Category — Soups

Hello friends. It’s been a while. I’ve been sad, and so, so busy. Six weeks ago, I lost my father. My “suck it up and deal” mentor. A man who’d lived with multiple sclerosis for over 40 years, he showed me better than anyone else ever could how to acknowledge your plight, but not be defined by it. How to keep getting something out of life, although life might be limited. To be scrappy and clever and smart so as to outwit the limiters and keep joy in the face of decline and disappointment. His entire adult life, like my life now, was colored by illness, and yet . . . he always chose to rally, to find a reason to keep going. He truly has been an inspiration for me as I live with cancer. Sure, lots of things have been messed up, but I still squeeze joy out of every day here . . . and a lot of that scrap and wit and vigor comes from my quiet, iron-willed, and brilliant father. [Read more →]

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After making this soup, I realized something funny: I’ve been married to D. for almost 12 years, known him for 15, and we’ve NEVER had split pea soup. I cook such a wide variety of meals, with so little repetition that he sometimes begs for repeats, and yet, no split pea soup. So I didn’t realize that D. thought he didn’t like split pea soup, at all. So much so that when he called on his way home from work and I told him it was for dinner, there was a pregnant pause followed by an ” . . . okay . . . .” Awesome. This was gonna be great. [Read more →]

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It’s been two months since my surgery, and I’m slowly coming back to myself. [Read more →]

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Hi Sweeties! Coming up for air here to check in with you and to share my cooking exploits of this morning. Feeling very domestic. One of the “benefits” of impending surgery and subsequent rehab is you have the ultimate incentive to get ducks in a row. So I’ve been madly filing, tidying, organizing, prepping . . . and as of this a.m., that extends to food.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t intend to (and really can’t) put up all the meals we’ll need for almost 8 weeks post-surgery (for that, I’m relying on the kindness of friends and family), but I can do little things – things with more of an eye toward when I’m cleared for activity and can cook again. Because then it’ll be late-fall and I will be mourning the end of the summer bounty from my CSA.

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It’s been cold here in the Boston area – a couple of days last week barely squeeked out of the 40′s, and it was drizzly and gray to boot. So, still soup weather, my friends! [Read more →]

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Oh. My. Goodness.  This was so tasty, and wait, guess what?  You make it in the CROCKPOT!  Yes!  All you’ve gotta do is open a few containers and chop an onion.  Super delicious and a dump-n-go preparation?  Too good to be true?  No, folks, trust me, it’s not.  Read on for the deets!

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Put the raw chicken breast, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, chiles and garlic into the slow cooker.  Pour in chicken broth and season with cumin, chili powder, salt and bay leaf.  Stir in the corn.  Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.  Shortly before serving, shred the chicken and return it to the cooker to mix with the soup.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  Remove the bay leaf and serve topped with your fixings – crushed corn tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, etc.!

Serves 4.

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I’ve decided we need to eat more lentils. They’re a terrific source of protein, they cook up quickly and they’re versatile. Think of them as the boneless, skinless chicken breast of the vegetarian world . . . .  So to that end, this week I tried out this new recipe and it’s going to be a regular (to the extent we have those) at our house.  It’s zingy (more or less, depending on your taste for cayenne) and flavorful and warming.  And quick and easy too.

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Did you eat Spaghetti-O’s as a kid? I did, once in a while. My parents weren’t keen on “junk food” like that, but every now and then my mother would indulge my needling and get a can or two. And I particularly liked the one with “meatballs.” Now I look at them and think they’re kinda gross – I mean, just look at the ingredients list for regular Spaghetti Os:

Water, Tomato purée (Water, Tomato Paste), Enriched Macaroni Product (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Contains Less than 2 % of: Salt, Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (Cheddar Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Water, Disodium phosphate), Vegetable Oil (Corn, Cottonseed, Canola and/or Soybean), Enzyme Modified Butter, Oleoresin Paprika, Spice Extract, Citric Acid and Nonfat Dry Milk.

Not to mention that the cans are lined w/BPA.  Wouldn’t it be nice to recreate the fun of the Spaghetti-O sans BPA, “enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese” “Oleoresin paprika” and high-fructose corn syrup?

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