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cornerofmadnessthe nano is stalling out on me but that's minor. I'll figure out something
I was working up the answer keys for the two versions of my anatomy test for tomorrow, got through one and half the other then realized I missed an entire chapter and had to rewrite the exams. (now you see why I'm behind on nano)
Mom is having a really shit time of it. Most of you know my grandma is in a home for a broken femur. Well the PT says, she's plateaued so medicare won't pay for staying in the home. Here's the thing, the first month the doc wouldn't allow for PT so the physical therapist has been seeing her for less than a month. Honestly I think she's writing her off because she's in her 90's. The doc is saying there is no way for her to go home without 24 hour care (Mom and Uncle both agree). I told mom to sic the doctor on the PT. But since it is medicare there may be pressures I don't know about but my brother, being a PT would. a handful of doctors from Russia can manage to bilk medicare for millions but doctors doing legitimate patient care have to jump thru some many ridiculous hoops (don't get me started on how our government can not handle health care).
So anyhow, Grandma no longer qualifies for assisted living because she refuses to even try on her PT and can't even do the things we all know she can do. However, nursing homes cost more than she can afford BUT she has too much money coming in from pensions etc to qualify for medicaid and lower cost nursing homes. Meanwhile 24 hour in home nursing is just as expensive. ANd in the midst of all of this my dad is being a ass about it because time spent on this is time Mom's not spending on him.
And my Aunt Minnie, also 95 and in the same home as granny was just hospitalized today and it doesn't look good. I honestly don't mind if she dies. It would be a blessing. She has very advanced alzheimers. She thinks she's a young teen. Doesn't know her brother, doesn't know her sister in law (my grandma), doesn't know her kids. Sometimes it's just time to go.
Mardi Gras Casino in Charleston WV, forgot to post this earlier
I want to start posting (and tagging) my recipes too so have a couple of soup recipes since it's that time of year
Butternut Squash Soup
¼ cup ( ½ stick) of butter
½ large sweet onion chopped (can substitute 1 large shallot)
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 large butternut squash, peeled, sealed and chopped into chunks OR (and this way is much much easier) two boxes of frozen butternut squash puree (might be called ‘winter squash’)
½ cup white wine
½ cup orange marmalade (sugar free can be used)
3 sprigs fresh tarragon (or dried to taste)
6 cups veggie stock (or chicken)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
If you’re going with the actual peeling of the squash, use this recipe: melt butter in large stock pot over med. Heat. Add onion and garlic, cook 4-6 min. until soft (be careful not to burn the garlic). Add in squash, wine, marmalade and tarragon. Cook 3 minutes. Add stock and cook @ 10-15 minutes until squash is soft. Transfer to food processor in small batches and blend until smooth (or use immersion blender for same result). Return to pot, add salt and pepper. Stir in heavy cream and heat through (do not boil) and serve.
If you’re going with the butternut puree, defrost puree in microwave. Cook onions and garlic the same way. Add in puree, wine, marmalade and tarragon and cook until heated through. Add in stock and slowly let it cook about 7-10 minutes to let flavors blend. add salt and pepper. Stir in heavy cream and heat through (do not boil) and serve.
Either way – you can swirl crème fraiche through it for prettiness.
Serving size, 6. Calories? – who are you kidding? If you’re eating this, you’re not caring.
Pumpkin Soup with Leeks (or onions or shallots) and ginger
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 leeks white part only (note: you can easily and more cheaply use a sweet onion @1/2 of it or one large shallot since leeks are both pricey and a pain to wash)
1 clove of garlic minced (or more. I use way more)
1 tbsp grated gingerroot (or powdered ginger to taste)
1 tsp salt
2 tbs honey
1 can (28 oz) of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
4 cups of chicken or veggie stock
1 ½ cups half and half
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp white wine vinegar (or white balsamic)
Ground nutmeg to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Ground black pepper to taste
In a large stock pot, melt butter over med. Heat. Add leeks/shallots/onions and sauté until soft about 5 min. add garlic, ginger, salt and honey. Sauté until garlic and ginger are fragrant but not browning. @ 2min.
Add pumpkin and stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 min. to blend flavors. Stir in half and half, whipping cream, vinegar and all remaining spices. Reheat over med. Heat, stirring often until steaming. Do not boil. Serve with a dollop o crème fraiche is you’d like.
ETA
14464 / 50000 words. 29% done!
Quote of the Day - Okay it's a bit spoilery for the middle but apparently a middle is all i have. Grove worked the lock as Sunniva tried again. Hara slithered past Grove once the guard had the door open. He caught hold of Mirron as Sunniva tried a third weakened bolt. Mirron, still choking, pitiful rasping sounds rattling inside him, sagged against the tall mage. Reveka tore at the bed sheet, freeing it from Mirron’s tortured neck.
I was working up the answer keys for the two versions of my anatomy test for tomorrow, got through one and half the other then realized I missed an entire chapter and had to rewrite the exams. (now you see why I'm behind on nano)
Mom is having a really shit time of it. Most of you know my grandma is in a home for a broken femur. Well the PT says, she's plateaued so medicare won't pay for staying in the home. Here's the thing, the first month the doc wouldn't allow for PT so the physical therapist has been seeing her for less than a month. Honestly I think she's writing her off because she's in her 90's. The doc is saying there is no way for her to go home without 24 hour care (Mom and Uncle both agree). I told mom to sic the doctor on the PT. But since it is medicare there may be pressures I don't know about but my brother, being a PT would. a handful of doctors from Russia can manage to bilk medicare for millions but doctors doing legitimate patient care have to jump thru some many ridiculous hoops (don't get me started on how our government can not handle health care).
So anyhow, Grandma no longer qualifies for assisted living because she refuses to even try on her PT and can't even do the things we all know she can do. However, nursing homes cost more than she can afford BUT she has too much money coming in from pensions etc to qualify for medicaid and lower cost nursing homes. Meanwhile 24 hour in home nursing is just as expensive. ANd in the midst of all of this my dad is being a ass about it because time spent on this is time Mom's not spending on him.
And my Aunt Minnie, also 95 and in the same home as granny was just hospitalized today and it doesn't look good. I honestly don't mind if she dies. It would be a blessing. She has very advanced alzheimers. She thinks she's a young teen. Doesn't know her brother, doesn't know her sister in law (my grandma), doesn't know her kids. Sometimes it's just time to go.
Mardi Gras Casino in Charleston WV, forgot to post this earlier
I want to start posting (and tagging) my recipes too so have a couple of soup recipes since it's that time of year
Butternut Squash Soup
¼ cup ( ½ stick) of butter
½ large sweet onion chopped (can substitute 1 large shallot)
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 large butternut squash, peeled, sealed and chopped into chunks OR (and this way is much much easier) two boxes of frozen butternut squash puree (might be called ‘winter squash’)
½ cup white wine
½ cup orange marmalade (sugar free can be used)
3 sprigs fresh tarragon (or dried to taste)
6 cups veggie stock (or chicken)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
If you’re going with the actual peeling of the squash, use this recipe: melt butter in large stock pot over med. Heat. Add onion and garlic, cook 4-6 min. until soft (be careful not to burn the garlic). Add in squash, wine, marmalade and tarragon. Cook 3 minutes. Add stock and cook @ 10-15 minutes until squash is soft. Transfer to food processor in small batches and blend until smooth (or use immersion blender for same result). Return to pot, add salt and pepper. Stir in heavy cream and heat through (do not boil) and serve.
If you’re going with the butternut puree, defrost puree in microwave. Cook onions and garlic the same way. Add in puree, wine, marmalade and tarragon and cook until heated through. Add in stock and slowly let it cook about 7-10 minutes to let flavors blend. add salt and pepper. Stir in heavy cream and heat through (do not boil) and serve.
Either way – you can swirl crème fraiche through it for prettiness.
Serving size, 6. Calories? – who are you kidding? If you’re eating this, you’re not caring.
Pumpkin Soup with Leeks (or onions or shallots) and ginger
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 leeks white part only (note: you can easily and more cheaply use a sweet onion @1/2 of it or one large shallot since leeks are both pricey and a pain to wash)
1 clove of garlic minced (or more. I use way more)
1 tbsp grated gingerroot (or powdered ginger to taste)
1 tsp salt
2 tbs honey
1 can (28 oz) of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
4 cups of chicken or veggie stock
1 ½ cups half and half
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp white wine vinegar (or white balsamic)
Ground nutmeg to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Ground black pepper to taste
In a large stock pot, melt butter over med. Heat. Add leeks/shallots/onions and sauté until soft about 5 min. add garlic, ginger, salt and honey. Sauté until garlic and ginger are fragrant but not browning. @ 2min.
Add pumpkin and stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 min. to blend flavors. Stir in half and half, whipping cream, vinegar and all remaining spices. Reheat over med. Heat, stirring often until steaming. Do not boil. Serve with a dollop o crème fraiche is you’d like.
ETA
Quote of the Day - Okay it's a bit spoilery for the middle but apparently a middle is all i have. Grove worked the lock as Sunniva tried again. Hara slithered past Grove once the guard had the door open. He caught hold of Mirron as Sunniva tried a third weakened bolt. Mirron, still choking, pitiful rasping sounds rattling inside him, sagged against the tall mage. Reveka tore at the bed sheet, freeing it from Mirron’s tortured neck.
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no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 04:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 04:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 04:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 04:41 am (UTC)the bread and beans and the other one i can post those next
no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 04:49 am (UTC)i'm getting it moving again slowly. those bits are there for when you have time and suggestions for stuff to do is welcome
no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 05:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 12:20 pm (UTC)On a totally different note, those soups look great. Cooking things with milk in for Helen is fun.
H: does this have milk in it? No, I don't want to know. Does it?
me: No.
H: Yum. No, does it? I don't want to know.
me: No.
H: Yum.
Etc.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 12:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 05:27 pm (UTC)Thanks for the recipes. I love soup season, it's just about cold and wet enough here to start souping.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 06:49 pm (UTC)I love soup season too and ditto
no subject
Date: 2010-11-10 11:07 pm (UTC)I have a great Roman lentil pumpkin(or bsquash)soup if your interested, and eat meat, since pancetta is involved...
no subject
Date: 2010-11-11 03:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-11 08:18 pm (UTC)There's a couple simple steps but Italian cooking is all about layering...
2 TBSP olive oil
2 oz pancetta or guanciale diced
mince together the "battuto"
1 med onion
1 garlic clove
1 small celery rib
1 small carrot.
1 cup (7oz?) brown lentils(rinsed, picked over,drained etc)
2cups pumpkin or butternut squash in small cubes (pumpkin would be more traditionally roman, but I love butternut too so) more or less 8 oz....
5 1/2 cups Light meat(mixed chicken and beef) broth ("brodo") or 5 1/2 cups water with one 1 chicken 1 beef stock cube)
1TBSP chopped parsley
1 TBSP chopped fresh mint, 1 tsp dried,
In heavy soup pot, combine oil and pancetta on med low heat. after the pancetta starts to release the fat, add the minced battuto (the stuff above) and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add the lentils and stir a few minutes to coat well
Meantime, bring the brodo to a boil, then add. Cover and simmer till lentils are tender, about 45 min. Add pumpkin, lower heat and simmer covered until tender, but not disintegrating, about 15mins.Remove bay leaf.
Add salt pepper and herbs, stir and serve (if you have to use dried mint, add 10 minutes after pumpkin)
FYI, I guess, guanciale is kind of a pigs cheek bacon, has more fat and is less salty than pancetta and has bit more flavor(more fat, so...) Kind of thinking pancetta is kinda findable in most american cities these days, if you can find guanciale I prefer it. If you use pancetta, taste before adding salt, since chances are the broth has salt in it too.
If you can't get either and want to try to substitue american bacon, I would go with something not super smokey or sweet.
I will say, I don't generally love mint in my food, but it really works perfectly in this recipe. Also very roman, they cook with a lot of mint.
Seemed like an unusal soup the first time I tried it, but its really hearty and tasty and has been become a real favorite with all my friends. my dad makes me make if for him whenever I'm home in winter. Not exactly fat free, but lentils and pumkin are of the good. And you can play around with the amount of guanciale, or drain a lot of the fat off before adding the lentils etc. I have friend who uses the guanciale for the original saute for flavor but then takes the cubes out before going on with the rest. NOT ME, but to each his own....
no subject
Date: 2010-11-11 08:33 pm (UTC)thanks for explaining guanciale since I'm not sure i've ever heard of it. I can get pancetta. I might be able to substitutde pork jowl for it if need be.
this sounds delicious
no subject
Date: 2010-11-11 10:03 pm (UTC)yeah I love this soup, freezes pretty well too so,,
no subject
Date: 2010-11-11 10:43 pm (UTC)it'll be the lentils I'll have to go to Athens to get since i usually can't find them here. Hmmm I'll ask L. she's a vegetarian. She might know where to get lentils locally other than mushy things in a can
no subject
Date: 2010-11-18 10:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-18 11:35 pm (UTC)