f e b r u a r y . 2 0 2 3

 surviving the winter

cooking up a storm

     I've been looking at a bunch of different recipes to cook for dinner since I'm able to cook for more than one person in my own kitchen.  one weekend I spent a bunch of time marinating a roast, cooking a Caribbean Pork Roast with drippings gravy, plus a grilled pineapple-red onion-red pepper-English Cucumber salad, and grilled squash, since I was finally able to unpack some more of my favorite cooking tools.  with some of the leftovers from that I also made a stir-fry.  I also whipped up a game hen a l'orange dinner with savory chard and bourbon rice, which was one of Mama's favorite meals that I made for her.  I still have a lot of unpacking, but I was thrilled that I found these really important items to make my cooking activities easier! 
     our team was eliminated from - really brutalized in - the NFC championship game, when the Dirty Birds took out both our only quarterbacks, and we were left to limp through the rest of the game.  needless to say I rooted for the other team to win the big game.  for Super Bowl Sunday I made Pizzelle cookies, plus a really tasty bacon and onion jam that I got from our favorite online cooking team members, who was also a competitor in the post-game Next Level Chef TV program!!  :-O  It was fun to watch her get recognition and major props from the show's host. 

  

     as I did last year, I cooked again for valentines day, and prepared an item I found in our local grocer's freezer section, Nashville hot shrimp.  and the squashes looked appealing too!  one I cooked peppery, and the other sweet.  

 

     had a few more webinars to view from the various historical societies.  these were: Jackie Kennedy - the White House Tour; the 1619 Project docuseries; the most requested photo from the White House archives is that of Elvis meeting Nixon and there is a documentary about that photo archive; Frederick Douglass and Constitutionalism; a Presidents Day organ recital at the National Cathedral; and Judicial Independence.  and based on Joyce's recommendation, I got the audiobook of Prince Harry's "Spare" and listened to that as well.  

     finished out the month in the kitchen, cooking chicken mole, and trying to make a spicy peanut coleslaw like my favorite Texas BBQ joint in the bay area.  and I fired up the wok again, and did a very tasty beef stir fry.