Twenty-Eight
Today I turned 28. It's 10:15pm and I've had what feels like one of the most love and joy filled birthdays I've had the pleasure to enjoy. It's been low-key. A few gifts from people I love most. A good dinner with my husband. Knitting group and phone calls from loved ones. Emails and twitter and facebook messages wishing me joy and happiness. Unlike on my 27th birthday, today I feel like I fit into myself. If today is any indication, 28 is going to be a splendid year for me. And now? That cake there? It's calling my name.
Mushroom Soup
Now that we're at least partly settled in the new place, I am getting used to an electric stove/oven after almost five years of cooking with gas. I grew up with a gas stove, it's natural to me. Electric--especially the stovetop--is highly frustrating but I'm getting used to it again.
My husband loves soups. I'm not nearly as much a fan, I've been known to state my serious hatred of all thing soup-like. That's changing due to a nagging desire to eat different things. And so here is a delicious soup I made last week. It's a simple thing, less than a half hour from start to finish, and it is even better reheated a few days later.
Mushroom Soup
1 pound mushrooms, any variety, roughly chopped
2-3 slices thick cut bacon (about 1/4 pound), chopped
1/2 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beef stock
2 tblsp dry sherry
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
small amount of yogurt, sour cream or similar
In a 2 quart sauce pot fry bacon over medium heat until cooked, but not crispy. Add onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and sautee until mushrooms have given up the majority of their liquid. Add in the beef stock, sherry, oregano and red pepper and heat until hot, but not boiling. Using a food processor or blender, puree the mixture leaving some texture (don't puree it until it's smooth.) Ladle into bowls and top with 1 tablespoon or so of your yogurt/sour cream. Serves 4.
The herbs are entirely interchangable. Rosemary and thyme would be good as well I think. If you have fresh herbs, feel free to substitute those. You want to aim for about 1.5-2 teaspoons of dried herbs or 1.5-2 tablespoons of fresh. I recommend pairing it with a salad and some crusty bread, you won't want to leave any of the soup behind in the bowl!
Settling In
We're settling in here at the new house (In all my nerddom I've dubbed it Casa de Baya or "Berry House" for it's pale pink color on the outside.) Our move was both spur-of-the-moment and long-coming all in one. We tend to spend quite awhile debating big decisions and then move on them in one fell swoop. So far it's worked out pretty well for us.
The benefits of Casa de Baya are many. We're only attached to one neighbor and separated by a garage. We have a garage. And a washing machine and dryer. The kitchen is a huge upgrade. We can have a dining room table. We were able to pick paint colors. I have room for container gardening. The neighborhood is awesome. Mostly, we feel at home here. And that's the most important thing for us right now.
Eight Down
Twenty-three to go. Days that is. We had decided that we were aiming to move out of this apartment by February 28th. Except then we found the perfect place for us but we needed to snap it up immediately or risk losing it. So we're paying rent both places this month, giving us thirty-one days to get the new place ready and out of this one. We're both pretty exhausted right now but know it'll be worth it in the end. Especially when we can step outside our front door and see such lovely things as this:
Those are frost covered leaves of the sweet jasmine plant that grows on one of the two arches in the front yard. I cannot wait to see them blooming and lovely, even if it means a lot of painting and yardwork between now and then. (Speaking of which, painting an entire house in two weekends is quite possibly one of the least fun things I have ever signed on to do. Worth it in the end, but less than ideal during the process.)
Also, I've decided to document every day this year with a photo. You can see all of my photos here, at flickr.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
1. A, 2. The Sun, 3. Wall O' Fists, 4. Chapstick, 5. Ballroom, 6. Hairs Cut, 7. A is for Ace, 8. Tristan + Cake, 9. Sonata and Stool, 10. Laser Tag in the EMU :: Tristan, 11. Resting, 12. Dancing Guy, 13. Cat in Harness, 14. Cake, 15. Dancing in the Dark, 16. Lincoln, 17. Judith MacKenzie McCuin, 18. 18 pounds, 19. Farmer John, 20. Sea Otter, 21. First Kiss, 22. Geyser, 23. Little Car in a Big Tree, 24. Bride, 25. Scott and Elizabeth, 26. Crab Cat, 27. Caramel Apple Cheesecake, 28. Vanilla Extract, 29. Kitty Toes, 30. Plan
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
January: Celebrated Anthony's birthday (belatedly) with an eggroll party at their home. Saw snow on the sun, at least the scale model here in town.
February: emuLAN3.0 for which I got to do the branding and collateral design. Chopped my hair off.
March: Went to Portland to see Cirque du Soleil, stayed at the Ace Hotel. Celebrated Tristan's 21st birthday. Left graduate school.
April: Husband turned 29. Bought a new spinning wheel.
May: Laser tag in the EMU. Brought home Pica, who is the best cat we ever could have gotten. Willamette Valley MusicFest, on a blazing hot weekend. Started to harness train the cat.
June: Turned 27. Celebrated our 1-year anniversary. Black Sheep Gathering and workshops with Judith McKenzie-McCuin. Filed paperwork for my own business after leaving my beloved student position at the EMU Marketing Dept.
July: Cherry picking, which turned into crazy jam making. Farm visit to our CSA farm. Trip to California for Mike and Lynette's wedding. Saw redwoods, a geyser, a friend, drove through a tree.
August: Wedding of Scott and Elizabeth, husband was a groomsman.
September: Nothing of note, I guess. We did wrangle a 200 pound shelving unit home from Portland in our tiny car. That was an adventure.
October: Pica turned 2, Nanie's house sold. Much rejoicing!
November: Paid off our credit cards. Started making my own vanilla extract. Knit. A lot. Blogged every day.
December: Snowpocalpyse. Did a large amount of baking. Merry Christmas. Signed a rental agreement for a new place, gave notice at long outgrown apartment.
2009 is full of hope for us. I'm not big on resolutions but I do have some plans. I wish for all of you the best year possible, full of joy and love and hope.