Sunday, September 13, 2020

Wildfire weight

I've heard many mentions of "pandemic pounds" put on by people staying home and baking/cooking more. Since the pandemic didn't really change our home life much, that hasn't been a problem here. However, if our very hazardous air pollution hangs around much longer, "wildfire weight" may become a thing! (Our air quality index is 562 right now. 😳😷) I'm only going outside to do chores and let Poppy relieve herself (on leash, so she doesn't run around too much) so neither one of us is getting the exercise we need. She is one pent-up pup, and I am spending too much time sitting and not enough time moving. And cooking is something I can do inside....


No 'pandemic pounds' on this lithe form!

So far, all the food has been pretty healthy. I get a weekly email from 'A Veggie Venture,' and last week's recipe sounded interesting. Our new neighbors had given me some of their abundance of tomatoes (jealous!) so I had enough.

This is SO GOOD! Rick and I devoured the whole thing within a day and I'm pondering begging the neighbors for more tomatoes so I can make it again. I have plenty of basil, but it needs a thorough washing to get all the ash off. 😝

I've had the dehydrator running pretty much non-stop on prunes; just started another load this morning. Now I'm going to try a batch of 'prune sauce.' We like peanut butter and applesauce over toast and I've made pear sauce, too, when we've been given pears. Why not prune sauce? Jars and rings are in the dishwasher as I type. I did get two pint jars of eggplant on their way to pleasant fermented pickliness. Now I need to figure out what to do with all the slender sweet peppers and jalapeños in the garden.

So far I've resisted the urge to bake something sweet and yummy because of the high likelihood of my eating it all. But there is a tube of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in the frig and it's only 69° in the house (the only benefit of all this smoke is the reduced temperatures). I should just make granola.

Stuck inside at . . .

12 comments:

A :-) said...

I'm gonna say go for the granola since I just made some zucchini bread last week . . . One should never make zucchini bread when one is the only one in the house . . . Ugh.

Sure hope you get rain soon.

Michelle said...

Too late; I made the cinnamon rolls. 😋

Sharrie Brockhaus said...

Not worried about your extra pounds, but just happy to know that you are all right. Stay safe!

Mama Pea said...

During these trying times -- pandemic, fires, etc. -- I think we all need to do whatever is necessary to keep our sanity. Of course, eating unhealthily is not very wise, but the occasional dish of ice cream (or cinnamon roll) can't hurt that much. Can it??

Poppy really has some l-o-n-g legs, doesn't she? And NO body fat!

Retired Knitter said...

I am so glad to hear from you. I've been wondering. I have another friend in Oregon and I talked with her in a Zoom meeting last night. I think she is less impacted than you. It is so terrible the pictures we see on the east coast. This year, 2020, has been so terrible. It is like we are being punished for something.

Retired Knitter said...

Oh, and thank you for the recipe and the Veggie Website suggestion. I am following that now.

Mountaingmom said...

Glad you are still safe, and hope you get cooler wetter weather to help your air quality. If someone gives you pears again, you should try Pear Marmalade, it is easy and so good with peanut butter on toast. Now I'm following Mama Pea and A Veggie Venture. Take care and stay safe, Michelle.

Tim B. Inman said...

The sun is up this morning here in Southwest Iowa. There is a deep haze over the land. Tears and worries for the west coast. The smoke has made it half way across North America.

Amanda said...

When I was in northern Indiana, there were a lot of eastern Europeans. They were big into using prunes, including prune butter. It was very rich, and delicious in pastries.

Mary Ann said...

It hurts me to see what you are all going through. I have a friend who evacuated a week ago with two six month old puppies. They are living in their car in a friend's garage... it is heart breaking. They do not know if their old farmhouse and barn are still standing. We are blessed here with cooler temps and more temperate weather.

Florida Farm Girl said...

That salad looks good! So sorry you guys are being hit by all that smoke. Stay safe out there.

Michelle said...

Thanks, Sharrie!

That's a slippery slope for me, Mama Pea, but I did indulge this time. I should have fed them to long-legs Poppy!

Elaine, I only know of one person for whom 2020 has been a banner year. She got married in a beautiful ceremony before the pandemic shut-down, and is now expecting her first child – all this and celebrating eight years since her breast cancer diagnosis in her 20s. I think the rest of us would like to kick this year to the curb! Oh, and "A Veggie Venture" is one of my go-to recipe sites!

Fran, the forecast for rain has been pushed back to Friday, but our air quality is improving. An AQI of 288 isn't GOOD, but it's a whole lot better than 590!!!

Tim, I've heard that West Coast smoke has now made it to the East Coast. But guess what! The sun is visible here this morning!!!

Amanda, I've made prune paste to use as a fat substitute in baking, and I've made prune butter for spread. But I'm not going to make those pastries; see my "slippery slope" comment to Mama Pea!

Oh, I do hope your friend has a home to return to, Mary Ann. Thankful that she and her pups got out safely and have a friend willing to let them camp. Things are improving here, at least in Oregon.

I hope you try the Salad, Sue; it really is yummy.