Snow finally arrived in January; we love the snow. However, we don't like when beautiful light and fluffy snow is then rained upon. It makes for a heavy wet slushy mess which then turns to a solid icy mess.
Whiskey does our plowing; the slushy snow is tough to move. We are thankful for the plow because moving this snow with a shovel is tough work.
The push scoop is pretty good, but when the snow is heavy it takes a lot of time to move it.
Before the rain came here is how beautiful the snow looked.
In other news, Bell had a playdate with Ashley, Ginger and Crabby Jack's dog. Ashley is a retired bomb sniffing dog from NYC and a social creature. We all thought she would be receptive to meeting Bell. This was a successful match-up. This video opens up with clips of their playdate.
Now for the food portion of this post. Working from home means lunch at home. Quiche is a good item to make for lunch. I pair it with soup, and it makes for a nice meal.
Here is my recipe for onion soup:
Onion Soup
3 pounds of yellow onions, any variety sliced thin.
Butter
Fresh Thyme, leaves only, discard stems.
White Wine or Vermouth
Beef Broth – about 4 cups
Bay Leaf
Munster Cheese
Baguette
In a heavy-duty pot sauté butter and onions until caramelized. This takes about 20 or so minutes. Add more butter if the pot runs dry. The pot will get scorched, but don’t worry that will be good for the deglazing.
Add fresh thyme to the onions after about 15 minutes so that it enhances the flavor of the onions.
Once the onions are caramelized with the stove on high, pour in about a cup of white wine and stir to deglaze and scrape any hard bits attached to the pot.
Add beef broth and bay leaf and stir. Let this simmer for about 20 minutes so that the flavors blend. This is the time to taste test and add salt to your taste.
If you want to serve with the cheesy top; pour soup into an oven proof bowl. Top the soup with baguette slices and top with Munster cheese (or any good melty cheese). Some people like to toast the bread, some don’t. Do what you like.
Place bowls onto a baking sheet and place under a broiler until the cheese melts. Once melted, transfer the bowls onto a small place and serve. Yum!
Little Guy update.
He broke his front left leg humerus bone December 30 after a tumble down a few steps at home. After the emergency vet visit and multiple visits to our local vet, he finally has the bandage off. With is advanced age and small size there will be no surgery; this means that his bone will not be surgically straightened; his leg is healed but it turns outward.
Dogs are resilient and Little Guy is not super active (we have a doggie backpack). He can walk on it and be self-sufficient.
Here he is getting the splint replaced midway through recovery.
I did manage to host one dinner at home. We have a group that rotates hosting, and it was my turn to do so. But instead of having everyone bring something, as we typically do, I went old-school and gave all a pass and I cooked everything. (I had the time). I made stuffed shells, meatballs, garlic bread, and Caesar salad. For dessert I made chocolate biscotti. Yum! Fun time!
It's nice to have friends over. It motivates me to neaten up and clean-up the house. Here's a tour of the "entertaining" spaces before guests arrive.
Bell is doing great! One more training class to go. She is a dream dog; we could not feel more blessed that we got her. She is a gem, and we love her.
That's the report for now. We are bracing for a blast of arctic air coming through. We will have the woodstove cranking!