mulberryshoots

I live in New England and the temperature outside today is anywhere from ZERO to 2-3 degrees MINUS ZERO. Good thing the sun is out on this very cold day. Hope the cars start up without any trouble.

When we heard this weather forecast for an unusually cold day today, I thought it would be comforting to make a large pot of old-fashioned beef vegetable soup and have it simmer all day on the back burner of the stove. I have a fast-pressure cooker too that I use to make bone broth – but today felt like a day to do it the old-fashioned way: cook chopped onions, carrots, celery, grape tomatoes cut in two; brown two shin of beef with the bone in; let the soup cook for half a day (it’s 8:30 a.m. right now) adding beef broth and water as needed, tasting along the way.

For the afternoon stint, I’ll add some rosy red turnips, small yukon potatoes, maybe a half cup of soaked barley and at the very end, some cut up cabbage so that it will be tender but not overcooked in the soup. Might make a ciabetta garlic bread slathered with melted butter and real garlic warmed in a pot and then brushed between the slices, wrapped in foil and warmed in the oven. This old standby has somehow popped up recently and I’ve found that just about everybody loves it – and also that no one has had it in a very long time either!

2 shins of beef browned to start the soup. . .

Meanwhile, since it is a sort of stay at home day (although I have to go out twice today,) I’m also going to make mince pies to mail out for Christmas Thank-Yous to various professional people who help us every year. So, we’ll see how far that goes and whether there’s enough energy (me) and time to make them all today, wrap them up and mail them out tomorrow before the Christmas mail crunch really hits on Monday. Or maybe I’m already too late for that!