Our hosts for our week in Michigan like wine and I decided early on that a couple of bottles from the nearby Mari Vineyards would be a good choice for a thank you gift. We drove to the location north of Traverse City on the Old Mission Peninsula on Thursday (07/14/22).
The vineyard is owned by Marty Lagina, He's noted at Wikipedia as an "engineer, vintner and a star and producer of The Curse of Oak Island" which airs on the History Channel.
Tom and I traveled to Michigan from July 11 through July 16, enjoying a home base near Northport at the home of a friend and making mini trips from there. Here's some on the photos I took that week ...
During the week we traveled about 500 miles in each direction and probably as many while we were there. I checked the mileage on my Cruze and got 50 mpg on the way up.
On Saturday (05/22) - almost precisely at 5:15 PM - I was sitting at my desk on the second floor when the thunderstorms in progress sent down a lightning strike that I thought surely hit the house. It was one of those simultaneous flash/booms. And the snap was so loud I thought surely we had taken a direct hit.
And yet the lights didn't flicker, my PC didn't reset. I quickly went downstairs and began checking things. Refrigerator: OK. Lights: OK. I even switched the HVAC to "fan" to make sure it worked. I then walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa and decided to take a quick round of the house to make sure the roof wasn't on fire. Nothing was obviously wrong so I decided to wait a few minutes until the rain subsided a bit.
As I sat there I realized I smell smoke. It was not the scent of a wood fire but of an electrical one. The smell was strongest in the living room.
When the rain lessened enough I made a wide tour of the house, getting far enough away to have a good view of the roof. All was well as near as I could tell. While out there I checked the garage and barn, too. Everything seemed fine.
Sitting back down on the sofa - the smoky smell just as strong - I realized something was clicking in the basement. A relay? My first thought was of the water heater. I went down the steps and looked at it. All seemed well. The pressure gauge on the holding tank was normal, too.
Then the click. But where was it coming from? I walked to several spots, stopped and listened. I soon realized it was coming from the top of the furnace. The thermostat was turned off for several days - but it would have been set to A/C had I needed it. I felt the top of the furnace. It was hot.
I sent a text message to Dave, our local repairman and asked if he'd check it out the first of the week (Sunday rates were not an option unless necessary). He said he's stop by on Monday.
Monday, 05/23: Late in the day Dave stopped by and saw that the "Emergency Heat" on the heat pump was being turned on. It may have been erratic but we were using heat on days when we might have used the air conditioning.
Dave said the main circuit board was probably damaged by the close lightning strike. The two occurred at the same time. He ordered another.
Tuesday, 05/24: Dave called. The circuit board wasn't in but it was expected in the morning.
Wednesday, 05/25: Mid afternoon Dave called. He had the circuit board. Would I be home in 30 minutes? I would. He came and replaced it.
Bottom line: the HVAC still doesn't work. The Emergency Heat is still on. By the way, Dave checked the thermostat on Monday and found it was not calling for heat (white wire). He's stumped but figures it might be a relay. Thus another part is being ordered and he'll try again tomorrow.
The replaced circuit board is in the upper right and is mounted upside down. This is a Westinghouse electric furnace.
And here's a wider view of where he's working.
So what began on 05/22 is finally fixed on 07/05. It's been a long process but at least we had a/c while the analysis was being done. And though I won't post the price I paid for the repair, I'm very happy with it. One project is finished.
We had our first zucchini in the form of fritters last week and I told Tom we had another zucchini coming on. How about cooked? He would tolerate it but it wasn't something he wanted to have very often. So I started thinking of other ideas. Zucchini casserole? Yes, that would be good.
Mom made a delicious - and simple - casserole from a recipe Lois Masters gave her. I didn't have everything she used but I figured a few changes wouldn't hurt.
The casserole makes a delicious combination of fresh zucchini, tomatoes, onions, melted cheese and bread crumbs. Here's Mom's original handwritten recipe:
We only had cherry tomatoes ripe so I used them. Full-size tomatoes sliced are a better choice. And rather than Colby cheese, I used shredded sharp cheddar. And I distinctly remember Mom using cut up slices of packaged American cheese on this dish.
Mom always made her own bread crumbs but I used Panko. Also she lightly salted and peppered the layers as she went and I just added pepper stop (Tom does not want salt used when I cook). All in all, it's not quite as good as Mom's but it's definitely a satisfying dish.
On Wednesday (06/15/22) Tom and I did double duty: we met a former colleague for lunch and also delivered Jim Saylor his iPad which he had inadvertently left in the back seat of my car a week before. Jim is cleaning their Lebanon condo for sale (they have to vacate by 06/30) and neither of us had time to make the entire trip. But Middletown, our eating place for lunch, was perfectly situated to save us both many miles.
I hadn't seen Shirly Belcher for many years. We both freelanced for the Dayton Daily News at the same time. I "retired" in 2011. We've exchanged a few e-mails over the years ... but not enough of them to really keep up with each other. And I wanted her to meet Tom.
We met at the Cracker Barrel near 122 and I-75. That's where Tom and I first met in 2014 so it was a familiar place and one we enjoy anyway.
Shirley is a wonderful writer and I miss seeing her articles. She backed away from freelancing soon after I did. But she's currently exploring her options and I expect to soon see her in print again. Now that we're back in contact we'll plan get-together's now and then and keep in much closer touch.
What did I eat? I ordered my usual vegetable plate:
Tom calls it my "yellow plate": deep fried okra, hash brown casserole, macaroni and cheese and slaw. Often it's served in small bowls but this time they also used a beautiful blue and white plate. Cracker Barrel is certainly a good meeting place and makes an enjoyable meal. Only the acoustics are bad (it's very hard to hear others at the table).
So we had a successful day. We were able to return Jim's iPad (and somewhat thwart the high gas prices) and we had a leisurely meal with Shirly. Good food and good friends all around.
I was looking to make scalloped corn (Mom made a wonderful version that she made with crushed saltine crackers). But then I came across a recipe for "Awesome and Easy Creamy Corn Casserole". The recipe is here.
I do believe this is one of my all-time favorites!
It's described as "a cross between corn soufflé and a slightly sweet corn pudding". Whatever you call it, it's delicious.
Its very simple and made in a single bowl. I melted the butter in the microwave, added the eggs and sugar and then the sour cream. I used canned creamed corn but I cooked frozen whole kernel corn for a fresh twist.
The addition of a small box of Jiffy dry corn bread mix is the clincher. It adds the body and texture and probably adds some loft as it bakes.
Here's the mixture ready to be poured into the greased baking dish. I don't have a 9x9" so I used an 8x8". Perfect.
I baked for the full 45 minutes and then tested for doneness with a toothpick. I then added the broiler on high for a couple of minutes to brown the top.
This is surely going to be a standard dish at Pinehaven.
Mom's Night Blooming Cereus is blooming again ... and not just one or two blooms but eight or nine (they're partially hidden among foliage and I'm not sure of the total number). Last night about half opened.
For a plant that Mom said was supposed to bloom once a decade, this plant has been cranking out flowers in recent year. The last time was 09-15-21 and it that was the second blooming cycle last year; it also bloomed on 07-19-21.
This plant dates back to the 1920's at her parents home in Miamisburg. I doubt it's the same plant - though it could be.
I first noticed tiny buds sprouting on 05-17-22, There were, of course, too many for the leaves to support so many aborted. When they are scheduled to abort the tiny bud grows redder and begins to shrink. I know then that it will soon fall off.
By 06-04-22 the buds looked like this. That's just 18 days growing time.
And this is a day later - 06-05-22 (this is not the same bud however).
So, more to go tonight. I'm surprised any of them waited even one additional day but we'll have another exciting evening when the sun sets.
Aftermath:
And a promise for tonight:
And a wider view on 06-07-22 as the blooming cycle ends:
