Hump Day

If Tuesday was cool, Wednesday was cold! It was officially 53 degrees when I woke up here in Redford. But, at least it wasn’t as windy as it was yesterday.

I was going to walk outside at 10:00 a.m., but it was raining. So, I walked in the shop.

I went to Time Out for lunch and got a fish sandwich (with cheese) with a cup of potato and ham soup. Then I went to the 24-hour grocery store and got a small head of cabbage, some carrots and two russet potatoes. I need to make some soup, myself! Seriously, it was still in the low 60’s and I had the heater on in the truck.

I did get to walk outside in the afternoon, but wished I’d wore a jacket to work.

When I got home, I changed clothes and got to work. First I started the Wednesday wash. Next I started the soup. I fried up the last ring of onion sausage in my Dutch oven. I cut it into five pieces first, of course. When I had them cooked through with a nice brown crust, I pulled them out and put them on a paper plate to cool.

I cut the small cabbage in half. I sealed the cut on one half with cling wrap and stuck it in the fridge. I chopped the other half into bite-size pieces. I peeled the two potatoes and a carrot. I cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes and the carrot into thin coins.

Then I cut sausage into thicker coins and put everything into the wiped-clean Dutch oven. I added a box of beef stock, two bay leaves and water to cover. I brought that up to a boil and then turned it down to a simmer.

I went out and picked some herbs. The raised bed herb garden is really filling out, especially the basil and sage.

I grabbed some thyme, oregano, basil and flat leaf parsley and went back inside. I chopped up the herbs and threw them into the pot.

Sidebar: You will note I did not put any onions in. I debated long and hard on that. But the onion sausage has such a strong onion flavor, I finally decided to try sans onion, first, and add them in later, if need be.

While I waited, I went out to the garage and applied a thin layer of paste wax to the project. I let that dry and went back to work on the soup.

When the potatoes were fork tender, I added in about half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. I tasted it (for the millionth time) and adjusted the salt and pepper, accordingly. Then I took out the bay leaves.

I went back out in the garage and buffed out the paste wax with my drill motor and a buffing bit. Looks good!

I was hungry but, like most soups I make, I had taste-tested it so much that I really didn’t want more. I turned off the burner to let the soup cool. So, I warmed up the sloppy joe filling and the last of the beans for my dinner. I put the filling on an onion roll and ate supper watching TV.

I called it a night at 10:00 p.m. after I stuck the Dutch oven in the fridge.