Stormy weaaaaatherrrr

 This is where we are at the moment

Rain coming in all directions, trees whipping back and forth.

So when the weather gets wild, the wild make soup.

Here's the stock simmering

And a sheet of cauliflower, onions, red and white, and garlic, ready to roast before adding in to make a spicy, creamy  curried soup.

There will be home made curry powder, salt, added turmeric, curry leaves, cumin and a  black pepper mix which includes cinnamon.

Meanwhile the visiting orchid, whose owner may or may not be back tomorrow, storm will probably change that, took her weekly brief dunk and drain.

Working backwards, yesterday I noticed a couple of birds checking the empty feeder, and since I'm out of suet blocks but want to encourage them to nest close by, I made a home version.

The peanut butter has been here for ages, just in case anyone suddenly wants some or I get so desperate I even eat it myself, and I crushed a few walnuts.

Spread on both sides of a bit of plastic canvas, enclosed it in a feeder for the dining pleasure of wrens and maybe woodpeckers.

And of course, you knew this all along, see who found it first

Well, I don't regret the peanut butter, but I wish the birds had a look in. The chief squirrel is a smart guy. I saw him checking the window in case I was about to run out and shout at him, before leaping up to the feeder.

And yesterday, after a lovely knitting group, complete with great idea sharing,  the Misfits box arrived, and you've already seen the next steps for some of the food.

I really like Turkish dried apricots, and now figs. They're a lot juicier than the American style, which I think is because they dry then pit, and the other method is pit then dry, which I think makes them leathery.

Anyway my breakfast is often a half wholewheat pita, stuffed with either apricots or, today, figs. Easy to assemble with half open eyes. 

The apples are my new favorite, Envy. They're small, crisp and sweet and very good. I don't like tart apples at all except for cooking.  Pink Lady, and all the ones with crisp in the name, all give me pains in the face when I bite in, ew. But Fuji, Gala and now Envy, are definitely for eating raw.

This is the end of your morning ag report.

The Downton Abbey movie was so fun, I'm planning to go Wednesday afternoons to catch other movies. 

This month the theme is country houses, and next week is The Remains of the Day. I've seen all the May offerings before but they're good enough to see again. And I'm promised snacks! Personal service.

Fight on! I donated yesterday to my NJ gotv group to enable another volunteer to pick up where I left off when my printer broke down. 

Someone else can now be helped finance the printing and mailing of registration applications for mail in voting, and be in touch with registered voters who haven't been voting in NJ districts. I directed mine to young POC. 

There are no funds for this, so volunteers have to finance it themselves. I can do it up to a point, but my budget's small, living as I do on a modest fixed income. Doing me bit! My little light.

Photo by AC

Remember Ukraine.

Soup of the evening, cauliflower

Handsome Son to dinner this evening, so the menu is all set.  Cauliflower soup, then ham slices, parmesan potatoes, dessert Biblical cake.  Nice blended red wine. A lot of everything.

The soup needed roasted vegetables, since cauliflower is a bit bland, and the extra added attraction is always good.

On the baking sheet, raw cauliflower, olive oil, kosher salt, turmeric, baharat, head of garlic busted up and peeled, sections scattered artistically about.

Then the makings, after the roasting is done, 425F about 25 minutes.   Bunch of scallions in the pot, chicken bouillon, to add.  I also dropped in a few bits of parmesan rind, always a nice addition to soup.  A lot of seasoning went into the roasting, so I only added some salt here to the pot.  After adding in four cups of bouillon, I added in another cup of water.

 Cooked to tender, then it gets blended

and you get this, lovely thick texture. It's golden because of the turmeric and the chicken bouillon.  Probably will add a bit of plain nonfat yogurt before I serve it, just sort of swirl it in a bit. 

This provides plenty of soup for tonight's dinner, plus three containers now in the freezer for my next few lunches. If I were cooking this for one, it would be about a week's worth of meals.