HOME ALONE ON A SUNDAY WITH MLLE. RENEE AND A COLD

Considering the weather we’ve been having, it’s really not hard to be under the weather. And Mlle. Renee hasn’t learned how to say, “Aww, poor Robbie, does he have a tolb in his noeb and a fever in his head?”

So I get no sympathy at all around here. Well, that’s not true, because she did let me sleep in until ten this morning. And we also had a nap this afternoon on the sofa. But she couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to go outside and play with her. To humor her I did put on my coat to walk around the grounds and leave some seed for our winged friends. I also noticed that during our recent January thaw a number a plants thought it was spring and began sprouting. Stupid plants if they would have listened to the weather wizards they would have know that we’re headed for a near zero night and first part of the week.

Somehow I really don’t think those sunflower seed shells are going to do much to protect those little sprouts. So after leaving some seed for the birds (and Mr. Squiggly the squirrel), I convince Renee to go inside where it was warm.

Now, I sometimes have a problem with proverbs and old wives’ tales. Probably because I don’t have an old wife to nag me to death by reciting them all the time. So I really didn’t know if it is “Feed a cold, and starve a fever.” or “Starve a cold, and feed a fever.”  But since I had both along with this horrific craving for baked goods, I went inside to mess up my recently cleaned oven by baking something.

My first craving was for some fresh whole wheat bread to go with the jar of strawberry jam in the fridge.

So I whipped up this crusty cob loaf of bread.

Then I had a craving for something chocolate …

So I whipped up some deep dark double chocolate muffin dough which I spread in shallow pan and topped with dollops of dark chocolate cream cheese and flaked coconut before baking. It baked up into a rich, chocolate confection that resembled a super moist brownie that was to die for.

Then I just heated a can of vegetable beef barley soup for dinner. You have to eat some veggies.

So now I have enough muffins, brownies and whole wheat  bread to last for two weeks. Mlle. Renee just reminded me she can’t eat chocolate, and why didn’t I use carob. Poor dog, she doesn’t know the medicinal qualities of real chocolate.