Neither here nor there

Overheard

"Where's the corn-pop?" says Ana,
sitting down on the sofa for a family viewing of Wallace & Gromit.

Dan disappears, to emerge from the kitchen five minutes later, with a big bowl of air-popped delight, and a small bowl just for Ana. Great suggestion, Ana!

Recipe Time

It's recipe time again. Tonight, with Dan gone, Ana and I decided to go all out and make some soup. You see, we love soup. Dan, not so much. As he puts it, "It's all, you know, soupy." Very articulate, Dan.

Tonight's soup was what I like to call throw it all in with a prayer soup. I kind of know what goes with what in soup, so half of these items I knew would taste good together, the other half were going to go bad in a few days anyway so I wanted to use them up. Anyone else have a refridgerator like that?

We started out with 2 medium onions, one "baby" onion (as Ana calls it while cradling it in the crook of her arm), and three cloves of garlic. Everything got chopped up and sauteed for a good five minutes on medium heat with oil. Then we added one huge chopped carrot and sauteed some more until the veggies were all looking rather delicious and smelling the same.

That's when we threw in a quart of some really dandy chicken stock we made last week. I mean this stuff was like jello out of the fridge. Very flavorful and full of gelatin from the bone marrow. Mmmmmmmmm. This, as experience has shown me, always always guarantees a delicious soup. Don't be fooled by the convenient cans at the store or those boullion cubes (however they're spelled). Sure they make soup. But homemade stock, simmered for a full day or more, adds depth and unbeatable flavor.

Okay. Enough on that. Just make your own stock.

Earlier in the day, knowing I wanted to make soup, I had started soaking some navy beans and then simmered them on the stovetop. By this point they were almost done. So, I drained them and into the pot they went.

Next, we rummaged through the freezer and found about 6 tomatoes from the summer harvest, thawed 'em, skinned 'em, kind of mushed them into a pulp, and in they went into the simmering pot of what was really becoming heavenly soup.

Then, I pulled out some butternut squash we had roasted over the weekend and hadn't finished. I would say we added about a cup and a half of this. I also found some chicken (from the same chicken we made the stock with) that needed to be consumed. So, we cubed it and threw that in too.

Lastly, we seasoned the pot with a Tablespoon of dried rosemary and about a teaspoon and a half of salt.

Everything simmered for about a half hour before we couldn't take it anymore and we dug into it with vigor. The herbs, veggies and chicken were absolutely perfect together. The textures of the creamy squash, chunky carrots and fiberous beans were wonderful. It made over 2 quarts of soup, plenty for me to have my obligatory two bowls (yes, I'm nursing), Ana to have her petite bowl, and Toby to have his wide-eyed tastes (at one point I'm pretty sure he got a big piece of garlic. I guess he didn't mind it as he kept asking for more!) And we still put at least a quart in the fridge for tomorrow. The only thing that would've made it better is if we had roasted all the vegetables before putting them in. Always room for improvement, and there's always next time!

Good night everyone!

BFF

Ana and Daisy

Toby and.... himself.

Another busy time around the shire. Not so much with the land, but with life. Dan is in full swing teaching Catechism at church, we are still doing our church group once a month, and I've joined a women's study of Mater Redemptoris (Mother of the Redeemer) and Mulieris Dignitatem (The Dignity of Women). And then last weekend was our training weekend for teaching the (hopefully) diocese's new Marriage Prep program. I say hopefully diocesan because it's actually just in pilot right now for a few parishes. And if it goes well over time, the desire is that it will be made available diocesan wide. Here's hoping because it's really conversion worthy stuff. A Joy Filled Marriage is based on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. It introduces the idea that it means something to be a man and a woman beyond biology, that our feminity and masculinity mirrors Christ, and (get this) that marital union is a sacred participation in the Trinity itself. It's hard to get that across to couples who haven't given God a thought since they were 10 and really just want to be married in a pretty church. But this program really does a great job.

Anyhoo, Dan is offically neck deep into maple syrup. Last week he ordered a 2 foot by 6 foot evaporator. And get this, it'll be on skiis so we can ski it around the shire. Now that's just crazy talk.

Little Daisy continues to be the heart of Ana's life. At least once a day Ana gets all bundled up and heads outside to trot Daisy around the shire for a good hour, and Daisy lets her. The other kitties have welcomed her into their sleep pile. She even lets Lucy play with her, even if it is way too rough for our liking.

Toby is busy learning that all toys are just a little out of reach ... therefore the ante has been upped for him to learn how to become mobile. But, for now, I am relishing a stationary baby who loves to just sit and play.

A few weekends ago, we crossed Minnesota and found ourselves in Two Harbors ready to visit with our friends. It was here that Ana was introduced to every girls passion: Dress Up. And the flame continues to burn bright. Each day since, she has dresses and shoes galore (hers and mine) to try on and twirl in (I didn't teach her that). It is really kind of cute.

Here's a shot of Kristi with Aili and Ana on the couch enjoying a morning break with a book, tiaras and pointy pricess hats a-glow.