Cooking with bassets #SOL15

 “It is a truth universally acknowledged,

that a single cook in possession of a good recipe,

must be in want of a basset hound.”

In an effort to pursue my goal of having healthy lunches on hand, I went to the kitchen to make soup. The cook in The Tale of Despereaux  says “And when times are terrible soup is the answer.” She also goes on the say, ” There ain’t no point in making soup unless others eat it. Soup needs another mouth to taste it another heart to be warmed by it.” Kate DiCamillo, you are a poet.

And so, I found myself in the kitchen yesterday morning with a helper. Notice the active stance I had to take. There was no moving Fiona, who was hoping for some droppage. Here’s what she wanted.

Yes, carrots and parsnips. As a kid, parsnips horrified me. As an adult, I find them delectable. I like them roasted and they make fabulous soup. Today’s soup was carrot parsnip. I started with a pot full of vegetable stock.

Added the chopped carrots and parsnips, along with some salt and pepper.

Brought it all to a boil, then let it simmer for about half an hour. At they point i took it off the heat and let it cool a bit before using the immersion blender. And voilà!

Several lunches for the freezer. I did take a little taste and it is quite delicious. Take that high cholesterol and blood sugar!

Revisiting my one little word #SOL15

The lab results from my annual physical are in. There’s mostly good news. but, there are small problems. Despite eating healthy green the week before I went for the physical, my blood sugar and cholesterol were a bit above where they would be. Not so high we need to intervene medically, but high enough that I have to do something.

My OLW for 2015 is Shift, and my doctor’s prescription is more exercise and healthier eating.

I used to be obsessed with making soup. Every weekend, I would make a pot of soup, divide it into  bowls for the week and freeze the extra. When I did that, I had good labs. So, here it is my first day of spring break and I will be leafing through my favorite soup recipe books looking for things I can make this week so I can stock up and go back to work prepared to be a healthier eater.

Wondering at my two favorite soup cookbooks? Here they are

Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor D’Avila-Latourrette and The Soup Bible by Debra Mayhew.

   

The fruit (& vegetables) of her labors

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the students at my school get a fresh fruit and vegetable snack. We eat ours during read aloud and the kids are encouraged to try new things and use their manners. They usually give a “Yes, please”, but I occasionally hear “No, thank you”. There were lots of no thank yous on baby bok choi day.

Alice Waters would love this program. Here is how Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Hayelin Choi pictured her in the opening pages of their new book.

Alice Waters and the Trip to Delicious is a picture book biography of the chef who created Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard. The book follows Waters on her quest to find fresh, locally-grown foods and produce. It finishes with her focus on children learning to grow their own foods in schoolyards across the country. The poetic narrative is supported by the bright and dynamic art. Backmatter includes an afterword by Waters, an author’s note, a bibliography, and resources for further reading, gardening and cooking.

Maybe your class can figure out a way to have their own trip to delicious after reading this book.