Saturday, in the slow lane

I slept lousy Friday night. I woke up around 1:00 AM and could NOT fall asleep until after 4:00. Which is why, I guess, I didn't wake up until almost 8:00 AM.

But, one thing about last night's insomnia was lucky, I guess. At one point, I went out in the kitchen and ate a hardboiled egg, putting a dab of horseradish on each bite (it's a Polish thing, but I like it!) As I was standing by the sink, I could hear a radio and realized I left the garage boom box on. So, I went out and turned it off. While I was out there, I thought that probably enough time had passed (it was around 3:00 AM) that I could safely bring the grille back in, so I did (quickly, as I was just in my robe and birthday suit).

Why was that lucky? Because when I pulled it in it was clear, but when I woke up this morning, it was raining quite steady. So, by chance, I avoided that whole "fear of a rusting grille" thing.

I clumsily stripped the bed (my right arm is still not working very well) and loaded the washing machine. Then I made a pot of coffee.

Now, tonight is the Daylight Savings Time "Spring Forward." But, I figured there was no sense in waiting until the last minute, so I went through each room adjusting the time one hour forward. And, this time, I remembered the thermostat!

I put a pound of dried navy beans in water and brought them to a boil, let them boil for two minutes and then turned them down to simmer. I covered them and let them stand for an hour. I need to make some soup.

Why? Because my friend B___'s mother-in-law died on Thursday so I will be going up to New Baltimore on Sunday to pay my respects. Since I am that close, I might as well drop some food off to my Mother.

I felt bad as I had emailed my brother Carl, asking where Gendernalik's Funeral Home had relocated. He emailed me back, telling me where it now was, and said he would probably see me as his best friend, Jim Knapp, had also died this morning of cancer. Shit! Is this where, as old people, we all now meet?

My daughter, Melissa called again (she called earlier but left a voice message, telling me I didn't need to call her back). They are grilling and she wanted to know how long she should let my Radish Salad warm up (I told her room temperature - see Recipes).

It's still raining like hell, here, BTW.

So, when the beans were done soaking, I drained and rinsed them. Then I added in three quarts of water, the ham bone I thawed Friday night and couple of those big, beautiful bay leaves I got from my brother Joe and his wife, Kathy. I brought that to a boil and then let it simmer for about an hour (until the beans were tender).

Next I stirred in two cups of diced yellow onions, one cup of diced celery, one cup of diced carrots, one potato, peeled and diced and two cloves of garlic, smashed and then minced. I let all that simmer for another hour or so.

I took out the ham bone and, while it was cooling off, I used my immersion blender to thicken the soup. Then I cut off the ham from the bone and diced it up. I added that back to the soup. I also added a teaspoon of the Bouquet Garni (a blend of savory, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage and tarragon) also a gift from Joe and Kathy. I put in a teaspoon of ground black pepper as well, but NO salt (this is for my Mom, remember?)

I let that all get happy while I chopped up a 1/4 cup of fresh, flat leaf parsley. Then I dished up a bowl for my breakfast/lunch/dinner and ate it with the last two slices of the rustic Italian bread. (Okay, so I added a pinch of salt to the bowl, but it was damn good anyway!) That's how I roll, making Senate Bean Soup!

I wish I could tell you how I used the rest of my day productively, but I can't. My right arm was still killing me, so I didn't do much of anything else, except make up the bed. I watched a little TV, but mostly read until I got sleepy and then went to bed.