Musings of the Forensic Anthropologist

On the ground this morning there was a light dusting of snow.  It wasn't enough to fully cover the ground, just enough to entice the dog to roll in it, as from the Spruce trees, the squirrels hovered, waiting for that handful of peanuts I would toss out every morning.  On such mornings, when I first awoke, I can't imagine that it is actually Spring, the landscape having the stillness of an unyielding force pondering a secret motive.

The kitchen still smelled faintly of sweet and spice, my having baked a dozen banana chocolate chip muffins late last evening for my husband to take to work to share with his team. The house itself was quiet, the work computer still, my not having to log in for another hour. The morning chores were tended to, the dog fed and walked, the bird feeders filled, as was the water dish we leave out for the creatures that live among the tall stand of Spruce trees.  Lunch was made and packed, the muffins corralled and wrapped, small daily moments that removed me from reality and let my mind go back to other landscapes, other mornings.

I will miss the mornings where the ground is covered with thick white, the blanket of white hushing the sound of traffic. For others and certainly for me, in such moments, as you step out into the hushed cold, you can almost imagine you are in a place other than a bustling city, your mind taking you back to days on open land where corn rioted and stands of tall trees stood as kings over their subjects of deer and wildlife.  You were yourself a quiet subject, there up high in a tree blind, Winchester in your lap, bewitched and cut off from worry and hurry and fear, those things that seem to belong to another world.

In another tree, far enough away to be out of range, yet close enough you are always aware, is another form, a friend, perhaps a brother, waiting in the same still silence as you are.  In such a place memories of the past come unbidden, there in those moments when you both have nothing but time for the past to creep in.  But it does so as wishful dreams, remembered there in that place of land, water, and silence.

The sound of a siren from the first accident or serious illness of the day, takes me from my musings, reminding me that indeed I am in the city, and it's waking up quickly around me. The siren sound is one that haunts my dreams sometimes even though normally when I am in the company of such a vehicle it is moving away in stony silence, the only sound that of tires reverberating in holly claps as they kick up gravel from a place where lay only the memories of those too late to be saved, their only voice a cluster of little yellow flags upon the ground.

I have fought with death and found that it's not always so much a battle, of victor and vanquished, with cries and shouts.  Often, it is a quietly grey surprise where are no more sure of your right than you are of your foe and if you stand too still you may be gone before you even feel the ground give way and the air collapse onto itself.  I  often wonder what the end will really be like. Is there that moment when you see your fate, when every detail of desire, temptation, surrender, and redemption fill your vision or is the moment gone with the cessation of light, there at that moment you don't have time to even comprehend?

So far, as I have walked such places, the dead have not revealed their secret, something for which I should probably be grateful.

As the siren fades away, I briefly look at the news, seeing it as not mere words today, but rather the sound of drums, of peace, or war, or prayer, I don't know.  Such are the days, I'd just as soon write, having no desire to further scan the computer for news, or social media of strangers, growing tired of how unkindly the world is of things it fails to understand.  As a scientist, I'd like to live in a world of straightforward facts, but the feeling is short-lived as soon as I look at the media. No, I drop a few notes to friends, then a look at the weather, as I settle in to write as the sun comes up.

I relish these early hours when the neighborhood slumbers and fires burned low.  My husband has left for a meeting, wrangling coffee thermos, lunch bag, and muffins in the high wind like a Sherpa headed aloft. For now, my only company is the shadows, lying broken along the neighbor's flowerbeds that I can see from my window.  From the outside, the bracing sound of a wind chime, the snap of a twig, as from inside, words, slowly flow, words that gather in channels in my head, pooling in still pools, rushing as a fresh flow, taking me further and further downstream of the reality outside that is traffic, deadlines, or simply the dead.

I have no story today, merely words of observance, of the surface truths in the world outside my window.

There underneath that light mantle of snow came forth a yellow flower, a small ray of light there in the cold, a lower apostle giving me hope that warmth would soon blanket this landscape, even as the cold wind gives a lie to its prophecy.

Although I honestly love the Fall and Winter over the heat of summer, there is something transfixing about watching the earth bloom each Spring. It's nothing like the mornings of winter, the sky brooding over the earth, becoming more somber by the minute, as if irritated by your attempt to stay warm.  Spring is more like a lover, coaxing from the ground new life, as it touches everything with shy wonder, that is as new now as it was this time last year. Even as there is snow on the ground, the sun peeks out behind a cloud with exquisite brilliance.

As the sun illuminates the landscape I see further signs of Spring -  a child's bike left out in the yard from an afternoon where temperatures hovered around 60; some potting soil and pots, laying against another neighbor's garage, awaiting that time when new flowers will be planted. The birdfeeders that are normally an active trough in the morning are mostly deserted as the bird's natural food sources begin their yearly cycle again.

The sun glints of the newness as the last bit of snow melts away. I know too well, that even light can lie, yet this Spring beam had no manipulation of light or pose, it simply gazed on everything with equal warmth and equal depth, lending its truth to a new beginning.

Another year, another season, as small buds burst from the soil and hands that have held both tears and blood click away on a keyboard.  A torn curtain of lace from an upper window nearby, a weathered face looking out, wondering how another year has passed, as I give a friendly wave she cannot see, understanding just as well, how precious are these days.  As I let the dog out one last time before closing up my laptop and starting my workday, I brush the snow gently off of the bloom so that it does not dissolve in my hand like tears.  The silent immutability of the flowerbeds is a source of hope, here in a place that is too often cold and ice. Darkness was just here, and this small bloom is merely a flicker, one that signals the warmth to come.

The earth begins another season for those of us that remain, as those that have gone before can only watch from the heavens.  The earth is simply a standing place, one that we dwell in with that modest, clear flame that is our hope and our faith, even as we understand too well, how easy it is for that flame to be extinguished.

As I turn back into the house, I turn one last time to the trees, to a sound I can't hear, to a thing I can't see, to a memory of another tree, another morning, from a year that I can't get back, but one that will be with me always. - Brigid

Days of Plenty on a Minimum Food Budget

I don't have to tell any of you now much the price of food has gone up.  What we spend at the grocers on a weekly basis (which doesn't factor in canned items and food/grains/staples bought in bulk) is up 10- 20% over this time last year on many items.  So it's even more important that we all learn how to make do without a lot of prepackaged, pre-made items which are out of control expensive.  

Banana bread

This week's spending at the grocery  - $62 for the two of us.  We had meat and veggies and salads, no Raman or boxes of Kraft Dinner.   I do the bread baking on Saturday and make cookies or some other baked treat.  I make soup or stew on Sunday and chop and Tupperware extra veggies so there's little time to prepare them on a work night. Several meals are meat-free, with beans and grain for complete protein. Nothing is wasted, so there are always little bits of peppers or chilis or such in the freezer to add to soup and beans dishes as well as some bones with a little meat on them for soups. Any leftovers not immediately eaten are frozen for lunches the following week and I make my own no sodium salad dressing out of a bit of oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, and herbs.

We have brewed iced tea, not pop, and I'll make an "energy drink" out of a splash of fruit juice mixed with 2 Tablespoons of Braggs apple cider vinegar and lots of water and carried in a recycled glass beverage bottle.

Neither of us eats out for lunch, we have a water jug AND a thermos and do not buy expensive coffee drinks at work or on the way to or from. I'll make muffins to have as a mid-morning treat for coffee or tea. Plus - when a local Sears went south, we picked up a deep freezer for $100 for the basement. This has been great for picking up some discounted items and freezing for later weeks as well as buying family packs of meat.

So total food and treats if one is closely watching the budget and has essentials on hand in bulk already -  About $250 for the month for two adults for weekly grocery and another $60 a month for wild salmon which we can't get here (sorry, but even the "fresh" salmon in Chicago tastes like cat food to me after growing up eating only stuff caught that day). The salmon is my "treat", and if money was really right or if it was not available it could be easily replaced by other protein sources.

We are blessed with a good education (not paid for by the taxpayer but ourselves) and have good jobs. But being raised by parents that understood a budget, mine growing up in the Great Depression, we are fine eating on a budget so that there is money available for unexpected expenses, giving to our church, and helping family members and charities, including sales of all of my books to animal rescue and a couple groups that help with support dogs for Veterans with disabilities. That's important to us.

Yes, we splurge on some Wild Caught Salmon from Alaskan Salmon Co, and some good Bacon, and we only eat out about every 3 months, usually Chick Fil-a or Thai.  But we also know that if money was really tight we could eat VERY well, with adequate protein and minerals with a little planning and some time in the kitchen.  Even with these treats, an IPA for Partner on the weekends, and sometimes goodies from the Farmer's Market we average about $350 a month on food and beverages, that extra money going through the years to help my Dad or others in need.  I've stood in line at Walmart and watched someone with a cart full of prepared and prepackaged meals and junk food spend that in a week for a small family.

There have been years we've gone in with others for a 4-H cow, the cost per pound being really low.

Range "MackMuffin" with whole wheat sourdough bread rounds.

But it takes planning - don't wait until you lose your job before establishing a larder of bulk supplies. Do it when times are plentiful, and you'll have less to worry about later because it's vital that you have certain items stored up to make a super cheap meal plan work.  You will need to spend a month's worth of food budget minimum, laying in supplies if you want the absolute minimum cost on dried and bulk items, not something that's practical once the emergency strikes.

Bread - I make it from scratch, often using a sourdough starter made out of wild yeast in place of commercial yeast and a food processor, it takes minutes to prep, then just the rise and bake time for a couple of loaves and a batch of muffins or rolls. An hour of prep, time to rise, and a couple of hours to bake up everything, and I've got bread products for the week for a couple of bucks.

Wild yeast sourdough starter

Shopping - I used to hit 3 stores if it saved me 3 or 4 bucks, but with gas about $5 a gallon here, I just watch for specials and hit the grocer that has the best deals.  I regularly check ads to see what's on sale and where and I'm not afraid to clip a coupon. Make sure you look at your receipt - I've been charged other than the sale price at a couple of the big chain grocers.  I make a list.  If I see something super cheap not on the list, I will pick it up to add to the larder. I will NOT buy something just because "it looks good!" if it's not on the list.

Bartering:  Yes, it still goes on.  We have a heavily forested property (large Spruce) so there isn't enough light for a big garden.  So I trade homemade bread/rolls with one neighbor for fresh veggies and with another neighbor for fresh eggs (they have chickens).  I also got about 100 pounds of grain/sugar/flour vacuum stored in exchange for some flight instruction a few years ago.  Don't discount this concept as old as time.

On hand:
Home-canned: salsas, applesauce (I've traded bread/cookies for a bushel of apples each Fall with a non-baking colleague who has a bunch of trees), veggies, barbecue sauce, fruit, stock for soup.
frozen soup bones 
sourdough starter
powdered milk (both cow and goat) for cereal and baking, vegetable oil, peanut butter, pasta
vinegar, olive oil when I can find it on sale, and spices in bulk
rice and dried beans - in bulk
flours and sugar - in bulk  (I use a mix of Einkorn and buckwheat  or barley flour I get from a mill)
water - we take refillable thermoses to work, the tap water here tastes good and frankly, half of the bottled water is from a tap in some other city plus we keep a minimum of  3 months of bleach-treated water, per person (including the dog) with prepping supplies.

4-H cow burgers with homemade "buncuit" a cross between a big biscuit and a bun

Daily Goal  - 3 servings of protein
5 servings of fruits and veggies
A treat (usually a cookie, sometimes a piece of pie when fruit is plentiful and cheap)
3 servings of whole-grain carbs (my husband may eat more, the bread is super cheap to make)
2 servings dairy (for my husband - cow dairy makes my eczema go nuts so I use goat milk powder in baking and I have a small serving of salmon once a week for extra calcium and eat extra almonds and broccoli which also are good sources of non-dairy calcium)

Planning:

I will see what it's in the fridge that needs to get used up, those last bits of veggies, cheese and sausage and some eggs would make a good quiche.  I'll freeze anything before it goes bad and use a marker on the packaging so items in the freezer are used in the "oldest first" way (you might think stacking things old on the bottom and new on the top works until you've seen a redhead digging through everything knowing there is a small Tupperware of brownies somewhere in there).

Homemade bean and rice burritos for freezing production line.

With cheese and no cheese/extra hot sauce divided up.

Cost in one week by hitting sales and using coupons or buy one/get one.

Use of the bulk items for the week (spices, flour, bones, powdered milk, dried beans, oil, vinegar) $5.00
coffee or tea for the week (made at home and carried to work)  $1

Canned veggies/salsas/sauces $0  Homegrown and canned
Oatmeal (clearance sale) $1
One small package chicken thighs from in-store butcher (sale)   $3
Package of boneless chicken breasts (free - this was a buy one/get one free from the previous week)
1 pound ground turkey (actually $1 less than beef on sale, but if really watching pennies I replace the ground meat with lentils in pasta dishes) $4.

Ham Shanks from in store-butcher .99

1/2 pound cheese for sandwiches (sale) $1.99

1 pound ground pork for breakfast sausage for 2 and meatballs for pasta.  Free (purchase points from shopping at this store regularly).

Lentil bolognese

Romaine (sale) - 2 heads  - $5
Fresh squash  - $2
2 Cucumbers (great with rice vinegar and a dash of honey as a salad)  $1.50

Bell Pepper and 2 onions $3
2 bags of apples (Aldi)  $5
Veggies: a number of cans purchased on  scratch and dent clearance  $3 total
Carrots:  2 bags on sale for $1.50

Frozen Broccoli 1/3 of a ginormous bag I got for $8 - $2.50
4 pounds oranges (sale)  $6
eggs - free - bartered 
bananas  .50 cents for a bunch on sale

Mustard (coupon) .29

Tibetan curried lentils

Potatoes 8 pound bag on sale 2.99 
Canned mushrooms for homemade pizza or pasta sauce (sale) .99
Big tub of plain yogurt $5
Bag of frozen dried berries (for oatmeal and/or muffins)  $4
Butter (free with $25 grocery purchase)

White Cake Mix - Free - will make a fruit dessert with it

Italian pizzella cookies (clearance)  $1.99

Ham and Bean soup

Even better,  there will be some soup and leftovers to be frozen for a lunch the next week
Any leftover cheese or chicken will be mixed with leftover pasta for a casserole or stuffed baked potatoes the following week.

Menu for the week:
Breakfast - work day oatmeal (with some powdered milk and cinnamon mixed in), egg with toast or homemade muffin or homemade breakfast sandwich with coffee or tea.

sourdough raspberry muffin

weekend - hash-browns with any leftover onions and scrambled eggs, omelet or pancakes/waffles/french toast with leftover bread.  Bacon if we've got some at a good price in the freezer.

Lunch ideas - Homemade burrito from frozen with banana and cookie.

Peanut butter or chicken sandwich (sliced or chicken salad with veggie or fruit bits left from the previous weekend) with Swiss and mustard and an orange or apple
Homemade baked potato chips (400 F. oven, lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with non-stick spray. Slice potatoes super thin with food processor and place 1/4 inch apart on a sheet.  Season and bake, rotating halfway through until golden brown - about 30 minutes.
extra fruit or leftover almonds from another week for an afternoon snack
homemade peanut butter or oatmeal cookie 

baked potato with a bit of salsa and greek yogurt with some carrots

leftover soup or casserole from the freezer with a slice of bread and a small apple
canned fruit or applesauce as a snack

Lebanese herbed rice - with homegrown herbs and bulk cow, less than $1 a serving

Dinners ideas:

(1) Split Pea Soup (from Scratch) with potatoes and onions (frozen beef bone to add seasoning)
Cornbread from scratch
Carrots

(2) Meat Sauce and Pasta (made from scratch sauce from the previous week, adding peppers and ground meat or lentils or make some meatballs with the remaining ground pork).
Zucchini
Canned corn
Garlic toast (homemade bread, a little oil and garlic powder toasted in a pan)

S

Lasagna bread

(3) Baked potatoes stuffed with meat sauce with a sprinkle of cheese or lasagne bread (meat sauce with leftover cheeses on bread getting old)
canned carrots
Fresh sauteed squash

(4) Homemade lentil soup (beef bone and spices for seasoning)
leftover cornbread
carrot sticks

(5) Chicken with  homemade canned barbecue sauce
Steamed rice
Canned corn
The remainder of any fresh veggies sauteed with some home grown herbs and a little oil

(6)   Pizza Night - deep dish this time, homemade. topped with homemade Canadian bacon (much cheaper than the store-bought), leftover veggies bits, and cheese (bulk sale purchase from an earlier week that was frozen).
Carrots
Romaine salad with cucumber and homemade vinaigrette.  Croutons are made out of the end of bread loaves.

(7) White beans with ham shank and spices
Garlic toast made with homemade bread
Carrots or canned veggies of choice.
Cookies for dessert and some sweet tea sitting out on the front porch

So whether you are budgeting or just learning to be more prepared, start getting creative in the kitchen and with your meal prep and prepping.  It might save you more than a little money some day.

On History

Mom, that wood's stacked kind of high. It's icy. Be Careful.

Because you know, you have treats in that coat pocket.

It's hard to believe it's been almost 15 years since I started this blog, 11 years since I sold the original Range, 9 years since I got married to blogger True Blue Sam's son - my husband Partner in Grime, and 8 years since we lost Barkley.  Blogging has been sporadic the last few years with Dad's care, renovating a 100+ year old house, a job promotion, 2  rescue dogs, and writing/editing/marketing multiple books eating up most of my free time. 

Still, as long as it seems I've been here there are probably still some things you don't know about me.  

25 things you don't know about Brigid -

1. I once got sent to the principal's office for reading a copy of Road and Track behind my history book.

2. I started college at 14. It was the free-wheeling 70's but the reason I was the only girl on the campus not wearing a bra was that sadly, I was the only one that didn't need one.

 
3. I HATE tomatoes in their cold, seedy, alien, larval life form state.

4.  I will do aerobatics in a plane all afternoon but am afraid of the escalator at O'Hare if I have a roller bag.

5. I was jogging in the park when I realized I was in the middle of some college running event. Up ahead the tape for the finish line. What could I do? I picked up my pace, ran through the tape, arms raised, shouting. "I won! I won! and kept going.

6. In 4th grade Mom bought me the world's ugliest and sturdiest shoes. Money was tight in our house but I hated them. I beat them with a hammer, dragged them behind my bike for miles, and smeared peanut butter on them so the dog would play with them. After a month they looked suitably worn out. Mom dragged me to J.C. Penny to complain about the quality and got a replacement pair, EXACTLY the SAME.

7. I would rather watch Top Gear than ANY show involving shoes or fashion.

8. I used my first four-letter word. . . . loudly, on the pastor from the Lutheran Church. I used it quite a few more times before I hung up my wings.
9.  I  can choreograph an autopsy without blinking but went full girlie tears meltdown at PA State Cop once when Abby Lab got a hold of HALF a bunny when we were out for a walk and wouldn't drop it.

10.  I can play 3 instruments.  I can't whistle to save my life.

11.  I took ballet for 14  years and can still go "en pointe" in the right shoes.  Once.

12.  Without strong, hot tea in the morning I have the decision-making abilities of a squirrel crossing the road.

13. When I got married, I wore the whole princess bride outfit.  My garter, however, was leather and contained Ninja throwing knives.

14.  While on a "quick turn" on the ramp at SFO airport I used the lavatory on our airliner which had a window.  Used to only being in it at 30,000 feet I didn't close the shade and mooned half a dozen Samoan bag handlers. 

15.  I have never watched "Buffy", "Sex in the City", or any of the "Real Housewife" shows.  I can quote way too much of Red Dwarf.

Rimmer:  "Step up to Red Alert."

Kryten: "Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb". 

16.  I don't drink, but I have a 2-pound bag of gummy bears hidden in my desk drawer.

17.  I have two sisters, found when my pre-adoption birth cert was unsealed.  One's an engineer, the other drives race cars when she's not an oncology nurse. 

18.  I don't own a SmartPhone.  

19.  I will not eat shellfish but once ate a roasted tarantula (tasted like chicken).

20.  I do not have a DROP of Irish blood despite the name the nuns gave me after I was born.  I'm Scottish/English/Ashkenazi Jew.  

21.  I modeled a few times in college for a skiwear company.  I have never skied in my life.  

22. I grew out my hair during COVID, no color, no highlights.  I expected full "silver fox".  I got a headful of dark auburn hair and maybe TWO grey hairs.  My husband just said, "even your hair is stubborn".

23. In 2008 I owned one dress.  In 2022 I own one dress.  It's the same dress.

24. I still cry, at taps, at the slaughter of the innocent, at the touch of an old orange dog collar that sits on the table by the door. 

25.  I still have this leather jacket and can get into it without a shoehorn.

The Swine Sandwich

My French language skills aren't the best (though I know "colorful" words of various languages to use as necessary). I once had the back of a transport plane filled up and a few of the passengers were French Canadian.  So I thought I'd show off my "I took a whole year of college French" skills, making the pre-takeoff announcement in both English and French. "We're no. 1 for takeoff, please check your seatbelts are fastened." As soon as I was done, laughter erupted. Never a good sign.

After the flight I spotted one of them and asked "OK, WHAT did I say?". Apparently, it was "We're becoming unglued, guard your nose for a quick abruptness!" (Well, actually given the airstrip, that was probably close).

But even if my French skills bite, I can make a number of tasty bites from various French menus that would be a hit with the menfolk, as we Yanks say.  One of my favorites, a simple but hearty sandwich, the croque-monsieur. Basically, it's a grilled hot ham and cheese (typically Emmental or Gruyère, noted for their melting properties). Yet it's so much more than that, like most French cooking, rich in flavor, even when simple in construction. Golden Brown, crisp toast with almost lip blistering creamy melted cheese that lurks in the background of the slightly salty ham.

C'est Magnifique as Mr. Cole Porter would say.

It originated in France as a quick meal served in cafés and bars. Versions exist with béchamel sauce broiled on top or ones topped with a fried egg (which are called Croque Madame, supposedly due to the egg resembling a 1900's ladies' hat). Seasoning is normally just salt and pepper, and only ham is used.

It's so popular that it's even on certain French McDonalds Menus as the "Croque McDo", though I would seriously recommend that you Croque McDon't.

The HOTR version has an additional kick of cayenne and nutmeg and two kinds of cheese in the béchamel. The sauce is drizzled on the addition of  Applewood smoked bacon inside, rather than broiled on top. That keeps the bread, pan-grilled in Clarified Butter rather than oven-toasted, buttery and crunchy outside, the perfect pair to the fried egg placed on top.

It's a knife and fork sandwich and not one for either the meek or the dieting. But it's worth a try and makes a great brunch meal. (click on photo to enlarge).


Béchamel sauce: (makes enough for about 4 sandwiches, leftovers are good in egg dishes, or you can cut the recipe in half)

2 Tbsp butter (don't even think of using margarine)

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk

A pinch each of salt, white pepper, black pepper, and a generous pinch of cayenne and nutmeg
3 Tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Gruyère

For Each Sandwich:

2 thick slices of Italian, Brioche, or bakery-quality white bread
1/2 cup grated or one thick slice Gruyère or Emmental cheese
1 nice thick slice or 2-3 thinner slices of ham (3-4 ounces per sandwich)
2-3 slices applewood-smoked thick-cut bacon, cooked until done but not too crunchy.
1 to 3 teaspoons of mayo
1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon

Make the béchamel sauce:

Melt butter (on medium heat) until it starts bubbling. Then, add the flour. Stir. Let the mixture cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute, (or until it smells nutty and looks to be a light blond color). Whisk the milk in, then bring it to a bubble, whisking constantly. Lower the heat (to low). Add the Parmesan and 1/3 cup Gruyère, salt, peppers, nutmeg, and cayenne (still whisking). Cook the sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Don't be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat, you'll just burn it. Remove from heat, stirring occasionally.

Sandwich Assembly:

Assemble sandwich, each sandwich having one slice of bread spread with Dijon, the other with Mayo (amount to taste but remember you're adding some sauce to the sandwich). Top the bottom piece of bread with ham, cheese, and bacon and then drizzle with 2 generous Tablespoons of the béchamel sauce, just enough to lightly drizzle the contents, and place the other slice of bread on top.

For 1-2 sandwiches, put 1 Tablespoon of clarified butter per sandwich in a medium or large-sized heavy bottom, ovenproof pan over med/high heat. Heat JUST until the butter is very hot but NOT browning, swirling so it covers the pan. Lower heat to medium and lay the sandwich(s) carefully in the pan, pressing down (or using a bacon press, just lay it on the top). The sandwich(s) will brown fairly slowly on the bottom so let it heat for about two minutes. Add another Tablespoon of the clarified butter per sandwich to the pan and carefully flip the sandwich(s) to brown the other side, also pressing down a couple of times or using the bacon press until lightly golden brown on both sides.

Here's a photo of the one Partner got me for Christmas one year, but any small heavy pan will work.

Place the pan in an oven preheated to 300 F, and bake for about 5-7 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted. While that is in the oven fry one egg per sandwich with just a tiny dab of butter.

Serve with fries, or if you are feeling particularly guilty, salad. (Note: this makes an excellent breakfast when you don't have to dépasser un puma later.)

When it Rains

 It rained buckets, then it snowed, now the backyard is a muddy mess and someone can't play fetch in it until it dries out a LITTLE.  Lorelei is turning 10 - we are so glad we rescued her, even on the sulky days.