Daylight savings time started, so I was really exhausted yesterday morning, not wanting to get out of bed. We hadn't gotten to bed until 2am after all- School Auction = Parent's Night Out :) But how do you get out of Run Group when
a) Your coach lives next door
b) She calls to make sure you're up and going and
c) Your friend who just ran a Half marathon the day before is going
"So come on 'wimpie' get up!" I said to myself!
Actually AS Rachel called to say get up, are you going? AND AS I said yes, because of reasons stated above, my friend Mollie who rocked her Half Marathon the day before actually texted 1 millisecond after I already said yes, saying she was indeed sore and going to miss. DAMN! I wish I had a better excuse besides just being really tired and lazy and cozy in my bed. Oh well I really was going and I really wasn't feeling it. BUT I DID, despite chugging coffee, starting my run, getting a terrible stomach ache from said coffee, throwing up on side of trail, around miles 2 & 3 and rallying back to do 8.1 miles including my fastest mile yet 9:19! I was feeling pretty good.
So I found this recipe in the food forum section of the newspaper and
had been craving it for almost 2 weeks. I carried the recipe in my
purse, tagged with a Post It of ingredients I needed. So excited!!! Yesterday I went to the store after Sunday Run Group. It was so lovely. The hour time difference that I was despising earlier gave me the unique opportunity to shop in peace. Even though the clock said 9:00 it felt like 8. There was no one in there. I walked around each aisle. Quietly analyzing my list and happily putting my finds into my basket. I even got a couple extras that peaked my interest. Like this Chocolate milk from TWINBROOK CREAMERY. I love the glass bottles! My kids will not stop talking about this, "THE BEST CHOCOLATE MILK EVER!!!" You can take the bottles rinsed out, back to the store for redemption. I keep feeling like I should keep them and use them for something cute! I'll be turning them in though. Its the green thing to do :)
Anyways, I had it all planned out. For this cold Winter evening we would be having Cheddar Corn Chowder, Spinach salad with strawberries, feta, almonds and White Balsamic Dressing, And some beautiful sourdough rolls that smelled freshly baked! I could almost taste the silky soup in my mouth and feel the warmth as it went into my happy belly. I even grabbed individual Ben & Jerry's cups of ice cream for all of us and a special bottle of wine- Dreaming Tree Chardonnay. The baby of Dave Matthews and acclaimed winemaker Steve Reeder. (*side note Dave Matthews song Dreaming Tree is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES) I had to have it.
The kids were coming home from my parents house and then leaving to go see The Lorax with Joe's, so visions of a quiet afternoon of cooking, listening to music, stormy weather outside, warm and cozy inside. It all just sounded to good to be true...it was :)
I got home, took a quick shower and being as I got like 3 hours of sleep I laid on my bed "just for a moment," before I went to get the kids. As I laid there I picked up my phone called my awesome mom who agreed to hold on to my little monsters a little longer. She was "sewing a dress for Delaney's doll anyways" so she could use a few more minutes. (*side note: why didn't I get the sewing gene! who just throws together a home made doll dress on a whim, on Sunday morning after babysitting 4 hooligans for 24 hours :) My mama amazes me :) Anyways. My 20 minute Power Nap accidentally turned into a Power Hour. I woke up feeling much better, but the day was slowly (or quickly I should say) slipping away from me.
I picked up the kids, got them home just in time to head to the movies. All but Maddie who stayed with me. Nap time :) I had a awesomely low-key couple of hours, sweats, a movie, my iPad, and magazines. (*side note; this months Men's Journal I think is very good:) But it was all shattered by a quick glance at the clock and Holy S it was 5 o'clock! Where had my day disappeared. That one hour now had made a huge difference. Time to cook. The recipe only said it was maybe 45-60 minutes to cook so not too long.
Now here is the real recipe as per Ina Garten on the Food Networks website: And please note that Ina Garten is a genius and I am sure something I did just didn't work. So please try the recipe and hopefully it will work better for you.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon, chopped
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 12 cups chicken stock
- 6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
- 10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1/2 pound sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
Directions
In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp,
about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and
cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain.
(If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the
soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes,
until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.
Here also is the link because it is nice just to have: Ina Garten Cheddar Corn Chowder
I am not bothering with the step by step, because whatever I did I DID IT WRONG! I thought that maybe there was a little too much onion. Maybe not for everyone but for us. I prefer sweet onion and its milder taste but I only had regular yellow onions.
I will say though this chopper I got from Tupperware is the best kitchen tool I have bought in a while. It makes prepping for meals so much easier!
Look how nicely diced onions were!!!
I didn't have quite enough potatoes and that may have made a little difference.
I thought the rue in with the onions was easy but it didn't do what it was supposed to do. A.K.A thickening the chowder.
This was my first time buying turmeric. Still not sure what taste it brings. All I could taste was onion.
You can tell in this picture it seems curdled or separating. The texture was grainy and watery. It was very strange.
I tried the immersion blender, to try and make it smoother as well as making a second rue, butter and flour along with liquid from the pot. Nothing worked it was still a grainy nightmare.
It looked fine, but taste and texture wise... YUCK!!!!!!
My salad on the other hand was delicious and I was very excited, at least for it. 
After a few bites and Joe's polite "it's really fine babe" the kids started to squirm into their routine, "I don't like it, I don't want it!" Keegan wasn't but even he who will pretty much eat ANYTHING, was wavering. Joe was quietly dipping his roll in his bowl making little progress. "That's it!" I said. "I don't even want it. Seriously go get the ice cream." The kids looked at me as if I couldn't be serious. But I was. And it was Ben & Jerrys for all.
Everyone was thrilled for our dessert dinner.
My dinner :) well plus my salad
Sometimes things don't work out the way you think or dream they will. But in the kitchen as well as in life, you have to figure out how to make the best of any situation. I could have been upset and called for pizza, and tried to resurrect our evening that way. But instead going straight to dessert gave us a laugh and a memory, hopefully we will not soon forget. There were smiles all around the table and though I threw an entire pot of soup down the drain, I did not feel at all that dinner was a waste :)
Go make the best of your disaster :) Good Luck, Have fun and
enJOY!
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