Wardrobe Malfuctions

This is not what you think.  All season long I have been considering (and reconsidering) buying a black jacket, because my old one is looking a bit shabby.  Thinking maybe I would try the new resale shop in town.

Last Saturday morning I woke up with the sudden knowledge that I bought a nice black jacket last year.  How, I don't know, but I'd forgotten it.  We had a busy, hectic, not to say traumatic spring this year, and well, I forgot.  Not in the bedroom closet, nor in the guest room closet, but hanging there in the cedar closet, in a dry cleaner's bag with my favorite skirt that I had also forgotten. Wore both to the MFA to the Alex Katz show, feeling very elegant.   


Normally, it would have been in the guest closet, because neither of the fabrics were wool, hence they didn't need to be in the cedar closet.  This morning, I woke up trying too remember when my grandmother had died.  1963.  How could I forget?  A stressed mind plays tricks on you.  I'm unstressing and hence, remembering stuff. 


In the days of yore, I kept an inventory by season of summer and winter clothes, with the age and condition of each garment.  When I stopped working, I no longer kept the inventory.  Now I'm thinking maybe it should be revived.  The nice thing about this is that you can cast you eye over what you have and the age and condition, and make some fill-in purchases.  No doing what I did this year and buying a new top for really old pants.  


There are many ways to be frugal, and clothes come right behind groceries.  Recently I have discovered The Sports Authority which has name brands of sportswear at good prices.   The chain had always flown under my radar.   Ocean State Job Lot always has good "lounge pants" at  $ 5 - $6.  Add a Walmart Faded Glory T-shirt for $5 and you have yourself a great set of pajamas for $10.00.  


Frugally yours, 


the Cheeseparer

Pesto Alla Genovese

Pesto alla Genovese

2 cups fresh basil leaves, stripped from their stems, coarsely chopped and tightly packed. 

1 t. salt

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1-2 t. finely chopped garlic

2 T. finely chopped pine nuts (or walnuts)

1 to 1 1/2 cups olive oil

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a blender or food processer, combine basil, salt, pepper, garlic, nuts and 1 cup of olive oil.  Blend at high speed until the ingredients are smooth, stopping every 5 or 6 second to push herbs down with a rubber spatula.

The sauce should be thin enough to run off the spatula easily.  If too thick, blend in as much as ½ cup more olive oil.

Transfer the sauce to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese.

Poach chicken breasts, cool and cut into bit size pieces.  Add a few spoons of pesto and mix well.  Serve on lettuce or as part of an antipasto. 

You can also mix the chicken and pesto with cooled pasta and fresh tomatoes for a delicious main course.  Serve with French bread.

The Garden Brings Forth Food

Yes!  Finally ripe tomatoes, cukes, loads of herbs.  I made pesto Genovese today.  Last night I poached a large chicken breast.   Used part of the pesto to toss with bite-sized pieces of chicken, and cooked a pound of pasta, small-ziti type, and chopped up 3 ripe tomatoes.  After draining and cooling the pasta, I added the chicken with pesto and the tomatoes.  This is a yummy cheap (this time of  year) meal.  Chicken breasts are always on sale, and the basil was from the garden.  I grated an ancient piece of Romano cheese on my microplane.  Used walnuts instead of pine nuts.    Great taste.  The pesto makes the chicken so flavorful.  We also had a green salad with romaine, cukes and avocado, all on sale.  Photo tomorrow.   This would serve six.  

Tomorrow I'm making a sponge cake that is then cut into pieces, frosted and rolled in chopped peanuts.  This is an ancient recipe that a  friend told me about eating years and years ago.  I found the recipe.  Apparently my mom made it.    Trying it out on the family.  

The critters were eating the tomatoes, and I put out some moth balls in little cat food containers among the tomato plants.  Suspect the cheeky chipmunks.  Lots of birds lately.  Hard to keep the feeders full. 

Do try the pesto.  I used a recipe very similar to Emerill's.  I've been harvesting dill, oregano, and rosemary, along with basil, mint and sage.  Parsley, too.  Garden is jungley from all the rain.  

Onward

 

Chicken Chausseur

Hadn't been to the grocery store in ages.  Getting hair done (finally) late this afternoon, so better get something cooked or ready to cook.  Freezer only offers bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, a BOGO (buy one get one).  I have a voluminous file of recipes, and would you believe the chicken is divided into:
1)  rotisserie chicken
2)  boneless breaks
3)  Bone in breasts
4)  roasting recipes
 5)  recipes calling for a whole chicken


I dig out the bone-in breast recipes.   Find Chicken Chausser which calls for mushrooms which I have (none too fresh) and canned tomatoes.  Also calls for a shallot, but I can substitute a couple scallions and a garlic clove.  I don't have any broth but have a boullion cube and a little aspic from 2 former rotisserie chickens.  


I get started and the smell is pretty good.  Skin doesn't look too great so I remove most of that.  Brown chicken, mushrooms, add brandy, etc.  Decide to try the package of spaetzle from Ocean State Job Lot.  


A mere scrap of lettuce in the fridge, but there are a couple organic carrots, 1/3 of an English cuke, 5  big grape tomatoes, and said lettuce.  I add dill, oregano, basil and  a bit of mint and toss.  Looks and smells good.  Nice colors. 


The chicken sauce is a little salty, but the spaetzle needs salt, so that works out good.  Chicken very tasty, salad good, spaetzle a nice change.   We eat it for a late lunch instead of dinner.  


In the pantry there was oil, brandy and the substitutes for the shallot.  I always keep canned tomatoes around.  The salad was delicious, by the way.   It was damned near soup from a nail.  


 Breast halves were big enough for a second meal, and I have some ideas for the other package of breasts.  Even without skin, the breasts browned up  nicely. 


BTW, I have found the true secret to dieting.  You can eat absolutely anything you want.  Just eat less.  I've dropped 7 pounds with NO HUNGER.  Small helpings and no seconds except on fruits and veggies.  Fruit salad rocks in the summer, and todays salad of leftovers was a winner.  

The Chicken Chasseur recipe was from an old Cooks Illustrated magazine.  Anything calling for wine And brandy is bound to be pleasing to the tongue.


The Cheeseparer