Chicken Soup

Happy Halloween! I once again forgot to photograph the Juj in his costume (nothing new there), but we had a lovely time trick-or-treating around the neighborhood after a dinner of

Tortilla Soup:

• sauteed chopped vegies: half and onion, couple of carrots & stalks of celery, and a jalepeno (no seeds) with a bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, new mexico chile powder
• added chopped raw chicken thighs and salt and pepper
• 2 chopped zucchini & 1 chopped yellow summer squash
• a can of chopped tomatoes and a chipotle in adobo sauce
• 5 cups of chicken stock
• some frozen corn

served with all the fixin's:

• tortillas that I sliced up, sprayed with cooking spray and toasted in a 350-degree oven
• grated cotilla cheese
• sliced avocado
• chopped cilantro
• raw radishes on the side

But I think I'm going to have a candy hangover. And probably eat soup for lunch more than once this week. And I need to remember a few things like

• do not process chiles with your bare fingers
• and especially don't touch your lips or rub your eyes if you do, even if you wash your hands first
• and NO COFFEE AFTER 11 AM! 

Although I did wash and fold four loads of laundry, watch and erase one of the five new episodes of Glee that had been languishing on the DVR (Rocky Horror, oh, yeah!) as well as an Outsourced.

Better Late Than Never

Just after I typed it, I realized the title could refer to so many things:
...like thinking *I* would be all organized and get the Juj to school on time this week while the hubby is away visiting his folks, so I could show him how easy it is (which I didn't and it's not!)
...or the fact we'll be having a certain September birthday boy's actual party in November (thanks to booking constraints).
...or the effects of perimenopause (short, normal, normal, long, short, long - did someone say this could go on for ten years?!)

But actually, I just meant dinner.

Dinner for Unca Ron, to be exact. Not only did we stand him up Sunday before last because we were having too much fun to come home on time, apparently we never made a special birthday dinner for him either. Back in March.

So this what I made on Sunday, mostly from Stephan Pyles' New Tastes From Texas:

• Southwestern Caesar Salad with Parmesan-Anchovy Wafers
• Cowboy Ribeye with Pinto-Wild Mushroom Ragout & Caramelized Onions with Chile
• Splenda Lemon Ricotta Cream over Fresh Raspberries with Dark Chocolate Garnish

And since I forgot that the amount of steak called for in the cookbook was for four servings of bone-in ribeye but I bought boneless -- plus, unbeknownst to me, Juj decided he no longer likes steak -- we ended up inviting Ron back for a second round on Monday evening.

Just realized one more thing about that title -- could be a comment on the timeliness of this post, too (hello, Thursday night!) Or the egg sandwich I promised J for dinner...30 minutes ago. Or maybe it's just my rhythm and I should accept it.

The Kitchen Cure

So, despite the fact that I haven't been cooking as much (or perhaps BECAUSE of that), when I saw someone tweet about The Kitchen Cure, I checked it out and decided that it was for me.

Now, I am working it through the four weeks of assignments slowly (already a week behind), but it's been very, uh, educational.

For Week One - clean & organize the fridge, freezer and pantry - I've thrown out more food than I care to admit, and so far, one shelf of the pantry has actually been washed down - perhaps for the first time since we first moved in 8+ years ago - and lined with that cushy stuff. Among the more interesting archeological finds were:

• a complete shelf of week-old leftovers I threw out from the refrigerator when I first started
• the remains of a bottle of dark corn syrup in the panrty, as well as one of light corn syrup in the fridge (cleaned those bottles out for recycling, since I have no idea of when I bought them and why do I need corn syrup anyway?)
• an unopened jar of pimento-stuffed sliced green olives that were leftover from a tamalada in 2003 or 2004, if memory serves
• a can of chicken noodle soup with a 'best by 2006' date on it
• several other expired canned goods
• some ancient frozen meatballs from Costco
• Hawaiian Ice flavor packets and horchata drink mix packets, neither of which had expiration dates, but all of which predate our eight-year-old son (I think)

You get the picture.

No doubt when I make it to the Week Two assignment - purging, cleaning and organizing the non-food cupboards and drawers - I will have more embarrassing oddities to share. For example - how many pizza cutters does one family need?

Seriously, I do like the way the assignments are broken down in small pieces, and can be worked in whatever chunks of time I can dedicate to the effort. I'm really hoping that after completing four weeks of The Kitchen Cure, although may take about 6+ weeks at the rate I'm going, I will be inspired to tackle other parts of the house one drawer, shelf, or pile at a time. Don't want to end up on Hoarders (just kidding, Mom; we're not that bad)!

Dinner

Didn't go to church today, but I spent the day cooking a meal of communion -- fun to have a larger than usual gathering to share the Sunday supper. And it was delicious to boot. (Although I forgot my promise to myself to wear shoes for marathon cooking, since my feet and ankles aren't as young as they used to be. Ouch.) This must mean it's truly autumn...

• Brisket with Parsnips & Leeks (this was awesome - and I got to use the Dutch oven I won from Pioneer Woman)
• Barley Pilaf
• Broccoli for the kiddos
• Salad (baby greens with herbs) for the adults
• All-time favorite almond cake from Amanda Hesser's Cooking for Mr. Latte

P.S.  And a happy Thanksgiving, my Canadian friends and colleagues!