h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I really try hard not to complain about the weather. No matter how awful it is, someone else, possibly someone I know, has worse or has had worse recently.

And I really don't complain much about the weather during wintertime, because I like cooler weather, and I enjoy a bit of snow. A couple dozen inches, cumulatively, is OK, provided we get a couple days in between every few inches or so for moving it out of the way.

But I'm sick of this cold we've been getting. It's quite likely that I will be working from home tomorrow simply because I am apprehensive about going outside. Tomorrow's *high* temperature is supposed to be somewhere around -26°C, with wind chill in the -43 to -46° C range.

Today wasn't *too* bad. My OH drove me in to work this morning (he drives roughly 50 miles each way, so a few miles out of his way is not that bad, especially not at 6-6:30 AM. It's currently -20°C, with wind chill around -33. I waddled home from the train wrapped up like a human burrito: leggings under my slacks, a sweater and a hoodie over my shirt, big pea coat, wooly hat, pashmina, knitted scarf, two pairs of socks, mittens over my gloves, and my snow boots. I wasn't too uncomfortable other than having to flutter my eyelashes to keep them from freezing shut.

We've got the kitchen and bathroom faucets dripping and the cabinet doors in both rooms open, to help prevent the pipes from freezing. I've got the heat cranked up to 20°C for the same reason - and because our bedroom has two perimeter walls and gets cold as hell when it's below zero.

But there are nice things about a cold night. I've got a big pot of soup going, filled with roasted corn, black and navy beans, black-eyed peas, tinned tomatoes, and arugula. I've got some partially baked dinner rolls we can warm up to have with it. And some lovely hot cocoa with bits of peppermint in it, for dessert.

But yeah. I hate to whine about the weather too much, even when I have three feet of water in the foyer of my building, when the power or gas goes out, when a tree falls in the yard and knocks a window in. Those things are all annoying but I feel bad for moaning. But this cold is downright dangerous, and I'd like it to warm up to at least 0°C so we can go to the zoo and see the baby snow leopard and gray seal already!!

Blimey that is harsh.

Not to rub it in but so far we haven't had any winter. Either we won't get a proper one or it's going to come suddenly and knock everyone for six.

I like the sound of the soup (to get trivial) any chance of the recipe?

I didn't really use a recipe as such. But here's what's in it:

Used a mix of beans and barley from a company called Bob's Red Mill. So it's about two cups, total, of dried black beans, dried navy beans, dried black-eyed peas, and dry barley.

Start with about 3 cups mire poix sauteed in olive oil till soft, then add a couple cloves garlic and saute that for a minute or two. Then add the dry stuff.

I then added a 14-oz can of tomatoes (I used fire roasted), a couple handsful of frozen roasted sweet corn, a bay leaf, some oregano, and about 6 cups of water.

Simmer it for 1 1/2 hours or so, till beans are done. Add salt and pepper and a couple handsful of arugula.

That's it!! Tastes almost like chili.

oh that sounds great, thanks for typing it out. I take soup to work in the winter and that sounds perfect for me.

It really sticks to the ribs! I made some freshly baked rolls with it, and it was fantastic.

Much warmer today - not quite beach volleyball weather, but it's no longer so cold it hurts and your eyes freeze shut.

And I'm making potato soup tonight. Have a bunch of teeny Yukon gold potatoes and some potato soup sounded like a good thing to have.

That is insane cold. I have experiencd temperatures like that, but only while indoors and asleep.

The winter here has been wet, mostly, and windy. Temperatures have mostly been a few degrees above freezing (daytime temps, that is). It will probably get a bit colder before proper springtime, though.

The stew really sounds like the stuff for cold weather.

Well, now that the insane cold has passed, it's time for snow. It started snowing around midnight and is supposed to continue till around 9 PM tonight. We're forecast anywhere from 6" (which is not a big deal, really) to 18" (which is a real pain!). We're going to hit the grocery store this morning while there are only a few inches, and play the rest of the day by ear.

Stay safe and warm.

Will do,. if it gets too yucky we'll hang out at home till tomorrow, when the plows will certainly have gotten all the busy streets. If we get more than 12", they will eventually hit the side streets as well.