Come Monday…

I woke up to the alarm and overcast skies on Monday. I went out to Costco at lunch and picked up some more coffee and then went to PetSmart for some kitty litter (I forgot it at Kroger’s last Saturday and forgot to look at Costco's, today).

I also had to pick up a birthday card, so I popped into the Chinese takeout next to CVS and ordered a quart of chicken fried rice. I paid for it and promised to be right back. I got the card at CVS and when I went back next door, my lunch/dinner was ready. I went home and unloaded the car, ate lunch and still made it back to work on time.

It finally did rain, but only a bit, just before it was time to go home. However, when I went out and watered the window box (the indicator was below “minimum”) there wasn’t much more than a trace of water in the rain gauge.

I took the trash out to the road after I switched out the kitty litter and then came inside and changed. I was watching the news when the door bell rang. I looked out and there was no vehicle in the driveway. Hmmm... So, I checked and it was my neighbor, with a bag of goodies from her garden. I got two big tomatoes, four big cucumbers and a butternut squash! I took a picture for you, then I took out some thick-cut bacon to thaw (can you say BLTs tomorrow and not be referring to my spine?)

Meanwhile, I used two of the biggest cukes to make my Mother’s cucumber salad (It’s quite like my radish salad listed under “recipes,” but without the radishes). Since I had around two pounds of cucumber slices, I doubled the liquid ingredients and brought 1/2 cup of apple cider, three tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper to boil while I sliced half of a medium sweet white onion (I didn’t have a red one) as thin as I could.

When the sugar had dissolved, I added two tablespoons of vegetable oil and whisked it together. I poured that over the cucumber and onions. As an afterthought, I went out to the raised bed herb garden and got some fresh dill and put that in as well. I mixed everything up and let it all get happy for about 10 minutes, while I washed up everything I used. Then I taste-tested it. Hmmm... It “might” need a bit more salt, but with the dill, I’m just not sure. So, I put it in my big glass bowl and covered it with cling wrap. I put it in the fridge to cool. Note: It will keep up to four days in the fridge, but remember to bring it up to room temperature each time before serving.

I heated up the rest of the fried rice and ate that for my dinner. It was still good and filling and, as you may have guessed, I like fried rice!

Staying up late Sunday night had taken a toll on me (I was dozing off at my desk this afternoon) so I watched my taped Breaking Bad episode and went to bed by 10:30 PM.