We had lunch at a very pleasant soup & sandwich shop in downtown Pittsburgh the other day. Italian wedding soup was on the menu, and it was delicious. Filling. Just the right meld of late winter and hope for spring (it’s the spinach). So– with some substitutions b/c I did not have orzo (but I
It’s COLD here. Like in the teens. How do you people suffer this for months and months? We were running Starkvegas errands the other day. It was mid-January. The temperature was 65-70. What a dilemma! 65-70. Flip flops. Mid-January. Winter boots. My unscientific analysis of my observations put it at about 50/50 flip flops to
Jack and the Dummies stayed in the shack until about noon today waiting for the storm to pass. Started raining again just a bit ago and I saw them trundling through the Pond Pasture headed to the shack in the Overgrown Pasture. Why Clyde is still standing outside is beyond me. Dummy. Man it looks
It is true. I was just putting Tiger up in the Workshop and the wind, which had been blowing for several days up from the Gulf on account of a large high pressure system sitting first in the Gulf and now just off the eastern seaboard, has changed direction. Also, it is no longer 77
This is a reformatted repost from January 2012. For more discussion of this soup– the WINNER in our 2012 Fall & Winter Soup Contest– see here. [Update. Link doesn’t exist b/c I’ve scheduled it to repost tomorrow. So come back tomorrow for a full description of this soup– a winner!]
Joel at WTVA tells us we should expect 0-2″ or 2-3″. The Weather Channel needs to stop naming winter squalls. Wunderground dot com, linking to TWC, doesn’t quite know where Jackson, Mississippi is located. So, as an autonomous agent unwilling to take the word of the experts at full face value (or maybe, having seen
I don’t know what the weather’s like where you are, but it’s danged cold here– 42º but feels like 37º. Nothing warms one up on a frigid day such as this quite like a nice hot cup of tea. What follows are a handful of tea recipes collected from Mr. Big Food’s Big Food Manual.
Today is the day I begin picking up and dusting each of the 3320 books in my library. I had hoped to start last week, but until today, I was still coming to terms with a) Daughter C’s insistence on decorating for Christmas– looked very nice, I was still finding things that needed to be
This morning Rocky & Missy and I took a walk in the woods at the end of the watershed that fills the Lake. What a glorious morning! Chilly but bright. Quiet. I know the Country Mouse life is not for everyone, but I cannot imagine not being able to take a walk in the woods
I was thumbing through one of the crappy old books I picked up the other day at the Starkville Friends of the Library book sale and saw this: I go to books and to nature as the bee goes to a flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey. I thought
[Individual photos here.] This soup, made with a proper beef stock, will not have that salty flavor you find in restaurant soups. Why? Because the restaurant usually use instant stock. For shame! — Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet This soup is very easy to make– and so is the beef stock if you can find
“Marica? Pardon me. Do you have a moment or are you otherwise engaged on your clicketyclack machine?” “Ruff?” “Oh, Missy, I always have a moment for you!” “rrruuuuffff!!!” “My Dear Friend, do you mind??” “ruff.” “What’s on your mind, Missy?” “Well, I was wondering about this heat. Does it seem hotter to you than usual
“We are ready whenever you are, Marica.” “Ruff.” “Okay. … I mean, ready for what, Missy?” “We are packed and ready to go.” “Ruff.” “Oh my goodness! I see you are. Where are you two going?” “Why, to whatever temporary domicile you may lead us, Marica.” “Ruff!” “What? What are you talking about, Missy? And
Knock on wood and praise Jesus we have electricity– from the tap not the generator. And running water! But for a time this morning we did not have gas. Not that we didn’t have any gas. I put on my boots and gloves– I figured the lid to the tank would be iced over and
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