Good Dog

Our new puppy Mallory was killed this afternoon on the road in front of our home. Just after our first apple trees went in the ground and just before dinner. 

Our hearts are broken.

Lamb Chops

Lamb chops, asperagus, feta cheese, warm sour dough rolls, and new potatoes in salt and butter.
Lamp chops are ity bity, but easy to cook. Basically season, brown in a skillet, finish in the oven at 350 degrees. I overcooked these but they were still pretty good. 

Easy enough for week night fare. 

Alaskan Pollock with Carrots and Leek

I am not a foodie. A mere ten years ago I gave my Dearest food poisoning that required an ER trip and caught the kitchen on fire IN THE SAME WEEK. 

I am much better now. I discovered that if I keep things simple and use quality, fresh ingredients it is hard to mess up. 

I cook mostly with cast iron skillets and dutch ovens. I don't own a gratin dish or any specialty dishes beyond my standard glass casserole 9 x 13 and a couple of bread and pie pans. I'll fancy up the fare for weekends and company, but typically a dish has to be simple and take less than 15 minutes of prepration. I have a 4 year old and a baby. I don't have time to play around in the kitchen. 

Tonight's dinner cost less than 4$ for 4 servings. Alaskan Pollock was on sale, 10 fillets for $4.25 and I split the package for two meals. Carrots and leeks were also pretty cheap.

Basically the most expensive part was the aluminum foil. Ha. 

So here it is:

4 frozen fillets of white fish

3 large carrots cut long and thin (like grass, but 1/4- 1/2 inch thick)

2 leeks cut long and thin (like grass)

4 pats of butter

lemon juice

salt and pepper (and granulated garlic if you like)

foil, 8 12 x 12 sheets. 

Lay out 4 foil sheets, top each with leeks and carrots, then lay a filet on top and squirt with lemon, finish with seasonings and butter. Lay foil on top and pinch the two sheets together around all 4 sides. 

Bake for 45 minutes at 425. 

Done. 

Cluster Flies, Apple Pies, and Podcasts....the bits of my thoughts.....

The last confirmation that it is a cluster fly infestation.... they are gone, done with the plague. Thank you!

They only infest from October to April. Now that April is here it looks like I can take a break from sweeping thousands of flies up every day. I mean geeze, it was really frustrating. 

*****

Apple pies. I have now made a wonderful milestone in pie making. Now that I have made the perfect apple pie more than three times (perfect to my standard at least), I am going to try some of the stranger recipes in my apple pie book. One is an apple and cheddar cheese pie another is a cream cheese pastry. I am nervous about it. 

*****

For my Science Fiction Literature class I am exploring new mediums and medias for the genre. Right now I am dabbling in podcasts and loving it. I even asked a friend for a recommendation and was delighted with the result. The two I have been streaming today are Escape Pod and StarShipSofa. I have been listening to find prime examples and appropriate stories to share with my students. 

I have always been unimpressed with Science Fiction from 1970-present. That's a long chunk of history to not find any literature in a genre I enjoy, but there is plenty pre-1970 to have kept me occupied. The problem with that is that I have never really been pushed to find anything from that era and the problem with that is that I need to teach that era fairly and cannot simply skip it or dismiss it. 

Happily I have found a treasure trove in the world of podcasts. 

*****

The other odd bits, I am really needing to change something in my appearance. Maybe a haircut, maybe a color. I just need to simplify yet again and I am rushed for time every morning. I ran out of Foil Hat soap and Amy has closed shop. I am checking out Prairieland Herbs.