Orange you glad

Not sure what domesticity got into me today but I made a huge pot of vegetable soup out of the Christmas turkey broth I made and froze. 

Then I took pity on these tangerines that were languishing in the fruit bowl (which is a cute Jadeite mixing bowl). Mary Grace has dubbed it The Bowl of Decay because that is usually what happens to unfortunate fruit that ends up there. Well there was just enough juice and zest to make Tangerine bread. 

Of course I looked at all the recipes and picked what I liked about each, which sometimes gets me in trouble. But this time it worked. 

This has walnuts in it and a thin glaze on top. Some recipes called it bread. Some called it cake. I used a combination of stevia and a small amount of sugar. Turned out really good. Guess this time I’m a survivor. 

Keeping warm

Tony in his nest looking for Candy. He knows when she is coming to pick me up for swim class and waits for the cookie she will bring him. 

Whenever Junior wants the sweet spot on the back of the sofa, he just makes Pepper move out of it. This is post tyranny. 

Been reading a lot. Loved Little so much that I wrote to the author and told him so. He answered me! I even recommended the other book there to him because his little drawings reminded me of Gorey’s works. He said he already had the book and was about to read it! 

Some of the drawings   

Found out that Bonefish has a Sunday brunch. I was torn between Bang Bang shrimp and eggs Benedict. Guess what they had Bang Bang shrimp Eggs Benedict! I’m happy. 

Then it only got better when Candy and Anna stopped by with camellias from Leakesville. 

I’ve had a half a head of cabbage lurking in my fridge from New Years. Since it was not whole leaves I could not make cabbage rolls. 

Cabbage roll casserole was born. Looked sort of ugly but tasted great. 

Leftover ham went into a quiche with broccoli. 

Truffles escorted me all the way from the garage to the kitchen. Now they are standing guard. 

Self imposed prison for Ju Ju. Mary Grace said he knows he deserves it. 

Jan looked down halfway through her walk and sent me this. 🤣

We all got together for joint January birthdays. 2 honorees lovebon Pree pree. 

The table. 

The hot dog bar!

All good. 

These however were not. They were supposed to be muffins but somehow ended up as pancakes. That’s what I get for trying my own recipe. Tasted good though. I don’t think I need to point out that this is not a recipe blog. 

January Book Club

As good January meals go, it starts with a big cauldron of soup. I took this pic because I’m coveting that gorgeous green pot. This meeting was at Sue’s House so this was healthy cauliflower soup. It was so good. 

She is so cute. She doesn’t know I may steal her pot. 

It was topped with coconut bacon bits. It was flakes of coconut roasted and seasoned to taste like bacon. And it did! I thought I had learned to make the best cornbread this summer, but no. Sue’s was perfect. Something about Rumford baking powder. Guess my Mamaw was right Mom. 

Table was gorgeous. I’ve always loved those green glasses. 

Everyone paused while fixing plates. We then discussed the book. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell. Good discussion. 

Spent time making arrangements for a client’s party. 

Wanted to give them a wintery look. Dried crepe myrtle pods, white roses, some unpronounceable purple flowers, some purple sage from Candy’s fading herb bed, Rosemary from Lucy’s yard ( hope you didn’t mind, dear) and the cutest little dried cattails. 

I love doing this!

And then this came 😕

January

Figure I better blog something or y’all will give up on me. I’ve been busy but according to my pictures all I have been doing is eating. 

Sophie brought me some rosemary sea salt bread she had made. Perfect for pepper jack cheese toast. 

Finished off the Texas Caviar black eyed pea dip. Will have to see about the good luck part. 

My new obsession... avocado toast. Why didn’t somebody tell me to do this sooner? It took 77 cent avocados at Kroger to convince me. Also, how can you tell good avocados from stringy disgusting ones?  Also on the eating front... doctor said I’d gained 8 pounds since last year. So once again the blog turns to me turning over a new leaf. A spinach leaf perhaps?

Truff...

...and Toby think they might like avocado toast too.

Recent storms had Truff hiding. 

Then the thunder stopped. 

The bad weather gave me lots of time to read though. 

Ed is still deep into the family genealogy. Here he is displaying one branch on the 60” TV. 

Almost got all accessories in place for Faces. 

These niches are in the hallways. Getting them custom built was a bit harrowing but here they are.