The Drop in Centre

[Reader1810]

2 minutes ago, kbois said:

We bought a dog door panel for our slider. Little guy, Camden caught on pretty quick. Zeke, the intellectually challenged one....well, let's just say I should probably go get some more cheese to lure him through 🤦‍♀️🙄🤭

This may take a while!

Gotta  dogs! 

[spyke]

8 minutes ago, kbois said:

We bought a dog door panel for our slider. Little guy, Camden caught on pretty quick. Zeke, the intellectually challenged one....well, let's just say I should probably go get some more cheese to lure him through 🤦‍♀️🙄🤭

This may take a while!

From everything you've said about Zeke, he sounds more like a Five Guys sort of dog rather than a cheese hound. 🤣

[kbois]

14 minutes ago, spyke said:

From everything you've said about Zeke, he sounds more like a Five Guys sort of dog rather than a cheese hound. 🤣

He'll eat almost anything. That's why he's the one who usually hurls on the floor..😂

He stole a slice of cheese as I was giving Camden a piece for coming thru the door first. I  stupidly dropped the other hand down too low and he snatch it. 

[Reader1810]

Okay, so this is not my grandma's cabbage rolls - heck, they're not even rolls, but what this is is tasty. 

https://youtu.be/iMR3jYBFHSk

This is what I made tonight. Not as pretty as the one in the video, though. Oh well, the taste makes up for it. 

Of note, this pan is 10 1/2 x 12 1/2. I found the 9 x 13 to be a bit small to fit all of the required ingredients. Maybe, it's just me? 

First time I made it with fresh cabbage and it took a lot longer to cook to get the cabbage to a nice consistency. I think I might preboil it to soften it a bit

Second time - today, see the final outcome below - i made from cabbage that had been frozen - very wet it was, so I had to squeeze out/paper towel out the excess fluid as much as possible. The good part about doing it this way is the cooking time was as per the recipe. 

[Ryan Jones]

Today felt almost surreal in a way.

They relaxed the covid restrictions in Maryland, matching the CDC guidelines. So there's no mandate from the state to wear a mask any longer. You're supposed to be vaccinated but obviously they aren't checking to make sure.

So I get to the casino around 2am and notice maybe 30% of the people aren't wearing masks. It's going to take some getting used to, after over a year of everyone being masked seeing a naked face is unsettling. I found myself looking at them considering if they were just crawling with germs or not.

A business can still decide masks are mandatory, some regular stores and grocery stores are keeping the mask requirement. I wore my mask, will probably continue if for no other reason than it's COLD inside a casino and my face will freeze!

Hope everyone is doing good! Or great even!

[mollyhousemouse]

@Ryan Jonesthey've done that in Texas as well. while i am fully vaccinated, we will still be masking up. frankly, we don't trust that all those maskless people are playing by the rules, as it were. also not trusting 100% in being totally immune.

glad you are able to enjoy the casinos again.

[Reader1810]

41 minutes ago, Ryan Jones said:

Hope everyone is doing good! Or great even!

Something occurred to me while reading this. As I recall you play poker at the casino. Do masks hinder or help the “poker face” and who do they help or hinder?  

[kbois]

49 minutes ago, Ryan Jones said:

It's going to take some getting used to, after over a year of everyone being masked seeing a naked face is unsettling. I found myself looking at them considering if they were just crawling with germs or not.

I do the same thing! Also I don't recognize most of the residents where I work when they come in without a mask!

14 minutes ago, mollyhousemouse said:

@Ryan Jonesthey've done that in Texas as well. while i am fully vaccinated, we will still be masking up. frankly, we don't trust that all those maskless people are playing by the rules, as it were. also not trusting 100% in being totally immune.

glad you are able to enjoy the casinos again.

I agree molly. 

There are too many people who still haven't been or won't get vaccinated to feel comfortable being without a mask in close quarters. 

16 minutes ago, Reader1810 said:

Something occurred to me while reading this. As I recall you play poker at the casino. Do masks hinder or help the “poker face” and who do they help or hinder?  

I wondered the same thing!

Not much on the agenda today. A little meal prep for the week and trying to mentally prepare for another 6 day work week. Ten more work days until vacation. That's 9.5 too long in my opinion. 

Update on doggy door. Zeke seems to have gotten the hang of it! Camden has problems though because his belly gets caught on the bottom part. I'll have to make a small ramp for him. He can't jump like he used to. He's a little pork pie. 

Hope everyone has a good day!

[Ryan Jones]

3 hours ago, Reader1810 said:

Something occurred to me while reading this. As I recall you play poker at the casino. Do masks hinder or help the “poker face” and who do they help or hinder?  

It's a lot harder to get a "tell" from a person's face. Not just the mask but the way they have the tables set up now there are plexiglass dividers between you and the player next to you. Or dealer. So the glare from that also causes difficulty in reading people's body language. Something I'm reasonably good at. I suspect now it's just a matter of a week, two weeks, at most a month before the plexiglass dividers disappear also.

The "fish" are helped a lot by the coverup provided by mask and plexiglass. I'd like to think that (most of the time) I'm not one of the fishies. lol

[Starrynight22]

Hi everyone.  

 

I know I missed the big oat talk but around here we have a dish called goetta. (Prn: gett-uh) 

Its sausage, spices and oatmeal boiled together.  Then it's out into loaf pans and sets into these solid loaves. You slice off pieces and pan fry them.  

I've made it with turkey sausage and with a good nonstick pan you only need a quick spray of oil of choice.  

 

 

Its definitely specifically regional, I've never met anyone outside of Cincinnati that had ever heard of it.  

[mollyhousemouse]

i love all the new ideas floating around!
here's my prep for this week.
the big container is sliced jicama in water, there's a container of cucumbers and a bag of lime wedges for my water, and 5 breakfasts ready to go; 4 oats with chia seeds, honey, vanilla and strawberries and one yogurt with the same

now i'm off to change the bed linens, fold clothes and watch the NASCAR race
have a good rest of your day

 

[spyke]

Hey @Reader1810--The other day you posted a recipe for baked oatmeal. I was trolling YouTube this morning and @Mikiesboys favorite healthy baker popped up in the side bar with an amazing looking recipe for baked oatmeal. I'm definitely going to try it.  Gets sweetness from bananas or applesauce and a touch of maple syrup. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMM30Nu8uNU

 

[Mikiesboy]

25 minutes ago, spyke said:

Hey @Reader1810--The other day you posted a recipe for baked oatmeal. I was trolling YouTube this morning and @Mikiesboys favorite healthy baker popped up in the side bar with an amazing looking recipe for baked oatmeal. I'm definitely going to try it.  Gets sweetness from bananas or applesauce and a touch of maple syrup. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMM30Nu8uNU

 

Baked oatmeal is great. I've been making it for a few years. Michael loves it especially with chopped apple on the bottom. I put pecans and raisins in the oatmeal, nutmeg and cinnamon. It's really good.. hot or cold.

This is the recipe I prefer:

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/amish-style-baked-oatmeal-with-apples-raisins-walnuts.html

 

 

[kbois]

I had a hit and miss day with meal prep. I roasted carrots, zucchini, eggplant, onions, and Brussel sprouts. Took 5 separate batches but they all came out amazing. Popped it into containers with some chicken and voila! Eight lunches in the freezer for the next few weeks. 

Made beef barley soup...not too sure about it yet. Been in the crock pot for about 5 hours and the onions aren't translucent and that's how I like them. Probably should've par-boiled them first.

I tried a recipe for sugarless bread. Don't. Just don't. It was pretty gross. 

My son threw his laundry in the washer before going to the beach. Calls me 15 minutes ago. Did anyone put it in the dryer? His work stuff is in there and he has to be there in an hour. 🙄🤐🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️ Me thinks he's wearing damp clothes to work. 

[Reader1810]

1 hour ago, spyke said:

Hey @Reader1810--The other day you posted a recipe for baked oatmeal. I was trolling YouTube this morning and @Mikiesboys favorite healthy baker popped up in the side bar with an amazing looking recipe for baked oatmeal. I'm definitely going to try it.  Gets sweetness from bananas or applesauce and a touch of maple syrup. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMM30Nu8uNU

 

Im still enjoying the strawberry oatmeal bars I made, but I should try this one next. So many good choices...  

[Reader1810]

1 hour ago, Mikiesboy said:

Baked oatmeal is great. I've been making it for a few years. Michael loves it especially with chopped apple on the bottom. I put pecans and raisins in the oatmeal, nutmeg and cinnamon. It's really good.. hot or cold.

This is the recipe I prefer:

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/amish-style-baked-oatmeal-with-apples-raisins-walnuts.html

 

 

Oh, I just looked at this recipe and saw a link at the top for cinnamon swirl apple bread. The choices are multiplying..  

[Mikiesboy]

1 hour ago, kbois said:

I had a hit and miss day with meal prep. I roasted carrots, zucchini, eggplant, onions, and Brussel sprouts. Took 5 separate batches but they all came out amazing. Popped it into containers with some chicken and voila! Eight lunches in the freezer for the next few weeks. 

Made beef barley soup...not too sure about it yet. Been in the crock pot for about 5 hours and the onions aren't translucent and that's how I like them. Probably should've par-boiled them first.

I tried a recipe for sugarless bread. Don't. Just don't. It was pretty gross. 

My son threw his laundry in the washer before going to the beach. Calls me 15 minutes ago. Did anyone put it in the dryer? His work stuff is in there and he has to be there in an hour. 🙄🤐🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️ Me thinks he's wearing damp clothes to work. 

what kind of bread are you making?    Bread like for toast, should not have sugar in it.

[kbois]

12 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

what kind of bread are you making?    Bread like for toast, should not have sugar in it.

It looked like a pretty basic recipe. All purpose flour, wheat flour, milk, salt, yeast, olive oil. 

I flipped the ratio of wheat flour and white flour, but still it was only a 1/4 cup difference. 

Oh well.... I'll try something else next week. Still looking for a good, healthier wheat bread recipe that's not too dense. I'm not a huge bread eater, but when I do have it I  want it to taste good. 

I love multigrain bread occasionally so I'm searching for a good recipe for that too. 

[Mikiesboy]

16 minutes ago, kbois said:

It looked like a pretty basic recipe. All purpose flour, wheat flour, milk, salt, yeast, olive oil. 

I flipped the ratio of wheat flour and white flour, but still it was only a 1/4 cup difference. 

Oh well.... I'll try something else next week. Still looking for a good, healthier wheat bread recipe that's not too dense. I'm not a huge bread eater, but when I do have it I  want it to taste good. 

I love multigrain bread occasionally so I'm searching for a good recipe for that too. 

i'll give you a couple.. i recommend looking at recipes with no oil or butter.. otherwise known as shortening.  oil shortens the strands of gluten and the bread can be crumbly. 

This one is good for buns so the margarine and egg are okay in it.  2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup  bread flour.  1 1/4c warm water, 1 package of dry yeast. 1/4 cup margarine, 1.5 tsp salt and 1 egg.  I add 4 tbsp oats, 4 tbsp hemp heart and 2 tbsp chia.   Mix it up, knead for 5 minutes.. let rise until double... shape into 8 buns or 12 buns.  If you have a scale.. use it. Equal pieces bake better.

We have used this for a loaf.. and it's okay but a bit crumbly, but we manage to slice it.

Egg wash them and add seed of your choice on top if you want.

Bake buns at 400F for about 20 min.    For bread bake for 5 min at 400 then reduce to 350 for about 25 minutes.

Edited May 16, 2021 by Mikiesboy

[kbois]

5 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

i'll give you a couple.. i recommend looking at recipes with no oil or butter.. otherwise known as shortening.  oil shortens the strands of gluten and the bread can be crumbly. 

This one is good for buns so the margarine and egg are okay in it.  2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup  bread flour.  1 1/4c warm water, 1 package of dry yeast. 1/4 cup margarine, 1.5 tsp salt and 1 egg.  I add 4 tbsp oats, 4 tbsp hemp heart and 2 tbsp chia.   Mix it up, knead for 5 minutes.. let rise until double... shape into 8 buns or 12 buns.  If you have a scale.. use it. Equal pieces bake better.

We have used this for a loaf.. and it's okay but a bit crumbly, but we manage to slice it.

Egg wash them and add seed of your choice on top if you want.

Bake buns at 400F for about 20 min.    For bread bake for 5 min at 400 then reduce to 350 for about 25 minutes.

Thank tim! 

I do have a scale and use it all the time now. I'll try this next weekend. Sounds really good!

[Wayne Gray]

Almost every European visitor to the US I've met comments on the sweetness in bread here. It's a very American thing, to have sugar in breads that are not meant for dessert. We just grow used to the sweet taste. It took a long time for me to accept bread without sugar as "normal". Now we eat a lot of Dave's Killer Bread. The only sugars in it are from various organic fruit juices.

I can't eat mass-produced white bread at all anymore. It tastes completely off to me, and I have VIOLENT reactions to it (gluten sensitivity). Funny enough, Dave's Killer Bread doesn't set me off, even though it's still made with wheat. For whatever reason, the higher the quality the bread the less it sets me off.

[Mikiesboy]

6 minutes ago, kbois said:

Thank tim! 

I do have a scale and use it all the time now. I'll try this next weekend. Sounds really good!

i use this to make my hamburger buns.. .they are easy to shape, if you dont do that usually, lots of demos online.  They are nice for sandwiches and you can freeze them if you dont eat lots of bread right away.

I also used it to make Hot cross buns at Easter adding some sweetener and raisins and cinnamon. Those i made a little smaller.. dividing it into 12 buns.  They were good too.

[Mikiesboy]

1 minute ago, Wayne Gray said:

Almost every European visitor to the US I've met comments on the sweetness in bread here. It's a very American thing, to have sugar in breads that are not meant for dessert. We just grow used to the sweet taste. It took a long time for me to accept bread without sugar as "normal". Now we eat a lot of Dave's Killer Bread. The only sugars in it are from various organic fruit juices.

I can't eat mass-produced white bread at all anymore. It tastes completely off to me, and I have VIOLENT reactions to it (gluten sensitivity). Funny enough, Dave's Killer Bread doesn't set me off, even though it's still made with wheat. For whatever reason, the higher the quality the bread the less it sets me off.

The original recipe i found had 1/4 cup of sugar in it.  NO! Bread does not have sugar.  Unless your yeast is suspect you dont need to add it in there either.  Actually not adding sugar makes your bread rise faster.

[Mikiesboy]

Honestly, we use too much yeast as well. Good, flavourful bread, is bread that rises slowly. With 3 cups of flour, you really should use 1 tsp of yeast.. and then be patient.  Your bread will taste better.

I use about 2 tsp in my recipe because i'm in a hurry usually. But longer is better for bread.

[Mikiesboy]

On 5/15/2021 at 6:25 PM, Reader1810 said:

Okay, so this is not my grandma's cabbage rolls - heck, they're not even rolls, but what this is is tasty. 

https://youtu.be/iMR3jYBFHSk

This is what I made tonight. Not as pretty as the one in the video, though. Oh well, the taste makes up for it. 

Of note, this pan is 10 1/2 x 12 1/2. I found the 9 x 13 to be a bit small to fit all of the required ingredients. Maybe, it's just me? 

First time I made it with fresh cabbage and it took a lot longer to cook to get the cabbage to a nice consistency. I think I might preboil it to soften it a bit

Second time - today, see the final outcome below - i made from cabbage that had been frozen - very wet it was, so I had to squeeze out/paper towel out the excess fluid as much as possible. The good part about doing it this way is the cooking time was as per the recipe. 

deconstructed cabbage rolls.. yummy