A few of my favorite things

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things"

Ahhh yes.  Bright copper kettles and brown paper packages...a few of my favorite things, too.

I have been officially in the market for a few new pieces of cookware for a while now.  My current set is almost 15 years old and I've had to toss a few pieces along the way. The remaining pieces consist of a large saute pan (it's held up well to constant use, but the non-stick coating is starting to get scruffy) and a couple of saucepans and stockpot, also starting to show their age.  My favorite stockpot is a hand-me-down stainless number; it has lost one of its handles.  My lone skillet (a gift from younger son a few years ago) is also starting to show signs of wear and tear.  I think it's time.  And I'm ready to graduate to stainless.

Yesterday, I spotted and began immediately coveting a big All-Clad saute pan at Williams-Sonoma.  (Okay, yes. To be honest, I heart almost everything W-S sells.  Doesn't everybody?)   Fortunately I had the girl along and she dragged me out of the store before I did anything rash and foolish.

Here's where my current infatuation with beautiful cookware meets reality:  just how many saute pans and skillets do I really need, and how big do they really need to be?  It's one thing to lust after a full cadre of skillets and saute pans, but let's be serious.  I've managed to cook for my crew with just 2 or 3 skillets, a handful of saucepans and one big saute pan over the years.  Does it really make sense to expand my ensemble when I'm scaling back the quantity of food I'm serving?  Will my cooking improve if I use these pans?  Quite frankly, that single All-Clad saute pan retails for more than I've spent on skillets and saucepans our entire married life.

Practicality took over: I've read reviews and compared several high-end cookware lines against each other.  I scoped out eBay and several cooking sites to figure out the going rate for All-Clad, Caphalon, and Cuisinart.   

And...then I marched over to Amazon and placed an order for this Cuisinart 5.5 quart saute pan.  I've had a Cuisinart saucepan for a couple years, and it is my favorite saucepan ever.  The Multiclad line got good reviews, even when stacked up against All-Clad.

But then Amazon did what Amazon does best:  it immediately began showing me additional items I "might" like, including a set of Cuisinart Multiclad skillets, saucepans and a new stockpot with steamer insert, plus lids.  All for a very low price - about 60% off list.  (About the same price as one full-price All-Clad from Williams-Sonoma.)  AND free shipping.

Soooo...of course I caved into temptation.  There is more than a little irony here:  I will have the best and biggest set of cookware I have ever possessed, and use it to cook for an ever-dwindling crowd of regular diners.

I can rationalize this purchase in two ways:  one, today is our "when we met" anniversary.  Exactly 28 years ago, I laid my eyes on the cutest boy I had ever seen.  He made my heart go pitter-pat, and my pitter-pat go booga-wooga.  (He still does.)  I figure my well-timed purchase lets him off the hook for a gift - I couldn't be more delighted with my gift and he didn't have to worry about what to get me.  I'll be giddy with excitement (if not surprise) when the UPS guy drops it off next week. 

And since I had a gob of Amazon rewards points, it cost me $6 and change.  I think I'll be humming "Favorite Things" until my brown paper packages show up next week.

P.S. To a couple of my favorite people in the whole world: I hope the cruise was wonderful and you have a safe trip home! Can't wait to see the pictures!!!

Seattle:  60 and rainy.  KC 94 and dry.

Clean Desk Mission: Day 14

It's still clean.  (It's no wonder it's rained the past couple of days - I am pretty sure I've shifted some cosmic force in the universe.  Watch out Miami, you may get snowed in this fall if I keep this up.) 

All joking aside, it has been really nice to sit down each morning to a fresh start each day for the past two weeks.  My active notebooks are always within arm's reach (and a few new ones are stowed away for future projects.)

I have to admit that during the course of any given day, the desk can still get cluttered up, but I am disciplining myself to clean it up each night, filing away bills, coupons, and stowing my notebooks back in their place.  As a direct result of keeping my desk clean, I have:

• paid the household bills ahead of schedule this month (usually I'm scrambling to get them paid in the nick of time to avoid late fees);
• gathered my receipts, summarized them in a spreadsheet so we know what we spent on SBV this year - and for what area. (AND I turned it in and received my reimbursement check - woohoo!); 
• compiled all the school supply giveaway notes and emails so we can put THAT project to rest until next year;
• remembered to grab coupons and saved quite a few $$$ this week;
• kept up with all my printouts of new recipes and shopping lists for the past two weeks, which in turn meant we tried several new dishes, some of which were keepers.

For those of you who don't struggle with maintaining control of your desk (and the everyday tasks that flow across it), all I can say is "good for you!"  For me, these accomplishments represent a huge step forward in staying on top of things and balancing my time and energy among all the ongoing projects and daily activities that tug and pull me in dozens of directions each day.

Still white-knuckling my way through this...
Terry

Recipe of the Week: Black-Eyed Pea Salad

I admit I have not always been a fan of black-eyed peas and other field peas.  Before they "grew" on me, I turned up my nose at them, because I just didn't care for the taste.  That is, until I experienced this wonderful salad at a friend's home when we were living in Oklahoma. Our families both moved away ten years ago - in fact, they're 13 timezones and half a world from us, at least for a little while longer.

I'm not sure my proportions are exactly in line with hers, but we love this salad and miss those meals with very dear friends.  (I wonder if they can get these ingredients in Malaysia?)

This salad is a very versatile side dish; when tomatoes are in season, it's particularly tasty and holds its own against the bold flavors of barbecued ribs and other meats.  I've also served this on New Year's Day, as our mandatory black-eyed pea dish.  (For good luck, of course.)

Pam's Black-eyed Pea Salad

Ingredients:
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
2 large ripe tomatoes, diced (or substitute 2-3 cups of halved cherry or grape tomatoes)
1 sweet onion, diced
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup Catalina or other sweet French dressing
Frito corn chips, coarsely crushed

Directions:
Drain peas (you can also rinse them if you wish).  Dice tomatoes and onion.  Mix peas, onion, tomato and dressing together, and allow to marinate for a few hours or overnight (you can hold off on adding the tomatoes if you are refrigerating it overnight.)

Just before serving, peel and dice avocado; add to marinated ingredients along with a handful or two of crushed Frito corn chips.  Gently toss to coat and serve.  Makes 6-8 small side servings.  Can be doubled for a larger crowd.

Note:  While this recipe can and should be started ahead of time, it is definitely a "serve immediately" kind of dish - the avocado and crushed corn chips don't make for good leftovers.  Make enough to enjoy, and then make it again when you get a hankering for it.  And Pam, if you ever make it to our place for a visit, I'll be happy to make this or any other dish to serve y'all!