Rainy Saturday Creative

A Weekend to Cook: Using the pantry and produce box

Posted on July 30, 2022 by jsunrain

A couple of weeks ago I made stuffed shishito peppers. I enjoyed it so much I decided to make it again. Enjoyed it again and I think I am satisfied now. The recipe is here: Shishito Peppers Recipe – Cream Cheese Stuffed | Kevin Is Cooking

The strawberries and Campari tomatoes are already in my stomach. Oranges and grapefruits to enjoy whenever. No plans for the lemons, potatoes, or green peppers yet. Green beans and green onions are for fried rice. I will probably make that tomorrow. It will be similar to what I made here: First Farmers Market of 2022: what I cooked day 2 – Rainy Saturday Creative

The garlic was for a ravioli bake. First a few weeks ago the cafeteria had a ravioli bake and I really loved it. My coworker says she makes it it home. I basically followed her instructions which I will get to in a minute.

I am also trying to use up stuff that is crowding my pantry. I didn’t have any immediate use for all these tomato products and they were approaching their expiration date. So instead of buying tomato sauce for the ravioli bake I made my own. I put all the tomato products, except for the tomato paste, in a large bowl. I squished the whole tomatoes and threw away some of the hard bits. Then I used an immersion blender to make it smoother. I did this first because I wanted to leave the texture of the onions and garlic.

I first sautéed some onions and garlic. Then I added the tomato paste and some seasoning. Italian, garlic powder, and onion powder. Stirred all that for a couple of minutes. Then I added the tomato mixture to the pot and stirred it all together. I almost forgot to add roasted peppers, not that it needed it really. I chopped up about a cup and added it in. Then I let everything simmer for about a half hour stirring occasionally. I let it cool down before assembling the ravioli bake.

I put the ravioli bake in a 9×13 pan, though I would suggest larger one if you can. I had a 25oz bag and didn’t use all of them. I put in a layer of sauce, then ravioli, then sauce, then ravioli, then the last of the sauce. Topped it with shredded mozzarella cheese. Baked in the at 350° for 30 minutes and then 375° for 10 minutes. It came out pretty good. Sauce was still a little too chunky for my taste, but it is fine. Next time I will use jarred sauce.

Laundromat Diaries July 29th 2022

Posted on July 29, 2022 by jsunrain

When I entered the laundromat, it was dead quiet. Though I noticed someone’s clothes in the wash machine that is done. I imagine they will come along at some point and put it in the dryer.

While I was putting my clothes in the wash and feeding it quarters I heard the door open. In the other aisle I saw a hat moving to the back of the laundromat. Then the bathroom door closed. After I got settled in the easy chair I saw an old man that belongs to the hat, walking around pressing all the coin returns to see if he could get change. I don’t think he had any luck.

Just after the old man left the person whose clothes were in the wash came in. In a whirl he was gone again while his clothes dry. I sometimes go home or run errands while my clothes are here too. Most of the time I am content to stick around.

I decided to eat at home after I am done with the laundry, so I didn’t sit at the booth this week. I sat in the one easy chair. Before COVID there was another easy chair. It was big and green and leather or faux leather, all beat up with duct tape patches. I LOVED that chair. They got rid of it because they felt they couldn’t keep it sanitized well enough. Makes sense, but I was sad. The laundromat remained open because we still need clean clothes. Most of us wore masks. There is always an outlier. A few months ago they got a new easy chair. Not as big and comfy as the old one, but the most comfortable seat in the place. On the left is the old one and on the right is the new one. Nice place to sit and read.

After a while the usual Friday night man comes in, quickly followed by mother and her older teenage daughter. They have never been here before. The mother firsts notes that there are booths. Then realizes they forgot laundry detergent so bought some out of the old machine. The daughter is quiet, perhaps bored. Mom is a spitfire here to get things done! My wash will be done in a few minutes.

When I got to the washer, it said one minute left. That one minute lasted two minutes. I counted to 60 twice. The washing machines have always lied. You need to add at least five minutes to the time it gives you. The dryers at least tell the truth. I know like clockwork the dryer will be done in 64 minutes. I like my clothes bone dry, I don’t want to chance any wetness. With that 64 minutes I can truly relax with my book as bad 80s music plays. Someone remind me to bring headphones next time. I should just keep them in the car. Another mother and her adult daughter just walked in. These two are easily talking to each other.

At some point reading makes me sleepy, I still have over a half hour before clothes dryer is done. I play games on my phone. Go for a tiny walk see the barely there park next to the strip mall, check out what the back of the building looks like. I recently bought a near perfect purse at Goodwill. Decent amount of pockets and large enough to carry a notebook and reading book with me. So at CVS, which is next to the laundromat, I bought a notebook and gel pens I totally didn’t need, but one was the prettiest teal color! By then my clothes were finally ready to take out of the dryer and go home!

Laundromat Diaries July 15th 2022

Posted on July 15, 2022 by jsunrain

Left work early so I got to the laundromat early. Place is busy! They have two booths: one is occupied but the second one is misshaped now so I can’t sit there. Change guy is here. So overall busy and slightly noisy. Annoying day at work, semi annoying laundromat. And yet I don’t want to go home during the wash and dry cycles. I didn’t bring a magazine or book, and again, I don’t want to go home, so I got one of those variety puzzle books next door at CVS, but it will be a trip to do sitting in the small easy chair. Maybe I will stand at one of the folding tables instead. I don’t want to be on my phone the whole time, that gets boring.

Just before I threw my clothes in the dryer, the lady in the booth left, so now I am more comfortable. The two ladies talking non stop went outside to continue talking. Not sure why, no one said anything, but they did. Now it is me, one other lady and the change guy. Starting off with an easy word search, a nice pleasant way to clear the head, and my head needs plenty of clearing!

Some really nice lady walked in and we talked for a couple of seconds. I always forget how horrible the music is here and that I should bring headphones, but I suppose that would make small talk not possible.

Suddenly something good sounding is on, though I don’t recognize it. Wonder if the change guy has something to do with it. Not mad!

Think he does. His music is playing louder than the laundromat’s music. I hope he stays here until I leave. His music choices are so much better.

Dang it! I still have over a half hour and he left.

Moving onto Codeword! Always loved this one. Also love cryptograms and logic puzzles even though I am not as good at logic puzzles as I used to be.

When I left I was the only one in there and ready to go home. There were still washers and dryers going for other people, but it was nice to be done for myself!

First Misfits Market Box

Posted on July 14, 2022 by jsunrain

I received my first Mistfits on Wednesday July 13th 2022. There are tons of unboxing videos on YouTube, I do not have one. You can watch those if you want to see the packaging. I am not going to cover that except to say everything arrived great. Only issue is the blister pack holding the mint opened somewhere in the process and so the mint was loose in the box. It was still good looking and usable. In the YouTube videos some complaints people have are things that wouldn’t be an issue for me. Where people had legitimate bad stuff they were able to contact Misfits and get a credit. And I should say I am in no way sponsored and I don’t have some code for you. I went to the web site and the first order was $10 off.

This is what I got in my first box:

The kale I cleaned, removed the stems, ripped up some and put in a plastic baggie with a paper towel to keep it fresh. I will cook it two ways this weekend. Try a friend’s sauté recipe and also making kale chips in the air fryer. I hate kale but as long as I have it may as well give it another chance. The avocado’s are destined for avocado toast. Right now they are still rock solid.

Oranges will be just peeled and eaten. The tomatoes I cleaned and sliced. I might use them for other things, but for now I am thinking tomato sandwich.

The scallions and peppers were cleaned, sliced, and stored properly. Not sure what I will use them for exactly, but they are food I love to gorge on, so I am sure finding a purpose won’t be a problem. The onions will hang out until they have a purpose. Again, I am sure they will have a purpose soon, I love onions.

I forgot to take photos of the blackberries, spring mix, brussel sprouts, mint, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber. I don’t like cooked brussel sprouts. They always look good in photos roasted, but when I tried it, it wasn’t good. Years ago I followed a recipe for a raw brussel sprout salad and it was good. I no longer remember the recipe, but I cut them and added them to the spring mix. I don’t like to eat cherry tomatoes whole, so I cut them in half and put them in a separate container. I will add them to the salad on an as need basis. I will probably snack on some as well.

I made a sort of tzatziki sauce, but no dill. I diced up the cucumber real small and put it in yogurt with minced garlic and added salt. I was going to use this as a salad dressing for the salad, but I think I have another idea. Stay tuned.

The blackberries have already been devoured.

So far I really like it. I switched my delivery to Saturday because that is when I will more likely be home and can relax as I prep the produce for whatever I want to make. I didn’t do a good job of editing this week’s cart, but I will make sure not to order kale and brussel sprouts in the future. You have to have a minimum $30 order. If you want cold items like meat that is an additional $30 of stuff you have to order. But if you can skip that then you don’t have to worry about it. You can skip weeks if you want to. For the produce I thought prices were comparable, if not better than were I shop. For non produce items, the prices didn’t seem that good. The shipping for me was $7. I got the small box. I will likely keep it up, but I might skip weeks here and there. I never buy this much healthy stuff when I shop, so this is great.

Laundromat Diaries July 8th 2022

Posted on July 8, 2022 by jsunrain

I did do laundry last week but I was tired and headachy and decided to go home during each cycle. Also, someone had almost all the machines used, I believe I got the last washer. Not sure.

Thankfully this week there was only one woman here when I came in, and shortly after me another woman. Plenty of washers available. Only distraction is the worst of 80s music. There is plenty of 80s music I like, but the radio station they have on doesn’t hardly play any of it. If I was the only one here I might blast some delicious goth music!

Dinner tonight was the meatball and provolone sub from Cousins. Cousins is my favorite sub shop. Only thing is they don’t wrap their hot subs in foil to keep them hot. It was lukewarm by the time I got settled into the laundromat. It was still good, just could have been better.

This last week for a few days I went on a social media detox. Not because of social media itself, but because it is a major time suck and I wanted to devote time to reading, knit/crochet, podcasts and finding my inner self or however you want to call it. It has actually been kind of nice.

The book I am reading this week is Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There”. It is a really good read so far. Not boring at all. Might be if you hate nature I suppose. Is there anyone that hates nature? Can’t imagine. My best friend, an avid birder, his birthday is at the end of the month, I bought him a copy.

A podcast I have been listening to when I am not reading is the one from Joanne Lee Molinaro|The Korean Vegan. Even if you aren’t vegan, the podcast is more about navigating life. A couple of episodes dip into the veganism, but not overwhelmingly so. I have her cookbook The Korean Vegan which is lovely even if you aren’t vegan, and I am not, but I dab into it. Along with recipes are family stories. Get the cookbook and/or listen to the podcast. I highly recommend both! Korean Vegan Podcast

Just before putting my clothes in the dryer another woman came in. The first woman I am guessing is done and the second probably elsewhere during her wash cycle. The one man I see most Friday’s came in after I put my clothes in the dryer. So now there are three of us, but all is quiet and peaceful. Depending I don’t mind some commotion, people having conversations, and children running around. I was once one of those children when going to the laundromat with my mom when I was 5. I remember the adults smiling at me as I joyfully made the rounds.

I had errands to run after laundry and it would help me finish my Apple Watch circles and finish my 10,000 steps, but I saw 35 minutes before my dry cycle was done my watch battery was almost dead. So I went home and managed to get it back up to 30%. Just enough to get me through the rest of the day. Came back to the laundromat and got my clothes. The man I see almost every week was finishing up around the same time. I then ran my errands and met my exercise goals.

Laundromat Diaries June 24th 2022

Posted on June 24, 2022June 24, 2022 by jsunrain

I decided to take a half day off work. I am seeing a friend in Chicago tomorrow and it is nice to take my time and get laundry done early.

First I went to Foxtown Heritage Meats in Mequon Wisconsin. My first time there. It was beautiful and clean and the service lovely friendly. I bought some brats for over the weekend and some potato salad for lunch. Then I dropped something off at the post office. After that I stopped at home to drop off my work backpack and put the brats in the fridge. I grabbed a soda to take with me to the laundromat.

When I entered there were a couple of older women already there seeming to take up most of the washers. One was sitting on one end and the other was sitting at the other end and they both intently stared at me while I loaded the second to last washing machine available. I gave them each a quick look back and went to a table down the other aisle of the laundromat.

I sat down and ate my potato salad and caught up with social media and the politics of the day and there has sure been a lot of politics this week. But we will make this a place a refuge from said politics. All of a sudden I heard all this clambering about. It was a man collecting the coins from the machines. That reminds me, I need to make sure I have enough coins for the dry cycle. Looks like I do! Also time to change to the dryer.

I am at dryer 209. Top row, 4th from back. Not my usual dryer. I try to get the same washing machine and dryer every time. Note to self: early Friday afternoon is not the time to do laundry. I don’t know if it is this way during this time every week, but it seems a bothersome time to come. Now my clothes will be in the dryer over an hour, time to play a couple of my favorite phone games.

I was done playing my games, I had looked up the best way to cook brats. Going to try the air fryer method. After I used the bathroom I went to sit in the easy chair. At that point a mother and son came in. They are speaking a foreign language. Sounds European but I don’t really know. I am sure I have seen them here before. I love hearing foreign languages. I still have a half hour left, going to read an article I hadn’t gotten to yet.

Dryer done, not even close to being done reading the book long article, but time to go home!

First Farmers Market of 2022: what I cooked day 3, all about the beets!

Posted on June 20, 2022 by jsunrain

Today is the dreaded day. Facing my fear of beets. I don’t know if I had some traumatic day in my youth with beets, but I don’t remember it if there was. So far as I know I have never ate cooked beets before. They look gross and I have some imagined way they might taste. Now many years ago I did get a beet in one of those produce delivery boxes. I whimped out and cut raw into small dices and used then in a tossed salad the way you would a radish. It is fine raw.

This year at the farmers markets I go to I want to challenge myself to try things I never had before. This time of year at the farmers markets in Wisconsin there aren’t a lot of pickings yet, but there I was faced with beets. I wasn’t ready yet. But the vendor lady was so sweet and we started talking. She had never had a beet raw before. So we made a deal, that she would try a beet raw and I would try one cooked. She sold them in groups of three. She gave me a bunch with three different kinds. I forgot to get her name and tell here it would be two weeks before I would be back as I will be out of town this weekend. First recipe was my wimp recipe and the second one was roasting a traditional beet in the oven and eating it simply.

One friend suggested root vegetable hash. Was a lovely delicious choice, though using a variety of vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, in addition to the beets, so nothing, but maybe the white potatoes really stands out. I have no regrets. I used that little orange black tool that turns my veggies into matchsticks. The onions I thinly sliced and the beets I had to matchstick by hand. I then mixed them all in a bowl with oil and spices. After that I put them on a sheet tray and put into a 350° F oven stirring every 10 minutes for a half hour. Next time I may leave it in for 20 minutes, stir, then leave in 20 minutes. I wasn’t following a recipe. I put a serving full, maybe one cup, on the stove top (put the rest in the fridge to cook later), to finish crisping up. I then put a fried egg on top. Super good.

Now to face my ultimate fear. Eating a cooked beet. One of those one everyone eats and seems to love. I roasted it in the oven in foil for 45 minutes at 400°F. I cut it into fours to make it easier to remove the skin. It isn’t as bad as I thought but I still don’t like it. At least I tried. I am sure many will say but try it this way or that way, but for now at least, I am not motivated. Maybe we can revisit it next year. Or maybe not. But I still like the sautéed beet greens.

First Farmers Market of 2022: what I cooked day 2

Posted on June 19, 2022 by jsunrain

I am really not in a cooking mood today, but I did so much yesterday. There are still two things I cooked.

First I made toast. Not rocket science of course. But I put on it the buckwheat honey I bought yesterday. I love buckwheat pancakes, but I had never heard of buckwheat honey and didn’t know what to expect. It is so much darker. The flavor I would say is dark and bitter. I didn’t like it. I might still try it in cooking for things like almond cake or bulgogi, two places I use regular honey.

Then I made fried rice. I used the green beans I bought and cooked yesterday. I cut them up into smaller bite sized pieces. I also cute up some of my red scallions. I was lazy and used microwave sticky rice. Though I normally use my rice cooker with short grain rice. I cooked all the ingredients together in a mix of canola and sesame oil. I like my fried rice on the more oily side, but we all know sesame oil is delicious but strong. I also added some previously sautéed onions. When it was done I put serving in a bowl and added some fresh chopped scallion. I almost called it a day, but then realized I forgot the fried egg. The yolk sadly broke but I tried to keep it together as much as I could. I normally love a runny yolk. I can’t find my furikake which is normally a nice addition. I added instead garlic sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

I must make sure to cook the beets tomorrow. I am scared of really hating it. I have three beets. One I will roast in the oven. The other two I will use a friend’s suggestion and make a root vegetable hash. Did you know there is such a thing as beet cakes? But I don’t have enough beets for that. Maybe another time.

First Farmers Market of 2022: what I bought and what I cooked day 1

Posted on June 18, 2022 by jsunrain

I went to the first day of Fox Point Farmers Market of 2022, located in Fox Point Wisconsin. This time of year the pickings are slim, but I knew it would challenge me more. Well into “middle age” I am still picky like a five year old except I hate chicken nuggets. But I love things many adult friends don’t like; steak tartare, sushi with raw fish, and a Wisconsin tradition, cannibal sandwich! Look it up. 🙂

I am getting sidetracked. The only two not challenging foods for me today are red scallions and green beans. The challenging foods are beets and bok choy! I also picked up buckwheat honey which looked intriguing. The egg and chorizo burrito was breakfast I got there, very delicious! I am sorry I didn’t get the names of the people I bought from. I will be back in the coming weeks. I will have other farmers markets I will go to.

I will start off with the green beans and beats from one vendor. I am really scared of cooked beets. I was telling the woman I have only had beets raw, diced up and put in a salad like you would a radish. She has never had raw beets. So I promised to cook beets and she promised to try them raw. I haven’t cooked them yet. I will either roast them in the oven and/or go with a friend’s suggestion of a root vegetable hash. The vendor woman also suggested sautéing the beet greens. I did that the same way I did the bok choy below. I am not really into cooked greens in general, but this was successful. I was pleasantly surprised. I basically cooked them in oil, onion, garlic, soy sauce, a splash of water thrown in.

The green beans cooked almost the same way but they were boiled in water first. A little different for me since I usually steam them. The important thing is that in the end they are al dente. You will never want frozen or canned green beans again.

The red scallions and bok choy were from another vender. The scallions I just chopped up to use wherever. Probably salad and fried rice. I have seen bok choy cooked and look delicious. I used a Bon Appetit recipe cooking it in oil, onion, soy sauce, a touch of water. Unfortunately too bitter or something for me. I don’t think it is how I cooked it, I just don’t think I would like it regardless. But at least I tried it. Where is my gold star? 😺

The plan for tomorrow is toast with the buckwheat honey, fried rice with the scallions and green beans, and beets somehow someway. Wish me luck!

Laundromat Diaries June 17th 2022 (episode 2)

Posted on June 17, 2022 by jsunrain

Older woman in easy chair here before me reading a magazine. I put my laundry in the washer. I take a couple photos around the laundromat. There is a new tattoo machine. I post the photos to Instagram.

I settle down at one of the booth tables as I like to do. Before I can get too settled a flurry of new people come in. There is a lot of conversation by the washers on the other side of the laundromat. I don’t know who is talking to who. In the background is the worst of the 80s music. I am more Bauhaus and Siouxsie and less Billy Joel and Phil Collins. I always forget to bring headphones with me.

Tonight I finally decided to tackle a project I have been meaning to do for a while, fountain pen art. I am horrible at art but I keep trying. I have some blank spaces in my commonplace journal, time to fill them in. If you get a hand written letter from me you will always get that sun in the end.

The man I see every Friday, who comes slightly after me must have snuck past me. I just put my clothes in the dryer and all the commotion of earlier is gone. Just that guy and I minding our own business.

Now some new people for a bit. Some of my fountain pens won’t start so I squeeze the ink a bit out with the piston. I best be careful or I will have ink on my fingers and then my clean clothes. I think all my pens need a good cleaning!

Oops!

At some point I am done though the page is not near filled. Thankfully I am not too princess precious about my commonplace journal. I am sure throughout the years I will look back and laugh, and that has a lot of value too!

I go and wash my hands. Seems the new family is sticking around while their clothes get washed. I have about 45 minutes to play games on my phone while I wait for my clothes to dry.

I decided to get some of those tattoos. The one machine wasn’t working so I got three from the other side! They are hilarious but you won’t see me wearing them. 🙂

The one man that comes after me leaves before me, but I like my clothes bone dry, I leave them to dry for over an hour. Finally a song I like comes on. Joan Jett “I love Rock n Roll”! I take my backpack with my notebooks and pens out to the car and come back in and wait for my clothes to dry. I am finally by myself. But there are plenty of washers and dryers going waiting for their people to return to them!