I’m A Ramblin’ Man

Holiday Travel woes...

My head is spinning around right now because I have so much to do by 6:00 AM. I’m trying to get a little quality internet time and some blogging in before I have to finish my chores left to be done so I can drive over to Alabama later this morning.

Last evening started out well enough—dinner consisting of a wonderful, giant Muffaletta sandwich that I had put together earlier in the afternoon so that the olive oil could have time to soak into the French bread. Provolone Cheese, Baby Swiss Cheese, Salami, Spicy Ham… one sandwich is more than a meal for two because you use an entire loaf of fat French bread cut in half, then smashed flat around the contents. I used a pre-prepared olive dressing mix that was included in a gift basket we received from some friends up north. (I didn’t know that people in New England ate cuisine from New Orleans, Miss Strader.)

Unfortunately, there must have been a sleeping pill buried somewhere in that olive dressing because I was asleep by 8:30 PM and I didn’t get back up until almost 3 AM.

What, a normal sleep pattern for ME? Six hours—in a row—it’s some kind of recent record.

Any way, as a result of sleeping so long I still have things to do. I’m getting out of making my Chewy double chocolate, chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies because I forgot to pull a pound of butter out of the freezer last night and I only have one stick in the fridge (the recipe calls for 2-1/4 sticks.) Oh well, we’ll make do without that contribution to the menu and I’ll not gain those two pounds this weekend.

I’m trying to learn how to make my own stuffed olives—you know, colossal “Queen” black olives filled with smoked red pepper, jalapeno peppers, and/or cream cheese. I did a test run on Wednesday and after sterilizing my bottles, boiling my brine mixture, and getting my cream cheese and peppers squished into the olives, I then made the mistake of pouring the brine into the first olive filled jar while it was still hot.

Wrong.

The jar immediately began to cloud up as the hot brine mixture dissolved the cream cheese. It looked like a chicken had crapped in my olives. Yuck!

It looked hideous.

It looked VERY unappetizing in appearance, but they tasted OK so we ate them ignoring the cloudy liquid surroundings.

Fortunately I had not damaged all half dozen jars worth. I tossed the olives and stuffing back into the fridge and let my jars and brine mixture cool off. Then I got distracted and didn’t finish them yesterday, so this morning I have to finish stuffing my olives else risk wasting five cans of perfectly good olives the size of walnuts.

Can’t let that happen.

After that I have to finish packing and drag everything out to the carport. I swear I’m worse than any woman when it comes to traveling. I can’t go anywhere without two suitcases, a hanging bag, and typically a box full of kitchen items (if I’m traveling by car) to support my cooking once I arrive at my destination. That’s just for a weekend trip to the beach—I need a couple of steamer trunks and a hand truck if I’m going for a week or more or the weather is cold.

I’ll be returning to the dark ages as far as internet access this weekend because my mom can’t get cable or DSL service out in rural Alabama. It’s slow “Alaweb” dial-up or satellite internet that costs about the same as a monthly lease on a new Cadillac. She elected to use Alaweb.

I will probably go into some sort of internet and information withdrawal and have keyboard DT’s or something. I’m taking a computer with me anyway and she’s got a notebook PC to use, so I’ll try to lurk around the internet late at night when everyone else is asleep and post a little here on the blog if I don't lose my mind over the slow connection speed.

Right now I have to look forward to seven hours in a car with no internet connection, surrounded by hoards of wild eyed drivers slapping at their kids and dogs as they trundle off over the river and through the woods.

Oh well, I guess it will be easier than dealing with the airport…