Wednesday’s Words

Hey, I like alliteration, okay?

It had snowed overnight, but on Wednesday morning, there was less that two inches of new snow on the ground. Plus, temperature was a warm 32 degrees!

The warm temperature, the fresh snow and the salt they had put down combined to make Plymouth Road a slushey, wet mess, though. I was glad I had topped off my windshield wiper fluid over the weekend, as I used it often.

Vicky had gotten stuck several times going home on Tuesday and then a neighbor plowed her street out this morning. That was good, but in all the excitement, she forgot her lunch. So, we went to Newburgh Grill. I’m still not sure why, but this time I ordered breakfast (two eggs over-easy, sausage links, hash browns and rye toast. The eggs, sausage and toast were good, but the hash browns were a little too crunchy for me. She insisted on paying, so I left the tip (Damn stubborn, these Puerto Ricans!)

It started lightly snowing again around 2:00 p.m., but it mostly melted on the hard surfaces and on top the truck.

However, when I left work at 5:00 p.m., the temperature had dramatically dropped (it’s supposed to go to 4 degrees tonight) and I had to scrape the ice off my windows. Then I put the truck into four-wheel drive and slowly drove to Levan.  Levan was no better! But I-96 will be plowed and salted, right?

NOT!

That was the worst drive home of the winter season. I never got much over 40 mph and it took me almost twice as long to get there.

When I got home, the trash can was empty. So, after I got the truck safely inside, I walked back out to fetch it and got the mail, wishing I’d worn gloves this morning. But, finally safely inside, to what did my wondering eyes appear but my corrected bike title! I still have the wrong date on this year’s registration, but I don’t think I care. At least it didn’t take another trip to the DVM!

In spite of missing work on Monday, I started the Wednesday night wash. Since it was light, I added bath towels, wash cloths and kitchen towels to make a full load.

I watched the news until 7:00 p.m. and then started dinner.

Sidebar: I’m sick of eating leftovers or snacks, so I made a real dinner tonight.

I had just over a two pound top round London broil steak I picked up on Saturday and I needed to use it or lose it. So, I cut it in half, wrapped one pound in cling wrap (to avoid freezer burn), marked it on a baggie and stuck that in the freezer.

The other half I cut into 3/4 inch chunks. Then I prepared my mise en place. I chopped two tablespoons of shallots and one teaspoon of diced, fresh garlic. I measured out two cups of wide egg noodles and set a medium-sized sauce pan of water and salt to boil. I measured out three tablespoons of AP flour and one tablespoon of soy sauce.

Note: I fudged on the beef broth. The recipe called for 1 1/2 cups (16 ounces) of beef broth. So, I could either open a big box of it and get it right (but have leftover beef broth that only lasts three days) or open a 14.5 ounce can of it and call it good. I called it good.

So, I put the egg noodles on to cook. Meanwhile, I sprayed my 10-inch skillet with canola oil cooking spray. I heated that up to medium-high and browned the steak on all sides (about five minutes). I put the steak on a plate and covered it with aluminum foil to keep it warm and set it aside.

I added a generous tablespoon of butter to the skillet and when it melted, threw in the shallots and eight ounces of pre-sliced “baby bella” mushrooms. I sautéed those until they cooked down (maybe four minutes). Then I added in the garlic and cooked for another 30 seconds (you don’t want to burn garlic – it turns bitter).

I stirred in the tablespoon of soy sauce and then sprinkled the flour over the mixture. I stirred that to incorporate the flour and cooked that another minute, stirring constantly to cook off the raw flour taste. Then I gradually added the beef broth, still stirring constantly.

I added a 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper, some salt and some dried thyme.

Note: The recipe called for three fresh thyme sprigs, but I didn’t have any fresh thyme.

I brought that to a boil and cooked it another two minutes or so until it thickened. Then I added the beef back in it until it was thoroughly warmed.

I had already drained the egg noodles, so I plated some of those, topped it with my “steak tips and peppered mushroom gravy” and ate a delicious meal!

I checked out my movie choices and was torn between “Pulp Fiction” and “Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves.” In the end, I went with Robin Hood, as Tarantino seemed a bit intense for my mood.

When it ended at 11:00 p.m., I was ready for bed.