Food, More Changes and Flowers

Continuing with my pre-trip posts from North Georgia and Western North Carolina.  Food and spring flowers dominate this post…

I ‘had’ to attack a pile of roasted red potatoes that were leftover…and I wanted to use one of the attractive new plates that Laurie bought at an estate sale.  In addition, I had a little French style fougasse bread that I didn’t want to go to waste.   For this simple breakfast I sliced up and fried the potatoes until they were golden brown, sliced the bread horizontally, heated it and buttered it.  Then of course, I topped the whole thing with a couple of easy over fried eggs.  Excellent!

We’d purchased some thick and luscious boneless pork chops the last time we went to Costco.  Time to give them a try.  Laurie seasoned and lightly breaded them and then I seared them in order to ensure a nice crust and so they’d retain their moisture.  Laurie finished them off in the oven.  We sided them with more of those red potatoes and some applesauce.  It was a fine meal indeed!

On this occasion we decided that each of us was “on our own” when it was time to prepare dinner.  Laurie loves mushrooms and we’d purchased a package of Portobello mushrooms for her as I don’t like them.  She simply sautéed them in butter and garlic and her entrée was served.  For her, this was a real treat!

OK, so what did I have for dinner that night?  Well, I finished off those roasted red potatoes…adding chopped up pieces of one of those big pork chops to the mix.  I fried the pork and potatoes, in butter of course, to give them a little more crust and then it was time for a couple more easy over eggs.  Add my Tabasco to that pile of goodness and I was very happy.  I am pretty sure that Laurie's dinner was healthier than mine though...

On another occasion, we had decided to go out to a movie followed by a casual dinner.  “The Lost City” with Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Brad Pitt was a comedy drama love story…all rolled into one.  We enjoyed it even more since, thanks to Covid-19, it was the first movie we’d seen at a theater in about 2 years.

We’d dined at Wings, Etc. Grill and Pub in Knoxville once before and we wanted to try it again mainly because we’d only had wings the first time.

We started out with one of Laurie’s favorite appetizers…deep fried pickle chips. ($8.49)  We’d eaten some of them before I remembered to take a photo.  They were pretty tasty but I thought that the little container of ranch dressing for dipping was a bit skimpy. 

Well, we couldn’t really not order some wings…they are in this restaurant’s name.  Laurie decided that after the pickle chips she didn’t have room for an entrée and wings were perfect for her.  We ordered 10 wings with bleu cheese and celery on the side. ($13.99) Half were coated with ‘hot buffalo’ sauce and the other half were coated with ‘Asian Kick’ sauce.  Laurie was not happy as all 10 wings were ‘wing drumette’, and she much prefers the other segment which is known as ‘the flat’.  In any case, the wings were pretty good but I ended up eating too many of them.

For my meal, I built my own “Stand-By” burger with 2 beef patties, cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, pickles and tomato with mayonnaise on the side. ($11.49) It was sided with some very tasteless coleslaw.  The dining area was deserted except for us.  I did have to go find the server to get a knife so I could cut the burger in half as it was too messy to pick up in one piece.

My burger was juicy and had decent flavor but the bun didn’t hold up very well.  Our server was very pleasant when she was around but with little to do, she spent more time back by the kitchen.

Wings, Etc. Grill and Pub is a franchised chain of more than 50 locations that is based in Ft. Wayne Indiana.  The Knoxville restaurant is at 319 Lovell Road near the Turkey Creek shopping complex.  Phone: 865-392-1021.  Website: https://wingsetc.com/knoxville/.

Once in a while Laurie prevails on yours truly to go for a walk around the neighborhood.   Change continues to dominate our peaceful partially wooded surroundings.  In this case, yet another new house is nearing completion about a block and a half away.  Its owner did do something that I didn’t do but wish I’d been able to.  She purchased the adjoining lot at the left of this photo…as well as the lot her house is being built on. 

We now know of 3 homeowners in our general neighborhood who are preserving a lot next to or behind their homes.  Monthly POA fees apply to empty/undeveloped lots as do property taxes, so this preservation of greenspace isn’t for everyone. 

Along our walk, we stopped to admire the variety of Iris in the front yard of one of our neighbors.  I really like that rust colored version…

Iris is a genus of between 260 – 300 flowering plants.  It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow…which is also the name of the Greek goddess of rainbows, Iris.  FYI, Presby Memorial Gardens in Montclair New Jersey is a living iris museum of sorts, with over 10,000 plants.

Back to our yard… Our azaleas are in bloom.  In addition to the red ones shown here, we also have pink and white azaleas.  Yes, our Iris are finally blooming as well.  We’re a little behind the neighbors as our plants are shaded for a good portion of the day.  We do need to add a bit of color to our Iris grouping…

We had our first Japanese maple tree when we lived in Attleboro Massachusetts.  The first tree or trees shown above grace another neighbor’s front yard but the second photo is of our very showy Japanese maple that resides in a corner niche next to the garage and just outside Laurie’s plant room.

The Japanese maple is a shrub or small tree, aka a woody plant that is native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia and southeast Russia.  They are very popular due to their striking and colorful appearance.  Over 1,000 cultivars have been chosen for various characteristics.  They are primarily propagated through grafting but some can be propagated by budding, cuttings, tissue culture or layering.  Traditional Chinese medicines are made from this tree’s branches and leaves.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave