Lots of busyness around Comfy House lately ~ handyman stuff, picking up the
hardwood flooring for Tim's room, cleaning out closets, running a lot of errands,
making appointments, and today - starting to do a little cleaning in the garage.
It was a little warmer again today - about 50F - so I got out the leaf blower and went
to work on blowing all the dirt and crud out of the garage. It's amazing how filthy
a garage floor gets over the winter. It was covered in dirt, dead leaves, and road salt.
In the meantime, I opened up the back window in the house and let the cats enjoy
the hint of spring air. You can see the snow that's still on the ground.
I had to run into Joann Fabric a few days ago and thought I'd pass along
this cute find to you all ~ Mason jar "jewelry"! There were several different
items to transform your jars, but I liked the frog lid inserts and the jar toppers
the best. I didn't buy anything this time, but think I'll go back for the frog lid inserts
later. I can picture Mason jars full of flowers from my garden this summer.
One of the more yummy dinners I made this past week was beef stew in the
Crockpot. As I tell people who are dubious or new to cooking, you really can't
go wrong with food that you throw in a slow cooker. Sometimes I don't even
follow a recipe. For instance, this was just beef stew meat, carrots, onions,
celery, and potatoes - throw it all in your slower cooker and then add the
ingredients for the gravy: beef broth, a little red wine, tomato paste, fresh garlic,
salt, pepper, some oregano and parsley. In the last half hour of cooking, mix up
3T. flour with enough water to make a thin paste, then add to the stew and stir.
Pop the lid back on and let it go for another half hour. The flour mixture thickens
up the gravy.
I made mini Irish soda breads for St. Patrick's day yesterday. I find them more
like a drop biscuit with raisins in them. Good on their own (with butter!) with a cup
of tea or coffee, or would be a good accompaniment for soup or stew. They
were so easy to make, too. You can find the recipe here.
Still looking for those elusive robins...
