ARRGGHHH

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

 

Well I have made it through the tax weekend from hell---broken printer, buy new printer, defective new ink cartridge, buy another ink cartridge---you get the idea.  It was a nothing is going right and on top of that I have to deal with the tax man kind of weekend.  I think cranky would be an understatement and my husband could smell trouble from a mile away.  He gently suggested we go out for dinner.  I think he may have felt that at the rate things were going for me, the oven might explode.  He took me to "Claim Jumpers" where I thoroughly enjoyed my Parmesan crusted shrimp with lemon pasta and the two Stoli's that helped greatly in improving my mood.

Today is another day and it's an interesting one.  So far we've had over 9 inches of rain here and it's going to keep coming.  Expressways are closed, viaducts flooded, cars floating, houses literally under water, and a lot of commuters in the position that "you can't get there from here."  On the Eisenhower expressway a guy pulled over in his food truck and opened it up for business.  Not a bad idea as no one was going anywhere for hours and hours.

Happily, knock on wood, our house is still dry although the sump pump may burn out because it has been running for ten hours straight.  The end of our block is flooded so I'm thinking it's not a good day to venture out.  That being said, today was to be shopping day and I'm running low of milk and out of bread.  Certainly not tragedies but it does make me nervous.  What if I just have to have a sandwich or a bowl of cereal?  And, of course that is what I'll be craving because I can't have it.

Today just screams "soup day."  And one of my favorites is tomato.  However, that brings me back to the bread issue as it is probably against the law to have tomato soup without a grilled cheese sandwich.  Ask anyone. Aha, but I do have English muffins, so here's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to toast my English muffins, and then put them on a baking sheet, spread a little butter on the muffins, top with any cheese I have lying around and throw them under the broiler until the cheese begins to melt.  A "crispy grilled cheese."

And here's the soup to go along with it...

Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 drops hot pepper sauce

 Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender,

Add carrot and celery; cook 7 to 9 minutes until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently.