Consomme and Muligatawny

This week has been a nutty one. Our kitchen was completely off limits and drywall dust had invaded everything. The dog's allergies have reached a critical stage. And we're cranky. Really cranky. Nothing is where it is supposed to be and when we find it, it's covered in dust. We've eaten out every meal for the entire week except for the night my mother took pity on us. We are pitiful.
There is a bright note in all of this. The pity party was interrupted by an exam in Soups and Sauce class. I didn't even have time to worry about it. I have pretty much failed all of the little quizzes to date so I figured this wouldn't be that bad. I'm better in the kitchen than in the quiz department. Consomme is a tricky and finickly little ditty to make. By taking a good stock, ground lean meat, mire poix, and a sachet of spices one can create a clear, lovely broth. It needs to be velvety smooth and clear as a bell. A crazy floating raft forms and makes all the magic happen. A little babying and you've got it made. Mine was yummy. I got a good grade. I needed it to balance out the shitty quiz grades.
After the practical exam I made a mighty fine Muligatawny soup. Curry and chicken and yum. Our group made a shrimp bisque worthy of a wimper. It was so delicious it made one sigh... The rest of the class took some pretty bad recipes and made them wonderful. It was a feast that day.
My kitchen limps along. I did, however, hang some mighty terrific wallpaper. If this cooking thing doesn't work out, I think I've got it made in the papering business. I'm trying to post some pictures but I can't seem to make it happen today. My computer is translating the photos into numbers and letters. Weird.