Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Mid-February

How can it be mid-February, already?  The days are whizzing by too quickly for me to keep up!

Monday was mostly cloudy and cold (for me).  It was warmer outside (58F) than it was inside the house (54F) and I opened a window to try and warm up the house.  Then, I went outside and walked for about 15 minutes.  Afterwards, I closed the window and put the heater on and kept it on the rest of the day and night!  It did eventually warm up to a high of 60F outside, but, I kept the heater on, inside.

I spent Monday afternoon repairing the quilt and watching online videos.  Later, I cooked a chicken curry with the second tray of chicken thighs and froze most of it.  I spent the rest of the day doing the little things I generally do, cleaning the litter box, doing the dishes, and taking the trash cans to the end of the driveway for collection in the morning.  I chatted on the phone with friend R and my aunt C and video chatted with my daughter.

Today, Tuesday, has been another colder day with the afternoon high being 58F.  It was cloudy and looked like it might rain any minute, but, although rain had been forecast, we didn't get any rain (unless it rained early in the morning while I was still sleeping).  It was quite windy, too.  Currently, at 11:00 p.m., it is 45F outside; tonight's low is supposed to be 40F.

I walked for a bit in the driveway and sidewalk in front of my house and neighbor T's house, brought in the emptied trash bins, and collected the mail.  I spent the afternoon replying to blog comments and repairing the quilt.  Cousin V called and I chatted with her for a bit,  Later, I called cousin P in Florida and left her a message; her health has deteriorated to such a point that she can't return calls, but, her daughter will check her messages and let her know.  I also called friend R and my aunt, texted with a cousin, and video chatted with my daughter. 

Today, I tried something I had seen on a couple of online videos when I cooked some spaghetti for dinner.  Normally, I bring a pan of water to boil, add the pasta, and continue to boil the pasta for 8 minutes or so until it is cooked.  Today, I brought a pan of water to boil, added the pasta, covered the pan with a lid, and turned the stove off.  I left the pasta for 10 minutes and when I took the lid off, the pasta was fully cooked!  It's probably something many of you already do, but, this was the first time for me and I am pleased to discover that it really works!  Apparently, you can cook rice this way, too, but, I usually cook my rice in a rice cooker.  However, I might try this method the next time I cook rice on the stove!

I am grateful for:
- A working heater and the electric space heaters
- The availability of gas and electricity; it might be expensive, but, at least it's available
- Phone calls and texts with family and friends
- Video chatting with my daughter
- The garden

Plans for tomorrow include M tending to the garden and more quilt repairs.

How is your week coming along?  Have you cooked pasta or rice by bringing the water to boil, adding the pasta or rice, and then, turning off the heat?


18 comments:

  1. I cook bulgur wheat with this method - but have tried pasta or rice that way (yet!)

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    1. One of my friends said she cooked cous cous this way. Good to know, isn't it?

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  2. Sorry to read your cousin is in poor health but that her daughter will check messages for her. I recently read that someone does the same with boiled eggs as you did with the pasta it certainly makes sense to save gas or electricity that way, I must try it myself.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen.
      I didn't know you could boil eggs using the same method! How interesting! I must try that! Yes, one might not save that much gas or electricity - pasta and eggs, etc., take about 10 minutes to cook, but, still, 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there over a week or two add up, don't they? When energy costs so much, saving even 10 minutes' worth helps the bottom line! :)

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  3. I need to try that pasta trick. I've been planning on making it in a thermos as well, and I'll share if I ever get around to it. Thank you!

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    1. A thermos would work well, too, I'm sure! Apparently, one can cook hard boiled eggs, the same way as I did the pasta! I need to try that! :D

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  4. It sounds as though the quilt is coming along. I'm glad you're getting outside and doing a little walk. Walking always makes me feel a bit more brighter, have a bit more energy - at least for a little while.

    Good trick with the spaghetti! It's something I'll have to try.

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    1. Yes, the quilt it coming along, but, very slowly. I sew on it every afternoon for at least a couple of hours.
      Thank you, Sharon; the walking is good for me, I just need to be more consistent with it.
      I was very pleased with how the pasta cooking turned out! This is now my preferred way to cook pasta! :)

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  5. Funnily enough, I read about someone cooking pasta like that the other day, and promptly forgot about it, until Friday when the phone rang while I was cooking. I quickly turned off the gas, thinking that the pasta would be a stewed mess by the time I got to it, but on the contrary, when I got off the phone it was perfectly cooked! Then I recalled what I had read and lo and behold, here you are talking about it too! Definitely a good thing to remember, with things as they are. Let us know how you get on with other foodstuffs. With couscous, I usually put it in a bowl, pour boiling water over it and cover with a lid or clingfilm. I am rather hit-and-miss with rice but have now acquired a rice cooker so am back to lazy button-pushing like in Japan-days..! :o)

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    1. Isn't it funny how sometimes one hears or reads about something and then, all of a sudden, it seems like it's all one hears or reads about?! I cooked a little more spaghetti today, too, using the same method and it worked perfectly. I haven't tried cooking any of the other items, but, I'll post about it if I do. :)

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  6. You are right about February whizzing by! Two people said to me recently that time seems to go faster as they get older.
    I'm sorry to hear that your cousin in Florida is unwell. I hope you will get news of her soon. I like the pasta trick, I will try it.
    I'm catching up with some cleaning that has been on my list for too long. I fetched out the steam vac and yesterday I did one bedroom and this morning another. I want to do our bedroom on Friday but that is bigger and will take longer. I just need to do it early enough for the carpet to dry before bed time! The house is very dry with the heat on, so it shouldn't be a problem, the others have dried fast.

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    1. We need to figure out a way to slow down the passage of time! LOL.
      Thank you; I haven't heard back from my cousin yet, so I will probably text her daughter, tomorrow. She's busy with a 5 months old baby as well as her mother.
      Wow! You seem to be doing some early spring cleaning! I hope your bedroom carpet dries quickly. I still haven't fixed my vacuum cleaner, but, I don't have any carpeting (except for one small area rug) and sweeping is sufficient for the most part.

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  7. I've not tried that method with pasta. I always use it to hard boil eggs, they don't overcook then. I do a similar method with rice, though I always brown it slightly first (pilaf style). I like rice firm, just cooked through, and short on water. I cook it about 5 minutes, then It steams off the flame. A Brazilian friend taught me that rice method.

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    1. I haven't tried boiling eggs that way, but, I've read that it is the proper way to cook eggs! I shall try that, next. I want to try cooking rice that way, too - I have become too used to cooking rice in the rice cooker!

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  8. I must admit, I'm quite enjoying that February is whizzing by. January dragged somewhat, and I'm ready for spring to arrive.
    I will definitely try that method for my spaghetti in future. Whenever I cook pasta, my pan has a tendency to boil over! X

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    1. Wanting spring to arrive is a good reason for being happy that February is whizzing by! LOL. I'd be happy for some warmer weather, soon, myself!
      I cooked more spaghetti using the same method, today, too, and I'm happy to say that it turned out well, once again!

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  9. I'm sorry your Cousin P isn't doing well. She didn't move to Florida that long ago, correct? I remember her giving you a lot of things as she was preparing to move.
    That's funny you should mention the turning off the burner to cook the pasta. I sometimes watch a frugal lady on Youtube and she had just given it a try and it worked for her too.
    I guess I will have to do the same :)

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    1. Thank you, Debra; yes, P moved to Florida just over a year ago. She had already been diagnosed with dementia before she left but, she has steadily got worse. She did give me quite a few things before she left and I made sure to let her daughter know that mom was giving all these things (she was fine with it).
      The pasta trick works! I, too, found out about it from watching online videos! I haven't tried cooking rice using that method because I usually cook my rice in the rice cooker. I wonder if it will work for potatoes?

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