A Leap Month of Little Joys and Satisfactions: Thanksgiving Gravy Soup

Just to clarify, this gravy has been in the freezer (not the fridge) since November. However, I brought it out of the freezer on Friday, thinking it was a quart of refried beans (or something along those lines). To my surprise, it was a quart of our Thanksgiving turkey and bacon gravy. As gravy goes, it's very delicious. It's just hard to use an entire quart within a couple of days. 

We've been serving gravy over many of our meals. Yet, I still had about 2 cups remaining. It's tasty, but very rich. Yesterday, I had a thought to turn the rest into soup.

To thin the gravy and turn it into soup, I simmered onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in a couple of inches of water. When the veggies were cooked, I stirred in the gravy, plus some leftover cooked lentils for protein and a chunk of frozen spinach. Then I seasoned to taste.

This soup was another meal item based on using up leftovers from the fridge and freezer. It tasted great and put that lingering gravy to good use. Using up leftovers in new ways always puts a smile on my face.

As I was chopping the veggies, I got to thinking -- I do a similar thing, only in reverse, with brothy soups. I thicken leftover stock-based soups to use as gravy. I guess I just like to vary how we use our foods.

A Leap Month of Little Joys and Satisfactions: Forcing Blossoms Indoors on Cut Tree and Shrub Branches

I don't always get the timing right when taking branch cuttings in late winter to force blossoms. Some years, I cut just a little too soon. The branches don't blossom, but instead, they just sit there growing bacteria colonies in the water. If I am keeping an eye on the cuttings, I'll notice within a few days if buds begin to develop into blossoms. If I have at least a couple of blossoms within 5 to 7 days, I know these branches will do fine. Otherwise, I dump the batch of cuttings and start again in a day or two.

On Friday, I cut about a dozen branches from the forsythia on the side of our house. This shrub is in need of strategic pruning anyway, so I cut away those branches that were blocking access to a walkway. I culled the best 8 branches, trimming the ends so they would all be about the same length, and brought them indoors to a vase of water. 

I've set them on a window seat in the dining room on the north side of the house. On Saturday, I noticed 3 blossoms. Then Sunday, there were several more. I think I got it right with the timing this year. We'll enjoy the forced forsythia blossoms for a week and then it will be about the right time to check the pear trees for branches to cut. I just need to remember to top up the water in this vase every other day.

My grandmother always brought cuttings of blossoming shrubs and trees inside to force. The cuttings were a source of free flowers for her living room. I try to remember all of the ways that she brought loveliness into her home while living on a small budget.