First day without a kitchen sink, and so Kevin and I decided to go out - he had lost his appetite when he saw the kitchen and did not want to have dirty dishes to deal with. I told him we could hose them off in the yard and store them in the DW until we get the kitchen connected. So we decided to eat in the neighborhood and first went to a pizza restaurant that I had been to many many years ago, but it looked like a real dive, and so went to a Mexican restaurant across the street that is attached to a Days Inn Motel. It's one of the very few Mexican restaurants in our neighborhood, and I had totally forgotten that it was Cinco de Mayo!l Anyway, I ordered a #8, which was supposed to be a chile relleno with a tamale, but I got a beef taco instead of the chile relleno, but Kevin had ordered chile relleno and gave part of his to me. Food wasn't great, but it was okay and reminded me of why we eat at home. There is a good Mexican restaurant in Mar Vista, but it is about 15 minutes away and it would have been crowded yesterday. Your meal looks really beautiful and makes me wish I could cook at home - and it's only been one day! I sometimes grow Poblano chilies, but I do not have any in my yard right now. They are easy to find in the market, however. I do have Habaneros and Serranos, however. Lars

Diane, definitely get the software installed, I love to see everyone's pictures! For the muffins I used a King Arthur recipe, which I took some liberties with. I added a grated carrot, some leftover chopped pineapple and a handful of dried cherries. They didn't rise high and were a little dense, but very good. Apple Muffins These dark, moist muffins, studded with fresh apple, will keep well for several days. You don't even need to heat them up to enjoy them, which makes them a perfect after-school snack. The brown sugar sprinkled on top adds a nice, crunchy touch. 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar, divided 1 large egg 1 cup buttermilk; or 1 cup plain (not Greek-style) yogurt; or 3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt + 1/4 cup milk 1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples; about 2 large apples, about 3/4 pound whole apples 1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, or line with papers and grease the insides of the papers. 2) Mix together the butter, granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, beating until fluffy. 3) Add the egg and mix well, stopping once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. 4) Gently mix in the buttermilk or yogurt. 5) Stir in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 6) Fold in the chopped apples. 7) Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar on top. 8) Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 9) Remove the muffins from the oven, cool them for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling completely. Yield: 12 muffins. In the meantime, my day started with a sore throat. We went to the farm where we found the water faucet had frozen so we hauled 150 gallons of water in a barrel to fill the stock tank. The tractor wouldn't start because of the cold so we towed a 1,000 round bale with the pick up. On the way home we broke a belt and limped the truck to Dave's for repair. (sigh) It was not a good day, and Elery made chicken soup when we got home. OK, that Asian fish wrap picture just isn't right, it looks fine on Photobucket, but won't copy over so I'm deleting it. Onward and upward! One night we had chicken quesadillas with refried beans and a side of wheat berries in a vinegar based dressing: Another night we had brisket, using Carol/Dishesdone's recipe. I didn't use catsup and chile sauce, though, I used a pint of Chase's chile sauce and in place of the beer I used some apple cider. It was really good and we had mashed turnips, peas and some multigrain bread with it. The multi-grain bread thread made me think about baking a loaf: And Johnliu's Fried Chicken thread made me haul out the cast iron skillet and make some fried chicken, along with some homecanned kale, warm cornbread and chipotle mashed sweet potatoes. Who knows what tomorrow might bring, in the kitchen or otherwise! Annie

Cuban Shredded Pork Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops 1 pint water to cover 1 lime, juiced 1 sprig fresh thyme 8 black peppercorns 1 tablespoon garlic powder, or to taste 1 tablespoon onion powder salt to taste 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 1 lime, juiced 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro Directions 1 In a large saucepan, combine water, juice of one lime, thyme sprig, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Bring mixture to a boil. Add pork chops, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until meat is very tender. Add more water as necessary to keep chops covered. 2 Turn off heat and let the chops rest in the broth for 30 minutes. Remove chops from broth and shred, removing excess fat; set aside. 3 In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shredded pork and fry until it is almost crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is just tender yet slightly crisp, about 10 minutes more. Add the juice of one lime, mix though and toss with cilantro. Serve and enjoy. Serve with Black Beans and rice GRANDPA ARROYO'S CUBAN BLACK BEANS & RICE 2 lbs. black beans 2 lg. bell peppers 1 c. olive oil 1/2 c. sugar 2 lg. onions 8 oz. diced pimentos 1 c. vegetable oil 1 1/2 c. sherry 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 c. vinegar (to taste) 2 c. rice Salt & pepper to taste Soak black beans overnight. Cover in pressure cooker with water 2 inches over top of black beans. Cook in pressure cooker for 45 minutes. Do not drain any remaining fluid. Dice onions. Cut bell peppers into 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch slices. Add all ingredients to black beans. Simmer for 2 to 4 hours. Beans should make their own broth. Add liquid when necessary to prevent drying out or burning, but keep broth thick. Serve over rice. Use as side dish to chicken or steak, or main dish on its own. Also, try in flour tortillas to make unique Cuban burritos.

I didn't look at the SL recipe, but the one i've grown up on is squash, onion, cheddar cheese, egg, milk and I add a bit of butter to mine. The breadcrumbs are sprinkled on top, not mixed in with the casserole. There is a zucchini casserole that is almost like dressing (now I will want it!). It actually has crushed crackers (the little rectangular buttered crackers) crushed up and mixed in - and so good! But @mtnrdredux_gw I totally get where you are coming from and while we love food (SIGH), we do try to eat healthy. For us, that includes really cutting down on the "white stuff" (aka the good stuff!). Feathers. do you like roasted veggies? We almost always have yellow squash and zuke in the fridge. We love a mixture of roasted veggies. Squash is also easy and tasty sauteed or as shown in the recipes here, in a casserole or gratin.