Thankful for. . .

Jim's cousin Amberly has challenged her blog readers to name five things they're thankful for everyday during the month of November. The response has been great. I'm having a blast reading people's thankful lists. I'm a little behind -- I blame the Swine Flu. No, I don't have it, and no one in my household has it (knock on wood), but it seems an easy scapegoat now-a-days. So, I'm blaming H1N1 for my lack of thankfulness for days 1-8 of November.

Not only am I going to make excuses, but I'm going to cheat a little too. You see, I was going to do another blog post about a yummy recipe I discovered, but instead I'm combining my recipe post and my thankful post into one post to save a little time. So here goes:


1. I'm thankful for my Moosewood Cookbook (it was a wedding gift), more specifically for page 5's recipe for Gypsy Soup. Oh my goodness!!! This soup is SOOOO good. It tastes like fall in a bowl. It's colorful, spicy, and warm. Plus, it's called Gypsy Soup, that in of itself, makes it awesome. The cookbook describes it as "a spiced and delectable brew of Spanish and Dickensonian origins." Plus, not only does this soup taste fabulous, it's really good for you too! Here's the recipe:

3-4 Tbs olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 cups chopped, peeled sweet potatoes or winter squash
1/2 cup shopped celery
1 cup chopped, fresh tomatoes
3/4 cup chopped sweet peppers
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (I use canned garbanzo beans so I don't have to soak the chickpeas)
3 cups stock or water (I used 4 cups, otherwise my soup is more stew-like)
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
dash of cayenne (I use more than a dash)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs tamari (If you don't have it, a decent soy sauce will do)

Directions:

In a soup kettle or large saucepan saute onions, garlic, celery, and sweet potatoes in olive oil for about five minutes. Add seasonings, except tamari, and the stock or water. Simmer, covered, fifteen minutes. Add remaining vegetables and chickpeas. Simmer another 10 minute or so -- until all the vegetable are as tender as you like them. Stir in tamari.

Note: The vegetables used in this soup are flexible. Any orange vegetable can be combined with green . . .for example, peas or green beans could replace the pepper. Carrots can be used instead of, or in addition to the squash or sweet potato. Etc.



2. I'm also thankful for my newest recipe for beer bread. It's so easy, and so good. Plus it pairs up nicely with soup. All you need is:

2 c. Self Rising flour

1/3 c. sugar

1 can or bottle of beer
You can also add some shredded cheese, or flax seed meal like me.

Bake it at 375 for 45 min-1 hour, or until it isn’t doughy in the middle

Doesn't this look nice to come home to? Jim was sure thankful.

3. I'm thankful for Tralee's new sheets. They're so cute and comfy.

4. I'm thankful for my clearance finds at Michael's crafts. You can't beat thirty cent play dough. Thirty cents has brought Tralee MANY hours of happiness.

5. I'm thankful for Tralee's pictures of our family. Our eyes are huge, noses small, and mouths a bit forlorn, but overall SOOOO cute! Not bad for two years old.

HOORAY! There's my five for today. Hopefully I'll keep up with it. If not, you'll know it's because of the dreaded Swine Flu that I'm behind.