I'm afraid its taps for the stew. I got home from work today to find the pot cold. I don't know how the burner handle got nudged away from Lo to just near enough to Off... But I'm gonna have to pitch the stew and start over... I'm not risking getting sick! I think a week was a good first run, and will be starting anew with fresh ingredients tomorrow.
On doctor shows, they always call time of death. I'm calling it... 152 hours 30 minutes in... Time of death: 9:56 pm 1/21/11
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Day 6
A quick blog entry... Today was crazy busy, and I fear I am neglecting my stew. It cracks me up a little... Should I get a dog walker to come over? I really need to get to the grocery store, but with one thing and another, can't seem to make it. So there the stew sits, on Lo, and today, I added a splash more of sherry just to make sure it's still doing its thing.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Day 5
Darling husband and I made plans to have the stew for dinner tonight, so I did not take it to work with me. We came home, gave it a stir, brought it up to full heat and sat down with more of the wonderful pumpernickel.
The rabbit seemed a little chewy to me, which I don't know if it's because we boiled it instead of searing it first... Maybe rabbit is always chewy. Maybe just this rabbit was. All I can think of is he was probably a smart ass, and maybe that somehow affected his muscle tone. Seems to me that smart ass people would be chewy if you ate them. But I digress.
Put the soup to bed without adding anything more... Resolving to go to the grocery store tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Day 4: What's up, Doc?
Item the first. I do not like parsnips. I am thankful I only put one in. They are much more tart than carrots, and somehow more earthy.
Item the second. Today was one of those days where I spent almost 12 hours at work, didn't have time to heat my soup, and wound up having two string cheeses (Cheesi? Cheeseses?) for lunch. So it was understandibly not with enthusiasm that I came home to a rabbit corpse in my fridge waiting for me to butcher it.
Item the third. I believe butcher was not meant to be such a literal term, but having no idea how to butcher a carcass, I wound up butchering it indeed. (Maybe there's a YouTube video... But I'm not sure I would want to watch it...) I did not take pictures. We'll leave it at this: darling husband walked in to the kitchen, and threw up a little in his mouth. And he's not faint at heart. Also, unlike me, he never had a pet rabbit.
So, I did my best with the beast, and called it good enough. There were hints online that making rabbit stew somehow required me to cover it in flour, but I figured your average hunter wouldn't necessarily have that on hand, and so just dumped it in the pot.
Adding:
3 garlic cloves, diced
Half sweet potato, cubed
Rabbit chunks
Rabbit carcass (to stew, and be fished out tomorrow)
Splash of sherry
I brought everything to a roiling boil, and then back down to a simmer. The rabbit turned white almost immediately... Hoping it will be very tender. And I did wind up eating my "lunch" soup. For dinner tonight. The lamb is falling apart at the touch of the spoon. It's been over 81 hours since I started this project, and I'm excited to see how long I can take it! I can definitely say, this is the longest I've ever shown interest in the kitchen. I even set up the space to make it more my own!
Item the second. Today was one of those days where I spent almost 12 hours at work, didn't have time to heat my soup, and wound up having two string cheeses (Cheesi? Cheeseses?) for lunch. So it was understandibly not with enthusiasm that I came home to a rabbit corpse in my fridge waiting for me to butcher it.
Item the third. I believe butcher was not meant to be such a literal term, but having no idea how to butcher a carcass, I wound up butchering it indeed. (Maybe there's a YouTube video... But I'm not sure I would want to watch it...) I did not take pictures. We'll leave it at this: darling husband walked in to the kitchen, and threw up a little in his mouth. And he's not faint at heart. Also, unlike me, he never had a pet rabbit.
So, I did my best with the beast, and called it good enough. There were hints online that making rabbit stew somehow required me to cover it in flour, but I figured your average hunter wouldn't necessarily have that on hand, and so just dumped it in the pot.
Adding:
3 garlic cloves, diced
Half sweet potato, cubed
Rabbit chunks
Rabbit carcass (to stew, and be fished out tomorrow)
Splash of sherry
I brought everything to a roiling boil, and then back down to a simmer. The rabbit turned white almost immediately... Hoping it will be very tender. And I did wind up eating my "lunch" soup. For dinner tonight. The lamb is falling apart at the touch of the spoon. It's been over 81 hours since I started this project, and I'm excited to see how long I can take it! I can definitely say, this is the longest I've ever shown interest in the kitchen. I even set up the space to make it more my own!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Day 3: 58 hrs
Brought the stew in to work with me again, with a few chunks of pumpernickel. The lamb was juicy and tender, the broth incredibly rich, and the sweet potatoes! I've never made soup or stew with sweet potatoes before... This may become one of my favorite new background vegetables. Unlike a baked sweet potato, a boiled one (at least at this stage) doesn't have that mashed potato feel. Just yummy and hearty and bite sized awesomeness.
After work, I hit the grocery store where my friend found the rabbit, and picked one up. I also got another sweet onion, and a bunch of parsnips, which to my knowledge I've never had. After I skinned the parsnips, I shaved off another slice to taste precooking... Kind of like a tart white carrot. It was a bit of a beast to chop up, and I find myself wondering if it was fully ripe. But, per the history of the stew, I guess everything comes of age in the pot. Looking forward to see how it stews. I also fished out the bones from the lamb shoulder. What little meat I hadn't been able to get off the bone with a knife cooked right off overnight and during the day.
I added:
One sweet red bell pepper, chopped
One parsnip, skinned like a carrot, chopped
I didn't feel like wrestling with butchering the rabbit (which is whole, just headless and skinned) and with one thing or another, have pretty much left the stew alone tonight. I love how no muss, no fuss it is.
After work, I hit the grocery store where my friend found the rabbit, and picked one up. I also got another sweet onion, and a bunch of parsnips, which to my knowledge I've never had. After I skinned the parsnips, I shaved off another slice to taste precooking... Kind of like a tart white carrot. It was a bit of a beast to chop up, and I find myself wondering if it was fully ripe. But, per the history of the stew, I guess everything comes of age in the pot. Looking forward to see how it stews. I also fished out the bones from the lamb shoulder. What little meat I hadn't been able to get off the bone with a knife cooked right off overnight and during the day.
I added:
One sweet red bell pepper, chopped
One parsnip, skinned like a carrot, chopped
I didn't feel like wrestling with butchering the rabbit (which is whole, just headless and skinned) and with one thing or another, have pretty much left the stew alone tonight. I love how no muss, no fuss it is.
Day 2: 35 hours
This morning I got up, gave the pot a little stir, dumped a pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika into a travel soup mug, scooped some soup in, and got ready to head off to work. I dumped about two cups of water in before I left to keep the stew from burning dry.
Lunch was absolutely delicious! I even shared a few bites with the girls I work with; so proud of my little stew that I just had to share. To explain, the thing that's really amazing about Eternal Soup is that as the heat breaks it down, the older ingredients move into the background broth. Yesterday when I made it, there were visible chunks of pepper, and bigger pieces of potato. Now, the chunks of potato are smaller, and the peppers appear gone -- because they have cooked into the stock. The fat of the meat does too, leaving you with an incredibly rich broth, and meat so tender it falls apart at the touch of the spoon. This is why I don't think you should toss a pot out... Give it a day or two, and the parts that aren't in harmony will melt together into background noise.
When I came home, I gave the pot another stir, and was thinking about what to throw in there when some friends called about making dinner plans. So dinner tonight was Outback, with no leftovers to donate to the pot. However, a friend told me today she found rabbit at the grocery store... So with my newfound sense of whimsy & adventure, I went looking for rabbits to put in my stew.
Unfortunately, my store didn't have rabbit... But it did have lamb... Another meat I've never dared to attempt. So I bought that, and a yam, and came home to play with my stew.
Today's Additions:
Half a yam, skinned and cubed
Two lamb shoulders, cut in chunks, and quickly seared
The bones from those lamb shoulders
I brought it all to boil for about 12 minutes, then lowered it down to it's standard simmer on Lo. I plan to fish out the bones; I just wanted the marrow to richen the stew. Adding it's water, I've tucked this project in to bed, and bid you all Fair Stewing!
Lunch was absolutely delicious! I even shared a few bites with the girls I work with; so proud of my little stew that I just had to share. To explain, the thing that's really amazing about Eternal Soup is that as the heat breaks it down, the older ingredients move into the background broth. Yesterday when I made it, there were visible chunks of pepper, and bigger pieces of potato. Now, the chunks of potato are smaller, and the peppers appear gone -- because they have cooked into the stock. The fat of the meat does too, leaving you with an incredibly rich broth, and meat so tender it falls apart at the touch of the spoon. This is why I don't think you should toss a pot out... Give it a day or two, and the parts that aren't in harmony will melt together into background noise.
When I came home, I gave the pot another stir, and was thinking about what to throw in there when some friends called about making dinner plans. So dinner tonight was Outback, with no leftovers to donate to the pot. However, a friend told me today she found rabbit at the grocery store... So with my newfound sense of whimsy & adventure, I went looking for rabbits to put in my stew.
Unfortunately, my store didn't have rabbit... But it did have lamb... Another meat I've never dared to attempt. So I bought that, and a yam, and came home to play with my stew.
Today's Additions:
Half a yam, skinned and cubed
Two lamb shoulders, cut in chunks, and quickly seared
The bones from those lamb shoulders
I brought it all to boil for about 12 minutes, then lowered it down to it's standard simmer on Lo. I plan to fish out the bones; I just wanted the marrow to richen the stew. Adding it's water, I've tucked this project in to bed, and bid you all Fair Stewing!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Day 1: Fire Burn & Cauldron Bubble
Hey, I had to get the line in here somewhere... So for those of you that don't know me, let me explain something about myself...
I am not a confident cook.
I am terrified (and terrifying) in the kitchen.
I have set pizza on fire (ask my husband, it's one of his favorite stories).
The backup plan whenever I cook is always the same... Delivery pizza.
The above so much so that I often joke that all my best recipes are on speed dial..
That being said:
I have a mysterious capability with soup.
It is almost a superpower.
If the world were being held at bay by an evil anti-soup villain, I'd be your gal.
So, after the Eternal Soup had been simmering for five hours, darling husband (still bravely taking what I feed him, even after eleven years of disasters...) and I decided to have a bowl of the stew...
We served it with salt, pepper, Hungarian sweet paprika, and a fabulous pumpernickel and Oh. My. Goodness. Yum!!!
This is the part where our underdog chef dances joyously around the kitchen. Because I have always been so terrified of my own cooking (and perhaps rightly so...) that I have never dared to deviate from a recipe, much less throw caution to the wind and just dump whatever in there!
So I say "Huzzah!" to you good friends, and if ever you should be in the neighborhood, drop by for a bowl of my Eternal Soup. Because I know it's only Day One, but I have a feeling this is going to be an awesome journey!
I am not a confident cook.
I am terrified (and terrifying) in the kitchen.
I have set pizza on fire (ask my husband, it's one of his favorite stories).
The backup plan whenever I cook is always the same... Delivery pizza.
The above so much so that I often joke that all my best recipes are on speed dial..
That being said:
I have a mysterious capability with soup.
It is almost a superpower.
If the world were being held at bay by an evil anti-soup villain, I'd be your gal.
So, after the Eternal Soup had been simmering for five hours, darling husband (still bravely taking what I feed him, even after eleven years of disasters...) and I decided to have a bowl of the stew...
We served it with salt, pepper, Hungarian sweet paprika, and a fabulous pumpernickel and Oh. My. Goodness. Yum!!!
This is the part where our underdog chef dances joyously around the kitchen. Because I have always been so terrified of my own cooking (and perhaps rightly so...) that I have never dared to deviate from a recipe, much less throw caution to the wind and just dump whatever in there!
So I say "Huzzah!" to you good friends, and if ever you should be in the neighborhood, drop by for a bowl of my Eternal Soup. Because I know it's only Day One, but I have a feeling this is going to be an awesome journey!
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