I have a theory about zucchini

I don't think anyone really likes zucchini.  I think anyone who says they do is just showing off.  If people really enjoyed the taste of zucchini there wouldn't be so many ways to disguise it; breaded and fried zucchini,  zucchini bread or (gag!) zucchini jam.  My mother once sweated over a batch of the latter and forever after tried to convince us that it tasted just like pineapple.  It didn't. 

Somehow, a bunch of baby zucchini ended up in the produce drawer of my refrigerator.  (Someone was probably showing off at Trader Joe's.)  I waited quite a while, hoping they would go bad.  But even without Debbie Meyer's Green Bags, they stayed pretty fresh and today my German guilt got the better of me.  Enter Bill and Linda's Soup Recipe #4...

Tomato Zucchini Soup

In a small frying pan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil and sauté one onion, chopped, and one teaspoon minced garlic until the onions begin to soften.  Pour the onions and garlic into a deep saucepan and add the following; two cans of diced tomatoes (I like Hunt's brand with Italian seasoning), two cans of chicken broth, two cubed Yukon gold potatoes (skins on), a bunch of fresh basil, chopped, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until potatoes are soft.

While the tomato mixture simmers, reheat your small frying pan and add the following (without adding oil); one small can of whole corn, drained, and four baby zucchini, chopped small (about the size of corn kernels).  Stir frequently while the veggies pan-roast and brown a little.  Turn off the heat before they burn!  

When the potatoes are cooked, blend the tomato mixture until smooth.  (Or leave it a little chunky if you prefer.)  Add the corn and zucchini and simmer together for another ten minutes.  Makes six servings, 130 calories per serving.

While enjoying our lovely soup tonight, Bill commented that it tasted just like V8 juice.  So, there you go!

A fiesta in my mouth!

We have had a full weekend.  Yesterday afternoon we drove down to the temple to do sealings, then stayed the night in L.A.  Arriving back in Bakersfield this afternoon, we headed over to the Beale Library to complete our volunteer hours in the Local History Department. (Did you know that Kern County has had an active Camellia Society since the 1940s?)  After the library, we did a little produce shopping in preparation for our weekend soup-making efforts. 

As regarding our most recent recipe let me just say... in all humility...Fabulous!!!

Chicken Chili Lime Soup  (6 servings, 160 calories per serving)

Sauté the following in one Tbsp. olive oil; one chopped onion, one chopped green bell pepper, and eight small tomatillos.  When the vegetables have begun to soften, add three cans of chicken broth, two cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes with lime and cilantro and three-fourths of a bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped.  Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for thirty minutes.   Blend until smooth with a hand blender or in batches in a regular blender.  Return to pot on stove.  Add the remaining chopped cilantro, 1 Cup of cooked brown rice and one can of chunk white chicken meat (the size that comes in a six pack at Costco).  Shred the chicken chunks with a fork before adding.  Simmer an additional fifteen minutes and serve with fresh lime wedges.  Your mouth and tummy will thank me!

***This is fairly spicy.  All Ro-Tel products have chilies in the tomatoes, but there is a mild version you can use if you don't like this  much heat.  But I loved it and I'm usually a bland food kind of gal.

Me and Bill making soup

Bill and I (perhaps in a dress rehearsal for our retirement years) have taken up a new hobby; we make soup.  We shop the produce section together, discuss flavor profiles, and invent new recipes for soup.  (Is that the "Twilight Zone" theme song I hear?)  I can understand your surprise...a year ago, if you sent Bill into the kitchen to fetch something you had to equip him with a map and a GPS.  Now he casually throws out terms like "sweating the onions" and "caramelizing the squash."  So far, we have invented two soups, both under 200 calories for a large bowl, and we have been working on the recipe for our next endeavor; we want to try and duplicate the new chicken, lime and chili soup at Chili's.  We are very pleased with our efforts thus far and want to share our results:

Zesty  Butternut Squash Soup

First, we sautéed (in one Tbsp. olive oil) the following:  one half onion, chopped, one bell pepper, chopped, and two cloves of garlic, minced.  Once the onions had started to soften, we added four Cups of peeled and diced butternut squash and let that caramelize a little.  We added two small  Yukon gold potatoes (quartered) which we had oven-roasted the day before.  We then added two cans of low sodium chicken broth, one can of diced tomatoes and one half Cup of salsa.  We seasoned with lots of ground pepper, a little salt and chopped cilantro.  We brought it to a boil, then lowered the heat and simmered for forty-five minutes.  Finally, we used our immersion blender (Love it!!) to blend it until smooth and creamy.  (Six large servings) Delicious AND nutritious!

Our second recipe was born out of a need to use up some leftover pork tenderloin.  I think we liked the leftovers better than the original meal!

Warm and Wonderful Pork Stew

Again, we started with one Tbsp. olive oil and sautéed one whole onion, chopped, one bell pepper, chopped and two tsp. minced garlic.  We added two small Yukon gold potatoes (quartered) which we had previously oven-roasted.   When the onions were starting to soften we added two cans of chicken broth and one can of Original Rotelle tomatoes with green chilies.  We simmered this for about fifteen minutes, then blended until smooth with the immersion blender.  We then added two gala apples, chopped, but not peeled and about two cups of cooked pork tenderloin, cubed.  We seasoned everything with salt, pepper, curry powder and nutmeg.  We simmered for another thirty minutes, then added one half a head of green cabbage, chopped, and cooked for ten more minutes.  (Six large servings)  This is the perfect meal for a chilly winter evening.  Very filling and satisfying!

We really like using the immersion blender.  It gives the illusion of a cream-based soup without adding calories and turns a soup into a stew without the need to thicken with flour or butter.  Plus, I admit that I eat like a four year old.  I like the flavors of tomatoes, onions, peppers and chilies but I don't like to see them.  Yes, I actually pick them out of my food.  With the hand blender, I can  make all the yucky stuff disappear and still enjoy the flavor and nutritional benefits.

Bon appétit!

Save these pictures for August

Carl, Spencer and Aubrey went  to the cabin on Saturday to play in the snow.  It looks like they had a lot of fun!!! (This is one of many differences between old people and young people--It actually just looks cold to me...)

They enjoyed the snow so much they took some home for Heather and Will to enjoy!

Well done, Jake!!!

The list of things that Jake can do well just gets longer and longer.  He can solve a Rubik's cube in record time...he can juggle and do magic...and (drum roll, please) he is a pinewood derby champion!!!!  Yesterday, he took first place from among 35 cars AND set a new track record!  He and Jeremy discovered some pretty cool tricks for making their car lighter and faster.  And his timing is good, too, since this was his last pinewood derby.  (Jake leaves cub scouts in May when he turns eleven.)  A well-deserved recognition for lots of hard work.  Congratulations, Jake!

 

Is it just me or is Jake suddenly looking A LOT older???

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out Jake's cheerleading squad:

It isn't easy to take a picture of yourself in a mirror

 

Yesterday, while getting ready for church, I took a good look in the mirror and realized that I am developing "puppet face."  "Puppet face" is when the creases that run from your nose to the corner of your mouth start spreading past the corner of your mouth, all the way to your chin.  Like a windshield crack that spreads a little more each time you hit a bump.  I think I must be hitting a lot of bumps lately.  "Puppet face" is the natural result of a fifty-six year long battle between elasticity and gravity.  Gravity, it appears, is gaining the upper hand.

I am in good company:

Living with Adrian Monk

Most of you know that I am (was) a big fan of the USA network show, "Monk."  I was sad to see it end, but it lives on in memory...Actually, it lives on in real life, too.  You see, in many ways, I am married to Adrian Monk.  Okay, he goes by "Bill Reed," but he's the same guy.

Need proof?  I'm sure many of you remember the great shaving soap adventure.  Here is the link to refresh your memory:

http://billlindasworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/crisis-averted.html

Or, if you need photographic evidence of Bill's special "Monkness":

http://billlindasworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/crisis-averted-part-2.html

Not long ago, I caught Bill trying to throw away a perfectly good shirt.  Why, you ask?  Because he had an uneven number of solid and stripes.  Unlike Sharona and Natalie, though, I'm not paid to put up with his nonsense.  The shirt stayed. 

But there's news...Bill is evolving!  He has switched from ankle-high black athletic socks to regular black athletic socks!  Of course, he wouldn't commit to the changeover until he had "auditioned" the new socks for a day, but he's now fully onboard with the change.  (Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?)  Wait!  There's more!  Last Sunday, he wore a different tie for the first time in eight years.  Yes...you read that right... he has worn the same tie every Sunday (and various dress-up days in between) for eight years.  It wasn't that I wouldn't let him change ties, and it certainly wasn't that his tie was so fabulous-looking that no one in their right mind would replace it.  Oh, no...it was because although it was getting exceedingly ratty-looking, it was the only tie we could find that fit his very rigid "tie rules."

Prior to last Sunday, these were the rules:

1. Ties must be solid black.
2. Ties must not exceed 2 inches in width.
3. Ties must be made of "non-shiny", "non-slippery", matte-finished fabric.

The first two rules were easy.  Waiters and Blues Brothers impersonators also follow those rules.  Number three was the tricky one--there aren't many ties on the market made of burlap. 

So, what changed?  He discovered hand lotion!!!

The reason for rule #3 was that he refused to wear any of the hand lotion that I bought for him over the years and his hands, being very rough, snagged on slippery ties.  But then one crazy day he tried some of the hotel lotion that the Marriott kindly provides.  He LIKED it!  He said that unlike every other lotion in the known world, it wasn't "greasy."  What was this wondrous elixir?  Orange-Ginger lotion from Bath and Body Works.  After a trip to the mall to stock up, he now keeps that exact lotion in every bathroom, in his car and at both of his offices.  And, thus, he was able to wear an all black, not too wide, somewhat slippery new tie on Sunday.

I am leading up to today's adventure. 

Earlier this month we registered for the Disney "Give a Day, Get a Day" program.  When you go on their website and enter your zip code, you are given a list of volunteering opportunities in your area.  There are literally hundreds of different volunteering venues in Bakersfield.  We signed up to work at the Kern County Library.  Once we have completed our day of service, we will get two free vouchers for use at Disneyland anytime before the end of the year.  The library commitment only requires four hours.  We did two today and will finish in two weeks.

We chose to work in the local history section.  Our assignment is to clean up the vertical files.  These are folders filled with newspaper clippings,  maps,  chamber of commerce leaflets, board of trade reports, and endless other ephemera.  Our job is to sort them by subject matter and arrange them in chronological order.  So...imagine Adrian Monk doing this job.  Can you picture it?  Here's an actual picture:

I finished eight folders for every one of his.  My approach was kind of like my approach to most things.  There's no date on one of a thousand clippings I need to file?  Okay, let's make an educated guess...Let's get it done!  Bill's approach was different.  I wish I could have recorded the conversation between him and Christopher, the local history librarian where Bill explained to him that the date someone else had written at the top of a clipping couldn't possibly be correct because the article referenced a man who, as another article clearly stated, wasn't born until much later...And this grouping needs to be kept separate from the rest of the file because the individual named on the file cover is really only a bit player in these other articles...And I need paper clips and rubber bands, right now!  You get the idea?  Christopher, his eyes glazing over, admitted that Bill was correct and, in the end,  let him re-design their filing system.

It was really kind of fun.  In sorting a collection of very old (1905-1954) promotional material for the Kern County Board of Trade I learned that in the early days, they marketed Kern County as "A Magical Place With a Magical Climate."  Hmmmm...Wonder how that worked out for them?

So...a lot of rambling, but I've given you three good birthday ideas for someone's upcoming 60th birthday.