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December 1, 2009, a Tuesday
Pancho Villa State Park, New Mexico, USA
— Worked up a Newsletter and did some odd jobs around the RV

J's Chicken Soup

J developed this recipe after enjoying a similar French-style soup at a restaurant in Montreal. The recipe is notable for its delicate julienne-style vegetables.

This is for a 5-quart crockpot, which is larger than the usual. Cut down the proportions if you have a smaller crockpot.
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can chicken broth (can use low-fat)
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can French-style green beans, undrained
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 large onion, halved and sliced very thin
  • 2 ribs celery, sliced very thin (also include tops)
  • 1 potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced very thin
  • 1 cup carrots, julienne-sliced (you can buy these in packets in your produce section if you don't want to go to the trouble of trying to julienne the carrots)
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or 2 tbs dried parsley)
  • 1 tbs fresh marjoram, chopped (or 1 tsp dried marjoram)
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
  • 1 tbs fresh sage, chopped (or 1 tsp dried sage)
  • 1 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
  • 1 bayleaf
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup brown rice or long-grain rice or wild rice mixture, uncooked
  • 1 cup leftover chicken (or turkey), chopped
Put all ingredients down to the salt and pepper in the crockpot. Add water until within about 1 inch of the top of the crockpot. Cook on high for 6-8 hours. Two hours before serving, add the rice and turkey or chicken. Continue cooking on high.

Serve with a crusty French bread and a spreadable herb cheese.
Had my normal breakfast. J started to make her chicken soup. I worked up a blog entry, then started to work on my photography Newsletter. It's based on the Travel Update that I sent out yesterday, but has more information about the photography and less of the personal information. I cleaned up more paperwork that was on my desk.

Had lunch around 12:25, then started on some odd jobs around the RV. First, I installed a new cut-off value for the wand in the shower. The old one had begun to leak water through the valve so it wouldn't shut off completely. The dripping bothered J, but I liked it so that I could keep the bar soap wet while lathering up. I moved the 10-Picture Photo Frame from the wall by the sofa to the wall by the side door of the RV. Then I installed three "magazine holders" (3-Pocket Wall File from Staples). I installed each of the three pockets separately. One went where the photo frame had been to hold magazines that hadn't had a good home. Two went in the office to hold things that had been filed on the floor by my desk. J didn't understand the true genius of my filing system (or is that "piling system"?), so I've had to switch to using the wall pockets. Then I installed some 3M Command Adhesive Wire Organizer Clips in the cab of the RV to hold the power cable for our Garmin nüvi 350 GPS out of the way. Then I helped J prepare some hard drives to sell. Then I went through the paperwork that I had piled, er filed, on the floor and put it in the new wall pockets.

I read through the September 2008 and October 2008 issues of Outdoor Photographer that I was saving at the bottom of my pile. I finished up the photography Newsletter and sent it out, then started preparing it for the web.

We had dinner at 6:05 of J's just-made chicken soup, and it was tasty. She had made it with less liquid than usual, and I was glad it was hardier than it would have been. We also had some of J's homemade boursin-like herbed cheese on some Pepperidge Farm Baked Naturals Cheese Crisps, Four Cheese Italian Herb crackers.

I did the dishes after J put the leftover soup away, then had some Aalborg Akvavit while I finished up the photography Newsletter for the web. I started to work up a blog entry, then did some computer work.