St. Jude, Cracked Window.

News reports about St. Jude (funny name for a storm), in the UK, say/show there were lots of downed trees and damaged houses; 5 people died and other damage reports and yet my friends all living in the south of England almost dismissed the storm so I got the impression it didn’t amount to much until the news reports last night. I am assuming we would have heard if anything had happened to Matt’s kids and grandkids, but it was too late to phone by the time we saw the TV reports.

Some of you may remember we had new windows put in all our bedrooms a few months ago. Sunday morning I walked into the bedroom to get dressed and noticed a crack in the window. No idea how it happened unless it was because of heat inside and cold outside. Super came up to look at it and will no doubt get it fixed. I also complained about one of our toilets ‘singing’ or ‘groaning’. He fiddled around with the tank and told me it was fixed. We shall see. But it is nice just being able to call and say ‘fix it’. Friend at bowling was telling me about his chimney needing fixing, we don’t have problems like that. Once in a while I get a hankering to have a house and then I think about all the things we would be responsible for. No thanks, not any more.

Bowling was above average on Monday. Thursday is our Travel League. I have been working very hard trying to persuade one of our buddies to join us. Won’t know if she does til the day.

I don’t eat sausage a lot these days, other than when I was in NC last, can’t resist Jimmy Dean sausage. However, this recipe peaked my interest so I decided to share/save it. It suggests bread for sopping up, I was thinking noodles would go well.

Sausages, Potatoes, and Artichoke Hearts in Tomato Broth

Source: Quick From Scratch - Italian
Serves 4

Simmering chunks of potato, Italian sausages, and artichoke hearts in a tomatoey broth meld their flavours into a savoury stew. Sop up the plentiful broth with crusty bread.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds mild Italian sausages
3 cloves garlic, cut into thin slices
1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes (about 5), cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree
1 1/2 cups drained and rinsed halved canned artichoke hearts (one 14-ounce can)
6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a large stainless-steel pot, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the sausages and brown well, about 10 minutes. Remove. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.
Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the garlic, potatoes, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and boil until reduced to approximately 3 tablespoons, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, 4 tablespoons of the parsley, the salt, and the sausages. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and the pepper.

Variations:
Substitute:
*Rosemary for the thyme
*Red wine for the white wine
*Hot Italian sausage for the mild

Have a great day