AcornHusk of Ember
Dec. 2nd, 2023 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismoThis was a day that started out poorly but ended up pretty well. We both had a bad sleeping night--i.e. waking up far too early and being unable to get Morpheus to take us back. The Sparrowhawk has been having a little more trouble with his Parkinson's symptoms than usual. He tried to nap in his chair for a bit while I washed the bathroom mats and pottered around quietly. When he woke up, we had coffee and his First Breakfast, and then he perked up, but I was wilting and went upstairs to sleep for an hour. I felt pretty good after that, but the day was already all bollixed up, as my father would say. However, there was nothing to do but make the best of it, so we did some more tidying and such. The installation of a fancy new bed in anticipation of a visit from Tron and the Lumberjack is proceeding apace. The Sparrowhawk had moved some things out of the way in the basement, while I was sleeping. I went down and took the covers off the futons. At 2, some guys from our prayer group came and very expeditiously hauled two futons and the bed frame up the stairs, put it on their truck, and took it to the dump, for which we gave them the money we would have had to spend to hire someone. If anyone wants any of the parts, they can have them. One of the futons is a million years old and quite dilapidated. The other one is more presentable, but the team boss said his wife told him NOT to bring home a spare futon. He said he'd call around while he was going to the dump, and if anyone wanted it, he'd give it to them. The bed frame is sketchy. I already put it back together once with the aid of a screwdriver. I think it's had its time. The Sparrowhawk has already ordered the new bed, and now it remains to be seen if we can get it down the stairs and assemble it when it comes!
We went to church, came home and lit the first red Advent candle. I didn't have time to make the wreath yet, but maybe I'll get to it tomorrow. We had leftover chicken and rice for dinner. After dinner I started on a dish for the potluck tomorrow. I wanted to try a carnitas recipe I saw online. It says pork shoulder, but honestly, I felt intimidated by the pork shoulder last time I was at the store. I just wanted to cut up the pork chops I had in the freezer, so I did. I was not sure about this recipe, because it involves cinnamon sticks. I'm not opposed to cinnamon with meat, but somehow I never like it as much as I hoped I would. I sauteed a couple of onions (it seems as if everything starts with that--Ragnarok will probably start with a sizzling onion, in my universe at least) along with the meat, sprinkled it with salt, pepper, cilentro and oregano, and then put in two quartered oranges, two cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and poured a bottle of Coke over it. I only had one little 8-oz. bottle, which didn't seem like enough, so I put some root beer in it as well. If you think this sounds weird, you're right, but that's one reason I wanted to try it.
After simmering for about an hour and a half, the little meat cubes are very tender and imbued with flavors, and the cinnamon has mellowed out with the orange and is really tasty. Tomorrow I'm going to add yellow rice and see how that goes. It's kind of a mash-up of carnitas and arroz con pollo, except with pork instead of chicken. It is December now, so I can finally listen to my Christmas music! I started off with the Barenaked Ladies doing "Barenaked for the Holidays." It seemed like a good followup to the axe throwing. I detest "Do They Know It's Christmas," which I consider cringeworthy, but other than that, most of the songs on here are cheery. "Let's have a party/We'll all dance the hora!"
We went to church, came home and lit the first red Advent candle. I didn't have time to make the wreath yet, but maybe I'll get to it tomorrow. We had leftover chicken and rice for dinner. After dinner I started on a dish for the potluck tomorrow. I wanted to try a carnitas recipe I saw online. It says pork shoulder, but honestly, I felt intimidated by the pork shoulder last time I was at the store. I just wanted to cut up the pork chops I had in the freezer, so I did. I was not sure about this recipe, because it involves cinnamon sticks. I'm not opposed to cinnamon with meat, but somehow I never like it as much as I hoped I would. I sauteed a couple of onions (it seems as if everything starts with that--Ragnarok will probably start with a sizzling onion, in my universe at least) along with the meat, sprinkled it with salt, pepper, cilentro and oregano, and then put in two quartered oranges, two cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and poured a bottle of Coke over it. I only had one little 8-oz. bottle, which didn't seem like enough, so I put some root beer in it as well. If you think this sounds weird, you're right, but that's one reason I wanted to try it.
After simmering for about an hour and a half, the little meat cubes are very tender and imbued with flavors, and the cinnamon has mellowed out with the orange and is really tasty. Tomorrow I'm going to add yellow rice and see how that goes. It's kind of a mash-up of carnitas and arroz con pollo, except with pork instead of chicken. It is December now, so I can finally listen to my Christmas music! I started off with the Barenaked Ladies doing "Barenaked for the Holidays." It seemed like a good followup to the axe throwing. I detest "Do They Know It's Christmas," which I consider cringeworthy, but other than that, most of the songs on here are cheery. "Let's have a party/We'll all dance the hora!"
no subject
Date: 2023-12-04 04:36 pm (UTC)