Sunday's Story

I woke up on Sunday at 5:30 AM. I debated whether or not to get up, but I decided I didn't have any sleep left in me. So, I got up and made a fresh pot of coffee. I finished the Blog and posted it.

I started looking in the fridge for breakfast inspiration and saw the rest of the mushrooms were starting to look a bit sad. So I sliced them up, along with some scallions and saut�ed them. Then I added three eggs with some milk whisked in, some fresh ground pepper and dried thyme (thyme and mushrooms are best friends, you see). After they set, I topped the omelet with some shredded Colby-Jack cheese. Two pieces of buttered toast and I was good to go.

I cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen. Then I started cleaning the rest of the house. I swept, vacuumed, dusted and dust-mopped the living room, the office and the bedroom. Then I swept the upstairs bath. I got a bucket of water and some Top Job and washed all the surfaces in the bathroom with a sponge, and then I mopped the floor.

I emptied the vacuum cleaner and took the filter out to the garage. With the door opened, I used the air compressor to blow the filter out. Since I had turned the compressor on, I checked and filled the car tires as needed. Then I filled up the car's windshield washer reservoir.

Back inside, it was almost 11:00 AM. I went downstairs to shave and shower. Cleaned up, I decided to deviate from the ToDo list and take care of something that's been bugging me (I sometimes like to be a deviate, lol!)

When I was looking for the dried thyme in my herbs and seasonings (which are EVERYWHERE) I came across two open Montreal Steak seasonings and two Caribbean Jerk seasonings. This annoyed me as well as reminding me that I have an undetermined amount of herbs and seasoning that are too old to keep. They lose potency after a year or so, you see. Now, some people (not naming names here) will argue you could just use just a bit more, but that's way too imprecise for me. How much more if they are one and a half years old, or two? I say pitch 'em!

I remember a while back seeing a McCormick ad that said something like "If you have McCormick spices or seasoning in a can in your cupboard, throw them away as we haven't used the cans in several years." I also noticed, as I started looking at them, that most spices and seasonings now have a "good through XXXX" date stamp on them. So, I got out every spice and seasoning I own (except for my birthday present from Joe and Kathy, because I know exactly when they will expire - my birthday, next year, lol). I took a picture of all of them on the kitchen table, BTW.

So, anything that didn't have a date stamp got pitched. And, anything that had a date stamp before June of 2009 got pitched as well. Things that came in two but were both good got combined.

Now, how to figure out what I need versus what I threw away, but had another jar? Hey, I admit I can't do squat with "Paint," but I am a whiz at Microsoft Excel (been using the spreadsheets, studying and sorting through financials, for like 15-20 years).

So, I entered everything on a spreadsheet in two columns - one: the spice or seasoning, and two: thrown away or kept. So, first, I sorted it under column A "Spice or Seasoning." Any entry that had duplicate entries (like garlic powder, "thrown away" and garlic powder "kept" was deleted. Next, I sorted it under column B (thrown away or kept) and deleted all the kept items. This now will be the start of next weekend's grocery list. I finished up this strange but needed task at 2:30 PM. In case you are wondering, I need to buy some 20 various spices, herbs or seasonings. The rejected stuff went into the trash (see Photos).

I was tired and my back really hurt (I think I really overdid the cleaning today), so I lay down and started watching taped shows. I fell asleep (finally) and woke up at 6:00 PM.

I immediately went to make my Sunday dinner (I got shows to watch, tonight!) I am making a "simple" dish of pasta with olives, garlic and herbs (it's a Cooks Illustrated recipe, BTW).

I combined three tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of diced garlic, a tablespoon of tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, a tablespoon of minced anchovy (I used about six fillets), 1/4 cup of oil-packed, diced sun-dried tomatoes (rinsed and patted dry) and one cup of pitted kalamata olives (rinsed and coarsely chopped) in a mixing bowl and set it aside.

I put two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and browned 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. After about four minutes, I added a tablespoon of garlic and some salt and saut�ed that about a minute more. I set that aside and wiped out the skillet with paper towels.

Meanwhile, I made a pound of rigatoni pasta in salted boiling water. While the pasta was cooking, I returned the skilled to medium heat and added in the olive mixture. I cooked that until the olives were fragrant and the oil had turned a rusty red (about five minutes).

I removed 3/4 cup of pasta water and added it to the olive mixture I let that simmer for another two minutes. When the pasta was al dente, I reserved another 1/2 cup of pasta water, drained it and returned the pasta to the pot.

I added the olive mixture and tossed over medium heat until the pasta absorbed most of the liquid (about two more minutes).I added in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and adjusted the consistency of the sauce with the reserved pasta sauce (Sauce should cling to the pasta but not be too loose or runny). I removed it from the heat and stirred in a generous amount of fresh, rough-chopped parsley and basil leaves.

I plated it and topped it with the bread crumbs and more cheese.

I ate supper watching my Sunday night shows. It was good, but I think I like my Pasta Puttanesca better (and it was a hell of a lot easier to make!)

I made it through two of the three shows, but fell asleep around 10:30. But, don't worry, I taped them, too.