A Better Day

Sunday was quite a good day - considering!

Mr. Indi went down to Larry's (the drug store) and got me a box of surgical masks. He then remembered the humidifiers that I have to use over the end of my trache tube when the air is dry. (The actual name of the gizmo is Hygroscopic Condenser Humidifier and it resembles a gun silencer!) And, armed with these items and looking like a creature from a sci-fi movie, I was able to get the marigolds planted and the dead flowers chopped off the geraniums. Mr. Indi, who doesn't know a petunia from a pelargonium, lent a hand by digging the holes.

The weather was just perfect (80F) and we also managed to clean all of the garden furniture and Mr. Indi's car which was what my mother would have called - An Utter Disgrace!

I had zipped down to the shops to get a few odds and ends and was amazed to see that the butcher had some fresh ham hocks - a rarity. Mom used to make them years ago - one of dad's favorites. I picked up 6 small pieces of hock (I don't know why they don't leave them large!) and a package of small white navy beans; also a bunch of collard greens and some carrots. I seared the hocks and onion in olive oil and put it all in a large casserole and covered with 1 quart of vegetable stock. I added 1 cup (about 8oz) of the beans which I had rinsed and soaked in cold water for a couple of hours. I slow cooked the casserole for about 1 and 1/2 hours. I then added chopped carrots and the greens (washed and shredded into large bits.) I cooked it for another hour and then thickened it with cornstarch and water (corn flour for you Brits.) I served it over mashed potatoes with crusty bread on the side. Mr. Indi thought he had died and gone to heaven!

The photo above is one I took at the San Diego Botanical Garden in 2006.