First of all...
Showing posts with label #sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #sunday. Show all posts

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Sunday is for Soup: January is for Joy

I don't like winter.  I will admit snow looks pretty and a day off work due to a blizzard is a nice way to break up the monotony of a workweek but other than that I'm not a fan.

However, winter is a quarter of the year and I don't want to spend 25% of my year crabby.  I have done an excellent job of achieving 100% crabbiness for the 25% of the year known as winter in the past; and now that I am nearly a full 50% of a century years old, it's time for a change.

Therefore one of my goals for January is to find the joy in January.  Today is day 5 of January and here is what I've come up with thus far...

When I am out for a run and it snows the snow makes everything quiet and muffled like I am alone in the midst of everything around me.  It also cushions my fall when I slip on the ice I couldn't see. 

Lucky for me so far, so far this year it's been mild and the snow isn't sticking around for more than a day on the sidewalks.  That fact helps me enjoy winter.  The gloomy grey sky is like a blanket blocking out the arctic air keeping our temps above freezing during the day. 

A cozy blanket of clouds is better than a blanket of snow!

The smell of a wood-burning fireplace is an unmitigated plus in my book, so that is nice and also during the winter it is much easier to stay home and not feel compelled to go out and do stuff. Winter is also when I regret not buying a car with a remote start.  As you can see my quest to find the joy in January is a work in progress.

One thing I do know is that winter is a good time to try new soup recipes and a bowl of flavorful soup is a joy.  This week another soup from Real Simple Magazine.


I made a few changes. I used 1 lb of ground pork and 1/2 a lb of ground turkey. I didn't have mirin so I used pinot grigio and I used 3 tablespoons of grated ginger. 1 tablespoon in the meatballs, 1 tablespoon sauteed in the pot and then 1 tablespoon more when the soup was done. I also added a splash of oil when the soup was done because it needed a little something more and toasted sesame seed oil was the right little something.  Lastly, my grocery store didn't have baby bok choy so I cut up 1.5 full-size bok choy like you would cut celery.  (see below)


Happy Sunday!


Sunday, June 10, 2018

Have you heard this podcast already?

Happy Sunday!!  In case you missed it, you need to know that I love podcasts.  And I love to share my favorites with anyone who will listen or read me so check these out and subscribe! 

You may not realize there are a few companies that produce a wide variety of podcasts, there are Slate, Panopoly and Gimlet

Today I thought I'd share a couple from Gimlet Media since they recently sent me an email promoting their two-day podcast festival.  I would totally be there except it's in Brooklyn and alas, I am not.

My two favorite podcasts from Gimlet are Sandra and Uncivil.

Sandra is fictional and one of the voices is Kristen Wiig.  It's a comedy, revolving around an imaginary system like Alexa but called Sandra and the main character works in a call center as a Sandra, when you say Hey Sandra and ask a question about birds, then your answer comes from this call center employee.  An interesting and fun story unfolds as the voice behind Sandra tries to make a life for herself away from Ex. 

 Uncivil is entirely different than Sandra.  It is an incredibly enlightening podcast showcasing the stories from the Civil War and Reconstruction that you've never heard before-- and you should.  It's history that informs who America is today.  Does that sound dry?  Trust me this podcast is nothing like you remember of U.S. History in school.  Everyone should listen to this insightful series. You can also follow the creators on Facebook and Twitter where they share books highlighted in the series. 

Uncivil won a Peabody Award in 2017,  you *know* this is really good stuff for your ear holes.
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On the writing front: A friend is reading the first chapter of my book.  She is an English major; I hope I have not made it too chockful of grammerical and capitalization errors. Currently, I have crossed the bridge into chapter 14!! and I accidently introduced a new character and my protagonist is now going on her first date in for-eveh! I don't see them together long term, he was really just supposed to impart some information to the protagonist , but now who knows what is going to happen next.