House Husbandry

Had some cavatelli leftover from the soup. Threw it in a pan with a little butter to get it going and some creme fraiche from NYE with too much pepper and a pinch of salt that's made a yummy snack. 

Tonight's green juice consists of: 1 bunch of leafy green kale 2 Fuji Apples 1 Granny Smith Apple 1 Bosc pear 1 parsnip 1/2 bunch of parsley 3 celery stalks 2 large cucumbers 1 orange some leftover ginger Shopped somewhere else today.  They didn't have the wide, wide range of veggies I can get at Whole Foods, but I got most of the primary, green components. One thing I haven't been mentioning is that I tend to add water or coconut water to the mix.  It's good the same way adding a little water to a glass of whiskey brings out the flavors.

Did my morning erranding and ended up at Treasure Island Foods, a nice little independent market with a great selection of foreign products that you just don't see everywhere else.  Was happy to see that some of their produce was a little cheaper than Whole Foods'.  I'm getting a little annoyed with just how much it costs to shop there and am trying to ween myself away from them.  It's just been a little tough in the cold.  I think it will be worth it though, unless I need something last minute.  The walk will do me good. 

Still working on the soup.  Had some for lunch yesterday and should get some more of it today.  I love it when a little work goes a long way like that.  The juices have been lasting through breakfast and Sweetie has been able to take a thermos of it for lunch, as well.

Tonight's tasty concoction consists of: 2 Fuji apples 1 Granny Smith 1 big chunk of ginger 1 pinky of turmeric 3 small Golden beets 1 zucchini 2 large English cucumbers some parsley 1 Cara Cara orange 3 stalks of celery a ton of carrots 1 parsnip 2 medium jicama 1 bunch lacinato kale Good stuff!

Carrots galore 3 stalks of celery 3 cucumbers 1 zucchini 2 Fuji apples 2 smallish chunks of jicama 1 pear 1 parsnip 1 big red beet 1 big bunch of red kale Going for a red juice this time.  Don't forget you had this the next day.  You're not dying.

Baby, it's cold outside.  Let's make soup in no time. 1 finely chopped medium onion 3 carrots cut in tiny pieces 3 celery stalks in tiny pieces Fire up the pot, throw in some oil, and garlic and all those veggies. Chop up a package of sliced mushrooms and cook those in a separate pan with some butter and more garlic. Chop up some chicken thighs into tiny bite sized pieces.  Keep checking what's cooking. Transfer mushrooms to mire-poix pot and then add a little toasted sesame oil to the pan and toss in the chicken pieces with still more garlic.  Cook chicken until done. Add box of stock to the veggies and once the chicken is done, throw that in, too.  Added a can of petite diced tomatoes with jalapenos and cilantro.  Stir.  Bring to a boil. Add water to the chicken pan to cook some pasta in that with the double goal of cleaning the pan. Boil cute, tiny pasta separately.  Add some thyme and saffron to the soup.  Once it boils, turn it down to simmer. Drain

Short flight last night to see my folks. Flew on United. Been flying with them forever. We were slightly delayed - a half hour - but still got to our destination only 15 minutes late.  We got an apology from them and an offer of 5000 miles or a $100 e-certificate! I don't remember them doing anything like that since 2010 or so. Thanks, United. I think they're really trying to turn things around.  Further, Sweetie, who has better status than I do because he flies for work and work from home, was offered 6250 miles or $125. Which would you take and why?

Last night's juice wasn't bad, but I won't be repeating it.  Tonight I present to you: 1 bunch of kale (because there must always be kale or some other good leafy green) 1 zucchini 2 small pieces of ginger (not a dismembered red-head) 1 pinky of turmeric that was big enough that they charged me 6 cents for it 1 jicama robusto 3 stalks of celery (can't have too much of this or it's nasty) 2 pink lady apples 1 granny smith apple (because it's Thursday) 1 big bag of carrots 1 turnip 1 parsnip 2 big English cucumbers 1 orange the balance of the parsley from yesterday Now let's cut them up and feed them to the Machine. Not bad.  1 hour 3 minutes beginning to end. (Cut - 30 minutes/feed/strain/clean.)  This one's pretty good!

Tonight's juice will consist of: 1 bunch of kale 1 lemon 1 yellow squash some parsley 3 celery stalks 1 bag of carrots 1 bartlett pear 1 fancy orange 2 English cucumbers 1 zucchini 1 granny smith apple 1 jicama 1 rutabaga 1 turnip 2 golden beets some fresh mint  Let's see how this goes.

Finally used the stock I made the other day to cook up some farro, add some corn with Tapatio, and the rest of the shredded chicken from the stock carcass to make a soup for this blustery day. Cleaned out a jar of crushed garlic and threw in a little thyme as well. Good stuff.

Two loads of laundry started, bed made, bathroom drawer and medicine cabinet reorged with additional items coming off the vanity. Looks a lot neater in there now. Next up: vacuuming and plotting the day's juice.

Sweetie's in the kitchen, making some nut "cheese." Easy and healthy. 2 cups raw, unroasted cashews lemon juice 1 cup nutritional yeast garlic Salt to taste Blend it all up in a VitaMix or blender. Eat with your favorite raw veggies.

Popped down to the market and grabbed 1 granny smith apple 1 small red beet bag of carrots 2 medium-sized golden beets 1 jicama a bunch of kale 2 English cucumbers 1 turnip a pinky of turmeric a chunk of ginger a lime a stalk of celery and an orange some mint Let's see how this goes. 30 minutes to chop all of that up.  Another 45 to feed and clean.  Not my favorite, but not too bad, either.

See the orange color of those yolks?  That's what eggs are supposed to look like.  Not that pale yellow crap that passes for eggs, normally.  Get a line on someone who likes chickens and lets them run around their yard and doesn't feed them "feed" - whatever that is.

Leftover chicken in the fridge means I make stock!  Clean out the larder and add some carrots, half a left-over onion, the rest of the celery, some leftover herbs from the weekend, thyme and rosemary, some gnarly garlic, a couple of bits of galangal, a bay leaf, and just let it simmer on the stove.  Still cold in here and I still don't want to turn on the heat.  I can use it to cook up some farro I bought last week and haven't used yet.  Maybe tomorrow's lunch. The stock's not warming the place up quite like I want it to.  Add some pumpkin bread to the mix.  Thought I had some walnuts from a while back, can't find them, but I have another trail mix that's been around for a while, so I'll just pour that in, too. Easiest pumpkin bread recipe in the world.  In one bowl add and mix together: 1 cup of sugar (or more or less) 1/2 cup of some kind of vegetable oil, I had canola 2 eggs (used some gorgeous free range eggs from Ohio with prettiest orange yolks

1 bunch of kale 1 fuji apples 1 pear of some variety 2 oranges of some variety 1 small piece of turmeric I keep getting for free because it's so small 1 smallish turnip 1 zucchini 1 large jicama 2 large English cucumbers 2 large golden beets whole bunch of carrots 3 stalks of celery Will cut into bite-sized chunks and feed to the juicer later this afternoon.  This makes a ton of juice - two glasses for each of us tonight and a breakfast glass for the morning.  A little coconut water added along the way will help stretch it and keeps the machine working well.

Dishes done.  Use Bar Keepers Friend on the All-Clad.  Someone remarked to me once that they liked their pots and pans to have an old, used look to them.  If you don't want your stuff to stick, use the BKF.  Keep them shiny.  They can almost look nearly brand new.  Stuff won't stick. Roomba running.  Get a Roomba.  It's on a schedule.  Everyday at 10 AM.  Changed my life.  Lots of windows and light here show off every dusty imperfection.  Dust bunnies multiple like, well, bunnies.  Roomba eats them like a fox eats, well, bunnies.

Good morning.  Downtown Chicago here.  56 degrees in the condo this morning.  I won't turn on the heat.  -8 outside. So this is what they were talking about when people looked at me like I was crazed for moving from San Francisco.  Add another layer!  Made Sweetie breakfast this morning.  Used up the rest of the bacon and the last of the eggs. Dog got one, too.  I cook exclusively in All-Clad and you should, too.  Done right, nothing sticks. While my bacon was frying, I cleaned out the utensil drawer.  Too many things I hadn't been using that were just in the way.  Now that's set. Used just one pan for all of breakfast.  A quick and easy way to clean a pan is to just add some water to it, crank up the heat and scrape the bits away.  Pour out the water and the bits and it was good enough to fry some eggs without them sticking. Chores for today: get soap.  I need dish soap, laundry soap, dishwasher soap, and TP.  Somehow I've run out of all of these things at once

Why house-husbandry?  Because I am managing a home and anyone that knows me knows I like old words.  Husbandry used to refer to managing a home, and it's alliterative.