Rainy Day Soup

Here was my yummy lunch today. 

I made a big pot of this for the first time just before having surgery back in early March. 

It was very good and as it turned out, the perfect "soft food" required for eating just after. I ate so much of it, I dubbed it "surgery soup." 

But luckily, I had enough to freeze some ( did I say it was a BIG pot?) and got it out again just in time for these past rainy days. 

This is lucky because I really like it but the surgery association wasn't that pleasant, so I renamed it "rainy day soup" 

And I'll certainly be making it again when soup season (Fall) rolls back around.

Potato-Artichoke-Asparagus Soup

1 pound asparagus, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 potatoes, washed and chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 C water

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2 cans (14 oz.) coconut milk

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. dried (or 1 Tbsp. fresh, chopped) tarragon

1 tsp. dried (or 2 Tbsp. fresh, chopped) basil

Bring the water to boil, then add the asparagus, celery, potatoes, and onion. Cover and reduce the heat to

medium low and simmer 20 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and simmer another 10 minutes. In a blender,

blend the coconut milk, cornstarch, salt, paprika, tarragon, and basil. Add the blend to the simmering

vegetables and heat to boiling, then simmer on low/medium until thickened, stirring frequently.

Easter

He is Risen!

Tell it out with joyful voice!

I am joyful this Easter because the Atonement of Christ allows my family to be sealed together for eternity.

Beware the ides of March

In commemoration of the "original" Ides of March, I thought I would share with you the history of Caesar, as related to me last night by my 4-and-5-year-olds, while we waited in the car for Dad to pick up our five dollar pizza.

"That's Caesar, mom. He really lived a long time ago and he ate lots of pizza," I was informed by my clever, and oh-so-confident son.

"Yeah, he had a lot of brothers and sisters, too. But they didn't like him so they killed him," chimed in my knowledgeable daughter.

"No," corrected my boy, "he ate so much pizza, that IT killed him."*

Luckily, the pizza arrived at that moment and we were spared further argument about who and why poor Caesar was killed. (they were now too busy discussing who would hold what on the short drive home)

If you think about it, though, they weren't too far off. The actual Caesar DID, in fact, live a long time ago AND he was collecting, hoarding, and wielding all the power (ie "eating all the pizza"--or maybe monopolizing the pizza market?) which made some people dislike him.
However, he was quite popular with the Roman lower classes, just like $5 pizza.** Because, let's be honest, we don't eat it because we necessarily like it, but when you are on a budget and too tired to prepare a meal, there's nothing quicker or more economical . . .

But beware too much pizza; it may, in fact, be out to get you.

* okay, okay, I rewrote history- he actually said that his brother didn't like that Caesar ate so much pizza, so he killed him. But this is how I remembered it and I thought my version was funnier.


**if you eat Little Caesar's pizza and even if you like it, please do not offense, for none is intended :)

valentine's day

We are loved! 

Thinking that the kids would all be in bed by the time he got home on Valentine's Day, Daddy surprised us all by bringing in flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals early in the morning. 

Everyone felt special. 

(not to mention the cards & treats from Grandmas & Grandpas & visiting teachers) 

Then Laila and I had a lot of fun at her Valentine's party for her kindergarten class. I got to help by doing the cupcake treat. The kids loved decorating and then eating their yummy treats. I enjoyed chatting with them. The valentine card exchange sure was crazy, though! 

We went out for lunch but to top it all off, Dad got home earlier than expected and we all got to dance around the HUGE heart balloon before heading off to bed (a little later than usual)

 And it turns out that oversized heart balloons make exceptional surfboards for indoor surfing. We sure got a lot of use out of ours.

Zoe goes sledding

Snow! 

Finally enough snow to go sledding. 

We were suiting up to head out to the park just a few blocks east of our house, when Grandma called to see if we wanted to go over there for sledding. 

Off we went and had a great time. 

Laila learned you really ought to gauge a hill's steepness before attempting to go down it. 

(see the hill behind Joe in the pic, yeah, that is the one she sped down)

Zoe took her first ride with daddy and remained her mellow, nonplussed self. 

Max had fun (we think), and all enjoyed hot cocoa afterwards (truly my favorite part of this winter pastime)

the game cupboard

Organization is nothing, if not my nemesis. 

From the time I was a child trying to escape my basement bedroom with a spoon to window screen, because I'd been banished there until it was tidy; to my days at the college dorm where my desk in disarray became a demon of legendary renown; I have struggled with getting and maintaining order. (of course, sometimes the struggle is less intense than at other times, simply because I'm not even trying.) And honestly this has worked for me for a long time. YOU may not be able to see any order in that pile on the desk, but I know exactly where certain papers have been stored within the stacks. 
However, it works less & less well the more & more people & things there are to care for. 

Therefore, no longer. Disorder will no longer plague my existence, at least as it pertains to THINGS. This is the year that I am going to tackle the many nitpicky organizational projects that I am perpetually putting off. And the first of these is finished! (well, NEARLY finished). I have been through all of our games, combining or discarding duplicates, lovingly duct-taping up torn boxes, and stacking them in their tidy spots in the game cupboard. And all the while I am thinking, "isn't there a digital version of this? WHY then must we allot so much space to these silly games?" 

 Then I sat down to a modified game of Clue with my 4-year-old and watched while he had so much fun moving the game pieces around, "fighting" with the "sword", going down the secret stairs, and rearranging the cards so that no mystery remained as to "whodonit". I realized suddenly (as I was stifling my amusement over his dice rolling technique) that all these fancy schmancy technological devices with their angry birds and their goo balls can never never replace my game cupboard. 

Oh, it may be pared down a bit--there are SOME games that translate quite well to digital (scrabble, battleship, boggle, memory), 
so why not make a little room on the shelf? 

AND it may experience some tough competition--we can go days without opening its contents but dragonvale (and tower defense) is our current daily digital game fare. For the most part, it is safe to say that the boxed games won't be going away for quite some time. 
The organization of those boxes and their many many many small pieces? 
Well, that might not last quite as long. 

Going Green

As part of my commitment to be healthy in 2012, I am drinking Green Smoothies. 

I finally got the Blendtec high power blender I've been wanting for over a year and I love how smooth my spinach and kale blend up. 

The goal is 20 oz at least 4 times a week and I am discovering this takes more ingredients than I originally thought. 

I mean, a pound of raw greens per day is lot of greens in my produce drawer for just a week! 

(I usually like to grocery shop for 2 weeks at a time) 

So I blend up the greens in 1-2 cups of water, then add a banana and a cup or two of frozen mixed berries. 

I also throw in whatever other fruit I might have on hand 

(apples, pears, pineapple . . . often the leftovers of fresh or canned fruit that my kids have abandoned)

In addition to spinach and kale, I have used red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, chard, beet greens. So much nutritional goodness in all of these. 

I usually pour some for my husband and my kids as well. The kids don't drink it every time but I am always so gratified when they do. 

I am working on getting the fruit/greens proportion right for them.

I am loving this goal. I already have more energy, even when I don't get enough sleep (which is often)

And as you can see, it doesn't have to actually be green to be a green smoothie!