rosy day

I must have rolled out of the right side of bed today or grabbed my rose-colored glasses instead of my reading glasses because I felt happy and smiley all day today.

It started with cooking wheat germ pancakes. I used my small ladle to ladle the batter onto the griddle so each pancake was uniform in size. Then I watched carefully using the knowledge I gained in junior high Home Ec class as each pancake formed bubbles all cross the top before I turned them. You must be patient and never turn them until they are ready or you will be met with disappointing results.

My happy mood continued when I went to the BAC for my Saturday morning work-out. My instructor is very pregnant due February 10th and she still managed to give us one of the hardest work-outs ever. We are all going to miss her. I've been attending her classes three times a week for about three years and have barely ever missed. She promises to return in eight weeks. Good luck, Alex, with the baby and all, but paleeze come back as soon as you can. I followed the class with a 5K run. I sometimes pretend that I can't stop or slow my pace because the world is dependent on me to divert some catastrophe but this morning I pretended to run a marathon and I am happy to report that I won.

I came back home for a quick shower and then on to the hair salon where I sat and relaxed while I became a solid brunette again instead of a silver-streaked brunette. Sharon is the best. I've been going to her for a lot of years now and I left feeling a little fresher and younger than when I walked in the door.

It was 1 pm and I had only had an apple and two small pancakes so far today. I was hungry from my work-out so I stopped at Panera and tried their new Salmon Mediterranean salad which I highly recommend. I relaxed a little more and read my emails.

I have been shopping for a new sewing machine. I have already decided which Viking I would buy if I were to buy a Viking so today I went to Aurora Sewing Center on Main Street in Clarence to check out the Berninas. I spent a fair amount of time there and came away impressed with the Berninas and the family owned shop. I am leaning heavily toward the Arista 630.



And then as a special treat and because I haven't indulged in thrift store shopping for some time now, I hit the Goodwill that is close to the sewing store.
My favorite purchase was this brand new pair of rose (yes, more rose coloring in my day)and gold Keds.




And because I can't resist any old evening bag especially one with a rosy flower on it even if it is a bit tattered and gaudy




or a cute make-up bag



or a trio of all-purpose silk tops

and Debbie.....look at these. I only bought two plates but they had a few other pieces also none of which were in the best shape.



So I returned home at 5 pm, six hours from the time I left home after my shower. I apologized to B for being gone all day but he wasn't phased. He said "You told me when you left that you would be gone all day.''



I had planned to make a somewhat complicated dish for dinner...Ropa Veija Pot Pie. I wanted to make this because you bake it in small casserole dishes. I have a little love affair with small casserole dishes. I had all the ingredients but when I really looked at the recipe I realized it took nearly three hours to make and also the Dr. Konstantin Frank Merlot that I had poured for myself was staring to kick in so I improvised a little and changed the recipe alot to come up with something less time-consuming. I cooked the meat the way they said but served it over polenta with a black bean veggie dish on the side.


Braising the steak: Cut a flank steak in half; season with pepper. Coat a pan with nonstick spray;sear steak over med-high heat about 4 minutes per side. Stir in a bottle of beer,a cup of beef broth (beeth broth;beef brof...I have never been able to say this),1 T chili powder, 1 T oregano, 1 T minced garlic, 2 t cumin and 1/8 t cinnamon. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 40 minutes.


1 red chopped red pepper, 1 chopped poblano pepper, 1 chopped Anaheim pepper, 1 diced onion. I cooked this in the pan that I had fried the polenta slices in first so there was just a coating of olive oil left in the pan. cook for a few minutes until the veggies soften and then add a couple of chopped roma tomatoes and cook a minute or two longer.


the flank steak after braising


After I took this photo B remarked that I should have served it with sour cream to cut some of the spiciness of the dish. It really wasn't all that spicy but he was right. I didn't have sour cream but did have a little leftover plain yogurt in a carton to which I added some smashed up avocado . It turned out to be the perfect accompaniment with it's cool creaminess and would have added some attractive color to the photo..