Getting Ready for the Snow

It's 2:11 am and I've finally finished with the snowstorm prep.  It took me until 10:42 pm to get started.  Oh, I'd gone out the day before to buy lemons and milk. I had plenty else but still there were things on sale and so I bought them.  Ground turkey and shoulder veal chops and a large bag of kale.  But at 10:42 I realized that we'd probably lose power and what did I need to cook?  Cooked food would stay longer and certainly could be stored outside if it was THAT cold. So I started with the zucchini bread.  The recipe would make two loaves, it would be good for breakfast or dessert and I'd have a loaf at least to give away if I ended up going to another house with a fireplace.  I love my little rental house filled with all the things I love and bring me joy but alas the TWO fireplaces are boarded up (very nicely painted with contrasting trim) and it is the one material thing I miss from before.

Once I got the zucchini bread in the oven I thought about the turkey chili and realized that I could use the extra grated zucchini in there, so I chopped the red and orange peppers that were beginning to lose their crisp, and an onion, and the ground turkey, and that shredded zucchini — and that would mean that I could fill up the dishwasher once I got through cooking.

Then there was the first-time-ever crock pot-made Gypsy soup (using up the last of the sweet potatoes my daughter failed to make at Thanksgiving) that I'd done and then pureed. I wish I'd driven it over to a friend of a friend who can only eat pureed foods. Well, I bottled that soup and thought if I washed the crockpot I could transfer the chili to it (once it was done) and then leave it on warm all night. If the power went, maybe the chili would stay warm. The fridge already had jasmine rice that would go well and there was some sour cream, shredded cheddar, and cilantro to put on top. The veal had already baked in the oven with celery and onions and tomatoes and yellow peppers, white wine, rosemary, thyme and lemon zest. That too would go well with the jasmine rice underneath and the very last of the parsley from my container garden on the porch.


 

    



There was a sink full of pots and 
pans and the crock pot and the loaf pans but finally, finally, it was all done. When I took the recyclables and garbage outside, the first dusting of snow was covering the cars and the ground.  It's not supposed to stop for 48 hours.

It's now 3:28 am and I still haven't put the flannel sheets on my bed but at least the food prep is done.  Old habits die hard...I'm still cooking for a family of four!  Still I was motivated: I got this post written and struggled with formatting the photos.  Something I haven't done in almost 18 months. 

Thanks to my ex, the artificial tree is out of the shed loft and assembled where it needs to reside in the living room.  I added more lights and started to decorate the house but there's lots to do once tomorrow comes...well, actually it already came.

3:44.  I've put the eyedrops in and think it's time to shut down.  With all this prep, let's hope I can sleep. I'm hoping to get back my writing groove — hopefully this was the start.  In the meantime, wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays and — flannel sheets or not, stay warm!!