Cats hide in the darndest places or don't leave the pantry door ajar

The other day I was preparing dinner when I heard the weirdest sounds coming from the pantry. I wondered if there was a mouse in the house. That is always a humorous event, what with five cats lurking around, always anxious for something fun to play with. I don't like the idea, but I was ready for anything.

I opened the door wide, already ajar. I almost didn't see Junior, alias Boo, the Bug, Buggar, or whatever else comes up at the time, who was way back in the far corner, past the toaster, mixer, mini food processor, roasting pans, and mini tool kit, curled up among a stack of empty egg cartons. I was saving them for my friends who raise chickens. The noise I heard, a kind of squeaky sound, suddenly made sense as I watched her snuggle up to one of the styrofoam cartons. 

So much for the neatly stacked, bagged egg cartons. At least I don't have to deal with a dead mouse. 

And once discovered, out she came. She'll probably have to find a new hiding place, since this one has been found!

Buried treasure, kitchen style

When hubby and I cleaned out the pantry the other day, as stated in a previous post, one of our aims was geared to the appliance shelf. We were contemplating items we could include in an upcoming garage sale.

We found this Sunbeam Mixmaster, one that John bought for me many, many years ago--probably sometime in the early 1980's. In those days I liked to bake cookies and other treats for our two little kids.

With just the two of us in our empty nest, and the healthy living diet I insist upon these days, there aren't many baked goods needed around here.

I intended to put this vintage mixer into our garage sale.

Truth is, when John bought it I had my eye on a Kitchen Aid. I admit I was a little disappointed when I got this one instead, but since cost was always a deciding factor in our lives, this is all he could afford. As it was, it was pretty expensive and far outclassed my little hand mixer.

This one was reminiscent of the mixer I remember my mother and even grandmother using, which is something I didn't appreciate at the time. The design hadn't changed much, except perhaps for the electric cord, more powerful motor, and stainless steel bowls. I see things differently now than I did then. I don't care about much beyond functionality. And this one still works great. I admit, this was buried deep in the back of the pantry and I hadn't given it much though in years. If I do have the need, I have a nice hand mixer that has served me well.

When we unearthed this treasure, I dug into the nether reaches of a kitchen drawer, among the spatulas, orange juicer, garlic press, and candy thermometer, looking for the dough hooks that go with this machine. John was amazed. He didn't know it had them. He likes making pizza, so the thought of mixing 'the perfect crust,' which he is always striving for, really appealed to him.

I have never used the dough hooks, but I remembered them because in all the years I've been baking, I've always wanted to try baking bread. There is a bit of a mystery to the whole process for me. I think about the discipline of pioneer women who baked fresh bread every morning from dough they mixed the night before. I've always said that one day, I would get into that; it hasn't happened yet. Then along came the bread machine with its simplicity of throwing a packaged mix into it, waiting a few hours, and lo and behold--bread! In my new found simpler lifestyle, that isn't good enough. The package mix costs too much and contains unknown ingredients. I am also not excited about the unloaf like appearance of the finished product. I have never baked anything with yeast, although my in-laws have perfected their bread-making skills. I suspect it won't be long before I take on this challenge. Stay tuned!

I do like to make banana bread though. It is one of my favorites. And I have found a recipe that is really simple. In fact, it seems there are always a couple of bananas around here that we don't quite finish eating before they pass their prime. So, using them instead of throwing them away is what I'm all about these days. Food is just too expensive. The way I figure, I spent money on bananas; we are eating all of them!

Delicious banana bread

Since we found our mixer and I had a couple of bananas ripe and ready, I decided to make banana bread. It turned out perfectly. I substituted one half cup of the flour with whole grain flour, just to add to the health factor. 

I may be crazy, but I think using this mixer helped the consistency of the bread. It was actually quite good. In fact, this is a mini loaf. There were two others, but we already ate them. It looks like we'll have to look a little further for garage sale items. 

Here is my bread recipe:

Delicious Banana Bread

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, melted

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ cup sour cream

½ cup chopped walnuts

2 medium bananas, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 9x5” loaf pan.

In large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350º for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted ito the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

*I generally bake mini loaves, so I reduce the cooking time to 45 minutes. I also try to substitute at least some whole grain flour.

     

Let's get organized!

I am not the kind of person that enjoys keeping a clean house, a clean desk, or anything that requires being neat and tidy--far from it. But there are times...

This photo is the result of the latest-dual-effort-clean-out-the-pantry project. My husband John and I tackled the job together, which actually made it go much more quicker. We even got to laugh about some of the things we found, like canned goods with an expiration date of 2001. That means some of them were old when we lived in our old house, but we moved them here only to get even older.

I got to clean the bottom shelves; John got to clean the top. That works out just fine for us since he's tall. I'm not. Without even discussing it, he handled taking out the trash while I organized the products onto the shelves. I guess that is the beauty of being married a long time--we have our own duties based on what each of us is good at. We don't even have to think about it.

Truth is, I'm very picky about where I want things. All the tomato products go together, labels forward, neatly stacked. This discipline probably originated one of my first jobs at a grocery store. That was back when I was a teenager. Some things stick with you. Besides, I have a natural penchant for order, when I feel like it.

I also like connections. So, from the tomato products, like canned tomatoes, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes, the natural progression to toward tomato soup, pork and beans, then to dried beans. Another great connection are the noodles--spaghetti, lasagna, egg noodles, and other kinds of pasta. They are never far from rice products, which includes basmatti, long grain, white rice and couscous.

I've always been funny about what I call my "order thing." By all appearances, people who don't really know me would never guess that I have such a condition. I've never been a slave to my house or office. If there is something I want to do, say work on a quilt, write in a blog, or watch a movie, there can be chaos all around me. I don't fret over it, or even pay attention to it, until I feel like it. I certainly never let myself feel guilty over it, for I know it will be waiting for me when I'm darned good and ready to tackle it. And I always do eventually.

When I finally getting around to something like this, I always feel a sense of satisfaction. Cleaning out may be essential for health, but organization is good for the soul.