Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

Mike has had strep throat this week, so I made up a big pot of homemade chicken soup. We had it for two dinners plus a lunch with toasted sourdough bread and butter, and a sprinkle of pepper flakes. This can be completed in approximately 30 minutes. As you prefer, all of the ingredients can be diced in little squares, or sliced to make a chunkier soup.

Quick Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients
2 T olive oil
2 celery stalks, sliced or diced
3 carrots, sliced or diced
1/2 large onion, cut in half again and then sliced or diced
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper

1/2 package di Cecco fettucine noodles (you can use any noodle, just choose the amount for the number of portions you want to make)

Chicken stock, veggie stock, or Better than Bouillion
+/- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced

1 cup frozen peas
2-3 chard leaves, stemmed and roughly chopped
1/4 cup parsley or flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Tools
Large saute pan
Large saucepan or med stockpot
Knife and cutting board
Wooden spoon

Method
Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Add cut up chicken and brown partway. Push chicken to the side and add onion, celery and carrot to pan. Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and thyme. Stir.

Fill a large saucepan or stock pot 2/3 with water or chicken stock. (You are not going to drain the noodles. If using bouillion or stock concentrate, add later.) Cook noodles until 2/3 done-- when the white in the center is gone, but they are still firm.

While the noodles are boiling, saute vegetables and chicken until veggies are softened and slightly golden and chicken is cooked through. Deglaze the pan with a ladle full of chicken stock or water from the noodle pot. Add contents of saute pan to almost-done noodles and water/stock in saucepan.

Add peas, chard and parsley. If you don't have enough liquid in your soup, or you need to feed more people, add a little more water or stock at this point. Add bouillion or season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring up to a simmer. Remove from heat when carrots and noodles are al dente, or to your liking. If the noodles are not overcooked to begin with, they will keep some of their bite when reheated. Serve with buttered, toasted sourdough baguette slices. Add a pinch of chili flake if desired.

I like chard, because it's a nutritious dark green that blends in with whatever it's cooked with. You can use more or less than I did. Any number of different vegetables could be thrown in here, such as roughly chopped spinach, kale (be sure to remove spines and tough stems), or anything else leafy and green. You could even use cabbage, just not too much.

******
For dessert lately, I've been liking fruit-based desserts with a small scoop of ice cream, rather than the other way around. Half of a baked apple topped with ice cream and sprinkled with cinnamon feels wintry and comforting. The apples at Whole Foods right now are so great-- I tried Honey Crisp and Pink Lady varieties yesterday and both were delicious raw and cooked. Good mixed because they differ in texture when cooked.

Or a sliced banana with whole toasted almonds (salted, smoked and raw almonds are great, too) ice cream and cinnamon sprinkle. This seems to be a good way to have dessert and not feel terrible about it, not to mention making the ice cream last longer. Cinnamon is also supposed to aid in moderating blood sugar, so I try to include some with dessert if I can.

Spring for Those Who Don't Have It Yet

The valley is ablaze with yellow flowers, and I thought you all could use a little sunshine. Now if you could pass a little of that rain our way, we'd be much obliged.

Me, Meet....Me

I have a truly modern dilemma: somehow I have created two Facebook profiles. So some of my "friends" are attached to one profile, and the other half to the other... I don't know how to merge them or if this is at all possible, so I decided to try to become friends with myself. Then at least my friends would have a mutual acquaintance.

So, I sent myself a friend request. Simple enough. When it arrived in the email box that both of me share, we gladly accepted it. Except I was already logged in as the me who had sent the request, so I had to log out and log in as me again. In order to do that, I have to log in with my log-in email, which is exactly the same as the other one. So it thinks I'm just me again, poking around the same profile with the same friends. It became necessary to change "my" contact email and send a confirmation to "myself" so that "I" could then accept the change of email address and log in as "me".

Tapping the keys gingerly, I logged in. But until I confirm my change of email to my alternate email, I must still log in with my original email. Which takes me to..........my original profile. I can search myself on Facebook (who started this stupid site, anyway?) and find both of myselves, but only one of me is now accessible by me. The other one is off-limits to anyone but me.

This all came about because a year or so ago, I put up a rudimentary Facebook page just to see what would happen. NOTHING did. Nothing. For a really long time. So I canceled my page. Apparently one of the ways they (oh, those evil they) get you hooked is by leaving your name in the files, even if you go away, so that as your former friends and long-lost stalkers are sitting in their cubicles, staring at the clock at 3:18 on a Wednesday afternoon, after clipping all the binder clips within arm's reach to each other, they can type your name in and unknowingly entice you to rejoin. Again and again. Sort of like stepping in gum.

So, my message is this: If you are looking for me, and you find me on Facebook, just pick the me with the friends you like the look of best, and you can be part of that group. If you want to gossip about me to me, I can't wait to hear the dirt. I have been very naughty lately, or so I've heard.

Or, better, send me your email address as a comment to this blog if you don't know my email address, and I will answer you and we can be friends, and not "friends". If I don't answer you, you can always try my evil twin.

Love,
Tam

Tableau

Tableau

Two pink porcelain roses
beneath an ornate, carved
jade-colored
asian vase

Graduated pelicans
form an accusing trio
looking down their long
salmon-colored beaks

One lonely walrus
on his island of driftwood,
his hide and tusks
made from originals long-dead
overlooks

a red-clawed family
of turquoise crabs

1/21/09

Excellent Scones

Buttermilk Lemon Scones

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c cold butter, cut into chunks
3/4 c buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 dried currants
1 T grated lemon peel
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together flour, sugar, bp and salt. Add cut up butter and cut in with a pastry blender or pulse in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. (If using a processor, scrape into a bowl.)

In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk and egg to blend. Add to flour mixture along with currants and lemon zest. Stir with a fork until evenly moistened. Dough will look crumbly.

Scrape dough onto a floured surface. With lightly floured hands (important) work into a ball, then pat into a 7-8 inch round about 1 3/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 8 equal wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.

Bake scones until tops are browned, 20-25 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over slightly warm scones.

On my most recent visit to Gma and Gpa's, I chose to tackle a box of recipe clippings, coupons and newspapers, to see what needed to be saved, and what tossed. It was an interesting exercise, going through decades of recipes, finding out about my grandmother's culinary obsessions over the years. The very best find was her 1935 school handbook. She would have been about 12 then, and in the 6th or 7th grade. The booklet explained the best way to do dishes, how to plan meals for optimum nutrition, and was full of basic recipes. In the pages in the back, Grandma had noted that she was "making batters today" and had detailed two unfamiliar verses to "Polly Wolly Doodle".

Scones appeared again and again in the stacks. Everything from Traditional English Scones to Ginger Scones with Passionfruit Jam. You name it, if it was a scone, she'd clipped it and saved it. So when I returned home, I had to smile at the recipe for these, already sitting on my own desk. And of course, I had to make them. They are quite rich-- I don't even want to tell you what the calorie count is per scone-- but they are a rib-sticking breakfast and mighty tasty. The recipe is from Sunset Magazine, April 2006.

Some of the other items that seemed to be of particular interest: panettone (which she still loves), Dutch Baby (a giant pancake), crepes, blintzes, crab, almost anything with pumpkin or apples, quiche, cheesecake, pancakes and waffles, waffles, waffles. Though it appears that Gma was obsessed with breakfast food, the breakfast I remember best was always soft-scrambled eggs made with milk and pepper, and bacon frying on the electric stove. I am always glad to make the scrambled eggs for her now when I get the chance.

Yet Another Flourless Chocolate Cake

This is about the easiest cake there is to make, travels well, and Grandpas seem to like it...

Flourless Chocolate Cake

4 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter an 8 inch round baking pan. Line bottom of pan with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces (I just threw it in in two big chunks). In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture, and whisk until just combined. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool in cake pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate. Dust cake with additional cocoa powder if desired.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, start to finish.
Makes one 8 inch cake.
from Gourmet, 1997 via epicurious

Previous flourless chocolate "Velvet" cake here.

Simple Chocolate Icing

Here is the icing I used with Lucille Williams' Never Fail Cake:

Simple Chocolate Icing
(Ghirardelli's card No. 13, no date)

3/4 cup ground chocolate (I only had cocoa powder, so this is what I used)
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp butter
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla. Cook in double boiler until it thickens, stirring constantly. Cool a bit and add flavoring.

This makes a fluid icing that forms a smooth, fudgy shell over the cake, dripping attractively down the sides until it hardens. It turned out to be just the amount of sweetness that the cake needed. I don't recommend whisking before spreading, as this caused bubbles in the icing that later popped and made my cake's surface a bit moon-like. I think it would be ok to pour this on when the cake is still a little bit warm. I encouraged drips down the side by pulling a little bit of icing away from the center with a spatula. If the icing cools too much before it's time to ice, try putting it back on the double boiler to warm, and stirring gently with a silicone spatula.

PS- While I was visiting this week, I asked Grandpa if he knew who Lucille Williams was. No clue. So while she has gone on to bigger and better things, her cake will live on via the internet.

From the Vault

Lucille Williams' "Never Fail" Cake

1/2 c cocoa powder

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 c water

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

3 egg yolks
1/2 c milk

2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

add egg whites beaten dry

This recipe was among the hand-written cards in the metal White King Flour recipe box given to me by my grandmother on a recent visit. This box, and the other boxes and binder that came with it, are a treasure to me. Some of the recipes in the box are my grandmother's, some my great-grandmother's (my grandfather's mother). Others are from their friends, neighbors, newspapers and advertisements collected over many years.

When I volunteered to bring dessert to some friends' house for dinner today, I thought it would be fun to pull one from the vault and try it. Looking through the neatly filed cards, I thought of all of the women who had carefully written, typed, taped and glued the recipes together.

Lucille Williams' cake may have been "Never Fail" because she knew the recipe so well, or because back in the 30s or 40s or 50s or even 60s, whenever this recipe was placed in the box, everyone knew how to make a cake from scratch. The recipe consisted only of ingredients. No directions, not even an oven temperature. The only thing that was indicated (thank goodness) was that the first three ingredients should be cooked together.

I had all of the ingredients already without having to make a trip to the store, and I was intrigued to find out if the cake's name would hold true, so I guessed at the method and went for it.

Here is what I did: (Preheat oven to 325º)

1. Cook brown sugar, cocoa and water over low heat, stirring until smooth and melted

2. Cream butter and sugar, separate eggs and set aside whites, add yolks one at a time

3. Add chocolate mixture

4. Add dry ingredients (flour sifted and bp, bs and salt mixed in), alternating with milk

5. Beat egg whites until dry, fold into batter

6. I lightly sprayed and greased a 9" straight-sided cake pan and had a second at the ready.

Once filled, it didn't look like I could fill another whole cake pan, so I filled two 4" porcelain ramekins. This worked well for post-bake testing of the cake to make sure I didn't need to punt with a last-minute apple pie in case of cake failure.

7. Bake at 325º for approximately 50 minutes, or until a sharp knife comes out clean.

The cake was fairly moist, cocoa-y and not too sweet. I did feel that it needed a glaze or icing, so I chose one from the box as well, which I will post later.

In What Universe...

...is this cute? I hope that's her hair and not a desert neck guard slipping down the back. She looks like a video game mushroom. I was just looking for a pair of Ugg boots for someone, and this came up. By the way, did you know Ugg boots were so expensive??? I just thought they looked like tall slippers. Boots for people who don't like to get out of bed, maybe.

Because You Have Been Deprived

Here are some pictures I took in the French Laundry's garden in Yountville a couple of months ago. It was crazy how much stuff they still had growing that late. Everything is all covered up in white blankets now, hiding from the frost we had two weeks ago.

The spring flowers are already starting here on the ranch, halfway through January. Some of those crazy, precocious narcissi were going mid-December, but now the bright mustard is emerging and the camellias and magnolias are blooming, too. I barely got a taste of winter, but I know this January warm spell is just a teaser. Hopefully we'll get a few more good soakings before spring really starts.

Power Naps

Did I mention that my co-workers are bums?

Doesn't my eye look kind of reptilian in the header picture? My eye is not really scaly like that, just in case you were worried. It has something to do with blowing it out like that exposure-wise. Makes it look like a dinosaur eye made out of clay.

23 Useless Things to Know About Me

1. I don't like wind chimes. Fine for other people, ok to hear the whisper of them far away, but not on my house.

2. In elementary school, the boy who taught me how to snap my fingers was left handed. I can still only snap the fingers on my left hand.

3. I honk and wave at anyone holding a sign and wearing a costume. Especially a gorilla costume.

4. Once in an emergency at work, I was drafted to arrange flowers in a hurry for what I thought was going to be a fancy lunch-e-o-n (as opposed to just lunch). I grabbed the only flowers at hand, some coral-colored camellias in the back of the building, and did my best, which was pretty bad in this instance, and included petals sprinkled across the tablecloth. It turned out that it was just five salesmen eating sandwiches on paper plates. It was embarrassing.

5. Once in a different emergency, I was the second person to arrive at the scene of an accident. I made sure the first person was calling 911, then I went under the semi truck to check on the woman who had intentionally walked in front of it. She was breathing slowly and heavily, and her leg was bent at an awkward angle with the bone sticking out. Her pants leg was hooked on the underside of the truck, holding her leg up. I unhooked it and laid it on the ground. Then I reached inside of her jacket hood, which had twisted around to cover her face, to see if her breathing was obstructed or I suppose, if her head was damaged. It was not. It was a very strange and intimate moment to have my hand inside the warm pocket of air in her hood, hearing her breathing and feeling for blood or brain or skull, my fingers touching her thin brown hair. She was unconscious and I stayed with her until the paramedic crawled under with me to take over. Then I went to work. I found out later that she lived.

6. When I was in my twenties, if I had had a daughter, her name would have been Eleni or Heleni, after a little girl I met on a train in Greece.

7. My only career ambition for a very long time was to be the Koolaid Mom: the one with the house that all the kids wanted to come over to. For a while I told people I was an Art Therapy major, then a History of Consciousness major, neither of which I ever was.

8. I am way too serious.

9. I used to go on diets in high school that consisted of Diet Coke plus something like raisins or popcorn, ascribing magical powers to the food, as though I was on the verge of discovering the next Cabbage Diet. The diets never lasted very long, nor were they ever very successful. (Then again, I only weighed 130 lbs.)

10. I make friends slowly but well.

11. I've always wanted to have a big mouth and or a big nose. I am envious of women with strong features.

12. The whites of my eyes show all the way around my irises if I open them wide.

13. In my pocket, there is usually.....
a third of a used dryer sheet,
a receipt,
a clean doggie poo bag,
a barrette or hair tie and/or crumbs from dog treats

14. When people say things like "expresso" or "nucular" or "sommenier" it drives me bananas. The fancier the word they mess up, the dumber it sounds.

15. I believe that when people say "stop being so sensitive" they probably just said something mean.

16. I prefer books to short stories, although I have read good short stories. They seem contrived to leave you hanging, even when they are very good. (Exception: every story in this book is excellent. Ditto Kate Chopin.)

17. I don't read mysteries; they are too predictable.

18. When I was in high school, I often wore a pink hooded sweatshirt with the drawstring ends tied into nooses. And I had a terrible crush on a senior football player named Lance Ward.

19. As a freshman or sophomore, I invited Lance Ward (who was some kind of "back" on the football team--running or quarter or line or something, and three years older) to my house so that I could help him with his French homework. (If I had been remotely hot at that age, that could have been a really excellent metaphor.) We studied together on the floor of the front room. I provided a repast of oranges. Lance ate the peel in addition to the orange. I even made a tape of old Beatles songs to play softly in the background. I think he still got a D on the final.

20. Later, I wrote a painfully bad poem about him that included the word "noone," which I meant to be "no one," but I wasn't sure at the time whether it was two words or one.

21. I don't like bumper stickers. Same as religion, slogan t-shirts, or wind chimes: fine for other people, but not for me. Love to read them, but don't put them on my car.

22. In college, I won two prizes in a city-wide poetry competition, first and third.

23. My favorite doll's name was Sasha. She is in a toybox in my garage right now. I check on her from time to time.

Outside of a Dog

Is there a better problem to have than too many books to choose from? I was standing in a bookstore just off the square in Sonoma today, on a beautiful, sunny day, contemplating a stack of books I was about to purchase.

It made me think of the armloads of plastic-covered books I used to tote home from the air-conditioned library in the summers in Modesto, arranging and re-arranging them so that I could read the very best one last. Sometimes I'd sneak that one back on top if I couldn't wait. Holding the books in my hands, I anticipate with relish my private time to read, when I'll curl up in bed in my warm flannel pajamas and close the door on the rest of the world. Reading is one of my greatest pleasures.

Standing there in a beam of sun this afternoon, I started to question my potential purchase. All three books were intriguing, quirky stories with the right covers and accolades. But did I really need all three right this minute? Could I wait and save a little money? Then it occurred to me: three books is less than half the cost of a fancy dinner out, and they last ages longer, so actually, I'm saving money.

I know that isn't the most earth-shattering news in the world. I've not posted for a while, and I'm feeling a little rusty and self-conscious.

Did you know that in the 7th grade, I was a library aide? I loved books then, and I loved the library. It never occurred to me that it was an incredibly nerdy thing to do. My favorite job was covering new books in those Brodart plastic covers and gluing in the pockets for the check-out cards. I got to sit in a quiet room, with long, rectangular windows divided up into rows of panes looking out onto a wide lawn. The kind of windows that go all the way almost to the ceiling and are hinged to swing outward so that you open and close them with a long pole that has a hook on the end.

In my quiet room, I would open each book and look it over, looking through all of the pictures if there were any. Then I would remove the dust jacket, select the right size cover, neatly crease it to fit the paper, seal it and slide the cover's ends carefully back on the book.

Sometimes I would write out four-letter words in cursive on the backs of the card pockets with the glue, but not very often. Mostly I tried to make each new book look crisp and perfect in its protective cover. Did you know that a pristine dust jacket can add hundreds of dollars in value to a collectible first edition? Neither did I, until I checked out the site for the book cover company. I was googling it to make sure they were actually made of plastic.

That was the same library where I checked out and read "The Yearling" and cried and cried and cried. And where my friend Marc "Mocha" Davis and I laughed so hard no sound came out.

Hope this will do for now.

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx