Welcome to the cooking/sports/books/pets in no particular order blog. I'll discuss, well, those things in random posts. I love to cook; lately I've been exploring French food. I love football, especially the NFL; I've been following the sport fairly closely for probably 20 years. I love non-fiction; it's fun peeking in on other's peoples lives. I love our two dogs; we have a yellow Labrador and a Miniature Schnauzer.

Today, while watching week one of college football, I made a chicken stock. I roasted the not-very-popular pieces of chicken in a 400 degree oven for an hour. Then I coarsely chopped carrots, celery, onions, and leeks and crushed a few garlic cloves. All was tossed into a pot with 3 quarts of water with bay leaves, thyme, parsley, salt, cloves, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and let simmer for several hours. Strain through a cheese cloth and voila, a deep, dark stock just ready to be added to recipes. It should be good in the freezer for a couple of months or so.

Last book read: "UnGodly: The Passions, Torments, and Murder of Atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair." She was a vile, spiteful person. Great read; it was hard to put down. She was horrible to her children.

My NFL dark horse team: Atlanta Falcons. They have the offensive; they just needed the defense, which I think they may finally have. Stay healthy, Matty Ice!

Until my writing muse strikes again...