I think if my followers go back through my previous blogs, I have discussed this subject before.

This evening I am alone as Patty is off in Edmonton and Calgary doing good family business.  I remain here to take care of Reese… and work on the model.

Here is the subject this evening.  It is difficult to prepare interesting meals for one person particularly if, like me, I cannot use my front teeth for the next while (for those not involved daily in my personal life I am going through a implant of my eye tooth).

So most of those meals that I would normally prepare when Pat was away.. Steak.. Hamburgers… chicken wings… ribs…hot dogs etc I cannot go to them.  I am not prepared to go to a full diet of gruel so have been trying to prepare missing denture acceptable meals (there is actually a web site for this).

Many years ago, when Meagan and Janine had gone off to University, I found myself trying to prepare meals for less than four hungry people.  How do you make good meals for just two?  I happened to mention this in my weekly phone call to mother and she said ” dear…try doing this for one!!!”  Point taken.  She was living alone in an apartment in Regina at the time.

Eventually I learned how to cut back but realistically the great meals always ended up as a meal for four with leftovers.  There is a certain incremental quantity you need to blend all the ingredients for a proper meal that just does not allow micro sizing.

I realize the fall back for rich and famous people is to just go out each night and let someone else solve the problem.  But I cannot leave little Reese…

Another fall back that has gone on for decades for single people was TV Dinners.  I thought I would never go there.

Saturday I made a Sheppard’s Pie with leftover mashed potatoes.  Last night I made a nice Butter Chicken on Basmati Rice.  Both of these provided leftovers for days ahead.

But I am tired of this.  I happened to be going through Loblaws Super Store and checked out their pre-made meals.  They had a Tortellini Rosee meal (sorry there should be a diacritic over the first e)… that was on sale for $5.  Bought it and it was wonderful.  Granted I did augment with a bit of red wine and additional Parmesan but it was wonderful.  Again a meal for two so I now have leftovers for dinner until Pat returns and maybe days after.

But if I ever end up on my own (Heaven Forbid) is this my future for fine dining? Finding ready made meals at Thriftys and Loblaws?

If my tooth comes back maybe not.  In any case I plan to abuse my body so it is Pat that faces this situation….. Sorry Patty.

Well Pat is away in Edmonton and I am alone.  Well not quite alone I do have Reese.

It occurred to me that the last time I spent Saturday night when Pat was away, I watched Kill Bill I and Kill Bill II.  Two movies that Pat would not allowed to be watched if she was in residence.

So tonight I decided to honor the tradition and watched another Quentin Tarantino movie … The Hateful Eight.

Damn if this does not out-gore the Kill Bill series.  Blood and brains spread everywhere.  Even Reese closed her eyes, which when you think of a dog, should excite them.

There is no question that if Patty was home this movie would not be played.

Granted I do have to sleep alone tonight and I may have to keep the light on……

We have inherited Reese into our home routine.  There are lots of benefits.  A Westie that likes to be hugged, but not too much,  and will take her own position on the bed when I have my nap.  She loves to sniff out slugs in the garden.  She protects us in the house when golfers go by on the fairway behind us with her alarm barking.

When we go for walks with her we meet neighbours that we otherwise would never know.  Granted most of the discussions are about the names of their dogs, their ages and the repetition of their bowel movements… but occasionally an interesting meeting.

And Pat and I are now enjoying a walk around the golf course after dinner every night which we never did before.  Beautiful golf course.

All that is aside.  Here is the true benefit.

Over the years when Pat has an issue she asks “Who left the toilet seat up?..or Who left this mess on the kitchen floor? or Who left crumbs on the table? etc

Now there were only two of us so this was her way of accusing me of not being the perfect, anal retentive freak of a husband.  I have learned to live with it.

But now I have a perfect foil.  When Pat asks Who did this? I can reply REESE .  Yes Reese leaves the toilet seat up, yes Reese leaves the counter with crumbs and yes, Reese leaves footy prints on the kitchen floor that Pat had scrubbed the previous day (actual).   And Yes… Reese farts when we are sitting on the couch watching TV.

Great to have a dog…

Well, as I suspected, the pie crust for my pumpkin pie was tough.  Hardly the flacky, light crust promised by the recipe in the magazine.  I suspect not enough fluid because the consistency was like very dry concrete and not smooth.

In any event we did serve the pie to our guests on Thanksgiving and they all admired the effort.

Following the hint by our  daughter, we smothered the pieces with whipped cream.  At the end of a great turkey meal with all the fixings I suspect no one was going to complain about the bottom crust on the pie.

Despite my earlier statement, I will again try again (because I am stubborn) but I will use the recipe that Chandler recommends.

Now I never had the training in high school that the girls got in Home EC on how to make a pie crust.  I had to take shop, which in hindsight, was pretty good.  Learned how to work woodworking machines and repair my car.

Over the years the Wife has given up making pie crusts from scratch.  She maintains it is not as easy as it looks on TV.  So we have long since gone to using the frozen pie shells made by Tenderflake.

We received the latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine last week.  I have often used recipes from this magazine or used procedures in preparing meals.  This issue had an article on how to make the perfect pie crust.  Again seemed easy.  We have company coming for Thanksgiving tomorrow and I decided to make pumpkin pie from scratch… well just because I thought it would be nice.

So I went through all the steps of cubing the butter and lard and refrigerating.  Mixed the perfect quantity of flour, starch and water with a touch of vinegar. Then blended it according to the directions in the magazine.  Mixing concrete is easier.

I rolled it out and it refused to form the perfect oval you see when you watch the pastry cooks on TV.  When I put it into the glass pie plate I had to tear and re-glue pieces to get a fit.  Altogether a horrible experience and I suspect because of my constant kneading to get in shape (the directions clearly said do not overwork) I suspect it will be tough.  Does not have the fluted edge that I was aiming for.  The pumpkin filling was fairly straight forward compared to the crust.

We shall test a couple of pieces tonight (Sunday) to see if it edible.  Fall back is I go to Thriftys tomorrow morning and buy a premade pumpkin pie (only $4.99)

Back to the frozen pie shells for me.