THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Hey!  

Happy December!

Now the countdown is really on.

Let's see . . . what can I show you from our kitchen today?

Hmmmmm.

Oh, WAIT.

It's Friday!

TGIF!!!

I don't have to tickle your palates today.

I just have to tickle your fancies with a wee bit of comedy.

So let's get started and see what I've found in Ye Olde Humor Bank.

So, is your funnybone tickled?

I hope so.

And I sincerely hope that y'all will endeavor to have an exciting, fun-filled, pleasing weekend.

And never forget to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

KITCHEN EXPERIMENT

 I came home from a visit to our nearby Mexican market the other day with 5 huge Jalapeño Peppers.

The price for all five was only 86 cents!

When I expressed surprise the young lady at the checkout said she hadn't seen them at that low a price for quite a while.

For me it brought back memories of our first visit to the one-day-a-week street markets (tianguis) we visited in our first days living in Mexico and the low prices for everything by U.S.A. standards.

Anyway I was determined to make Jalapeño Poppers and yesterday I did.

Being careful to wear protective gloves, I split the peppers and scraped out the seeds and membrane to avoid the heat.

Then I filled each half with a mixture of cream cheese, cheddar cheese and garlic powder.

Each was topped with Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) mixed with a little melted butter and then baked in the oven.

They looked pretty good.

But surprisingly the flavor was kind of "meh" - only so-so.

I think I could have left some of the heat in the peppers.

But, accompanied by some (Costco) Spanakopita, a couple of Kalamata olives and some sliced apples, it made for a pretty good International dinner.

SUNDAY DINNER

 We had an exemplary dining experience tonight.

Starting with Judy's Homemade Beef Stew.

Complemented by Bruce's Garlic and Butter Sauteed Mushrooms.

And Judy's Exceptional Tomato Salad.

Trust me.

It was delicious.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

Hey traditionalists, here's what WE had for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Judy's classic Beef Stew, though done in a slow cooker.

Delish!

Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way you can all begin to concentrate on the important stuff.

Re-tightening your belts.

And fasten your belts because today is FRIDAY!

(ba-da-bump!)

So that's it, folks, we've begun the short slide downhill to Christmas.

And New Year.

And Valentine's Day.

And Easter.

And . . .  okay, I get it . . . I'll shut up.

But before I do let me wish you a slimmed down but super, sensational, spectacular weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . . .

( . . oh, I'll bet we've all been there . . )

TURKEY DAY

When I was a lad in North Dakota, Thanksgiving was a true feast day.

A huge turkey was acquired from a farmer, killed and plucked and I remember Dad singeing it with a rolled up burning newspaper to get rid of pin feathers, then putting it in a big roasting pan and tossing it in the oven for what seemed like days.

The house would fill with the aroma of turkey and all the sides that Mom would create.

When it was time to eat we all gathered around the table and Dad would carve the bird right in front of us, filling each of a stack of plates and passing them around the table so we could "load up" on the mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes or yams, dressing (or in those days "stuffing), green bean casserole, cranberries, rolls and butter, and whatever other wonders had appeared from the kitchen.

Later there was pumpkin pie and whipped cream (not the stuff from a can).

I couldn't find it but somewhere I have a photo of one of those memorable occasions.

It was a great day.

But I was just thinking how much simpler it would have been if I had grown up in Hawaii instead of North Dakota.

Aloha!

and Happy Thanksgiving!

ZIP - BAKE - REMINDER

 The subject line on this post may be a bit confusing but it will be clear eventually.

I took Judy to her appointment at the orthopaedic office yesterday for her zipper removal.

But first, I was wondering why there's an a in that word above: orthopaedic.

I mean it's pronounced "or-tho-pee-dic".

No "a" sound there.

So, as any modern day inquisitor does, I consulted the All-Knowing Google.

And I learned that the word was coined by a French physician in the 17th century and that it comes from the Greek language.

Nowadays, it is the accepted spelling by the British and by academics but we good old Americans sometimes drop the "a".

Well, regardless, getting back to that zipper.

It's a fairly new device that closes a wound without stitches or staples.

It looks kind of like this:

 

It supposedly results in less pain and less scarring.

Anyway one of the medical staff just peeled it off and Judy said it went easy and without pain.

Just to clarify, that's not Judy's leg.

Knowing her modesty I did not even suggest photographing hers.

But progress is being made - her surgery to replace her knee joint was only just over two weeks ago.

She said she still has pain, mainly when the torturers running her physical therapy give her tricks to do, but she's given into the maxim: pain is part of the healing process.

So, I've been doing much more kitchen duty than in days gone by and yesterday was a milestone for me.

I made an Italian-ish ground beef pasta bake without using a recipe!

Leftovers!

Penne pasta, ground beef, a jar of marinara sauce, onions, peppers,  garlic, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, Italian spice blend, salt and pepper.

Judy fixed a simple salad and prepared some garlic bread.

Add a glass of red wine and we ate like royalty.

And right now Judy is making her famous beef stew to go in the slow cooker and a pumpkin pie for our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow.

So that's about all I've got for today.

Our high temperature for the big day tomorrow is forecast to not reach 60 degrees.

Nice crisp autumn weather.

I hope you all (who celebrate it) have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, look who's here, kitty-kitty with a parting bit of advice.

REMEMBER THIS?