Mice, Cookies, Stock, Recipes and more

What a busy day here at the Incredible house. School starts back tomorrow so we had to scramble to get the rest of our holiday in. One thing we needed to do was fill the "bird seed box" my dad made for Violet. My dad is a craftsman and his specialty is boxes (I know, but he's retired now and it keeps him out of my mom's hair). He made a box that was just over one cubic foot big out of cherry wood. Violet has been taking care of the outdoor birds and bunnies this winter. They also got her some specialty bird seed and suet cakes at the feed store. So we needed to fill up her box and get it ready to go. I went out to the garage to fill an oatmeal container with the wild bird food we keep in a garbage can. I scooped a scoopful in, then I realized that brown thing in it wasn't a leaf. It was a mouse. There were two, one I had scooped up already and one still in the garbage can. I set the oatmeal container in the garbage can and went to get Mr. Incredible. Relocating mice is one of his jobs. He got them both safely back to the corner of the yard and reported back that the one I scooped up was unharmed, but a bit dazed.

I know, some of that was rather weird. A cherry wood bird box. A garbage can full of bird seed. An oatmeal container for keeping a little bit in the house. And two fat mice living in the birdseed. What can I say, we're Freaks.

Next on the agenda: Girl Scout cookie sales. The sale officially began here yesterday. Violet is taking a very laid back approach to sales this year. But she has a few loyal customers on our block. So I took her out to hit the 4 houses that have bought from her every year. She came back with sales from 3. The fourth house we think we found the wrong grown up. She'd sold 2 boxes of peanut butter sandwiches every year to the dad at the house. This year the kids answered the door and the mom yelled down from upstairs that the kids had food allergies and they couldn't buy any. (That's fine of course, but would it have killed her to answer the door? Why do people let their young children open the door like that? And they say we're Freaks.) We finally figured out that those 2 boxes were the dad's secret stash. Of course we couldn't say anything and blow his cover. Hopefully he can find another Girl Scout for his peanut butter fix.

I made vegetable stock today. I like to keep frozen stock around for making soup. I just used the last of the turkey stock from Thanksgiving. I throw all my leftover veggies, broccoli stems, celery and carrots that've seen better days, the cauliflower from the garden that wasn't quite edible all in a freezer bag and use them for stock. I added a fresh leek this time, an apple and a bunch of frozen currents. They brewed all day and I have about 12 cups of stock in the freezer again. Mr. Incredible heated up some leftover lentil soup for lunch and it had gotten a bit too thick in the fridge. So he scoop some of the stock out while it was cooking and added it. I have the hardest time keeping him out of my stock!

And finally, a recipe. Here's how we made black-eyed peas edible on New Year's Day:

Cheesy Black-Eyed Pea Dip

4 ounces butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
12 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cans (15 ounces each) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed, or about 4 cups cooked and drained
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the chopped onion and sauté until golden in color; add garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer. Turn heat to low and add cheese, stirring until melted. Add the black-eyed peas, chopped jalapeno and green chiles. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot in slow cooker or in a chafing dish.
Serves 8.

I halved the recipe, but still threw the whole can of chilies in to help kill the dirt taste of the black-eyed peas. We also mashed about half the black-eyed peas so the dip was less chunky. It was really yummy with tortilla chips.