Ah, Snowy Saturdays

I am most content today to sit with my down blanket, light a candle, drink/eat my tomato chicken soup, read my book, and occasionally look up to watch the snow.

Isn't it wonderful!?!?!?

Here is my recipe, I made some this morning.

2 Tbsp of olive oil
2-3 carrots, chopped (1/2-3/4 cup)
1 cup of onion (I like sweet, sometimes I've used scallions, and it has been good)
2 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans of low sodium chicken broth (or 4 cups)
1 can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of crushed tomatoes (with no seasoning added. Also, you could use any type of tomatoes really - depends on what I have in my pantry. Sometimes I add a little tomato paste, or tomato sauce if I don't like the consistency - you'll have to experiment!)
2 chicken breasts, diced into bite size (1/2 inch) cubes
4 branches of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tsp of marjoram
salt and pepper

In my dutch oven, I add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and get that heated. I then add the chicken and cook for about 6-8 minutes until they are cooked. I salt (but not too much) and pepper the chicken before adding to the pot. I remove the chicken and let it sit on a plate. I then add the other Tbsp of olive oil and saute the carrots, celery and onion. I also salt and pepper at this point. Once the veggies have become soft (5 minutes) I add the garlic and stir for about another 1-2 minutes. I add the chicken broth and tomatoes and the thyme, bay leaf, marjoram and pepper. I let this heat up, then add the chicken and beans and check it for flavor. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Check for flavor. Serve.

NOTE: Sometimes (like this morning) I add 1-2 medium potatoes (diced) as well to make it more chunky. You decide!

By the way, I am reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockert, it is wonderful so far, I recommend!

Some Favorite Things

I decided to make a list of some favorite things, so here goes!

1. Fresh cut flowers. There is nothing quite like the spontaneous buy of fresh flowers. You know - you happen to be walking, on a mission - "places to go, people to see", when you get caught up for that one moment, take a breath, and really look at the cut flowers you almost completely missed. So you stop. You look at the pinks, purples, blues and yellows. Wow. And then you decide that whatever you were doing, can wait until you pick out the perfect bouquet. Ahhh.....

2. Bird watching. I love it. I could spend hours watching birds at a feeder. How many are coming? Which species? Watching their little bodies flit across the ground as they go about their everyday business of life. How fun to be a little chickadee!

3. Children's books. I mean the good ones. The old ones. The classics. I love everything about them, their simple yet complex meanings, and their illustrations. Sometimes the place they take me back to - sometimes the place I wish I was. I love that they can do this for me.

4. Puppies. I mean, who doesn't love little animals?? But still, I think out of many different kinds of little animals, puppies are the best. Their squishiness, their playfulness, their puppy breath - but most of all, when they are peacefully sleeping - isn't that great?

5. The color of spring grass. Man, that kelly green in the sunshine gets me every time. When the dull winter brown gets replaced by the new season, the new beginning, the fresh start - when everything seems possible now that the winter has thawed and photosynthesis has begun again.

6. Reading recipes. I actually enjoy flipping through cookbooks and reading the recipes, looking at the pictures and thinking about how I might change or add, or create combinations - it's fun!

7. Snow storms. Anybody who knows me knows how much I love snow. I am a bit of a weather junkie, especially in the winter, and I don't think I could ever live in a place that did not have 4 seasons. So L.A. and Miami are out. :-) But I love snow even more at night. There is something magical about listening to the snowflakes fall that is music to my ears. Like we are in some enchanted forest where magical creatures can come to life at any moment.

8. Traveling. I love exploring new places, but I not in a touristy kind of way. I actually like to get in the car and just go - find those tucked away places - the ones where you say, "people actually live here? It's too perfect!?!?!"

9. Good stories. Whether fictional or real-life. I like nothing better than a good, inticing, captivating and memorable story. Some are funny, some are sad, some are thought-provoking, doesn't matter. I love that we humans have the ability to tell stories (even our own) and imagine stories and listen to stories.

10. Mint. Mmmmm. Peppermint, spearamint, mint tea. I must be honest. I didn't used to love mint. In fact, I avoided it at all costs. Maybe that is why I love it so much now as an adult. I have grown to love it. I love the fresh smell and the bright taste. It is a "pick-me-up" for the senses!

What are some of your favorite things????

What the !?@$#@Q???????

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/01/polls_open_in_s_1.html

I don't believe it. I can't believe it. Ted Kennedy is rolling over in his grave. I am absolutely stunned. MASSACHUSETTS for God's sake! Teddy Kennedy worked and was an advocate for health care in the United States and this upset by Republican Brown is dumbfounding.

Brown has been endorsed by the Tea Party fanatics and I just can't believe that people would vote for someone who they barely know. I'm so upset I can hardly type. What is going on in this country??? For 8 years this country was being sent down the tubes and in 12 months they want it all back to "normal." Well it doesn't work that way. Sorry! But you can't make substantial changes to this country without changing health care and jobs. Where were these crazy people when George Bush was sending us all over the world taking over countries? Where were these crazy people when he de-regulated the banks? Where were these crazy people when the line for the Republicans was "privitize privitize privitize!" Now look where that greedy mentality has gotten us. How does it feel now that people are out of work and can't AFFORD health care - how does it feel now that the rate of homeless children has steadily increased over the last year?? And people want quick fixes. Well, it isn't going to happen!!! The only thing Scott Brown is going to do is set us back another 25 years. I'm sick.

Haiti

"In the last week, we have been deeply moved by the heartbreaking images of the devastation in Haiti: parents searching through rubble for sons and daughters; children, frightened and alone, looking for their mothers and fathers. At this moment, entire parts of Port-au-Prince are in ruins, as families seek shelter in makeshift camps. It is a horrific scene of shattered lives in a poor nation that has already suffered so much.

But above all, we act for a very simple reason: in times of tragedy, the United States of America steps forward and helps. That is who we are. That is what we do. For decades, America's leadership has been founded in part on the fact that we do not use our power to subjugate others, we use it to lift them up—whether it was rebuilding our former adversaries after World War II, dropping food and water to the people of Berlin, or helping the people of Bosnia and Kosovo rebuild their lives and their nations."
- President Barack Obama, Newsweek, Jan. 15th, 2010


Watch CBS News Videos Online

To get more information and to help:

The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/01/12/GA2010011203712.html?sid=ST2010011603460

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/


Oxfam: http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/oxfam-teams-haiti-initiating-aid-delivery/5/35451

The Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/16/clinton-bush-haiti-fund


A good book to read about Haiti and a doctor, Dr. Paul Farmer who for years has been working in Haiti and set up clinics all around the country (Partners in Health) is called "Mountains Beyond Mountains."


The amount of devastation to human life and the basic necessities to support life is hard to comprehend. With so many dead and trapped -it is hard to even know what to do or how to help. I think it is in our nature to want to help our fellow man, to jump right in and go help. And while for most that is not possible, for some, it is. My hope is that we keep in our thoughts and prayers centered on those that are affected by this disaster and those that are helping in the relief effort. This is a human tragedy, not just a Haitian tragedy.