Headbangers: FOOD

Well, I did think of something to do other than my main plan for the day, which is tossed by the wayside because it involved getting out of the house and someone--ahem-ahem--took my whole car when I told him there was a phone charger in it, instead of taking the phone charger and putting it in HIS car. Of course, he also took the keys to his car AND to the decrepit pickup we call the "dump truck" because mostly all we ever use it for is occasional trips to the dump.

Someone stopped and asked him if we wanted to sell it the other day. It would not bring in much cash and then what would we use to go to the dump?

So I have remembered that I need to post my thoughts on food--the theme presented us for this week by Craver Vii.

Last night I gathered a few shots from archives and from dinner. Still deciding which to use as the header, but I am nearly there.

 Cioppino--a seafood stew that we had at a dockside restaurant in Olympia on a trip there a few years ago. I had to remember when that was to look up the pictures.

Sticky Toffee Pudding--a yummy UK treat which was a bit different every time we had it. This one was in the village of Kinlochewe in Scotland.

Snowman cookies for the season. I haven't made any cookies this ambitious this year, and got candy canes for the pageant kids instead of making them cookies for the final rehearsal. Maybe it was the sight of the dreadful faces that moved me. ( I do have four kinds of cookies on hand.)

Last night's tacos. I thought about taking a picture after one was half eaten.

If any of the other headbangers had time for true food photography this week, they will surely have outshone me. No matter. All of these were well worth eating, and that's the point, isn't it? You will find their offerings through the links on my sidebar.

Memories

I'm in Arizona Hanging out with grandkids--especially doing some stuff with Aiden.

I have figured out how to get a picture I took into the blog from the camera using my new Chromebook. I had my daughter download it on her computer and e-mail it to me. So I can participate in this week's "Memories" theme with my fellow headbangers.

There may be a more direct method to get the pictures on this tiny computer, but I haven't found it yet.

I had figured I would not be participating this week, but in the conversations by text that led me to a quick trip with minimum luggage to help out in a family emergency, there was one that could not help but be shared.

I went to bed Thursday night undecided, and woke up Friday morning and texted Karen that I was coming. Karen texted Mary and she responded that when Aiden heard I was coming, he asked if I could bring some of my oatmeal cookies.

Aiden is one of the quiet ones, and since we often only see him once a year, you can't be sure what he remembers. Apparently he remembers the oatmeal cookies that I brought last fall.

We made them Saturday afternoon. Now we have the memory not only of the cookies, but of baking them together.  

The other Headbangers--who are linked in my sidebar--will also share their memories in their headers this week. Not sure they can match this one.

Here is the recipe for Grandma's Special Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup butter, margarine, or shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups oatmeal
1 cup raisins
GRANDMA'S  SECRET INGREDIENT

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or spray cookie sheets.

Cream together shortening and sugars till smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and gradually beat into the batter. Stir in Oats and raisins.

Finally add Grandma's secret ingredient--a bag of butterscotch chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake about ten minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve to hungry grandchildren---or hungry grandpas.

Orange

Our Headbangers' theme this week, courtesy of Tom, is Orange.

I considered using this
 

or this

 

and I even took this while I was wandering through Hobby Lobby looking for something else. 

 

But the theme is Orange. hmm. Orange.

 

This is ORANGE! 



 

We say good bye for now to Richard and Chris who promise to stop back and say hi once in a while.

We welcome three new Headbangers, well, two new and one returning. Craver Vii is giving us a try. That is what I said last year. "I'll give it a try." Lew has accepted our invitation and posted his challenge header here. Sandy has returned. She may be the Headbanger whose absence made possible my own invitation. Welcome back Sandy.

By the skin of my teeth

Heandbangers actually change tomorrow, but as often I am early just becaus eit works for me. This time definitely, because tomorrow is the day we leave for Seattle after a bunch of early and mid day busyness.

And yesterday was the day my laptop attempted to crash. Well, it didn't get all the way, it will still function, but it won't recognize my external hard drive or anything else that attaches to the USB port.

By the skin of my teeth, I had moved and loaded pictures of confectionary to my holding pen folders on the laptop. So I can participate, even without the picture I took at dinner Saturday night--which is still in the camera.

While we were visiting the UK two years ago we met a confection--at least I would call it that--called Sticky Toffee Pudding. Having once encountered it, we had to try it whenever it was on the menu, since our guide and British trip companion said it is made differently in different parts of the country or different restaurants. (The Russian and Austiran students had nothing to say about it. It is obviously a British treat.)


We had this version of Sticky Toffee Pudding in the village of Kinlochewe after our first day of hiking in the Highlands.

While were were wandering Edinburgh before the hiking tour we happened upon "The Fudge
Shop" in the Royal Mile. It looked definitely like a don't miss.



Oh, that I could scan and share the picture of hubby and me in front of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Bend, Oregon taken before digital and before gray hair. Ha! We have great confections here as well.

 

The confections I snapped on Saturday were the display models of the short dessert menu. Yum. But the ultimate was what was served us at a dinner last spring when we were hosted by the rep from the publisher we deal with. It was one of those meals where the menu does not have prices....

And this plate of confections was presented to each of us.

 

Headbangers--my theme: food

Well, I will be busy from early tomorrow morning chopping, baking, browning, simmering, as it is the day that I treat all my volunteers to a spaghetti feed to thank them for their hard work all year. Since it was my turn for a headbangers theme, "FOOD" seemed to be just the ticket for the day.

Since pictures of me cooking spaghetti will not be available when the header is due, I pored over my files to find some great meals and found a few of interest. This was us being treated to a feast by our son's Turkish friends in Siberia.

I think I will present this bowl of cioppino as the header photo. It is not only a great picture and a delicious meal, but also healthy.

...unlike this one. But notice that we did share it among five of us.

This was the first one I chose. You have to start them out right. Sasha did a good job of preparing the corn on the cob for the coals.

I will take my camera along tomorrow and have my friend get a picture of the spaghetti chef.

If you would like to join us in our weekly header challenge, just give a holler at one of us, and check out what the others have done with the Food theme by clicking their links in my sidebar.

Is it okay to say "Lent" and "treat" in the same sentence?

Homemade pretzels are fresh out of the oven.

The recipe I used is here, and though it calls for beer, I used water and they are fine.

Why pretzels for Lent? This article describes the tradition and its possible origins.