Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Strange Weather Day

This is the time of year when most Minnesotans are tired of the snow and cold.  I would be complaining, too, except that there isn't any snow and today's temperature topped out at nearly 65 degrees.  Late this afternoon a storm rolled through complete with thunder and lightning.  And a tornado touched down north of Minneapolis.  Another one was spotted near our southern border.  A tornado in February has never happened here since the Weather Bureau began keeping records.

And snow is predicted for the weekend.

I think Mother Nature must be off her meds.

Lori is in the northern part of the state for a few days.  Her Dad is suffering the effects of aging, so she goes to see him as often as she can.  Duane was alone, so I asked him if he would like to come over for supper when he got off work.  I had a couple of butternut squash that needed  to be eaten and we both love squash.  A couple of thick pork chops added to it made a pretty good meal.  It is nice to have someone to cook for now and then.

I keep busy.  At least as busy as arthritic joints will allow.  This goofy weather with it's changes in temperatures and conditions every other day seems to bring on flare-ups, but it does help to keep moving as much as possible.  In addition to the usual household chores, I sorted out my dehydrated foods.  I keep them in freezer bags stored in Banker's boxes on a set of shelve behind my bedroom door.  I had gotten lazy and hadn't put some many of the bags into the proper boxes.  Now that I have, I can tell how much I need to dehydrate and what I have enough of.

While Duane was here I asked him to get down a bottle of maple syrup from the top of one of my shelves.  It is nice having a tall person living close by, especially when you aren't much over 5 feet tall and don't climb well any more.  I need the syrup for a recipe of caramel corn that you make using the microwave.  It is really good stuff.

Microwave Caramel Corn

Pop 1/3 Cup of popcorn kernels.  I use my air-popper.

Mix together 5 Tbsp. butter, 1/2 Cup brown sugar and 2 - 1/2 Tbsp. real maple syrup.
Microwave for 2 minutes.
Stir in 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 - 1/2 tsp. salt.
Stir in 1/2 tsp. baking soda.  This will cause the sugar mixture to foam up.
Pour over the popcorn and mix well.

Microwave the caramel corn for 1 minute.  Stir.  Repeat at 30 second intervals until the popcorn is a rich, caramel color.  (Three or four times.)

Duane said he would trade me some caramel corn for a milkshake made using crushed Girl Scout Thin Mints.  Sounds like a pretty good trade to me.  :)

8 comments:

  1. We had all kinds of hail...Mn is on some wild meds...Right??

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    1. Rob...I saw your post about the hail. Glad your car wasn't damaged. We just had the thunderstorm and wind. I really wish Mother Nature would make up her mind if it is winter or spring!!

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  2. With everything coming out early this year, I'm just afraid we'll get a late freeze and kill everything back.

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    1. Gorges, that is a worry. We haven't had much of a winter here at all. What with the temp going from 65 degrees yesterday to below freezing last night, I'm pretty sure the plant life has to be confused. I know I am.

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  3. nice trade for the milkshake. Yum.

    I miss cooking for people, some days. I never was one for production cooking day in and day out. Although I did plenty of it. There is something gratifying having someone to cook for.
    Our weather must be on the same meds. Second night in a row of snow here. It's already melted on the road and sidewalks, yea!

    The seeds I started all germinated. They are a sign of spring for sure. Now I just have to keep them alive until I can plant them outside! Cheers, SJ in Vancouver

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    1. SJ...Yeah, I thought that was a pretty good trade. Ice cream doesn't do well on the grocery order, so it is always a treat for me.

      Lori goes to spend time with her Dad every so often, so when she is gone I usually ask Duane over for a meal. It is nice to have the company. But I wouldn't want to go back to cooking for a family all the time. One of the perks of retirement is being able to have crackers and cheese for supper if I feel like it, without anyone complaining. :)

      I have never seen a winter quite like this one. The ups and downs in the temps are pretty much kicking my butt! Yesterday, within about a hundred mile radius we had 65 degree temps, two tornadoes, a hail storm and a thunderstorm complete with lightning. And by 1 am the temp was below freezing again. With snow coming by the weekend. I wish the Universe would just pick a season it likes and stick with it!!

      The warming pad for your seeds must be working. Nothing like green, growing garden plants to herald spring. I am looking forward to hearing about your garden again this year.

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  4. Crazy weather everywhere! Also that popcorn sounds delicious!!

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    1. Jenn...Seems like the weather is nuts everywhere in North America. I read where Hawaii had snow!! Here it is cold again, but this time the wind is awful.

      That caramel corn recipe is delicious. And it is so easy to make. Other recipes call for boiling the caramel part on the stove and then baking the caramel corn in the oven for an hour. This one takes maybe 10 minutes and uses just the microwave. I made a batch for my son and then this evening made another for me. :)

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