The Sunday Salon and Weekend Cooking

This is my second time participating with Sunday Salon and I hope to make it a regular thing in 2021, at least a biweekly posting.  It's not as if my time is limited with all the activities, dining out, socializing and parties.....oh wait......we don't do any of those things. Yes, I have time. 

Reading & Planning / My new planner is organized with my lists and cool things in the plastic pocket.  This year I am participating in the nonfiction challenge at ShelleyRae's blog Book'd Out and the historical fiction challenge at Marg's blog The Intrepid Reader. The planner has already been put to good use with bookish plans as well as our appointments and camping plans for 2021.

So far I've linked up with a book each for both challenges. Wine Reads: A Literary Anthology of Wine Reading and The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. Funny (to me) that I read these stories about wine as we are participating in Dry January. That being said, one night we each had two glasses of wine while we enjoyed pizza and a movie but that's been it! So I'm not counting it as a failure for a "slipup" in the first 15 days.

The Rose Code stirred my interest  in the behind the scenes work of code breakers during WW II so that will be one of my nonfiction books upcoming.

Currently reading Dispatches by Michael Herr.  "Dispatches describes the author's experiences in Vietnam as a war correspondent for Esquire magazine. First published in 1977, Dispatches was one of the first pieces of American literature that portrayed the experiences of soldiers in the Vietnam War for American readers."

In the Kitchen /  Some old favorites and a new recipe in the kitchen these past two weeks. These crisp zucchini fries are a nice addition to the plate as they are healthy and light. They are also oven baked, not fried, even though the name suggests a greasy version.

I had planned to make chicken enchiladas and saw this recipe for a beef enchilada casserole at Jinger's site The Intrepid Arkansawyer.  See her post HERE.  What appealed to me was the use of noodles and having something a bit different.  It's very simple to prepare but I think using the medium enchilada sauce made it too hot for us.  Adjust according to your taste if you make it.  Thanks, Jinger!

Espana Chicken made an appearance again. It's been ages since we had this and it was a treat.  I am a big fan of olives so I added extra to the marinade.  Lots of juice for the rice in this dish.

Listening & Sipping /  Music selections have been all over the board as we've enjoyed Handel, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker to name a few.  Well, Joe Cocker was just background music on January 6th as we had one of his CDs on and were looking at our phones, refreshing constantly, as news stories developed. 

The classical music such as Handel or Mozart is great when you are reading together (not phones) or just to sit and chat. 

As I mentioned before, the dry January is working well so...no news from the bar.

That's it for this week. I hope all is well in your world and you and yours are safe and healthy.  Be careful out there! 

Sharing with Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon and Marg at The Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking

 

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