Goodness! Three months without a post!
I guess time flies when you’re not having fun! It’s been a very rough summer… six, seven months, actually. I decided not to spew all over the internet with it. I just didn’t think as much time had passed.
I’ve had two cats undergo major surgery and I’ve lost my grand dame, Nefret, to cancer. She went downhill very quickly at the end. I must say, though, that I have the best damned vet in the world. Thanks, Doctor Dale and the staff at Cayuga Veterinary Services, for everything you do for me and my family. And the team at Veterinary Medical Center, for their night emergency services. I don’t think Pi would have made it through anything without any of these wonderful, caring people. (He has a tendency to rip out his stitches after surgery, though this last one, somehow Dr. Dale wrapped his leg in such a way that he actually couldn’t get out of it for 5 days. I swear, this cat was Houdini in a past life. He’s managed to get out of casts, harnesses, bandages, cones of shame, and carriers.)
I want to thank everyone from twitter that has said hello recently!
With some other news…
I am almost ready to release Alder, Book 4, of my World of Novo Series, as well as the first two books in the Murder By Six Plots and Drops Role Playing Game. Also, I will have an online store, soon. Still researching on where.
As for me? Well, I haven’t been able to write much this summer, due to extenuating circumstances, which I will not be adding in to my blog. Suffice to say, I have been incredibly unhappy for several months. And, I blew out my knee five weeks ago. Finally went to see a doctor. Two, actually. I will be seeing an ortho in about 10 days. Might be a torn ligament. Might be damaged meniscus. So, of course, this year, my garden went absolutely out of control. I think the cucumber plant was attempting to strangle just about everything else. I did, however, get my peppers.
I made a new soup last weekend. I was able to stand long enough to chop things. So.
Katrin Greene’s Cream of Celery soup:
1 medium sized celery root ball
3 medium radishes
Fresh Purple Basil
Fresh Lemon Basil
water
butter
milk
coconut-almond milk combo
Take the root ball and clear off the outsides. Cut into chunks, about 1″.
Clean off the radishes, skin or don’t skin, up to you. Cut into 1/2″ chunks.
Clean the basils. I pulled these out of the garden. About 2 sprigs of purple and 4 lemon. Coarsely chop.
Put all the chunks into a pot.
Add the basils.
Add in butter. I used 1/4 cup, but you do this to taste.
Add in enough water to cover, then a 1/2″ over the top.
Boil until the celery root chunks are soft but not soppy. Because I couldn’t stand for very long, this took me two hours. I had to turn the burner off twice to prevent boil over, as I cook in glass cookware. This makes a difference! Liquid contents will continue to simmer for a good twenty-thirty minutes or so, after the burner is turned off, if you use glass. You may need to add water, but don’t add too much or your soup won’t thicken later.
Take everything out of the pot and put in a bowl. Retain the pot.
Scoop chunks and liquid into a blender. Do not add too much chunks or you can break your blender. Try to do this while your ingredients are still warm and make sure there’s enough liquid to make the mash. Puree until the mixture is consistent and your blades don’t go ca-chunk. Pour the contents back into the pot and pull out any chunk that is still in existence. Start a new batch to puree. Do so until it’s all back in the pot. You can get rid of the bowl now.
Add in milk and coconut-almond milk. Again, this is to taste. I used about a 1/2 cup of lactose free whole milk and 2/3 cup of pre-blended coconut-almond milk. Mix with a rubber spatula very quickly, until consistent. Turn the burner back on low for about 15 minutes to thicken.
Voila! You now have cream of celery soup.
I added pre-cooked, dry, crispy bacon and corn to my base.
Keeps pretty good in the fridge. Can also be frozen.
And, just as a warning… When your sister is helping you get your food shelves back in order because you are even klutzier than normal, due to the leg, try to remember that the bottle of olive oil is in the cupboard over the stove before you accidentally open the door and drop it in the soup pot. That isn’t the kind of shower she wants to take.
I will be starting a new series of blogs- the adventures of Ham and Cheese, soon.
Have an awesome!