Oh, ElJay, never leave me again!

[mickeym]

Man, I don't even remember reading/knowing that maintenance was scheduled for tonight. *clutches LJ tightly*

Two-plus hours is two-plus hours too long, thank you very much.

While I was pacing the floor and muttering obscenities patiently waiting for my world LJ to come back up, I re-read the PDF I'd downloaded, of ladyjanelly's In From the Cold. God, I'd forgotten how much I love that story.

If you haven't read it? I highly recommend it.

I made bean soup for dinner tonight (finally!)...and oh, my god. I don't know if it was because I used ham hocks, or WHAT the problem was...but it wasn't edible. The smell while it was cooking was bad enough -- though that lessened once I took the hocks out and cut the meat off, then discarded the *shudders* remains. I probably could've gotten past the smell. But the beans/broth had such a greasy taste that it left Matthew and I both gagging (well, me, anyway. He just made faces.). So we threw it out, and ended up getting Taco Bell.

*sigh* I'm really bummed, too, because I wanted bean soup so badly.

I'm going to try again in a couple of days. I still have some beans left, and carrots, celery, onions, etc., and I have a big piece of ham up in the freezer I can use. But yeah. Still bummed :(

I owe 1034981304891 comments (as per usual), but wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who offered hugs and whatnot last night. The rage has mostly dissipated, and left me kind of tired and blah, but at least I'm not longer furious with the world. Yay, progress?

And now I think I should to bed, so I can get up and Be Productive. Or something. :)

Comments

[kitanabychoice.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I use ham hocks in my bean soup (and cabbage, and collard greens, and and... XD) and it doesn't come out greasy. Did you boil them separately first and drain off the fat, then put them in the bean soup?

Taco Bell is kind of delicious in its own way, though. :9

YAY PROGRESS. :D :D *rainbows and sunshine*

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Did you boil them separately first and drain off the fat, then put them in the bean soup?

...no? Was I supposed to? *sighs* Can you tell I've never made bean soup before? At least, not totally from scratch?

[kitanabychoice.livejournal.com]

It's okay! :D I wouldn't know if my grandmother hadn't all but forced me to help her cook. I would recommend boiling first, though, since that gets rid of some fat and salt. You don't want to boil them until they're cooked, but just long enough that some of the fat has drained into the water.

Hope that helps some. :3

[fufaraw]

Oh, ugh. I'm sorry about the soup. I hope the next batch turns out delicious (No, it's much too late for me to raid the fridge now for the last quart of veggie, beef, and barley soup H made last Monday. Tomorrow. Stop slavering).

Sleep well. Think of me tackling (yet more) boxes tomorrow.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Beef barley soup sounds good, too. *sigh* I think I'm just in a SOUP mood, actually. Though my stomach is rumbling and grumbling in a "hmm, we're not happy" sort of way.

Guess I should try that sleeping thing before it's time-to-get-up, hmm?

[rahaeli.livejournal.com]

Bean soup (that turns out more like stew, but is goooood):

1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced onions
Diced garlic (to taste -- I use a full head, you might just want to use 3/4 cloves)

32oz vegetable stock
32oz water

1 1/4 cups mixed assorted dried beans

Salt, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley, and anything else you have in the spice cabinet that looks good (I toss in something different every time I make it)

---

Night before: Cover the beans with water, leaving at least 2" of water over the top of the beans, and let soak overnight.

Day of: Chop celery/carrots/onion/garlic. Starting with the garlic, sautee the vegetables in the bottom of a large stock pot in about 2Tbsp of olive (best) or vegetable (okay) oil, stirring constantly; add onions after two minutes or when garlic is starting to brown, carrots after another two minutes, and celery two minutes after that. Add vegetable broth and water. Drain, rinse, and add beans. Add spices.

Bring to a boil; turn heat down until it's just simmering. Simmer for 3 hours or until it smells too damn good and you have to eat it NOW. Bonus points: add about 1/4 cup of some tiny soup pasta about 20 minutes before serving.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

That's... pretty much actually the recipe I made, except for the addition of the Ham Hocks O'Doom. So, yeah. NOT using those again. *shudder* But I grew up eating ham in my bean soup, so I associate the two together. Alas.

Thanks :)

[rahaeli.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I never liked the texture or taste it gives to the soup, and as you discovered, it can be awfully hard to get rid of enough fat to make it palatable. If you really want ham in the bean soup, maybe get a ham steak, chop it fine, and use that? I dunno.

[giogio.livejournal.com]

For a small amount of bean soup, try getting one of those ham steaks with a bit of bone in it, chopping that up (trim off some of the fat if there's a lot), and using it and the bit of bone instead.