People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success. ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Asparagus Soup

Yummy Asparagus Soup

  • 1 pound fresh asparagus (I just assume that a bunch will add up to a pound, it doesn't have to be measured perfectly - ends cut off)
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper
  • 2 cups vegetable broth (once again, don't measure perfectly. If you are using cans, just use a couple of cans) or more if desired.
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • seasonings to taste (I use garlic and some chef shake. If I have herbs in the garden, I always pick some to add, usually parsley)
  • grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. In saucepan, saute asparagus in canola oil until bright green. (be sure to remove the hard ends or your soup will turn out stringy)
  2. Add 1/2 cup vegetable broth. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
  3. Place vegetable mixture in an electric blender and puree until smooth (or use your immersion blender, which is what I do).
  4. Melt butter in pan. Stir while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter. Do not let the flour brown. Allow the mixture to cook only 2 minutes.
  5. Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth and increase the heat. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.
  6. Stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan. Whisk yogurt into the mixture, followed by lemon juice. Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The last time I ever take Emily for cheap Mexican food...

Being that it was a busy night and at 8pm I didn't have dinner even thought about, I decided to stop at the local taco place. Now, we don't normally eat that sort of food, of course, so it was a once-in-a-very-long-time thing.

Emily didn't know what she wanted, so I ordered her some chips with cheese (frequently called nachos). It seemed like a good enough choice to fill her up and get the hell out of there, anyhow.

We got our food and Emily sat there staring at her "nachos" like they had spiders in them. I asked what was wrong (which was a mistake, of course), and she said (not in her soft voice), "Look at these. They're greasy! Look at all this grease!" she picked a chip up, holding it like it was contaminated, and continued to exclaim how greasy and "nasty" it was. "What did they do, pour grease on them? I can't eat this! I'm huuuuuuunnnnngry, but I don't want to eat GREASE for dinner!" So, I traded her. I gave her my chicken taco for her chips and cheese. Naturally, she picked the chicken taco up and stuff dripped out the other end of it. "Oh nasty, this is greasy too!", to which I replied, "It's not grease, it's SAUCE." She wasn't buying it. Okay, it really was grease, but it has sauce in it too.

People were staring.
We probably won't be going back to that place again.