Fall is right around the corner. My favorite time of year. The weather gurus are suggesting we might see a hint of it this week, though you’d never know by today with the air conditioning humming away to keep the temperature tolerable in the house. Autumn puts me in the mood to be in the kitchen. I have pulled most of my early fall decorations out and distributed them around the house. A pumpkin candle is poking out of the candle holder in the hall and life, as they say, is good.
September has been a weird month most definitely. Seems in my life after periods of tranquility everything unsettling happens at once. To begin with Rick has been sick. Whatever bug he was sheltering decided to hop across and check out my system so now I’m down. Neither of us has felt like doing anything which makes forward movement less than energized. Instead of our usual meals, we’ve leaned more towards bowls of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches or eggs most of the week. The thought of anything more exciting seeming beyond our interest level or capability. Thankfully, today I feel a little more like me and Rick is on the mend.
Two members of our family are huge animal activists. I too am a big fan of our furry cousins and worked at the local shelter for a year mucking about cat cages. A house without a pet, to me at least, always feels like it is missing a heartbeat. These two girls, however, go the extra mile. Both actually advocate for abused animals or those needing a home. One such fat, furry, beast is presently living in Lake Tahoe. Not a far piece from us, as the crow flies, so it happens. It was suggested that we might have room to house Chubbs, a mid-size mix, and perhaps would like to either foster him or offer him forever home. I am definitely on the yea side of the vote here, but Boo, The Queen of Cats, was quick to put her paw up with the opposition. In her spoiled little life only once was she faced with sharing her space and her people and the result was other than positive for all concerned. Trying to imagine a huge black dog being welcomed by our snotty feline goes beyond what I can conjure up in my mind without special effects thrown in from Hollywood. I cannot think this will end well.
Along with all the other craziness in the air I have been managing a small business on EBAY. Certainly the word “mogul” has never been mentioned in the same sentence when discussing my little store. However, it ambles along happily depositing a little jing here and there and I get the side benefit of cleaning out my closet and making room for more unneeded items I’m sure I’ll purchase down the road. I am learning the ins and outs of such an enterprise. For instance, after several sales where I ended up eating shipping costs to the point of barely clearing a profit, I have learned to evaluate the size and cost of mailing an item before considering selling it. This week I sold a large witch, 26″ tall to be exact. I had a box that appeared perfect for her to travel in, but it turned out to be slightly short. Manipulating her into one corner her head popped off in my hand. Oh-oh. Somehow I felt she would be less valuable to the buyer on the other end without it. Damn. Sooooo, one email later and a little Crazy Glue and the witch once again took up residence in my closet. Sigh.
In the middle of all this fun I got a phone call from my mother saying her roommate was in the hospital. Mother is one tough lady in most instances, but when it comes to staying alone at night she sprouts feathers and begins to cluck. With nearly four hours separating us, both of us sick, a large dog headed my way, and God knows what else I was at loss as to what to do. In the end my mom turned on every light in the house, both TV’s and slept on the couch. Fortunately her roommate returns to the fold today so I can cross that off my list and go on to whatever the universe has in its pocket next with my name on it. Ach.
Funny isn’t it how so many of us fear the dark? When the sun dips below the horizon all manner of sounds and shadows, not the least alarming in the daylight, suddenly assume a far sinister meaning. As a kid I can remember having to take the trash out at night. I would walk quickly to the trash bin and then run like my feet were on fire back to the house as if the devil himself was nipping at my heels. There was nothing there to frighten me except my own active imagination, but that was enough.
Our fascination with the eerie and macabre is evidenced in our love for Halloween, the Zombie craze, and the endless stream of slasher and horror films flowing out of Hollywood studios. Let’s face it, we love to have the snot scared out of us whenever the opportunity arises.
While living in West Virginia I had the opportunity to go through a corn maze just before Halloween. It was a clear fall night. A full moon shone down on us diminished only by an occasional fast moving cloud passing through the area. Voices could be heard in the distance screaming as monsters of all types reached gory hands out to grab arms and legs of people passing through the labyrinth of passageways. On one occasion I turned to find a huge man, or what had been a man, standing nearly on top of me. Blood ran down the front of his white robe and his head, no longer attached to his body resided under one armpit. I believe I set the record for exiting that cornfield and haven’t set foot in another maze or haunted house since that time. Perhaps this year is the time to stick my toe in the water again and see if anything takes the bait.
At any rate I made soup for the infirmary at our house. This is a delicious French soup usually made with cabbage. As I had a ready supply of Brussels sprouts I popped them in instead and they were a perfect match. Enjoy.
Garbure (French Ham & Bean Soup)
2 ham hocks
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 leeks, sliced thin (white part only)
1 onion, chunked
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)
3 large red potatoes, chunked (skin on)
3 large carrots, sliced in 1/2″ slices
1 lbs. Brussels sprouts, halved
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Herbs de Provence
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Bay leaves
1 15 1/2 oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chopped cooked ham
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
Salt to taste
In stock pot bring broth, water and ham hocks to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour partially covered.
In saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Sweat leeks and onion for 6 mins. Add garlic and cook for 1 min. Add white wine and reduce until liquid has nearly disappeared.
Add leek onion mixture to pot with all the remaining ingredients through bay leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 90 mins. stirring occasionally. Add beans and ham. Continue cooking for 15 mins. Add white wine vinegar and djust seasoning as desired.
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