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November 30, 2006
I did it!
Well, I have to admit I'm surprised I was able to post every day. I cut it really close quite a few times. But I'm not known for sticking with things, so it's nice that I was able to this time.
Does this mean I'll keep blogging? Probably not daily, but maybe once in awhile. Definitely about the surgery, and I do want to post some stuff about the house too. And I did share one personal story, so maybe I need to get more of them out there...I don't talk to anyone about my past and my experiences, but I do value my memories and I've learned alot about people over the years too.
Something else I've learned this month is that I'm not happy with the person I am right now. 10 years ago I would have been blogging up a storm, and I had friends then, and talked to people, and the like. Now I don't really feel like talking to anyone, and more importantly, I don't feel like anyone really wants to hear what I have to say. That's probably a big part in why it's been so hard to think of stuff to write.
Also, I am sick of thinking of that long-ago Laura and wanting to be her again. I can't be, I'm not young and stupid. I need to figure out who I want to be now and what I need to do to be that person.
So yea, I think this was a good exercise. Thank you to Mrs. Kennedy and to everyone else who participated in NaBloPoMo, great job. I hope to visit some more sites soon and see who else is out there.
Posted by Laura at 09:31 PM | Comments (1)
November 29, 2006
crawling..on my hands and knees...
One..more..day....must...keep...blogging....
I think this exercise proves that I am not cut out to be a blogger. I just don't have anything interesting to say.
But, did you know that Everybody Loves Tana?
There are also two Grace Notes variations.
Posted by Laura at 11:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 28, 2006
Two Entries in One Day?!?!?!
To round out the month, I decided to visit a few of my NaBloPoMo brethren and sistren (a legitimate word). I'm visiting one per letter of the alphabet, starting with Z. In order to finish in 3 days I guess I have to visit 9 per day.
Zoot wisely agrees that she's "not one to question the excellence of pre-installed panties."
Just in time for Christmas, You're Doing It Wrong explains how to write a proper holiday newsletter.
Poor Xmichra! Her link on the NaBloPoMo page is all broken! I hope someone else visits her soon.
At Welcome to Karenworld, Karen shares 10 things that we don't know about her. I'm going to have to look into that Vaseline recommendation. My skin always gets dry this time of year.
Ok, 4 is my limit on schnitzengruben.
Posted by Laura at 12:54 PM | TrackBack
Shoes...
In my neverending quest to find comfortable shoes that fit my gigantic, flipper-like feet, I'm going to try these next:
Propet Twilite Walker (Women's) - Black Leather
Posted by Laura at 11:05 AM | TrackBack
November 27, 2006
Just a few days left...
My boss at GamersInfo.Net just asked for someone to fly out and help her drive to the Consumer Electronics Show in January. I can't go early enough to help drive, but she did say she needs some help covering the show, so I am looking into Brian and I going to Vegas for a few days.
I've been to E3 the past two years, but I've never been to CES, or Vegas for that matter, so I hope we're doing the right thing! If nothing else it should be a fun little mini vacation. It means officially skipping a holiday visit to my family, but I just saw them in October and the parents are coming out for my surgery, so I am hoping that's not going to be a big deal. Now I just have to hope that there will be enough flexibility in scheduling my surgery that I won't have to be on a liquid diet during the trip...that wold suck!
No trip to a big city with world-class dining would be complete without a fancy meal. I Just need to decide where I want to go...the breakfast at Bouchon sounds divine.
Posted by Laura at 10:17 PM
November 26, 2006
Leftover Turkey and Smoked Sausage Gumbo
Tonight I made my favorite Thanksgiving-leftovers recipe. I learned it from my brother, who made it with chicken, but there's no reason why you can't substitute turkey. Since we always have white-meat turkey left over, it's usually pretty easy to scrounge up 2 cups for this. You can omit the okra if you don't like it, but I've found it doesn't really taste like anything, it just thickens things a bit more. I only add it because Brian says it's not gumbo if it doesn't have okra (despite my attempts to explain file gumbo).
Oh, and it probably goes without saying that all good cooks will strip the turkey carcass and make stock for this soup. I am not a good cook, so I used canned low-sodium chicken broth.
Tonight's attempt came out okay, not great. It was slightly gritty, so I don't think we cooked it long enough. Also, it wasn't quite dark enough, at least in my opinion.
Turkey and Smoked Sausage Gumbo
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup flour
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 stalks of celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 lb. smoked sausage, diced or cut in half moons
1/2 box frozen okra, or 1 cup sliced fresh okra (optional)
6 cups turkey stock, or chicken broth
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
Combine flour and oil in a heavy soup pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping bottom, until roux is a chocolate brown color, or until you're afraid it will burn - 20 to 30 minutes.
Add onion, celery, pepper, salt, and cayenne to roux and stir thoroughly. It will bubble furiously at first. Stir frequently for 5 minutes.
Add sausage and okra. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Stir in stock/broth.
Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.
Check seasoning and add more salt or cayenne if desired.
Add turkey meat. Simmer for 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve gumbo in soup bowls with hot steamed rice. We had brown rice with ours, along with a healthy dash of Tabasco.
Posted by Laura at 07:54 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 25, 2006
Day 25...limping towards the finish line
I ain't got nothin' here. Seriously.
Today we played some more Magic with Nathan. He beat us both, of course, but I think I did well considering. We also went over to Thom and Rebecca's for sushi. I dont't really like sushi but I can deal with some california rolls, and I just drenched everything in soy and wasabi anyway. It was pretty good.
In other news I have three new games that are urgently in need of review. Yeesh. One for the DS Lite, called Scurge, is annoying because of the weird perspective, so you move in certain directions but can't actually shoot in the directions that things attack you in.
The long weekend has been very nice and I really needed the time off, although it's still going by way too fast. Plus, icky work trip coming up...sigh.
Posted by Laura at 11:03 PM
November 24, 2006
It's a kind of magic...
So, last night when Nathan and Brian were playing Magic, Brian said we could go get some new cards and play together. I thought that might be fun, even though I've avoided playing before (I thought the fanboys were lame) because it's fun to do stuff with Brian. We tried to do the same once with the Harry Potter card game but the game was pretty weak.
On the other hand, I was a bit worried that I would make a fool out of myself, which is usually reason enough for me to decide not to do something. I have a bit of a problem with needing to be the expert at everything I do, so that does tend to get in the way. But I figured, what the hell, if I don't like it then
We picked up some starter decks of the latest expansion Time Spiral as well as some boosters. Brian and I played two games tonight and even though it took forever because I was trying to understand everything, I did actually win both games. Yay!
Nathan's coming over again tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see if we can acquit ourselves accordingly.
Posted by Laura at 11:20 PM
November 23, 2006
Well, it's over...
Another Thanksgiving come and gone...the turkey turned out well although there wasn't an available camera to take a photo. Nathan seemed to enjoy everything. He and Brian played Magic for like, 4 hours, which seemed to be fun for them although I was bored.
Big shopping day tomorrow, although it's gotten so nasty and commercial that I probably will skip it entirely.
Posted by Laura at 10:48 PM
November 22, 2006
La la la...
More Thanksgiving prep today. I brined the turkey, which involved one of those new Ziploc XL bags, a cooler, bags of ice, and a tube cake pan (needed to prop the end of the turkey up). Then I went out shopping which was surprisingly not too bad. Although Byerly's, hello? $20 for a mediocre veggie tray? When I can buy all of the pre-cut veggie ingredients and dip right next to it for $10?
Last year I swore I would buy a pre-made meal. Maybe next year!
Posted by Laura at 11:53 PM
November 21, 2006
Turkey Day Prep!
Brian and I went to Whole Foods tonight to pick up our turkey. 17.5 lbs for 3 people, all because Brian's afraid he won't get enough dark meat. Sigh. Now I just need to figure out the brining deal, and we'll be good to go.
On the way home we talked about sexual predators. I guess he saw an alert at work that a sexual offender was moving into our neighborhood, and got to talking to one of his coworkers about it. My personal view is that the way we treat sexual offenders after they leave prison violates their civil liberties. If they are sentenced to 5 years and then released, why should they then be subject to a lifetime of half a life? If the issue is that they need to be locked up for life, then lock them up for life. I know this is an unpopular argument because many people have a knee-jerk reactions to the concept of sexual crimes.
Posted by Laura at 09:03 PM | TrackBack
November 20, 2006
Christmas is coming...
Christmas is coming and I don't know what I want!! When I was younger and my older brothers and sisters would always claim they didn't want anything I always thought they were totally stupid. I mean, dude, free stuff, who doesn't want free stuff? But now I'm old and in the same boat. I don't want anything! And my mom is pressuring us for Christmas lists.
I don't usually ask for clothes because I don't want people to have to shop for my size. Plus, my size will be changing eventually. I also usually ask for cooking stuff, which Brian never wants to buy me anyhow.
I guess I want a bullet bottle thermos. I also want a recipe organizer. Some new slippers. I better flesh this list out a bit :)
Posted by Laura at 08:51 PM | TrackBack
November 19, 2006
Work sucks.
I'm so tired of this Sunday feeling, the feeling of dread as the clock winds down toward Monday. It seemed to be particularly bad today. I found myself looking at the clock and being happy that it was earlier than I thought.
Why do I hate my job these days? I think it's because I have so much to do and can't seem to get any of it done. I have been reading Getting Things Done but the effort required to get started with the program seems so overwhelming that I put it off, too. I tell myself that I like what I do but I don't know if that's true. Sure, there are some things I enjoy, but for the most part I hate what I end up getting dragged into. I don't want to support another project. I don't want to have to come up with some creative solution to a problem. I want to have a better understanding of what I actually have to do. What do people physically want me to deliver to them? When do they want it? That's what I want to know.
There's a work trip coming up that I usually enjoy because it means not being here, but it is shaping up to be a debacle. First of all, one of my co-workers is insisting that we share rooms. These are business suite type rooms so you get your own bedroom, but still. I tried to override her and get us all single rooms but it turns out that the hotel is booked so I guess she gets her wish. But geez, we're not on a school field trip here, we're not at a slumber party. Then there's just the issue of making sure everyone gets there, that we can find a restaurant that is sufficiently bland for all parties, and of coordinating the actual work that we have to do. Sigh.
Gee, now I want Monday to be here even more!!
Posted by Laura at 08:29 PM | TrackBack
November 18, 2006
Under the wire
Uh oh, only 20 minutes left in the day, I better start writing!
Today was a good day with a few annoying bits...Brian woke me up with coffee in bed which was really cool. I had to run on that aforementioned post office errand, then I went to Whole Foods to order the turkey, and battle the dirty hippies, which always makes me cross. Then I stopped at the UPS store to drop off a package, and I was trying to get it taped up in the car when someone HAD to park in the spot next to me and sat half-in the spot waiting for me to close my door. Grrr. Then, I was going to get lunch at Quizno's, but the Quizno's in that strip mall had disappeared. So I had Zantigo, which was disgusting.
But then I went home, and Brian had cleaned out the garage, and I got to play with my new knife sharpener, and we took a nap, and now I'm happy.
Posted by Laura at 11:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 17, 2006
I'm spent.
I got nothing. It's official.
Um, tomorrow I have to go to post office...is that exciting enough?
Oh, and we're trying to pcik out knobs and handles for our kitchen cabinets. These are the ones we've got so far:
But Brian thought they may be too dark so maybe we'll go with Aged Bronze insead of Oil Rubbed Bronze.
Posted by Laura at 11:20 PM
November 16, 2006
Day 16, I guess no one is reading...
I haven't even gotten any spam comments on these wide-open posts. Oh well.
I gave up caffeine today. I need to, for the surgery, and I wanted to have it out of the way when we meet with the surgeon on December 12. I've done it before, with varying levels of discomfort, so I know what I'm in for. On the other hand, one time I didn't get a headache at all...that was when I was in Europe and went for a week or so before having coffee. I drank a ton of water and it seemed to help. So that's my plan now...drinking tons of water!
Of course I fear that my requests for decaf coffee at the coffee bar are being disregarded, so I'll be saying "wow, I feel great!" because I'm not really going through withdrawal. Ah well.
Posted by Laura at 08:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 15, 2006
It's out now
I told my boss and some coworkers today, including Nathan, about my decision to have surgery. So the cat's out of the bag now, at least at work. I wrote about it on my new ObesityHelp page...check it out here.
Posted by Laura at 05:00 PM | TrackBack
November 14, 2006
Odds n ends
If fantasy football and baseball aren't your thing, check out Fantasy Congress. If you want to play, I started a GamersInfo league...you should join.
Twisty, my favorite feminist, waxes (heh) eloquent on the subject of strippers and the failed attempt to ban lap dances in Seattle. I can't even begin to say it as well as she does. Enjoy.
I bought this knife sharpener
Posted by Laura at 06:40 PM | TrackBack
November 13, 2006
Day 13...a letdown
So Nathan and I didn't make it to the Decemberists show last night. We went down to First Ave but the line was around the block. We both agreed that we didn't like people enough to deal with it. I really don't like GA shows and every time I go to one I swear I'll never go to another, but then certain bands show up that I really want to see and I go anyhow. I think this time it was a good thing that we didn't go but I am still really bummed. One small consolation is that I can wait until they get back home to Portland, OR and keep an eye on their concert schedule...then I can plan to visit my brother Pat in Seattle at the same time.
So, instead of the concert we went to see Babel, starring a George Clooney-esque Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and a bunch of other people. The point of the movie seems to be that we are all connected. Or it might be that all cultures revolve around guns, drugs, and sex. That, or else everyone just likes to see naked Japanese girls. Two hours into this carnival of human suffering, I began to wonder what the point was and why the director was trying so damned hard to connect everything. I was surprised to see that the move has gotten plenty of acclaim at Rotten Tomatoes, although I feel vindicated that my favorite movie reviewer, David Edelstein, agreed that it was pointless.
It's fun to actually get out of the house and do something for a change. I need to find some new friends desperately. One of my many problems is that I really, honestly don't connect very well with other women. In high school and college I had mostly male friends. It's hard to make new friends at this point, and the most promising prospects are likely to be women in the support group I will need to start attending soon (more on that someday), which actually fills me with a bit of dread.
Posted by Laura at 09:27 PM | TrackBack
November 12, 2006
Embarrassing revelations, part 1
I cry at the end of Rocky.
Posted by Laura at 02:48 PM | TrackBack
November 11, 2006
Plumb out of stories
After that last entry I'm spent. So I'm going to phone this one in.
Did you know that you can already start preparing for your Black Friday shopping?
Also, the post office was closed today which sucks because I needed to pick up a package.
Posted by Laura at 10:36 PM | TrackBack
November 10, 2006
Day 10....a personal story
I guess it takes 10 days for me to decide to write an honest-to-goodness personal story that someone I know might actually read and be appalled by.
I'm going to a Decemberists concert on Sunday with my friend Nathan (Brian having begged off because he has no taste in music). At least, I hope we're going because we don't have tickets yet, and we'll have to show up early and hope to score some. Anyhow, thinking about going to First Ave tonight started me down memory lane, and I got to thinking about another guy that used to go to bars with me a long time ago.
I met Don on IRC in 1995. I used to hang out on a channel named #centperk, which was for fans of the show Friends. (Well, at the time, it was a cool new show and people actually admitted to liking it.) There was a whole group of people who hung out there and got to be friends. The first time I met Don in real life, I had decided to take a road trip to see a guy in Michigan with whom I'd been carrying out a bit of a net romance. Columbus, OH was on the way, so I stopped in on the way there and again on the way back home to Philly. Don and I hit it off pretty well as friends right away...we hung out, went out to a bar, and wandered around the OSU campus. He lived with his girlfriend Jess and their young daughter, and they were all very nice and cool.
The attempted romance in Ann Arbor didn't work out well at all, and so when I stopped back in Columbus, I was licking my wounds. Don and I hung out some more. At one point we were sitting on the trunk of my car behind his house, and he put his head on my shoulder. Now, at this point I had just basically been dumped by this little shithead and Don had a girlfriend who was sleeping maybe 15 feet away, plus I had almost no experience with guys. So it did kind of freak me out a little.
Now, 11 years later I still distinctly recall that moment in time. Don wasn't the love of my life and he wasn't even the kind of guy I would have wanted a relationship with. He was a lazy pothead who drifted from job to job while Jess worked her ass off to pay the rent and keep their kid in diapers. Later, he would cheat on Jess with me, further highlighting his character (and mine, but I made peace with that a long time ago). But there was a sweetness about him, and he is one of the few guys who has ever made me feel genuinely desirable. Months later, I would go off the deep end, as many girls with low self esteem are wont to do when they figure out that certain guys pay attention to them when they act like sluts. But at that point in time I was still really innocent, having only barely dated one or two jerks, and having a sweet, dorky guy spontaneously make some moves on me was cool and made me feel worthwhile.
So why does going to a concert make me think of Don? Well, we only fooled around once or twice but I visited them probably a dozen times over the next two years. Don and I would hit the bars, drinking Rolling Rock and getting high in a dark corner or the restroom. I didn't spend alot of time in bars while at school or afterwards so most of my bar memories are of Columbus dives like Mean Mr. Mustard's or Skully's. So walking into a dark club instantly takes me back to those times with my sweet friend.
I lost touch with Don years and years ago when I still lived in Illinois. I know that he and Jess broke up at some point. He's one of those people that I consider trying to find again, and then realize that it wouldn't be the same and it would probably ruin my memories of him, and of myself. I'm not the same person I was then, and I'm sure he isn't either.
I wonder what Nathan's going to think on Sunday when I order a Rolling Rock and get a bit misty.
Posted by Laura at 09:30 PM | TrackBack
November 09, 2006
Sigh
I don't feel like posting tonight so I'll just talk about what I did today. Tonight I went to orchestra practice. You see, I play first violin in a fledging community symphony orchestra. I generally enjoy myself even though there are so few of us that I feel quite a bit of pressure to play well - no one to hide behind - and I'm not very good. However, there's been some recent talk about reorganizing the group as a quartet or chamber group, and that means leaving out the oboe, flute, and clarinet players unless they want to play string parts. Understandably they aren't too thrilled about that and will drop out after we have our next concert. That saddens me because they are very good and it's unusual to get to play with wind players in a small group like this. But I do have to agree that since our recruiting efforts have been failing and we have about 9 regular members, we can't really call ourselves a symphony.
But tonight we played without a break and focused on a piece that the high school violinist recommended, called Idylls of Pegasus. It's pretty enough, but it seems to be a staple of...high school orchestras. And I'm not in high school. I want to play something with a bit more teeth. At least we have the Mozart Symphony No. 33 to keep us busy.
Posted by Laura at 10:34 PM | TrackBack
November 08, 2006
Wowee!
You know, I could never understand why my parents would want to watch election results, and presidential speeches, and the like. Now, every 2-4 years I find myself parked in front of the TV, flipping channels, looking to see who has the newest information. The only other time I do that is during awards season. At least I still can't stand the State of the Union.
Anyway, yay! Democrats on the move, yea. And to boot, Rumsfeld stepping down? I thought they were going to have to blast his body out of there. Here in MN we elected our first female senator but failed to boot the idiot Tim Pawlenty out of the governor's seat. How can we elect a Democratic senator woth 70% of the vote and yet still vote in a Republican governor? I guess enough people in this state think Tim's done a good job raping the state budget.
I do wish that the Democratic win were a little bit more decisive. I mean, yea we overshot our needed 15 seats by a few, but the Senate thing is still not assured, and even if it is, it's only a one-vote majority. It's not exactly what I would call a mandate. Still, I'll take it!
Posted by Laura at 02:20 PM | TrackBack
November 07, 2006
A little election story
To celebrate Election Day (you voted, right?) here's a little story from the Minnesota primaries in September.
What's in a Name? Possibly a Few Primary Votes
In the 4th Congressional District, two Republicans were vying for the party nomination to run against Betty McCollum, the Democratic incumbent who is so unconcerned about winning her seat again that she didn't even really campaign. Obi Sium is a genuine Republican candidate with a platform and a up-by-your-bootstraps immigrant story. His opponent, Jack Shepard, is running a campaign via Internet from Italy, since he's wanted on sexual assault, drug possession, and arson charges, which could result in his arrest if he comes back to the states. Shepard's entire campaign is based on both having the same name as a character from Lost and having a more conventional name on the ballot in still-mostly-white, Scandinavian Minnesota.
The worst part of the story, clearly, is the fact that despite some media coverage of Shepard's true identity prior to the election, he still received almost 5000 votes.
Posted by Laura at 02:10 PM
November 06, 2006
My own bunny
| adopt your own virtual pet! |
Shamelessly stolen from Fussy. Yay!
Posted by Laura at 09:39 AM | TrackBack
November 05, 2006
Where I wish I was this weekend
South Daota prepares to vote on abortion
Yes, the controversial abortion ban in South Dakota is on the ballot this November for approval by voters. Living in Minnesota and having been involved previously in the pro-choice movement, I am uncomfortably aware of both the idiocy in South Dakota and the fact that there are plenty of people that would like to make Minnesota #2 on this particular list. Last week, the ACLU, in conjunction with the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, was asking people to volunteer to go to South Dakota for a last-ditch get out the vote effort. I wanted to go, but got sick and couldn't. I did make a last minute donation.
I wish I could speak eloquently on the subject of the ban, but it makes me angry that a woman in South Dakota could decide that an abortion is what she needs to do, and instead of being able to go to one of the 2 abortion providers that used to practice in the state (and still being forced to wait 24 hours before having the procedure), she instead must travel hundreds of miles out of state.
Posted by Laura at 10:39 PM | TrackBack
November 04, 2006
What else can go wrong?
Brian and I bought our first house six weeks ago. The excitement of having our own place has been dampened considerably by everything that's gone wrong so far. Here's a list. Maybe by getting this out, I'll exorcise the bad-stuff demons and no more bad stuff will happen.
1. The day of closing, the sellers had not completely vacated the house by the time of closing. Supposedly they thought they had until 4PM. Making matters worse, their realtor was a complete jackass. He caused a huge scene at the closing, then brought the sellers back to the house at 6:30PM even though they were supposed to be gone. Boy, that put a damper on our first day. Status: will never be fixed to our satisfaction. Our realtor wrote a nasty letter, but that was all that happened. On the other hand, if you live in the Twin Cities, MN and want to know the name of a realtor you should avoid, drop me a line.
2. Over the next two weeks, we scrambled to get everything out of our rental house. Brian complained of back pain especially when he lifted heavy stuff. In the last days, we called on our friend Thom to help and I put in a few late nights getting stuff done. We got out in the nick of time (even got our whole deposit back), but Brian's back pain persisted. Finally, one night he asks me to take him to the ER. The prognosis? He had a blocked artery in his heart and has a stent put in. He spends 3 days in the hospital. Status: sort of fixed (he still has some followup and stuff to do).
3. I received a water bill for June-September, which should have been the seller's responsibility. When I called the city, I found out that it's my responsibility to pay, or else it will turn into a lien against the property. My realtor is looking into it, but in the meantime, I had to pay the bill and hope I get reimbursed someday. Status: not fixed (but at least they aren't going to turn off the water.)
4. I received a late notice from the homeowner's insurance company. They claim that they haven't received the first year's premium payment. I speak with the title company who says that their check was cashed. So now the title company and the insurance company are duking it out and I have to keep my fingers crossed that they don't cancel my coverage. Status: not fixed.
5. I get a notice from the power company that they don't have a billing name or address for the property and they were going to turn the power off if we didn't call. Never mind that I had put in a request to start power at this address. I guess they lost it. Status: fixed.
So, I don't really get why we are having such trouble with utilities and insurance when we've never had any trouble with these things in the past. Plus, what's with Brian trying to kick it? Now, he's mostly recovered, my parents came out to help, and it's starting to feel like our own house. It took awhile, but I'm happy.
Posted by Laura at 08:21 PM
November 03, 2006
Ugh, sickness
While I'm glad that I didn't get sick until after my parents left, I would have preferred not getting sick at all. As far as colds go this one isn't bad, but I still feel like creepy crud.
So, in lieu of posting much today, here's a picture of my kitty, Lukas:
Posted by Laura at 10:51 PM
November 02, 2006
Chicken Wild Rice Soup
I made this soup for my mom and dad over the past weekend. It's one of the few things I'll make and bring to work for obligatory potlucks, and people seem to like it. Unfortunately, I've yet to discover that one missing ingredient that would make it as tasty as, say, Keys Cafe's version.
1 cup uncooked wild rice
3 cups water
1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 quart chicken broth
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2 carrots, quartered and sliced thinly (~ 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, halved and sliced thinly (~ 1 cup)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (~ 1 cup)
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 t table salt)
1/2 cup flour
Strained broth from cooking chicken
2 to 3 additional cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
Salt and pepper
2 cups half and half
Cook wild rice in 3 cups water for 50 - 55 minutes. Drain excess water and set aside.
Cook chicken breasts in 1 quart broth for about 20 minutes, until cooked through. (I also add some pieces of carrot, celery, and a bay leaf to the broth). Remove chicken and skim or strain broth.
When slightly cooled, cube the chicken breast.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, onion, and salt, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add mushrooms and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir well. Cook mixture for a minute or two, stirring contantly.
While stirring, pour strained broth slowly into vegetable mixture.
Add two cups of broth from the second quart.
Add rice, chicken, and wine to soup.
Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Simmer soup on low heat for at least 10 - 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Just before serving, stir in the 2 cups of half and half and heat through. You can add additional broth if it's too thick.
If you plan to let the soup sit overnight, it will be significantly thicker the next day, so plan to add some broth or water to thin it out.
Also, if you plan to freeze it immediately, don't add the cream until you thaw it out and plan to serve it.
Posted by Laura at 11:23 AM
November 01, 2006
Into the Fray
My parents headed home this morning after 4 whole days of familial bliss at the new Spygeek Manor. They came out to help me get the house in order, in light of Brian's attempts to kick it (and subsequent invalidity) and it being our first house and all that. I did feel bad asking Mom to add a second coat of paint to our bedroom after she'd already spent two days on priming and painting, but hey, she volunteered. Dad built me some pull-out shelves for my kitchen cabinet and hooked up the icemaker and did all of those other things that handy Dads do, like wandering around with cans of WD-40 and lubricating random squeaks and rattles.
So, they've left now, on their way to Indiana to spend a few more days with my brother before coasting back to PA in time to vote. It was nice to see them but I think 4 days is my limit on parental interaction these days. Any longer and the constant need to repeat oneself, confusion over how to work the TiVo, and complaints about the too-strong coffee would have been the end of me, I am sure.