House Repairs

We talked all winter about the things that needed to be done when the weather got warmer.  More work on the foundation, flower beds need edging and mulch, clean out in between the windows, seal the windows better, clean and re-coat the front porch and the list goes on...However, spring and summer have come and are almost gone and most of the list still remains.  The garden got planted, but the two tomatoes never got moved to the front porch.  We've enjoyed our fresh vegetables, even if I haven't been the best at weeding.  And then came the leak, it was just a tiny one.  A tiny little spout off the main valve.  The plumber came to fix it and heard some additional hissing - more leaks in the concrete - just out of finger reach.  With a main water line dating from the 1930's we knew we'd have to replace it...it just wasn't on the list for this year. So for the past week we've had some unplanned (for this summer) renovations on the house.  I'm sure if my nieces and nephews were around they would have enjoyed watching the tractors.  As of today, it is still not done, but at least they haven't turned off the water yet.

Mulligatawny Soup 2/27/2010

I can't remember what caught my eye about this, but it looked good.  There are several recipes on All Recipes with this name and I ended up using a little from several of them (not surprising).


1 med.onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, diced
1 cup red pepper, diced
6 Tbl butter
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2-1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of saffron
1 bay leaf
4 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast half - cut into cubes
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white rice
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch dried thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Melt butter on low heat until slightly brown in large soup pot.  Saute onions, celery, carrot. Add curry, ginger, saffron,  bay leaf, garlic, and apple and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, and chicken breasts.  Mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 1/2 hour.  Add rice, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is done. Just before serving, stir in cream, simmer until heated through.

This soup was FANTASTIC!  A definite keeper and a meal in itself.

Just a little update 2/3/2010

I have not been doing as well as I wanted to with the recipes.  I did discover a possible way to keep my online recipes organized.  It is called Springpad.  I just started playing with it, but I think I like it.  Now I just need a way to not have to print out recipes.  I'd just bring my laptop in the kitchen, but I don't trust myself to not get it wet or sticky.

The peach trees and roses got pruned this week.  Hopefully we will get some nice big peaches again.

Here are some of Patrick's recent projects from his sculpture class last semester. (A steel 3-sword stand and a pair of cast bronze axes with really long spikes)

The best addition to the house was my Christmas present.