Monday

I used the two potatoes Jake and Carla left for breakfast. I cut both into slices and fried them in butter. I warmed up the last sausage patty in the microwave and then fried two eggs over easy. It was an excellent breakfast!

I forgot to mention this, but my printer took a dump on my birthday. So, knowing he gets the Sunday paper and looks at all the ads, I asked my friend B___ yesterday to see if there were any black laser jet printers on sale (this was Jake’s recommendation).

Sure enough, he called me this morning and said that Office Max (in Westland) had two of them on sale (a Brother and a Samsung), both for $80.00. So, I didn’t even shave or take a shower. I just threw some clothes on and headed out (I hate it when I hear about a sale but they are sold out by the time I get to the store). I checked out both and decided to get the Samsung. It’s a little bigger than the Brother, but it’s a name I know and trust.

I was going to pitch the old printer, but when I called B___ to thank him and let him know I got one, he suggested I keep it. It was a multi-function one and he reminded me I could still use it to copy or fax things.

I set the new one up and loaded the print drivers. I surprised myself when I tried to print the first test page and the damn thing worked! Working for IT has broadened my horizons, I guess.

I had taken some stew meat out to thaw. Now, I don’t want to make beef stew (I still have two containers in the freezer). But, I have eaten so many rich foods over the holidays, I thought some beef vegetable soup would do me good.

So, I warmed up some canola oil and sautéed a big onion in the Dutch oven. To that, I added a bag of leeks I’d cut up and stuck in the freezer. Then I browned the stew meat. I added a bunch of water and two beef bullion cubes (I am out of beef stock). Knowing how salty beef bullion cubes are, I only put in some fresh ground pepper, two bay leaves, garlic and some “fines herbes” (a French mixture of parsley, chives, chervil and tarragon).

Then I put in half a bag of frozen vegetables (peas, corn and green beans). I did Carla’s trick and “parboiled” two potatoes in the microwave. Then I cut them into chunks and added them to the soup. I opened a small can of whole tomatoes, squished them with my hands and threw those in, too.

I was feeling a little bad that I didn’t have any cabbage to add when it dawned on me. I had some Brussels sprouts I bought for a dinner I haven’t made yet. So, I took four of them, peeled off the outer layers and cut the stems off. I cut them in half, (so the leaves would come apart) and added them to the soup.

I let that get happy for two or three hours and then tasted the broth. It needed more salt, so I added some sea salt and let it simmer some more. I took pictures of my meager Christmas decoration and posted them, mainly to satisfy the cabbage-phobic readers of this Blog.

I got a big bowl of soup around 8:00 PM and went in to eat it in front of the TV. It was mighty tasty! I stuck the rest into the fridge when it cooled (I’ll put it into freezer containers tomorrow). I went to sleep just after 11:00.