Mmmmmmiso soup

Amy asked about the miso soup I made, so here it is. For all two of my regular readers (Amy and Rhiannon). If I have any lurkers, make yourself known by commenting...I'd love to expand my audience to three!



I pretty much followed the recipe on the miso container. The last miso I bought is Westbrae organic mellow red miso, and I LOVE it! It has such a great, understated (i.e., mellow) flavor. Since I just made it last night, I can tell you exactly what goes into it.



Saute one onion, thinly sliced, in olive oil till translucent, add thinly sliced carrots and celery (last night I used 3 carrots and 2 stalks celery), and saute till tender. Add 4 cups water or broth (I just use chicken boullion) and diced tofu (I use at least half a block of tofu...Teagan loves the tofu so I like to have lots in there for her to eat), bring to a simmer, add around 3 or 4 tablespoons of miso and mix in till dissolved. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes. (Other veggies I think would be yummy but haven't tried since Teagan probably won't eat them are baby bok choy, napa cabbage and/or mushrooms...she already avoids the onions.) We had a delicious green salad with our soup last night. I actually have a picture of the soup from the last time I made it. I'll have to add it when I get home (I'm now blogging from a top-secret undisclosed location!).

Poor blogging and the purpose of hospitals

I have been so busy I haven't been able to blog. My mother-in-law (known to the kids as Mimie) just got here Sunday night and my parents are coming Saturday, with several days of overlap, so I'm just trying to maintain a clean household and think a little bit harder than normal (i.e., plan ahead) about what I am going to feed everyone. Tonight, miso soup, I think. Teagan loves it (requested it, actually), and Rich is out of town for work (he won't eat it), plus we have dance class tonight and miso soup is ultra quick to make, so it is the perfect meal for this evening. Also, Mimie works while she's here, and I never know what time she will be home. Last night she wasn't home until 8. I'm learning that Rich gets many of his traits from his mother. But I really enjoy having her here to visit, and Teagan is excited, too. In fact, her employer is trying to convince her to move up here, and that would be just fine with me. It would be great fun to have some family here, and I think it might be good for Mimie as well!



Mimie recently had a hip replacement surgery, and is still recovering to some extent. Before Mimie arrived, Teagan asked me if she was bringing her baby. For a second I was confused and didn't know what she was talking about. Then I realized she thought that because she had heard us talking about Mimie being in the hospital, Mimie must have had a baby. Isn't that what people do when they go to the hospital? Teagan is fortunate to have that be her only hospital experience in life to date...mommy at the hospital, and a new baby brother for Teagan! It was very cute. I love the way kids think about the world.



I have no really new pictures to post right now. Here's one of Teagan decorating cookies at daycare last week.

Growing pains

I started looking through old photos yesterday and as much as I love Teagan at 4, I miss the baby she has left behind. Why does it seem so sad that she's not a baby anymore? I know, it's probably way too early to start this wistful reminiscing, but my girl is SASSY and some days I wouldn't be heart broken to go back to that sweet and curious little toddler. Not that we didn't have our challenges then. I just love looking back at her growing and changing, and it is always bittersweet. Here are some pictures of her when she was one year old, eating berries and picking flowers, and when she was almost two years old, with her sweet baby curls.

Tonight while I was cooking dinner I said something to Teagan about learning to cook and she told me she didn't need to learn. I asked her who was going to cook for her when she grows up and lives on her own and she answered "you, mom." I explained that when she gets old enough, she will move out and live on her own and learn how to take care of herself, and she replied "but I LOVE you!" in a somewhat betrayed tone of voice. Like how could I ever think of sending her out on her own? I just wanted to fold her in my arms and tell her she could stay forever, but I know how this growing up business is supposed to work. I sure hope when she's ready to go I've given her all the tools she needs to be the best person she possibly can be.

I know! She's only four!!!

Here we are, back in the present, Teagan and I checking out the ice sculptures in town square park this weekend. It was sooooo cold!! If it weren't so damn cold I probably wouldn't be dwelling on such depressing subjects. Here's to an early summer this year!!!

Fond food memories

Prompted by Amy's blog entry on food, I thought I'd blog about some of my fond food memories. The best food memory I have is of going to my grandma's house and getting to spend the night there all by myself; no siblings or parents to bug me. I would get to sleep in the hydabed in the back room and watch cable (which we did not have at home), and my grandma would make rice pudding for me, which I would eat while it was still warm and I was snug in bed. I love all kinds of food, I'm certainly not a picky eater, but there's something about comfort foods that just stick with you. How can you beat warm, creamy rice and milk spiced with cinnamon and studded with plumped raisins? My grandpa (on the other side of my family) was the one to show me how to fake rice pudding by taking warm, leftover rice from dinner, pouring milk over it, and sprinkling it with cinnamon and sugar. I still love to do this, and recently showed it to Teagan. Of course, she loved it. My grandpa also made the best meatloaf (sorry mom!).

My mom always made great meals and desserts. She helped me learn to cook (I liked to make pork chops with apples and rice, turkey pot pie, and scalloped corn when I was a kid). In my memory, she got stuck with the day-to-day business of feeding a family, which is why the things prepared by others stand out more in my mind. Still, I think it is so important for a parent to nurture her children's bodies and souls with a good, healthful meal, and I know my mom did that for us. Yes, it is possible to nurture the soul on tuna noodle casserole every Tuesday night ;)

I should have a picture of food, but I don't. Just more pictures of the kids!