Enough about the evildoers already. I quit that part-time job feeding greenbacks to vulture capitalists so I wouldn’t have to be pissed off all the time. And here I am pissed off all the time. What the hell?
Anyway, the Heaviest Snow of the Season® was supposed to hit this evening, so I tore myself away from the computer and went out for a brisk 90-minute ride on the Bike Friday New World Tourist Select, which is next in line for review in Adventure Cyclist.
It was fine — what isn’t compared to watching the making of political sausage in the nation’s capital? — and when I was done I toddled over to Ranch Foods Direct for a few pounds of crosscut beef shanks as the foundation of a hearty vegetable beef soup to gird my loins against frostbite.
Only there weren’t any. Shanks, that is. Loins of this and that they had, and some of them frozen, too. But nary a shank was to be seen.
A young lady asked if I needed assistance, to which I replied in the affirmative. And in less time than it took me to write this post three pounds of freshly cut beef shanks were in my hands and bound for the soup pot. Nothing like doing your little bit of business with folks from the ’hood.
Funniest thing. I’m not pissed off anymore.
Mad Blog Media 
Nice bit Patrick! The pleasures of interaction with other humans (not to mention getting exactly what you wanted) is underrated these days when so much stuff is automated in the Sprawl-Mart fashion, especially when it comes to retail and customer service. Easy? Yeah. But that’s about all. When I visit the post office I stand in the line (or take a number in way-more-civilized Italy) and wait to deal with a HUMAN rather than some computerized contraption. We’ll have a zuppa recipe in the next issue of La Gazzetta dello CycleItalia. Anyone who wants to sign up to get it (alas, electronically though I would truly love to personally deliver a printed copy to you) can go here: http://www.cycleitalia.com/news.htm
BUON APPETITO!
For me pissed is often too often the easy path. Couple of days ago I needed 5 minutes of help from a coworker. Had been waiting since noon. Then I found him gone. I was pissed. Lasted about 10 seconds, then I realized it was 4:45, still light, 57 degrees outside, not your normal New England January evening, a gift, not a piss off.
Out the door, home by dusk, nice neighborhood walk with my sweetheart while the sunlight faded and the gibbous moon lit the path.
For those of us that work at home, social media is a poor substitute for getting out and talking to people.
Patrick: The soup looks great! Recipe please??
Now off to snow-blow … and 6-8 more inches of the white stuff to follow .. but, we really need it!
JD
John, this is a really simple one, the sort of soup that basically cooks itself. It’s a variation on an old Better Homes and Gardens recipe; my version uses organic/free-range ingredients wherever possible (and affordable).
3 pounds crosscut beef shanks
24 ounces of tomato juice (or V-8, or Snap-E-Tom)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1 teaspoon Chimayo medium chile powder
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed between the palms
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cumin seed
1 bay leaf
1 14.5-ounce can of Muir Glen organic fire-roasted tomatoes, crushed
1 1/2 cups diced russet potato
1 cup frozen or canned whole kernel corn
1 15-ounce can of the beans of your choice, rinsed (I use Eden Organic black beans ’cause I like the color)
1-2 roasted, peeled and chopped green chiles (poblanos taste and look good in this)
Parmigiano-Reggiano for grating
Combine meat, juice, onion, seasonings and 6 cups water in a soup pot. Cover and simmer 2 hours. Remove shanks and let cool, then cut meat from bones in large cubes. Strain broth and skim excess fat. Add meat and vegetables, then cover and simmer 1 hour. Serve in deep bowls with a bit of grated cheese on top and your choice of crackers or organic corn chips for crumbling into the soup. Serves 8 normal humans (or 4 cyclists).
Home cooking – yum!
Thanks for asking for the Recipe John and thanks for Posting it Patrick! I was salivating just looking at that picture, you had me at shank…..
So did you get that foot of snow I heard about up your way?
K, we got bupkis. Maybe a half-inch tops. But Herself spoke with the boss-lady in Denver this morning and heard they had a foot with more coming down. Yow. Better them than us.
Me, I spent a bracing 10 or 15 minutes brooming snow off the back walk and driveway. The side streets were mostly clear by noon, and if it weren’t for the wind (N 26 G 36 mph) I’d be out there riding a bike with fenders.
Two small recipe suggestions here Patrick – next time try some dry beans rather than canned stuff. Lots cheaper and all ya gotta do is soak ’em overnight. Same with the fire-roasted tomatoes, roast ’em yourself in the oven and avoid the canned stuff with all the extra salt they add. One final tip – if you’re going to boil the hell out of it anyway, use the cheapest “stew meat” you can find, even the toughest stuff will break down into delicious, gooey tenderness after all that cooking.
Larry, this is one of my lazy-man meals, so I go with some organic canned items to save time and hassle. Plus you can’t find a tomato worthy of chucking at a passing politician this time of year in Colorado.
I do insist on roasting my own chile whenever possible, though (or at least dealing with a reputable local roaster).
And these Ranch Food Direct crosscut beef shanks I use for the soup are the shiznit, yo. $2.79 a pound, meaty as all get-out, and a nice big chunk of marrow in the center of each one. Really gives the broth some heft.
We used to buy “factory seconds” tomatoes at the Oahu Market in downtown Honolulu in four or five pound bags, take them home, and roast them in the oven. Awesome. I concur with Larry.
Khal: Over a foot here along the Palmer Divide ….. still coming down…..6 more inches expected before it moves on…..thta’s why OG’s recipe is mucho appreciated……JD