Early yesterday morning as the gentle rain added a few snow flakes, the temperature cooled and the breeze picked up...I asked Herb to get a stewing hen from the freezer...Herb has the wood stove going in the basement but another way to bring warmth to the house is to put a chicken on to simmer...All it takes is one old hen, covered with water, 1large onion, several cloves of garlic, celery and broccoli stalks, fresh ginger, sage, rosemary and basil...We enjoyed the smells all day long, while I iced and heated my knee morning and afternoon...When I put the chicken on I also mixed a small batch of bread dough for pizza crust...It rested quietly in the fridge until about 1pm when I shaped a small pizza crust, covered it with roasted tomatoes, sautéed ground beef, Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers then covered it all with cheese and black olives, slid it into a preheated oven and voilà 15 minutes later we were dining on pizza and salad...Early evening I removed the chicken from the pot (the meat is okay but after simmering all day most of the flavor is in the broth) strained the broth and Herb carried it outside to cool overnight on the porch roof...This morning I will skim the fat, maybe reduce the broth before freezing it in small containers for use on other cold days when we want a homemade bowl of soup.
Today is the big 70 birthday for me...Pat and Brian have invited us to Arrowhead Chocolates for "chocolate of course" a drink and visiting, not sure what else Pat has "cooked up"...Then Herb will take me out to dinner or maybe we will come home and eat soup (at least we know it won't be made from a mix)...My wants and needs are small at this stage of my life, I already have a new pair of red socks, sent an order off to Sierra Trading for a couple of things that will arrive tomorrow and if Rusty can find a spot to get cell service I will get a "Happy Birthday" wish from him...Soooo a warm house, homemade food, relatively good health, family and friends that love me--what more could a girl want ...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
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