Yeah, sorry.

It's been a very long time since I last posted. Let's just say...it's been an adventure.

I realized a few weeks ago, however, that I enjoyed keeping my blog. It's a place to keep my records. I can't even tell you how helpful it is to have a digital resource where my work start date is posted. I always seem to forget what year I started working there full-time.

Long story short, I spent a lot of time watching the new Star Wars movie in the time I've been away. It tells you something when you'd rather spend $10 (minimum) and two and a half hours in the middle of an alien war zone rather than your own life, if you know what I mean. And then some more shit happened. It sucked -- and I spent more time yet in the Star Wars 'verse (thank you, Mr. Wendig, for that excellent novel, and I may be hyperventilating due to the sequel coming out in two months, nonononononono I need that book noooooow). And then more shit happened, and then I ended up in hospital on morphine, and then I got out and the bills are outrageous. Thank God I changed my insurance from high deductible last year, is all I've got to say about it.

And now you're all caught up.

Fear not, though, I've been knitting and cooking through it all. Most of it - the hospital part was a little less on the cooking/eating bits - anyway. And I find that I want to start knitting more. And cooking more. And I'm hella poor. No, really. I'm an American, working class woman. Spend one night in an emergency room and you will discover how poor you can get. End up going back for subsequent imaging tests and get prescribed drugs...uh, yeah. I'll be paying this off for a while. I have nothing better to do with myself (that I can afford, anyway) than blog, knit and cook dinner. Aren't you lucky?

My purpose in starting this blog up again today (and I do have one) is that I've made up a recipe for myself and I want to keep it somewhere safe. I actually innovated a recipe! And it was awesome! So awesome, in fact, that I have no pictures - I finished it, took one bite and sucked it down like new plumbing. Oh, my word, it was fabulous. If I do say so myself (and I do).

I was watching Dinner at Tiffani's today, and she made a version of poutine called "Disco Fries". I found myself thinking, Self, you neglected to eat poutine when you were in Canada, oh, so long ago. This was bad. And then I started wanting poutine, even though I've never had it. However, even her recipe is problematical for me in terms of ingredients - well, Lea & Perrins' claims their Worcestershire Sauce has no soy, but I don't trust anyone anymore, so I'm not going to make her recipe, per se. And all day long my longing for gravy coated fries just got stronger and stronger and stronger. I made a stop at the grocery and then made this:

My Lazy Girl Pretend Poutine

1 bag freezer fries (heavy crinkle cuts, please)
1 cup beef broth
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
shake of onion powder (about the same amount as cumin)
Cheese -- roughly a half cup, but please yourself, both in type and amount -- I used Gruyere. 
Salt and pepper

Bake half of the bag of fries (supposedly, this is one serving - ok, ok, it's one serving if you're me) until crispy, then salt and set aside -- you will want the extra salt, and you will want these fries crisp before you doctor them.

Make your gravy:
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan, and once it's melted make a pale roux with the flour (that just means you mix it in and let it cook, but don't let it get dark -- I only went a light tan with my roux). Pour in half the broth and cook until it comes together in a thick paste. Toss in most of the cheese and melt, almost as if you're making a bechemel sauce, but without the milk. Once the cheese melts, add your spices (and a tiny bit more salt, and pepper to taste.) Stir it up, and then carefully add in the second half of the beef broth. Whisk to keep it smooth.

Put your fries in a bowl, pour a healthy dose of gravy on and then top with the rest of the cheese. You'll have some of your gravy left over, just save it up.

Nosh.

I can't speak for your experience with my lazy poutine, but putting the cheese in the gravy gives it extra body and makes it soooooooo good.

I ate my dinner, had some sugar cookie dough and now am contemplating going to the laundry to wash my clothes. If I can move. I may have a gravy hangover.

But rest assured, I will take some pictures of my new knitting projects and the designs I'm working on, and be back soon. I'm going to try and blog at least once a week. We'll see how it goes.