Busy morning

Had to be at the Medical Centre by 8.30 am for fasting bloods to be taken and to have an ECG as part of the preparation for my yearly GP's Medical Management Plan - I have an appointment with the Nurse and the GP next Wednesday and they like the pathology done up front. The girls at the Laverty Pathology Clinic were really on the ball - I was first in and sat in the chair and they had the blood out of me before I even knew what was happening. I had brought along my 'overnight wee' specimen so all that was left was then quickly onto the bed for the ECG. The electrodes were whipped into place and the lass used a little scanner device to establish contact with those, dialled up a fax number in Melbourne and before you could blink my ECG was on the way to the medical specialists in Melbourne 900 klms away for reading.

All done, I was on my way in ten minutes. I went up to Woolworth's and bought six soft bread Frankfurt rolls from the hot-bake, a loaf of sourdough bread made with olive oil and garlic and four long frankfurters from the delicatessen - Hot dogs for dinner tonight as an easy dinner for Rhonda who is still on night duty and will be sleeping all day. I also bought four boneless chicken thighs from the delicatessen as they were 'on special' - more about them later.

Home and a quick light breakfast of a cuppa and some cheese and sliced meat on toasted sourdough bread with Rhonda before packing her off to bed for the day.

I had previously mentioned that we were switching our Digital TV antenna across to satellite using a VAST array decoder to the satellite dish. The decoder installed developed a fault and this unit was changed over today. We also bought a second decoder which will be going up to "The Camp". Our antenna guy has obtained a second-hand satellite dish for us and he'll be up to install the lot in the next few weeks.

The chicken thighs I bought in "Woolies" - making my own "Quick Chicken Soup" and cooking this to take up to "The Camp" - we are going up Thursday, Friday and Saturday - and I've frozen the loaf of sourdough bread I bought this morning to go with us.

Recipe, you ask?

J's QUICK CHICKEN SOUP

INGREDIENTS

4 chicken boneless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed

1 large brown onion, halved and finely chopped

1 large carrot, peeled, finely chopped

1 celery stick, trimmed, finely chopped
1 small can of corn kernels (you can use cream of corn if you prefer)

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbs finely chopped fresh continental parsley stems

6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked

1 litre of chicken stock

3/4  litre of water
1/4 tsp crushed black peppercorns

Sea salt flakes to taste

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh continental parsley, extra

METHOD

Dice chicken thighs into roughly 1 cm square pieces

Combine chicken, onion, carrot, celery, corn, garlic, parsley, thyme, stock, water and peppercorns in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 40 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.

Taste and season with sea salt.

Serving fresh - ladle soup among serving bowls. Sprinkle with extra parsley and serve immediately.

Saving for later - will keep in a closed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or, can be frozen for later use as it keeps well for 6-8 weeks frozen.