soup – Peaceful Reader

We are oh, so close!

Kim Reynolds decided on Wednesday night just around midnight that she would tell school children (and their parents) in the state of Iowa that is was optional to wear a mask around school. At midnight on a school night this was decided. I mean I get that she’s never really believed in the pandemic and she IS all about free choice for Republicans but this still seemed a little extreme to me because we are so, so close to closing out the school year. We have two weeks to go! And unless you actually work or teach in a school you may not know how this would play out on a Thursday morning. Our district in an attempt to be open sent an email out alerting parents of this new decision by the governor. Some parents read this email or knew about the decision handed down but other parents might not have had the luxury to see their email and don’t follow late night decisions from Des Moines state house. They sent their kids to school with masks as they have every damn day of this year. Other parents celebrated this and sent their kids happily to school finally free of the damn mask. Still other parents sent their kids to school with a mask asking them to still stay safe. There was bullying in the first few minutes within our school walls until teachers could get students in their classrooms for a calm and inclusive morning meeting. Havoc. Pure havoc and one more way to politicize the wearing of masks and the pandemic in general. Thanks Kim. Cannot wait to work against your re-election campaign.

In other news I finished Ground Zero by Alan Gratz. This book caused a major stir when it first came in. Lots of students wanted it. I found one of my copies on the shelf the other day and I decided to bring it home to read. It was so riveting I read it in 2 days. The story centers around 9/11 and the war on terror that was the aftermath of that major tragedy. Alan Gratz does not sugar coat the history either which I very much appreciated. I remember watching the towers come down on the news that morning and I was a graduate student at the time and turned on the news because someone at my son’s school mentioned the weird thing of a plane hitting the first tower. I remember what it looked like to see it crumble and it was terrible and the aftermath of what we did as a nation was awful. What ever age you are read this book for a comprehensive look at the reality of that time in history and be ready for a gripping tale told in alternating points-of-view.

I’m taking two classes this summer; one is on questioning and the other is on kindness which are both great topics to introduce more of and next year I will be ready for fresh perspective. After experiencing this election cycle and George Floyd trial with students and the negative comments I want to have some new tools in my school bag. Bring on the kindness and positive discussion!

(Cookie + Kate)

I’ve made a few good recipes recently including this rhubarb crisp from the NYT. My mom gave me some rhubarb stalks. I love rhubarb but cannot grow it for some quirky reason. This crisp was delicious and I will make it again as soon as I locate more rhubarb. I also made this red lentil curry soup from Cookie and Kate tonight and we all enjoyed it with toasted sourdough bread.

I really still want it to be Saturday and not Sunday night but there we have it. I need to get ready for my day tomorrow. I probably should shower as I spent a lot of today with my hands in dirt weeding and planting flowers and herbs around the yard and in my big pots. It was the first good hot day and it didn’t rain. Rain is important but sunny skies help my mood. Peace and love to you…

Good-bye to January

I’m ready for February, even though we are still in the middle of winter, it puts us a little closer to Spring. It’s very cold here with mounds of gorgeous snow, and I did make it outside for one long walk with the dogs. I still feel bedraggled many days and overwhelmed on other days but there is still an inching toward feeling healthy and whole again. Soup always makes me feel better!

I made a delicious black bean soup from the New England Soup Factory Cookbook, a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law. This is the second soup I’ve made from the book and both recipes were easy to follow and tasted delicious. The first recipe I made a few days after Christmas and it fit the bill for how I was feeling: Spicy Chicken and Rice Flu Chaser Soup and my mother had just gifted me several local farm-raised chickens. Look at all the wonderful mothering help I’ve received! Grateful for that during this tough month.

This black bean recipe was very easy to put together on a Saturday afternoon and even though I didn’t have any sherry in my cupboards it turned out amazing. We added diced avocados as well because why not?

So, of course, I’ve been eating well. And reading lots in between creating major lesson plans for school. I had a library hold on The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, which I read an amazing review about and the book is short but worthy. It pokes into some philosophical ideas I’ve thought about over the last few years. The road less traveled or the road not taken…

Let’s dive into February and find ways to educate ourselves and celebrate Black history everyday through February and make it a part of who we are.

Basics of life

We’ve been cooking, reading, and walking the dogs here. The weather has moved into cold Fall making it not as much fun to take lazy, long walks with the two beautiful pups that we love and I’ve spent more recent time reading than watching.

Groovy Girl was home for the weekend though and we did start a new Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit, which is quite good. It’s about a young girl who becomes a chess prodigy during the 1950s. The costumes and the acting are so good and the story is very intriguing. Cuddling on the sofa with her is one of my favorite activities not matter the season.

I did read an entire chapter book this weekend which is always exciting. I started The only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert during a free read time Friday at school. The 6th grade class I was in were very book involved (yeah!) and I just pulled this one off the cart because no one picked it up. I read three quick chapters and pretty much wished I could spend the rest of the day with it. I continued to read it on Friday night and finished it Saturday evening right before I started watching game 4 of the World Series. What a good book! I started another small chapter book, Planet Omar: accidental trouble magnet by Zanib Mian which is perfect for young 3rd, 4th grade readers and features a Muslim family navigating a new town and school.

And speaking of the World Series-what an amazing end to that game and Brett Phillips will always be remembered for his hit and the fun he had air-planing around the field. The game was good but became fantastic if you stuck around to the end. It reminds everyone why baseball is so joy-filled.

In between watching and reading I’ve made some excellent food! Yes, excellent! Last week I made this Roasted Tomato Soup from How to feed a loon blog and I loved the flavor of late summer really ripe tomatoes and the fresh basil together. This fed me all week at school and we just finished up the last of it for a late dinner last night. My mother-in-law sent me this naan recipe and I made it yesterday afternoon on a whim. Didn’t really have a plan for Indian food so we enjoyed the toasted naan with our leftover soup. It will be easy to make these again because the recipe pulled together and the dough had a good rise in about an hour.

This morning for breakfast I whipped up this Cozy Turmeric Porridge from my favorite Minimalist Baker. A small bowl was so warming to my soul on this chilly morning and I have enough leftovers for the week. I did not have pomegranate seeds on hand but topped our bowls with a little Agave syrup, coconut milk, and cinnamon sprinkles.

Before Groovy Girl arrived home on Thursday night she said she was excited to come home to eat vegetables! Wow! How many teenagers say that!?! She says food is less than exciting (bland) and no good veggies at school so I made sure we had tons of good colorful vegetables in our fridge. She loves sweet potatoes and when she saw me unpacking them she asked if we could make sweet potato fries. I used this recipe from Gimme Some Oven and they were delicious although not as crispy as I would have liked. This week I’m going to make this Pumpkin black bean soup (also from Minimalist Baker) and this Winter Roasted Vegetable Soup also from my mother-in-law. I love soup, it’s versatile and gives me a warm yet light lunch at school.

We are getting closer to the election and while I’m very anxious I also have to be filled with hope. Make sure wherever you are that you go vote.

September is really here

and school has been in session for two weeks. No longer am I welcoming students into my amazing library space to talk about books, pick out books, and work on projects. Instead I am pushing my library around on a cart; books and computer riding with me. It is a weird year. Oh did I mention the masks, and face shield, hand sanitizer, wipes-those are all there also.

Kids are happy to be together and most seem to be okay wearing masks everyday. I feel their strength in the idea that it’s better to be together with a mask on than not. We have one 5th grade student demonstrating irony to us every day with his “Trump 2020” black mask. IRONY. We are in this mess because of that guy.

We were to stay positive with both students and staff. I did get more books in on Friday and so next week after school will be a little like Christmas as I unpack them and get them in to our system.

This weekend I’ve done equal parts relaxing and getting things done around the house. The mess of life spirals so easily into piles on tables, mail clutter, laundry…so I worked to get that under control. I’ve also made lemon bars (recipe from my Baking Ill. cookbook), a butternut squash and kale soup, both produce from my garden, and an angel food cake recipe for my mom. She is struggling with some health issues and could use a more desserts in her life.

I am mourning Chadwick Boseman like everyone else in the world. I marvel at his ability to continue to make amazing art while he was very sick. The resiliency of people amaze me. I started to watch the whole Captain America series on Disney so I could understand the story line and see where Black Panther connects up. I also watched the pilot for Lincoln Heights, one of the first shows he did. My husband and I watched a great love story, Always be my maybe with Ali Wong, on Netflix and we started a new show Away with Hilary Swank headed to Mars. We are looking forward to the new series Enola Holmes at the end of September.

I haven’t just been cooking and watching! I am reading The Choice; a memoir by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. My brother sent this to me over the summer and it’s been on that stack of to-reads. Resiliency is the theme here today I guess. We are all going to make it through this one way or another. Let’s get to November, VOTE, and then keep voting for the good candidates, the ones who can get it done like finding ways to end racist laws/practices and climate change. The list is long…

Peace

Hello Winter Break!

(family)

I’ve taken quite a break from blogging without meaning to but grief works in strange ways for everybody and I just took a step back from certain parts of my own life. I’ve still helped with the Mayor Pete campaign although I missed a few events and I’ve obviously headed to work every day which truly brings me such great joy. I love seeing the faces of all my students even the tough ones. School is good and now I’m on winter break which is fantastic. The holiday season is in full swing.

My shopping is almost done and I just have some local things to shop for + groceries to purchase. As my kids get older we really focus on the JOY of spending time together over ripping into tons of gifts. Last year we spent time reading all our favorite Christmas picture books to each other. Something about reading Corduroy’s Christmas or Dream Snow by Eric Carle that ushers in a warm and cozy feeling. We also love to watch Christmas movies together-Love, Actually is one of our favorites and this year we plan to watch Klaus together. We generally go see the new Star Wars movie as a family after Christmas. I’m looking forward to all of it.

Last weekend I went to a soup exchange hosted by a friend. I made this delicious sweet potato curry soup I found on my NYT cooking app. They each made a soup and we came together and shared. I brought home at least 4 jars of homemade soup; a tomato tortellini and an au pistou (a French soup) and both were delicious. And we had a drink I was unfamiliar with (shocking!) – it was We are hosting a Christmas party game night for friends on Sunday night and I’m going to make the tomato tortellini soup for them b/c it looks so festive. Enjoy this weekend, this holiday, hug all those that surround you with love and even the awkward folk who don’t love a hug but treasure your smile. Just spend time with your people. Namaste.

Welcome March!

I hope March ushers in a bit of spring weather-it’s at least light later in the day. No longer do I leave work in twilight. We are still pretty snow heavy making it difficult to drive and while it was bitter cold today THE SUN WAS SHINING!! Wore my sunglasses to Cedar Rapids and back to have lunch with our son. We had pizza together and talked for a long time. Just wonderful to be with him. Wish we could have lunch with the oldest daughter-meeting in Brooklyn takes a few days prep and many miles.

I finished Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo and loved her writing. This story tells the tale of Akin and Yejide’s marriage through both characters. How they meet at university, fall in love, and begin to break away after trying to have a baby and the problems that arise as their communication fall away. Anyone in a relationship that’s gone sour can relate to how they begin to pull apart. The story is sad yet beautifully told and I liked the backdrop of the political turmoil happening in Nigeria at the time.

And I’ve started Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones; about a family in Mississippi getting ready for a hurricane. This is an author that’s been on my to-read list and I’m glad I’m finally finding time to read her work.

In between chapters I managed to make a little food for my lovely little family. I lovingly created two recipes given to me by friends; a chicken tortilla soup and a corn casserole. Both recipes helped to warm us up last night.

Here is the soup recipe from my friend Kay:

Kathy’s Chicken Tortilla Soup (my notes)

4 chicken breasts halves (buy organic, local, free range when possible)

2 15-oz cans of black beans, drained (I thought ahead and used dried bb, soaking them the night b4)

2 cans Rotel tomatoes with chilies – do not drain (I had one can of diced tomatoes and one can of green enchilada sauce-yes, I improvised so I did NOT have to go out in the cold)

1 can shoepeg corn, drained (I used a bag of frozen)

14.5 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup salsa (I used our homemade)

Optional toppings:

Tortilla chips

Grated Cheese

Sour Cream

Directions:

1. In the bottom of a slow cooker, place the chicken breasts.

2. Open the remaining cans and pour over the breasts.

3. Add the salsa

4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Just before serving remove and shred the chicken and return to soup.

5. Stir and serve.

Even with my improvisation the recipe was perfect for a cold Saturday night. It was pretty easy compared to other recipes I love. My brother and I were both cooking at the same time in different cities; his recipes looked so amazing I could almost smell them via his texted pictures. His were more labor-intensive but you’ve got to go with what works for you on any given day.

The corn recipe from Amber was just as easy to put together, rich and textured, and that made my day. I’m pretty sure both these recipes are from church/school cookbooks from the 90’s.

Corn Casserole

1 can creamed corn

1 can whole kernel corn, with juice

1 stick butter (soft to mix)

1 cup sour cream

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 egg, beaten

onion and seasonings (opt.)

(In a bowl) mix all ingredients together. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes in a 9 x 13-in baking dish.

Variation: Can put 1 small package of shredded Mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10 minutes or until melted. (next time I might add goat cheese; I did not add any cheese this time and I added a bit of cayenne and cumin as my seasonings, plus a whole lot of freshly ground pepper)

See what I mean-super healthy!! We have to stay entertained and warm over these long winter months. What are you reading/creating/concocting?

Craving Chickpeas…

{Source}

Happy December!

Last week I was craving spicy soup, which has nothing to do with Christmas or December but just my own odd taste buds. I looked through recipes both online and in my massive stacks of books looking for just the right one. I found this one by Rachael Ray that looked interesting: Indian-spiced Chickpea, and this one, Morroccan Chickpea, from Good Foods, and then this, Chickpea Chili, from MyRecipes. I ended up kind of making my own up loosely based on the last one except I did not have butternut squash on hand and I left out pimento-stuffed olives because seriously I couldn’t imagine that flavor with the soup I was craving. Once I settled on a recipe I found some friends to invite over to be my tasters.

I made a batch of brown rice, tossed up a fresh salad, and this rustic bread to break together. Oh and I had a couple of chicken breasts on hand and as other people love their protein I shredded it and left it as a topping to be tossed into the soup like the parsley and sour cream. They left quite full, smiling and with half a loaf of bread in their hands. Also they’d both done well at Spite and Malice and Taboo; games that we played. It was a lovely winter night; cold outside, toasty on the inside.

I finished Maggie Stiefvater’s new book, All the Crooked Saints, tonight. She is a very imaginative writer and I think she casts a spell on each of her stories. This one, set in Colorado in 1962, is about the Soria family and their ability to collect pilgrims looking for miracles and it’s about radio waves, saints, and love. I don’t understand how she weaves that altogether but she does. My Maggie favorites are The Scorpio Races and The Raven Boys series. Now I’m on to Choosing Civility by P.M. Forni and Carrying Albert Home by Homer Hickam.

Beautiful soup!

I love soup. If I had to pick a last meal I would pick soup and I’d have to make it myself. I’m not a fan of canned soup or most soups in a restaurant. They generally don’t excite me-even though I want them to be splendiferous. When I order a tomato-basil soup I want it to be great-as great as the one I make or better even!

Jason’s Deli makes a good soup but we don’t have one around here. We had one in Little Rock when we lived there and used to go after church and have soup, sandwiches, and salads. I found one in Denver, Colorado when I needed to order chicken noodle soup for my 19-year-old son who was sick- I sent him a delivery person with soup. I couldn’t be there so this was the next best thing. It’s all about the soup.

Soup, glorious soup. I found a keeper as I scanned through my very special copy of Dinner; A love story by Jenny Rosenstrach. I found myself standing in my kitchen lazily paging through looking and reading many of Jenny’s stories (again) when I came upon this soup and I had all the ingredients (Love that!) + I’m under the weather so perfectly in need of a bowl of quality soup.

{Jenny’s photo}

Butternut Squash Soup with apples (101-102)

1 medium onion, chopped
few glugs of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
leaves from 1 sprig fresh thyme
1 T. curry powder (optional)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes. (about 4 1/2 cups cubes)
2 apples (Fuji, Macintosh, or Cortland preferred., but just about any except Red Delicious will work.)
3 1/2 cups or more of chicken broth (or vegetable broth-which is what I used)
Garnishes: Chopped walnuts, chopped chives, sour cream

In a Dutch oven or a large stockpot, brown the onion in oil until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, thyme, curry powder and cayenne. Stir in the squash and apples, then add enough broth to cover it all by about a half inch. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes-checking and adding water or broth every 10 minutes or so-until the squash is tender. Turn off the heat and puree with a handheld immersion blender or in batches in the blender (see warning about spinning hot liquid), adding more water or broth until it reaches desired consistency. Serve with toppings.

Hopefully by now everyone has an immersion blender because they are one of the greatest kitchen tools ever invented! Mine is a Braun and I’ve had it for about 14 years and it is still going strong.

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads; Weekend Cooking meme. Click her link to find many other food-related posts. Maybe others are talking about their deep love of soup as well.

Weekend Cooking; Corn Chowder

We have sunshine today and it’s been a glorious day. It’s rained all week though which made me wish for some sort of soup solace. Last night I made a corn chowder recipe that I’ve been waiting for just the right opportunity to create. That opportunity arose when Groovy Girl was invited to a sleepover yesterday. She and I had discussed this chowder and she’d told me in simple words “no thanks”. I waited until she was rolling down the driveway with her friend Emma before I started tossing ingredients together.

With little girl out of the house it defaulted to date night. We ate the soup, two bowls full, and then watched a movie together. I still managed to fall asleep by a little after 10. Bedtime rocks.

Corn Chowder
{adapted from The Mom 100 Cookbook}

4 slices of organic/local bacon
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 T unbleached flour
1 cup chopped onion or 1/2 cup shallots
1/2 cup chopped and peeled carrots
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 tsp thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups diced Yukon Gold potatoes (I did not use)
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
1 bay leaf
3 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 T thinly sliced scallions or minced fresh chives
Extra cooked and crumbled bacon for topping

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 4-5 minutes. Using a slotting spoon, remove the bacon and set it aside on paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tsp of fat from the pot.

Add the butter to the pot and melt over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until it starts to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add the onion or shallots and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper and thyme, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring until everything is well combined about 1 minute. Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaf, and the reserved bacon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, let come to a simmer, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes.

Add the corn and let simmer until the corn is tender, 4-6 minutes. Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon, press against the side of the pot to mush up the potatoes and veggies and to thicken the broth.

Add the milk and heavy cream, increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until tiny bubbles form along the edge of the pot, about 7 minutes. Don’t let the soup come to a boil or it might separate. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as necessary. Fish out the bay leaf, then ladle the soup into bowls and top with chives, scallions, and/or bacon.

This was a perfect easy meal. My husband had some fresh bread with it. I was happy with just the chowder. I’ll try this again in the summertime with fresh corn. I didn’t have any good potatoes to use so I just skipped the potatoes; it still tasted great. The soup wasn’t as thick but the flavor was spot on.

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme. Click to her link to find many other food-related posts.

Easter Blessings

{Egg decorating 2014 w/ Groovy Girl}

Once again I’ve inadvertently let a week traipse right by without a bit of writing. It’s been a busy week and that excuse is ever present yet this week there was an added snafu. My lithe little MacBook Air died or so it seemed. It did some kind of strange fake death worthy of a Shakespearean play. I could get it to make the sound and the white apple would appear but then before you could say Macbeth the screen would go black. Stupidly I kept trying it whilst pushing button combinations. After 4 days of that nonsense I sent an emergency text to my friend and co-worker, Al, who embodies the word super techie. Thank all the powers that be for people like Al, including Al, as he always been able to help me out. MacBook Air is back up and running as of yesterday. Don’t ask me what he did as I prefer to think that he waved his magic wand three times right over my silver baby and viola!

Now let’s talk food. While everyone around me talks about their Easter ham we are bucking tradition, pretty normal here, and making a large Alaskan wild caught salmon. Groovy Girl loves fish and she can pretty much finish off an entire plate of fish herself so I bought extra. Added to the fish we will have copious amounts of roasted brussels sprouts, baked sweet potatoes, a little green salad, and strawberries and chocolate for dessert. Nothing on the menu that even needs a recipe other than what’s already in my head. A deliciously simple meal to celebrate Easter, leaving me lots of time to relax with my family.

I was going to make this yummy carrot-ginger soup for dinner. A friend made this soup for our last book club and I’ve been waiting for this holiday to make it. I thought the Easter bunny would dig it! Instead I mopped up water in our basement. I guess while I was carpooling for Groovy Girl’s theatre rehearsal my husband, while doing some Spring yard work, inadvertently created a huge water leak in the basement. I came home to huge ~~puddles~~ lakes in the three rooms of our basement. Not nearly as much fun as making soup. We ate Jimmy John’s after a trip to the hardware store to buy a wet-dry vac. Last time we had water in the basement we borrowed a friend’s and felt that this was an important purchase for us though we hate buying things. I could put bunny ears on the wet vac as this present is better than any other Easter basket I could have surprised my husband with this holiday.

No matter how you celebrate have a lovely day ushering in Springtime. Feliz Pascua!

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads weekend cooking meme. Click her link to see many other food-related posts.