October 24 - 28

It's cold and blustery, so I want to cook cozy stews and soups and hang out at home all evening smelling them, but this week is parent-teacher conference week, and so I will instead be driving home at a time of night that should be reserved exclusively for pajamas and the couch.

So I'm going to make a pot of stand-by soup, not for any particular meal, but just in case I need a comfort-food infusion.

Grandma Goodall's Cabbage Soup

My grandma always had some of this soup cooking, or stashed in the fridge. I think it's actually Weight Watchers soup -- she went as long as I can remember -- and it might have 0 points or 1 point or something. I don't really know, but I think she liked it because she could eat as much of it as she wanted...

So I started with her original recipe (hand-written for me on a white index card) but I'm messing with it a little bit, because I just can't leave well enough alone:

In a big stockpot, saute:

one chopped onion

a cup or a handful of sliced mushrooms

a few cloves of chopped garlic

Then add:

2 c chopped cabbage

2 jars canned tomatoes

2 c water

1 c chopped green beans

1 c chopped carrots

1 c chopped celery

1 can garbanzo beans

to taste:

Worcestershire sauce

salt

pepper

Simmer for an hour or two.

What Else?

So, outside of the emergency soup, not a lot of plans for this week. But here's what we've got:

Sunday

Lamb chops

roasted brussels sprouts

baked sweet potato

salad

Monday

Roasted corn and goat cheese quesadillas

Wednesday

Little pizzas made on Naan with pizza sauce, mozzarella, and yummy veggies and chicken sausage.

And there will probably be an emergency Dairy Queen run at some point. Just guessing. When I get tired, my defenses evaporate.

Have a good week!