Thursday, before the snow flies...

We are supposed to have a major winter storm coming tonight and into Friday. I am frankly worried about how Mom is getting home, but I am sure my brothers Jim and Joe have it worked out by now. Depends on what station you listen to, we are supposed to get 6 - 10 or 7 - 11 inches of snow from midnight tonight to late night Friday from where I live, North. South of here (where Carla works) the prediction is only 6 - 8 inches, but with sleet and freezing rain.

Anyway, I did a quick check of food stocks this morning and did stop at Meijer's on the way home, just in case. I don't mind getting stuck in the house but I do want to be able to make the meals that I want!!!

Be that as it may (Jake says I am just getting old and scared) but I got home just before 6:00 PM. I put away the groceries, gave the cats their treats (unfortunately for me, each has a favorite and they won't eat the other's choice). My next door neighbor lady rang the bell and gave me 5 letters, that were delivered to her house (our house numbers are similar). I mentioned to her that one of their motion-detector spotlights is burned out. I noticed it because it used to shine on me as I pulled out in the morning, but no longer did.

Now, its time for a quick dinner, my own personal version of a Polish comfort meal. I took a medium yellow onion and sliced it, then put it in the Dutch oven with a tablespoon of canola oil on medium heat. Then I took a pound of Eckrich natural hardwood smoked Polish kielbasa and cut it into 2-inch chunks. Those went into the pot as well. While that was doing its thing, I took a small head of cabbage, removed the outer leaves and cut it in half, making sure I didn't disturb the core (or the top of the root. This way, the wedges will stay intact.) I cut the half into four wedges. When the onions started to carmelize (yes, Melissa, here I WANT the carmelization here, but never, EVER in potato soup, dammit!) I added two cups of homemade beef stock and the seasoned cabbage wedges, put on the top, and left it alone to get happy.

Note to readers: Please remember! When I say "seasoned" I mean that in a chef/cook/foodie's vocabulary, which means kosher salt and fresh ground pepper ONLY. If I say "house seasoning" that means my pre-made mixture of 1/2 cup salt, 1/4 cup of garlic powder and 1/4 cup of fresh ground pepper (this is stored in an air-tight container) and if I add any other herbs or spices, I will always call it out, okay?

Note to self: Up until now, I have always put my homemade stock in my four cup, Ziplock, screw-top containers. This works fine with soups, etc. where I need to use the whole four cups. I just thaw overnight and then add. But, in this case, I only used about half the container. In reading various food blogs, I realize that a LOT of Foodies put at least some of their stock in ice-cube trays and then, when frozen, store the cubes in baggies in the freezer. That way they can add just a little stock as needed. From now on, I plan on doing both (maybe half and half).

I let everything steam for about 1/2 hour (it smells fantastic, BTW!) I stopped it at just before 8:00 PM and plated it. I didn't even bother with condiments, just dug in. Fantastic!!! It did occur to me while eating this that a potato or two might have been nice, as well. Maybe next time...

I watched TV but fell asleep around 10:00 PM. I woke up after midnight, turned off the TV, turned around in bed and went to sleep.