Category Archives: JeffreyW
Mmm… Bacon and Tomato Pasta Salad
The store deli had an interesting pasta salad that we brought home for a quick side. They called it a bacon and tomato pasta salad and I found it delicious. This is an attempt at a copycat recipe. I went to Google for some ideas and this came up. It seemed incomplete as the Kroger salad had some dried herb flakes that I decided must be basil. I added a lot of basil, maybe 2 tablespoons or so to my small test batch.
A lot of the recipes I turned up in the search included ranch dressing, and I think that may be the way to go in the future. After sitting overnight in the fridge the pasta shells I used had absorbed most all of the liquid and were looking dry. I added more mayo cut with half and half and chopped another tomato to fold in. It’s an interesting dish, and fun to experiment with. The Kroger deli used rotini but just about any bite size pasta will work.
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Critter Cam – Bearded Turkeys
A distinguishing feature of both domesticated and wild turkeys is the black fibrous hairs that hang down from the chest away from the body plumage. Biologists and hunters call those hairs beards. A turkey’s beard can be long enough to touch the ground. Beards grow on all male turkeys or gobblers and grow on some hens.
We’ve been seeing the same turkey family in ths spot all summer long, and have watched the chicks grow to size and fill out. Today is the first time I remember seeing Toms.
Tidbits
This is one of the Texas hurricane rescues, she was brought back in an effort to save her and her litter. She is heartworm positive with some other maladies and her prognosis is uncertain. She and her puppies would already have been put down had she stayed.
Mmm… red beans and rice. TaMara mentioned the dish in one of her posts and it reminded me that we haven’t had any lately. This one was cooked with a ham hock. I added the andouille late because it will get tough if it simmers a long time.
Here’s a kitteh! Not a hurricane rescue, he is a local kitty boy.
Our fig trees/bushes exploded this year. We put rooted cuttings in the ground spring of ’16 and reaped a scant harvest but this year we should do better.
There are a lot of figs coming on and they are getting to a size they couldn’t match last year.
This one-eyed kitteh has been adopted since the photo was taken. I don’t have any more info than that.
Cheesesteak! This was tasty – I did the flat iron steak sous vide, it was in the water bath 6 hours @140 degrees. For service, it was sliced and added to a pan of caramelized onions and tossed to mix and rewarm then covered with a nice cheese sauce of American and cheddar.
Tommy is a tuxedo kitteh born in March this year. He’s a good kitteh, Brent.
Cookies!
Mrs J has made these a few times with the Splenda blend recipe and they are way better than the ubiquitous Toll House cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Set aside.
Mix butter and SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend in a large bowl. Stir in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mix. Stir in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely.
Yaarrrr!
