Chicken soup to soothe the soul…

The flu has reared it’s ugly head in our casa…

And the first thing I always do when this happens… is make a big pot of homemade

Chicken noodle soup

….it cures what ail's ya.

Making it through the years I realize that I have learned from family and friends how

to steep this magical elixir of a broth. I swear it cures.

I always start with a whole organic chicken…which I place in a stock pot with

one or two onions…slice ‘em in half…leave the skin on my hubs taught me that.

3-4 carrots…washed, not peeled.

about 4 inches of the end of a clump of celery

a whole clump of garlic. ok…I know clump isnt the word. can’t think. clump works for my brain. just slice it in half so all of those little cloves can share their flavor

leave the skin on…again...like my hubs says.

Throw in any fresh herbs you have…I didn't have any see previous post of swamp like flooding. But bay leaves and thyme are nice additions.

Next peel a rutabaga. I grew up calling them turnips. And I might add I refused to eat said turnips every Thanksgiving. I think my brothers did too. clearly a silent protest.

But…Tyler Florence told me to add them to soup stock… and by gum…they DO flavor it beautifully. Plus, turnips are good. Turnips are life force. That’s precisely what one needs to fight off the flu.

power to the turnip!

you do need to peel the skin…but just slice in half and let it mingle with everyone else.

Add some whole pepper corns…fill with water to cover the chicken…and simmer away…for hours.

Pull out the chicken and let it cool…shred with your fingers discarding the skin and bones. Set aside.

Then strain the broth from the veggies…some say you can then puree the veggies and add them to the stock. I have a big Black Dog who happens to love them and a bit of stock and skin added to his dinner. He has never had the flu.Ever. See.

THIS is the elixir. The broth.

Next chop an onion and several carrots and some celery and some peeled parsnips my daughters favorite and saute in some olive oil. Sizzle.

Add stock and squeeze in the juice of a half of a lemon. My old boss Toni taught me this.

Let it all steep until veggies are soft. salt and pepper to taste.

Now... my friend Gail likes to make matzo balls at this juncture. I prefer homemade egg noodles. And if not them, then frozen egg noodles will do the trick quite beautifully.

In the grocery freezer….next to frozen ravioli.

If I am making a lot of soup and want to freeze or keep in the fridge, I only cook as many noodles as I will need to re-heat.

I add the chicken last. Some fresh parsley.

and DARE the dayum flu to hang around.

If you are ailing…or just need a nutritious hug.

Make it.

What do you add to your fave soup recipe?

Rain rain….

I don’t mind…

snuggled in bed with a great book of images from Bali…

Right as rain.

Yep.

Sunday morning constitutional…

Waking up early…eyes blury...camera in hand…Big Black dog leading the way through the untamed backyard vegetation

untamed/un-manicured. That is our motto. Kids,Dogs, yards, homes...the WHOLE kaboodle.

first stop: Taste water lily’s

check squirrel insurgents

make sure favorite laying down spot is still there yep…he is in there.

weed a little...

hide a bone. Get tangled in hose. sigh

...taste a little more.

Yard manager.

Have one?

...need one?

going cheap

Another call for help…good folks…

‘Cause you guys are the bestest! Ok…I have a funky kitchen…ok I admit to having even a weird kitchen. It is scattered with the color red.

Toaster…clock…Hood vent. SCREEEEECH. Yep hood vent.

Tired of red... time for a change. To what though?

It is a metal (think industrial aluminum) hood over an island. It was white (ish) when we bought the house...omg.

Then I painted it fire engine red. Why? I dunno. maybe to go with my red toaster.

so today…I tried to bring it back to it’s industrial roots tried is the operative word…with a silver/aluminum/zinc...ish...kinda look

and It doesn’t quite hit the mark. she humbly admits.

What do you think??? Maybe darker….But will it look hokey with the little cross hatches?

Back to white…Or even try and add a wood veneer over and paint white…kinda like Joan’s stunning kitchen recently featured in Renovation Magazine…homina homina…

What is a girl to do who doesn't want to spend any clams

HELP….PLEASE…..I’ll give you a dollar if you help.

I will.

Kids bath in Kitchen and Bath Magazine…

In the newstands I found mine waiting in line in Publix grocery store Is the newest edition

of Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen and Bath magazine

One of the features is our kids bathroom.

However…now it is decidedly a HIS bathroom…as the lone girl (willing to no longer share with three brothers) claimed a powder room as hers

Call me crazy, but I always wanted to put a urinal in a kids bath…3 boys…c’mon. Keeping it real.

Huge thank you to Becky the stylist and writer extraordinaire …and to Meredith Magazines for giving two of our bathrooms a little place in print!

Out to look for urinals…seriously.

All in a day’s work…

Do Y'all (you all)

have that area of your garden you tend to ignore?

We do

we most certainly do

But not anymore.

This area used to be no man’s land…

the end of the highway…

where the backyard ended.

…and other not such niceties

gifts from the sea...gotta love em.

But with a little screw it a lot of sweat equity

some planting, some moving…

It now has a purpose.

sit with a cold corona with a lime kinda purpose…but a purpose just the same.

{maybe you pretend those plastic chairs are a cool retro bamboo version…that’s what I do. pretend.}

We extended the gravel path added some pathway rocks, and looped it around the

Big and Happy Travelers Palm

Did you know they are called travelers palm’s because if one was travelling and perhaps lost, you could cut off a limb and it would contain a canteen full of water. Who knew?

I knew…now YOU do to. We’ll call it Trivia Sunday.

Then we moved some plants around cheap….rolled a big giant pot over and stuck a bamboo drip fountain in it...

A handful of water plants…and maybe a big fake water lily. just being honest.

Not bad for a day or two’s work….

...and some dirt under the nails, eh?

and may I remind you it was over 100 with the humidity...Bow...applause...bow

Thanks to some kidlets and a Grandma B that were pretty good rock and pebble haulers.

Grandma’s got some biceps.

I am remembering…

Ten years ago… My four kids and I were visiting friends

A sister friend...that everso important person who has been with you through college, and kids and life...one who is a *sister*...when you never had a true sister.

in New York…

The morning of the 11th…we packed up the car us two mothers with seven kids…and went apple picking.

And then we tried to donate blood.

because we didn’t know what to do.

We were in Albany. 2 hours from NYC.

I remember sleeping in a top bunk that night with my arms around my 9 year old. who would shake and cry every time a plane flew over. Jets circled and protected the area all night long.

I slept holding him for 4 nights.

We were scheduled to see my brother that week…and should have been In the city/NJ on the 11th. But I stole more time with my friend in Albany.

As we drove down toward the City two days later…The intensity of emotion was palpable the closer we got. Flags adorned cars, makeshift flags made of bed sheets were being held from the overpasses. Held by NY youth chanting USA.

It was eerie. It was beautiful. It was surreal.

My brother was on Wall Street that morning, ten years ago.

He was able to walk out of the smoking city…but he lost many friends and colleagues.

I remember his steeled jaw, as we stood on a grassy bank in his town, looking across the Hudson River, at the smoldering embers of where he once worked…where so many were lost. He was numb.

I remember the flyers strewn across his small town asking for donations of many things ...including dog food and dog boots for the rescue dogs.

I remember the silence of a whole town who lost so many.

It was a long and quiet drive back to Florida the next week.

The world had changed while we were gone.

I humbly bow my head in remembrance.

From ashes to hope…

9/11/2011