Prepping for class

Conditions at 6:30 - clear and 1* (they had predicted a low of 6* and 3* in low lying areas)

Expected later - sunny and 16*

It was a quiet relaxing weekend. I worked on Saturday and when I got home it was very cold and damp both inside and out. So I lit a fire and within a very short time my kitchen was toasty warm. I love those first few fires of the year - they are so comforting.  I just puttered around and did some odd jobs around the house while I waited for a ham to cook. While it simmered, I sorted through some papers, filed some bills, etc. Then I made some squares to take in my lunches and while the chocolate set, I ate supper. I had cooked cabbage and ham.  Then while I was cleaning up I thought I should use the juice from cooking the ham. So I found some yellow split peas in my cupboard, and soaked them overnight. When I got up in the morning I followed the recipe in the Joy of Cooking cookbook and simmered the peas in the broth with the left over ham bone.

I've never made pea soup before so it was a bit of an experiment. I thought it tasted good but I'm not a big fan of pea soup, so I'm not sure what constitutes a great one.

Sunday morning turned out to be a pretty decent day. The sun was shining, although it was a bit chilly.  I baked some muffins and cookies to put in the freezer for my lunches.  Then I made a batch of pasta dough to try out a new recipe. But it's pretty simple - just flour, eggs and a bit of olive oil.  So after it rested, I called Brenda to see if she wanted to come over and give rolling out dough a try. She was busy doing bookwork but was ready to take  break. She arrived a little while later, just in time to help me put the tarp over the wood pile. I had earlier sewn two tarps together but last weekend I picked up a third one and yesterday I sewed the third one on as well, so now it's wide enough to cover the top and both sides. My goal is to keep the snow from blowing into the spaces between the piles and between the logs. Hopefully it will work.

Rolling the dough

Cutting the spaghetti

We set up the pasta roller on my mixer and after one brief demonstration, she was away. She was rolling like a pro, cutting out noodles, and spaghetti. We draped the noodles onto the noodle dryer (they don't call me the gadget queen for NOTHING!) and when we were done we cooked some to sample.  I prefer my pasta simply coated in olive oil, freshly grated parmesan cheese and a bit of garlic.  Brenda liked it as well but she prefers her pasta cooked a little longer.  It was a little too al dente for her but we determined that there's not a huge difference in taste from dried pasta, but there's something very comforting in making it yourself (or maybe that's just me!). We'll see how the class does with it on Tuesday.  We're going to make a simple tomato sauce and a pesto as well.

Sunday night we went to see Hairspray with Brenda's cousin Maureen and her husband George. There was a two for one ticket sale that George took advantage of. The show was really great. I had heard an interview on the radio and the fellow was saying that this is the most ambitious production the confed centre has ever put on. They did a brilliant job. The sets, the costumes, and most of all, the voices, where fabulous.  I was reading the program bio's and I was surprised to see how many of the performers were graduates from Sheridan College's  Theatre program.  Many had also performed in earlier shows at Stage West. Once again, it seems like my past is coming to life again. I graduated from Sheridan in 1972 and Patti worked at Stage West many years ago.  It all seems so long ago, for both of us, I"m sure.