Thursday

[susandennis]

The house is clean and quiet. I haven't needed to turn on the a/c since yesterday morning so it really is quiet. Except for the background city noise which I like.

It's cool enough to work in the sewing room which I might very well do today. I have a top cut out and ready for assembly. The fabric is searsucker which feels so cool and so retro. It is from what appeared to be curtains. Or maybe a tablecloth. From Goodwill, of course.

Yesterday I got some okra at Uwajimaya because I had found this idea about roasting it to crunchiness that I wanted to try. Sadly, it did not work. The roasted okra was not horrible, but it sure wasn't crunchy. Wonder what would happen if I stuck it under the broiler? hmmmm. I adore fried okra but I hate frying anything in this house. Way too messy. Way too smelly.

I also picked up some Thai eggplant which is basically eggplant the size and shape of tangerines. I cut one up and roasted it with the okra. It did not turn out too bad. I also love fried eggplant but like the okra, too many cons to making it here. But, roasting opens up new opportunities. Also kudos to my oven for being the most insulated of all. Even turned up to 450 degrees, as long as the door is shut, the kitchen stays cool. Wild and ever so nice.

In the deli section of the store they always have these premade sandwiches which just look so delicious. Finally yesterday I bought one. Turns out they are not delicious at all! Now I can just ignore them. Nice.

Nothing big on for today. If it says cool, I may even go outside. Maybe.

Comments

[lenine2.livejournal.com]

Finally yesterday I bought one.

Whew, that's out of your system! You can now safely ignore the sandwiches.

[ringsandcoffee.livejournal.com]

Now that it’s too hot to open the windows, I hate cooking just about anything. My house will smell like it for days.

When I am really hungry I get those sandwiches and regret it every time.

[susandennis]

fortunately, these are right by my 1st, 2nd and 3rd, favorite lunch items which is also why I had not tried them yet. Don't need 'em now!

[ringsandcoffee.livejournal.com]

i was thinking about this all day at work, and knew I had to stop at the store on the way home. i found a southwest chicken wrap that tastes pretty good. Not like I'll be craving it some other time, but it wasn't disappointing.

[susandennis]

score!!

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I buy breaded frozen okra in the freezer section and bake it on a cookie sheet. No muss, no fuss.

[susandennis]

I actually do know of a place here that sells it breaded and frozen. I've gotten it there before and fried it - messy, smelly. I've never once tried to bake it.


Love to stay and chat, but I need to go to that store right now.

Thank you!

[susandennis]

Alas.... the only place in Seattle that carries cut breaded okra no longer carries it. But they did have cut frozen so I got some. I'm going to try baking it with some olive oil and salt. I'm not expecting crispy but maybe, since it's cut...

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

Do you still have the air fryer? That might work.

[susandennis]

Actually, it didn't work well for that at all. And for lots of other things, so 'shared' it with Goodwill :)

[dadi.livejournal.com]

I have gotten myself an air fryer last year with the accumulated bonus points of the shop where I do most of my grocery shopping and I have to say , it is a nice thing! It is small, doesn't stink or heat up the place and ideal for small quantities of vegetables. I just spray the pieces or slices with very little olive oil, then in with them, a shake after 5 minutes and most are ready and crunchy after 10.

[susandennis]

I had one for a while and enjoyed it for a while but after a while, the handle broke off making it difficult to use and that was also about the time I was falling out of love with it so I donated it. It did not do okra well at all, however.

[dadi.livejournal.com]

I never tried okra in it... it is not something we find usually in our shops. It did the aubergine slices well though

[fauxklore]

My favorite way to make okra is to poach it in a spicy tomato sauce. I found the recipe in a Moroccan cookbook. Not crispy or breaded, however. The acidity of the tomatoes keeps it from being slimy.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

I have a Breville Smart Oven (toaster oven on steroids) and I always do eggplant in that. Sliced, sprayed with olive oil and using the grill [broil] setting, it comes out with the same toasty brown colour you get with frying but it's a lot less greasy. So I'd recommend having a go with the broiler for that.

[susandennis]

oh right. temp me with new tech... what kind of a friend are you anyway????

plus, good idea about the eggplant. I'll bet it will work fine even with the low level operations I have here ;) - am trying it tonight!

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

Heh, heh, heh:). I do love my Smart Oven. I originally bought it just to make toast as I was frustrated with the crappy toast you get from toasters but it rapidly became pretty much the only oven I use. It's big enough for pretty much everything I need to do and it saves power as it heats up really fast (and also doesn't heat up the kitchen). It's also really great at what it does. I make my own sourdough and I had this fancy setup with a super-heavy baking stone and baking peel that I lugged back from LA. I've tossed all that out the window now and just bake my bread in the Smart Oven and it comes out better than it ever did in the big oven. And it's super flexible as you can bake, roast, broil and toast in it and it also has reheat and warm functions. And I just bought the newest version and they've added slow cooking as well. Sold you yet?:) I'd only had mine a week before my mother bought one, so Breville should have me on retainer:). Good luck with the eggplant! I find ten minutes a side on medium gives me perfect results - YMMV of course.

[opakele.livejournal.com]

I have been on a Goodwill streak.

I find I don't like the smell of the product they use to clean their linens. Of course I wash everything when I get it home, but often the smell is so strong it lingers.

Is that something you have noticed and found a solution for? I've Googled for solutions and not found anything that pleased me.

[susandennis]

Funny you should mention that. I used to get kind of a musty-ish smell on their fabrics but not any more. I bought some yesterday - a sheet and some cut fabrics and they had zero smell at all. Like the rest of my house should be so odor free. I was thinking of asking them what they treated the linens with!!

So, really, no. I'm so sorry about yours.

(AND it could possibly be that my nose is old and does not smell that well any more.)

[coercedbynutmeg.livejournal.com]

At my store, they always carry these salads that look so delicious (and in fact in Bahrain they *were* delicious). I bought one a few weeks ago, and the part that should have been lettuce was 100% cabbage. Terrible surprise, and I will never buy another salad again.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

Last night I made a Moroccan dish with eggplant and other veggies and chicken and couscous and ras el hanout and a bunch of other spices.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

The fabric is searsucker which feels so cool and so retro.

Wow. I can't remember the last time I saw, let alone owned, anything in seersucker. I had some as a kid; in particular, I'm pretty sure I had a pair of seersucker pajamas for summer wear.

[susandennis]

I know, right?! I always loved it because - no ironing and it always looked so fresh and crisp and fun.