Making Marzetti Slaw

  Every now and then I get tired of the slaw I buy at the grocery store. And, it seems the containers are getting smaller. A few days ago Tom came home with a beautiful head of cabbage. He wanted to make corned beef. "Can you use half of this cabbage?" he asked. Ah, time to make slaw!

 I wrote about this on a previous blog. I love getting out my Aunt Belle's chopper and Mom's Munising bowl.

 I added the usual veggies: cabbage, onion, carrot and celery. Mom always loved to add a little green bell pepper and I think the splash of color and taste is all but necessary ... but I didn't have one. I added a whole onion. That might be a bit much but the end result was still wonderful.

  Chopping is certainly labor intensive. A food processor would make the job easier but I don't like water added to my slaw (even if strained out later) and I prefer the old-fashioned method that uses elbow grease.

 I had to stop part way through and rest. But what's the hurry?

 Marzetti Slaw Dressing is what makes the slaw perfect. Though a vinegar slaw is nice now and then, it's the taste of Marzetti's that I want.

 A small bowl makes one serving for me. That and homemade veggie chili rounded out my meal. And I have enough slaw for all week.

March 30 2025 Thunderstorm

  A late day thunderstorm on March 30 had been anticipated for days. We knew we'd have severe weather and that turned out to be the case.

 Here's the radar - about 8:10 pm - as the line arrived ...

 I am located at the blue dot, upper center.

 I went into the back yard and took several very short videos. None of them are great but they show the ferocity of the storm.

 The sky still had a little glow from sunset at this point.

 Now, about 8 PM, the storm is almost upon us and the sky is alive with lightning.

 Note: the cell phone has a terrible time with focusing when there's not really an object in view. Why not program the phones  to hold infinitary at times like this? It seems an oversight to  me.

We got 0.68" mostly in half an hour's time, though a light rain continued well into the night.

Southern Pie

  I saw a link on Facebook for "The Best Southern Pie Ever" and saved it until I had time to give it a try, Yesterday I did. I have to say, it's not just the best Southern Pie but the best pie I've ever eaten.

 That said, Tom thinks it's quite sweet. While I'd agree, that's probably what I like most about it.

 From the ingredients I was expecting a custard pie. It's more a cross between that and the filling one would expect in a pecan pie. Whatever it is, it's to die for.

 Besides that wonderful filling, the top gets a little crusty and crisp and it adds a wonderful contrasting texture to what's just beneath.

 I always modify recipes and here's some notes on what I did this time. I never follow directions, usually finding everything can just be blended together in no special order and it doesn't matter. I melted the stick of butter first and then added the sugar. Other than that, pour away!

 I also did not have buttermilk but just used regular milk to which I added a little vinegar. A good buttermilk substitute is to add 1 tablespoon of vinegar per cup of whole mile. Stir the two together and let it stand for a few minutes before use. [For the 1/2 cup of buttermilk in this recipe use 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar]

 I found the pie very "giggly" when I rotated it at the halfway mark (my oven does not heat evenly) but at the 45 minute mark it tested done. It sets even more as it cools so don't overbake it.

 This recipe is a real keeper.

Two Winter Time Lapse Videos

  I'm running really slow but I made two time lapse videos with one of my Wyze cams in January. This cam faces north. In both cases, I though there could be a decent snow and I thought it would be fun to watch it build up. Neither turned out to be much snow but they offer interesting views just the same.

January 5, 2025

 This video shows just two inches of snow falling. That day we had a high/low of 23/14. The video runs from 1:21 to 5:45 pm/

January 11, 2025

 This video shows 3.5" of snow falling. We had a high/low of 32/10 that day. The video runs from 2 pm to 5:55 pm.

Pileateds Visit

  Even seeing one pileated woodpecker is rare for us but on 02/20, there were two. With the snow on the ground, they seemed very hungry and even less skittish than usual. I was doing dishes when one landed on the suet feeder so I called Tom and we both watched them for several minutes.

 They're the size of a chicken so it's quite a large bird for the wire suet feeder. They're great fun to watch from the large kitchen window.

First Eat-Out in a While

  With the recent health problems, I haven't been able to do much of anything but sit in a recliner with my leg elevated. Yesterday, though, we finally planned to meet others for a meal at El Toro.

 This is something we have traditionally done at least once a year - sometimes twice - but the only lead-up I've been able to handle has been a quick stop at a fast food joint. Yesterday my nurse didn't come so I had to bandage my ankle myself (Tom helped wrap it up when I was finished).l When I finished it felt fine, or at least as good as when I had the work done professionally. So off we went.

Bob (l) and Sam Owns

Bill (l) and Tom

Eric Oda

Margarita special on Mondays

 Bob and Sam each had two!

Veggie #4 - Cheese enchilada and bean burrito

 It was delicious food and a blessed chance to get out and enjoy some company.

Yet Another Snow

  It wasn't a big snow - only 2.5" - but it followed a big rain. We received 2.03" of rain on Saturday night into Sunday morning [02/16-17]. And the Tempest recorded 20 strikes of lightning. It was very unusual, spring like, stormy weather for February.

 By Sunday morning - even before I read my gauge at 7 am - the rain had changed to  snow and the temperature began to slowly fall (from 40° to freezing).

 An inch and a half  of very wet snow was on the ground as I brought the gauge in to melt the snow. And soon thereafter another 1.5" fell.

 By afternoon the wind was howling. We watched as two cars left the road just south of the house and we're extricated from the field with difficulty (see below) Once it was dark I watched the wind whip snow in front of the headlights of the stranded vehicles. It wasn't snowing then; it was just picked up from the fields and flung about.

 Here are some views ...

 Barely light out, this is the view I had as I woke Sunday morning.

 The picnic table serves as a good "snow board" as it doesn't quickly melt the fallen snow, allowing cold air to flow beneath it. It's also a solid surface, unlike grass, and allows for a more accurate reading.

 As afternoon progressed the wind began picking up fallen snow and blowing it east in blizzard fashion.

 Soon the trees hung down with the heavy wet snow clinging to their branches.

 The pines to the front of the house began carrying a heavy, if not deep, load.

 This shot is of the first of two slip-offs. Both occurred at the same place just south of our house. The road was covered with snow and ice there. Were both driving too fast for the conditions or was the spot just not navigable? The one vehicle must have sat there an hour or more waiting for a tow. A number of people stopped - including a fireman - so they must have flagged all help off (probably to save money). This screenshot was taken with the Wyze cam aimed south and was taken right as the vehicle was pulled from the snow.

 More Wednesday perhaps? It won't be because I'm hoping for more.