Friday Roundup

Well, as we come to the end of the first week of the new year, I have to pause to catch my breath.  It's been both quiet and busy this week on alternate days.  New Year's Eve was a quiet one.  I made some stew beef with carrots and potatoes for dinner, then sat around watching The Twilight Zone until it came time for the New Year's Eve show.  Made it to 12, but by 12:15 I was under the covers.

Tuesday I made us a special meal--pernil, arroz gandules, okra for hubby, and broccoli for me.  No sweets were purchased for this holiday.  We both had enough.

Pernil came out perfect.  It was so juicy and fell right off the bone.  My granddaughter had made a pork shoulder for our Christmas reunion, but, I hate to say it, it couldn't touch mine.  It's all in the way you cook it.

First I make my sofrito.  Peppers, onions, garlic, olives, olive oil, and tomatoes. 

Then I poke holes and stuff the sofrito in.  The pernil then goes into a cooking bag and marinates in the fridge overnight.  I cook it in the bag.

Candles lit themselves again. Only on the holidays. Christmas Day and then on New Year's Day. Very strange indeed.

Wednesday was another stay in day, only this time I didn't have to do a thing.  Cooking already done the day before.  So I sat around and started reading "Circe".  Great book. 

Thursday I didn't make my WW workshop. The nightmare continued. Yesterday the turned off all the power to connect a new box to the main source of electricity. They had said 4 hours, but it turned out closer to 5. I had read where a full freezer will stay colder longer. Mine was not full at this point, but I did have a lot of beans and soups on the door shelving that I moved to the regular shelves to fill them up. Didn't lose anything there. Actually, I probably didn't lose anything, but I am so fussy about food. Had dysentery one time, and I imagine it's a lot like E Coli. Don't want to go through that again. So out went the milk, eggs, soft cheeses, and cold cuts. Rather be safe than sorry. 

Have a doctor's appointment this morning.   Didn't go last Friday because it was pouring, and one thing I hate is a chilly rain.  Makes my bones ache more than they already do.  Then, Sunday I have my third Christmas and surprise birthday party for my son's girlfriend.  We already had Christmas Eve here, Christmas in New Jersey last weekend, and now Christmas in the Bronx with my son and goddaughter.   I've become quite the party animal in my old age.

Have a wonderful weekend.