I am still working away in the kitchen. It’s not only cooking; I did a little rearranging on the kitchen rack and then I pulled some of my other pots & pans out of the pantry and put them on the rack so they are easier to use.

One thing I just found at a thrift store recently is a strainer basket with a steamer and lid.

This is such a handy kitchen tool and I am glad I found it (plus it was a bargain at $10). Put your pasta in and drop it in the water. It’s quicker than using a spider (I don’t use a colander/strainer for pasta unless it’s spaghetti/fettuccini) and much easier – pull out the basket and you’re done. Plus, there is a steamer basket and lid.

I do have a silicone strainer that clips on a pan and you can strain what you’re cooking. It’s a pretty cool gadget. The pasta stays in the same pot/pan it was cooked in. Maybe I’ll put that in the trailer.

I used it to make some Italian chicken with chicken (duh!), spices, capers, olive oil, pepperoncini, garlic and artichoke hearts. I sprinkled a little Calabrian pepper, parmesan & roasted garlic seasoning on top and that was that. Delicious.

And no…not everything I make turns out. Yesterday’s experience was a good example, and it’s probably best we not speak of it ever again. I will say I think it was my bad and the oil may not have been as hot as I thought. It really sucks since I hate to waste food. At least I put in the compost pile what I can. That’s not perfect, but it’s better than the landfill.

I have gotten to where I only do about four portions to a meal and I eat one of those for my meal at that time. I also only do one a day. Doing that I can eat a freshly-made meal and it doesn’t overload the freezer too quickly with way too many containers of the same thing. I’ll be making a grocery run to grab a few more things to use up the groceries I have on the shelf. I’ve gotten pretty good about using the things I have so the shelves are getting bare. I’ve been adding extra things into some recipes to change it up a bit. Gives me more than one way to make a dish.

And the stuff I have been making has a bit of a “comfort food” feel to it and is nice on these cold days and nights. I’m thinking tomorrow I might be making chicken and dumplings out of my homemade chicken broth/soup. The dumplings will be made from scratch – no box mix – from a recipe I found. I have some pancake mix for protein pancakes and real maple syrup that’ll be good for breakfast this week and I’ll have a short stack or two for the freezer.

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Yeah, it got mighty cold…currently it’s -10°F but the worst is still yet to come, dropping a degree every hour until it gets to -15°F overnight. I went out in the back yard to scrounge up some firewood earlier today and that was a quick trip. It was cold then, and it’s much colder now. The dog sure doesn’t stay out very long “out there”. It’s gotta make his feet hurt.

So basically me and the dog are just hanging out inside and he is only out long enough.

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With the cold I’ve been trying to find some indoor things to accomplish. Been working in the basement, making piles for lumber that needs to go away or putting it on the shelves if I can use it for something or burn it. Smaller stuff is free heat in the wood stove as long as there’s no paint or finish on it.

Today I sorted through the file cabinet, clearing out old papers and adding new ones in. I like to stay on top of it to keep the clutter to a minimum.

I’ve been used to living minimally for so long I am starting to feel I need to get rid of some things I don’t need. I posted at the beginning of my blog in 2012 how it was very liberating to get rid of things.

As I have become a bit more stationary the last few years I have acquired a few more things so I feel like it’s time to clear some things out.

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That’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for reading my blog.

Shawn