Monday, December 14, 2009

Living Room Furniture & Portuguese Soup

I am spoiled well beyond rotten. I would be ashamed of it except it has been going on for so long that I've become, well, used to it. Not that I take it for granted; in fact material things have never meant a whole lot to me, but, nevertheless, I am spoiled.

Today's event is not the exception to anything, it is the rule.

"Hey, let's go to the furniture store." John said to me out of the blue.

I had my shoes on and my purse slung over my shoulder before he finished his sentence.

Once at the store, he stood back and let me loose.

"It's Christmas, Beej. Go choose what you want."

I have simple tastes. Don't give me ornate, I prefer simple. I'll choose Danish over Baroque, anytime. So I laid my eyes on a Seafoam colored living room set., with chocolate piping. I looked up at John, and pointed at it.

"I just want the love seat and the chair." I told the sales lady.

"No no, Beej. Get yourself the entire set." John said. "Order her the entire thing." he instructed the clerk.




We head home and take long, lovely naps. I awaken well after John, who is downstairs in the family room, watching tv.

"Mornin'" he says. (It's 6pm.)

My plan was to make him a nice dinner but my sleep had cut into the prep time so I skedaddled into the kitchen.

John lived in Brazil for quite a long period of time and came away from there with a strong love for Portuguese food. His favorite is called Feijoada, which is a dish with beans, kale, a variety of meats and sliced oranges:



But time is unforgiving so I settle for a mock Portuguese soup that is incredibly easy and one that we both love:


PORTUGUESE SOUP


1 whole smoked sausage link, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 large box or can chicken broth
1-2 cups water
1 large package raw coleslaw greens
2 cups instant potatoes
ground pepper and salt (to taste)

melt butter in the bottom of a large pot. add sausage pieces and brown well. Add broth and water. Heat. Add coleslaw greens. Stir until well mixed. Add instant potatoes. Stir. Reduce heat and simmer until slaw cabbage softens and instant potatoes thicken broth. (the longer it simmers, the better it is.)
Enjoy.

14 comments:

  1. I think that John makes too much money. Rather than spending all of it I hope that you are hiding some of it away for harder times.

    Not doing so has brought a lot of problems on others.

    Sorry to hear that you have become spoiled. Well, carry on then.

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  2. Nice sofa set...and the soup sounds spectacular...I would make it but I really wouldn't...though I would drive a thousand miles to buy it and eat it...where r u...anyway Beej...I read your stuff...because you are an amazing writer and never fail to make it interesting...

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  3. Well, like I said Billy, material things aren't really important to me. In fact, a single rose is one of my favorite things in the world. Or a poem.

    Brother, thanks again! I'm so glad you enjoy my writing. And I'm glad you're my friend.

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  4. I lived for years in an Portuguese area of Toronto (we have a huge Portuguese population...in our area, most of the people were from the Azores). There is a very popular soup we love that is very similar to the one in your recipe. It's known here as caldo verde, and it uses kale and potatoes and always a slice or two of smokey Portuguese sausage. It tastes best with accordion music.

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  5. mister anchovy, it IS good, isn't it?
    I'll bet you've had feijoada then, and know how good that is. Or at least have heard of it.

    And everything is best with accordion music, tout bien considéré.

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  6. I have just dribbled on my keypad...

    I will send you the repair bill when it explodes due to an excess of saliva...;-)

    You got a good man there babe. You keep making him Portugese grub eh?

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  7. I like material things, like belt sanders. But I haven't bought a new piece of furniture for, oh hell, I don't know, thirty years at least.

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  8. I need a new set sometime.. Can he buy me some too.....LOL..... Just kidding... We will suffice for next year hopefully..

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  9. So, whatcha gonna do with that old set? I'm in especially great need of a good used one. :) Unless you have a greater plan than donating to the poor, that is. *smiles

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  10. Beej, how about putting up the recipe for the real-deal soup, although the short version sounds yummy too.

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  11. Sherry! What a pleasant surprise to find you here! Please pull up a chair, kick off you shoes and stick around. Oh amd there's a pot of coffee pvr there on the counter. help yourself..and while you're here, lets make some feijoada..

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  12. Candy, it the kind you sink into and dont want to leave.

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  13. Nice blog…. It isn't easy to choosing that perfect Living Room Furniture. It needs to be ergonomically viable and superior when it comes to comfort.

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Go ahead, you can do it! Just whistle if you want me. You know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and BLOW....

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