Domestic Day

That initial nothing-short-of-exhaustion that had set in with the arrival of faculty days and the opening of school has passed! Each year, as I come home from the end of a full and tiring day and crawl into the recliner for a nap before rummaging in the fridge to see what I can pass off as dinner, I'm afraid this condition will be permanent. So far, each year I've been wrong.

The middle of the past week saw the change, if not in the weather, in me. I came home and did laundry (oh, you should have seen the pile!) and fixed a really nice meal and promised myself to get to the bills (gotta do that later today). Then, this morning, the air Near Philadelphia, if not yet chilly is at least cool. My Weather Pixy says it is 66 degrees here! So I've had a domestic sort of day. More laundry (please, God, let it come to an end), a full grocery shopping (six bags full), and then to the stove. Saw this wonderful tart recipe on Andrea's blog early in the day and added the needed ingredients to the shopping list. It's in the oven even as I write.

Knowing there will be a couple of long days in the coming week, I moved right ahead to making a pot of the Good Guys Vegetable Soup, which is a-simmering on the stove now. I'm so proud! Might actually make a loaf of bread to put aside to serve with it if that there laundry doesn't finish me off.

Feels good to be domestic again!

Good Guys Vegetable Soup

2 pounds of beef stew meat cut into 1/2" cubes

1/4 Cup salad oil

1 10-1/2 ounce can condensed onion soup

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 Tablespoon basil (I used 2 Tbps fresh)

2 Cups sliced celery

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

8 carrots, sliced

1 16-ounce can wax beans (I've been known to substitute garbanzo beans)

1 16-ounce can kidney beans

1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese, add at table

About 2-1/2 hours before serving, in the dutch oven over medium high heat, in hot oil, brown the meat well. Reduce the heat to medium; stir in the undiluted soup, 5 soup cans water, tomato paste, basil, salt and papper. Simmer, covered for 1-1/2 hours. At this point you can take it off the stove and save it in the fridge for the night you plan to serve it. Then, or now, proceed to add all vegetables, reheat to boiling, and then simmer, covered, 30 minutes or more until meat and vegetables are fork-tender. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Golly, does my kitchen smell good right now!