Looking for Hints?
- At June 21, 2013
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
If you’re playing the Sizzling Summer Reads game – and you should be because there are tons of prizes – you’ll be looking for some easy answers to my question.
Never fear, it’s all right here!
Good luck!
Why I Spent Five Hours in a Walmart Parking Lot – and LOVED It!
- At June 20, 2013
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 2
So I was working on edits for my summer release with Entangled Publishing. Things have been crazy around here, so I was having some trouble. I know, I know, we’re ALL busy. I’m not claiming that my life is more hectic than yours, or that, to use the phrase coined by hubby and his coworkers, “my gash is deeper than yours.” (Yeah, yeah, I hear it.)
Anyway, I was under the gun, hoping to finish in a week.
Unfortunately, this particular week included painters, junk haulers, carpet cleaners, weekend meetings, and oh, FATHER’S DAY!!
I warned my family not to leave me alone when I was working. Don’t talk, don’t look at me, don’t call me unless someone was dying. (I was iffy on that. I mean, what am I going to do? If your number’s up, your number’s up.)
But still, every time I sat down, the phone rang. Or someone came to the door. Or a semi-urgent day-job message would pop into my in-box.
And. Then. The. Dog. Barked.
And it wasn’t a Good Doggy bark, like a full bladder alert, or a scary guy notification, or a bug sighting. This was a half-hearted “wwwuuuf” like she thought something should be happening, but wasn’t.
Our other two dogs are smart. (See Smart Black Dog, above) They understand words, vocal tones, body language. The right look and they fall to the floor, waiting for the apocalypse, sad but certain that I am the only thing keeping them alive.
But this one (sweet, loving and cute as all get out) is blank as an unpainted wall. She thinks that when you grab her scruff and yell SHUT UP, SHUT UP BEFORE I KILL YOU, it means “Hey! Treat time!”
So, defeated, I left the house and drove, yes, to Walmart where, for the five hours I worked in my car. Uninterrupted. Anonymous. Phone off. Perfect temperature, perfect light, perfectly quiet homeless dudes politely ignoring me.
And there, fuelled by Pop-Tarts and Vitamin water, I powered through to the end.
Roxanne’s Margarita Chicken Soup!
- At June 07, 2013
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
This is a repost, so apologies to those of you regular followers. (Both of you.) But I’m making this soup tonight and thought I’d share ’cause you’re all so fascinated with my menu. I KNOW.
***
So my horoscope yesterday said I was going to wake up with a cold. Big newsflash, Daily OM. I’ve been waking up congested for a couple of weeks now. It’s allergy season.
However, it was one of those icky, grey days that we on the Wet Coast should be used to by now … but AREN’T. At least, I am not, and reserve the right to complain about the rain, grizzle about the drizzle. And make soup. Because soup just tastes so good on days like that!
Also, I’m doing the Wheat Belly diet right now, so soup is perfect. As long as it’s not accompanied by bread. Wheat Belly is basically a version of Atkins. (Good thing I didn’t know THAT before I started.) Low carbs. Lots of veggies. Lots of chicken. Lots of nuts. But, in case you missed it, NO BREAD. (I grew up on the prairies… no wheat? My family thinks I’ve fallen prey to a cult.) So far, in six weeks, I’ve lost about eight pounds. (All of which was gained through the winter, mostly from pie.)
So this week I made a version of chicken soup that my sister introduced to me last summer. At least, it’s more or less like the one she made. I can’t really remember.
Ingredients:
One rotisserie chicken (you can roast your own chicken if you want… if I roast a chicken, I’m gonna eat roast chicken. If I’m making soup with it, someone else can roast it.)
2 cartons of chicken broth
1 onion
garlic (I used two cloves because that’s all I had. More would be fine.)
Olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes (not the big can, the medium sized one. Although I’ve done it with the big can too, so never mind.)
Juice of 2 limes (you could use more if you want it really limey)
cilantro
Salt/pepper to taste (I use sea salt that’s got herbs in it… you might want to add your own herbs… but I’m not holding a gun to your head, do what you want)
For serving:
tortilla chips (I like Fresh is Best corn chips… mmm… what, don’t judge me. It’s NOT WHEAT.)
sour cream
avocado
Saute the onion and garlic – OH! Celery! I used celery this time, too. Saute that with the onion and garlic – in the olive oil, in a big pot. Dump in the chicken broth. Shred the crap out of the rotisserie chicken. Chop up the meat. Add to pot, with the tomatoes. Juice the limes into the pot. Lick your fingers. (Add a little salt, a little tequila… wait. Different blog post.) Cook until done. (My favorite cooking instruction!)
Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream (it’s not wheat either!) and slices of avocado. I might have missed something, but really, you can take it from here, can’t you? If not, have a margarita and quit whining!