Look Ma! No Spoon!
I made chicken vegetable stock today! More to the point, I made chicken vegetable stock with pumpkin today. Yes, it was canned, but it's still pumpkin. I see what AMS is saying about the color. Rather than the pale, milky-yellow color of the boiled down chicken of yesteryear, this is a rich, vibrant goldenrod color. It's chilling in the fridge after being thoroughly drained and strained. I'm going to pick off the fat tomorrow before church, then come back and add the deboned chicken back in, along with vegetables, and noodles. I may add some cooked brown rice at the last minute, if I'm feeling homey enough.
I thoroughly enjoy having my kitchen back. It's a terrible mess at present, I'll grant you, but a load of dishes a day, and within three days, the counters will be beautiful again. And this stock will last... a long time. I recently purchased a way cheap (but effective) stock pot that holds something like 15 qts. The dang thing was full to the top before I strained out all the chicken bones, fat, corn cobs, celery, onion bits, peppers, carrots, etc. But even after that I couldn't fit it all in my biggest soup pot, and had to split it up between two. The stock pot's too tall to fit in the fridge.
My whole apartment smells of soup, glorious soup. Thank you Em, for the soup idea. And thank you thesis, for the sedentary time while the goodies boiled down.
Speaking of the thesis... I accomplished much this afternoon (+11 pages). And I edited much this evening (-4 pages). Grand total is an increase of 7 solid pages, though there're the intangible gains of a new plotlet that can be scattered throughout the whole, lending an air of timelessness (I hope) to the story, and the new-and-improved tone. The entire tone has changed, and I feel this is a good thing. I managed to do this without beginning again... a very good thing indeed. As mentioned above, I added quite a bit of background plot featuring Kirsha's schooling, and I've decided for once and for all (until I change my mind) that he and his uncle will be contributing "fire sand" to the war effort. What the enemy soldiers can't manage to do with soul-devouring swords and flesh-eating lizard mounts, our moon boys will manage with highly explosive alchemical warfare, both on their expertly crafted seacraft, and on land by means of kick ass trebuchet stations. Added bonus: this primitive black powder contains such lovlies as mercury and arsenic, so the problems only start with massive casualties. Nothing like a battlefield seeded with poison, is there? Especially when this seeding is unintended and the poisons aren't recognized as such. In the unfortunately immortal word of young Anakin Skywalker, "Yippee!"
And her ladyship of death's presence has gained a real personality, one that I like reading, and writing. Rather than stick her on the back burner to steep in mystery up on the polar ice cap, I've given her free reign in Kirsha's mind, which also gives me a new and improved way to deliver humor as needed and to indicate the steady decrease in poor Kirsha's sanity.
Ah. And just think. Tomorrow I get to make soup. And write a prospectus over the Monty Python boys. *nod* What larks, Joe, what larks!
End (and cookies to those who guess the source of the last bit)
I thoroughly enjoy having my kitchen back. It's a terrible mess at present, I'll grant you, but a load of dishes a day, and within three days, the counters will be beautiful again. And this stock will last... a long time. I recently purchased a way cheap (but effective) stock pot that holds something like 15 qts. The dang thing was full to the top before I strained out all the chicken bones, fat, corn cobs, celery, onion bits, peppers, carrots, etc. But even after that I couldn't fit it all in my biggest soup pot, and had to split it up between two. The stock pot's too tall to fit in the fridge.
My whole apartment smells of soup, glorious soup. Thank you Em, for the soup idea. And thank you thesis, for the sedentary time while the goodies boiled down.
Speaking of the thesis... I accomplished much this afternoon (+11 pages). And I edited much this evening (-4 pages). Grand total is an increase of 7 solid pages, though there're the intangible gains of a new plotlet that can be scattered throughout the whole, lending an air of timelessness (I hope) to the story, and the new-and-improved tone. The entire tone has changed, and I feel this is a good thing. I managed to do this without beginning again... a very good thing indeed. As mentioned above, I added quite a bit of background plot featuring Kirsha's schooling, and I've decided for once and for all (until I change my mind) that he and his uncle will be contributing "fire sand" to the war effort. What the enemy soldiers can't manage to do with soul-devouring swords and flesh-eating lizard mounts, our moon boys will manage with highly explosive alchemical warfare, both on their expertly crafted seacraft, and on land by means of kick ass trebuchet stations. Added bonus: this primitive black powder contains such lovlies as mercury and arsenic, so the problems only start with massive casualties. Nothing like a battlefield seeded with poison, is there? Especially when this seeding is unintended and the poisons aren't recognized as such. In the unfortunately immortal word of young Anakin Skywalker, "Yippee!"
And her ladyship of death's presence has gained a real personality, one that I like reading, and writing. Rather than stick her on the back burner to steep in mystery up on the polar ice cap, I've given her free reign in Kirsha's mind, which also gives me a new and improved way to deliver humor as needed and to indicate the steady decrease in poor Kirsha's sanity.
Ah. And just think. Tomorrow I get to make soup. And write a prospectus over the Monty Python boys. *nod* What larks, Joe, what larks!
End (and cookies to those who guess the source of the last bit)
posted by Rehkmira @ 22:00
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home