Tag Archives: menu

Smart Home Economics – Cabbage-Leek Sauté.

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With the ever-rising cost of foodstuffs, using every bit of food, and wisely buying provisions, is key to maintaining the household on a sensible budget.  My “waste not, want not” motto works  well in this economic climate.  Not only is that good to follow with everyday home resources, but it is also a practical, wise, and economical way to get the most out of food and leftovers, so why not wisely stretch meals and create light lunches, while keeping the cost of food as reasonable as possible?

One of the ways I use leftovers or portions of foods is to prepare fresh cabbage with a variety of other vegetables that sauté easily.  Today, I am sharing my Cabbage-Leek Sauté recipe for two.

Cabbage Leek 1

Take three slices of bacon and cut them into thin lardons.  Sauté in a large frying pan.  Then add about a third of a thinly shredded small green cabbage and one leek stalk cut into thin rounds.  Stir gently.  Meanwhile, slice about six button mushrooms; toss them into the pan.  Add about one half cup of chicken stock (or water, if you prefer) and half a tablespoon of dried thyme.  Season with black pepper and salt, if desired.  Stir gently to combine.  Simmer on a low flame, until the vegetables are limp, but not overcooked.  Transfer to plates and serve.

So, you see, there is no need to spend a lot of money for a wholesome home cooked meal.  With a little creativity, you can have nice meals that stretch your buying power.

From time to time this year, I will be sharing my tips on stretching your homemaking dollars.  With a little fortitude and imagination, you can become more economically wise.  Check out my essay on Soups HERE, and my Shepherd’s Pie HERE.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

✿●▬▬▬●✿ ©2023 The Oasis at Four Queen Palms ✿●▬▬▬●✿

Cabbage Leek 2

Smart Home Economics – Shepherd’s Pie.

at home, cooking, home economics, , , , , , ,

Today, with the ridiculous inflation we all are experiencing, using every bit of food, and wisely buying provisions, is key to maintaining the household on a sensible budget.  My “waste not, want not” motto bodes well in this economic climate.  Not only is that good to follow with everyday home resources, but it is also a practical, wise, and economical way to get the most out of food and leftovers, so why not wisely stretch meals and create light lunches, while keeping the cost of food as reasonable as possible?

One of the ways I use leftovers is to prepare Shepherd’s Pie, one of Best Friend’s favorite meals.

I took the leftover beef chips I had frozen last month when I made Italian beef sandwiches here at The Oasis of Four Queen Palms.  Those little pieces of beef chips are good to save for Shepherd’s Pie.

While the beef was thawing out, I cut up a couple of Russet potatoes and boiled them.  I mashed them well with their jackets still on and mixed in about a quarter cup of shredded Cheddar cheese.

To the thawed beef chips, I added a couple of chopped carrots, a sliced celery stalk, and a little spoonful of flour and mixed it thoroughly.

Using individual Fiesta® casserole bakers in a pretty Sunflower yellow hue, I first applied a light olive oil spray inside them before adding the beef mixture.  Then I topped them off with the mashed potatoes and baked for a half hour at 350OF.

SHEPHERD'S PIE ITALIAN 1A

So, you see, there is no need to throw out scraps, and with a little creativity, you can have a nice hot meal that stretches your buying power.

From time to time this year, I will be sharing my tips on stretching your homemaking dollars.  With a little fortitude and imagination, you can become more economically wise.  Check out my essay on SOUPS HERE.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

✿●▬▬▬●✿ ©2023 The Oasis at Four Queen Palms ✿●▬▬▬●✿

Gracious Holiday Living – Part I.

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I was in Vermont last weekend, among the pines, snow, and elegance.

Well, to be more clear, Best Friend and I watched the 1954 movie, White Christmas, and the movie transported me to a more beautiful era.  That is where I was for a couple hours – in post-War Vermont.  The characters in the movie were always well-presented, their hair always combed, their clothes pressed, and they exhibited civil decorum, even during a spat.  It struck me that today, our society has sadly fallen to something in the hideous department.

While I was growing up, we had three sets of clothes – a uniform for parochial school, Sunday clothes, and play clothes.  We kids always wore our Sunday clothes all day on Sunday, to church and at home.  Play clothes were just that – for play.  And I don’t need to explain the uniform for school; it’s self-explanatory.  Yes, there was a time that one did not wear pajamas to school and church.

I was horrified at the institution of casual Friday at work, and the public styles of students when I was attending college in the 90s:  uncombed hair, pajama bottoms, pajama sets, ripped clothes, bedroom slippers, and smelly body odors.

To quote Kelsey Grammar’s Frasier Crane, “What fresh hell is this?” was my thought.

These days, people generally make fun “the olden days” of the years prior to this – ahem – casual-sloppy style.  They shudder at the thought of the days when you presented yourself well in and out of the home.  When you never left home with your hair still in curlers or your face unshaven.  When ripped clothes were not the fashion.  When language was respectful and not bombarded with the f- and s-words.  Oh, that’s so old-fashioned.  You get the idea, I’m sure.

This season, many of us will find ourselves in the mix of parties (office, family, friends).  Even if the gathering is among your immediate circle of friends or family, do you dress up?  I mean Ladies, do you comb your hair, put on a little powder and lip gloss, and wear your best clothes (not those yoga pants or jeans)?  Gentlemen, do you eschew those ripped up jeans and faded sweatshirts and don your dressy trousers (pressed, of course) and a nice polo shirt (at least)?  Do you have clean and manicured nails?

Recently, I thought about the manner of dress these days, and there is something that our predecessors were on to – being well-presented was respect for oneself and respect for others.  I don’t see that generally these days.  Dress up – really dress up – for the parties and events you will be attending this season.  It is a fact that when you are well-presented (no sloppy clothes at church, for example), you feel better about yourself, and you produce better.  It is a fact.

Now, you might find yourself the butt of jokes if you show up at a holiday party this season dressed up, clean, and classy.  Honestly, I was in that situation many times.  I invariably attended functions dressed appropriately for the event, and that meant a dress and jewelry for the opera, tailored clothes for the office, and neat clothes whilst shopping.  There were people (strangers, mostly) who made fun of me for wearing a nice outfit to a function.  There were co-workers who laughed at me when I didn’t wear (what I consider) loungewear on casual Fridays (remember that debacle that started the sloppiness at work?)

Even at home when I spend the day there, I rarely don’t wear a bit of make-up, but at least I comb my hair and wear nice clothes, and my nails are clean and manicured.  The times I won’t wear something nice at home is when we are pulling weeds or cleaning house, for example.  Those situations call for work clothes.

Yet, physical appearance is not all that is profoundly lacking these days.  In the language department, do you let vulgar language flow freely from your lips, not caring who is around you?  It isn’t becoming nor befitting.  Moreover, today’s vernacular is vulgar and tasteless and does violence to the ears and the hearer.  This is so very unfortunate since the English language is rich with wonderful phrases and singular words that make it a pleasing language without the f- and s-words used abundantly as verbs, adjectives, nouns, determiners, prepositions, and interjections.  I don’t use vulgar language because I don’t believe it’s lady-like or intelligent.  I’ve been made fun of for this, and there have been people who, when they learn this about me, will ramp up the vulgarities in my presence or within earshot.  In fact, when I worked at an air traffic control facility, the vulgar language was de rigueur.  Nearly everyone out of the 75 people that worked there used vulgarities – men and women!  And when I asked these “offenders” to please not speak that way to me or near me, I was met with shock (at first), then laughter in the break room that was near my office.  Yes, I could hear them make fun of me.  There was a time, dear readers, that when women were in the same workspace, the men watched their language.  It’s passé in this era.  Women are known to let that filth fly with the best of the men.  That, dear readers, says more for those people than anything.  People that purposely do what you disdain for whatever reason (religion, upbringing, et cetera) in your presence have no manners nor compassion nor class.  Be bigger than that.  You will reap wonderful rewards as a result – others will think highly of you, you will be more of a delight to be around, and you will feel better about yourself, too.

Best Friend and I decorated The Oasis at Four Queen Palms for Christmas.  Up went the tree with a few presents underneath, and it looks inviting this year.  A dangly beaded ornament was inviting to Mademoiselle Kitten one evening when the tree was lit, but she quickly learned it’s a no-no toy for her.  Rat Terrier and Doxie are oblivious to the tree.  Just as well. CHRISTMAS TREE II

Baking is on the near horizon in my kitchen; the cookie dough is made and frozen until such time.  The fruitcake is busy fermenting, and my menus are being finalized.  We have a few concerts to attend.  And, of course, we have a slew of Christmas-themed movies we are watching, and we play Christmas carols every day.

One of these evenings, in front of the crackling fireplace and with carols playing in the background, Best Friend and I will start writing out our Christmas cards.

Make your holiday season classy.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

©2022 The Oasis at Four Queen Palms

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Thankfulness.

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The day arrived, finally!  Today, most of the country is celebrating Thanksgiving, and if you are, I wish you a wonderful and gratitude-filled day.

Best Friend and I already chose a different date to observe our annual day of thanksgiving here at The Oasis of Four Queen Palms.  It was a day filled with serenity and balance, good company, excellent wine, and great food.  We played old, traditional music (think Sinatra and Bennett) in the background and lit a couple of candles placed snugly in the crystal candle holders.  We set the table with our Fiestaware china, in the following colors:  Butterscotch, Paprika, Meadow, and Scarlet.  These three warm colors and one cool evoked the beauty of the changing of the leaves that is magnificent this time of year.  A bouquet of silk autumn leaves in the centerpiece brought it all together.

This year, I veered a bit from our traditional menu fare.  Sent away on holiday was the usual fare we have every year and brought in for a premiere showing were several new-to-us foods.  But Tom Turkey was still the star of the meal.  For reference, I picked up a 15-pound bird for $23.39.  that is pretty good, given we will have a lot of leftovers to freeze and bones from which to make turkey soup.SALAD AND WINE

To begin, our first and second courses were a bit quirky; something one wouldn’t think of to serve on Thanksgiving.  The cup of Japanese Onion Soup we both had was good, and a suitable choice since it was mostly a light broth.  It was simple to make a day ahead.  The Apple-Raisin-Walnut Salad with Pumpkin Bread Croutons was crisp and cold, with the fresh Orange-Ginger Dressing being the perfect accompaniment.

The Herb Roasted Tom Turkey was perfectly browned and moist.  My Apple-Raisin-Walnut stuffing to go with it turned out moist and crispy, just as we like it.  I forgot to buy the raisins, but that did not deter from its mission as a side dish.  It still tasted good!  Leave it to me to forget to buy the raisins, although my forgetting something is not unheard of.

I prepared the Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine a couple of days in advance, and that was to its advantage, since the flavors melded well.  I served this delightful side dish chilled, but I imagine it would taste just as good hot, too.

The Green Bean Gremolata was a new-to-us vegetable recipe.  We liked the just-kissed lemony drizzle and the few shavings of Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.  For the yellow vegetable, I opted to make Cousin Stanley’s Roasted Squash, just as he made it, roasted to tenderness, and drizzled with a touch of local honey.MY PLATE

For our starch in the potato department, Best Friend had a twice-baked potato, and I opted for one of my own favorites – boiled sweet potatoes.  It’s a treat for our dogs, too, sans the butter and pepper!

And what about dessert?  This year, instead of my fresh homemade pumpkin pie, I made a small carrot cake, a favorite of Best Friend.  I made this just as our own moms did – with fresh grated carrots.  Heavenly!CARROT CAKE 2

This year’s celebration was successful, and we like the fact that we chose a non-traditional day to observe the annual Thanksgiving Holiday.  As I wrote in my previous essay, WELCOME TO THE OASIS, we are not bound to have our annual Thanksgiving on the designated Federal date – every day could and should be one of thankfulness and gratitude.

I hope you had a perfectly marvelous Thanksgiving, if you celebrate it today.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

©2022 The Oasis at Four Queen Palms

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Time Changes, Or Do We Change Our Time?

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When I lived in North Dakota, very close to the Canadian border, summer evenings seemed to last extraordinarily long.  You see, it would be 10 p.m. and it was still light out, the stores in the little town stayed open longer; people were outside more with various activities.  Yet, by 9:30 p.m., the sun would be already sinking slowly in the west.  Now, where I live in a completely different part of the country, it is vastly different.

Here this time of year, at The Oasis of Four Queen Palms, by 4:30 p.m. or so, the sun gets ready to set, and within that hour, it is completely dark outside.  Add a gloomy or inclement weather day to the mix, and it seems all the darker outside.

On the bright side, the early darkness does make for a nice atmosphere for dining at home – lit candles in crystal candleholders, soft music playing in the background, dim lights in the living room.  Yet, when you really come down to it, early darkness is just something Best Friend and I aren’t crazy about.  The day seems terribly short.  But that’s what we get with the juggling of Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time, ad infinitum.  I believe it’s time we cut out this nonsense and just stick to one time format or the other.

I already spent part of this weekend preparing some of the food for our Thanksgiving dinner that we will enjoy later in the week.  The cranberries, mushroom gravy, stuffing, and soup were easy to prepare, and the best part is that I cut all those recipes in half.  No sense in have too much left over.  Doing this ahead of time is a time-saver.  As a bonus, I made just enough of each to freeze for another day.  The turkey is thawing.  The wine is chilling.  On the day of our Thanksgiving, I’ll prepare the salad, squash, green beans, and of course, Mr. Tom Turkey.

Looking ahead, I am sure our dogs will enjoy a bit of turkey and sweet potato.  Mademoiselle Cat will just have to be happy with a serving of salmon.  Best Friend is already commenting on how good The Oasis smells with what I prepared so far.  Everybody wins in my house.

Time is what we make of it.  We can say, “Oh!  There just isn’t enough time.”  Or, “Sorry.  Can’t do it; no time.”  Or we can put our noses to the grindstone and make the time.  We can only seriously try our best to become more organized, embrace the positive aspects of whatever we attempt, and be glad for the outcome.  Will we let time change our daily lives and give us ways to offer excuses, or will we change how we use our time wisely?

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

©2022 The Oasis at Four Queen Palms

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Cooking the Red Cranberries with Red Wine.
Made early and refrigerated for our Thanksgiving.

Preparations – Thanksgiving.

books, dining, gratitude, holidays, thanksgiving, , , , , ,

Today is a beautiful autumn day here at The Oasis of Four Queen Palms.  Early this morning, I walked out to the terrace to take in the crisp air as the dawn splashed pinks and yellows across the eastern sky.  My peach-colored hibiscus still has a good crop of blooms, but most of my other flowering plants are spent for the season.

The approaching Holidays means that life gets a little busier for me, and there is so much to do.  Most important in my routine is the deep cleaning of the house.  It’s also time to pack away the warm weather things and bring out those for fall and winter.  The seasonal decorations will need to come out of storage, sorted through, and put up around the house.  The writing of Christmas letters and addressing greeting cards is nigh.  And then there is the preparation of menus ranging from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day.

Best Friend and I decided that this year, we will observe the annual Thanksgiving celebration on a date not in concert with the Federal holiday.  We picked out a day, and it will be ours to savor.

I already chose the colors of our Fiestaware china for that day:  Butterscotch, Paprika, Meadow, and Scarlet.  These three warm colors and one cool, evoke the beauty of the changing of the leaves that is fabulous this time of year.  I plan to arrange a table centerpiece that will include a Fiestaware large disk pitcher in Scarlet, that will hold a bouquet of silk autumn leaves.  Of course, lit wax candles in crystal candleholders will also make an appearance.

I believe that eating at home should be a lovely experience, and not only for the Holidays and entertaining otherwise.  In fact, all year ‘round, I consistently set a pretty table with delightfully presented meals that one might only enjoy in a good restaurant.  My family is important to me, and I show it as best as possible.

And that brings me back to our first celebration of the season.

Best Friend and I picked out the date for our Thanksgiving.  With that set, I now have the menu decided upon.  Here it is, for your wonderment:

First Course

Japanese Onion Soup

 Second Course

Apple Salad with Pumpkin Bread Croutons

Third Course

Roasted Whole Tom Turkey

Apple-Raisin-Walnut Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine, Green Bean Gremolata, Cousin Stanley’s Roasted Squash, Boiled Sweet Potato, Twice Baked Potato, Homemade Fresh Mushroom Gravy

Fourth Course

Homemade Carrot Cake

Beverage

Mogen David wine

As elegant as this feast might be, the most important factor of the upcoming day for us will be the sincere gratitude we have in so many ways.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

©2022 The Oasis at Four Queen Palms

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Welcome to The Oasis.

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Welcome to my essays on life and elegant living at The Oasis at Four Queen Palms.

Upon awakening this morning, I dressed and headed to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of hot black coffee.  Before I dressed and left the bedroom, my best friend hurried me to the window to witness the dawn together, where the sun was in the midst of a fiery red and orange rise above the horizon.  It was a glorious morning sight, and pity that I did not have film in my camera to capture it for posterity.

A few oohs! and ahhs! were shared between us, a few words of wonderment expressed, whereupon I dressed and headed to the kitchen to make our coffees.  I then went on to the terrace to drink my coffee and ponder my thoughts.

There is something to be said about the hazy, lazy days of summer, but what about life after October?

Indeed, once Halloween is over and the decorations and the masquerade costumes go back in storage here at The Oasis of Four Queen Palms, the pages on the calendar seem to invariably flip faster and faster each day.  It never fails.  In fact, when the calendar turned to November, I put away the few Halloween decorations I have (a ceramic haunted house my aunt and uncle gave me and a Jack O’Lantern from my other aunt).  Then, as I was setting up the ancient paper turkey on my cellarette in the foyer and hung the wreath on the front door, I gave a few thoughts about Thanksgiving.

In my thinking and deep ponderings, the act of thanksgiving should be/could be a daily celebration.  Sure, it is nice that we have a national holiday dedicated to it, and most working people have the day off.  But does it have to be the fourth Thursday in November?

Maybe not.

Best Friend and I discussed this very idea recently.  Why couldn’t we have Thanksgiving on another day that we determine?  After all, we are not going to the little shindig that our neighborhood diner is setting up (Their offering of Cheese Whiz on Ritz crackers, pressed turkey with canned cranberries and instant potatoes turns us off – and the cost per person is unreasonable for microwaved mass-produced food).  No family nor friends are making the trek to holiday with anyone, either.  So, we decided to forego the November 24th date this year and pick another day to have our own private thanksgiving, with our homemade foods, music of our own choice, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Indeed, this will be a different Thanksgiving holiday, one that for the first time in our lives won’t be on the Federal holiday date.  It will be on our own terms.

And that brings me around to a question that a friend and fellow author asked me, paraphrased: “Does it take a recession and wild inflation for people to learn to be thankful for what they have?”

Perhaps.  Perhaps it does.  You see, I published a few short stories about people living during The Depression and learning what is important and what it means to be appreciative.  I chose that time in history because I have a great affection for those times.  Not that I was alive then, you see, but there is something about the music, the movies, the fashions, and the history that attracts me to no end.  I suppose The Depression slapped a little reality into some people, and those heady days before those rough years were thought to never, ever end.  Perhaps they thought prosperity and overabundance would remain forever; but who truly knows?  Yet hard times did materialize, and sometimes that’s what it takes for people to realize what is truly important.  It does not take a depression, recession, or impossible inflation to make a person’s life difficult, either.  Circumstances vary.

And now returning to Thanksgiving 2022:  Sure, we can make do with a lovely and lavish meal with enough turkey leftovers to make soup from the bones and Turkey Tetrazzini for the week, et al.  Yet, the most important feature of whatever day we pick to celebrate, is but one of 364 days of thanksgiving.  And that is what we will do on a day we determine to be our day of annual thanksgiving.

With the upcoming Holidays, I put my writing on pause for the next couple of weeks, which could be a good thing.  I’ll have time to think about my books and the plots as I make the preparations for the upcoming observances.

I already prepared four batches of cookie dough and froze them, so they’ll be ready for a quick roll, cut, decorate, and bake for both Thanksgiving and Christmas entertainment.  (Did you know that cookie dough can be frozen raw for several months before using?)  Right now, I am baking my homemade pumpkin bread which will then be made into croutons for salads to be used over the next couple of weeks, including Thanksgiving dinner.

Yet, there are more tasks to accomplish:  I need to finish writing out the Thanksgiving dinner menu, decide upon the Holiday décor, finish writing the Christmas letter and review my Christmas card list for this year, and so much more in the realm of secular entertainment and religious observances.

Yet, although the time might be flying, I am getting projects and tasks done.  Writing itself isn’t always the mechanics of sitting down and putting pen to paper.  It is an involved process, at least for me, that ideas float around my mind and marinate as I formulate plot outlines and conceive witty phrases.  It was like that for me in college (for those twenty-plus page dissertations), and at work (for those technical orders and communications) – and it is always this –> take a short break, do something else, and go back to that paper or project.  I haven’t had much good quality time to write lately, although I do have a slew of outlines finished.  It seems that every time I sit down to work on my books, Mr. Rat Terrier needs something.  No matter that Best Friend might be available to meet His Highness’ needs at the moment.  Nope.  It is I, and I only, who can fulfill Mr. Rat Terrier’s whims, from a doggie snack to being let out in the yard.  Thank the heavens above that Miss Doxie and Mademoiselle Petite Chatte require little in the way of attention.

This introductory chapter is the first of my blog, The Oasis at Four Queen Palms.  I plan to write an essay each Monday and Thursday within the realms of lifestyle and experiences.  Indeed, I have been writing blogs for well over ten years now in different formats and names (and all but one is defunct), but this is the one that will settle specifically on life here at The Oasis of Four Queen Palms.

Well, time to get back to the kitchen.  The pumpkin bread should be just about ready to take out of the oven.

As ever,

Lady Susan Marie Molloy

 

©2022 The Oasis at Four Queen Palms

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Elegant living can be yours.