Come on in the kitchen with me while I cook this lasagna!
We’ll go out on the porch and chat while we wait for it to bake.
Now, before I go any further let me formally apologize to my Italian friends for the ‘abomination’ that I am presenting today.
Let’s be real, the lasagna that I made is the ugly step-sister to the real thing.
Bella, I am sorry!
Though I would love to…
Grow and can my own tomatoes
Make the pasta from scratch
Spend at least 8 hours making the ‘gravy’
Alas, I just ain’t able!
So, again, I apologize!
I only wish that I will someday be blessed to enjoy an authentic lasagna made with such love and care!
Until then, this one will have to do.
But, you know what?
Cooking with love and patience is not just an Italian thing!
(Though I will admit that they have taken the concept to grand heights.)
No!
Cooking with love and patience is worldwide!
Flat out, in every country in the world you will find people of every make and model who are extremely meticulous about the foods that they procure–not to mention how they prepare them.
In fact, as you read this post, there are magickal concoctions being lovingly planned and served by folks everywhere!
And now, I ask, what concoction is your country known for?
Some things are well worth getting up early for, and these days, a $0.49/pound turkey is well worth it!
You might as well know that I am not above dragging my baby out of bed a couple of hours before school just so we can run like HELL to the grocery store to buy a cheap turkey.
Nope, it’s not above me at all!
To be honest, this past Saturday, I was just about to go ahead and purchase a turkey for a horrifically high price!
Child, that damned thang was $25!
Alas, the manager of the meat department noticed my tomfoolery and stopped me in my tracks!
“You might wanna wait until the 10th,” he said with a devilish grin.
He went on to say that the supply will be low and that some people went ahead and paid the regular price just to be sure that they’d have turkey for Thanksgiving.
The hell you say!
I decided to take the chance and wait to see what would be available for the future sale.
So I stepped back from the freezer and said, “I’ll see you Wednesday!”
Now…
Am I a victim of a capitalist machine that has convinced me that I must celebrate Thanksgiving and that I’m required to buy a turkey?
Probably.
Did I get that damned turkey?
Hell yeah!
The first step to getting well is admitting the problem!
LOL!!!
Enjoy this video of me running my ass off to get that TURKEY!
There’s no reason you shouldn’t cook the food you like.
Why would you wait until you can get to a certain restaurant or order take out?
I say poo poo to that!
Go ahead and cook the food you like for pennies on the dollar!
Hey, and If you can, you should also start growing the food you like.
Surely last year has proven that you cannot always rely on being able to access the foods that you enjoy; so get into the habit of growing your own food–that way you’ll have your favorites right there in your own backyard!
In today’s video, I am cooking homemade pho, a Vietnamese dish, with ingredients that I have on hand.
Thanks to my garden, I’ll have more fresh vegetables to add to it next time–I am especially excited about adding my own home grown basil next time.
Daddy and I purchased the seeds for our patio garden back in late January/ Early February of this year.
We had planned to get started with this project much sooner.
But, life happened, and one day in mid February, out of nowhere, Daddy collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital.
As a result, he spent some time in the ICU.
But thank GOD, he was released ONE WEEK after his emergency admission date.
God was with him the entire time!
He was truly blessed and so were we!
We thank every doctor, nurse, assistant and therapist involved in his care.
Special thanks to my son and daughter who were with him when he collapsed.They took immediate—lifesaving action.
Remember, in an emergency, it is best to call 911 because they bring help; they are NOT just there for the ride!
They can make ALL the difference between living and dying!
Thank you to those first responders (Paramedics, EMTs and Firemen ) who arrived on the scene to care for my Dad.
Also, special thanks to the anonymous witness who called 911 seconds before my daughter did!
That said, after spending several weeks in physical and occupational therapy, Daddy is now recovered.
No doubt, we lost some time starting our gardening project, but his well-being was much more important to me.
AND NOW……
Enjoy the post and the video!
___________________
I think it was 2017 when I first revisited a recurring idea of setting up a patio garden.
Sadly, Covid-19 has recently come to town and highlighted, among other things, weaknesses in our food supply chain.
As a result, you can best believe that I am now moving this project to “on fire” status!
I’m dead serious!
Anyway, a critical piece to this garden project included having my daddy teach me how to set it up—mainly because that dude has a…
Mint
Jade
AND
Emerald
Green thumb mix!
His daddy taught him.
I’m a Georgia girl, so frankly, as far back as I can remember—and I am about 50 :), my dad, who is a native of Alabama, maintained a garden in our backyard.
He kept that practice up for years!
Later in life, maybe 15 years ago, he transitioned to apartment living, and continued gardening on a smaller scale.
Neighbors, who passed by his patio, would ask, “Hey man, how do you grow such beautiful greens?”
He’d just smile and offer some form of pleasant response and continue on with tending his “crops.”
And when the crops were ready to be harvested, mama made sure to cook them up just right!
Queen Diva Eva!
YAASSSS!
Now then,
Let me be frank, there is NO way in hell that my dad would consent to appearing on camera so I had to secretly record the action!
God knows if he reads this….that’s my ASS!
Oops!Did I say that?
Forgive me Daddy!
That said, I am going to post an audio of him supervising my steps toward establishing our little family garden along with a short video and some pictures.
Forever the conductor!
But he’s cool about it
Anyway…
Enough of my rambling.Check out the video.
LadyG loves YOU!
*** WARNING: This video contains strong Southern accents so may the peace of the Lord be with you if you are not used to it! A bit of translation is included 🙂
Comment on your experience with gardening, or if you’d like to leave a tip!
Check out Daddy’s railroad stories by going to category: “True Railroad Stories.”
*See pictures of one of his gardens in the first post I did about his gardening here!
My son says that when I’m about 90 years old he plans to sit me on his future back-porch, point to a bunch of trees and say, “Hey mama! Look at all that Germany back there! ”
He swears I won’t know the difference! LOL!!
Kids!
Anywhats….Have a great week my friends. I promise to keep you posted about the garden:)
Love, light and Sunday comfort to you!
LadyG
😘💋
PS: Ron Brown! I’m saving yet another plate for you Cuz! 💞
Stuffed Green Peppers topped with Mozzarella Cheese
Right after I posted this picture on Instagram, my brother, Tack, commented, “Looks like melted mozzarella clumps on top of whatever is underneath, LOL!”
Like that’s a bad thing.
I say bring on the cheese-albeit with a touch of hesitancy.
You see, milk products don’t seem to like me very much anymore.
But I’m taking my time with the break-up 😔
As for the stuffed green peppers, or “bell peppers” as we call them down South, I simply browned up some ground beef, added tomato sauce, seasonings, a smidgen of sugar then double-crammed that beefy goodness into four verdant par-boiled vegetable containers.
As you can see, I topped each pepper with a rather thin slice of mozzarella (I added a bit of grated parmesan prior to that).
So there little bro!
Clumps of mozzarella?
The nerve of that dude!
Anyway, here is a before and after:
Oh yeah, I had two extra slices of “mozz” so it turns out that I used 6 slices but who are you to judge me?
Whatevs!
This little “Fun with Mozzarella” endeavor started with the crab stuffed mushrooms from last week, and continued on with the peppers before concluding with the Portabella Mushroom Pizzas pictured below.
Ah…but all cheesy things must eventually come to an end so I decided to go to an old standby–Baked Chicken Florentine.
YAAASSS!
This sistah ain’t NEVER been to Florence, or any other part of Italy for that matter, but that didn’t stop me from piling spinach on top of some chicken and calling it Florentine!
LOL!
Florence, Georgia! Wherever that is!
Much respect and love to my Italian followers 💋
😎
Behold
What do you think about the peppers and pizza? Too much cheese? No pun intended! LOL!
Much love and light to you all
Lady G😘💋
Follow me on Instagram or simply check out my pictures- just click on the Instagram icon on the right panel 🙂 Let me know what you think!
So based on your advice, I decided to start cutting back on carbs.
In the interim, I will put on my stretch pants, walk and modify the remaining macronutrient proportions by cooking meals that are high in protein and moderately low in fat.
Oops…I almost forgot the water…I’ll be drinking lots and lots of water…(loaded with Crystal Light)
🙂
We’ll see what happens in due season.
Thanks for all of your advice guys!
Until we meet again, I bid you a Happy Wednesday!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram…just click the Instagram icon there on the right panel of this page…I’m not locked! LOL!
Here’s a video of my alter-alter ego, Big Thickem, having a bite of this crab situation!
YAAASSS!
AND…
My girl Sandra shared this picture of her specialty: Crab Fried Rice!
Pan seared pork chops seasoned with oregano, crushed red peppers and salt.
No words spoken!
Just a whole lot of lip smacking and finger licking!
All pretense aside!
At my house, when something tastes good, you’ll know it because we all become completely silent—well, with the exception of the aforementioned lip smacking and finger licking.
So, here’s how it went down:
So that was that!
Oh, by the way, one of my dear followers had the audacity to send Lady G this mess as a submission for “Real Good Food”:
The culprit’s first name starts with ‘D’ and rhymes with ‘arryl’
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