Working in the yard, playing in the kitchen...

I stopped at Westborn Market on the way home for some green beans and mushrooms I've got an idea I want to try for the stew.

I got home and got out the air compressor. I took it outside and blew out the hose that's attached to the fence. This should prevent it from freezing and cracking in the winter. My Fall ToDo list is really shrinking. There are only four item left. One is move the chiminea in the house after the last Fall fire and the rest are all maintenance: Keep cutting the leaves up, get all the leaves off the roof when the last one has fallen and finally then clean out the gutters.

I went in the house and changed. I got out my Dutch oven and put in some olive oil and butter. While it melted, I cut the whole mushrooms into quarters and began to saut� them. Then I trimmed the ends of the green beans and cut them into 1 1/2 inch pieces. When the mushrooms were just about finished, I threw in the green beans and let them cook a few minutes. Then I added the leftover stew, turn the pot to simmer and stirred occasionally until it got warm. I put the dumplings back on top and covered the pot to steam them.

I had a bowl and my theory was sound. Now the softness of the meat, potatoes, parsnips and rutabagas are balanced by the crunch of the green beans. I guess I could have used celery as well.

Watched TV until 10:00 PM, then out went the lights and it was bedtime for the Captain.