The working chef

So today I discovered that I can cook while working. Well, sort of. At least I could lay out the ingredients, make a dash to the store for an extra red onion while on my lunch hour, thaw some vegetable stock, and think about when I'd have to start chopping veggies. I worked, and sort of took 5 minute breaks every hour to puddle around in the kitchen, thinking about dinner, getting a plan in my head.

Then at 4:30.. I start chopping onion. Should I cry more with red onions than with yellow? Hmm.. not as bad as with shallots though! Bake the red onion in olive oil at 425 while I chop the yellow ones and the carrots, celery, cloves of garlic, etc.. then cook all that with the cumin and fennel and olive oil in the stockpot..

But back down to the office to answer a few last minute emails, save a couple of spreadsheets, log off the in-house IM application (that is nice, by the way..) and knock off for the day (5:10 or so) and back to cooking in earnest. :)

Time to add the vegetable stock and the lentils.. and then some off-recipe stuff. Shhhh... it's a secret. ;) Mmmmm.. simmer away.. make dessert.. grill some sausage.. ready by 6! Good planning. And yowza! What soup! :) I'm glad I didn't have to completely give up cooking when I started back to work.

And tonight, study for TS501 begins - I'll stop for a new episode of Mad Men on AMC, of course. Then another hour of John Calvin, his various opponents, and that last sip of wine. Sweet.