We have had a sort of warm spell! Temperatures in the teens and not much snow have been welcome the past week or so. And if you read this somewhere in the South you may find it hard to believe, this is a warm spell around here lately!
But this is not to continue! We expect that the temperature will not get above 5 degrees Fahrenheit with Wind chill readings 13 below to 23 below zero tomorrow. I just stay in when it is that bad...it is terribly hard on the animals! The wild birds just cover the bird feeders and I have to refill them twice a day sometimes. If I don't get out there and pick up chicken eggs quickly, they just freeze!
Well, all this is leading up to something...I suppose you knew that! I stay warm with a couple of things-yes Grand Marnier in my coffee is one of them. (Big Grin)
But I also like to make a pot of homemade macaroni and cheese to warm me up as well. I have used a recipe of John Thorne's for many years and think it is the best macaroni and cheese known to man!
Here is John's recipe:
John Thorne's Macaroni & Cheese Serving
Size : 6
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons unsalted butter -- cut into bits
1 Dash Tabasco sauce
1 can evaporated milk -- (12 ounce)
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese -- grated
2 large eggs -- beaten
1 teaspoon dry mustard -- dissolved in 1 tsp water
2 teaspoons Salt
Pepper
Preheat oven to 350. Boil the macaroni until just barely done in salted water. Drain and toss with the butter in a large, ovenproof mixing bowl. Mix the Tabasco into the evaporated milk. Reserving about 1/3 cup, stir the milk into the macaroni, then add 3/4 of the cheese, the eggs and the mustard. When well combined, season to taste with salt and pepper and set the bowl in the oven. Every five minutes, remove it briefly to stir in some of the reserved cheese, adding more evaporated milk as necessary to keep the mixture moist and smooth. When all the cheese has been incorporated and the mixture is nicely hot and creamy (which should take 20 minutes all told), serve at once with a plate of toasted common crackers to crumble over.
This macaroni and cheese is so good, so rich that it isn't like any other food of that name you have ever eaten! Try it, you won't be sorry!
Another way to deal with this awful weather is a pair of really warm mittens. I stopped out at Susan's on Wednesday on my way home from the Dr. in Middleton. The yarn rep Joan was there and started talking about Shokay Yak yarn. To quote Shokay's publicity:
Shokay yarn is created from down that is hand-combed from yaks, high in the Himalayan regions of Western China. The yarn is a beautiful fiber, perfect for many knitting and crochet projects due to its resilience, warmth and softness.
100% Pure Yak Down
100 grams/164 yards, 6ply
4 sts per inch/US 9 needle
Well this is a gorgeous yarn, and Joan was saying that is is waterproof as well. So I decided to knit a pair of mittens with this luxury yarn! Really a great idea in this awful weather...warm, dry hands are essential, even for a short trip out side!
Just finishing the thumbs...I will have a picture of the mittens tomorrow!
Talk to you later,
Lynda
Perhaps I am a bear, or some hibernating animal underneath,
for the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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