Meditating.....

I've heard and read some about meditation many times. It sounds like a good thing to do and it also sounds a lot like I do without even realizing it. That is, until now. I didn't realize it because my meditation takes a form unique to me because I've been the only available person to think this over with me. It started when I noticed a news brief that said it's good to take a nap in the afternoon. Well, I've been doing this for a while so I assume that I'm ahead of the 'baby boomer' great idea of the moment. Here's how I got started with my version of meditating. After all, meditating can be various things to various peoples. I usually start by sitting in my recliner shortly after a satisfying meal and start to watch an old black and white movie. Although I have done this with many recent movies, television shows and news programs and gotten the same result. While I'm watching I start to wander within my memories, letting go of the now and enter into a place that's different. The transition to my nap takes place and I drift between places until I awaken to find out that, indeed, I am alive and back where I started. After this startling revelation I feel re energized and ready to watch more television.

STOKES FLOYD FORMERLY OF WILTWYCK GARDEN... :: Daily Freeman Classifieds

STOKES FLOYD FORMERLY OF WILTWYCK GARDEN... :: Daily Freeman Classifieds

Posted using ShareThis

My kitchen owes much to my mother.....

I think that most of my money saving ideas that I use in my kitchen are, very much, in the opposite directions that my mother did in her kitchen. She would need to follow recipes exactly and that meant buying certain items that she never really used after that. She also would throw out the liquid left from cooking vegetables and most times even threw out the liquid from cooking chicken. If she was making chicken stock it was a different matter. I use whatever I have on hand for most of my cooking. I do buy special items to use, but these can also be used in other recipes as well. I don't buy items that have a limited range of use. I never throw any liquid left from cooking and that's even the frying of steaks. To that liquid I usually make a sour cream sauce to put on the steak or use it to form the base for a sauce to add to my leftover fried steak with vegetables on pasta. I even use my leftover fast food chicken to make a pasta topping that is much better than any restaurant. The spices from the chicken are all that it needs to be combined with sour cream, vegetables and a little salt. I think my mother cooked just to feed us and really didn't like to cook in the first place. I also think that if it wasn't for her I wouldn't have the ability to do what I now do in my kitchen to save money and create tasteful creations to feed to my family of, me.

Nesting Oranged Duck.....

I bought a frozen duck leg quarter, thawed it and then braised it in water/orange juice. I took the meat off the cooked leg quarter, cut up the meat and then refrigerated the meat and liquid from braising. The next day I browned the meat in vegetable oil (tablespoon), added the liquid from a medium sized can of mandarin oranges, the reserved cooking liquid less the fat and about 8 oz of frozen red/yellow/green pepper strips, covered the pan to heat through and then added cornstarch to thicken it, added the mandarin oranges, teaspoon each of ginger, turmeric and soy sauce. I then added hot sauce and heated through. I served it on warmed leftover white rice.