Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for food

Day Twenty

April 2, 2020 at 11:04 am by Claudia

A sure sign of early spring, these tiny little grape hyacinths that spring up out of the rocks. There are a couple more coming up from the gravel by the porch railing. Such a little miracle!

Another sunny day today, but rather windy. Nevertheless, I’m so grateful for sun. Right now, it’s shining on the roof of the folk art dollhouse, as if a spotlight had been turned on.

We got our groceries yesterday, though several items were not included as they weren’t in stock. The way this particular store set-up goes, there’s no altering the order once it has been placed and, even though I believe the ‘make substitutions’ box had been checked, that didn’t happen. So we didn’t get salad greens, or an alternative size of coffee, or another kind of whole wheat bread, or, we thought, potatoes. Disappointing, but I was able to see all of that online before the order arrived, so Don went to our local nursery/farmstand, after first calling them and finding out exactly how they are handling all of this. Only ten people in the store at the same time, social distancing – Don never had to get within 6 feet of anyone, including the cashier. He got some bread, some potatoes and sweet potatoes,  some bananas, etc. When he brought them home (which was before the grocery delivery) we washed all of the potatoes, and put them on the counter to dry.

The delivery itself was handled very professionally – they called us when they were about 10 minutes away from the house, Don told them where to put the groceries on the porch and we talked to the guy through the door. We also left a tip on the porch railing (held down by a rock). We wiped everything down before we brought it in the house and washed all the produce.

A lot of washing and hand washing and sanitizer, but we’re okay for now. We do need more items that we left off our original list and I can’t seem to get a delivery appointment. I think now that people know this will extend through the end of April, more and more requests for home delivery are being made. Don’t know what we’re going to do about that. It was so good to get some fresh vegetables again! We almost never eat canned veggies, though we are perfectly prepared to if necessary, and we have several cans on hand.

Thought you might like to see our pantry extension, which is in the office upstairs:

Boxes of canned goods – that green box is full of them even though it looks like it only contains potato chips – extra bags of potatoes, paper towels, oatmeal, etc. We have far more potatoes than we need because it looked like they were ‘unavailable’ on the original order, which is why Don went to our farm stand, and when the grocery order arrived, there were two bags we didn’t expect! From no potatoes to an overabundance of potatoes.

Every time Don has to go upstairs for something, he says he’s going to our corner store.

Crazy times we’re living in. We keep saying that to each other. Absolutely crazy and, a mere month ago, unthinkable.

I’m still reading Wildfire at Midnight, though I should finish today. I must mention this about Mary Stewart’s writing. She writes so beautifully and descriptively about place. This particular book takes place on the Isle of Skye amidst mountains and crags and waterfalls and her descriptions are so vivid, so evocative, that I am completely there in my imagination. I can see it.

This is something I didn’t appreciate as much when I was a teenage reader of her books, but boy, do I appreciate it now. She was an exquisitely gifted writer and it’s such a pleasure to read her books again – this time as a much  older reader.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, food, garden, reading, social distancing 83 Comments

A Co-op, Some Sweet Corn, and Some Minis

August 28, 2016 at 9:53 am by Claudia

Two Sleepy People. That’s the name of a wonderful old standard by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser. That’s also the name of Don and Claudia at the moment. Both of us are more than a bit sleep deprived and it continues into today. Yesterday, I was determined to do something, despite exhaustion, so we got in the car and drove to a neighboring town that has a Food Co-op that I had just learned about via Instagram. We’ve lived here nearly 11 years and for some reason it wasn’t on my radar.

8-28 food coop

Isn’t this the neatest little store you ever did see? It’s packed with fresh vegetables and healthy food. I stopped counting at 8 different kinds of potatoes. We were gobsmacked by the variety there.

I think we’ll probably join the co-op because we miss belonging to a co-op. We used to belong to one when we were living in San Diego. We’re certainly going to be shopping there on a regular basis.

What’s not to love? We drive through a countryside full of charming and funky homes, farms, winding roads, with mountains in the distance and we end up here.

On the way back home, we stopped for fresh sweet corn at our local farm stand. It’s truly the best corn I’ve ever had and I’ve lived a lot of places! We came home, had a yummy dinner and watched…you guessed it…another episode of Inspector Morse.

Try to contain your excitement.

In the mail yesterday: the newest Squint Box.

8-28 squintbox

The theme this month is A Mini Affair.

A Victoria’s Secret bag, a piece of Chocolate Opera Cake made by miniaturist Pei Li, a mini package, and an Italian Pasta Plate.

Wait! Do I see something in that Victoria’s Secret bag?

8-28 miniunderwearinhand

Goodness me! Some frilly little unmentionables!

This monthly Squint Box shipment is always a delight.

T-minus 2 days and counting until I can purchase Louise Penny’s newest, A Great Reckoning. Yes, I know I can pre-order, but that’s not as fun! With a new book by one of my very favorite authors, I like to take part in my New Book Ritual: a drive to the bookstore, then a quick search for it on display, where I pick my very own copy, pay for it, and escort it back to the cottage.

Happy Sunday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: books, food, miniatures 35 Comments

Scrambling

July 16, 2014 at 8:21 am by Claudia

Today might be the last day of several days of rain. Fingers crossed. I’m really tired of it, though I know there are those of you out there that would give anything for some rain at this point. And I would gladly send it to you if I could. Everything is soggy. It’s humid. It’s dark. It’s depressing.

Again, when I ventured outside yesterday for a few short minutes…bam! Another mosquito bite. In the same place on my arm. The other day, I was bit on my eyelid. Lovely. I don’t really miss living in California, but I do miss the lack of mosquitoes there. For eight years, I was mosquito-free. Sigh.

new dawn bud

The Japanese Beetles have chewed on most of my New Dawn roses, save this bud. I’m pulling for it. A quick examination  yesterday of the roses that border the porch revealed no beetles. Dare I hope that they have left the premises?

One of my day lilies had exactly two blooms on it, ready to open. Had is the operative word here, as they are no more. My friends, the deer, decided to dine on them.

moth on coneflower

These coneflowers really are this color. No adjustments to the saturation of the photo. This is how they look. Hello, little moth.

The other day, when I mentioned my few kitchen accomplishments, one of them being fluffy scrambled eggs, Kathleen asked if I would pass along my secret. So yesterday, when Don requested scrambled eggs and I immediately responded with “No. I have a headache,”  I reconsidered my response, thinking that it might be a blogging opportunity. Don got his scrambled eggs, thanks to you  guys. I hope he appreciates you.

By the way, I really did have a headache.

I read this tip years ago and I couldn’t tell you where at this point. Here’s the tip:

Mix together your eggs and milk, whipping them with a fork. Pour the mixture into a frying pan.

scrambled eggs1

And here’s the trick: as the edges start to solidify, push the solid eggs toward the middle of the pan. Constantly.

This means, my friends, that you really can’t leave the eggs to attend to other kitchen duties, like making toast. Assign that to someone else. Because the eggs cook quickly, you need to use that spatula to push the eggs toward the center.

scrambled eggs2

See? More of the solidified eggs have been moved to the center. Keep doing this, never letting the eggs stick to the pan, occasionally flipping them to ensure even cooking. I don’t flip them until the end of the process. If you leave the pan unattended, you risk scrambled eggs that have browned, which is okay if you like that, but not as pretty. Or fluffy.

scrambled eggs3

Here they are, just about done. Don’t overcook them. Trust me, they are light as a feather. Don loves them. Add some salt and pepper, have your child or husband or partner or niece or nephew or dog butter the toast, and you’re all set.

What the heck am I doing giving cooking advice?

The winner of a copy of Elizabeth is Missing is Shirley Elliott. Congratulations, Shirley! I’m sending you an email as soon as I publish this post. (And I love your name. That was my mom’s name.)

And there’s a new post up at Just Let Me Finish This Page. It’s a book review.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: flowers, food, Just Let Me Finish This Page 40 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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