Give Me Soup

I love me some soup. I can think of nothing better than a comforting, hearty, easy, one pot meal, that leaves you with lots of left overs. I have a bowl of soup at least once a week and if I had my way I would probably eat it everyday. This here is one of my favorite soup recipes. It is incredibly easy and it is so nourishing and good for you. The only thing I do differently is to add the juice of one lemon. I like to freeze a large batch of it and have it on hand when someone is sick because it is the perfect meal when your immune system is on the fritz. I made this soup on Monday since it was cold and I was craving a nice clean meal after the excess and gluttony I experienced over the Mother's Day weekend. I have had it everyday since, including breakfast this morning. Yum.

Oh, and make sure to look around on Elana's site. It is one of my very favorites. All of her recipes are gluten free, which is not something I have a problem with, but I am constantly on her site looking for healthy and uncomplicated recipes and every single one I have tried has been a great success.

Image and recipe via Elana's Pantry

Accessorize!

What can I say? She was born with a love to accessorize. And the belief that there is no such thing as too many hats.

Check, Check, Check

Martha never ceases to amaze and delight me. Here she just emailed me a set of organizing checklists for all of my party planning needs. Oh, Martha you know me so well.

I am sure I will enjoy her entertaining checklists as much as I enjoy her cleaning to-do checklists. I have really been enjoying spring cleaning this year. I mean, I am no match to Martha, especially since I have a 2 year old running circles around me and I don't have a staff of 50 or so on my grand estate. But I have found the act of spring cleaning - scrubbing, dusting, clearing out and throwing away- immensely satisfying and when partnered with a list well, I am a pretty happy camper.

Mum's Day

Hope everyone had an extra special Mother's Day yesterday. We had a pretty busy start to the weekend so we had a very easy going, relaxing Sunday and it was the perfect way to spend my 3rd Mother's Day. I received some wonderful gifts (Ice Cream Maker, Ron Stoner Photo Book, Built By Wendy gift certificate -- yeah, I know I am super spoiled.), went out to lunch, took a nap, and then dinner and ice cream and a movie. Just perfect. Thank you to my super lovely family for a great day and for the best 2.5 years of my life. I can't get enough of being a Mom to my little bird. Best job I ever had.

Beards

Where do you and your trusted loved ones fall on this chart of the Trustworthiness of Beards?

Common Sensical

I was reading this article on Huffington Post and found this paragraph particularly interesting:

"French children don't get fat. In 2004, when an uptick in childhood obesity was reported there, the government responded swiftly - children between the ages of five and 12 were weighed at school and reports containing their weights and body mass indexes were sent to their parents, along with instructions explaining how to interpret the numbers. Parents then attended meetings with local physicians and dieticians about ways to prevent or reverse the trend with diet and exercise, and children were taught about portion control and good nutrition. Vending machines selling soda and snacks were banned from school campuses and exercise was encouraged. The Plan was simple, clear and effective-the obesity rate declined before stabilizing in 2007."

So simple. And so far from anything that would ever happen in this country.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Although, I am not much of a Robert Rodriquez fan, this trailer made me giggle.

(And that is saying something since I have been far from laughing at this whole Arizona business which is making me insane!)

Umami

Do you know about Umami? Umami is our fifth taste and is often labeled as the Savory taste. Our other tastes being Sweet, Salty, Sour and Bitter. I learned about Umami awhile ago, I think while learning about macrobiotics, but it could have been during any of my various food related reading. I have been fascinated by it ever since. It's considered to be an elusive taste that most people don't recognize or know to recognize. If you want to learn more about Umami, check out the Umami Information enter. Who knew there were information centers for tastes?

And while we are on the subject, this place has been on my list for far too long. I'm hungry, so let's hop in the car and do this already. Who's in?

5 Things

I figured this was a good way to start the week out right...

5 Things That Make Me Happy...

1. Hearing the rustling of leaves as the wind blows

2. Walking arm and arm with someone

3. Making Lists

4. Sitting on the couch at the end of the day with my 2 and sharing dessert

5. Snuggle Sundays

One of Those Days...

I think this is a useful bit of information whether or not you have kids.

I know I could have used it many time over the years with our wild beast we call a dog. But it certainly would have come in handy a few months ago when A.O.K. got a hold of the red food coloring and "colored" the couch, her toys, books and her face.