That actually turned out well...

[rolanni]

I don't do much of the cooking around here, which is OK, because Steve is a wonderful cook, and I really don't like to, yanno, cook. Mostly, I like to chop things up -- *quiet over there; yeah, that corner's not as dim as you think* -- and stir stuff. I used to like to make bread, but not so much since my wrists went south and punching the dough down hurts.

Being on my own this weekend meant I had to feed myself. I could, of course, have eaten frozen dinners, but...meh. Yesterday, I sorta compromised and had frozen fish and leftover veggies and rice for dinner. Today, I had to not only come up with something for today's dinner, but also for dinners-to-take-to-work next week.

So I made soup. Soup is actually my Best Trick, because, if done correctly, it involves both chopping and stirring. I happily chopped me a couple of potatoes, threw them into the bottom of the soup pot (already liberally coated with warming olive oil, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic, black pepper, and allspice), added some onions and sweet peppers from the freezer, and stirred it all around until it looked right.

Then I added chicken broth, a can of mixed carrots and peas (because, really, canned carrots and peas are inedible except in soup), dried mushrooms, a can of cannollini, a couple pieces of frozen chicken. It boiled together for a while, then simmered; getting stirred whenever the mood struck me. I just finished a bowful of the stuff and my was that tasty. And, there's plenty (I always make too much soup, sigh) so lunch next week is pretty much solved.

And, now, back to Chapter Seven.

Comments

[amm-me.livejournal.com]

Chapter 7 already, YAY.

The soup sounds great. I definitely agree with you about the canned peas and carrots, only, why buy them at all?

Once when my mother was in the hospital and I was visiting at suppertime, she offered me her little dish of peas and carrots, which I did eat because I was hungry. Her comment was that the only vegetable she liked less than canned peas or canned carrots, was peas and carrots mixed together.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree with you about the canned peas and carrots, only, why buy them at all?

Good question. Maybe they were on sale. Maybe Steve had a Plan. Possibly involving soup. Maybe this particular can got mixed in with the mixed vegetables, which are ...all right, if not wonderful mixed with rice.

[kinzel.livejournal.com]

Food that doesn't require electricity to keep is useful. And though Sharon likes to chop, many days she *shouldn't chop* because of her tendonitis. Soem days, food is food.

[dorfird.livejournal.com]

If it's tasty, one can never have too much soup. :^)

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Especially if one remembers to freeze some of it before it gets boring. *Makes a note*

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

I'm also doing soup. Maine weather?

Anyway, pot-roast sliced and chunked up into pot-roast broth, V-8 juice, potatoes and onions and carrots and garlic chopped, add basil and Worcestershire. Simmer a couple of hours.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Boy, that sounds good, too. And I don't even like pot-roast.

[silverdragonma.livejournal.com]

I made chili this weekend. "Bone Crossed" is out. Halfway thru it and I know you will enjoy the continuing adventures of Mercy Thompson.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

"Bone Crossed" is out.

Yeah, I saw that. No money in the budget for hardcovers for the next while, I'm afraid, so I'll have to wait six months to a year. Or longer, if the recent distributor woes are as dire for mass markets as some are predicting.

[silverdragonma.livejournal.com]

I can send it up if you think you will have time to read it.

Soup freezes

[(Anonymous)]

And soup freezes so beautifully. This weekend my daughter-in-law was over and picked up six containers of my home-made pasta, tomato sauce - v-8 and assorted vegetables and all different types of left over meat - chicken, mild italian sausage - ham, etc. IAlso has a jar of spagetti sauce in it which became a very rich broth and it made around two gallons of which most of it went into the freezer. I'm having some of it tonight for supper as it is getting ready to rain and we are having a cold spell for NE Florida.

Re: Soup freezes

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I need to remember to freeze some of this.

Also has a jar of spagetti sauce in it which became a very rich broth and it made around two gallons of which most of it went into the freezer. I'm having some of it tonight for supper as it is getting ready to rain and we are having a cold spell for NE Florida.

Seems like it's been a Soup Weekend all around...

[(Anonymous)]

I suppose you could actually borrow it from the nearest library...or request it from another one if the nearest doesn't own

Cathy C

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I suppose I could, but then I'd have about three days to read it, which I can't promise, so ILL is kind of an exercise in futility for me. Purely my own fault, but there you are.

Nonviolent bread

[painoarvokas.livejournal.com]

There are ways to make bread that does not require that much violence against the dough. There was that "no-knead" recipe a few years back, but what I usually do is just use a lot of water (typically as much water as flour) and long fermentation (12–24 hours). I don't know how commercial yeast reacts to that, but my natural sour leaven loves it. I just mix the ingredients, let the mixture sit and then bake.

Of course, the dough is wet enough that I need to use a pan – no freestanding bread this way.