Black Bean Soup/Stew Stuff w/Bacon

[princesscooks]

Well, we are pretty low on foodstuffs in our pantry, and I was 1. hungry 2. in the mood to cook but NOT really in the mood to grocery shop. It's a little hot for soup, but I like it all year long. In the end I just threw some stuff together, and it wound up tasting (though I hate to brag) pretty damned good. I did alot of a-little-of-this-and-a-

Comments

[lost_angel]

We use scissors for cutting bacon also, especially since we use it almost exclusively for rendering the fat and garnishing dishes with the tiny slivers of bacon. Even when we eat bacon with breakfast, I cut the slices in half with scissors so they fit in the pan better. We use scissors to cut green onion, too.

But. We have terrible, cheap, mismatched kitchen shears and knives. I don't care about matching really, but I have been wanting good ones for a while. We currently use a kapoosh (that we love, it was a gift) that holds all of our disparate knives, but good knives have been on my wishlist to buy for the both of us for years. I've just always had other things to buy us instead. Another problem is that I don't know whether to buy nice knives individually from a restaurant supply store or to buy a whole set from a chain department store.

At some point this weekend, I'm going to make my own chicken stock for the first time. I've got chicken bones and bits I've been saving for a while (although my supply has diminished since I mostly buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs as of late...they are so tasty and so easy!). I've bought leeks, carrots, fresh parsley, and celery (which I don't normally keep in the house, I've never used a leek before in my life). However, I need to run get a sieve and some cheesecloth before I get started. Wish me luck!

[princesscooks]

Good Luck!!!!! i want desparately to try to make my own stock b/c we use it in nearly everything we cook, but our stupid little kitchen is just so tiny, and the ventahood is too low for a decently sized stock pot. Maybe when we have a house. :> Tell me how it turns out, please?

As to knives, well, I have the mismatched/oddment problem, too in that I got the ones from my grandmother's kitchen after she died and some that Mama rejected. BUT I also broke down about a year ago and spent the money and got myself: a Henckel paring knife, a Wusthof 5" Santoku (b/c my hands are really small), and a Wusthof 4.5" Cooks Knife. Even though I cut myself really badly at first, they have really helped me to enjoy cooking b/c they are sharp and precise, and they help making chopping fun. :> (Of course I find chopping vegetables therapeutic, so you may want to disregard what I say.) I would recommend either of those brands, and I have a friend who also loves Global knives. Lemme know what you do about this, too? :>