Tag Archives: food

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Happy birthday to me.

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Yes, I took another trip around the sun this month. Nothing to celebrate at this point in my life, but I woke up to a (not so) subtle gift reminder all the same.

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The large box was a present from my husband, from my very favorite store. They sell high quality handmade jewelry, pottery, art, crafts etc. and every trip we take there includes a round of oohing and ahhing . I rarely buy anything for myself as the prices make me swoon, but the husband makes a yearly pilgrimage… and who am I to complain? 😉

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This year’s gift was a fabulous mesquite wood lamp with hazed copper cut out shade.

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Both sides are inlaid with turquoise veins and it really is a lovely piece.

(If you’re wondering just how lovely? Here’s a similar lamp from the same company with much less turquoise on their website.)

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Yeah. That lovely.

😳

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Needless to say I love it, and shall enjoy its light for many years to come.

The original birthday plan was to hit my favorite restaurant for dinner, but Mother Nature said no by melting the snow and dropping a solid afternoon’s worth of sleet and ice.

Alternate plan?

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Pizza and beer in the man cave…

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With a stellar game of whip your husband’s ass with a double letter Q in ‘quay’, a triple score ‘quiz’ and an almost superfluous ‘zeal’ for a total of 102 points Scrabble.

A very happy birthday indeed.

🤣

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Because after all the alcohol, we were in need of food.

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I sampled heavily at the distillery while my other half was busy talking.

I sampled lightly and drank heartily at the Whippletree winery.

And now, I was ready for a late lunch. But sadly, late lunch wasn’t ready for me because every single restaurant we tried in North Conway New Hampshire on a Saturday afternoon in December was filled to bursting. Damn those hungry Christmas shoppers!

Wasting a good hour hopping from place to place to no avail, we said to hell with it and drove.

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Through the White Mountains and over to Mount Washington.

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The closer we got the darker it became, and we arrived at the Notch Grill in the Glen House just as flurries started to fall.

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Thankfully they weren’t crowded and we settled in.

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Hibiscus rose margarita …

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With a view isn’t a bad way to end the day.

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Crispy pork pot stickers with Thai ginger dipping sauce to share…

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Followed by pan seared duck breast with apple rosemary jam, roasted fingerling potatoes and squash rings for me… baked haddock in white wine and buttered crumbs with mashed potatoes and carrots for the hubs.

It was all delicious and we were too full for dessert.

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I was also too full to sit and watch a slightly out of date Christmas program on the bar television.

Andy Williams?

Ho. Ho. Hum….

🥴

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Stiff… the finale.

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It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that it took me longer to blog about this book than it did to read it.

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To be honest, I blew through it in a day…. but I figured not everyone would enjoy that high a level of corpse saturation, so I’ve spread the snippets out over time.

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Placenta cocktail?

I can honestly say even I will never be that desperate for a drink.

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Though I could totally rock that hat..

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Powdered human penis?

The key words here are “taken with alcohol”. Geesh, I would hope so.

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And to think the only thing my husband took home all these years was post it notes.

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I love my town.

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It’s time for small town news again…. so city folk can see what they’re missing.

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No worries. Said piggy was reunited with his family and is safely back home.

The want ads in small rural towns tend to look a bit different.

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Spleeny- New England : peevish and irritable with hypochondriac inclinations.

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I’m almost afraid to ask why someone wants to rehome a skeleton.

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I’m going to pass this one on to my husband because he came home from breakfast with the boys the other day bitching that his omelette had gone up a dollar.

I know I’m paying more for groceries, it stands to reason restaurants are as well.

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A Boothbay kind of afternoon..

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After a long leisurely stroll around town…

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And along the waterfront…

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It was time for a long over due visit to our absolutely favorite place to eat… The Boat House Bistro. Contrary to its name, it doesn’t sit on the water. And while that might put some visitors off, you don’t go there for the view.

Even at 2:45 on a Saturday afternoon, on a late November day devoid of tourists, the place was packed. First floor dining was full so we climbed up to the bar on the second. (Third floor is only open for outdoor seating in the summer)

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Happily sipping a Cosmo in front of the wine taps (there are two of them, with a total of 8 wines available) I perused the menu and was overjoyed to find my two favorites were still there.

This place has fresh seafood down to an art and I have never had a bad meal.

My appetizer? Spicy Cajun shrimp on cheesy grits with garlic, scallions, tomato and smoky bacon.

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All my life I thought I hated grits. I lived down south for 18 years and never cooked nor ordered them. We moved back to Maine, discovered the Bistro and wham! I’m eating grits and am tempted to lick the bowl. Who knew?

To be honest that appetizer could serve as a meal, it’s pretty rich. But I will never pass up the chance to eat this:

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Perfectly pan seared giant sea scallops on a bed of creamy mushroom risotto with arugula, truffle oil and shaved Parmesan.

I hate to disappoint my husband, but damn.

It’s almost better than sex.

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And speaking of husbands, he ordered a lovely seafood scampi which was bursting with shrimp, sea scallops and lobster.

Meals here aren’t cheap (almost $200 including tip) but you get your money’s worth and I have yet to leave unsatisfied or without a doggie bag.

Dessert?

We didn’t even look.

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Stiff…. Part 4.

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Yes, your favorite series about dead bodies is back.

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And today’s chapter is aptly named…

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Let’s dig in, shall we?

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You have to wonder what genius first came up with that idea.

“Hmm… what should we do with great Uncle Mortimer’s remains? I know! Let’s cover him in honey and bring a chunk of his thigh to the next neighborhood potluck.”

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Honeyed urine and poop. I’m beginning to notice a trend here….

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Mummies cure farting?

You heard it here first people.

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A wandering uterus is a terrible thing…. but I would think using dung to coax it back in place would have the opposite effect, as in “Hell no Mabel. I’m outta here!”

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Turkey goodness.

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If you’re a turkey leftover hater? Move along… River don’t have time for that nonsense.

But if you cherish every last scrap of that delectable Thanksgiving bird and are in need of one more yummy recipe to stretch the remaining poultry?

Behold the glory that is River’s Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice soup!

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We had turkey dinner.

Then we had turkey tettrazini, hot turkey sandwiches, cold turkey sandwiches and turkey salad.

Today, I’m using the very last of the meat to make my all time favorite soup.

It’s so thick and rich … you might as well call it stew.

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Stick to your ribs comfort food. When you’ve had a bowl of this, you know it.

Of course my texture sensitive husband hates all things crunchy ( rosemary, caraway seeds etc ) so I have to mix the wild rice with white…

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But that adds an extra layer of thickness while still retaining the flavor, so it’s an acceptable adaptation.

What’s that…

You have leftover turkey without a home?

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Get cookin’.

You won’t be sorry.

👍

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Dodging a Covid bullet.

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It seems our 2021 Thanksgiving dinner might look like this…

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Because I just received a phone call from the host of the celebration we planned to attend. She and her husband…. who were both fully vaccinated but not boosted…. have come down with Covid.

This woman is one of the most careful people I know. She always wears a mask, avoids crowds and washes her hands frequently. But her husband went north last week to visit his son. His son’s family was not vaccinated, and the town where he was staying has an extremely high positivity rate.

So now they’re both quite ill. Fever, chills, splitting headaches, extreme fatigue, body aches, joint stiffness, brain fogginess, coughing, sore throat, loss of taste and smell.

She’s a pretty tough cookie and rarely complains, but I can tell she’s worried. Thankfully they’re not having any breathing issues and are hoping they can ride it out at home.

I’ve offered to bring groceries and drop meals on their porch, but a family member has them covered.

And though I know it’s awful….the thought that keeps popping in my head is if it had been a day or two later? We all would have been exposed and at risk.

My other half had his booster shot 2 weeks ago… and me? I just scheduled one for this afternoon. Yours truly is not taking any chances.

I’m also not eating Thanksgiving dinner from a can… and am now heading to the grocery store to fight the crowds and search for a last minute turkey and fixings to prepare a quiet meal for two.

Minus the green bean casserole of course.

😈

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Stray thoughts….

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#1. We’re spending Thanksgiving Day with friends this year and along with my luscious crabmeat toasty appetizers and a cappuccino mousse trifle dessert, I was asked to bring… are you sitting down?

Green bean casserole. 🤢

While I’ve been known to make that abomination (for certain spouses who shall remain nameless) I can’t say I’m a fan. So I searched high and low for a recipe that would make it more palatable.

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I found one for the crock pot that sounded much better than the original. Fresh beans, fresh mushrooms, heavy cream, fresh garlic and thyme etc.

It was a bit of a pain to make and littered my kitchen with dirty dishes… but thankfully I did a dry run a few days ago before I served it to the group.

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Sadly, the trash can was the only appropriate place for it. Blech! How something so promising could taste so horrible is beyond me.

I shall now be making the original bowl of slop that everyone expects.

Clearly it can’t be improved.

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#2. I heard that Paul Rudd had been voted Sexiest Man Alive in People magazine. I can’t say I agree, but I won’t argue with this logic:

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#3. I believe I have officially reached the point of no return on the less than graceful decline into old age. I know this because the only way I can remember to add a song to my iPod is to take a picture of my car radio when it’s playing.

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And yes, I said iPod.

Told you I was old.

🤣

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