First night~

Last night I made an amazing and nutritious vegetable soup with homemade wheat bread. I was trying to copy the Whole Foods vegetable soup, which is so thick and chunky. Normally when I make veggie soup, it comes out too liquidy and brothy. I also found an awesome whole wheat bread recipe on allrecipes.com and made a few loaves a while back and froze them. We pulled out some slices, toasted them, and slathered butter over them hot.

Thick veggie soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups of chicken or veggie broth (I like to use "Better than Boullion" that comes in a jar...no MSG)
1/2 yellow onion
handful of mushrooms, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 zucchini, diced
3 red tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 large potato, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
handful of asparagus sprigs, diced
handful of swiss chard from the garden, ribbon sliced
2 cloves of garlic, pressed through a garlic press, or finely chopped
salt, pepper, basil, thyme, oregano, bay leaf

Add olive oil to a warmed pot big enough for your soup. Add diced onions, allow to become slightly translucent. Add garlic, celery and carrots. Sautee for 5 minutes. Next add potato and broth. Allow to bubble on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Then add mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus and red tomatoes. I like to add the zucchini later because it cooks so fast, and I don't like mushy zucchini. Allow to simmer for another 15 minutes. Add all of your spices to taste. Throw in your chard last. Allow to simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are tender to bite. Now for the fun part. Ladle one third of the soup into a blender and puree with the top on, very important!!! Hot stuff flying at your face is no fun! Add the puree back into the pot. This is what make the soup thick. Taste test the broth for flavoring. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle fresh shredded parmesan over the top and serve with toasted bread or grilled cheese sandwiches.

Makes a yummy and very healthy, light dinner! Then you can splurge on ice cream for dessert :) Or popcorn for a movie snack, which Daniel made for me last night over the stove, yum! Popcorn over the stove is the only way. If you haven't done it, try it NOW!

What I knit last night: I'm working on a raglan sweater for myself, which is such a treat because I never knit anything for myself. I'm always giving my projects away. I chose a cheap yarn, Vanna's Choice, from JoAnn Fabric. I was reprimanded by my stepmom for choosing such a cheap yarn, and having finished half the sweater with it, I will put my tail between my legs and say she is right! Never knit a sweater with cheapo yarn. It's so much work to knit an entire sweater. You may as well add life to it by using a good-quality yarn. I'm almost to the point where I need to start forming the sleeves off the raglan and work my way down the body. I'm so excited!!!

Signing off to read a horrendous transcript that's overdue....