Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Soups, Stews and Stoups...Oh my! and Your Standing Backup Plan

Hey, hey, hey! Sorry for the late post! Picking up for E-que who got a little caught up at that place called "work"!

So the seasonal transition is in full swing....never mind all the holiday crap that is starting to creep into the grocery/department stores already...but there is that crispness in the air that makes you want to pull out your most comfy sweaters or that broken-in just perfectly hooded sweatshirt. This is my favorite time of year! I love getting up in the morning and stepping outside and feeling the cool, but not too cool weather. I love the colors that the leaves turn, sitting by a campfire with a cup of hot cider spiked with rum, I love how there is Thanksgiving right around the corner and I love ALL the thick, rich foods associated with the season!

I got the bug last night for something hearty and spicy, so I had HT and LC over and threw together a big pot of white chicken chili full of beans, peppers, onions, spices...the aroma of it filled the apt. and got me all excited because it made me realize that soup/stew season is upon us (quick shout out to HT's fried zuch and LC's fatty bubbalatty salad-delicious)! The crockpot is my second favorite kitchen appliance, next to the kitchen aid of course...and I am ready to dust it off and give it it's seasonal home outside of the cupboard and on the counter. There is nothing like coming home to a rich stew that has been simmering in the crock all day. AND not only does it make wonderful dinners...but GREAT leftovers for lunch! So let's welcome the season of beef stews, hearty soups, spicy chilis and split pea specialties today!!!

So tell us not only WFL today, but what are you looking forward to in your upcoming autumn lunches?

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Business note: I set up the calendar for October. I know there are still a couple of you who don't like the schedule, so here is another option for YOU to pick YOUR days. If you are particular or have a hectic schedule, then go sign up for what works for you! I'll fill in any blanks that are left and if you can't do it, either delete yourself or swap with someone else. There are a good amount of contributors now, so if you do sign yourself up only pick up to two days max. And if it turns out that some people didn't get a day, we can just do some more swapping.

Any questions?

Your Standing Backup Plan


(E-Que, Eq...what's the difference?)

I'm sad to say I haven't run in to this situation all that much since my stupid employers moved us out to the silly suburbs since nobody in their right mind would just happen to be here, but back when I worked in downtown DC there would be days when I would get a call from a friend I hadn't heard from in far too long:
- Hey, man, what are you doing?
- I'm at work.
- What are you doing for lunch?
- What the hell do you care? I'm not in Atlanta.
- I know, but I'm in DC, and I'm three blocks from your office.

Suddenly, I had to shift gears from resigning myself to eating stale styrofoam peanuts and old Post-It glue for lunch to coming up with a suitable lunch venue to take an out-of-towner.

So, what's your go-to lunchery for such last-minute swings? And, why?

And, of course, WFL?

(post combining courtesy of HT - things are crazy round these parts these days...)

19 comments:

HaterTot said...

"Your Standing Backup Plan"
3 Comments -Show Original Post Collapse comments

la choi
la choi said...

see, it's completely based on your location and what's available around you. and since i have no clue where you are, i cannot give a good rec.

though, for me, it's always breadline b/c it's downstairs and immediately next to my office bldg. it's good, and it's tasty.

i am a disgruntled individual today. very disgruntled.

on a positive note, i'm having leftover white chili courtesy of Lady A last night...she made mama HT's famous and added a little something extra in it, which made it taste extra yum. i made the fatty bumbalatty potato salad and HT made zucchini breads. was a feast fit for a queen...or a lady!

12:32 PM
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Earthquake
Earthquake said...

Back in the good ol' days, there were two options that I kept in my back pocket. If it was someone I really don't see often enough and who doesn't come to DC all that much, I would meet them down at Old Ebbitt for the spectacle of that frantic see-and-be-seen DC atmosphere (and a better-than-decent lunch menu). If the weather was nice, I would probably take them through the Express side of Old Ebbitt and go sit in one of the parks to soak up that federal feeling.

If it was a buddy who comes through town for short bursts pretty routinely, then we would go to the Post Pub for burgers and beers and bullshit.

Out here in the Corner? I got nothing. Chili's? What a disappointment. I suppose I could run this theoretical visitor down to Mr. Smith's, but I'm pretty sure they're closing their Tysons location in the immediate future (or perhaps even past).

For lunch today, I am having leftover Chinese delivery. Shrimp with snow peas. It will be good, although I doubt it will dispel the (now two-day) fog in which I find myself. Did I really celebrate THAT feverishly this weekend in St. Louis?

12:42 PM
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Watchdog said...

EQ, DON'T do "South of the Border" which resides right next to Chili's, and may even be the same thing.

Took the fam there, the food was decent, but we all felt sick later....

12:47 PM

HaterTot said...

Did some post combining for Lady A. I apologize if I lost anyone's comments.

Now, if you'll excuse me - I'm going back to my couch for some QT with the TV.

Earthquake said...

Bad play to me.

I got antsy and jumped the gun with no clearance.

This fog is just insisting that I find something to do with my days at work these days.

Lady A, the rest of the OWFLers, please to forgive this poor, lowly eagerant.

Josephus said...

What the hell is going on?

I wanted whute chicken chili for lunch...
But, instead I'm having gourmet buffet from SOHO.


I need to reread the post.

Lady A said...

Ok..so blogger deleted my post..so I don't know if it will randomly show up..cause you know..blogger sucks like that. Anyways...recap.

Sorry for the crazy posting guys, I was doing a late cover for e-que and earthquake...just got bored apparently. Just kiddin' quake! Good lookin' out though and I appreciate your efforts! I hope you don't mind that I had HT combine our posts...I figured we could share it today instead of deleting one of ours. Sharing good, deleting bad. I like that we all have so much to say and share here that ALL comments and posts are welcome!

Josephus said...

I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way!

Josephus said...

WHERE IS DIZ!!!!!!???????!!!!!!!

dizkonekdid said...

Yesterday was really busy for me since I was stuck at the Doctor's office with Ro.

No babies but definitely a chest cold for her.

As for food today it was a bag lunch with the lean pocket (cheese and broc) and a refreshing run along the Bayou.

Now I'm tired and I didn't post about how sorry I feel for HT. I've been fired twice in my life. Once from a waiter position when someone accused me of pocketing money that wasn't mine (he wrote to corporate and honestly I could have take them to court but didn't) but I couldn't prove that I didn't do it and the second time was for losing a drill at a work site (I didn't lose it ... my boss went in behind me when I had walked away for a little while and it was mysteriously missing and of course he'd promised to fire me a week before if I lost any of the equipment. Fishy?

Well both were bullshit jobs.

But when it comes to doing what you love it hurts to be punted\retrenched.

Feel better, and if you need any job leads in Houston let me know.

dizkonekdid said...

BTW I'm working on the install for wordpress.

Its easy if all of the standard plumbing is in place. Working on the plumbing now.

dizkonekdid said...

oh and Jo ... no more Yes ... the lead singer just freaks me out.

Josephus said...

Move yourself
You always live your life
Never thinking of the future
Prove yourself
You are the move you make
Take your chances win or loser

See yourself
You are the steps you take
You and you - and that's the only way

Shake shake yourself
You're every move you make
So the story goes...

LizTurtle said...

I loved that video, even though the lead singer's eyes were all kinds of freaky.

Earthquake said...

mamon: PLEASE tell me you are anywhere near DC. I could use a good shitcanning myself today.

And, in belated deference to Lady A's legitimate post (as opposed to my usurper, which I would prefer to call berserker because berserker is way cooler), I LOVE AUTUMN COOKING! (That fact makes the berserker even more painful to me.)

I like nothing more than throwing down a soup. Taking a good ol' Saturday and just turning out a pot of soup that hangs around for lunch all week. I have a wicked beef vegetable that I inherited from my mom - not terribly inventive, but it sure do hit the spot. In addition to the sweet potato-lentil I mentioned a few weeks back, my brother bestowed upon me a black bean recipe that sets me tummy aquiver. (There was also a mushroom-barley that I just couldn't get in to. Not hearty enough for me.)

I share the Lady's love for the Crock-Pot, too. Although, I've always been a big fan of the slow cooker, that run-in with the Pinger's wild boar a year or so back is what finally sealed my relationship with it. It proved to me that half a beer and a day in a slow cooker will do ANYthing right.

And, the ultimate combination of those two threads? My dad's recipe for Brunswick Stew. I don't make it very often (mostly because it requires either three days or two Crock-Pots), but I firmly believe that everyone should have a recipe that calls for ten pounds of meat.

So, Lady A, I defer to you. Let us join forces for the good of the crisp-weather cooking!

LizTurtle said...

I am all inspired to use my crockpot as soon as I get it out of storage. All this sounds so good! I already know I'm having salmon for dinner, which just isn't what my belly is screaming for. Sigh! Oh well. I'm not complaining. It's free & it'll be ready when I get home.

Lady A said...

Mamon - Kudos to you for using the term 'roasty' and incorporating a good game of Risk while making chicken stock...you are now one of my many favorites!

Earthquake - I think we should have a slow-cooker fest some fallish football sunday with the local DC WFL gang. B.Y.O.C.P!
I've been meaning to pick up a larger, second crock pot to have on hand...this could be the perfect excuse to do so!

Earthquake said...

I'm so totally in.

Just make sure the Pinger doesn't accidentally make hide glue in it.

[sniff]

Josephus said...

Courtesy of rico tubbs...
GREASE FREAK

LizTurtle said...

oh my god, jo, drooling thinking about that . . . and wishing i could have gotten more out of my hot doug's experience . . . .

m said...

crazy posting today... this is just what i need to futher addle my perpetually addled mind...

addle.

anyway..
Fall foods: Chili... down home red bean, 6 hour, can of new castle ale chili.. god its wonderful.. the talk of crockpots made me think of this beef stewish stuff with brown sauce and potatoes and carrots my mum used to make.. it may be my last meal on death row...
mmmm i can't wait...

okay.. i started this comment at like 12:45 and then have been in meetings or berating my idiodic minion since then.. so yeah..

quick place to go out.. assuming non-vegetarian i usually bring someone to a local pub... they have by far the best food and there are unlimited things to talk about or comment on in the local joints..

for lunch i had a large slice of chocolate cake with an almond flavoured icing and shredded coconut between the layers...

i'm feeling healthier by the second