RAIN RAIN RAIN

 These are the rainfall estimates for this week by the time the rain clears out (if it does).

The farm is in the 4" to 5" range of rainfall totals.  Yesterday, there was very heavy rain and some pretty intense lighting but nothing else thankfully.  Just when it seemed road might start flooding, it slowed down and stopped for a break.  Good.  Today as this posts, more rain happening again but hopefully moving quickly.

Health wise, post covid, we're doing better, still a bit sick, lingering cough and stuffy nose but both of us much better.  2nd Man was much worse off, where I said mine was like a cold, his has been like a flu.

Probably going to be too wet to mow this weekend so I might skip the farm, we'll see how it goes the next few days.  Just seems like it might be better for us to rest all weekend long and make sure we recover. 

Hop you all are doing well!

WELL IT FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO US

If you're wondering why posts were sporadic and we were not able to reply to everyone...well, it was bound to happen eventually we suppose.

We made it a little over three years until:

Covid postitive!

We're not sure who got it first or where.  I have a coworker who got it after being around family during a death in their family and she was in the office one day after what we later learned was her exposure.  She became very sick and was hospitalized but thankfully, is better and recovered.  Around that same time, 2nd Man and I went out and ran some errands, hair cut, grocery store, etc and, bad on us, we didn't wear masks.

Mine was what I would describe as a cold.  A couple of days with mild symptoms.  Honestly, I've had worse colds.  Positive and then negative after a few days.  He had more what we would describe as a pretty severe flu.  Very sick, coughing, aches, low grade fever, but then he got over the hump and is much better now too.

With us both having it at the same time, at least we didn't have to try to isolate in a small apartment...

We're both vaxxed and double boosted so we're grateful for it not being any worse.

As this posts, I'm off to the farm.  I HAVE to mow, it's been almost three weeks now but we've been rain free for a week.  I will drink LOTS of water and  won't overdo it.  Then, I will come back to rest the remainder of the weekend.

WHAT CANNING JAR SHORTAGE

Was in Kroger grocery store the other day on the way back from the farm and saw this...

...a huge display of Ball Mason canning jars.  I don't think I've ever seen quite so many in one place ever (short of some place dedicated to canning supplies).

I had to take two pictures to get it all in.  Normally, a Kroger grocery store has one small section, in the baking aisle, of canning supplies.  Sometimes there are a few varieties of jars but I've never seen this many all at once.  We were wondering if the pandemic sales were so high over the last year that stores are stocking up?

I think we have enough jars right now, but we'll keep our eyes out.  Once I can go back to thrift store shopping I will see if a lot of jars "appear" as people change their minds from quarantine canning, ha. 

Canning definitely gained in popularity during quarantine.  Regular readers know I've dabbled in it (and enjoyed it).  I keep all of our supplies in a canning jar cabinet at the farm and some things in the apartment.  When we get something done with the house, I have been saving ideas for not only storage of canned goods but places to keep all the supplies including empty jars.

COVID IN HOUSTON AND NOW CLOSE TO HOME

The news isn't looking good when it comes to COVID-19 in Houston...

There is a new variant and it will apparently be the what is causing the most cases everywhere.  Much easier to spread and more aggressive...

We're rapidly increasing in the Houston area...

We may end up working from home again in the not too distant future.  I have curtailed all going out at anywhere at lunch.  We're stocked up on food so I'll just order what we need and if I do need to go to the store, I'll hit up the small store out by the farm.  Fewer people out there, the store rarely has more than a couple people in there when I stop in.

And now, it's struck close to home.  Last week I found out my former boss and his wife are both hospitalized.  He was in serious condition but seems to be a little better (but still hospitalized).  She however has been put on a ventilator and is in ICU.  These are people I spent 16 years with, 40+ hours per week, week after week.  I watched their kids grow up.

It's been really tough.  

Now we found out that one of our coworker's husband has COVID and over the weekend was taken to the hospital.  She was last in the office on Monday.  She tested negative prior so we should be OK but now of course we're worried for her as well since she's been taking care of him.  She is getting retested.

2nd Man also has a coworker who tested positive but thankfully hasn't been in the office to be around them.

Wear your masks people.

Do it for yourself and do it for others.  There's an end in sight but we can not let our guard down now.

HARD TO FIND PANDEMIC ITEMS

 Recently we were reading AARP magazine (hey, don't judge, we're in our 50's, ha).  They had a list of six items that are harder to find during the pandemic.  Some interesting things are in shortage that we wouldn't have necessarily thought of.

Sewing Machine image via wikicommons

Sewing machines...

All the people sewing masks for first responders and for family and friends has led to a shortage of sewing machines around the country.  They also believe that more people taking on new hobbies with time on their hands and/or trying to be more self-sufficient is driving higher than normal demand.

Exercise equipment image via wikicommons

Exercise equipment...

This makes sense.  Gyms closed for so long or people just not wanting to go and get exposed has led to a surge in purchasing home gym equipment, stationary bikes, weights, mats, etc.

Bikes image via wikicommons

Bicycles...

Another one we hadn't really thought of.  More people now looking to get out of the house and do something different are finding bike riding as a new thing to do.  Probably also ties in to the above mentioned exercising.

Laptop computer image via wikicommons

Laptop computers...

Working from home.  Home schooling.  Job searching.  Boredom.  Who would have thought laptops and tablets would have a shortage but here we are.  Manufacturers were just getting ramped back up when the Fall school season started and now another shortage.

Outdoor patio heater image via wikicommons

Outdoor heaters and heat lamps...

This one confused us at first but then it made sense; restaurants and bars are serving more people outside and as cooler evenings happen this time of year, they are needing ways to keep their patrons warm.  Presumably some for home use but in another thing related to that, outdoor furniture (both commercial and residential) has surged as well.

Pressure treated wood image via wikicommons

Pressure treated wood...

Home construction has not slowed down but add in DIY backyard projects such as decks, patio covers, fencing, gardening and landscaping and that has caused companies that provide pressure treated wood to be running the factories 7 days a week to keep up.

Anything else you've found hard to find?  Or might suggest before the next lockdown?

FARRO STEW AND VEGETABLES

Here is a food post as just a reminder that simple is good, simple is comfort and during these difficult times, we can all use a little (or a lot) of that.

One of the things we bought during prepping was several bags of Italian Farro.  It's a grain and at the time, was kind of new for us.  But wow do we love it.  We use the farro, a pound of beef stew meat we had in the freezer and some mixed vegetables.  

2nd Man sautéed the meat with some garlic and a little beef broth.  You just cook it the way you like it.  Meanwhile boil some water and add the farro (just like if you were cooking pasta) and reduce to simmer for about 30 minutes (we followed the bag instructions).  In the last few minutes, we added the frozen mixed vegetables just so they would thaw and heat up in the simmering water.  Drain all and add the meat and any pan juices/drippings.

You can add whatever seasonings you like and of course whatever vegetables you like.  

We just keep these ingredients on hand now and make it often.  We always have some bags of frozen vegetables and we keep several 1 lb bags of beef stew meat.  Then all you need is rice, pasta or grains.  In this case the farro was new for us but so good.  It's kind of hearty, almost like an oatmeal type grain.  Very filling and a great flavor.

STEAK AND BAKED POTATO QUARANTINE EATING

Every few days, we are going to post some food/meals we are eating.  Usually there will be no recipe, what we want to post is just a reminder that simple is good, simple is comfort and during these times, we can all use a little (or a lot) of that.

This is of course a dinner you can have anytime of the year but it makes for a nice meal during the middle of the quarantine.

Two steaks and two potatoes.

Wrap the potatoes in foil, put in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.  

Cook the steak the way you like it.  2nd Man uses his favorite method, a steel pan, and my gosh they are so good. I like mine medium rare, he likes his rare.  The steel pan gives steaks a nice brown surface like if you were grilling.

Then just some butter, a little shredded cheese, some sour cream and chives on the potatoes and serve alongside the steaks.  A glass of wine and it was a great pandemic meal that didn't use up too many resources.  We had the steaks in the freezer and the potatoes in a basket in the pantry.  We had already stocked up the fridge with  cheese, butter, sour cream, some veggies, etc, and we have a wine fridge that holds 24 bottles and it was stocked up.

Stay safe and eat well!

DON'T FORGET TO WEAR PROTECTION

Wait, what?  LOL!

Not THAT...the "new" getting dressed to go out...

...the other day when I headed downstairs in the building to get the mail and drive to the farm, 2nd Man reminded me to wear protection.  That made us laugh.  It is indeed a strange new world we are in right now.

The first time I put on the mask and gloves and headed downstairs I thought "I'm going to be the only one dressed like this".  I walked into the store and there were fewer people NOT dressed like this. 

Beginning Monday of next week, the city of Houston will require ALL people 10yrs and older to wear masks when out in public.

So far we have two boxes of the these blue masks and that's what we wear.  We need to invest in some cloth ones so we can wash a set and have a set clean and ready.  We already had a box of gloves because we've always used them when working with raw meat, cleaning things, changing the litter, etc, stuff like that. 

So how are YOU all handling this 'new normal'?

DOUBLETREE COOKIE RECIPE

Recently, the Doubletree Hotel chain finally released THEIR COOKIE RECIPE. It's been a secret for over 30 years but with everyone stuck inside for quarantine, they decided to release it.  It seems that everyone with so much time on their hands has decided to bake them.

Of course 2nd Man had to try them as well.

The link above goes right to their website so you can click there and read about it.  We also copied it for you below.  Even though supplies are running low, it was worth it to try a new chocolate chip recipe.

DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe

Makes 26 cookies

½ pound butter, softened (2 sticks)

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ¼ cups flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch cinnamon

2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts 

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. 

Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl. 

With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix. 

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft. 

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.

Cook’s note: You can freeze the unbaked cookies, and there’s no need to thaw. Preheat oven to 300°F and place frozen cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.

Now we haven't been to a Doubletree in years so I don't remember the cookies that well but I do remember they were good.  Then again, warm chocolate chip cookies are always good, ha.  These have a couple of "different" ingredients for CCC's.  Lemon juice and cinnamon.  They say the lemon juice adds a chewiness and the cinnamon just adds a slightly subtle twist to the flavor.  They are really good.  We froze some dough for later use.

Because we believe chocolate chip cookies during a quarantine is a rule...

SUNDAY MORNING QUARANTINE EATING

2nd Man baked a loaf of 7-grain bread yesterday afternoon while I was at the farm.

It will last us a few days.

This morning we had a simple but filling breakfast using very few pantry/fridge staples.  Toasted bread with butter and scrambled eggs with dried herbs.

Simple and filling is what we want during these times in quarantine.

Today is a stormy day.  We're under a tornado watch for most of the day, there have already been severe thunderstorm warnings we've had some hail too.

A good day to nap.

DELUXE GRILLED CHEESE QUARANTINE EATING

Every few days, we are going to post some food/meals we are eating.  Usually there will be no recipe, what we want to post is just a reminder that simple is good, simple is comfort and during these times, we can all use a little (or a lot) of that.

2nd Man makes a couple of loaves of bread once a week.  He usually looks up a recipe online to try something new.  This was a rustic white bread.  We're getting low on flour but have some on order, hopefully it will arrive before we run out.  

Anyway, we eat bread in all ways you can but what better way during these pandemic quarantine days than to have a good old fashioned grilled cheese.

I stocked us up on cheese before the quarantine because, well, CHEESE, ha.  We've always liked two kinds of cheese on a grilled cheese sandwich, one of which should always be cheddar.  This time we used sharp cheddar and provolone.  I also found these grilled peppers (and some sundried tomatoes by the same brand that we'll save for another recipe).  People were buying other stuff and skipping these packages...big mistake on their part because these things are WONDERFUL!  

We layered it all up, bread, a slice of cheese, some grilled peppers, another slice of cheese, bread, spread some butter on both sides and grilled it on the stovetop in a skillet. 

So good and definitely comforting in these times of being stuck inside.

Quick and easy and doesn't use up many ingredients.  

Eat well and most of all, be safe!

PANDEMIC FOOD PREPARATIONS

Thought we'd share what all we got before the shelter in place/quarantine.

I am a big news person, I watch a lot of what's going on in the world.  I told 2nd Man back in January that this virus in China was something we should keep an eye on.  In February I started stocking up just in case it made it here.  I noticed then a reduction in supplies of hand sanitizer, gloves, etc.  Food hadn't yet started to dwindle so I started stocking up.

This is the main pantry.  We've got all sorts of stuff in here.  Yes, you see that correctly, there are some processed food items, don't judge, ha.  In times like these you need comfort food, you need easy and you need shelf stable.  This pantry is deep which we love.  Normally we'd worry things would get lost in the back but this time it helps  That top shelf is filled two rows back.  Several boxes of cereal, crackers, Kraft mac and cheese, stove top stuffing, even some hamburger helper boxes.  Behind all that are several bags of potato chips.  Oh and pop tarts.

Because, well, pop tarts.

The next shelf has the baking supplies, honey, baking soda/powder, cocoa, chocolate chips, extracts etc.

Under that is a shelf with pie fillings, cans of sweetened condensed milk, "cream of" soups, lots of canned beans and some vegetables.  Then we have a lot of jarred sauces...for example alfredo, marinara, sauces for slow cooker meals etc and then a lot of tomato paste, sauce and cans of diced tomatoes.

The shelf under that has more canned tomato products (2nd Man uses those a lot), more beans, canned tuna, chili, manwich, different flavors of soup, cooking oils, vinegars, etc.

The bottom shelf has containers of rice (we have about 15 lbs), brown rice, instant potatoes, several jars of peanut butter, etc.

On the floor are two large baskets and two green storage containers.  The green containers are each filled with ramen noodle packages, a dozen each.  What college student hasn't lived on ramen noodles.  We like them on occasion but of course 2nd Man  always gives them an upgrade. 

The two baskets are used as follows: 

This one is full of pasta.  All shapes and sizes.  Believe it or not, this basket has 16 packages of pasta.  The long ones are on the bottom (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine) and the rest are just other shapes, penne, rotini, rigatoni, farfalle, etc.  On the floor behind this basket are 3 bags of egg noodles.

The other basket has potatoes and onions.  We have it full (added some more from a last minute trip to the store before the quarantine).

On the counter we have these large jars.  They hold more onions (and it's full) our garlic (full with the last of our farm garlic from last Spring's harvest) and since we have regular potatoes in the basket...

...this one is full with about 15 lbs of sweet potatoes. 

We have another box in a different cabinet that is full of dried beans, lentils and grains.  Here is some of what we have in that box including couscous, pinto beans, kidney beans, 15 bean soup blend, barley/peas/lentil blend...

...and then bags of barley, farro, and red and brown lentils.

Since this is not like a hurricane prep where we might lose power, we decided to stock the freezer and fridge as well so we'd have meat to go with the pantry items and we can make meals. 

We bought 6 chickens (over the course of a few weekends) and roasted them two at a time, let them cool and pulled all the meat off the bones.  I bagged up the meat from each chicken into separate vacuum seal bags.  That way 1 pkg = 1 roasted chicken for any recipe we want to make (casseroles, enchiladas, flautas, pot pies, soup, etc).  2nd Man used the bones to make chicken stock which we also have frozen in the freezer.

Our freezer already has several packages of roasted turkey done in this manner as well.

We also bought some boneless/skinless chicken breasts and vacuum sealed them (uncooked).

Same with beef...we bought 6 lbs of ground beef and vacuum sealed them in 1 lb packages.  Also did six steaks this way (2 per pkg) and some beef chuck roast cut into chunks.

Same with pork...we have four 1 lb packs of ground pork vacuum sealed into packages, pork loins that I got on sale and cut into sections for pork roast dinners, and 4 packages of thick cut pork chops (2 each per pkg) as in the package above.

Also in the freezer we have a LOT of frozen vegetables.  All the bags of corn blend, stir fry blend, broccoli cauliflower blend etc, it's a great way to have  as close to fresh vegetables without them being canned.  A bag makes a great side dish and of course they also make great ingredients in other dishes.

In the refrigerator, we bought meats that we didn't have to seal up right away but would last a longer time without freezing.  We love the packages of sausage that are sold like this.  They are great for roasting in the oven, chopped up into pasta dishes, stir fries, etc.  It's a great meat to have on hand and they come in so many varieties for every taste.  The are also usually good left just like this in the fridge for a couple of months (these all have a best by date of May/June which is why I bought them).  

These thick sliced ham steaks are wonderful too.  Sealed and good for a couple months in the fridge.  We slice them in quarters and can make them last longer.  Good in a skillet with eggs, good on sandwiches, etc.

We wanted to regular creature comforts of breakfast food and so I bought a few packs of breakfast sausage.  In order to keep them longer I cut the packages in half and vacuum sealed them.  The vacuum seal is to help them last longer.  They had a best by date of end of April.  When we reach that date we'll freeze whatever we haven't used.

Got two large packages of thick sliced bacon and cut each in half and same thing, vacuum sealed to last as long as possible.

We also filled the fridge with eggs (4 dozen), a few quarts of milk and related products, lots of cheese (bags of shredded, sliced cheddar for grilled cheese, slice other flavors for sandwiches, some parmesan and similar cheeses), sandwich meat of course, hot dogs, and the usual like condiments, jelly, etc.  

And then lastly we have flour (all purpose and bread) and sugar (regular granulated in the big one as well as things like brown sugar, powdered sugar etc in smaller jars).  These jars will be refilled soon, we have some bags we haven't poured in yet because 2nd Man has been baking bread and using up what we already had.  Found them years ago and love them because they hold about 10 lbs each.

I have not been to the store in over 2 weeks now which is kind of neat.  I think we'll be good for a while longer.  I've been taking pictures of what we've had, I'll start posting them just to share ideas.  We try to eat simply during the week, nothing too elaborate.  Some nights it's cereal and toast and other nights we have a sandwich or quesadillas. Other nights maybe pasta with a simple meat sauce.  On the weekend we try to make a meal that will last a couple of days or can be repurposed into a new dish, or we have something like steak, baked potato and veggies, just to have a "fancy meal", LOL, in the brave new world.

Hope you all are staying safe and eating well in this new normal!

IT IS AN ADJUSTMENT

This pandemic quarantine is definitely taking some getting used to.  I can say though that we have not left the apartment since I got home from work a few days ago. Not to get the mail, not to go to the store for a last moment thing, nothing.  There is a countywide stay at home order though we can technically go for groceries, medicine, gas, healthcare, etc.   

Working from home is an adjustment for sure.  2nd Man has done it on and off for years.  For me this is a first in my entire working career.  I do like getting up later.  Still at work at the same time but don't have to allow for taking a shower and getting dressed in the morning now.  I can roll out of bed and sit down at the table and start working.  

I'm guessing there is something about people working from home not getting into bad habits like that but hey, it's all new for me, so far, so good!

I do have someone staring at me...trying to figure out what is going on.  Hobart has to have his crocheted afghan on the dining table (don't judge, he's happy, ha!) and he sleeps there most of the day only to get up occasionally and look at me like..."um, what are you doing? You're messing up my day."

As for food we have been cooking simple things during the week and saving the bigger meals for weekends.  We are really watching how much we use.  I'm taking pictures so I'll have posts up soon, maybe next week, on how we've eaten so far.

Since we don't have to worry about a power failure, we stocked our fridge and freezer well with meat and frozen veggies.  The pantry is also stocked.  More posts on that soon as well.

It's just taking a bit to get into the swing of this new normal so I haven't been able to post or catch up on comments. Things are so different but I guess we are slowly adapting to life in the time of the pandemic.

Lastly, courtesy of our sweet friend/regular commenter Colleen, comes this funny.  We were cracking up!  No matter how dark the days are we have to keep our sense of humor and be the light.

How are you adapting wherever you are?

Any tips or advice to share?