The Gramzie Chronicles

You know the adage: Practice what you preach.  I need to pay heed to what I preach, I've found...the hard way.  Recently, I gave advice on checking for expired or not-so-fresh components in our pantries. Did I check mine? Yes, or at least I thought I did. Turns out I was not as thorough as I should have been. Let me share how I found out. I have a recipe for Minted Squash Orzo, which we both love. I do switch out the mint with parsley, but I digress. One of the ingredients is garlic oil, which plays an important role in the flavor profile. During the preparation of this dish, I did not smell anything off.  Upon tasting it, however, there was something a bit "off".  We did eat it anyway, but when we finished, I made a pass through my ingredients.  The garlic oil had turned. Not just that which was in the dispensing cruet, but both bottles I had in reserve had expired.  I did check the unopened bottles, and they were a no-go. Needless to say, the cruet g...

  I am not a proponent of Daylight Saving Time.  All it does is give people one more thing to argue or complain about.  One caveat is that it makes Spring come an hour earlier. The extra light is welcome, but I'm not one who is bothered or affected by when it begins or ends on the clock.  This comment is indicative of being retired, clearly, as I don't have a job or school dictating my days! With the snow having disappeared,  I've been itching to get outside and DO something. But, the ground is muddy and it's just cold. I did go out and worked in the garden shed, in preparation for the seasonal shift of its contents, a week ago. Honestly, all I could do at this point is raking leaves away from the fence...that which is not frozen to the ground.  It's too cold to justify that. St. Pat's is around the corner and I strongly feel we are due for a balmy celebration. Randy and I both remember the year it was so warm and lovely, we had coffee at 5 a.m. on the deck...