This week has been busy around the house.
Our guy did the crawlspace work under the house - took out old
and replaced new waterproof vapor barrier, made sure insulation
was secure, and checked there was no mold. . . . . or a large
black snake such as found in a close by neighbor's crawl space recently!
Now, any mice sheltering in winter have a safe, squeaky clean area
to play in!
I was in the kitchen doing my usual flipping through cookbooks, searching
for something new to bake, but resorted to a batch of pistachio muffins,
most of which went into the freezer.
Made the quiche to use up last week's eggs and a bag of baby spinach.
I ordered two dozen eggs for this week from my farm lady Linda - picked
them up yesterday - as her chickens are laying well again so I wasn't
limited to just a dozen as during the past couple of months.
I changed up the quiche a bit this time. Added a big dollop of that
pumpkin seed pesto to 1/2 cup of Ricotta cheese. That was
spread on the bottom crust after the 15 min. par-bake, then
added the grated Gruyere cheese, the chopped spinach, the
egg/milk/cream mixture, and topped with the remaining Gruyere.
Baked as usual and was pleasantly surprised when I cut it and
found all the layers visible, making it look really neat.
Also it was very tasty!
Garden chores to be revisited today as the weather is lovely - mostly
emptying/cleaning the summer pots remaining. Still some basil which won't
survive winter, the dahlias which are just about over, and annuals now
on their last legs! Planning to scrub out the bird baths also, they're a mess.
Amaryllis bulbs did get planted up in narrow pots on Thursday - they
like to be snug - four large bulbs and one surprise bulblet.
My fingers are crossed they will all grow.
I have few areas to place them where they will get enough sunlight,
the best being right here on the dining room table.
Note I've already stuck a twig in each pot ready for tying up
leaves and hopefully tall blooms!
Boxes of Christmas cards are at the ready - I plan to start writing a
few a day which is easier for me with this often achy shoulder/arm.
Rotator cuff surgery is still on my To Do list, needless to say it's close
to the bottom as I'm not excited by the thought of being out of commission
for several months. I plan to wait as long as I can!
One cooking pumpkin remaining - will prep it this weekend.
I bought a few holiday items, including this door mat, when at Target
this week - and must say I now feel better about Christmas coming.
At first it sounded all too much to bother with during these
stressful times, now I'm going to make the most of it with
perhaps a bit less baking as I won't be throwing my usual
parties/meals, but plenty of decorating, roaring fires, candles
lighting up the winter nights, and of course, as always,
will be hoping for a White Christmas!
What are you planning for this November weekend?
Whatever, I hope it's relaxing and fun.
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