Marion's Retirement

[Gina P]

I look forward to when I have a proper kitchen and can do some baking again. Free gas makes it even more attractive. Nothing like the smell of bread baking to warm up the house.

[Maid Marion]

I found I need only half the flour to make my crumpets with fresh baking powder.

It is much easier to make soft pretzels.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Those look yummy. Hot out of the oven and drenched in butter with a little salt. Yum.

[Maid Marion]

I went to Savers and bought a 14 ounce Corning cassarette with a clear Pryrex lid for $4.  Perfect for cooking single serving meals as it will handle 500 degree Fahrenheit on the range or in the oven!

As expected they had only a few small dresses and nothing in XS. Small sizes just aren't that popular in women's wear.

[Maid Marion]

Did my taxes! Both the state and IRS.
 
The (Healthcare8962) Premium Tax Credit was particularly difficult for me, as they failed to update the laws, so the form uses the 2024 federal poverty level so one needs to follow the instructions exactly!  This suggests that the 2026 income cliff may actually be the 2024 federal poverty level and not the 2026 federal poverty level.  It wasn't as big of an issue this year but next year it may make a huge difference for those who fall off the cliff.

I'm learning to work on improving the taste of my cooking.  I remember making a shrimps scampi using Barefoot Mosacato that turned out exceptionally well. It may be a long reduction to get rid of the alcohol as I used a lot of it.  I'm sure the type of shrimp also matters. Most likely I used Alantic or Gulf shrimp rather than an import from Asia.  I recently had some fresh gulf shrimp that that tasted great!

Marion

[Lori Dee ✅]

When I lived in California, I spent summer weekends shark fishing off Avila Pier. On Saturday mornings, the shrimp boat would come in and would sell large prawns for a dollar a pound.

We would bring several ice chests and fill them with prawns. That was good eating.

When I lived in the South (Florida & Louisiana), I fell in love with Gulf shrimp. Butterflied and battered. So yummy!

[Maid Marion]

It is a lot easier to make crumpets with fresh baking powder.

[Charlotte_Ringwood ✅]

They look very tasty. I love them loaded with butter and some jam!

[Maid Marion]

I made manapua or Hawaiian steamed buns filled with Char Siu or red roasted pork from the Asian Market.
The flour disks were too thin at the center so  the red pork can be seen.

[Charlotte_Ringwood ✅]

Char Siu buns are too yummy. These look great!

[Lori Dee ✅]

Those look good, MM.

I will have to try those someday!

[Maid Marion]

One of my  cooking skills is cutting up meat to remove the parts that are rubbery or hard to eat.
I was reminded of this when I saw a video that explained that pastrami trimmings are considered inedible because they are too rubbery to eat and are therefore recycled.

Steamed buns solve the problem of bread spoiling and going to waste in a small household.
It is a way of stretching a tight budget, as 1/2 a pound of roast pork can last for several meals when steamed inside bread buns.

[davina61]

I buy a leg of lamb and cut it up myself, that can make enough to cook 2 curries with 4 meals each. I keep the bones and freeze them, I am doing slow cooker farmhouse style lamb today. I boiled 4 bones with some meat on as well as the gristle bits to make stock, fried to seal the meat and then fried some onion. It all went in slow cooker with 2 cut up potatoes and a large carrot (I only had one) ,peas will be added later and maybe some dumplings.