Kaimusailing

The plan was to make some more chicken soup of the florentine variety, with mushrooms, and why not add some tomatoes. Also I wanted to cook up some shrimp to use in fried rice or in a salad. I had some ideas.
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Another propane tank was dying out and a trip was organized for shopping and propane refill with Komputer Ken. He had a medical appointment and we headed out to Tractor Supply for the propane. He then brought us to Lowe’s home improvement store and then asked if I was hungry and how about Chinese. Yes, and we had a nice lunch at China King, the last good Chinese restaurant in town.
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I loaded up on various vegetables and a couple boxes of wine. The bill was $140. By the time we headed back to the boatyard as weather was approaching, a few drops of rain fell on the windshield. About 2 miles from the boatyard there was a loud noise from the engine and Ken pulled over. Steam started coming up from the hood. Ken found the upper hose from the radiator had a split. I suggested taping the hose with Gorilla tape, so we did. The split was long and the hose was old and soft. I suggested we could make it to the boatyard after filling the coolant system with “purified drinking water” from Walmart. Ken opted to return to the main drag where there were a couple of auto part stores. At Advanced Auto Parts he procured the correct hose and we changed it right there in the parking lot. More Walmart water and we were off to the boatyard. When we got there I was too bushed to start cooking. I had a light salad and put things away for tomorrow.
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The next day I began making the nutritionally dense Pink Cream of Chicken Mushroom Florentine soup. First I filled a 3 quart medium sized pot with 6 cups of water, set it on the flame and then tossed in a small young Perdue chicken. I spiced a bit with Italian spice mix. The bird simmered for 30 minutes, then was lifted out onto a pan to cool. The broth was picked clean of debris and excess chicken fat was ladled off the top. The broth was put into the stock pot, brought to a boil, and a large plastic box of baby spinach was tossed in. Next I prepped 3 leeks producing about 3 cups, and carrots and celery to about the same amount altogether. Also a small box of mushrooms gave up its life to join the mess.
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The chicken was cooled a bit and now could be deboned, diced, and added to the soup. The medium pot now had a stick of Irish butter melting along with a half cup of flour. The heat was reduced to simmer while the roux was whisked for a few minutes. Broth was ladled into the roux and whisked smooth. Two half cup ladles at first, then four, then four more, then a quart of half and half was whisked in. The roux was added to the soup along with a large can of crushed tomatoes. I tasted the soup before and after the tomatoes were added. The soup without the tomatoes was very good. The tomatoes add a different taste. Perhaps it is too “sweet” and sour cream or balsamic vinegar could help. It is a change maybe sideways. The soup was coming in at about $5 a quart, so it is not an economy soup.
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I didn’t really spice the soup until it was complete and then I used garlic salt and lots of fresh black pepper. This is a nutritionally dense food, not much carbs, lots of protein and veggie vitamins. Calcium too.
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There was a whole raft of cooking gear to clean up. I had had a nice serving which served as dinner, gave a portion to the Tahitiana sailor who likes his soup, and then put away 6 zip loks in the fridge, about 3 cups each. I am not concerned about eating this morning, noon, and night.
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The next day or the next day after the next day I decided to make rice. I wanted to make rice like a pilaf but with Chinese ingredients as in fried rice. So, instead of making plain rice and then using it to make fried rice, I would make rice with finely diced onion, garlic, ginger, green onion, celery, carrot, with oyster sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce. The galley burners had the teakettle with a half liter of water on one side and the pot of rice, etc., on the other. The rice mixture was sauteed with oro verde EVOO and some black pepper. A slug of marsala was added along with the boiling water and the pot was set on simmer.
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The NFC championship game was coming on. The rice mixture simmered. The game was disappointing and one sided. The 49er team ended up using its 4th string quarter back who also got injured and they had no chance. 32-7. The Eagles will go to the Super Bowl. The 2nd game was close, won by the Chiefs by a field goal at the end. The Chiefs go to the Super Bowl. The Bengals quarterback was sacked repeatedly and did manage to tied up the game, then the field goal did them in.
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The image is another photo of the Tahitiana, named NESS, all spiffied up and ready to go.