. So they are burned and lower in caffeine!!! I hate burned coffee! I hate it so much I started drinking room temperature coffee just to avoid it. As soon as the pot is done brewing off it goes. I refuse to boil coffee in the microwave too. What is with that? I have seen people microwave the same cup of coffee five times at 3 minutes per time!

Well, I think I need to head to bed. Good night!

Good Night Rmom

Luv - I know my hubby has a special formula he does for his coffee each morning. Zap for a certain length in the microwave, then dunk the bag a certain number of times. (He uses the Folgers singles.) But since he likes his breads burnt, I guess it wouldn’t surprise me if he would drink burnt coffee.

I wonder is we have a rocker. Then I could be on my rocker.

Good Night Rmom. Sleep well, lady.

Rmom, if he is boiling/heating the water before putting in the coffee it is probably okay.

In general, people ignore my requests. I am very firm about turning off the pot though, and if they want weaker coffee they can add water to their cup. I think Heather learned her coffee habits from me and I can get a little scary about people messing with the coffee.

I want homemade snickerdoodles. Too bad I don’t want to make them. I really only want three anyway. Seems like a lot of work for three cookies.

Have you got breakfast, LuvH8?

300 even.