Our Red Hat chapter met today. We had a pot luck luncheon at a member’s home. It always astonishes me how a potluck meal turns out. Today we had shrimp, salads and dessert. To the best of my knowledge, there was no attempt to avoid duplications. There were three jello salads, but each was very different. Only one pasta salad showed up, which really surprised me. There was one tuna salad, a spreadable salmon something, watermelon, mixed fruit, and I brought Waldorf Salad.
Elegante Mother loves Waldorf Salad, so we’ve made it a couple of times this winter. I expected to be short on time this morning, so I chose the Waldorf as a quick way to make a salad for a ladies’ meal. I used Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples (with their skins left on), celery, chunks of walnuts, and dried cranberries. It was bound together with just enough mayonnaise to coat. I set out roasted sunflower seeds and Chinese Noodles for those who wanted a little crunch.. I was relieved to see that two-thirds of it was gone by the end of the meal.
Dear Husband feels that Waldorf Salad would be improved if one used Miracle Whip in place of the mayo. YUCK!! I COULD do the chopping and set some aside in a bowl for him, and let him add the Miracle Whip.
I thought today that dried cherries would be a good addition, and it seems to me that I’ve seen it made with miniature marshmallows. That’s not to my taste, but I can see that it might be fun to play around with the recipe and make it my own.
The ladies talked through lunch and then swapped gifts. While we were seated, the “Queen” instructed us to get to know the lady seated next to us. Since EM was to my right, I turned to the lady on the left. After we had chatted we were to introduce our new friend. I thought I knew the woman to my left, but it was a lot of fun asking her 20 questions.
The meeting ended shortly after a discussion of places to meet in February.. One woman said she had eaten at the new tapas bar, and the room instantly quieted because they had all thought she had said “topless” bar. *G*
Give me a ba-boom! on the drum and I’m outta here! *G*
Daily Archives: January 12, 2008
Mother Nature
It amazes me to step out my back door and see catnip, oregano and feverfew greening up. THIS IS JANUARY!! The plants are amazingly hardy in our cold weather, but truth be told, the weather has been incredibly warm for the season. We’ve had snow, and we’ve had a few days of deep cold, but we seem to be going through an unusually early warm spell
The wildlife is happy not to have to deal with brutal snow. It’s easier for them to get to the seed that falls to the ground, rather than trying to dig through layers of snow to find the dropped seed. I leave a piece of plywood at the base of the feeder to catch the spill. Right now there’s about half an inch of hulls littered over the board and ground. I’ve seen cardinals, blue jays, mourning doves, blackbirds, a horde of sparrows, juncos and chickadees. I’m not sure we have nuthatches this year. Perhaps they are there, but have moved further away from the house as the trees have died and been removed. We’ve been enjoying the deer at bedtime. I’ve been putting out corn while they were short on forrage.
I shouldn’t be surprised to see the catnip and oregano greening up. They are both members of the mint family, and mint is incredible hardy. I’ve sequestered chocolate mint, and pineapple mint in large plastic containers that look like clay pots. I know better than to plan a mint where it might spread! I have so much oregano that I gave away bunches of it to the ladies at exercise last summer. Oregano, any one?? *G*