Thoughts from the kitchen.
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The best part of waking up is a little Sunday Kind of Love in your cup. I look forward to coffee every morning. The ‘ber months have finally arrived in full force Fall. Woke up to low 50’s on the old thermometer and that cup of coffee sure warmed these old bones. Big Guys like cooler weather, even if it is a little harder to figure out how to dress. Long sleeves in the morning and then tee-shirts in the afternoon. I’m good. It’s worth it!
The Garden is almost put to bed for the season. The raised beds have been given a little topper of leaf mould and compost. We are rejuvenating the small patch of grass for the Doodle girl to do her business. A few more chores to finish. The hardest is coming this week. My dad passed almost 18 years ago, and we planted a beautiful Dogwood in the backyard in his memory. One of the things we loved to do was play a round of golf after an early church service every Sunday morning and then come home to Dr. B’s homemade soup and have a fire, a cigar and a glass of the good John Jameson’s finest. The good stuff as dad would say. Well, the hard part is now that poor tree has had it. The late freeze this past spring just did it in. We’ve tried everything we could, but the time has come. I’ll be cutting the Dogwood down this week. I’ll be chopping it all up into firewood and burning it in the old firepit. A few memories will be shared. A glass of the good stuff, maybe two, will be poured and we’ll remember the good times. That’s what we try to do now. Remember the good times and try to make good memories into our future. The world is crazy right now. It’s time to cling to the love we have. The family, friends and chosen family who make us feel needed and loved. Remember the good times and try to do right by the future. One thing I will be doing soon is voting early. That’s one easy way I can try to make the future a little better.
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 Are you ever driving around and start to get “hangry?” It happened to us while we were driving around Illinois. We decided to try @joespizzaedwardsville knowing the family connection to our niece “in law,” @marisamrealtor. We checked out their Herculaneum location previously and got to meet @sannaraetrupiano, who is doing a “bang up” business being the only Missouri location. We were delighted to experience another great meal with terrific service and reasonable prices. We started off with fried green beans since we do not see these on menus too often. We followed it with the Meat lover’s pizza with sausage, hamburger, pepperoni, and Canadian bacon. Again, the flavor could not be beat, and the family sauce was dynamite. It was a great stop on our antiquing tour of the day. If you are on the “east side,” we recommend you check out this family friendly restaurant.  I know I sounded like a loon when I told Big Guy I wanted to make a pot of soup during the heat wave. As the adage goes, the “heart wants what the heart wants.” I was just dreaming about cooler weather and soup was the perfect way to look forward to Fall. We had stopped by @spiceryofkimmswickmo to pick up coffee, bread mixes, and soup mixes. The tortilla soup was the source of my desire to make soup. I roasted chicken breasts while sautéing onions, banana and snackable peppers, tomato, and chipotle peppers. The peppers and tomato were the last ingredients left from @carondeletgarden so I guess it helped justify my “need” to make this soup! It was a great base to add flavor to the mix and chicken broth. Once the chicken was cooked, I added it to the pot and let everything simmer for a couple of hours. I served it with tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole. The addition of a green demon margarita (mix, tequila, Cointreau, and Midori melon liqueur) made for the perfect meal!   We were out exploring when we passed by @mainandmillbrew. Big Guy and I both felt “called” to make a stop and get lunch. We walked into this family-owned neighborhood brewery and restaurant on main street Festus and just loved the vibe. The service was friendly and attentive with plenty of customers during a mid-afternoon shift. The menu included the favorite items you would expect for a “pub,” but there were some great surprises as well. We noticed the Dip Trio which consisted of three dips, Mexican street corn, hot honey jalapeno, and buffalo chicken, served with bottomless tortilla chips. Yes, please! We could have stopped there, but we also ordered a buffalo chicken salad and beer cheese and bacon burger with fries. It was all so delicious as we sampled from each other’s plates going from being very hungry to very full quickly. I look forward to returning to this fantastic place and sampling the beers along with another great menu item. It was worth the trip.  Do you ever walk into your kitchen and think what the heck will I make for dinner today? It happened to me as I surveyed the last of the heirloom tomatoes, snackable peppers, and banana peppers sitting on my counter. Big Guy and I started exploring recipes and found some inspiration from online cooks. We went “healthy” by sautéing the tomatoes with onions and the peppers. It was followed by white beans, chicken stock, and spices to bring up the flavor profile. I grabbed a bread mix from @kingarthurbaking to round out the meal. We both agreed it was a simple and very satisfying meal that can be the base for meals into the future by adding ground chicken or turkey for an additional layer of goodness. Oh, the possibilities! A true celebration of the best of people at the worst of times.
“Come from Away” the latest offering from @stagesstlouis could not be presented at a better time. As we look back at the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy we are reminded that our better angels do arrive when we need them the most. This production offers tears, laughter, music, dancing and sometimes, even joy. Joy in the face of tragedy, heartbreak and loss. The music is incredible. The acting, singing and dancing worked like a charm on the KPAC stage. There’s still time to catch a bit of the magic and be reminded of the goodness that still exists. |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
October 2026
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