Sunday's Story...

I woke up at 6:42 AM, but then remembered I was supposed to "spring" all the clocks forward last night. So, I did my watch first and then walked from room to room synchronizing the clocks. I realized that I have at least one clock in every room of this house and, if you count the ones on appliances, four in the kitchen!!!

Why? What is this obsession with time? What happened to the carefree guy who used to sing "Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?" Apparently, now I do! (...if so, I can't imagine why...)

So, I lost an hour of this day already. Now I'm feeling pressured! So, I drank two cups of coffee while putting the coffee pot, last night's glasses and finally this morning's cup in the dishwasher and turning that on. I stripped my bed, and the bedding went in the wash. I fluffed up the towels I'd left in the dryer and then folded them.

Next, I dusted the living room, and then vacuumed the rug. Now that I know Carla is the most allergic to cat hair, I worked on all cloth surfaces (couch, loveseat, chairs, etc.) both with the cat hair brush Luanne bought me and the vacuum cleaner attachments to get all the cat hair up. I used the electric broom to do all the wood floors. I took a picture of it standing up (see Photos) because my friend just bought a newer model (it's the Hoover "Flair") and he says his will not free-stand. They must have changed them since I bought mine, I guess.

Deferring my shave and shower was definitely a good choice, as I am freely sweating, now. I used the electric sweeper on the kitchen, both baths and the downstairs (emptying it twice, I might add). I took my drip pans and grates from the stove and put them to soak in the laundry tub with HOT water and Pine Sol.

I have a real problem with my crocks that I use to give the cats water and to put Caley's special diet cat food in. The water one keeps getting grotty (if that's a word) and since she's been here, Caley hasn't eaten that cat food down enough to refill the original bowl (although I bought a new bag of the stuff). So, it's time I faced the facts! I have two stainless steel bowls from Jake and Carla up in the attic, so they have become the new water dishes (one in the bedroom, one downstairs, to avoid the occasional fights). Caley's cat food went out under the bird feeder to see if the squirrels will eat it.

It's 11:00 AM and I forgot to mention it's a beautiful, sunny day, albeit a bit cold (24 degrees F or -4 degrees C). I washed the kitchen and bathroom floors and, while they are drying, I am using my dust mop, sprayed with Endust, on the hardwood floors and shaking it off frequently on the front porch (quickly, I might add, as I still have my T-shirt and shorts on and it's a bit chilly out there, lol!)

Now its noon and I am done with the floors. So, I switch gears and clean the naked stove top with Soft Scrub. Next, I took my battery-powered drill and the Soft Scrub and cleaned the drip pans and the grates. Just after 2:30 PM, I had the stove top done and was taking the bedding out of the dryer and making the bed. I realized just how beat I really was, so I shaved and showered, and then got into my clean, fresh-smelling bed to read a bit before a nap.

Ah...

At a little after 4:00 PM, the phone rang. Since I was sleeping, it took a while to decide it was, in fact, the phone and, that I was supposed to answer it. By the time I did, the person had hung up. I checked the Caller ID and saw it was my daughter, Melissa. So, I called her back and we talked until 5:30.

Now, onto dinner! Tonight, I am making Carbonnade a la Flamade or a Belgian Beef, Beer and Onion Stew. It's a little later than I'd like, but what the hell. So, here's how I made it:

Oh, before I forget, the Belgium beer, Chimay Peres Trappistes Ale Premier, had a champagne cork and wire instead of a normal top! Damn clever, those monks!

Anyway, I took a thawed blade roast and, slicing off the extra fat and gristle, cut it into one inch cubes. You need marbleized meat for this, so regular stewing beef or even a round steak is usually too lean. I dried the beef with paper towels and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Then I put a tablespoon of canola oil into my Dutch oven and put it on medium-high heat until it started smoking. I worked in three batches, searing the meat and putting each batch in a bowl.

When that was done, I added more oil to the now-empty Dutch oven, reduced the heat to medium low and added about 6 cups of sliced onions, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of tomato paste. I stirred that together, scrapping the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits, until the onions released some moisture (about five minutes). Then I turned the heat to medium and cooked (stirring occasionally) until the onions were lightly browned (maybe 14 minutes). I added 3 cloves of minced garlic and let that get fragrant (about 30 seconds). I added in 3 tablespoons of flour and stirred it until the onions were all coated and the flour lightly browned.

Then I added the broths (3/4 cup chicken stock and 3/4 cup beef stock) again scrapping the bottom of the pot. Next came 1 1/2 cups of the beer, a bundle of 4 sprigs of thyme tied with kitchen twine (for easy removal) two bay leaves and a tablespoon of cider vinegar. I stirred that all together, increased the heat to medium high and brought it to a full simmer. I put on the top and put the Dutch oven in my preheated (300 degrees) oven and let it cook for 2 hours (or until a fork inserted into the beef met little resistance.

When the two hours were up, I made some wide egg noodles and, after draining them, added some butter, salt and chopped parsley. I removed the bay leaves and the thyme bundle from the stew, tasted it and added a little salt and pepper. I spooned the stew over the egg noodles and ate it! It had a nice, hearty flavor to it. Very good!

It's getting late, so I think I'll just put the food away, but leave the clean-up for the morning. I went and watched my Sunday night shows. The one at 10:00 PM was a rerun, so I just turned it off and went to sleep.