• Mama Mia!

    From Dave Drum@1:2320/105 to Ruth Haffly on Sun Sep 28 05:38:44 2025
    Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

    extremely high out there so I guess they're trying to establish a
    secure financial foundation first.

    If we waited for that very little would ever get done. Bv)=

    I know, but from what Rachel said, it is much higher than you would
    expect for the location. The state has more like LA or NYC or DC
    prices for housing and such like.

    Prices have gone completely bonkers over the past few years. My little house on the prairie has quadrupled in value in the few short years
    I've been here. Fortunately I have a property tax/assessment freeze as well as a homestead exemption ot my taxes would have gone right up
    with the "value" One of the (few) benefits of being and old guy.

    At one point this place was valued at almost triple what we paid for it but the market has shifted (again) and we're no longer valued so high.
    We still get a lot of junk mail/calls "we want to buy your house" so
    one time Steve told the caller that he'd sell--for half a million
    dollars. Guy was somewhat taken aback, said he couldn't offer that
    much, good bye.

    I don't get calls like that any longer. What I see now is "SPAM and
    BLOCKED!" on my screen. I used to have fun with some of those callers.
    Lead them right along and agree to all of their"suggestions' for add-on
    items to the point I could almost hear them salivating. And when it came
    time to give payment information the call would mysteriously get dropped.

    And since they were using a robo-caller there was no way they could call
    back. When I still had the land-line the teelemarketers were "spoofing" numbers. Once I looked at the caller ID and it said my phone number was
    calling my actual phone number. Bv)= Needless to say ........

    And rents? HAH! They're worse than .........

    When we bought this house, the payment schedule worked out that we'd
    pay a bit less than our (at the time) rent. We've added a good bit to
    the principle each month so now, after almost 11 years, we've over half paid it off.

    I put 20% down and made the monthly strokes plus U$50. Then in 2016
    after the ballots were counted I figured the stock market was in for a
    very rough ride. So I cashed out my stock portfolio and paid off the
    mortgage. I wasn't totally correct in my guess about the market but I've
    never regretted making that move.

    I cleaned the 'fridge yesterday. Amazing how much space can be freed
    up. And how many bowls and containers can be put back into service.

    I know the feeling. (G)

    I told Dennis that the clear-out was gong to be a regular thing. And
    if he stashed something to eat it (or share it with the mutts) within
    two weeks or - into the bin with it. We'll see how that plays out.

    Containers labeled for contents and dated, I presume? I'm better about that for the freezer than the fridge.

    The ice box stuff is an see-thru containers and I've not dated and of
    it. The stuff that gets sucky-bagged and frozen gets dated and
    (usually) has a name or description on the package.

    Unless it's something obvious, like the pizza Steve brought home from a meeting last night. We repackaged it into 2 slices/bag vaccuum bags and froze. It'll reheat quick on the convection cycle of the toaster oven
    and a slice each, with a side of something else, will make an easy
    lunch.

    I nuke frozen (leftover) pizza. Lots quicker.

    8<----- SNIP ----->8

    You can use any Parmesan cheese you like. The stuff from
    the pre-grated cans works here. You can also use
    mixtures of Parmesan with other cheeses. I use a store
    brand Parmesan, Romano and Asiago blend to good effect.

    I don't buy the red and green cans ny more; after using fresh grated,
    the cheese in them tastes more like sawdust.

    I do both. Depends on the use. I do keep a wedge of Parmesan has the little crank grater handy. Like many I had grown up with the shaker
    cans and didn't know any better until I made this recipe - what an eye-opener. Bv)=

    Steve's mom bought the real thing from time to time at the little
    Italian store in Rochester that we shop at from time to time. She also used the green and red cans; I was raised on the green can. Once our finances eased a bit (and getting into the echo), I started buying the real thing and haven't looked back.

    I'm more like Steve's mom then. I do both - depending. Hy-Vee sells a shaker-can of grated Parm w/black pepper and garlic added. Very nice in
    some (many) applications.

    Title: Dave's Fish Parmesan
    Categories: Seafood, Cheese, Sauces, Mushrooms
    Yield: 8 Servings


    Sometimes it just takes something simple to open your eyes. Steve
    doesn't like black olives so some years (decades) ago I bought some kalamata olives. Big!!! hit, and they appear regularly in my cooking.

    I alsways like the ripe olives better than the green guys. Although I'll
    do the greenies as long as I can ditch the pimientos.

    Here's one I do that uses green olives:

    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

    Title: Green Olive Pesto
    Categories: Five, Condiments, Sauces
    Yield: 2 1/2 cups

    1 1/2 c Large or jumbo green olives;
    - such as ascolane, pitted
    1/2 Red onion; fine chopped
    1/4 c Pine nuts
    1 cl Garlic; thin sliced
    1/2 c Extra virgin olive oil;
    - give or take 1 ounce

    In a food processor, combine olives, onion, pine nuts
    and garlic and blend 1 minute. With the motor running,
    slowly pour in olive oil until a thick, smooth paste is
    formed. texturally resembling rough bechamel.

    Allow to stand 1/2 hour before using.

    Yield: 2 1/2 cups

    Recipe By: Molto Mario Show #MB5692

    From: http://www.recipesource.com

    Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen

    MMMMM

    ... If you can't sleep at night it's because you're still awake.
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  • From Ruth Haffly@1:396/45.28 to Dave Drum on Sun Sep 28 15:42:42 2025
    Hi Dave,


    At one point this place was valued at almost triple what we paid for it but the market has shifted (again) and we're no longer valued so high.
    We still get a lot of junk mail/calls "we want to buy your house" so
    one time Steve told the caller that he'd sell--for half a million
    dollars. Guy was somewhat taken aback, said he couldn't offer that
    much, good bye.

    I don't get calls like that any longer. What I see now is "SPAM and BLOCKED!" on my screen. I used to have fun with some of those callers. Lead them right along and agree to all of their"suggestions' for
    add-on items to the point I could almost hear them salivating. And
    when it came time to give payment information the call would
    mysteriously get dropped.

    And since they were using a robo-caller there was no way they could
    call back. When I still had the land-line the teelemarketers were "spoofing" numbers. Once I looked at the caller ID and it said my
    phone number was calling my actual phone number. Bv)= Needless to say ........

    We've had nothing but cell phones since we moved back to the mainland in
    fall of 2006. In Hawaii we dropped long distance from our land line the
    last 2 or 3 years we were there as we could call for free on week ends
    with our cells. And yes, even with the cells, we've gotten calls from
    our own number a few times. W have Google Fi for our provider; until
    recently they had a call screening service. When I upgraded phones in
    June, I noticed it had been discontinued--I miss it, especially with
    calls that come in with our local area code. It's ID'ed if in my contact
    list but if it's a new to me, I have to answer (or let it go to voice
    mail, not always the best option).

    And rents? HAH! They're worse than .........

    When we bought this house, the payment schedule worked out that we'd
    pay a bit less than our (at the time) rent. We've added a good bit to
    the principle each month so now, after almost 11 years, we've over half paid it off.

    I put 20% down and made the monthly strokes plus U$50. Then in 2016
    after the ballots were counted I figured the stock market was in for a very rough ride. So I cashed out my stock portfolio and paid off the mortgage. I wasn't totally correct in my guess about the market but
    I've never regretted making that move.

    We've debated it a few times but figured the payment is reasonable
    enough now, we're not wiping out our savings for old age. With the VA
    loan we didn't put anything down.


    I told Dennis that the clear-out was gong to be a regular thing. And
    if he stashed something to eat it (or share it with the mutts) within
    two weeks or - into the bin with it. We'll see how that plays out.

    Containers labeled for contents and dated, I presume? I'm better about that for the freezer than the fridge.

    The ice box stuff is an see-thru containers and I've not dated and of
    it. The stuff that gets sucky-bagged and frozen gets dated and
    (usually) has a name or description on the package.

    Unless it's something obvious, like the pizza Steve brought home from a meeting last night. We repackaged it into 2 slices/bag vaccuum bags and froze. It'll reheat quick on the convection cycle of the toaster oven
    and a slice each, with a side of something else, will make an easy
    lunch.

    I nuke frozen (leftover) pizza. Lots quicker.

    By doing it our way, the crust doesn't get soggy. We've tried it both
    ways (nuking and rebaking) and personally prefer the other. Yesterday
    Steve brought home from the farmer's market a different twist on
    pizza--a roll up. Didn't really have any noticeable sauce, just
    pepperoni and cheese, but it was good. One of the vendors has been
    bringing them so Steve finally decided to give them a try--we may try
    making our own version.

    Steve's mom bought the real thing from time to time at the little
    Italian store in Rochester that we shop at from time to time. She also used the green and red cans; I was raised on the green can. Once our finances eased a bit (and getting into the echo), I started buying the real thing and haven't looked back.

    I'm more like Steve's mom then. I do both - depending. Hy-Vee sells a shaker-can of grated Parm w/black pepper and garlic added. Very nice
    in some (many) applications.

    Wegman's sells the fresh grated, usually in tubs. The black pepper and
    garlic sounds like a nice addition; maybe I'll take some of our Parm,
    now that it's grated (and frozen), add pepper & garlic to a small jar of
    it. (We keep a pint sized glass jar with a shaker top in the fridge.)


    Sometimes it just takes something simple to open your eyes. Steve
    doesn't like black olives so some years (decades) ago I bought some kalamata olives. Big!!! hit, and they appear regularly in my cooking.

    I alsways like the ripe olives better than the green guys. Although
    I'll do the greenies as long as I can ditch the pimientos.

    I don't mind the pimentoes so will eat them along with the olive. (G)


    ---
    Catch you later,
    Ruth
    rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


    ... It works! Now, if only I could remember what I did.

    --- PPoint 3.01
    * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)
  • From Dave Drum@1:320/219 to Ruth Haffly on Tue Sep 30 11:58:00 2025
    Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

    And since they were using a robo-caller there was no way they could
    call back. When I still had the land-line the teelemarketers were "spoofing" numbers. Once I looked at the caller ID and it said my
    phone number was calling my actual phone number. Bv)= Needless to say ........

    We've had nothing but cell phones since we moved back to the mainland
    in fall of 2006. In Hawaii we dropped long distance from our land line
    the last 2 or 3 years we were there as we could call for free on week
    ends with our cells. And yes, even with the cells, we've gotten calls
    from our own number a few times. W have Google Fi for our provider;
    until recently they had a call screening service. When I upgraded
    phones in June, I noticed it had been discontinued--I miss it,
    especially with calls that come in with our local area code. It's ID'ed
    if in my contact list but if it's a new to me, I have to answer (or let
    it go to voice mail, not always the best option).

    I had thought I'd keep my land-line forever ... just POTS with no add-ons except caller ID. My reasoning was that if there is a big weather event
    and the power grid goes down Ma Bell has her own battery-back-up so the
    land lines will still work. But then they jacked the $$$ to the realms
    of unreasonability and I explained to them where to put their service.

    And rents? HAH! They're worse than .........

    When we bought this house, the payment schedule worked out that we'd
    pay a bit less than our (at the time) rent. We've added a good bit to
    the principle each month so now, after almost 11 years, we've over half paid it off.

    I put 20% down and made the monthly strokes plus U$50. Then in 2016
    after the ballots were counted I figured the stock market was in for a very rough ride. So I cashed out my stock portfolio and paid off the mortgage. I wasn't totally correct in my guess about the market but
    I've never regretted making that move.

    We've debated it a few times but figured the payment is reasonable
    enough now, we're not wiping out our savings for old age. With the VA
    loan we didn't put anything down.

    The other side of that coin is I can stash what I would have paid in
    other things. My credit union puts a hundred buck per month into savings
    for me si I have the insurance and taxes covered.

    I told Dennis that the clear-out was gong to be a regular thing. And
    if he stashed something to eat it (or share it with the mutts) within
    two weeks or - into the bin with it. We'll see how that plays out.

    Containers labeled for contents and dated, I presume? I'm better about that for the freezer than the fridge.

    The ice box stuff is an see-thru containers and I've not dated and of
    it. The stuff that gets sucky-bagged and frozen gets dated and
    (usually) has a name or description on the package.

    Unless it's something obvious, like the pizza Steve brought home from a meeting last night. We repackaged it into 2 slices/bag vaccuum bags and froze. It'll reheat quick on the convection cycle of the toaster oven
    and a slice each, with a side of something else, will make an easy
    lunch.

    I nuke frozen (leftover) pizza. Lots quicker.

    By doing it our way, the crust doesn't get soggy. We've tried it both
    ways (nuking and rebaking) and personally prefer the other. Yesterday Steve brought home from the farmer's market a different twist on
    pizza--a roll up. Didn't really have any noticeable sauce, just
    pepperoni and cheese, but it was good. One of the vendors has been bringing them so Steve finally decided to give them a try--we may try making our own version.

    Pizza or sammich?

    Steve's mom bought the real thing from time to time at the little
    Italian store in Rochester that we shop at from time to time. She also used the green and red cans; I was raised on the green can. Once our finances eased a bit (and getting into the echo), I started buying the real thing and haven't looked back.

    I know the green cans were Kraft. I'm drawing a blank on the red though.

    I'm more like Steve's mom then. I do both - depending. Hy-Vee sells a shaker-can of grated Parm w/black pepper and garlic added. Very nice
    in some (many) applications.

    Wegman's sells the fresh grated, usually in tubs. The black pepper and garlic sounds like a nice addition; maybe I'll take some of our Parm,
    now that it's grated (and frozen), add pepper & garlic to a small jar
    of it. (We keep a pint sized glass jar with a shaker top in the
    fridge.)

    Give it a shot. I.m thinking about adding a teaspoon of crused red pepper flakes to my Hy-Vee shaker. I've got one that's down to about enough for
    two applications - so I'll test it out there before "fixing" the new jar.

    Sometimes it just takes something simple to open your eyes. Steve
    doesn't like black olives so some years (decades) ago I bought some kalamata olives. Big!!! hit, and they appear regularly in my cooking.

    I alsways like the ripe olives better than the green guys. Although
    I'll do the greenies as long as I can ditch the pimientos.

    I don't mind the pimentoes so will eat them along with the olive. (G)

    I will too. But if they's fallen out the olives I let them lay there in
    the brine residue rather than scoop them up. Bv)=

    I haven't made this .... yet .......

    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

    Title: Pepperoni Lover's French Bread Pizza
    Categories: Vegetables, Cheese, Beef, Herbs, Breads
    Yield: 4 servings

    MMMMM---------------------------SAUCE--------------------------------
    14 oz Can petite diced tomatoes;
    - drained
    1 cl Garlic; grated
    1/2 ts Kosher salt
    1/2 ts Dried oregano
    1 tb Olive oil
    Few grinds of black pepper

    MMMMM---------------------------PIZZA--------------------------------
    1/4 c Olive oil
    2 cl Garlic; grated
    1 Loaf soft French bread;
    - split lengthwise, insides
    - mostly dug out
    4 oz Mozzarella; grated or torn
    2 tb Grated Parmesan; more for
    - serving
    2 oz Sliced pepperoni; quartered
    Red-pepper flakes or dried
    - oregano, or both, for
    - serving

    MAKE THE SAUCE: Set the oven @ 450ºF/232ºC with a rack
    in the middle position. Combine tomatoes, garlic, salt,
    oregano, olive oil and black pepper in a medium bowl,
    and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

    PREPARE THE PIZZA: Combine the 1/4 cup olive oil and
    garlic in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, swirling
    occasionally, until the garlic starts to sizzle, but
    doesn’t brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

    Place the French bread cut side up on a baking sheet.
    Brush cut sides with garlic oil. Bake until edges are
    golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

    Toss together the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni in
    a medium bowl. Divide tomato sauce between the two bread
    halves all the way to the edges and top with pepperoni
    and cheese.

    Return to the oven and bake until melted, about 5
    minutes. Increase heat to broil and broil (watch
    carefully!) until the cheese is bubbly and browned in
    spots, 1 to 2 minutes more. Let cool 5 minutes before
    slicing and serving. Serve topped with more Parmesan,
    red-pepper flakes and oregano, if you like.

    By: Dawn Perry

    Yield: 4 servings

    RECIPE FROM: https://cooking.nytimes.com

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