Vintage Thursday

Veggie Casserole

I finally finished a book I could not put down so all is back to normal...well my normal. Now don't go thinking it was a great literary novel...just a good old spy novel...

Anyway back to my real life ... which today is veggie casserole. Forget the hamburger helper... this is real.

Cut an assortment of veggies, whatever is in your fridge. If all you have are mushrooms well then this would be a mushroom casserole. I sauteed the veggies in about a teaspoon of butter and 2 tablespoons or so of water, you can use more butter, which will taste better but I have a cholesterol problem...

Cook some pasta according to the directions on the package, I cooked about two cups of bow tie pasta in lots of well salted water.

While the pasta is cooking and the veggies are cooking make a bachamel sauce...I know fancy right? Well it's really just a white sauce, which is substituted for condensed soup. Homemade without the can and it tastes much better.

I made the sauce by melting 2 tablespoons for butter, then I added two tablespoons of flour, over low heat, I cooked that for a few minutes, then added 2 cups of milk, some salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. Stir constantly, bring to a boil, the sauce should be like gravy, if it resembles wallpaper paste add some more milk.

OK, so now you have your bachamel sauce, oh sorry I forgot I added about 2 oz of shredded cheddar to mine and some dried basil, you don't have to but I had it on hand. You have your cooked veggies and you have your cooked pasta, al dente and drained. Just put it all together and pour it all into a casserole dish, top with parmesean cheese or any type of cheese...I didn't use too much, again the cholesterol thing...

Bake at 350F until bubbly...

I made enough for 4, add some buns and a salad and you have a delicious and thrifty dinner, of course there are only two of us but I can't seem to cook for just two...

This is a simple basic casserole, want to make it tuna casserole? Add tuna. Chicken casserole? Add some cooked chicken. There are no rules so make it whatever you want it to be...

Sunset and Sunset Park

I know, I know... more sunset photos but I'm a sucker for sunsets. These pictures are taken from Sunset park, good name for a park as you will see, and it's just a few blocks from my house. Lucky me.

Sunset Park

Sunset through the trees

And the show begins...

Come on let's go, I've seen this show a million times...

The End!

Vintage Thursday

Perfect French fries

I am lucky to have a very good Irish friend, actually a whole family, but today my post is about just one of the family, Deirdre, a beautiful Irish lass, with bright blue smiling eyes, and she adores potatoes. I mean adores potatoes. She has been known to have fries and a baked potato, at lunch, on the same plate.

She makes the best roast potatoes ever, well Deirdre tells me her moms are better, but I've only had Deirdre's and they are fantastic. But again, today's post is about French fries, and it was Deirdre who showed me how to make them perfect. And it is thanks to Deirdre that my diner, Magpie's, is quickly getting the "best fries" in town reputation.

Some of you may know the secret already but if you don't, the perfect French fry is double fried.

First take a handsome guy to cut the fries.

Soak the cut fries in cold water for at least 30 minutes.

Drain well and fry them at 325F for a few minutes, you don't want to change the color, you just want them to cook through.

Then when you are ready for them you increase the oil temperature to 375F and fry the potatoes until golden brown and crispy, toss with sea salt right away, and serve.

My sister always says that if she is going to eat something "bad" it better taste really good and be worth the calories.

So remember this .... a fresh cut double fried French fry has the same calories as a frozen for who knows how long, over processed, stored in a plastic bag french fry that has been fried just once, so which would you choose?

Wrap around skirt

This super simple skirt that should have been done in two hours took me the better part of 3 weeks...why? 24 hour days are just not long enough...

It's very comfortable especially with the soft corduroy fabric I picked.

My husband can't take a photo to save his life so I want to mention that it looks much better than this picture might lead you to believe but then again I can't take a great picture either ... even with the help of the awesome camera we own, a Nikon D90... that neither of us really knows how to use it...

Flower bouquet

I received the biggest bouquet of flowers on Saturday for my birthday. It was so big that I didn't have a vase to fit it in so I broke it down into three bouquets.

Sunshine yellow for the kitchen.

Red rose for the living room.

And white for the bathroom.

The night ended with a wonderful seafood dinner at the Laughing Oyster.

I wish it was my birthday every week!