(no subject)

Yesterday's use of the Pomodoro timer was extremely helpful. I've distractions that i can't really do anything about. By working until the timer went off and then really trying to allow myself to Take a Break (looking outside, letting go), then moving back to a short task, i think i was able to keep moving and not dwell.

I'm not sure how well it will work at other times: the intensity i had this weekend was draining.

When i got home last night, i had a reasonable amount of energy, so i set to making the seafood gumbo i'd put on our menu. In the first step, making the roux, i realized that i wasn't going to be using wheat flour so, yet again, i would not be following a recipe. I made my roux with the masa for tamales and extra corn starch. It did seem to transition to a golden then nut brown, so that was gratifying. Another deviation was to choose to use a tomato-roasted red bell pepper soup that has some cream in it as a replacement for the chicken stock and canned crushed tomatoes. As that was already rather thick, i only simmered for an hour, not two, before adding the seafood.

The recipe i had must have been for an army regiment as halved it would feed a large family.

After we ate and we were partitioning up the remainder, i recalled that i left out the file i'd bought which was the inspiration to make the gumbo in the first place.