Dimanche Dîner

That's "Sunday Supper" in French.

I really wanted to be in Paris this weekend, especially after my friends called me from there yesterday. But it didn't work out.

So, I'm pretending.

French Onion Soup is surprisingly easy to make. That, and a glass (or two) of chablis, and it's almost (not really) like being in Paris.

Onion Soup

Ingredients

• 2 large white onions
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 4 cups beef broth
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 baguette
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Directions

1. Slice the onions
2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, then add the onions. Turn up the heat to medium and saute. After a minute or so, add the flour and continue to saute until the onions are a nice golden color.
3. Add the beef broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
4. Once the soup has boiled, turn the heat down and let the onions cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Ladle the soup into crocks. Add slices of baguette and top with grated cheese.
6. Broil for 2 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and browns slightly.
7. Enjoy! (Be careful, though - the soup crocks are VERY hot!)

San Francisco?

I'm a very responsible person. It's my nature. It's also my nature to not take any... well, you know... from anyone.

So, after my meeting last Friday, I decided to responsibly "explore my options".

Sadly, I'm not in a position to open my own business at this time. But, that's ok - I can easily imagine myself doing other things.

What I cannot imagine myself doing is working in a cubicle for the rest of my life.

However....

New York is the most expensive city in the country. So, living in New York requires making a lot of money, which (for me) means working in finance, which means... cubicles.

Which means I have to leave New York.

So, I've been spending a lot of time on the Sperling's Best Places website lately, researching different cities. http://www.bestplaces.net/

My criteria was good weather, low crime rate and low cost of living.

And Sperling's suggested... San Francisco? (Ok, yeah, compared to New York City, San Francisco does have a low cost of living.)

But then I realized that it doesn't matter.

I've been overwhelmed, really, by how helpful my friends have been during this situation - offering to fly around the country to visit new cities with me, offering to drive with me from New York to Oregon, providing suggestions for websites to search for jobs and people to contact, offering to help me create - and stick to! - a budget...

So it doesn't matter what Sperling's suggests - I want to have friends again! (I only have 2 friends in New York, and they can come to visit.)

So, next week I'm off to Kansas City and two weeks after that I'll be in Denver.

It's going to be great to see everyone!

Sunday Supper - Black Bean Soup

I'll be honest.

Due to the events of Friday, I was NOT in the mood to cook today. (More on that later...)

But I made this a few weeks ago, and it was so good I thought I'd share.

Again, it's a lot of chopping, but try it and enjoy.

(recipe courtesy recipezaar.com)

Tgi Friday's Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup diced white onion
• 3/4 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

• 4 (15 ounce) cans black beans
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke

GARNISH

• shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend
• chopped green onion, sour cream
• 
  
• Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium/low heat.

Add onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic to the oil and simmer slowly (or"sweat" as it's called), for 15 minutes or until the onions are practically clear.

Keep the heat low enough that the veggies don't brown and be careful not to burn the garlic or it will be bitter.

While you cook the veggies, pour the canned beans into a strainer and rinse them under cold water.

Measure 3 cups of the drained and strained beans into a food processor with 1 cup of chicken stock.

Puree on high speed until smooth.

When the veggies are ready, pour the pureed beans, the whole beans, the rest of the chicken stock, and every other ingredient in the list (down to liquid smoke), to the pot.

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes or until soup has thickened and all the ingredients are tender.

Hello Square One,

I'm back.

I woke up this morning with a plan.

So my bonus this year isn't going to be as much as I'd hoped .

That's ok, because we're all getting raises!

So my plan was to stay for one more year, save as much as possible, then leave after receiving my next bonus.

The timing was perfect - I could give my notice in March and move back to my hometown in April, just in time for my dad's (80th!) birthday on May 1. I would have 3 months to get my little shop up and running before the big annual jazz festival at the end of July.

Then it's time for new fall clothes. Then it's the holidays, which would (hopefully) carry me through to spring. And repeat...

But.

I found out tonight there will be no raise for me.

I was shocked.

I knew there was no point in explaining that I'd been doing two people's work since my coworker left last July. She already knew that.

As she said, "it is what it is".

So, I made a new plan!

Since there would be no raise, there would be no additional savings, and, therefore, no reason to wait another year.

I called my dad to tell him that I would be moving back THIS year.

He didn't say much, so I asked what he was thinking and he told me that, if it was him, he'd just stay and collect the paycheck.

I was shocked. (Again!)

I thought he'd be happy to have his daughter around again, but no.

So now what? I really don't know.

I Give Up

... yarn.

I'm not Catholic (at all!), but I've always liked the idea of Lent - giving up something you love for the greater good.

But I woke up this morning and still had no idea what I should give up this year.

I thought about giving up soda (caffeine really isn't good for you anyway), or copying Angie (again!) and giving up sweets. But both of those options were gone by 9:30. (I had Diet Coke and a brownie for breakfast and it was delicious.)

But then I started thinking about all the unfinished projects I have piling up at home, and it was so obvious - I need to give up yarn.

Last week, a friend asked me what I spend my money on. At the time, this was my coffee table...

And this is just what I need for the granny squares! I'm also working on mittens and socks! (I won't even go into all the sewing projects...)

So, I've decided - I will not buy any more yarn for the next 40 days. Really, my goal is to finish all of my current projects before starting a new one.

Well, maybe not ALL 80 granny squares...

Sunday Supper - Jambalaya

... on Monday!

Since I work in banking (for now...), I didn't have to work today. So, I postponed cooking "Sunday Supper" until today, so I'd have leftovers for the week.

And, since tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, I stole my friend Angie's idea (and her recipe) and made Jambalaya.

It was good! REALLY good!!! (Thanks Angie!!!)

Here it is (in her own words)... Enjoy!

Here is the jambalaya recipe I make...you can amend it as you want...add things or delete things you don't like. :)

1 link sausage (I usually cut up a Hillshire Farms sausage)

1 cup onions, chopped

1/2 tsp garlic

1 can tomatoes (I usually get the ones with green peppers & onions)

1 1/2 cups long grain rice (I usually use brown)

1 tsp basil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 pkg onion soup mix

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 celery, chopped (I usually omit this)

1/4 cup parsley

optional:

cut up chicken breast

frozen shrimp

mushrooms

Make the rice. Throw everything into a skillet on medium heat. (if you use chicken obviously cook the chicken first) Once the rice is done...add it into the mixture and cover the skillet. Let it simmer until everything is warm/done.

Happy Valentine's Day!

As for me, I spent the day at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, learning how to knit mittens!

I love the Lion Brand Yarn Studio...

They have a huge selection.

You can try before you buy!

And, the people are nice, the yarn in inexpensive and you can download FREE patterns from their website!

http://www.lionbrand.com/

Location, location, location!

I know it's premature, but that's never stopped me from obsessing about something before.

I've been thinking about possible locations for my shop for weeks now, but I've always pictured myself with a cute little boutique in the East Village of Davenport. (And isn't that what this is all about?)

It's a Sunshine Day!

Alicia Paulson is one of the women who inspired me to start changing my life. I've never met her, but she writes a blog that I love called Posie Gets Cozy.

(http://www.rosylittlethings.typepad.com/)

One day she posted pictures of the Sunshine Day baby afghan she was crocheting, and I had to have it. It's made of little granny squares that look like flowers.

You can see her finished product here: http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy/2010/02/sunshine-day-baby-afghan.html

So I bought the pattern and here is my first granny square ever. One down, 79 to go. (79?!?) It's going to be a while, but I'll let you know when it's done!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Took a walk through the park across the street today. Gorgeous!

Sunday Supper - Chicken Pot Pie

I usually only cook on Sundays, so I have leftovers to take to work. This is what I'm making tonight. It's a bit of an ordeal (lots of chopping...) but SO worth it! Enjoy!

(recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Getting Started

I have a lot to learn, but hopefully this will help!