Blog/Journal Type Entries

Good Soup.

I had this window open all day yesterday. I would sit at my desk, and start to type and... nada. After four attempts, I decided that it was time to get productive instead. Did I take a nap before any productivity could be attained? Why, yes. Yes, I did, indeed, take a two hour nap.

I get my best inspiration when I am resting, and yesterday's nap brought loads of ideas for me to try. I had already decided that I was going to attempt making my own version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, with a few minor adjustments to ingredients I did, or did not have on hand. I had already gotten the hot Italian sausage out of the freezer before I laid down. Before I drifted off, I started a mental checklist of things I had on hand that I needed to use up.

When I woke up, I did my customary preparations and placed a tv tray with a bowl, cutting board, my favorite knife (yes I have a favorite knife, blame neuro-divergence), and the veggies I needed to process and chop in the living room, so I could play catch up on a couple of shows I watch, while I went to work.

I started with carrots and Matlock. No, not the old Matlock series, the new one with Kathy Bates. I began peeling and chopping, placing the peels and ends into my freezer bag of scraps that I will be turning into veggie stock at the end of the month. I took my time and was very careful to chop everything into uniform sized pieces. I moved onto onions and potatoes.

I finished off that episode of Matlock, and moved onto Elsbeth, which I have fallen in love with. While I finished up my mis en place, I brainstormed about what else I could make using what we have available, and came up with bread sticks and freshly made salad dressing. Have I made bread sticks before? No. Was I going to make a brave attempt? Yes.

I truly enjoy watching a meal come together through my own hard work. I got all of the components of the soup, cooking down in my soup pot, while I got my bone broth out of the fridge. I spooned the fatty layer off of the top, and was left with a think layer of silky gelatinous goodness at the bottom of the bowls. As I spooned it into the pot, I thought that I would need to add a ton of water and seasonings to thin the bone broth, but boy was I wrong! The broth instantly melted into the pot, and VIOLA! SOUP!

Because I used a Costco rotisserie chicken for my broth, it was pretty much perfectly seasoned. I am glad that I trusted myself enough to not add veggies while I made the broth initially. It was rich and sumptuous without any of the usual suspects in broth making. No fancy herbs, no miropoix. Just a couple of chicken carcasses and water, boiled down for about ten hours. I cooked it until the bones were thin and easily snapped. It was a labor of love, and took an entire day, but it was worth it.

And that chicken fat that I scooped off the top of my bone broth? The schmaltz went into the freezer for later use. I am thinking I might try my hand at matzo ball soup! I have never tried it before, so I am looking forward to the joys of trying things for the first time. I have been very fortunate to have had many successes after trying a new recipe or method for the first time.

So back to dinner. Soup is cooking away and I decided to start on the bread sticks. I found a recipe using ingredients I have, and began preparing it. Now, I have arthritis, and I was afraid I would not be able to handle the kneading that is required for this bread, but I did my best, and I ended up putting eight bread sticks into the oven. I had left half of the dough in the bowl and it ended up in a freezer bag in the fridge, to be made into a loaf of sandwich bread this morning.

By the time Rick got home, the soup was done, the bread sticks were awaiting a brushing of garlic butter, and I was making my lemon pepper parmesan dressing, meant for a simple romaine salad. The apartment smelled amazing. I dished everything up and we settled in to watch a movie while we ate.

I am so looking forward to transforming my would be dining area from a box collection area into its intended purpose. First, unpack boxes, then obtain a suitable dining table and chairs. Then we can get on with having a traditional dinner time, which is important to me.

Dinner was enjoyed. I will add a little more heavy cream into the leftovers for dinner tonight, which will cut a bit of the saltiness, as I didn't use a light hand while seasoning the soup last night. No biggie.

Today, we are seeing a movie with Rick's son, and then just relaxing at home this evening.