And Done

There were two more recipes to cook today and I took my time with them. First I got Chicken Cacciatore put together in the slow cooker. I was afraid I'd be short an onion but the remaining one was large enough that half was enough for the cacciatore. Once I got that cooking I planned to take a shower but then I realized that I'd be in clean clothes (probably a white tee shirt) and dealing with tomato sauce that I'd probably get on myself. Safer to keep on my dirty clothes, wear an apron, and shower after the cooking was done.

Once the slow cooker was cooking I plopped down to watch CBS Sunday Morning which I enjoy every week. They have such a wide range of stories and I enjoy most of them. Today I learned that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are 80. 80! And they're still writing new songs and touring. More power to 'em.

I spent some time working on the manuscript, not really getting anywhere, so I decided to make the last recipe--Curried Chickpeas. Yum. It's one of my favorites and the only meatless one I make. The other half of the onion was just right for it. It's also a quick one, only about 25 minutes from start to finish. And I was happy to learn that I had just enough leftover rice to scoop out 1/3 cup for the chickpeas and the cacciatore so I didn't have to make more or have too much that I had to freeze.

Once that was cooked, portioned, and carried downstairs to the freezer I knuckled down to writing for a couple hours. That time I got somewhere. Hooray! I realized today that I've got barely half as many words as I need for a full novel so I need to really bear down and get to work making up new stuff.

 

After supper I got out 20 Ways to Draw a Tree and got busy drawing stuff. I drew a terrible snowflake, an okay branch of berries, a sprig of parsley, a cockeyed snail, a feather, and a winter tree. The feather's my favorite.

Then I drew a gratitude journal page. Again it's mostly about cooking which has been my raison d'etre for the past three days but I have 58 suppers in the freezer. Fifty-eight! That means I won't have to cook again until November. I date the recipes when I make them and the last time I did Investment Cooking was in December when I was feeling so bad I'm amazed that I managed to do it at all. I have a vivid memory of gasping my way around the grocery determined to get everything on my list and not keel over. And I did it. It took me five days to make the seven recipes but I did that too. I'm a stubborn old broad.

I texted my friend MK to tell her that I found the chicken bacon she told me about and it's pretty darned good. It's not pork bacon but it's a whole lot better than no bacon. She'd also mentioned bread that's 2 slices for 1 point but I forgot to ask about it when we were together on Thursday. She texted back that I could get it at ALDI and even sent a picture of the bag. Naturally I went right over there and found the bread, then picked out some lettuce, and beefsteak tomatoes. I came home, toasted two slices of bread (2!) and made a BLT. It wasn't half bad. Next time I'm putting on more bacon but I'm most excited about the bread. I haven't had bread, sliced bread, in forever. Thanks, MK, you're a good friend.

After I was done with all that, then I took my shower. I deserved it with all of the cooking, dish washing, and trips down and up the basement stairs these past few days.

--Barbara