Where was Chuck when the lights went out?

In the dark of course . . . well not quite I was in my car somewhere between the parking lot at work and the RONA store. As you can tell I've survived the power outage that went from say 4:45 to 12:30 yesterday.

Here's a cool video clip that shows you that your brain will only let you see things that make sense to it and nothing else. We're such strange animals, eh? Speaking of strange animals here's a link to an 80's music video archive . . . sadly the site is Gowan free at last check.

Beer Cheese Soup

I like beer, cheese and soup, so this should be good right? Here's a soup recipe I stumbled across on line. What do you think?

Be sure to open your beer and let it stand while dealing with the vegetables. You want the beer to be a bit flat.

6 slices lean bacon
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 medium celery ribs, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups chicken broth (we used 1 1/2 teaspoons better than bouillon chicken base and 1 1/3 cups water)
12 ounces flat beer, divided
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons fine-chopped red bell pepper, for garnish

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. When cool, crumble and set aside.

Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon fat in skillet and saute onions, carrots and celery over medium-high heat about 3 minutes or until soft.

Add chicken broth and all but ¼ cup beer.

Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour and remaining ¼ cup beer.

Gradually whisk beer mixture into vegetable mixture, stirring constantly until thickened.

Stir in half-and-half and cheese, continuing to stir until cheese melts.

Stir in bacon and sugar.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve garnished with chopped sweet red peppers.

Makes 8 servings.

If you try this recipe you'll have to let me know how it is.


That's it for now