Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for November 20, 2014

Janis, when a man cooks, some things are best left unasked….

If a man offers to cook, and is half way decent at it. BE THANKFUL!

My husband does ALL the cooking in this house. I never complain and rarely suggest, and only if he asks. I even remember to say thank you once in a while, and always do the dishes. Well, almost always. If I’m not feeling well sometimes he’ll even do that.

My stews end up being soups because I usually use too much water; then it makes 6 servings of leftovers that require Ramen noodles to reheat with.

Trying to imagine a Brunswick stew salad – maybe like a fried chicken salad, but with the stew ladled over the green rather than with chicken slices? Would you still cover it with dressing?

I had to google “Brunswick Stew Salad” and most sites just refer to it as “Brunswick Stew” and sure enough, it looks just like stew and chili had a baby. I think “salad” missed that love connection because I don’t see anything resembling salad in the photos.

Janis, never insult a man and his pot!

Which gender says which?:

“I’ll have the steak and fries, please!”

""The boiled chicken and arugula salad looks good!"

Whilst I was out of the house, hubby was so proud to make dinner. I came home to a delicious one-pot meal which somehow required every pot in the house to produce. He finally served it out of the pressure cooker base because it was all he had left. Who knew that celery and onions and meat and all else required their own pan to soften or brown?

Bite your tongue, Janis!

I’m really good with frozen pot pies and the microwave!

As a perpetual single who cooks, I’ve recognized the 3/4 full rule of kitchen pots & pans. “No pot or pan can be less than 3/4 full during meal preparation.” So, I extended that to the small pot/pan rule. If you use smaller pots and pans, the 3/4 full rule has less effect. It is interesting what can be done in a single 8 inch fry pan.

I will clean house. wash dishes, I even changed poopy diapers but, I will not cook. In my defense, however, I will eat anything and actually enjoy premade frozen meals (we used to call them TV dinners.) Frequently, when my wife is too tired to cook or tired of cooking I will have one of these dinners or maybe a Spam sandwich.

A LITE recipe for Brunswick STEW?? Are you out of your MIND, Janis? The three-wheeled revolving version of that stuff has SQUIRREL in it! SALAD? I feel faint . . .Well, Jimmy, you sure had her come out lookin’ stoopid.

I wondered if someone was going to mention that traditional Brunswick stew is made with squirrel meat. And corn and tomatoes and okra.

I am suspicious that JJ meant to say “Brunswick Stew Salad & salad for two”

Damn…. I MEANT TO SAY:++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I am suspicious that JJ meant to say “Brunswick Stew & salad for two”

Them’s figitin’ words woman!!!

You wanna have Brunswick Stew? First catch a squirrel…

What planet are you from?

I make Brunswick stew with chicken, but yes, originally it was a squirrel stew. I also have a vegetarian version. I t has tomatoes, potatoes, corn, okra, onions, and lima beans. I have made it for decades for my husband from a Colonial Williamsburg recipe. The chicken cooks for an hour and a half. The vegetables are then started while the chicken is removed from the bones and added back (ouch, hot if one does it too soon). It then cooks at least another hour. Not a quick dish which is what I guess Janis means.

A few years ago I started cooking it at reenactments (1770’s) over an open fire. I originally made it with the chicken (precooked the chicken at home as would take too long otherwise). As I explained it to the public I (and other members) would make comments about having to make it with chicken as none of the guys who promised to, brought me squirrels.

We have a couple of members who are vegetarian and I started making it with vegetable broth instead of cooking the chicken and adding it back to make a vegetarian version for them at events.

I have never heard of it with salad on the end of the name. Salad was not something commonly eaten back then.

I’m pretty sure you can’t make lettuce stew, Janis.

She hates your cooking