Another hot day

Tuesday was a repeat of Monday, weather-wise.

I did get the garbage out to the road in time and that was a good thing. I threw away a lot of old leftovers Monday night (no more food poisoning for this ole boy) and it wouldn't have been pretty to keep them in the hot garage for another whole week.

When I got home from work, the first thing I did (after treating the cats) was to change into my shorts and t-shirt. Then I went out back and hooked up the square head sprinkler to water the raised bed garden. I picked six tomatoes and then turned the water on.

Back inside, I set the timer, went through the mail (nothing good) and talked with B___ for a bit.

When the timer went off, I shut off the sprinkler and closed up the house for the night. Then I started making dinner.

Tonight I'm making what should have been my Sunday night dinner: Country fried steak and milk gravy.

So, I peeled four or five potatoes, cubed them and put them on the stove to boil. I took out two cube steaks (the recipe called for four, but that's too many leftovers) and seasoned them on both sides with salt and pepper). I mixed one cup of AP flour with another teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper and put that in one dish. In the other, I put two eggs, slightly beaten.

I heated up 1/4 cup of lard in my large skillet over medium-high heat. I dredged each steak in the flour, then the eggs and then in the flour again. I fried the steaks for 3-4 minutes on each side (until golden brown). I pulled them off and drained them on paper towels.

I poured off all but about two tablespoons of the fat. Then I sprinkled in two tablespoons of the dredging flour. I cooked that over medium heat for about one minute, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Then I gradually whisked in one cup of whole milk. I cooked that, whisking frequently, for three to four minutes (until thickened and bubbly). I added 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper (gravy should be quite peppery).

I mashed the potatoes while I steamed two servings of frozen sweet corn. I plated one steak and half the potatoes and corn. I added some butter and salt to the corn and just butter to the potatoes. I topped the cube steak and potatoes with half the milk gravy.

I went in to eat dinner watching some taped TV. My dinner was excellent! I stopped watching TV about 9:00 AM and read a book until bedtime.