Saturday's Story

I woke up at 6:00 AM today. I do NOT feel motivated in any way, but yet I drag myself out of bed. I backed up the website (a weekly chore) and then wrote and posted the Blog entry. Now, I'm off in search of a cup of coffee (reheated) and a spell on the couch with "Saturday Morning, Over Easy" and my book and blanket.

Well, enough of being lazy. I shaved and showered, then went outside to take the last of the storm pictures and post them. I checked and I only have 6 inches of snow, here. I understand from the TV that as you get north of 8 mile road, the amount lessens as well, so that in Macomb County, they only have four inches or less.

I made breakfast (poached eggs on buttered rye toast) and then started the first of three loads of clothes (I never did my Wednesday night wash, you see).

Back to the kitchen sink. The water from last night still has not gone down. I was thinking there may be a cleanout in the crawl space I
could get to, so I checked the access to the crawl space (in the closet in the office). Its 14" x 20" and the crawl space itself (at that point anyway) is 20" high. I measured me and with my back against the wall (oh, how I know that feeling) its 16 inches to the front of my belly and my shoulders are 23 inches wide. So, no way am I gonna fit down that hole or be able to crawl around. I called the plumber who snakes out my main drain (that sounds dirty, lol) and he said he could come right now or Monday at 8:30 AM. I asked the cost and he said $130.00 for Monday, but he'd have to double it for today (Holiday and all). I said, "See ya Monday!"

I was folding the second load of laundry on my bed when I saw that one of the cats had used the clean (as of yesterday) bedspread as an emesis tray for a hairball. Disgusted, I cleaned it up, sprayed the spot with "Shout" and put it back in the washer! So, make that four loads of laundry today!!

So, it's 12:30 PM and I have all the floors swept or vacuumed and the second load of clothes hung up. I don't want to wash the kitchen floor until all the laundry's done. So, since I plan on having leftover tuna salad for my lunch, I steam some peas (I missed them) to add to the salad before eating. BTW, its almost 40 degrees F and the snow is starting to melt. Everywhere it's dripping outside.

So, I ate lunch and at 2:15 PM, decided to watch my second movie, "Tears of the Sun." About half way through, my daughter Melissa called. Since our last conversation ended on a sour note, I took the call and tried (badly) to shut off the movie. I will not repeat our conversation, but we ended this call quicker and on a much more positive note.

After hanging up with Melissa, I watched the end of the movie. Then, I went off to make my dinner. I know, I know, I don't have a kitchen sink right now, but I am sick of leftovers! So, I made an asparagus and mushroom quiche. Here's how:

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

I cooked 4 slices of thick bacon cut into half inch pieces in a large skillet over medium heat until evenly brown and crisp. I drained the bacon on paper towels, crumbled it and set it aside. Then, I added one cup of chopped onions to the bacon grease, saut�ed and stirred them until they were translucent. I reduced the heat to medium and added one cup of sliced Portobello mushrooms. I cooked those until they were tender and then set the mixture aside.

Meanwhile, I brought a saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. I added in one cup of chopped fresh asparagus and cooked it in the boiling water until just tender, (one to two minutes). I immediately drained it and ran it under cold water to shock it and stop the cooking process.

I brushed a 9-inch deep dish pie shell with a beaten egg white, after poking the bottom with fork. I placed the onion and mushroom mixture, asparagus, and bacon into the bottom of the pie shell. Then, I sprinkled one cup of shredded sharp Cheddar and 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese over the vegetables. In a small bowl, I whisked together the leftover egg yolk, two whole eggs, 3/4 cup of half and half, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper until smooth. I poured this mixture over the vegetable and cheese filling.

I popped the filled pie shell into the oven and baked it uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned on top. I let it cool to room temperature before serving. Before I cut into it, I took a photo and posted it. Click on it to enlarge, and then use your browser's back button to return.

So, now its time for Saturday night fights on HBO. I watched that show (excellent, BTW, and my guy, Joel, won!) and then the replay of last weeks pay-per-view and probably didn't get to bed until after midnight.