And the winner is....

I was driving down the road the other day and it suddenly dawned on me that I had not had one positive thought in the past 10 minutes. I didn't want to admit, "is it easier to think a negative thought than a positive one?" nor did I want to answer that question.

What if, just for one day, you keep a small notepad and pen with you, make two columns, Negative and Positive, and put a scratch mark for every time you had one of those thoughts? You tell me which would win for you.

If the Negative side has more scratch marks than the Positive, become more conscientious of your negative thoughts and try replacing them with positive ones. Here's an excellent article to get you on your way of Positive Thinking. Hopefully the Positive will be winning in no time!

Feng Shui Soup

I seem to be on a roll with soups these days. I gotta get this one down before I forget it! The basics of this recipe are chicken broth, chicken, wild rice, mushrooms, onion, green beans, and parsley.

I'm feeling the need for soups because:

* it's getting cold out
* soup is cheap
* the temps are dropping
* I need to save money
* it's soup-eating weather
* soup lasts a long time
* not sure what else, except I know it has to do something with weather and saving money!

Last week I really enjoyed my Mighty Boosh Soup, so this week I figured I'd try again with whatever I have in the fridge. Success!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast halves (one will be saved to eat for dinner over the next night)
small amounts of butter
olive oil
salt/pepper to taste

Lundberg Wild Rice
1 celery stalk
1 medium onion
1 tsp dried thyme
1 inch sprig rosemary (or a bit of dried)
half handful parsley
10 or so baby bella (brown) mushrooms
handful of green beans
3 cups of hot water
1 box (32oz) chicken broth (organic prefered)

Prepare the wild rice. If you are like me and buy the Lundberg rice in bulk but forget how to cook it (well) then check out Lundberg's website. It's always available (plus it's pretty to look at and got some great recipes). I use one cup of chicken broth and one cup of water to 1 cup of rice.

While rice is cooking, heat up a bit of butter and olive oil in your favorite big soup pot. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts and cook in big pot...at first on medium heat. When they are golden on one side, turn chicken breasts and turn the heat on low. PUT THE LID ON! I tell you, people, this is the best way to cook chicken breasts (with the lid on). You'll never have tough chicken breast again!

While chicken breast is gently cooking away, chop up the onion. Chop it up however you like to eat your onion! I like to cut the onion opposite of everyone else (because I'm that way). The slices lay nicely in the spoon for me! Chop up the celery.

If you've poked the chicken with a fork and the juices ruin clear, they are done. Take them out immediately and set aside so as to not over-cook. You've got a nice glaze at the bottom of that pot, now use it! Put a bit of water in the bottom to dislodge the glaze (this is called deglazing). Add your onions and celery. Gently cook.

OK...first of all, I've read about mushroom soup recipes. What's the deal with chopping or pureeing the hell out them? Yeeeesh....cooking doesn't need to be THAT strenuous. Please just gently clean your mushrooms and slice them neatly. And yes! Slice with the stem on! This will turn out to be a very nice looking mushroom in your soup. I love a mushroom's natural look. Chop up the parsley while you are in a chopping mood.

Time to add the 3 cups of hot water! Salt to taste. I like to use sea salt. Add thyme, rosemary, mushrooms, and parsley.

Your rice is probably just about done so turn that off and let the rice sit for a good 5 or 10 minutes. Meanwhile, you can clean and slice up the green beans. Add them to the pot. Add the remaining chicken broth.

OK...you've got a really really good pot of lots of delicious, nutritional stuff! Cut up the chicken in smallish bits and add that to your soup. Be careful to have your soup's heat on LOW. You don't want to overcook everything. Add the chicken and now add a couple of ladle-fuls of rice.

All this soup needs is for it to be heated thoroughly. No more cooking needed unless you want your green beans more cooked. I like mine a bit crunchy.

The Mighty Borscht Soup

I perused the internet for a borscht recipe. I so badly wanted to use the chicken stock I had created the night before! What the heck! Waaaay too many rules in a lot of these recipes. Vinegar? What the.... why does one need vinegar in soup? I clean with vinegar. Yes, it works great. Leave it in the cleaning closet for now. And,...OK....pickled onions! And...on chips! As my close friends know me, I don't go by rules. These recipes have too many rules. How hard can it be to make a soup with beets (yes, I forgot to mention them) that have been in the fridge for ages! I just found out beets are good for 3 or so months in the bottom of the fridge.

Here's my own Borscht recipe in honor of my guest, which this is now called,
Mighty Borscht Soup:

8 cups(?) of chicken stock

4 medium sized beets
half a sweet potato
2 medium potatoes
1 celery stalk
sea salt to taste


Steam the beets (for pete's sake, people....beets don't need to be boiled to death to be edible. Just steam for 20-30 minutes and they are beautifully a little crunchy.)

Cut potatoes in half inch pieces. Dice celery in medium/small pieces. Add potatoes and celery to chicken stock heating on the stove. Add salt to taste. Once potatoes are cooked to your liking (I like mine firm) add the steamed beets which have been also cut into half inch pieces. wah-lah you have your very own borscht soup.

It's Not About Halloween....

...it's about having fun. I don't care about why Halloween exists, I just like being creative. This year, I'm throwing out all the why's of not following traditions; I just want to have fun. Carving pumpkins are fun. Is it wasteful to carve into an item that a culture or someone way far away (or maybe not even) considers a vital food substance? I don't know how to justify what I'm doing and really, at this point I could care less. I am having fun, and at no one else's expense, so tell me where the harm may be. Be in the moment. Don't let your mind get in the way.

At the End

Today I found myself reading the obituaries. I have never done this. I am impressed by what our older generation did in their lives... for themselves, their families, for us:

Gunners Mate First Class
Search and Rescue
sugarmaker
farmer
house painter
volunteer fireman
mother
"old bottle" digger/collector
grandfather
cat lover
milk inspector
...

How do you want your obituary to read?

Go For It

I think I need to just write. Too many people try to sound too good on virtual paper....emails, blogs, etc. I hope I'm not caught up in that trap. I wonder who writers are trying to impress. I wonder who or what it was that told them they had to impress anyone. I must admit I do enjoy reading emails from people who can write from the heart and tell it like it is from their standpoint. Such a shame if one is afraid of losing friendship or a connection because they are not being themselves. I catch myself doing that from time to time.

We are all ants on this great big ant hill. All of us day after day milling about doing what we do, changing, never in the previous state again.

OK...now to go back and read this and see if it sounds right.

In The Beginning

Someone once wrote to me "you have much grist for an interesting blog." Well, whether or not it is true, here I am.

One day, a friend of mine looked at me with a wrinkled up face and squinty eyes, her voice in a distasteful tone, "Why do people write blogs?"

I wanted to reply in my usual blunt retort, "Why do you talk?"