Thanks for the fun today, Joyce! Y'all can be a Hodgepodger by clicking HERE!
Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 638
2. Avocados, kale, cauliflower, and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage? I LOVE cabbage in a sweet coleslaw, or cooked. My mom always put cabbage in her vegetable soup, and I use it that way too. My favorite way to cook it is to chop the head of cabbage, chop some sweet peppers, and a large onion. Cook that all down in a big skillet with a half-stick of butter. As it cooks down, slice some smoked sausage into quarter-inch slices and put that on top of the veggies. Cover it and let it all start to reduce. Season with salt and pepper. I sometimes put in some cayenne pepper and/or some red pepper flakes for a little heat. You can eat it as is, or spoon it over some rice or noodles. There isn't a recipe, and I just call it sausage and cabbage. I have put cubed potatoes in it too. Make it your own!
3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children's childhood? What's a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own? Even my little sisters are too old for Cabbage Patch Dolls, so no, I did not have one. My children are boys and came into my life when they were 16 and 20. A toy trend from my childhood that I remember having was a Tiny Tears doll. You could feed her a bottle of water, and she would wet her diaper. She had wiry red hair. My toys all got handed down, if they made it long enough to be handed down!
4. Something you've spent a lot of time doing lately? Watching TV and taking cold meds. Blecht. (On the upswing, though!)
5. Somehow it's the last week of January...sum up your month in just three sentences. The month began with memories of my granddaughter's wedding and a wonderful Christmas. Mid-month, I saw my sister, my son, my daughter-in-law, and dear friends up in Interlachen, FL. Then, I caught a nasty cold to end the month.
6. Insert your own random thought here. It felt SO GOOD to get out yesterday, for lunch with my friends, Wendy, and Suzette. Our friendships are still a bit new.
I met Wendy when I worked at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's Tenoroc PUA. For newer readers, I had to get a part-time job after my Joe died of COVID in 2021. I was there for three years. Wendy retired from FWC and was friends with my boss, Danon. She popped in one day to see him. He introduced us, and we ended up talking for over an hour! I've met her hubby, and we've socialized a few times over the last few years, with lunches out and dinner at my place.
She invited me to a picnic with her church, which was held at one of the Tenoroc Pavilions. Suzette is a winter member of Wendy's church (a snowbird). She attended the picnic, and Wendy introduced us. Suzette had just lost her husband, so we bonded immediately in our widowhood. That's how the friendship was born.
Wendy and I have lunch now and then, and sometimes include Danon! When Suzette is here, we try to have lunch at least a couple of times. We have already scheduled another in March before she heads north. We always talk a lot, and we laugh even more!
(Shhh... Suzette is 82!! And she is a retired nurse. She walks 6 miles a day, most days!)
