Stanley Tucci is Touring Italy, I'm Cleaning and Cooking, Cutting Fabric in the Kitchen, yes, a Monday of Bits and Pieces

 What started out as a very dreary, rainy, humid morning has emerged as a not as dreary, not so rainy, and very humid afternoon! It was my intention to work outside this morning, planting another little pot of parsley, moving some planted pots from the back wall to clean the patio, back porch, and surrounding areas. That didn't happen though, weather was not cooperating, however, I have a new hose, I am in love. 

The Monday household tasks are almost complete as I sit down with a cup of tea, check the email, and watch an episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, London. This series, on CNN, is outstanding. (check your local listings) I set a recording for it, you think it was Downton Abbey!  

When my cooking mojo wanes, watching a cooking show, particularly when the history of the dish is explored, is like a tonic. Tomorrow, our traditional pasta Tuesday, will be sweet and hot Italian sausage with gnocchi. In this episode, S2, Ep.4, I learned that London, yes London, England, has the largest Italian population in the world, outside of Italy. That includes some large cities in Italy as well! The result is phenomenal restaurants in the city (did you know that London is twice the size and population of NYC?) La Mia Mama is a very popular restaurant that features Italian mothers, all transplanted from Italy, to cook the best of their regions, the chefs, the mothers, rotate monthly!  

 

I also wanted to share a little cleaning information. I am a dust freak, yes, it drives me to distraction. Living in the woods, creates a fine type of dust from trees shedding their pollen and grit. A nice windy night and bingo, dust. I have replaced all our windows to seal out the offenders, the doors have all been replaced as well....but....the dust, well, it does not care. We even replaced the furnace and A/C system with a different filtration system. Now, I must admit it has improved, and I may just be a bit slower in my removal, but still, it mocks me. 

On an instagram post recently, I found a recipe for a cleaner that claims to control dust for one month! I have seen similar postings before, I was not impressed. However, this one seems to be more effective. 

• In a spray bottle combine: 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of white vinegar, 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil, 3 drops of Dawn Dishwashing liquid, and a few drops of an essential oil of your choice. They lean to citrus but all I had left was lavender, so lavender it was! I have used it on window blinds, kitchen and bathroom wooden cupboards, baseboards, stainless steel, marble, and chrome fixtures. I prefer a microfiber cloth. I sprayed the cloth, dampish, not wet. Drying is not required unless you choose and for the very smooth surfaces I did use another cloth to dry. We are on week 2 so far, and it seems to be very effective on wood, chrome, stainless steel. I did use it on some glass top tables and I do see a sprinkle of dust on the one close to the heat/AC vent, but not too much. I will check back in after another two weeks pass. We will see.        
• I am still happy with the meal system where I divide cooked meals, seal them in the heavy silicone bags, and freeze them. Or, use recipes where RAW foods are all packed in the same bags, frozen then defrosted to cook in a slow cooker or pressure cooker. Founded by a young woman, a dietician, she carefully constructs healthy and easy to prepare recipes made in bulk and stored in the freezer. While I don't need family style most of the time, I divide the recipes for two. One of the most important elements of the plan is to label your food bags, I didn't label the last group, I thought I would remember. And I did, after they thawed and I put them in the cooker! Once the bags are filled they can be stacked in the freezer or stood on end like books. She offers videos now and then explaining the system and you have the opportunity to join her site for a fee with total access to the entire system, a one time payment, HERE.   I joined last year at a reduced fee and have already used many of the recipes and continue to plan for more. (I am just stating my experience, not a sponsor or a compensated reviewer, FYI.)  
• I am currently emptying the freezers. It is that time of the year, (bi-annually I purge contents) where I cook up and use up all that I have prepared. I start by using the items in the freezer section of the upstairs refrigerator then rotate the contents of the large storage freezer from the garage to totally empty that one. Then it gets cleaned and refilled. Unfortunately, the cost of food right now is absurd, but one has to do what one has to do. 
• I have just cleaned and cleared the top of the kitchen island to lay out some fabric for cutting. The cutting table in my studio is stacked with fabrics to be donated. A friend and I are purging fabric. It does add up! 
• *****Just announced, a free cooking class, HERE.