And you thought I forgot

Nope.  It’s Thanksgiving.  Time for some serious cooking!  Of course, since the majority of the family are vegetarian (or close to) it’s a little non-traditional.  We decided to make everyone’s favorite foods.  The list is as follows:

• Cloverleaf Rolls (Joy of Cooking)
• Candied Sweet Potatoes
• Stuffing
• Pizza
• Pasta
• Homemade Mac-n-cheese
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Root Beer Floats
• Roasted Chicken Breast
• Peas

The last two aren’t actually favorites, but it seems obligatory to eat some kind of dead fowl on Thanksgiving, and that’s a manageable quantity for one.  And, there wasn’t a single vegetable on the list, so I felt like it was necessary to add one.  To pretend that I feed the kids healthy.

Assistance will be provided as needed by the usual crew.

Rolls have risen, sweet potatoes baked

Sweet potatoes seasoned, and waiting for the oven.

Rolls baked.  I was planning to undercook them, then warm them with the rest of the baking, but instead of 15-18 minutes, when I took them out at 10 they were done.  Before and after shots.  Yes, I used a cup of whole wheat flour in the rolls.

Stuffing ready to go in the oven, chicken breasts are baking.

My usual assistants are sledding – we got 4-5 inches of snow last night.  We’ll keep the operation going until they return.  Note to self – before big cooking days, check to see if the kids used all the tin foil for projects.

More preparation, then everything came out of the oven on schedule!  Yum!

Waiting

Dear reader, my apologies for the lack of updates.  This is a time of waiting.

• Waiting for the second contractor to give me an estimate to repair the roof (tomorrow, 10 AM).
• Waiting for Wasatch Waste to deliver my dumpster (two weeks) so I can get rid of Mt. Trashmore
• Waiting for my body to reduce it’s antics (apparently middle age is a great time for all sorts of nifty things to show up – but hey, it beats the alternative!) so that I can work on things again
• Waiting for winter to come and go, so that I can assess whether the water intrusion has been fixed
• Waiting for excavators to provide estimates to install drain tile and/or regrade the lot to drain away from the house

So, today was a quiet day.

Cooking:  Another batch of Cashew Crusted Chicken, and a Key Lime Pie.  This time the chicken was vacuum sealed and frozen as soon as it cooled down

Rocketry: Sanding and primer coat on a NewWay Deceptor (note to self – do not sand cardboard tubes)

Home Improvement: Sweeping up some more of the dust and other crap in the basement

Life: Grocery shopping, laundry, scooping poop (two dogs)

Titanium Dioxide and MSG

Seriously – what are these doing as food ingredients?  Western Family [Kroger] Ranch salad dressing lists these two ingredients, in this order.  I wound up throwing the bottle away.

When I’m shopping at the local Asian grocery store, I keep a very careful eye on the ingredients, as a lot of what they sell has MSG. I didn’t think I needed to be that careful at other grocery stores.  Silly me!

 

In my estimation

So, one quote down, one roofer that blew me off, and one that has yet to schedule an appointment to give me an estimate.  Maybe that’s par for the course.  First estimate is a hair over $10,000.  Unfortunately, that’s the low end of what I was expecting.

One excavator also came by, but has yet to produce a quote.  Discussions involved drain tile [trench around the foundation, lay a bed of gravel, perforated pipe for the water to drain into, cover back up], regrading the whole lot, where the downspouts are actually draining, and doing all this in a way that will not negatively impact our neighbors.

Positive thought – if we install drain tile, that makes it a lot easier to install larger windows in window wells in the back of the basement.  Since the existing windows are just above ground level, and close to the ceiling, the only way to go is down.  And if I am going to install window wells, then I want to make sure they are properly drained.  Almost trivial if I do it while they are doing the drain tile.