Field Notes- Wednesday, January 25th. Streets are clear and dry. Another Storm coming.

 Hair cut.  Bird seed purchased.  Fresh Pot of  Chicken Soup started.  Books picked up at Library.  Bread Purchased at grocery store (for me)-- also Raisin Bagels and cream cheese.  I know.... not a balanced portfolio. 

I am trying to find out what the Bengals QB and Sweatpants is all about.......... I might Google.

The Vitamix Cookbook looks to have similar things to the regular cookbook that comes with the machine. I was looking for something else.  You see......I use the Vitamix as I would use any tool in the kitchen. Not for an entire recipe...but for part or parts of the recipe.  Like when I blended the figs and sugar.  I was supposed to let it cook and them mash and do something else like push through a sieve.  I just Vitamixed.

So I want to know some of those "tricks" and "shortcuts" but the Vitamix Universe seems to want controlled usage.....for safety sake and no lawsuits, I guess.  I want to color outside the lines of Vitamix. Way outside the lines.  I used to watch this restaurant cooking show- real kitchens real chefs (not GuyF)

and I watched what they did with their Vitamix- and it wasn't book recipes.......

I tossed all the Broth I had in the Pantry Cupboard.  2019.  I must have been "into" broth that year.  The Trader Joe Marinara is also gone. Way expired.  Husband stopped eating pasta with Sausage Marinara. The Spice drawer looks good. I tossed 89% of it- expired.  Drawer looks empty.

I need to work shelf by shelf in the Pantry Cupboard but...that's so boring.  I just open the door and select something and read the expired date and then take it to the sink and open and either dump in compost bucket or down the drain. And then the same for multiples of that....I need to get rid of black olives next. Way over-expired.  Maybe next week.   So that's it. I had a nice shower this morning.  My hair looks fine.

The Beans are good to eat....not expired.  Black ones and white ones.  If I could just think of something to make with them.....soup? Yes.  They were bought to make Dee's Pantry Soup.  But the last few times I made the soup- way too salty to eat......  I'm sort of Soup Shy.......last pot went directly to compost bin.

I have black bean recipes to look at- Corn and Black Bean Salad.  Not for winter???  Texas Black Bean Soup- stewed tomatoes,  diced tomatoes, broth and Mexican Corn.  I do have a Black Bean Bisque recipe card in the Recipe Box.  I might go there........I remember loving that soup and it seems perfect for the Vitamix as the two gals running the restaurant did use one..........  Beans get to be Bisque.......