simmering soup will cure the gloom

I'll never lose weight at this rate... with the snow (still) falling Sunday, and the day gloomy and grey, it seemed the perfect time to use the lovely leeks that our friend Jim gave us fresh from his garden. I've never cooked with leeks but thanks to the internet a plethora of recipes was at my fingertips.

'Leek and Potato Soup with Bacon' caught my eye with the bonus that it would be made in the instant pot, my favorite kitchen tool. I washed and sliced the leeks while Carm peeled the potatoes. With both of us working it took about 30 minutes to get the soup in the sealed pot. Seven minutes (once it came up to pressure), followed by fifteen minutes of natural release and we had steaming bowls of the most delicious soup warming us. Oh my it was tasty, but gosh, not low calorie... We have soup for two more meals - hurrah.

The warmth from soup rivals the heat from the sun, warming not just my tummy, but also my mood as it chases away the gloom of a dull day.

Monday night we had another meal of beef bourginion but instead of rice made some fluffy mashed potatoes. I use the instant pot for those too - instead of losing all the flavour in a boiling pot of water, the potato chunks are steamed in chicken broth. Carm uses the broth to mash, and last night since I didn't have any butter we used goat cheese. Not low calorie...

Food, glorious food.

Yesterday I visited my brother Graham. When we run out of things to say we transition onto the ever popular topic of music. Graham is 15 years younger than me so it isn't a surprise that our tastes diverge at some points - rap isn't my favorite - but sometimes I am introduced to newer music that suits my ear.

Carm bought a water pick yesterday... the first test spewed water all over the bathroom which has necessitated reorging the bathroom counter and moving all my stuff into the depths of cupboards and drawers. Not very convenient when all I want to do is put on some lipstick! I suppose the counter looks neater, and all that water everwhere will mean that it gets cleaned up more often :-0

"The lore has not died out of the world, and you will still find people who believe that soup will cure any hurt or illness and is no bad thing to have for the funeral either.” 
~John Steinbeck

snow

The warmth from the roaring fire pushed back the horror of snow sleeting against the house. An east wind blew, howling through the bare branches of the trees. The dark night bore down on us as we huddled in the warm circle of light cast by a hundred LEDs. A taste of the months ahead.

This morning thoughts of caribbean cruises drift through my head. No, they do more than drift... I spend some time on the Princess site dreaming of escapes to warm blue seas.

We were supposed to go to the Acapulco last night, but a 45 min drive in the snow did not appeal, so we stayed inside off the slippery roads. I was relieved that we had said no. Instead we watched the first new Dr. Who with the new doctor - a woman! I think she'll be okay?

Earlier in the day, before the snow, we dashed into Orleans to pick up a case of a new wine we tried. 'Don David' is an interesting malbec that we had tried the night before. We both loved it so much we wanted a stockpile... plus it was $3 off this week.

I'm working backwards in time again as I can't seem to re-start a daily habit of writing. I know that it would be good for my brain so maybe I have to stop worrying about having nothing to say and just write. I don't have to alert you on facebook if it is all gobbly goop, and can let the post sit unread on my blog. I like to capture my life for myself as I enjoy reading back in time and seeing how I was in the past. I suppose my blog is a bit like the tardis - a time travel machine.

So, looking back to Friday: I visited my brother in the afternoon, we planted more garlic when we got home (133 cloves now planted), then we had supper at Trudie & Leo's. A rather busy day.  Thursday Carm dug the garlic bed bigger, we put the patio furniture away (yes, another summer on the swing has come and gone), then as an excuse to get out we went to liquidation. Didn't buy anything there for a change.

Finally, way back on Wednesday, we had Pat, Trudie & Leo over for supper. This time I tried making beef bourginion in the instant pot - the bottle of yucky wine shone in its new incarnation. It was a kluge of a few recipes so I made sure to write down what I had done. I've been dreaming about the leftovers, which I have saved for tonight's Sunday supper.

"Fall hurries you along as you walk the roads, crunching the leaves that have fallen in mad and variegated drifts. The wind makes you ache in some place that is deeper than your bones. It may be that it touches something old in the human soul, a chord of race memory that says Migrate or die—migrate or die."
~Stephen King

autumnal scenery

I think I overfilled the instant pot... the big one. I can't seem to make a minestrone soup without putting everything but the kitchen sink into the pot and it ends up way past the 'do not fill past here' mark. I like lots of beans and vegetables in the soup and they all add up. So my fingers are crossed for the next hour that the pot doesn't explode... I think it will be okay cause the cabbage and mushrooms will hopefully shrink at the same rate that the dried beans expand.

I'm going to flit around the calendar for a bit as I've been remiss my daily posts. I'll start with the most notable: a visit from my Aunty Kristine last Wednesday & Thursday. We picked her up from the train station and whisked her back to the chaos in the house (still some stuff from camping not put away, and only a brief whirlwind clean).

We had a wonderful time visiting over supper - the evening flew by and before we knew it the clock was striking past bedtime. It was delightful to see how much we think the same and have the same values. I was surprised that she is even more of a CNN fan than Carm! The stories about my grandmother that I didn't know warmed my heart.

Thursday we gorged on a naughty breakfast and took our time getting ready. We had to get her to my parents before 3pm, but gosh, I didn't want our visit to be over.

Saturday night Jo Ellen and Don joined us for supper. We just had a simple pumpkin with roasted red pepper soup and a tiny bit of toasted pumpernickle bread (not nearly enough of that!). As usual the conversation covered a myriad of topics, including discussion of an 'on the bucket list' river cruise. Not next year but maybe the year after?

Sunday I visited brother Graham while Carm spent some time with his mom.  On our way home we stopped at FreshCo for some groceries and had the pleasure of transiting through my niece Juliette's cash. She was like a speed demon on the register. We did have to deek into the shwarma place first for a sandwich and the best garlic potatoes ever.

The weather has been cold and blustery with a low, grey cloud obsuring the sun. When the sun does peek through we rejoice with lifted spirits, if only for a moment. The time for camping has long passed, instead we huddle with central heating in a well insulated house.

Skiens of geese fly over the house, a melody of honks singing their passage. What are they saying? Are they announcing to the world 'look at us!', or telling the guy next to him to not fly so close? It seems like a lot of energy to burn.

Yes, winter is on its way. So far I'm good and as I go about my day I keep my thoughts on what I have to look forward to. Seventy two days until we leave for our Panama cruise. My suitcase isn't packed, but I've been planning on what I'm going to wear using an app that I downloaded this summer. It's like a puzzle with all my clothes - fun and a good distraction.

I have to lose a few pounds if I'm going to fit into the dresses I bought this summer :-(

Hence, the pot of lentils that I made for lunch yesterday, and the giant pot of soup for the next unforeseeable future. Oh, and I had Carm buy some celery 😜

"Every blade in the field, every leaf in the forest, lays down its life in its season, as beautifully as it was taken up. It is the pastime of a full quarter of the year. Dead trees, sere leaves, dried grass and herbs—are not these a good part of our life? And what is that pride of our autumnal scenery but the hectic flush, the sallow and cadaverous countenance of vegetation? its painted throes, with the November air for canvas?"
~Henry David Thoreau, letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson