Writing food

[ksmith]

When I'm in the middle of Book, cooking is usually the furthest thng from my mind. But I have to eat decently, or brain will clog and I will feel like a slug. I didn't prep very well for the first draft, but I'm in better shape for revisions. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, individually wrapped and frozen. Salmon. A couple of steaks. All for grilling, in a sandwich or salad. Boring after a while, maybe, but not junky.

A turkey breast is currently roasting. I will slice most of it and freeze it. Again, for sandwiches. There's lamb chili and shepherds pie in the freezer.

And there are cookies. Because there must always be cookies.

Comments

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

Right now, because of the kitchen remodel, cooking is the only thing on my mind, despite needing to finish this book. I want to cook, dammit. Been without for 16 weeks now. At the point, today should bring the countertop with the kitchen sink, tomorrow should bring the plumbing for it, and then we should get the stove in. That should allow me to be functional at least. In a week the rest of the counters should get here and the last of the trim work should get done. And then we can bring the new puppy home.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I know nothing about remodeling--why did it take so long? Were there structural changes that needed doing?

[difrancis.livejournal.com]

Ah, the saga. Well, we did do structural changes. They involved taking out a wall and then several doorways that didn't have doors, but we still had to find out about whether they were supporting walls and so on and so forth. We also had to take out an unused chimney (it had been covered with wood and left in the kitchen).

We tore out the kitchen, a hallway, and the dining room. Then our contractor--Randy Richardson of Honey-do construction for anybody in Dillon, MT who wants to not get screwed by him--walked out. Just quit. No reason. Just didn't want to do the work anymore.

So we had to find someone new. And our electricity was a mess. We had to run new service, put in a new panel and move it (apparently if our insurance knew about our old panel, we wouldn't be insured--that's a Federal Pacific panel for anyone who wants to see if they have a fire hazard in their home).

So it's taken longer than expected. WE figured we could be in by Thanksgiving. Not so much. Now we've got the cabinets in, the floor in the kitchen in and the floor in the dining room refinished. We just need counters and the sink and the rest of the appliances in, and the trimwork finished (we've been waiting for the floors and the counters so that that could go in).

It's been . . . frustrating and long, but it's going to be very nice and very functional. Our old kitchen was hideous. Here's the flickr pics of some of it if you want to look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31302902@N02/

[e-moon60.livejournal.com]

My mother-the-engineer/architect's rule about both home building and remodeling (she'd ramrodded multiple projects):

It always takes longer...

It always costs more...

It always makes more mess...

Than you thought it would.

E.

[affreca.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to learn to do due prep work when I have time, so I eat healthier (and eat out less) when I don't (or don't have the energy). That's the idea behind making a pan of enchiladas today so I have food to take to work for the rest of the week.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

So now I'm making turkey stock. Attempting to make turkey stock.

I baked a bone-in breast on a rack of celery and onion. Before putting it in the oven, I worked a mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried rosemary (the rosemary from the shrub I bought this summer, very fragrant) under the skin. The result was some nice, moist, basic white meat with a hint of rosemary flavor. I stripped the carcass as best I could, and should have just dumped it. But I hated to waste the flavor.

I tossed the carcass into a pot with the celery, onion, and pan juice. Added a tsp herbs de Provence, a little salt, a bay leaf, garlic, and 10 cups water. This may have been too much water. I am just going to let it cook down down down.

[affreca.livejournal.com]

When I have time, I love making stock. It reuses "trash" into something tasty and it makes the house smell wonderful.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Still not sure whether I will freeze this, or filter out the junk, put the flecks of meat back in, and add veggies for soup.

[lmarley.livejournal.com]

That rascal Toby has a good soup recipe here: http://www.tobybishop.net/tb-food.htm Also cookies! (They're called crooks in Toby's off-kilter world.) I love soup because I can make a pot and eat out of it for days.