Old Favorites

 I've been reading a lot of new authors and I've enjoyed their books. 

But sometimes, I just want to read books by my old favorites: Marcia Muller (the Sharon McCone series), Carolyn Hart (the Death on Demand series with Annie Laurence Darling), Donna Leon (the Commisario Guido Brunetti series), J.A. Jance (currently reading the J.P. Beaumont series), Rhys Bowen (the Royal Spyness series), Faye Kellerman (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series). Janet Evanovich's latest book was just published and I'm now on the wait list. There are 297 holds on 122 copies, so it may be a while.

Actually, I'm getting less thrilled with Janet and her character Stephanie Plum with each book. It's as if she's trying too hard to be funny. But I keep reading them because there's a certain level of comfort with these old favorites. 

I'm seriously considering beginning the alphabet with Sue Grafton's books. I read A is for Alibi within the last couple of years; I'll probably start with B is for Burglar. I'm up-to-date on Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series, though I may start back at the beginning with Indemnity Only. It's been a long time since I read that.

I have a list of my favorite authors and I'm dependent on the site Fantastic Fiction to keep abreast of their works (and to read them in order on my retrospective jaunts).

I've also borrowed about a zillion old movies on DVD that I've been watching: Birdcage, as well as the original La Cage aux Folles; Hannah and Her Sisters; 9 to 5; Cinema Paradiso; Amadeus. 

M. and I are spending more time at home because it's too cold to be outside in the evenings. That means less (maybe no) inviting a couple of friends over for dinner. Or being invited to others' homes. I'm mentally preparing myself for 6 months of "down-time".

One bright spot is being able to go into the MLS office one day each week. I get to talk with another person who is across the room. We don't spend much time talking, but at least she's there. And I get to see different walls and a different view out of the window. The computer is better, the monitor is bigger than the ones at home.

Today is a work at home day. Guess I'd better get to it. I'm now up to "The flight ..."

Split Pea Soup

Now that the weather is cooler, it's time to make soups. 

One of my favorites is this Split Pea Soup. While the recipe calls for a ham hock, I leave it out and make a vegetarian version using vegetable stock. I don't remember where I found this recipe, but I've had it for a long time. 

I like a lot of vegetables in my soups, so I often double the celery, onion, carrot and potato. I never peel the potato. I also don't bother to puree the soup as the split peas get pretty mushy on their own.

1 ½ c. green split peas

1 Tbsp. butter or oil

1 stock celery, small dice

1 onion, small dice

1 carrot, peeled, small dice

1 Tbsp. flour

5 c. chicken or vegetable stock

1 ham hock (optional)

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. dried savory

½ tsp. dried sage

Pinch ground cloves

1 large potato, peeled, medium dice

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

Rinse peas well with cool water.  Heat butter or oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add onion, celery, and carrot.  Cook stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes.  Add flour and cook another minute.  Add 1/3 of the stock and stir until there are no lumps of flour.  Add remaining stock and ham hock and stir well.  Add split peas, bay leaves, savory, sage, cloves, salt & pepper.  Bring soup to a full boil over high heat, then reduce the heat until a gentle simmer is established.  Simmer stirring frequently for 30 minutes.  Add the potato and continue to simmer until all of the ingredients are quite tender.  If desired, puree about 1/3 of the soup in a blender, then return puree to the remainder of the soup.  Stir in the parsley and adjust the seasonings with additional salt & pepper.