Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Old Bones Soup

Know which of my moving parts had the shortest warranty?  My freaking KNEES.

Preventative maintenance and minor repairs are accomplished with the occasional anti-inflammatory, frequent helpings of Jello, a glucosamine supplement, and my personal favorite,
Old Bones Soup!

Not all parts of the process are very photogenic.

I told you it was homely-looking
Acquire a dinner-sized portion of the bone-in beast meat of your choice.

Cook and eat, saving the bones, skin, cartilage etc.

Put these remnants in a big soup pot, cover with water,

Add vinegar (important because not only does it dissolve the cartilage, it helps leach the minerals from the bones so they may be subsumed by your bones) and usual soup fixins like salt, onion, carrots and celery.

Boil until you can't smell vinegar, then an hour or two more. There's no such thing as too long unless the water runs out.

Strain out the solids and keep the liquid. It should cool to form a proto-gelatin.
THIS IS THE STUFF KNEES ARE MADE OF, and it's in short supply in most diets.

Label carefully to avoid confusement
Freeeze it in an ice cube tray for later use .

I eat everything in there since I don't mind mooshy vegetables. But if you don't like mooshy vegetables, I suggest using the butts of the celery and onion and the carrot ends for this step to get their flavor, then discard and start with newer more desirable cuts of veggies if you're making further soup.

It doesn't have to be just soup, there are a multitude of uses.
You can add it to smashed potatoes.
Or...um...different kinds of soup. Or beans. Or mixed drinks. Go crazy.
Your knees will thank you.




Petroglyph

From the Pueblo people
(I read it in a book once. Or mostly just looked at the pictures)

It means, to leave the old village and establish a new settlement.

I would read it from right to left: the old village is rounded, familiar, woven with paths we can walk half-dreaming; the new place has corners, edges, to navigate it we must turn sharply and learn new angles.

For my Dad, who is starting on a new journey.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

YOU ARE HERE

Yo Rethra! Quit piddlin' around, it's time to GO
This is my last week of employment at The Giant Kidney.
I leave behind a real Ostrich feather duster, a clock on every wall and a dear janitor friend, the lady in the leopard-print hat and an individual whom I know only as "Phlegmy". All in all, some of the nicest people I've ever cleaned up after.
 On to bigger and better things!