WIAW 188 – North Carolina Weather

So I’ve been here in North Carolina a bit over a month and a half, and temperatures have gone from 12°F to 83ºF.

I am told this is not typical… In fact, both extremes are downright odd.  (I was rather relieved to know that 83° in February broke records – because I really hope the summer is not hot in proportion to that!)

Dress in layers, everyone tells me… Well, I’ve been doing that in the house. I have learned that electric forced air does not give the steady heat of a radiator, but lets the place cool just a little, then kicks in blowing cool air for a few minutes until the furnace heats up, when it brings the place up to temperature. More responsive to the 30° variations outside, which is good – but a bit unnerving in cold weather – my desk is right under a vent.

At the same time, I’ve learned to wear a lighter jacket than I expect to need when I go out.  Partly, I get in and out of the car right in front of the door – not only am I not walking to or waiting for a bus, but I don’t have the walk to the car I did when I lived and drove in New Jersey. Parking lots here are so cute and little! And partly, there is much less wind than I am used to, so I don’t need to dress for wind chill.

Good thing I moved South with all the sweaters I hadn’t been wearing the last few years…

I’m sure you can see that this is messing with my Seasonal Eating mindset… and, well, the parents never were much interested in that. They basically eat the same way all year. And under the circumstances, I will cook more to their taste than to mine. (And when I’m 92, someone else can cater to me.)

What I Ate

I do make my own breakfast. They eat cereal all year – and Rich has returned to doing that as well.  Usually I enjoy my grits, but this time… I’d made cornbread the night before, with corn added, and happily ate the leftover for breakfast!  And right now a protein shake, made with kefir, works better in my typical morning than eggs.

Speaking of eggs, though, I hard cooked a dozen, and made egg salad. I’d slid away from eggs at lunch when I often ate them for breakfast – I prefer some variety in my day! – so now I need to remember that egg salad and omelets are options, again. The parents sometimes eat hard cooked eggs plain, but this time they decided to have the egg salad, too – down the road I’ll see if they want it again.

I’d been told to check out the seafood department in a store I had not yet gone to. (Yes, I’m still on the Grand Tour of Supermarkets – well, after all, how often am I going to shop in any week?)  Bought some wild caught salmon, and roasted it with a mustard glaze. I’d made Seared Turnips and Parsnips (and carrots) the day before, and had leftovers, so I heated them with some frozen mixed vegetables, and served it all with quinoa. And one of these days I’ll remember a picture of the salad!

You’re going to see more fish on the blog, and on my table. The parents love fish, and we do enjoy it, so I’ll pay more attention to cooking it. When I first started to cook, I was avoiding seafood in general because of what was finally narrowed down to an allergic reaction to scallops (you will not see them!) Even when I knew what was going on, I just never really got into the habit – despite a year of actually doing seafood demos in a good supermarket, where I learned a lot from the fish man. I have to really make a point of deciding to get it,  and that’s a habit I want to develop! (They also like vegetarian meals – I really do have a wide range of foods to choose from.)

Jenn’s WIAW party is in transit today – I’m amazed Laura got it posted at all! So it’s a little quiet… Then kind of party where we sit and talk, instead of dancing, I guess. (Oh – wait – someone else posted dancing… really sweet.)