Sunset in Greenville, NC

My Ragu

The other day, I noticed the tomatoes I had bought were getting mushy. I needed to do something with them. So I roasted them with some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a couple of cloves of garlic. 


I had thought I'd shove it into a blender or food processor with some heavy cream and make some awesome tomato soup. My corporate, furnished apartment didn't have either one. So I smushed it with a fork thinking I could get it to somewhat soupy consistency. Alas, that didn't work either. In frustration, I covered it and put it in the fridge. 


Then I got inspired. I had mushrooms. And pasta. So this is what I did.


1 onion, medium, chopped
1 packaged sliced mushrooms
beef stock


saute on med or med-low heat until the mushrooms shrink and the stock has evaporated. it's about 10 minutes.


Add the tomatoes and garlic, smushed. Add salt and pepper. Allow to cook down until most of the liquid has evaporated from the tomatoes.  


Add favorite pasta, I used fettucini. It's a think sauce like a ragu. Dang tasty!

My Mom's Christmas Cactus

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't felt like I had much to say. 


I finished up my assignment in Fairfax, VA the second week of November. I was suppose to start my next assignment in Springfield, MA November 14 but due to a paperwork snafu I started the 21st. 


So I went home for a week. It was a nice visit with the family. A good break to relax for me. 


I'm not all that happy in this assignment here in Springfield. I took this assignment to stay on the East coast for the holiday season to make it easy to get home for Christmas. I got here and found that I'm working eight hour night shifts. 


I detest the night shifts and felt like I was led astray a bit by the nurse interviewing me. That is partially my fault. When the contract came to me it wrote of nights more than day shifts. I should have listened and backed out. But I didn't. Lesson learned. 


I do work with some lovely nurses and techs on the night shift. It's just not my normal. My sleep patterns are very very off.


So I haven't gotten out and explored the town. I don't seem to have time to do so. 


I'm hoping to strike a balance while I'm here. We'll see what happens in the remaining 10 weeks.