Happy Easter

I didn't really celebrate. I didn't have time.

I did go through the flea market this morning, but there weren’t that many people there. I hadn’t even thought about it being Easter Sunday. I did get some fruit and produce, and a really cool cigar ash tray that I could just see Sir Michael using. I also wasted a dollar on a little 3-footed bowl that I thought might turn out to be Windsor pattern, but I should have known better.

I got home and tried to take a nap, but ended up watching part of a movie instead. I decided I better get moving. Turns out I had seriously under-estimated how much I had to do, so it was a good thing.

I have an old comforter that the cats had destroyed, and that I wanted to get to Goodwill because they recycle fabric (I don’t think they could sell it), but I was embarrassed to take it in the state it was in. I drove all over town looking for an open laundry, and finally found one. Coin laundries have changed a LOT since I used to use them. There are no coins any more, first of all. You put bills in a machine that charges a card that runs the machines. So I felt like a dingus standing there with my container of quarters. And I felt like an idiot because I couldn’t figure out where the money went in the card machine at first, but one thing hasn’t changed – a coin laundry is kind of like an elevator. For the most part, people ignore each other and try to pretend they aren’t there. So I don’t guess anyone was watching. Or not openly. While the comforter was drying, I went to the grocery store. Publix was closed because of the holiday, so I went to Bi-Lo, which for some reason no longer carries the soy milk I use.

After the store I picked up the comforter, and then went home to spend the afternoon in the kitchen.

I wanted to make a batch of authentic marinara sauce. That turned out to be like trying to make authentic potato salad. Everyone seems to have their own recipe that they are adamant is the right one. Some recipes were adamant that no wine should be used; some were just as adamant that it is crucial. Some insisted that the sauce had to have some form of seafood in it because of the name, and some said the name came because it was the dish that was served to sailors when they came in from voyages. Personally, I was thinking that if I was a sailor back from a long voyage, the last thing I would want would be sauce with more fish in it. Also, I decided that if Puttanesca doesn’t have real prostitutes in it, then Marinara needn’t have fish in it. One interesting thing was that the consensus seems to be that the sweetness in Marinara is supposed to come from the natural sugars in the vegetables, cooked slowly to caramelize them. That sounded right. It also made sense to me that sailors coming in would need veggies because of scurvy, and because fresh veggies would be lacking while they were at sea. So basically I winged it. I took several recipes that sounded good, used the parts I liked from them, and guestimated the amounts of ingredients. It turned out pretty good. Rich (I used the wine) and sweet (I used the veggies, plus a bit of sugar), with just a tingle on the back end (from the addition of some dried red pepper, which was in several recipes I found, and sounded good). I cooked up some whole wheat pasta to eat with it, and was able to freeze half the batch of sauce.

I also boiled and deviled a dozen eggs. I LOVE deviled eggs, but I rarely make them because they are like an orgy of cholesterol and fat. But I used Easter as an excuse and made them to eat on this week. They turned out good too. I just made traditional eggs. I have three recipes that I use.

I also worked on a bit of laundry, changed the sheets, and did another kitchen project that’s secret. I can’t talk about it yet. But it was very messy and took some time.

By the time I finished all this up and cleaned up the kitchen, it was 7:45pm. And I decided I was done for the day. I am tired. There is more house cleaning that needs to be done, but I am going to try to get an RSVP from my weekend guests before I kill myself on the house this week. I really want them to come, but if they don’t, I can focus on another project I have going without having to split my energies and focus. I have a lot of irons in the fire at the mo.