Mileage Milestones

Today is the 10th anniversary of my ownership of my lovely 2010 Volkswagen CC, which I hurriedly bought on Halloween in 2009 when I was also supposed to be at home helping prep for a big Halloween Party. A few weeks ago, my faithful vehicle hit its 200,000-mile mark while I was driving south on Interstate 85 on my way to an elementary school in Cabarrus County.

Then, about a week ago, my 2005 Toyota Tundra (which I've owned since 2008) rolled over 50,000 miles. For that, I pulled over to the curb to safely capture the moment.

Meal No. 2469: A Plate of Vegetables

With neighbors Deborah and Alaina over this past Sunday night, and governed by a hopeful intent to meet the vegetarian needs therein, the dinner hour allowed us to partake of a delicious salad treat as well as a mix of vegetables for the main course.

The salad was a spiced pecan and goat cheese special, with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, mixed in with homemade sweet and sour vinaigrette.

On the dinner plates we had roasted garlic-and-parmesan asparagus cuts, feta-stuffed balsamic sweet bell peppers, squash casserole, and sweet southern cornbread.

I don't think the ladies minded that there were still three servings of Saturday night's butterscotch budinos...

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"Spiced Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad," inspired by the signature salad at Ryan's Steaks, Chops, & Seafood (an excellent Winston-Salem restaurant). "Sweet and Sour Vinaigrette" from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, compiled and edited by Julie Fisher Gunter. Birmingham, AL: Oxmoor House (1999), p. 373. "Cinnamon Vanilla Glazed Walnuts" recipe from McCormick & Company. Thanks as always to Jimmy Randolph for helping me track down those recipes.

"Squash Casserole," recipe from Margaret Holmes southern canned vegetables.

Feta-Stuffed Peppers, first made for me by Sheryl Cohen of Los Angeles, CA.

"Golden Sweet Cornbread," from bluegirl on AllRecipes.com.

Butterscotch Budino with Caramel Sauce & Fresh Whipped Cream

We had a special treat of a dessert after the Brunswick stew gathering last Saturday night. I tried my hand at butterscotch budino, with a luscious caramel sauce and fresh sweetened whipped cream. These were decadent glasses of goodness, perhaps a bit overwhelming, but I persevered through to the moments of deeply sated regret.

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"Butterscotch Budino with Caramel Sauce," by Frank Bruni of New York Times Cooking; adapted from Dahlia Narvaez of Pizzeria Mozza, Los Angeles.

Meal No. 2468: Souper-Duper Brunswick Stew

It was a wonderful gathering of six at dinnertime on Saturday night, a long overdue reunion of the crew often called the most regular Roediger House regulars. Everybody's lives have evolved and entered new phases and it makes the get-togethers harder to come by, and all the more treasured when they do happen. To allow maximum together time for conversation and pool-playing, I decided to make a big pot of Brunswick Stew and a skillet of sweet southern cornbread. This proved to be a smart second life to give to the balance of baby back ribs I'd already roasted.

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Brunswick Stew based on:

• "Get a Husband Brunswick Stew," by RAKESTRAW on AllRecipes.com.
• "Amelia's Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew," by Peach822 on AllRecipes.com.

Sweet Southern Cornbread adapted from "Golden Sweet Cornbread," from bluegirl on AllRecipes.com.

Meal No. 2467: Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Friday night's scrumptious meal was the trial of a fresh recipe: best balsamic glazed chicken thighs, cooked in a skillet with a special glaze and baby Dutch potatoes. The recent favorite of roasted broccoli florets finished out the plate, which was nicely scraped by meal's end.

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"Balsamic Glazed Chicken," by Lindsay Funston, on Delish.com. [Published 12 September 2016]

Meal No. 2466: Baby Back Ribs

In the late afternoon on Thursday, I got caught short by sudden hunger and overdid it with a quick snack of the previous day's leftover Brussels sprouts and stuffing. So instead of making any sides later that evening when my delicious baby back pork ribs came out of the oven, I just ate four fantastic ribs and called it a night.

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"How to Make Great Ribs in the Oven," by Emma Christensen. From The Kitchn. [Published 01 July 2017]

Meal No. 2465: Grilled Tuna Steaks

This past Wednesday night's supper featured grilled tuna steaks, roasted Brussels sprouts, and herbed stuffing, in a straightforward and fairly satisfying combination.

Meal No. 2464: Biscuits 'n Sausage Gravy

Before I hit the road on Sunday for a couple of days of work up in Virginia to start off my week, I pulled a package of the incomparable Neese's hot pork breakfast sausage from the fridge and made good use of it in sausage gravy, over biscuits, so that all could be right with the world.

Meal No. 2463: Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

It was forecast to be cool and rainy on Saturday, which impacted my plans for dinner by making it seem like it would be a perfect night for a good hot stew. Well, it reached the mid-60s and the precipitation held off. Nonetheless, when it was time for supper, steaming bowls of the Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice soup were a welcome sight and were quickly spoon-scraped by diners with happy and contented bellies.

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"Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup," formerly offered at the Vierling Saloon in Marquette, Michigan. This was first shared with me by my sister Allison Holden and her husband Tom, from Rossville, Indiana. Another online version of the recipe can be found at Miss Mary's Blog.

Meal No. 2462: Bacon Melts on Buns

The mid-day snack on Saturday: cheesy bacon melts that were hard to resist.

Tillers Owned: 2. Tillers Stolen: 2

When I took Sumner out for his morning routine yesterday, I took note of what was missing at the back side of the driveway: my gas tiller. For the last several months, it's been sitting in front of that mysterious toy car (that itself showed up out of the blue back in 2008). They left me the black plastic cover, perhaps because of what bad shape it was in.

This is the second tiller I've owned and now it's the second to be stolen, just past three years of owning it. (My first tiller lasted four years before someone stole it.) Unfortunately, the security cameras were not able to see far enough across the driveway for me to find out what happened to it, so I'll be making adjustments in their angles and views, for sure.

Butter Toffee Cookies

Sometimes when I make cookies, I simply don't care which ones I make...there are so many good recipes, it's not like I'm going to end up disappointed. So even though it's only been about three weeks since I last made butter toffee cookies, I still decided that's what I had a taste for last Thursday night. Good enough to eat three of 'em hot as they came out of the oven!

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"Butter Toffee Cookies," originally from King Arthur Flour. The catalog that comes periodically from KAF has recipes in it, which is where I originally got this. But, as sometimes happens, it is not available on their website. I'm glad someone posted it to Food.com.

Meal No. 2461: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

I'd made another fresh batch of creamy Caesar dressing, I still had a couple of pieces of grilled chicken from a few days ago, and there was a handful of power greens remaining in my salad container. That was the other meal on Thursday at the Roediger House.

Meal No. 2460: Bacon Grilled Cheese

Yesterday's first meal in the Roediger House kitchen: bacon grilled cheese. Ah, bacon!

Coffee in the Early Morning Chill

My body, heart, and head want very much to remain stuck in days of sunshine and warmth. This morning, as I huddled under my toboggan, wrapped in my winter coat, and shivering with my first steaming mug of morning coffee while Sumner frolicked outside, I could not accept that temps could drop to 42°F just yet...even though they had.

Volunteer Vinca

Before I left last week for my work days in Virginia Beach, I had to snag this shot of sprawling volunteer vinca, that found a wee crack between the pavement and the wall near where they'd previously been planted. It took hold, and it thrived even during our long and terrible dry spell. Rather a hearty plant when it wants to be!

Meal No. 2459: Grilled Burgers on a Marvelous Monday

It was a pretty nice fall day yesterday, with the bulk of it devoted to instructional rounds with one of the subcohorts I'm working with from High Point University. Fortunately, our school site Monday was only about 20 minutes up the road, in Rural Hall, so there was ample time to enjoy the pleasant sunny afternoon and to be inspired to fire up the grill and to have delicious well-seasoned burgers for supper.

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Based on "Juicy Burgers," originally from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks recipe magazine, July 2003, p. 52-53.

Meal No. 2458: Broccoli Cheese Soup

With it so chilly, wet, rainy, and yucky yesterday, soup became the natural and proper choice for the Sunday night supper. I reached back into the archives, bringing back a delicious recipe that is an homage to Panera broccoli cheese soup that's so loved at Panera, and which I hadn't made since this past January. It was more than overdue for a reappearance.

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"Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup," by ChefNini and posted to GeniusKitchen.com.

The Season's First Hot Chocolate

Today was dreary, rainy, gray, and bone-chilling. After sitting in a chilly movie theatre this afternoon in order to see a not-very-good documentary, I walked home in a state of increasing wintry distress. That led me to make the first steaming mug of luscious hot chocolate in advance of the winter season. I dread the coming cold months. But the hot chocolate was quite satisfying!

Meal No. 2457: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Saturday night was a glorious early fall evening, which made grilling out a smart call, but a small appetite left me wanting little more than to put some diced grilled chicken breasts atop greens, dressed with homemade Caesar dressing and roasted sunflower seeds.

Meal No. 2456: Scrambled Eggs & Toast

It was a good but long week working in Virginia Beach, followed by my first day with a new group of administrators in a local school district on Friday, so when hunger hit later on, well into the evening hours, I scrambled up some eggs, added Swiss cheese to 'em, and added some toast to the plate.

Country Comes to Town

"I don't know nothing about city parkin'," wailed the southern-drawled tipsy fellow who had to knock on the front door last Friday night, in order to get me to unblock the driveway so that he could get his frickin' truck off'n my property. When he's not wailing on Facebook that "Democrats are socialists," I wonder if he can stop to consider the irony that he thought he deserved to take something that belonged to me, just because I wasn't using all of it at the moment he needed it?

I suppose that having TWO signs that say "PRIVATE DRIVE" was not sufficient to better inform him of our persnickety city ways.

[This post is at least partially offered tongue-in-cheek.]

DoubleTree-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have definitely been on a cookie-making tear lately. The batch I made last Friday was the famous and delicious Doubletree Hotel-style chocolate chip cookies, and they disappeared fast.

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"DoubleTree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies," by Ayşegül Sanford and her blog, Foolproof Living. Published December 29, 2013.

Meal No. 2455: Carne Adovada

Oh my, goodness gracious, and good googily moogily: last Saturday night was the latest round of the fully-flavored, wonderfully seasoned, and remarkably tasty New Mexico-style pork in red chile sauce that has now made several appearances on the Roediger House dinner table over the last year or so. I kept it simple, just serving it over Basmati rice, but it seemed to be more than enough to satisfy our dinner cravings that night.

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"Braised New Mexico-Style Pork in Red Chile Sauce (Carne Adovada)," by Annie Petito. In Cook's Illustrated, Number 154 (September/October 2018), p. 6-7.

Cap'n Crunch Cookies

I've been working with a group of aspiring administrators taking part in the High Point University Leadership Academy. For our field experiences with observations and data collection this fall, they've been divided into three smaller sub-cohorts. I had my final day with one of those subgroups last week and felt bad that I'd never made them any kitchen confections. So, last Wednesday evening I whipped up a batch of Cap'n Crunch cookies to take in for our session up in Elkin. They seemed to be well-received!

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"Cap'n Crunch Cookies," found online at The Capitol Baker, with credit going to The Sugar Plum Blog for inspiration and the source of the adapted recipe.

Sumner's Sixth Squirrel Squelching

Sweet Sumner, the awesome pooch of the Roediger House, has had a long dry run since his last squirrel kill. But that changed this afternoon when he was able to score a victory over a possibly hampered little scurrier. There is an abundance of squirrel life around our block and I appreciate his assistance in controlling the population a bit, especially given some of the damage those buggers have been guilty of.

Meal No. 2454: Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs

A decent sale on beef short ribs enticed me to bring home a package of them, and a time crunch led me to try a recipe for them in the Instant Pot. And it was all pretty good, really, along with roasted baby potatoes and more of the sweet southern coleslaw.

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"Instant Pot Short Ribs," from Amy + Jacky of PressureCookerRecipes.com. [Published 08 August 2018]

Meal No. 2453: Chicken Tikka Masala

With my more careful monitoring of diet and food intake, I've definitely tried to stay away from rice. The few times I've had it over the last year to eighteen months, it's pushed the next morning's weigh-in into unpleasant territory. But Tuesday night I was ready to make an exception since I was craving homemade chicken tikka masala, which I served over brown rice along with roasted broccoli. I'm clearly out of practice, because the brown rice required a second cooking cycle, but it proved to be a tasty meal.

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"Chicken Tikka Masala," from Cook's Country, October/November 2014, centerfold recipe cards.

Tres Leches Cake

Last Sunday night's dinner of Texas slow-cooked pulled pork had a sweet finisher at the end: tres leches cake, that left us all smacking our lips with moderate helpings of happiness. There's nothing outrageous about this delicious dessert, but it pleases one's dessert palate and leaves him wanting more.

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"Tres Leches Cake," by Hilah Johnson of HilahCooking.com. [Published 18 June 2013]

Meal No. 2452: Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

Last Sunday night was a special evening at the Roediger House, made noteworthy by a return visit of Mookie's folks Rita and Jimmy. With six of us at the table, I wanted to have a-plenty to serve up. Since Boston Butt was on a special sale for 99-cents-a-pound, that narrowed down my options to something porklicious. I had to divert from my first inclination because some key ingredients were not available at the local Hispanic grocery, so I defaulted to a delicious alternative: slow cooker Texas pulled pork with Wild Willy's Rub and homemade tangy Carolina barbecue sauce. I bulked up our plates with homemade baked beans (without the ground beef this time) and my mother's sweet southern coleslaw.

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Pulled Pork based on a Review with Modifications by jenleighd, made in response to "Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork," from cmccreight on AllRecipes.com.

"Wild Willy's Number One-derful Rub," in Smoke & Spice, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. Boston: The Harvard Common Press, 2003, p. 171.

Barbecue Sauce for cooking adapted from "Tangy Carolina Barbecue Sauce," from Karly Campbell of BunsinmyOven.com. [Published 10 May 2013]

"Baked Beans," from Redith Mozelle Newman Quesenberry (1927-2019) of Carroll County, Virginia, via Cindy Coulson of Cana, VA.

Sweet Southern Coleslaw based on a recipe from Allison M. Jones.

It's Sparsely Parsley

While temps have continued to dwell in the 90s here at the end of September, the advent of Fall is showing its early signs. The driveway is getting a small littering of leaves and the creeping onset of dark calls us inside earlier each evening. My kitchen herbs have endured, except for the parsley, which had turned quite sad in the last few days.

Upon closer inspection over the weekend, I saw that at least someone is still getting to enjoy it: these Eastern Black Swallowtail larvae were beautifully feasting and stripped it fairly bare. Given what they promise to transform into, I am happy to offer up this sustenance.

While I think I've had nesting caterpillars in the upper branches of trees in years past, this is the first garden invasion I can remember. With that lovely coloring and speedy destruction of the greenery, they were an entertaining feast for the eyes.

Click on the above photo for a larger view, but this is a close-up of the photo from the top of the blog post, with 11 visible caterpillars marked with red arrows.