According to the local meteorologists, St. Louis is about to experience a crippling snow/ice storm. It just occurred to me that we lost power during the ice storm of 2006, and if this ice storm is going to be anything like THAT ice storm (and, according to everyone on the news, IT WILL BE), we will be unable to cook the food that I put on this week’s meal plan. SO, as I type this note to you, I’m making curried cauliflower with chick peas and tomatoes. When the girls go to bed, I’ll be making the thing where I put chili in the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan, and then bake corn bread on top of it! Genius! (For my Facebook friends, you can find the recipe in my photos section in the It Goes In My Face folder.) ((I make it with Boca crumbles, and you really can’t tell that it’s not a ground up cow under the corn bread!))
Jeff, our resident hero, spent the afternoon securing fire wood, shopping for groceries, and making sure we have the proper batteries for our flashlights. PLUS, he brought home pizza from the new Little Caesar’s location down the road, AND he assures me that he can get us to the Sheraton if all hell breaks loose. (I know. I’m the luckiest.)
The girls have been preparing for the storm in their own way. The DSi charger has been at work all afternoon, and all stuffed animals are lined up around the outer edges of the mattresses.
Harper: I have an idea.
Me: What is it?
Harper: Let’s charge the television. That way, if we lose power, we can still watch a movie. Oh. Let’s charge the DVD player, too.
Me: It’s a great idea, but I’m afraid you can’t charge the television or the DVD player.
Harper: That’s fine. BUT, we should probably charge the refrigerator.
Me: Again. Great idea. BUT, you can’t charge a refrigerator, either.
Harper: Okay. Is the car charged?
The car is charged. What I didn’t tell Harper is that I have no idea how to open the garage door during a power outage. Imagine how excited she’ll be when we, under the influence of cold cauliflower curry, rev up the engine and back through the garage door on our way to the Sheraton! The neighbors already adore us for keeping the rotten railroad ties in our front yard. Imagine how their hearts will swell as we become the Dukes of Hazzard.
Oh! Oh! Good News!!! After telling you my sad chicken broth story, I pulled up the Melting Pot menu. Although the server across the aisle told her customers that our chosen cooking style contains chicken broth, I noticed that the menu doesn’t mention it! In a fit of excitement, I called two different locations, and both assured me that unless we specifically ordered chicken broth, the coq au vin style consists of wine and herbs only. SO: I didn’t eat dead bird juice after all!!! (No offense to the swillers of dead bird juice. I still love you. In fact, I live with three of you. (Five, if you count the cats.)) Anyway, I am completely pleased to report this to you as I close down my seventh month with no meat. With that said, who knows what Wednesday will bring? We all remember what happened in the Andes. (By the way, what an awesome cabled sweater Josh Hamilton wears as he contemplates eating his friends!) Anyway, desperate times, desperate measures—and the Puddings with a drawer full of bacon… ‘ ‘ ‘text/javascript’>
You know, in France, they still sell rabbit with the ears attached because they look *just like* cats …
Stay warm, friend.
We are supposed to get some hellish combination of ice and snow and rain and I am also making sure that my DS is charged. And I’m also making sure my iPod touch is charged so I can play Angry Birds!
I suppose I should also make sure my cell phone is charged, too…
We might get 8-12 inches of snow between Tuesday night and Wednesday night. I think I’ll grab an extra gallon of milk at the store and new snow mittens for Otto. :)
Dukes of Hazard out the garage door… the girls would love it!
We just had a power outage here because it’s so hot. There’s no escapin’ it, is there? Also, I can’t get the garage door open either, and my banjo has popped all its strings. Yehaw. Bring on that dead piggy in wine and herbs.
They’re also predicting Snowmageddon for southeast Michigan this week. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Would love to have the vegetarian chili/cornbread recipe. Do I need to friend you on Facebook in order to get it?
I was worried about being able to complete my weekly shopping Monday night, so I decided to go after dinner last night. But I told my boyfriend it seemed silly to fill the fridge with food if the power went out I’d lose it all. He gave me an odd look and said he could take it. So I said, “But what if you lose power?” Then it slowly dawned on me that they’re calling for consistently below freezing weather, so the cold food would probably be fine. Sometimes, we engineers aren’t so bright when it comes to common sense.
We are supposed to be in the “bullseye of the storm.” Bullseye! That’s what they keep saying on the news. I put in for a vacation day for tomorrow to stay home with the kids because more than anything I hate the hemming and hawing of “should we stay or should we go?”
Ah – there’s another You Tube clip for you!
I want the chili/cornbread recipe, please?
oh dear. fingers crossed for you guys… ice storms are not fun.
(don’t know why I’m saying this… I’ve never been in one/seeing one in real life… so I’m talking rubbish.)
I can’t stop laughing thinking of you and Harper bursting through the garage doors in the General Lee.
I sent that You Tube clip to my husband at work yesterday. It made his crummy day much brighter.
Stay safe in the storm.
Some ‘friends’ fed me a bunch of chili that I thought was amazing and later told me, while giggling like the harpy and warlock that they are, that it was vegetarian. Apparently, the meat-like parts were some satanic tofu concoction. This is why I have so many trust issues.
these gifts I give to you
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/vegetarian-chili-recipe/index.html
FABU.
Oooh, I’m with DLG in Mich – I’d love the cornbready chilish recipe. I couldn’t find you on FB. Plus you don’t know me so I would’ve felt weird trying to friend you. Any other way to bogart that recipe?
And stay warm!