On the way back, we stopped at an orchard to buy apples. We were a bit late this year so the apples in the bins didn’t look like they had been picked that morning. In fact, they looked old. But underneath, I found some fresh ones. Fresh ones have a frosty look. They aren’t shiny. When you bite into them, they crack and lovely juice flows.

We bought a bag of York apples and I just had to eat one in the car.

I love apples dipped in peanut butter and I love to use them in cooked dishes. Stay tuned for some apple recipes.

“I’d like to offer a different perspective about the woman who wants flowers. I wanted flowers too. My first husband bought me jewelry that I didn’t want and didn’t like. My now husband paid attention when I said I wanted flowers. It’s 16 years since we met and I still receive flowers almost every week and am thrilled every time. He says he did a cost benefit analysis and I’m worth it. The message I receive every time I get flowers is that he was thinking about me and how he could make me feel special. Getting that message all the time is magic.”

Ray and I learned that showing love your way is great, but it’s even greater when you show love in the way the other person wants to receive it.

When I am cooking, I don’t want my fruit and vegetables contaminated with raw meat, so I use many cutting boards when I cook. I use my plastic ones for meat, fish, and poultry, so I can wash them in the dishwasher. I also have different sizes. I have a little striped bamboo one to use when I just want to cut a single apple for my snack. I like to use a bigger wooden one for bread. Cutting boards can be very attractive to show off in your kitchen.

Food safety and cutting boards: bit.ly/cuttingboard

Lester said, “Just ask.” So I did. And the car was brought to us.

Treat people with respect. Ask for what you need and you just may get it! We did.

Just about anything you can cook in a pan, you can cook in a rice cooker. You just need to be sure to keep enough liquid in the pan to allow the rice cooker to stay in the “on” position. When the liquid boils off, rice cookers shut
themselves down to “warm.” When you are cooking meat or or other food that needs to be cooked to a specific
temperature to be sate, use a meat thermometer to be sure your food is cooked to the proper temperature.

My brother and sister-in-law came over for dinner on Sunday. They were dropping their dog, Abby, off for us to dog sit while they took a trip to San Francisco. I don’t get to see just them very often. Usually it’s 8 or 10 people and I don’t get to have a long conversation with anyone, so I was really looking forward to an intimate dinner with them.

Ray likes chicken drumsticks, so I came up with a new recipe. (See recipes on www.sallyskitchen.com/html/recipes.html). The chicken was done when they got there. Jasmine rice was ready in another rice cooker and all I had to do for the veggies was turn the other rice cooker on. And I could enjoy the visit. So I used 3 rice cookers  for dinner on Sunday. Cleanup was a breeze.