Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

And since they were using a robo-caller there was no way they could
call back. When I still had the land-line the teelemarketers were "spoofing" numbers. Once I looked at the caller ID and it said my
phone number was calling my actual phone number. Bv)= Needless to say ........

We've had nothing but cell phones since we moved back to the mainland
in fall of 2006. In Hawaii we dropped long distance from our land line
the last 2 or 3 years we were there as we could call for free on week
ends with our cells. And yes, even with the cells, we've gotten calls
from our own number a few times. W have Google Fi for our provider;
until recently they had a call screening service. When I upgraded
phones in June, I noticed it had been discontinued--I miss it,
especially with calls that come in with our local area code. It's ID'ed
if in my contact list but if it's a new to me, I have to answer (or let
it go to voice mail, not always the best option).

I had thought I'd keep my land-line forever ... just POTS with no add-ons except caller ID. My reasoning was that if there is a big weather event
and the power grid goes down Ma Bell has her own battery-back-up so the
land lines will still work. But then they jacked the $$$ to the realms
of unreasonability and I explained to them where to put their service.

And rents? HAH! They're worse than .........

When we bought this house, the payment schedule worked out that we'd
pay a bit less than our (at the time) rent. We've added a good bit to
the principle each month so now, after almost 11 years, we've over half paid it off.

I put 20% down and made the monthly strokes plus U$50. Then in 2016
after the ballots were counted I figured the stock market was in for a very rough ride. So I cashed out my stock portfolio and paid off the mortgage. I wasn't totally correct in my guess about the market but
I've never regretted making that move.

We've debated it a few times but figured the payment is reasonable
enough now, we're not wiping out our savings for old age. With the VA
loan we didn't put anything down.

The other side of that coin is I can stash what I would have paid in
other things. My credit union puts a hundred buck per month into savings
for me si I have the insurance and taxes covered.

I told Dennis that the clear-out was gong to be a regular thing. And
if he stashed something to eat it (or share it with the mutts) within
two weeks or - into the bin with it. We'll see how that plays out.

Containers labeled for contents and dated, I presume? I'm better about that for the freezer than the fridge.

The ice box stuff is an see-thru containers and I've not dated and of
it. The stuff that gets sucky-bagged and frozen gets dated and
(usually) has a name or description on the package.

Unless it's something obvious, like the pizza Steve brought home from a meeting last night. We repackaged it into 2 slices/bag vaccuum bags and froze. It'll reheat quick on the convection cycle of the toaster oven
and a slice each, with a side of something else, will make an easy
lunch.

I nuke frozen (leftover) pizza. Lots quicker.

By doing it our way, the crust doesn't get soggy. We've tried it both
ways (nuking and rebaking) and personally prefer the other. Yesterday Steve brought home from the farmer's market a different twist on
pizza--a roll up. Didn't really have any noticeable sauce, just
pepperoni and cheese, but it was good. One of the vendors has been bringing them so Steve finally decided to give them a try--we may try making our own version.

Pizza or sammich?

Steve's mom bought the real thing from time to time at the little
Italian store in Rochester that we shop at from time to time. She also used the green and red cans; I was raised on the green can. Once our finances eased a bit (and getting into the echo), I started buying the real thing and haven't looked back.

I know the green cans were Kraft. I'm drawing a blank on the red though.

I'm more like Steve's mom then. I do both - depending. Hy-Vee sells a shaker-can of grated Parm w/black pepper and garlic added. Very nice
in some (many) applications.

Wegman's sells the fresh grated, usually in tubs. The black pepper and garlic sounds like a nice addition; maybe I'll take some of our Parm,
now that it's grated (and frozen), add pepper & garlic to a small jar
of it. (We keep a pint sized glass jar with a shaker top in the
fridge.)

Give it a shot. I.m thinking about adding a teaspoon of crused red pepper flakes to my Hy-Vee shaker. I've got one that's down to about enough for
two applications - so I'll test it out there before "fixing" the new jar.

Sometimes it just takes something simple to open your eyes. Steve
doesn't like black olives so some years (decades) ago I bought some kalamata olives. Big!!! hit, and they appear regularly in my cooking.

I alsways like the ripe olives better than the green guys. Although
I'll do the greenies as long as I can ditch the pimientos.

I don't mind the pimentoes so will eat them along with the olive. (G)

I will too. But if they's fallen out the olives I let them lay there in
the brine residue rather than scoop them up. Bv)=

I haven't made this .... yet .......

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Pepperoni Lover's French Bread Pizza
Categories: Vegetables, Cheese, Beef, Herbs, Breads
Yield: 4 servings

MMMMM---------------------------SAUCE--------------------------------
14 oz Can petite diced tomatoes;
- drained
1 cl Garlic; grated
1/2 ts Kosher salt
1/2 ts Dried oregano
1 tb Olive oil
Few grinds of black pepper

MMMMM---------------------------PIZZA--------------------------------
1/4 c Olive oil
2 cl Garlic; grated
1 Loaf soft French bread;
- split lengthwise, insides
- mostly dug out
4 oz Mozzarella; grated or torn
2 tb Grated Parmesan; more for
- serving
2 oz Sliced pepperoni; quartered
Red-pepper flakes or dried
- oregano, or both, for
- serving

MAKE THE SAUCE: Set the oven @ 450ºF/232ºC with a rack
in the middle position. Combine tomatoes, garlic, salt,
oregano, olive oil and black pepper in a medium bowl,
and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

PREPARE THE PIZZA: Combine the 1/4 cup olive oil and
garlic in a small pot over medium heat. Cook, swirling
occasionally, until the garlic starts to sizzle, but
doesn’t brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place the French bread cut side up on a baking sheet.
Brush cut sides with garlic oil. Bake until edges are
golden, 5 to 7 minutes.

Toss together the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni in
a medium bowl. Divide tomato sauce between the two bread
halves all the way to the edges and top with pepperoni
and cheese.

Return to the oven and bake until melted, about 5
minutes. Increase heat to broil and broil (watch
carefully!) until the cheese is bubbly and browned in
spots, 1 to 2 minutes more. Let cool 5 minutes before
slicing and serving. Serve topped with more Parmesan,
red-pepper flakes and oregano, if you like.

By: Dawn Perry

Yield: 4 servings

RECIPE FROM: https://cooking.nytimes.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

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ourciau
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