Catching up and Cookery Sunday: Chicken n Tater Stew
April 22, 2012
PiC scheduled me for a pain therapy massage last weekend. As usual, I felt like a completely spoilt brat every step of the way.
There’s this oddly named Chinese restaurant nearby that has an awesome lunch special that goes until mid-afternoon so my appointments can be obscenely late and still squeeze in a delicious cheap meal afterward. This time I had a solo lunch including my favorite bowl of hot and sour soup. It’s always almost too hot and too sour but juuust on this side of tolerable. Usually I steal PiC’s too so I had to settle for just the one bowl, and my own meal. 🙂
When I walked into the spa, one of the ladies at the front desk greeted me by name, asking if I’d gotten her message that my requested masseuse could see me. It took me completely aback, startled that she recognized me. She just laughed and waved me through. Snuggled into my warm, freshly laundered robe and slippers, I had a drink of fruity water and an unnecessary brownie.
My favorite therapist checked with me about what I needed this visit and we settled in. As always, she asked after my comfort level with the pressure some time into the massage even though it wasn’t necessary – she’s always spot on whenever I let her know what to do from the beginning and she still always checks. After our appointment, I felt as close to pain-free as I have felt in years. Amazing. It lasted about 6 hours but it was still absolutely lovely.
Posts for Perusal
SingleMa mostly unraveled IRA contributions for High Income Earners. I hadn’t even touched IRA contributions this year because I had no clue what PiC and my combined MAGI would be. Heck, at this point I still don’t know. *shakes fist* Complications!
Ella describes Maternity Leave in Norway. It was a big surprise though, made me really sad as I responded with what we have in the US. Wow. We … we suck. Yet another reason I’m having some trouble imagining motherhood. I don’t think I want to stay home a year, to be honest, but to go back in six weeks if I were to bear a child also feels rather too short.
Nicole and Maggie asked what I’d been asking myself quietly: what would you do if you didn’t have to have a job?
Interesting. I’ve been secretly griping of late, overwhelmed with waves of fatigue and pain that feel unstoppable and so tempted to just … stop. And I wondered, what if I could? What if I found myself somehow able to not need to work? What would I do with myself? Eat, sleep, cook. Play with the dog, play on the internet, work on the internet. Probably actually manage to write like I mean to several times a week but never have time to. I’d need to find more animals to play with, groom, do something helpful with. But then I would get bored and want something more. Or maybe I would start healing and getting better. Who knows. Or bored. In which case…
Travel, yes. Friend time, yes. More of what I was doing during that unemployment stint minus the fretting about being unemployed and trying to find a new job. Gardening because I wouldn’t be taking this time unless we’d gotten out of this place and into a place with a yard so Doggle could roam and I could garden. All in all, things productive. Plus some elusive project that would likely generate income because we all know I have a complex about not being income positive. What would that be? What would you do?
Donna’s revelation about her war with her body is strikingly similar to how I’m feeling right now. Hence the massage that I wasn’t bright enough to schedule for myself.
A recipe
@clareyt led me to her bestie’s site Whit’s Amuse Bouche which had the most mouthwatering chicken and dumpling recipe I’ve ever seen. Â Sadly, my hands were simply not up to manually making the dumplings and we don’t have even the most basic of kitchen implements any self-respecting cook should have so I had to figure some alterations that would preserve the deliciousness.
Chicken N’ Potato Stew
(6 servings)
Ingredients:
1 roasted chicken, shredded
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
3 small potatoes, diced
Directions:
To start, shred your roasted chicken, and set the meat aside. (I did this last.)
Melt the butter and add the flour, cooking for about 2 minutes to create the roux. Slowly add the chicken stock, constantly whisking to avoid lumps. Add the carrots, celery and onion, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the heavy cream, and bring to a simmer.
Add diced potatoes to the pot, place the lid over the pot and gently simmer for 20 minutes while shredding roasted chicken. Add the chicken, and cook for 5 more minutes.
Thanks for the link! I’m so far behind reading other people’s sites that I don’t know what’s causing your chronic pain…RA? fibromyalgia?
I’m so sorry that you’re hurting. Massage makes a big difference.
Oh, my goodness! That is one shocking recipe!
Mwa hah hah! I’ll have to try it soon.
Hmmm…. Did you feel better when you were unemployed? If so, could be coincidence, could be stressed. As I recall, you weren’t what anyone could call UNstressed when you were out of work, tho’. Hope you feel better soon.
On this end, also in response to Donna’s resonating cri de coeur: decided to knock of 1 1/2 days a week: Saturday all day, and Wednesday afternoon.
Heh. Sounds almost believable, doesn’t it?
Whitney is an AMAZING cook. Thanks for mentioning her!
@Donna: There’s no diagnosis, even after all this time, but you can imagine RA, CFS, and fibro rolled up together and that’s approximately what it’s like.
Kinda of a pain. /hah/
@Funny: It wasn’t that I felt better when I was unemployed because I was *unemployed*, I was definitely stressed because of the worrying over employment. But when I wasn’t stressed and when I was doing good things, it was .. better. And I did have more time to take care of myself. And I’m only imagining that it would be rather nice to have semi-retirement in that la-la “if I could” mode. But that pre-supposes some serious financial security. 😉
I’d love to hear how that time off is treating you! 🙂
@Clare: Certainly! I wish I could actually see her in action!
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