Focused at Fifty

Ready to eat, YUM!!!  Several  pre-quarantine  weeks ago, the Big Ragu and I won a frozen pack of cod filets at our local firehouse social club. We always play the "tear-off" gambling games and have won many a pack of filet, lobster, fish, ribs, or chicken. We have literally stocked our freezer some seasons with their "meat boards." Good stuff too from local butchers, markets and a seafood store!  Veggies chopped!  I made the entire frozen pack of cod, like 12 filets. I added seasoning to them and just baked them in the oven, nothing special, with a topping of salsa. I had half of the cod left over so the next day, I set out online to find a good recipe to use of the rest.  Scouring the internet (ok, like one page on Google), I found this recipe for potato and cod soup. The link for the recipe is: (the link is SAFE) https://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/lunch/potato-cod-soup/ Simmering away on the stove. The potato and cod so...

"2020 is a dumpster fire"  Sorting through paperwork of years' past, I came across this list below which I had sent my Mom back in August of 1992! I was pleasantly surprised when I came across it. I don't know where it comes from. I may have even wrote it myself.  To update it, I added some quips and quotes after each one. Honestly, 28 years later, the list doesn't need much updating. But what's a blog post without at least a little bit of my bite. Enjoy and stay safe and healthy everyone!  1. Eat with chopsticks (Most days I cannot even handle a fork.) 2. Share a task (Or just let it go, someone else may do it!)  3. Ask for a back rub (Max the Cat gives excellent back rubs with his paws. He's cheap, just some catnip!)  4. Walk to the nearest park (But you may receive a ticket for non-social distancing.)  5. Bake bread (I know alot of you have been doin' this! I just EAT bread.)  6. Enjoy silence (Really ... shut the heck up...

Melted Potatoes As with my usual frazzled blog content, I am usually all over the place. 😁 I decided to put up a recipe that the Big Ragu and I tried the other evening called melting potatoes. I describe it as baked potatoes with enough butter to coat your insides. But let me tell you, they are INCREDIBLE! Hope you like them! I included any changes I made to the recipe in parentheses.  This recipe can be found several places online. I don't remember which website I grabbed it from. The cooking time was spot on. The juices from the stock and butter reduced and made an awesomely rich herbed sauce.  Melting Potatoes Hands-on Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes  Yield: 4 servings Ingredients:  * 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 inch thick (Honestly, we used another type of baking potato and sliced it a little thinner, probably from 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick.)  * 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter, me...

"A Fav Pic, 1988, Mom and me" During my isolation with the coronovirus pandemic, I have like many of us, been sifting through mounds of papers we have a habit of keeping. Bills, newspaper articles, old cards ... you name it, I got it! I came across an old weathered newspaper article that my mother had sent me back in the late 90s. She was always sending me nuggets of wisdom and lists to help get me though life.  I find it particularly meaningful that I rediscovered this article the day before the 11th anniversary of her passing away. It was as if she were exclaiming from the great beyond, "Don't forget about your Jewish mother! I am still here to give you advice!" And how could I? Not a day goes by that my thoughts do not turn to her in some way or form.  Therefore, this blog is dedicated to the  memory of my mom, Abby. Her wisdom and guidance is still making its way into my life as I approach my 50th birthday.  A couple of the items are a li...