Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Expired Beer And Smoky Chowder

December 17, 2013

Good morning.  Brrr, it's cold here.  It's just 3 degrees F and working it's way up to 29F later today.  The sun is shining now, but soon it will start snowing again, and keep on all day and into the night.  We are expecting another 2-4 inches according to the Weather Channel.  We shall see.

I took a photo this morning of the ice in my yard.  Once this snow covers up the ice, it will be even more treacherous walking out there.  We do put down "Snow Melt" but a lot of the ice that it melts just re-freezes. 


Our dwarf Helen has been naughty.  A couple of nights ago, she informed me that beer has an expiration date on every bottle and can.  Now, if this is true, then I am in big doo doo.  I bought a twelve pack of Sam Adams beer at least two years ago, and I still have more than half of it left. 

I told her that every once in a while I enjoy having a bottle of it in one of my fancy goblets.  I got a bottle of it out of my refrigerator, and we looked it over to find an expiration.  After a couple of minutes, Helen found it and read it aloud.  It said that it's expiration date was July 16, 2012.  Well now!  Ain't that enough to bust my bubble!  It expired a year and a half ago!!!

Folks, that means that at least three of the last bottles of beer that I enjoyed were already expired.  This can't be good.  Now I will have to dump out all my beer.  This is going to hurt!!  I may only have a couple of beers a year, but I just don't like the idea of dumping out all my Sam Adams.  Helen, you should have kept this information to yourself and left me to my happy stupidity!!

Yesterday started off quite wonderful.  The mail lady delivered a box of Christmas goodies from Kyra.  Oh my, there was even a present in there for Joe.  Now he can't wait for Christmas morning to see what it is!  (It will stay under my tree till then.).  I was good and put all the presents on a little table in front of where my tree is. 


Wow, these look super!  Kyra, thank you so much.  We are going to have so much fun on Christmas morning.  Joe will be staying home this year, so it's going to be extra nice.  I do believe I'll cook us a dinner.  (I wasn't going to cook a big dinner for just me and Pogo.)

After all of this, I was really perky, and decided to make a pot of corn chowder.  Mmm, Mmm.  This is one of my favorites.  I got everything ready, and par cooked my potatoes, and then put it all together in a big pot.  While it was cooking, I tried catching up on a bit of my emails. 

OH NO!!  I should never walk away from the stove when I am cooking!  Just as I began to smell the funny odor, there was a knock on my door.  It seems the smell went out into the house and Helen was concerned for me.  It's okay.  I'm alright.  But my corn chowder is now burnt!! 

Such a mess.  The chowder spilled over the pan onto the stove, and half of the chowder (it seems) is burnt to the bottom of the pan.  When will I ever learn?   I tried to rescue a couple of bowls of it before I dumped the rest of it down the toilet.  Then I put the pan in the sink and filled it with water to soak.  Joe said he will try to clean it for me later when he gets home from work. 

All was not lost though, because I ate one bowl of the chowder that I saved, and it tasted pretty good.  A bit smoky, but tasty.  Today I want to make pasta and meat sauce.  I think I'll stay right in the kitchen until it has finished cooking. 

Last evening,  I got an email from my Secret Santa.  It is so good to finally know who she is, and I can't thank her enough for all those wonderful presents and the fun that I've had.  Her name is Anne, and she really is such a nice person.  You can check her blog by clicking on her name.

This morning I got another lovely surprise in my email.  My friend Kyra has made me two more gorgeous scrap pages.  One I will save for later because the kit she used hasn't been published yet.  Here's the one she made with Jasmine's photo.  Isn't this gorgeous?   The kit she used, "Where Is The Time?", can be found on her blog by scrolling back to November.  Her friend Arlene made the beautiful frame cluster from this same kit. 



I was watching the Jewelry Television Channel this morning, and after such a trying day yesterday, I felt I deserved a little treat.  I can watch this channel for hours and not be tempted to call in and buy anything, but this one item I could not resist.  It's an orange Ethiopian Opal surrounded by Black Spinel and set in Sterling Silver.  The Christmas special price was only $49.  This is just perfect for me!! 


I may be old, but I do love pretty things.  And this will definitely help to improve my cooking skills.  I think.  It will also make me feel much better about having to get rid of all my Sam Adams beer.  Maybe I can use some of the beer to shampoo my hair?  Hmm, food for thought.

Well now, I think I have babbled enough for this morning.  Now it's time to get dressed and find some mischief to keep me busy.  Till tomorrow, Y'all be safe and have a fantabulous day.

Hugs, Edna B.

6 comments:

Andrea @ From The Sol said...

Oh my, you are so up to no good ... buying jewelry on the internet at Christmas time ... you are supposed to wait until after Christmas when everything goes on sale.

As for the outdated beer ... I thought it was called aging. Isn't that supposed to make it better? Or is that just wine. Anyway, unles it tastes like yeast I don't think it would be bad for you. I think they put those expiration dates on them so you will have to throw it away and then you will have to buy more. Or, maybe it is required by the FDA. If you already had three of them and you are still here, I am guessing they are still good.

Jasmine is a beauty and such commitment for a 14 year old. I can understand why you are so proud of her. Beautiful picture and, of course, Kyra has made it even more beautiful.

Sounds to me like you will be having a really
nice Christmas as long as you stay in the kitchen while you cook your Christmas dinner. I so understand how that can happen (the corn chowder that is). I have put water on to make noodles and walked away only to start smelling hot metal ... that will set your hair on fire. I am sure I have done more crazy things than that in the kitchen, but my mind has done me the kindness of forgeting :)
So I agree, you should come to Chicago and go to the Botanical Gardens with me. It is a lot of walking, but we can get a wheel chair if it is too much for you. We will play that by ear. Just sit back and think about it ... it could be fun:)

Better go, have things I need to accomplish today. You stay well and get yourself a nice comfy chair for the kitchen so you won't be tempted to leave when you shouldn't :) Hugs to little Pogo from Izzi!

Andrea @ From The Sol

Debby said...

Be careful on that ice. Our driveways are like that too. I remember one winter it would warm up enough to melt and just refreeze. It really got bad and you couldn't find salt anywhere. So many had bad falls....so be careful.
I still am curious about the dwarfs?????
Did you really put the soup down the toilet.
Kyra is really beautiful. They grow up twice as fast as our own children.

Anonymous said...

Edna,

I learned recently on one of the cooking shows that the BEST BY dating on foods doesn't mean that you can't eat it by that date -- it means that the nutritive value may decline after that day. I am not sure how it applies to perishable items (milk, cheese, eggs ) but it might mean that Sam Adams is ok.....pizza anyone??
Donna

Annesphamily said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Annesphamily said...

Hi Edna! Drat! I left a comment and than I accidentally deleted it!
You are never too old for pretty things. My sweet niece Karla sent me some chili powder. Actually Chimayo chile powder that you can only but in New Mexico! She also bought me a pearl bracelet with a Cameo on it. I love cameos. Your ring is gorgeous. I love different styles and this one is unique.
I did bake the chocolate cookies and fudge. The dipping chocolate did not turn out the way I hoped so I had to improvise. I cheated on the peanut brittle, ran out of time and I used the See's recipe for the fudge but used milk instead of semi sweet chips. Whew!
Jasmine is a very pretty young lady and your friend Kyra is a doll putting that page together.
I love Sam Adams too! I better check my dates! I don't drink a lot but occasionally I love a cold beer.
Drat the winter time! Snow all over the place. We have a small break from it but you never know.
I am glad we met here. I had so much fun with good helpers, Linda at Prairie Flower Farm in Kansas and Barb at Dogmom Diva in California. I also had help from my son Jeremy and his Prime amazon account.
I wish I could have sent Pogo a gift. I know his breed can be allergic or sensitive to certain treats. Let me know so I can send him a gift soon too. He is so precious.
Stay warm and enjoy your Christmas time. You are blessed with so many gifts! HeeHee! Enjoy!
Hugs, Anne

smiekeltje said...

Oh, you had the same experience with the chowder as I with my stew pears a couple of weeks ago!!!
I should stay in the kitchen too, or at least, NOT do anything at the computer when something is on the stove!
About the date on the beer, it's not telling you you cannot use it anymore! It's the "best drink before.... date, then all taste will be 100%, but many things in cans or pots under vacuum can be eaten loooong after the printed or stamped date on it.
And I am with Andrea, saying that if you are not swapped off your feet after drinking 3 of them already, you can drink the other ones too!
Oh, do be careful with all that ice, specially when it's covered by some snow!
Perhaps you should buy yourself a pair of icespikes, there are wonderful ones now, that are so easy to slip on your shoes, I've a link for you where you can see, but there are many other shops selling those too
http://www.qvc.com/Due-North-Winter-Snow-%26-Ice-All-Purpose-Traction-Spikes.product.F09440.html

Glad you liked the layout of Jasmine, and looking at it now again, I kind of proud of myself LOL!
You keep safe again, don;t peek under the christmas tree ROFL, have a wonderful day.
Hug
Kyra