Chicken and Noodles FAST! or I Finally Got my Snow Day

How quickly can you say Chicken and Noodles?

A not-so-freaky Spring storm hit St. Paul Wednesday, snarling traffic and causing 250 accidents in the metro area.  Which makes me wonder why we all think we  MUST get to work no matter the weather.  Even when the chances of our becoming harmed in the process rise dramatically.   I wonder how much difference it made once folks braved the weather, the roads, and the other drivers.  Especially as the other drivers included guys like one whose semi jack-knived on the interstate and stopped traffic for a good long while in the ice and snow.   At the end of the day, a friend stopped by to drop off a bedside table, mirror and lamp.  Luckily I had shoveled (and shoveled.)  She said it took her and hour and a half to get to work and then none of her appointments showed anyway.

Male downy woodpecker eats fast.  The female eats here, too.  Not at the same time.

When we weren't "protected" by steel, glass and plastic (fueled by flammable liquids), did we decide we simply had to venture out in the elements when God had definitely decreed a day indoors by the fire making a pot of soup and reading?  Did our great-grandparents decide to walk to town in the midst of blizzards?  ("I'm sure I can get there; I need to mail that letter today so it gets there by next month.")

Birds were smart.  They went from the tree to the feeder and back.  Period.

I can't see it.  Life's just too precious and yet I'd be called a wimp if I called in snow.  I watched Dave call a cab, drag his suitcase through the mire and head off to the airport.  My darling got on a plane in that mess, albeit hours later.  I guess he enjoyed the time in the Minneapolis airport; at least it's the nicest (in my opinion) one in the country.   The dogs and I stayed snug.

Temp furniture bought for a song.  Ours will arrive in two months after the snow melts.  Argh.

 The south side of my house faces a fairly busy street (the price of being close to shops and restaurants), so I was able to watch the slip and slide show all day long.  These people couldn't see and they were driving.  It got no better as time wore on.  No plow came and the realization that the plow was waiting for the snow to stop (he knew more than I did as I shoved a couple of times) let me know I was staying home.  Good thing, too, because when the plow did arrive, it laid in a pile of icebergs several feet high at the bottom of my driveway.  Someone then parked in front of it, thinking there was a space on the street.  You know how parking in the snow is.  I could walk out if I felt like it, which I didn't, but my car was going nowhere.  Lenten study at church would have to wait 'til next week.

To shorten the story, it took  more than 24 hours and a young man with two shovels and an ice pick an hour and a half of work (after I shoveled three hours/can you say sore?) to free up access to the street.  Lesson learned:  don't park your car in your drive or garage before a snow storm.  You won't be able to GET OUT afterward. 

Luckily, I had something hot to keep me company.  I had to cook it, though.

Cook's Note:  This is not a long afternoon's chicken noodle soup; it cooks in about 30 minutes.  Still, it's lovely, warming and you didn't have to spend the afternoon in from the snow to get it done.

Easy and Fast Chicken and Noodles serves 2-3; easily doubles

1T each olive oil and butter

3 pieces of chicken (1 breast, 1 leg and 1 thigh)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 stalks celery,  chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

2 large carrots, peeled and cut up

1/3 c fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp each thyme and rosemary (you could sub sage or poultry seasoning)

3 cups chicken stock or water

6 oz frozen egg noodles

1/2 c frozen peas 

1. In a 3-4 qt heavy saucepan or small stockpot, heat oil and butter over medium-high heat and add chicken that you've salted and peppered well.  Add vegetables, herbs, and spices.  Let brown well 5-7 minutes; turn, stir, and let brown another 5 minutes.
2. Add stock.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, over low heat about 30 minutes.
3. Meantime, follow package directions and cook 6 oz frozen egg noodles in a separate pot for 20 minutes, adding frozen peas last 3 minutes.
4. Strain noodles and peas; add to chicken mixture.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve hot.  For a more chicken and dumplings feel, add 1/2 cup milk to the pot when you add the noodles and peas. 

I'm reading...  Books on Minnesota (duh), The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan, Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles, Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese by Brad Kessler.  I just bought Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses by Rikki Carroll and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon but I haven't started them.  I've promised my Colorado Springs book club I'd read THE CURIOUS INCIDENT...by next Wed.   Time to get going.  By the way, Sara Miles book is life-changing and GOAT SONG is one of the most lovingly-written books of the decade.  Where did he learn to write like that?

On Minnesota Public Radio this morning:  We would need $21 million to feed the hungry in Minnesota; that would be for 8 billion meals. 

Sing a new song,
Alyce