Getting things done in 90-degree heat
May. 21st, 2022 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickSo with the forecast today, I got an early start to try to get stuff done before it got too hot.
I left home at 6:30, got a coffee (hot, I am not a drinker of cold coffee), fed the Bird, drank some coffee and did some scouting (via car, of road shoulders and such -- we are expanding our roadwork because the hay is chest-high and in full head.) while he was eating.
Set out on a spin (Felton to Jackson's Mill loop) at quarter-to-8, boots on the fronts. Spin went well, we saw like five cars in six miles, all were polite. Wrapped up spin at about 9:30.
Untacked and hosed off sweaty horse, let him engage in some post-spin grazing in the shade, etc. He rolled while on the lead and SUPPOSED to be grazing. Oh well. Got out of there at 10.
Went to local produce market, bought onions and cheese.
Went to Dollar General to use up $5 off on $25 purchase (strawberry jelly, trash bags, cat litter) coupon. My purchase came out to $27.00 so I did pretty well with "at least $25" (required for the coupon to engage) without going too much over and diluting the 20% off-ness.
Went home. It was by this point very close to noon and getting quite freaking hot out. I made the first pitcher of mint tea for the year. (Half gallon pitcher, now with 1/4 cup sugar for the whole pitcher. I'm gradually cutting back. Last year was 1/3 cup. Prior to that it was half a cup. It was never, at any time, more than half a cup for a half-gallon pitcher but I am told that Southern sweet tea has about a cup of sugar to the half gallon pitcher. I'm not sure how that'd even be a beverage. Seems more like something you'd pour over pancakes. The mint is fresh from my dooryard, like a good handful of sprigs. Five normal-sized teabags of ordinary lipton tea, left in there until the tea is drunk. Served over ice.) Fixed up ice cube tray in the freezer so there would be ice for the tea.
Note to self: I want bigger ice cubes in my life. Also my cheapie plastic ice cube tray is cracked and leaks. I'll buy a silicon ice cube tray on Amazon so that I can have bigger ice cubes.
Restacked and neatened up woodpile from the terrors of winter. As expected, there are now three tidy racks of wood where there had previously been two tidy racks of wood and three.... partial racks of very picked over wood. Raked up bits and moved things-to-stack-wood-on to end of pile to await further wood.
Went in house, made lunch. (Weird chorizo beef stuff in a tube that Liss got from the sale barn because, and I swear this is true, nobody else would bid on it. I put a reasonable amount of the tube chorizo beef thing in my skillet, fried it until it got loose and spattery, made little... open areas in the stuff, cracked two eggs in the open spaces, cooked them over light, and ate that plus two home-made corn tortillas. It was surprisingly tasty. I still have no idea what the weird tube chorizo beef is FOR but it is pretty decent with eggs so that's what I am doing with it.)
Drank half the pitcher of tea.
Since it's pretty obviously summer in these parts, I also pulled Filson off the bed, washed him in cold water in the bathtub and then took him outside, hosed off the laundry soap, and hung him up to dry. (He did not cost as much as the link says when I bought him. I've had him for twenty years and he's still awesome.)
Went over to do evening chow for Bird, also moved seven bales of hay from barn to chicken coop (short term hay storage for easy feeding during the work week).
Came home and mowed grass. The sun was behind the mountain at this point and it was starting to cool off a little. I also drank the rest of the pitcher of tea.
Made dinner. Today was summertime too-hot-to-cook salad. Red sauce*, a "romaine heart" chopped up with two hardboiled eggs (chopped) and a lot of spring onion and like five half-pieces of bacon, crisp, crumbled overtop.)
Am now tired, need sleep b/c tomorrow is supposed to be brutally hot again and I'll have to be up super early to ride horse before the weather gets completely unfit for horse activities.
And... it just started to pour so now Filson won't be dry until midday tomorrow. Oh, well.
*red sauce is my go-to "salad dressing" for putting on salads.
It's kind of vinegar flavored. I do not (at home) make it with a recipe. I start with a canning jar and I wind up with red sauce and it's wonderful every time. Unfortunately, other people don't like those instructions so here are some "with measurements" instructions that might help clarify things for people who Like Measurements.
(Makes about 1 cup of the stuff, which goes a long way.)
In a pint jar with a non-leaky lid, combine the following...
1/4 cup high end olive oil. I use California Olive's limited reserve first cold press of the season which I buy six bottles at a time in December. It's awesome. But buy real olive oil, not crap.
3/4 cup 5% apple cider vinegar. I use the stuff in the big plastic jug from the IGA. Vinegar is vinegar, here, as long as it's cider.
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and run through a garlic press. If you insist on using the jarred shit do not tell me because then I will judge you and find you wanting. Also you’re going to culinary hell.
1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Usually I use pre-ground but if you're feeling exceptionally posh, use like 6 peppercorns ground by hand in a mortar-pestle arrangement. It will taste bolder and fresher.
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper. I buy this from Penzey's.
1 teaspoon ground smoked spanish papkrika, also Penzey's.
1/2 teaspoon regular chili powder, I use McCormick's. (In an ideal world, this would be straight up ground Ancho chili powder but I haven't reordered that and I've been out for two years. Use regular chili powder, it will be fine.)
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1 gently-rounded teaspoon chunky country-style mustard. I use the kind my mom makes and gives me for xmas. In the event that my mom doesn't give it to me for xmas ever again, I will make my own out of brown & yellow mustard seeds, salt, vinegar, and enthusiasm... but I think probably that is a bridge too far for the lexience.
Close lid on jar, shake well. Very well. Pour suitable amount on food promptly b/c the sauce will settle back out in a hurry. I store it on the counter for upwards of a week. If you fridge it, the olive oil will solidify and it will not be anywhere near fun to eat. Nothing is going to go bad at room temperature when the sauce is literally 3/4 vinegar. Put it on the counter and try not to worry so much.
I left home at 6:30, got a coffee (hot, I am not a drinker of cold coffee), fed the Bird, drank some coffee and did some scouting (via car, of road shoulders and such -- we are expanding our roadwork because the hay is chest-high and in full head.) while he was eating.
Set out on a spin (Felton to Jackson's Mill loop) at quarter-to-8, boots on the fronts. Spin went well, we saw like five cars in six miles, all were polite. Wrapped up spin at about 9:30.
Untacked and hosed off sweaty horse, let him engage in some post-spin grazing in the shade, etc. He rolled while on the lead and SUPPOSED to be grazing. Oh well. Got out of there at 10.
Went to local produce market, bought onions and cheese.
Went to Dollar General to use up $5 off on $25 purchase (strawberry jelly, trash bags, cat litter) coupon. My purchase came out to $27.00 so I did pretty well with "at least $25" (required for the coupon to engage) without going too much over and diluting the 20% off-ness.
Went home. It was by this point very close to noon and getting quite freaking hot out. I made the first pitcher of mint tea for the year. (Half gallon pitcher, now with 1/4 cup sugar for the whole pitcher. I'm gradually cutting back. Last year was 1/3 cup. Prior to that it was half a cup. It was never, at any time, more than half a cup for a half-gallon pitcher but I am told that Southern sweet tea has about a cup of sugar to the half gallon pitcher. I'm not sure how that'd even be a beverage. Seems more like something you'd pour over pancakes. The mint is fresh from my dooryard, like a good handful of sprigs. Five normal-sized teabags of ordinary lipton tea, left in there until the tea is drunk. Served over ice.) Fixed up ice cube tray in the freezer so there would be ice for the tea.
Note to self: I want bigger ice cubes in my life. Also my cheapie plastic ice cube tray is cracked and leaks. I'll buy a silicon ice cube tray on Amazon so that I can have bigger ice cubes.
Restacked and neatened up woodpile from the terrors of winter. As expected, there are now three tidy racks of wood where there had previously been two tidy racks of wood and three.... partial racks of very picked over wood. Raked up bits and moved things-to-stack-wood-on to end of pile to await further wood.
Went in house, made lunch. (Weird chorizo beef stuff in a tube that Liss got from the sale barn because, and I swear this is true, nobody else would bid on it. I put a reasonable amount of the tube chorizo beef thing in my skillet, fried it until it got loose and spattery, made little... open areas in the stuff, cracked two eggs in the open spaces, cooked them over light, and ate that plus two home-made corn tortillas. It was surprisingly tasty. I still have no idea what the weird tube chorizo beef is FOR but it is pretty decent with eggs so that's what I am doing with it.)
Drank half the pitcher of tea.
Since it's pretty obviously summer in these parts, I also pulled Filson off the bed, washed him in cold water in the bathtub and then took him outside, hosed off the laundry soap, and hung him up to dry. (He did not cost as much as the link says when I bought him. I've had him for twenty years and he's still awesome.)
Went over to do evening chow for Bird, also moved seven bales of hay from barn to chicken coop (short term hay storage for easy feeding during the work week).
Came home and mowed grass. The sun was behind the mountain at this point and it was starting to cool off a little. I also drank the rest of the pitcher of tea.
Made dinner. Today was summertime too-hot-to-cook salad. Red sauce*, a "romaine heart" chopped up with two hardboiled eggs (chopped) and a lot of spring onion and like five half-pieces of bacon, crisp, crumbled overtop.)
Am now tired, need sleep b/c tomorrow is supposed to be brutally hot again and I'll have to be up super early to ride horse before the weather gets completely unfit for horse activities.
And... it just started to pour so now Filson won't be dry until midday tomorrow. Oh, well.
*red sauce is my go-to "salad dressing" for putting on salads.
It's kind of vinegar flavored. I do not (at home) make it with a recipe. I start with a canning jar and I wind up with red sauce and it's wonderful every time. Unfortunately, other people don't like those instructions so here are some "with measurements" instructions that might help clarify things for people who Like Measurements.
(Makes about 1 cup of the stuff, which goes a long way.)
In a pint jar with a non-leaky lid, combine the following...
1/4 cup high end olive oil. I use California Olive's limited reserve first cold press of the season which I buy six bottles at a time in December. It's awesome. But buy real olive oil, not crap.
3/4 cup 5% apple cider vinegar. I use the stuff in the big plastic jug from the IGA. Vinegar is vinegar, here, as long as it's cider.
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and run through a garlic press. If you insist on using the jarred shit do not tell me because then I will judge you and find you wanting. Also you’re going to culinary hell.
1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Usually I use pre-ground but if you're feeling exceptionally posh, use like 6 peppercorns ground by hand in a mortar-pestle arrangement. It will taste bolder and fresher.
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper. I buy this from Penzey's.
1 teaspoon ground smoked spanish papkrika, also Penzey's.
1/2 teaspoon regular chili powder, I use McCormick's. (In an ideal world, this would be straight up ground Ancho chili powder but I haven't reordered that and I've been out for two years. Use regular chili powder, it will be fine.)
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1 gently-rounded teaspoon chunky country-style mustard. I use the kind my mom makes and gives me for xmas. In the event that my mom doesn't give it to me for xmas ever again, I will make my own out of brown & yellow mustard seeds, salt, vinegar, and enthusiasm... but I think probably that is a bridge too far for the lexience.
Close lid on jar, shake well. Very well. Pour suitable amount on food promptly b/c the sauce will settle back out in a hurry. I store it on the counter for upwards of a week. If you fridge it, the olive oil will solidify and it will not be anywhere near fun to eat. Nothing is going to go bad at room temperature when the sauce is literally 3/4 vinegar. Put it on the counter and try not to worry so much.
