Am…musings

St. Louis experienced its first “real” snowfall of the season this week – about five inches on Thursday. I decided it was the perfect occasion to try my hand at a something I’ve never made … vegetable beef soup.

We have a family recipe … my grandma used to make oxtail soup (yes, as in from the tail) and now my dad makes it. It’s very tasty, but I’m thinking me making it will be the end of me eating it … you have to pick the meat from the tail, and I can be a bit squeamish when it comes to stuff like that.

My friend Kelly, who is an awesome cook, brought me some amazing vegetable beef soup when I was recovering from my first surgery in October and kindly shared the recipe. It’s very easy to make and perfect for a cold day.

Kelly Gregoire’s Beef Soup
Olive oil
1 beef soup bone (with a little meat on it)
½ pound of beef (rump or sirloin roast) in one big hunk
1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies with lima beans (I actually used two bags)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 -15 oz can tomato sauce
6 beef bouillon cubes
9 cups water
½ cup quick barley
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic powder

• Pour a little olive oil into a large stock pot and heat over medium heat.
• When the oil is hot, add the soup bone and beef and sear one side until brown, then turn the meat to sear other side while adding onion and raw potato; stir frequently until the veggies get a little sear themselves.
• When meat is brown on both sides, add tomato sauce, water, bouillon, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil, then add the frozen veggies.
• Bring to a boil again, then add the barley.
• Simmer for about an hour.
• Remove the meat and bone out, cutting the meat in small pieces and adding back into the soup.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

I served it for dinner and dominos with the neighbors last night. A simple tossed green salad and fresh baked bread rounded out the meal. Bread from scratch is actually something still haven’t made. This was frozen Rhodes dough, which I highly recommend.

For dessert … piping hot baked apples with cinnamon ice cream. The ice cream was fantastic, but if you skip it, the apples are very tasty and healthy as they have no added fat and only a touch honey for sweetness. The recipe is here on Mother Rimmy’s Cooking Light Done Right.

By Octal Kahn on Flickr

As I’ve admitted, I’m a bit of an overthinker, always critically thinking through scenarios and coming up with all the possible outcomes … good or bad. To some, it may appear that I’m a bit negative. The reality is it helps me figure out solutions to possible pitfalls or to decide if they are really as catastropic as they seem. Then I let it go and positively forge ahead. I also truly strive to keep negativity out my general thinking as I’ve mentioned before.

That’s why I love a fresh perspective. My favorite thus far is a client who shocked me with “win the lottery” when I was expecting “hit by a bus.” See … she chooses to say “in case I win the lottery,” instead of (the terribly negative when you really think about it) “in case I get hit by a bus.” I love it and now say it too.

The Late Bloomer Bride, Suzanne, recently provided a great (and I thought post-worthy) fresh perspective in the comments on last week’s post about her blog. Here it is: Having had a rich single life (and now a wonderful husband), I tell all my single friends that (for me anyway) “singledom” and “marriedom” have equal (though different) benefits. So, love where you are. And, if you find someone to love who loves you back along the way, then even better.

My neighbor and I have a joke that it’s “reason #XXXX” for me not to have kids any time one of her teenagers does something stupid. I also have plenty of friends and family (including my mother) who will complain about their spouses and say, “Do you really want one?”

I know everyone means well with these comments, but they’ve always fallen flat with me because I know despite the heartaches or issues, most would choose to do it all over again. And comparing their negatives with the negatives of singledom certainly didn’t make me feel any better. Much like the lottery comment, I love Suzanne’s comment and plan to keep it in my thoughts AND share it with my friends when they complain about their kids or husbands .

The house filled with the sweet, spicy smell of pumpkin bread emanating from the oven around 3 p.m. yesterday. I was making Halloween dinner for the Kit Drive clan … Trader Joe’s style. Pumpkin bread … topped with homemade cinnamon whipped cream … from my free bag o’ groceries was our delicious dessert.

As I mentioned, when I went to claim my prize I did a little shopping. While perusing the cheese section an intoxicating smell grabbed my attention and I was drawn to the sampling area. An amazing stuffed pork tenderloin awaited … after a taste and a glance at the simple recipe, I knew it would be dinner for the neighbors.

My free groceries included organic penne pasta and an incredibly tasty puttanesca sauce that I didn’t have to doctor a bit, unlike other jarred sauces. Plus, the ingredients were real … free of any preservatives or high fructose corn syrup.

T.J.’s frozen French-cut green beans mixed with butter, garlic salt and sautéed sliced almonds and a loaf of French bread completed the dinner. It’s the perfect dinner party or date night fare because it looks complicated, but was fairly easy to pull together … and it was yummy.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin (marinade overnight, see below)
1 jar T.J.’s Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade
¾ cup grated parmesan

Slice tenderloin* nearly halfway through.

Mix antipasto with ½ cup parmesan and stuff inside cut tenderloin.

Sprinkle top with remaining parmesan.

Roast at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 160 (begin checking temp at about 40 minutes, based on size); let rest before slicing.

*The sample I tasted was made from a garlic herbed tenderloin. At T.J.’s, it wasn’t large enough for my crowd so I decided to attempt it on my own. I drizzled olive oil over the pork; sprinkled it with dehydrated garlic, onion, cracked pepper and Kosher salt; and wrapped it in plastic wrap overnight. It was good … although maybe not quite as tasty as the T.J.’s offering.

Is it me or are the first homegrown tomatoes of summer the best? After three seasons of bland, mushy, way overpriced tomatoes, those first meaty, ruby red tastes of summer are such a treat.

After five years in my house, I actually planted a garden this year with lots of much-appreciated help, urging and advice from the guy I’m dating, as well as digging and tilling assistance from my 7-year-old “boyfriend” next door and his soon-to-be stepdad. Unfortunately, I got a very late start this year and will likely be tomato-less until late summer/early fall. But the aforementioned hot guy came to my rescue this weekend with two amazing “maters” from his neighbor’s garden stand … and when I say hot guy, I don’t mean the almost-stepdad or 7-year-old, although he is pretty cute …

Even though I expressed my ambivalence toward bacon a few posts ago, it seemed only fitting that such tasty tomatoes inspire a BLT for dinner.

I also had a few other inspirations for this masterpiece. At Cami’s suggestion on the first bacon post, I added avocado – lovely. I also mentioned Crown Candy Kitchen in that original post. Their BLTs are loaded with bacon and this one was a little over the top. Finally, although it wasn’t exactly inspiration, I had some leftover whole wheat French bread. I was worried it would be too much bread, but it was actually quite nice.

Because of all the bacon and bread, I chose a simple spinach salad with blueberries, goat cheese, chives and Girard’s Light Champagne dressing for a side.

All in all, a yummy summer supper. Have you had your first homegrown tomato of the summer?

I used to like bacon as a kid (along with all sorts of other terrible artery-clogging things like Velveeta and fatty steak). Then, my dad had a heart attack at 38 and things like bacon were off the daily Morris menu. I’ve been on my own for a while, but bacon was one of those things on my “not worth the calories and fat” list (the two big exceptions to this rule are the BLT at Crown Candy Kitchen in North St. Louis and my neighbor Marsha’s bagel breakfast sandwich – both are amazing!).

Crown Candy BLT By IronStef @Flickr

I think I’m in the minority on this bacon thing. Several people I follow on Twitter regularly mention bacon, which always amazes me. I also have a few friends that are official Facebook fans of bacon. In fact, there are more than 250,000 fans of bacon on Facebook and nearly 300,000 fans of bacon butty (a bacon sandwich in the UK).

Because I thought I might have an overnight guest last weekend, I bought some bacon, which seemed like a required part of a good manly breakfast (I’m all concerned about serving this particular guy too many girly dishes for some reason). He ended up not feeling well so the package of bacon was still in my fridge when I was scrounging for something for dinner recently.

I chose a (decidedly girly) asparagus omelet and bacon. As a test run for an eventual overnight stay , I even cooked it on the stove instead of the somewhat healthier method of in the microwave (too girly). It smelled wonderful and I was totally jazzed. Then I took a bite. It was ok, but I decided I’ve been right … not necessarily worth the calories and fat. I also think I really do like it better in the microwave. Of course, I’ll have to sacrifice myself for breakfast for the guy.

Tonight we teased those on the outside with trash talk about a hot exclusive club with velvet ropes, muscled bouncers, restricted guest lists and palms that require greasing with cash to gain entry. We were talking about Kit Drive … the street where I live.

I was out with my neighbor Marsha and a long-time friend of hers, who has become a good friend to me over the past few years. At some point … as it often does when we are together … the talk turned to how lucky the Kit Drive clan is. We cook dinner for one another, take care of each other’s pets, drink together, laugh with each other, loan pantry items and occasionally provide a shoulder to cry/bitch on.

While we joke about the “club,” I am extremely grateful and feel truly blessed to have such amazing neighbors.

P.S. Tonight’s outing was a set-up that had been in the works for months. It failed for those who might be curious … he wasn’t my type and I imagine the feeling was mutual. And I’m very much ok with that.

We’re belatedly celebrating my neighbor and friend Marsha’s birthday with an old fashioned Good Friday fish fry. I had some Vanilla Buttercream Frosting left (a triple batch was too much for the cupcakes) so I offered to make dessert.

I thought a chocolate cake would be nice with the frosting, but knew I wouldn’t have enough for the entire cake so I’d planned to make another batch. Then I noticed some gorgeous strawberries on sale at the grocery store and figured I could probably make something work with them. I also bought a chocolate bar and made shavings with my vegetable peeler.

The result is stunning (if I may say so myself ) …

The trick is Pampered Chef’s Easy Accent Decorator, which really is super easy to use. The hardest part of the whole thing was shaving the chocolate and honestly, the cake looked good enough without them that I almost didn’t use them.

I brought home my newest Stray Rescue foster last night … this time a cutie kitty. I haven’t had a cat since my early college years … five (ok, eighteen!) years ago. I’m so out of practice I had to query my roommate from back then, who has had cats since, on the proper supplies … I would have totally forgotten toys, treats and the so very important litter scoop (thanks Deb!).

When we got home, Tiger Lily (a big name for a very petite 7-month-old Tabby … although she does resemble a tiger) seemed totally laid back and cool, lounging in her kitty carrier as Chewy was being an overeager spazz trying to greet her. I took her into the office, closed the door and expected her to coolly walk out of the crate and casually greet me, aloof cat style. Instead, she darted … and I mean fast … into the closet that was slightly open. I later lured her out with treats and she let me pet her for a bit, but something spooked her and she was quickly under the futon.

I shipped Chewy to the neighbors’ for a playdate with their dog Timmy and I convinced Tiger Lilly (ok, this cat needs a nickname!) to come out of hiding with a nifty bouncy feather toy. She was purring and rolling over for me and even gingerly made her way into the kitchen. Then … here’s where I begin to question my smarts … she grabbed the feather toy that I’d stupidly left on the floor and took it under the futon with her. Now, how was I going to get her out? I had to get on the floor with a broom to get the toy and totally gave up on getting her out again for time being.

So stayed tuned for pics … when I get smart enough and she gets better settled.

P.S. If you know anyone looking for a Christmas kitty, Tiger Lily seems totally cool (despite the name and the darting, which I have no doubt she’ll get over due to her penchant for petting and feather toys).

Because my neighbor Marsha and our friend Kelly did a supreme job of making me feel guilty …. because I’m an optimist … and mostly because I believe God plays jokes on us occasionally, I met Match-Herb for drinks tonight.

I was hoping for an ogre. He isn’t. He’s also a very, very nice guy. And nice absolutely makes a difference in my book.

Of course, I did have a good giggle on the phone with Marsha on the way to Harpos where Herb and I met. Also, hysterical laughing ensued during my drive home as I thought about H-E-R-B. And … I grinned all the way to the bathroom after the cute guy at the table next to us asked me (while Match-Herb was in the bathroom) if we were on a first date and for some reason I felt the need to share my name dilemma. (And here I’ll interject with another Damn It … where the heck are the cute boys asking me questions when I’m not on a date??? And couldn’t Match-Herb have taken a little longer to get back from the bathroom so the cute boy and I could have talked longer? Seriously?!?)

Despite the laughter (and the cute boy), I kind of like you-know-who. But, obviously, I’m still a little hung up on the name. Now what?

*Keith (and Jadea who noticed Keith’s funny comment), the rogue “n” the title is just for you!

Twice this week, I see a couple walking with their dog. The first time, my smug, slightly competitive side says, “they are walking awfully slowly.” The second time, I realize their route is an enormous circle – I imagine twice as long as my normal two-mile walk.

My competitive side kicks in again and I decide I, too, can walk this circle. Today was the day.

I feel good about a quarter mile past my normal half-way point when it dawns on me … the rest of the circle is REALLY far (no wonder that darn couple is walking so slow!). I look for a street that cuts through … my competitive side rationalizes that the meandering couple must have some sort of shortcut; they can’t walk all night, right?

I find a street and feel good about where I’m headed, but my sense of direction is definitely un-MacGyver-like. A bit later, after seeing the same street name a few times, I realize I’m completely lost in a twisty, curvy subdivision.

With my stomach growling and an old blister from my first few walks in my new shoes twinging, I’m thinking of my options. It seems pathetic to call my parents who are about 20 minutes away. I feel bad bothering my neighbors – especially when I’m not sure how to tell them to find me.

Then it occurs to me … my nifty iPhone has GPS-like capability. I pull it up, punch the “locate me” button and voila … a map to get me out of this maze.

How cool is that? (Although I have to say it’d be much cooler if it cooked breakfast and prevented my old blister and a fresh new one from howling by the time I limped home.)

Of course, even with my circles in the neighborhood, I doubt I walked as far as the slow couple … definitely not MacGyver like at all!