Home, Sick

Either being out in the cold (be it outdoors or inside the ice rinks) OR being in crowds of people didn't agree with me. In any case, I started feeling punk on the second day of our drive home from Minneapolis. We'd split the trip into two days, both going and coming. We stayed overnight in Fargo both ways. I'm still really glad we went, it was a great weekend of hockey. Our grandson's team ended up with bronze medals. And he and our daughter survived a cold afternoon of outdoor sledding at Buck Hill. We didn't join them.

We arrived home last week on Tuesday, in the evening. I spent much of the next two days napping and coughing. I am in the mend, although still not pushing myself hard to get very much accomplished.

We had watched, from our warm hotel room, how the deep freeze had set in at home. We commiserated with all of you when the power went out in the middle of one of those super-frigid nights. It wasn't much warmer out-of-doors where we were either, but we never lost power. Everyone who has to work outdoors during these events earns every penny they are paid, and deserve all the thanks you can give them.

I did finally have enough energy to water all my houseplants. Two of the geraniums, the ones in the huge pots, are putting out new, tiny leaves at their bases. Another amaryllis is shooting up a flower stalk. The shooting star Hoya is still in bloom, with multiple clusters of blooms. One tiny orchid has flowers. Those bright spots help ease the pain of losing three of my four basil plants, and one of the two parsleys. The small purple shamrock also gave up during this last trip. It's too cold, and I'm too tired to bundle up, so the pots of dead plants aren't getting hauled away. I'll keep seeing the results of my neglect for a few more days.

I have experimented with a new soup recipe. There are several variations available online. Since I looked at these, I'm now being inundated on Pinterest with many of those other variations. I'm sharing the version I used: the adventurous among you may enjoy it.

Greek Lemon Rice Soup

1 Tbl EVOO

1 small onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1/2 C Arborio rice, rinsed

4 C chicken broth (low sodium)

3 Tbl lemon juice, freshly squeezed

3 eggs

2 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

Salt & pepper to taste

1/4 C dill, chopped

Sauté the onion and carrot in the oil. Add the broth and rice, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 20 minutes, or until rice is almost done. Mix the eggs and juice together in a small bowl. While whisking, add a ladle or two of the hot soup to the egg mixture, then add the egg mixture to the pot. Stir in the chicken, and the dill. Season to taste.

I used canned chicken and dried dill, reducing the amount to a couple tablespoonsful. I also added the lemon peels for a while, as the zest adds more lemon flavor quickly. I fished those out before serving.

After the rice soup, I made my first pot of taco soup. I'd read through several versions online, then went solo with what I liked out of all of them. Of course, I also had to go with what ingredients I had available.

Mary's Taco Soup

2 small onions, 1 red, 1 white, diced

1 Tbl ghee

1 # ground beef

Generous sprinkle of taco seasoning

1 (15 oz) can low sodium white beans

1/2 small can diced green chilis

1 (1 1/2 C) pkg frozen creamed corn

5 large frozen heirloom yellow tomatoes

1 tsp veggie better than bouillon

Sauté onions in ghee. Push to sides of pan, brown beef, breaking up. Sprinkle with taco seasoning, stir well. Add beans, undrained, corn, chilis. Simmer. Run tomatoes under hot water to remove skins. Toss in pot. Stir in bouillon, simmer until softened enough to mash them well. Cover pot & simmer until heated through.

Serve with homemade guacamole (*), mix of grated sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, crushed corn chips, and taco sauce.

(*) Homemade Guacamole: mash 1 ripe avocado with 2-3 Tbl plain Greek yogurt, 1-2 tsp dried cilantro (optional), 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and pepper to taste. You could add a dash of red pepper flakes (or chopped jalapeño) to taste.