Odds & Ends

/ Ally Bean

::  I’m waiting at home today while my car, Olivia, is in the shop.  She is a 10 y.o. Honda Accord Coupe.  Yesterday I went in for an oil change, knowing that there’d be more to it than just that.  At ten years there has to be.

Apparently at year 7 something involving the timing belt [belts?] was to be done.  But I didn’t do it then.  Probably because no one at the dealership told me to do it.  Whatever.

So I’m having it done now.  And this, people, is why I like Honda Accords.  They are very forgiving about maintenance schedules, which is a good thing when they belong to a person such as me.  That would be a woman who means well, but often forgets to have the oil changed on a timely basis.  A woman who maintains her car based on whims– and prayers.

::  I got a new slow cooker [aka crock pot] for Christmas.  Did I tell you this before?  Probably not.  Exciting news such as that I usually keep to myself because I wouldn’t want you, gentle readers, to be jealous of my good fortune!

My new slow cooker is shiny and bright red– and works about a hundred times better than the old one.  Considering that I have the time today, I’m going to research some new recipes to make in it.  Clearly I know what herbs +  spices are available in our kitchen.  Plus we have a busy weekend coming up, so fixing and forgetting a meal sounds like a good thing to do.

Anyone got a favorite slow cooker recipe that I should know about?

::  I’ve mentioned this before but as a refresher: Murphy Brown had Eldon, the painter– while I have Greg, the landscaper.  And it being on the cusp of spring here, Greg has been in touch.  Actually he first phoned me in January, but I dodged his calls because I didn’t want to talk about gardening.  Couldn’t I just have one month off?

However, Greg is nothing if not clever.  He started emailing Zen-Den, who then started forwarding me photos of shrubs and bushes and such– so that I’d decide a thing, or two, about this year’s spring garden clean-up & replacement ideas.  [We’ve been at this residence close to 14 years now, so lots of the original bushes are near the end of their vitality.]

And you know what?  Much to my surprise I’m rather pleased to be looking at photos of + details about green growing things.  I think that I’m ready for spring.

19 thoughts on “Odds & Ends”

  1. Slow cooker recipe – I love doing chick peas in a very rich tomato sauce, slow cooked to make it almost caramelise. The sauce goes very sweet and dark and rich, and the chick peas are just yummy. We often have it as an accompaniment to salmon.

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  2. My goodness, I will trade you Greg for Mike. If I can track Mike down, he tells me he’ll be there sometime next week. And next week means something entirely different to him than it does to me. In fact, tomorrow is pretty uncertain as well.

    I never mastered the art of the slow cooker. I think my oven is, in fact, a great big slow cooker. BUT, I did used to have one and Caramelized Onion Soup is the best reason there is to own a crock pot. And by the way, I used to live in the town where crock pots come from.

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  3. I’m much like you with my car. I was thinking just yesterday that I need to get my oil changed–according to the little tag in the window I’m 4.000 miles over due. But I read recently in a magazine that newer cars really only need the oil changed very 7500 miles–so I’m still good(?)
    A friend of mine just gave me a slow cooker recipe for lasagna, which she says is delicious. I will try it first, and then let you know.
    I need to prune bushes around here big time! Especially the knockout roses. I actually Googled how to do it, so maybe this will be the weekend.

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    • Beth, my latest idea about oil changes is that I’ll get one twice a year in the month that I have my teeth cleaned. I never forget the dentist, so now Olivia will have proper care, too. Clever, huh? Would love to have crock pot lasagne recipe– if it works. We have knockout roses here, but I didn’t know that there was a special way to care for them! I just kind of chop ’em back. And they seem to thrive.

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  4. I’m glad that with all of the cleaning out of old, broken down and dated stuff around our home, you have decded to keep me around – arguably your oldest, most broken and dated item. Thankfully I still clean up well (enough) when needed and unlike the spices I can still generate “interesting” aromas.

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  6. My car is 10 years old and I just spent $2100 on her/him. I don’t have a name for it–depending on how I feel, it could be a profane word. 🙂 I love making chili in my cooker: at least 3 types of beans, sauce, onions, corn, SPICES(hee hee) and whatever else I feel like throwing in there.

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    • Margaret, I suggest you name your car Bob. It’s a versatile name and suggests a personality that wouldn’t care if you swore at it/him or not. Why? Because he’s just Bob. Chili is a good idea for the crock pot. Thanks.

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  7. Olivia is such a perfect name for a car. (Hondas do hold up forever – YEA)
    I used to use a crock pot all the time, but haven’t recently…maybe time to dig it out after reading some of these comments
    Oh, go ahead and dream about planting…it may be almost frost at night here this week – but a 5th Purple Martin family has arrived in a nearby Purple MArtin apt complex – and a bunch of ducks arrived lated last night to the lake, but took off in formation very early this morning – bound to be headed north.

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    • philosophermouse, I didn’t want to think about the garden when I couldn’t do a thing about it, but now that Greg & Z-D have nudged me into it I’m happy to dream. Bring on that green stuff, I say. 😉

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  8. Honey Barbecue Pork Ribs

    2 lbs pork loin back ribs, baby back ribs, or country-style pork spareribs
    1 small yellow onion, sliced
    1 cup store-bought barbecue sauce of your choice
    1/3 cup Honey
    A few splashes of hot sauce

    1. Arrange the ribs in the slow cooker, layering them with the onion slices.

    2. Combine the barbecue sauce, honey, and hot sauce in a small bowl until smooth and then spoon over the ribs. If you have a round cooker stack the ribs with sauce in between. Cover the ribs and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours until the meat is tender and starts to separate from the bone.

    3. When done transfer any extra sauce on the bottom of the cooker to a bowl and serve on the side.

    Note: You can marinate the ribs in honey overnight (refrigerate) for extra flavor.

    (Recipe from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes for Two.)

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