Stormy Kansas Nights

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We're in for another stormy night, maybe even some possible tornado warnings thrown into the mix for good measure.  As I heard the thunder get nearer, I decided to take my camera outside and snap a few photos of our stormy skies.


I will never, ever tire of these immense, beautiful, yet angry spring skies.  They evoke a speechless kind of awe from me... not that I stand around outside talking to myself anyway.  But I do love walking around our property, snapping pics while it thunders overhead and lightning pierces the clouds every few minutes.


I can hear the rain now, as it begins to lightly tap on our metal roof.  Our weather radio does automatic tests every Wednesday at noon, and I was glad to hear it fire up today at noon, right on schedule.  This way we know it's in proper order, and the batteries are still good.  'Tis the season for a well-maintained and very necessary weather radio!


Oh, and that black bean soup we had last night?  

Let's just say I'm trying to redeem myself tonight with chicken kiev, a time tested and proven favorite from days gone by... it was one of my son's favorite dishes when he was little, and as I racked my brain today trying to think of something really deelish to make tonight, that's what finally creeped into my brain membrane.

Hubby choked down his bowl of soup last night, while I regret to say I didn't even patronize myself enough to do the same.  I topped our soup with a lil bit of sour cream, green onion and shredded cheddar cheese.  It smelled delicious, honestly it did... the whole house smelled good, so I had high hopes for it.  But it did NOT make the grade.  The rest of it went right into the trash this morning.

I have a feeling the recipe was good, but the bottom line is that hubby and I just don't like black bean soup.  I have always had an aversion to the pastiness of beans.  I would like to change that, since as I mentioned yesterday, I realize that beans are very healthy and good for you.

So maybe next time we are in a restaurant that features black bean soup, I will give their version a try and see if it's better than my version.

Until then, we'll eat some deep fried butter-laden chicken kiev tonight, so that we can continue to clog up our arteries even more.  *sigh*


40 comments:

  1. we had another spring storm today...with lightening...and pea size hail...then it was gone..

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  2. instead of black bean soup, why not try white chicken chili, a little spicey but i know its not homemade but McCormicks makes a pretty good mix for the chili and quick too. The mix packets are sometimes hard to comeby. Oh and i really like the last picture of the fence line.

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  3. Thunderstorms! I can't wait! I remember as we watched our first thunder storm roll across the fields behind us from the west, last summer. It was amazing to see. We lived in a little valley town, before moving here, and you didn't see anything coming before it smacked you in the face!

    Sorry to hear about the soup.

    ~Andrea~

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  4. I have to admit that Black Bean Soup isn't my favorite, either, Suz . . . Used to love Pea Soup with Ham . . . and Lentils . . . Back in the 70s we were all eating Lentils and making our own yogurt . . . lol . . .
    Chicken Kiev sounds FABULOUS!!!
    Can I hire you to come over and do chores?? I got home from work and the rain is pounding and lightning is flashing and the weather radio is warning of severe storms and hail . . . Horses might not get fed until late tonight :(

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  5. I am a ways from you but we have a tornado watch tonight also. However, we usually get ours from hurricanes. As for your black bean soup, try other beans and mix in some greens. It really is good. Rachel Ray has an Italian name for that but even she calls it beans and greens.

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  6. I agree about black beans... tried em, wish I liked em, I just don't... most Mexican dishes are not to my liking...

    great photos of home

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  7. Hi Ms. Susan! Just droppin' by to say hi 'cuz I've been so busy lately. Love seein' the stormy skies but you be careful, don't want you to get zapped!

    Just finished up the last of my cheesy treats this morning. Have some other treat bags to finish up that were gifts but I hope Mom will order me some more of yours. They are THE BEST!

    Mom says that chicken kiev sounds mighty good!

    Big Brown Hugs to you and your pack,
    Chester ;0=)

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  8. Beautiful photos! I do not like thunderstorms but if it means some warm weather I can handle them. I like navy beans, can't stand pinto beans. Maybe you just need to try some different types?

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  9. HiYa, I'm just here from Lilac Lane Cottage..interesting posts and photos. May I join the fun over here..Remember driving through Kansas, It was long and flat..Like the band though! Try different beans..like navy..use alot of liquid and hamhocks!! What are cheezy treats..I want some now..Cynthia

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  10. I love the photos Susan..Tget are beautiful...Hey, I go around talking to myself, you prob do too, Isn't that what Akron gals do?
    lol

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  11. If I can find my black bean soup recipe I will send it to you. It's really good. Chicken Kiev sounds great too. We had storms this morning and a little pea size hail too.

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  12. Awesome sky photos....maybe you find a compromise between black bean soup and chicken kiev...(actually I have never eaten chicken kiev) but batter fried anything sounds great right now....

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  13. Here we go again...tornado season is soon upon us. Hello OZ GIRL...fellow Kansan! We had that storm too and I must say even though I've been here for 10 years I still am both thrilled and terrified by the storms down here. Coming from the mounains of British Columbia we had storms but NOTHING like we get here. I was born and raised in Manitoba across the northern border of North Dakota..we had really bad storms but never did we ever have a tornado scare back then. Now when Kake TV tells us to get down to our storm shelters I do it...but where does a native Kansan go when there is a tornado warning?....OUTSIDE!!! Yep...that's just where my hubby goes...he's got to check out that sky. I swear that man is going to give me a heart attack! I guess it really is time to bring out the weather radio...there's no tornado sirens where we live either. Love your pictures Susan. I'm no photographer like you are but one day I'll post a picture I took about 8 years ago from our front yard in the city. That storm produced a tornado that hit Mulvane. Nature can be both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Stay safe. Maura

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  14. That's the spirit, clog the arteries like the rest of us are always doing! Sorry the black bean soup didn't turn out so well.

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  15. I'm sorry you have the storms, but I must say, pushing the rain up north of us has given us the most beautiful as two days. I'll hope for nothing severe for you.

    And black bean soup? Always sounds so good, and then, not very. Needs a good deal of spicy, I think - and a large dollop of sour cream. That sort of defeats the purpose, I suppose.

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  16. That is a scary looking sky!!
    I have never had black bean soup, for some reason it has never sounded too good!

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  17. Oh I love me some sky fury!!! I actually *thought* about going out this evening but I just didn't LOL!! Maybe I will next time!

    I think I might feel the same about black bean soup! Now I'm all for the food that clogs our arteries LOL!!

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  18. Gorgeous photos! I can't wait for the storms to light up the sky around here again! I'm to the North of you a little bit, and so far we have only had some pretty nice rains. Good for the garden anyways! :)

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  19. Beautiful photographs! I love the big skies.

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  20. Clogging up arteries has never sounded more delicious! haha. And I LOVE the photos as ever...I'm so jealous that you have such an amazing 'canvas' right on your doorstep! Here's hoping I trump you in the 'scenery' stakes when I hit Thailand...four days and off I go!!! :D

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  21. I agree on the skies, I have posted my pics of the big storm the other night twice this week and they're all DRAMA lol!

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  22. I agree with Daina, there is an incredible ground chicken chili on food network that was swiss chard in it and it ROCKS!!!! One of my favorite this winter, and I KNOW CHILI!

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  23. One thing I really miss about Kansas was the BIG GIANT SKY. The one that you can see the end of the earth from. And storms were big and scary and sometimes never even made them to me - but I could see them! Our horizon is just not very big here. If we see storm clouds, we will have rain within 5 minutes. I do miss those awesome big Kansas skies.....

    I love bean soup. Any kind of bean soup. But some don't. Don't beat yourself up over it. You can eat healthy without beans..... (((hugs))) And when you get your chickens? You won't be throwing meals into the trash can ever again - no matter HOW bad you think they are.......

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  24. So how long till you guys dig a hole in your yard and put a bunker in to protect you and pets from the inevitable twister?

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  25. Nice photos of a fantastic great sky - I love big open spaces.

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  26. Ooo, I love stormy skies. Great shots that you got!

    Sorry to hear the soup was a flop ... but, well ... beans always taste like beans, right? :) And the chicken kiev sounds delish!

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  27. Though it's a stormy sky, it is still beautiful.

    Sky Watch Friday

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  28. Amazing how many stormy worlds there are at the moment - including mine! Storms create such dramatic shots! Love these rural scenes with stormy skies!

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  29. Hey girl :)
    I look forward to your sky pics sooo much! You capture that Kansas sky with such clarity!
    And don't worry about the black bean soup. Order a pizza! If they deliver where you live. They won't to us!! Bah! They say the distance from the pizzaria to our home is an insurance risk!
    Whatever!
    misha

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  30. Look at those gorgeous skies!! Those pictures are just so fabulous at capturing those Spring storms :)

    We actually had a little bit of that today ourselves! I went out with a friend and towards the end of the day, the skies looked downright mean >.< But even though it looked completely ominous, I LOVE it!

    I'm sorry your soup didn't turn out-You can take comfort in the fact that you DID try something new ^.^

    That totally counts!

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  31. Even though stormy sky. they are very beautiful.

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  32. As a kid my favorite part about visiting my extended family in Kansas was watching the storms rage. P.S. "deep fried butter-laden chicken kiev" AMAZINGLY delicious ;)

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  33. You've got a lot more world there than I have here :)

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  34. Bean soup is tricky. Hubby is the soup maker in our house and bean soup in the past has been hit and miss. Really sad sometimes when we have had to toss an entire pot of bean soup down the drain. Sometimes the smell of it wafting through the house can be deceiving. Sorry you had to throw yours out. :-((

    I love storms!

    Di
    The Blue Ridge Gal

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  35. Though it won't help if the issue is the beans, I have a very tasty black bean soup recipe if you're interested.

    Thank you for the storm photos. Rain and thunderstorms are at the top of the list I miss of things back east.

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  36. Oh darn! All of my failed recipes and unwanted leftovers are given to our chickens. They don't have as picky a palate as we do. hehe!

    My family is not fond of bean dishes either. They would probably starve if they lived in a country where beans were a staple.

    But we all love black beans when blended into salsa with corn and cilantro, too. Oh yummers!!!!!


    ~Lisa

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  37. Oh! And your storm photos are gorgeous!

    Very moody :)

    ~Lisa

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  38. I like black bean soup. I guess I am in the minority.

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