Compendium Caruso

Started out the day at 7:30 at the car dealership thinking I was getting my oil changed, was in the waiting room knitting* until 11 when they finally called me to tell me they needed to put in new brake linings and that I had been hit and somehow disconnected my sensor to the outside temperature (who knew I could even access that?) So, that would take 'a few hours' to finish. And they got me the valet to drive me home, so far so good, right?

In the car with Mr. Valet I have a lightening bolt- I ran up on a curb the first time I drove the new car AND I have not had good air conditioning since I got it. All I could see was a bent license plate so didn't think anything about it. I spent all summer with crappy AC because BMW makes a too-low front end! (Of course it's not MY fault)

So I was home all afternoon cooking for tomorrow night. I first baked the ham I got in Virginia on the way back from Florida. I soaked it overnight and then baked for 3 hours in water. After it cooled I peeled and cut off the skin and then the fat so it's now ready to have the sugar/cloves/pepper rubbed in and broiled tomorrow afternoon.

Then I made the butternut cannolonis- cooked the squash and drained it and mashed it with ricotta cheese. Then I rolled it in egg roll wrappers and tied the ends with blanched chives. Then they were fried until they turned brown all around- they look more like tamales than cannolonis. Tomorrow I will just heat them through. Also I will cook and blanch the brussel sprouts in the morning and get them ready to brown with the onion right before dinner.

The salad dressing is made, the croutons have been fried, and the dried cranberries and goat cheese are ready, just have to tear the lettuce up.

Dessert is homemade pumpkin ice cream and it's freezing right now. I cheated and bought a jar of caramel sauce and some molasses cookies. I can't say I like the ice cream- it's pretty bland. I think next time I would use double the amount of pumpkin and also add a lot more spices.

This all started as a method to get my refrigerator cleaned out but instead it's simply generating even more leftovers. Mandy has a half a pig coming soon so she won't take any ham. It will be too salty for A&A who are more into the Honey-Baked Spiral Thing, and G&G shouldn't eat it anyway. That leaves Nate, and if it won't fit into a burrito he isn't interested.

Wilma Report: Seems she has slowed down and lost some of her powers, but still is a category 4. As soon as she gets by the Yucatan I think they will be better able to predict where she will hit Florida, but right now all the paths seem to go right through Jupiter.

I have been trying twice a day to call Lazarus but he doesn't answer- I am thinking that the phone is disconnected from the jack again. I called his Assisted Living place and the receptionist told me maybe he was at a birthday party. I am still laughing at the idea of my dad going to ANYone's birthday party- he doesn't eat cake and won't even say the words...

*knitting! Yeah, I am still working on the baby cashmerino and am maybe 3/4 done with the back. The next line of directions say I have to do 63 more rows in pattern before I bind off, guess I better look for my counter. Frankly I am not in a hurry to start the fronts because I want to redesign them without the ruffle, so probably will do the sleeves next. I did most of the back on the planes and hope that I can work in the 4-5 day car ride but have a history of getting carish sickish if I do anything besides tell the driver what he's doing wrong. And that keeps me damn busy.