Hi, everyone.
Anna, the situation with dad's house is convoluted, to say the least. My dad's 2nd wife died in August 2013. Dad has been living in the house since then. However, her will split the house into 3 equal ways between her 2 sons and my dad. Oldest son is the executor of the will. He took his sweet time putting the house on the market. When he finally decided the planetary alignment was auspicious, he forced my dad to move out so the realtor could show an empty house. Now, the house is empty, the prospective buyer can't seem to be able to obtain a mortgage and everything is at a standstill. We haven't told dad about living here yet. He worries about that house selling, or not selling. He is of a fragile nature when business transactions are concerned. Broaching the subject too soon would only compound his anxiety. He has expressed an interest towards living in an autonomous senior facility where he could come and go as he pleases, keep a private apartment and live independently. Of course, when the house finally does sell, we would love to have him live with us. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Anna, great avatar. Love it.
I make onion soup using large onions, any cultivar works because the recipe includes 1 tablespoon brown sugar. The onions are ground coarsely in the food professor and sweated at low temp in butter, salt, black pepper and the sugar. Then, the heat is turned all the way up until all the liquid evaporates and the sugar starts caramelizing and burning a bit. After that, a bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), 1 cup of cognac (Courvoisier) and 6 cups boiling water are added. And the soup simmers gently for 2 or 3 hours. I top each serving bowl with a thickish (1 inch) French bread crouton, a mix of Swiss and Parmesan cheese and I broil the topping until the cheese is bubbly and nicely browned. Madame the duchess Marie-Caca deTaratata prefers it that way. Voila: classic French onion soup. Some people add beef broth to it. I don't. It doesn't need it, IMHO and wine makes it taste so much better. I told dad about it and he wants some. I have all I need to make onion soup, so I have a project. Gail loves that soup, too. With a salad, a quiche Lorraine, a bottle of red wine and a baba au rhum, it's a menu fit for a king. I'll get going on the baba au rhum tomorrow morning because yeast is involved. I love working with yeast. Come to think of it, that might be tomorrow night's dinner menu.
Lucy ate last night. YAY, what a good snake. I have to guess that all that hunting paid off. Dad was extra cautious to keep vewy quiet all day.
Take care, everyone.
Sylvain.
