My New Clog

I had such a nice soup party about two weeks ago.Three families came over. I served Roasted Corn and Butternut Squash Soup (with some diced roasted red peppers). I also made an amazing white chili (I am going to end this post with that recipe-it is that good) and an involved minestrone. My boys had Progresso Chicken Noodle out of a can. Do you believe that?

The white chili went,there was nothing left. I had 2 tupperware containers filled with the other two soups. I put them in the mudroom which is a little colder than our refrigerator but not quite freezing. I forgot about them for two weeks. I would have loved them too. I can't believe I did that. It was because the boys weren't bugging me for them.

I finally got around to cleaning the mudroom. I am slowly working my way around the house. I have brought 6 huge boxes to Goodwill in the past two weeks. I saw the soup and figured drat it is off. I guess I am fooled by how modern our kitchen looks. I assumed I could use the disposal to dispose of the soup. So I did. It went down , I let it run, I ran the water. Everything seemed fine.

The next morning I went to switch the laundry that is directly below my kitchen sink. Both my basement basins were filled with water and soup. Apparently, our pipes are not modern at all.

I called Fabio, I tried to sound calm. He took the news well, as well as he could. He told me to pour 2 capfuls of this heavy duty stuff down the kitchen drain. If that didn't work in a day or two (he gave me a dosing schedule, it was 2 capfuls every 12 hours),I was to stick my arm in that mess and plug up one side with a rag and try to plunge the other side.

Of all days. Minutes before I saw this nightmare scenario playing out in front of me I had stripped all three beds. I was planning a marathon laundry day. I literally tripped over a mound of bed sheets as I spotted this avoidable disaster.

Fabio pulled up my blog entitled Help Wanted and read the third paragraph aloud to me over the phone. He repeated the last 3 lines just for fun.He was right. I didn't listen. He had told me that the pipes were old and not to use the garbage disposal for anything more than a stray crumb. I swear, I usually don't. I don't know what I was thinking. To hear Fabio tell it, it was as if I wasn't thinking at all.

It cost $365.00 to repair, but if anything happens in the next 5 years we are preferred customers. I actually woke poor Fabio up at 5 AM (he asked me to) when Mr. Rooter arrived at my door. I needed to know which credit card to use, and so on. I am telling you, I am like a new born baby when it comes to managing crisis. Before I married Fabio I was a serial live in nanny. I always had my own apartment and cars but nothing was ever in my name.

My 5 AM Fabio was positively Zen about everything, even when I tackled him with the grand total. I think it is because my birthday is coming up and he will not only miss that he will also miss St. Valentine's Day. Did I mention that it is snowing again and the kids are probably going to be dismissed early. I won't even get into my tub full of dishes.


White Chili (from the kitchen of Rosemary Liu)
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. small white beans
6 cups of chicken broth (although I use a lot more as it cooks down)
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 to 4 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 medium onions chopped and sauteed in 1 T oil until transparent
12 oz. chopped Ortega chilies (1 large and 1 small can)
1 whole (oven roasted) chicken, shredded
2 cups sour cream
3 cups grated jack cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Soak the beans over night, discard water.
2. Add beans to chicken broth, bouillon, spices, onions and chilies.
3. Simmer 2 to 3 hours (I go for longer and that's where I add more broth, so watch it).
4. Add chicken, sour cream and cheese.
5. Serve with cilantro and olives.

This is the best chili I have ever had in my life. This chili never saw my drainpipes.