Dark January requires lots of TLC!! So, first I have a song for your heart (click here and come right back to listen while you read), then a little something for your soul, and then something for your tummy! ♥
I can’t give you hyacinths today, but I can give you violets! ♥
A bright and pretty picture like this definitely feeds my soul!
Today would have been my grandma’s 103rd birthday! People who have my calendars often ask why I paint a balloon on January 8th — that’s my grandma’s balloon, it was her secret birthday message since my first calendar. ♥ She’s gone but she’ll never be forgotten. Normally I’d be sending her flowers today, but instead, I’m sending them to you! I have to be satisfied knowing she’s my guardian angel. And if she’s my guardian angel, she just naturally, by extension, has to be yours too. It was her idea I give you “hyacinths” this morning. She was one of my very first “girlfriends.” ♥
Nothing on earth can make up for the loss of one who has loved you.♥ Selma Lagerlöf
Here’s the sweetest “hyacinth” that’s been feeding my soul ever since he came into my life a couple of months ago! I cannot say enough good things about this little bundle of joy! What a doll!!!!! Here he is helping us put away Christmas decorations. He has to go in to be neutered on Tuesday 🙁 No, I don’t want to do it. If he was a girl, I would let him have babies, but he is going to be a strong beautiful young man cat that will be dangerous to the kitty population of the world if I don’t do this. So in he goes. Waaaa. My baby.
I’m hoping my mind will be kept off what’s happening to Jack, because starting early 
Tuesday morning and ending late Wednesday evening, the first Willard of 2012 goes out! ♥ (I hope you’re signed up, if not, you can do it right here. It’s free!) Willard has so many fun things for you! I’m excited, I love surprises!! (I don’t love to be surprised mind you, I hope I have seen my last surprise birthday party ever!!!! So frightening! I just like to give surprises!) This toast “to us” is the barest of hints! But there’s a new giveaway coming too! OK, that’s all or it won’t be a surprise!
So many great stories and tips in the last post!!! Thank you so much, you really helped jump-start a better eating/exercise program for me. All that consciousness raising! I’m so inspired! Thank you! ♥
So here, in honor of that, I’m sharing with you my grandma’s birthday cake. Despite how it looks, there’s plenty here for all of us, and just so you know, it’s an orange cake, with a crushed-pineapple filling and orange frosting! 
And guess what, it’s virtual! Fat free; no calories at all! And it comes with all the love that’s baked into any birthday cake, and candles for you to make a wish on . . . Happy Birthday Grandma! And to anyone else who might be celebrating this lovely day! ♥
Can we count this as “something for the tummy?” Maybe not . . . So, here’s something you can make happen yourself:
But first, a few more hyacinths!
And this is the last one for today . . . as promised, it’s my favorite recipe for low-fat, high-energy chicken soup that will warm you, heart and soul. Now that you have your rich chicken stock all ready (you do don’t you? 🙂 If you have no idea what I’m talking about, scroll down to the next post for that recipe), here’s how to make the soup.
C H I C K E N S O U P
After removing all the fat that has risen to the top of the deep, dark, and delicious chicken stock you made with your very own two hands, you self-sufficient person you, reheat it and taste for strength . . . remember it has no salt in it yet, no herbs, so it will taste plain (we’re about to fix that!). If it’s not strong enough, boil it down a bit to get it the way you like it. If it’s too strong, you can add a little water. I cook most of the ingredients separately to keep them from overcooking, and to give the vegetables some TLC of their own.
Now You Need:
- 4 or 5 containers of mushrooms (about 2 1/2 lbs), sliced a little thick; if you are lucky and find tiny button mushrooms, they can stay whole . . . I use all kinds, baby
portobellos, shitake, and also regular white ones; dried ones too if you like; reconstitute them by soaking them in a little cool broth for a half hour before slicing and adding them to soup. They have a nice texture. - 3 stalks celery, chopped into small pieces
- 1 Tbsp. dried thyme leaves
- 3 or 4 large brown onions, peeled and chopped into about 1″ pieces
- 3 lg. cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press
- 1/2 small can tomato puree (adds wonderful flavor and great color)
- the fresh cooked chicken you set aside when you were making the stock, in bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 c. fresh chopped parsley
- Tofu “shiritaki” noodles (optional)
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
portobellos, shitake, and also regular white ones; dried ones too if you like; reconstitute them by soaking them in a little cool broth for a half hour before slicing and adding them to soup. They have a nice texture.
Heat up your pot of stock and check for strength; add thyme; partially cover the pot and allow to simmer. Don’t wash the mushrooms, just wipe off any dirt with a paper towel (you really don’t want them to get wet). Slice, discard stems, and put them all into a heavy dry skillet (I use a big black iron pan) over high heat. They will begin to exude their juices, which is what you want them to do. Add the chopped celery. Stir often, and let juices cook down until they’re gone; remove the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside. In same skillet, put about 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Over high heat, add chopped 
onions; cook and stir until brown and caramelized. When they’re done, stir in the garlic, let everything cook about a minute more, then add it all to the stock. Also add the reserved mushrooms. Using a whisk (because it has a tendency to want to clump) stir in the tomato puree. Bring it all to a simmer. Add the bite-sized chicken and chopped parsley. Taste and then add salt and pepper — I usually start with a half teaspoonful of salt and move up from there — I like lots of pepper. The soup is delicious with just a bit of grated cheddar or Parmesan cheese 
over the top. It’s wonderful just like this, plain and simple, but I often throw in lots of tofu noodles and sometimes garnish it with slivered fresh spinach leaves — as you can see, this soup is highly adaptable, feel free to add anything from potatoes or rice to broccoli and carrots, the richer in vitamins, the better.
Cool the soup down before you refrigerate it — then put it in the fridge uncovered until it’s cold; or you can freeze it. When you go to serve it, just transfer however much you need to a saucepan with a measuring cup and heat it up. That way you won’t have to reheat the entire thing every time, overcooking the chicken in the process. And that’s all! Enjoy!
And that’s also it for today! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to try not to sing this song all day long. ♫ “Oh, this is the kingdom of heaven . . . “ ♪ I, for one, have been singing it for a week. Thought I would spread the wealth. XOXO Have a wonderful day!
I’m excited because Joe and I are off to New York City at the end of this month — it’s been a long time since we’ve been there, and I love New York! 
unfortunate answer, I will have to go naked because I am too cookie-fat to fit into any of my cute New York clothes. I have become my Grandmother’s bread stuffing. And I know who to blame:
trying to inspire myself to get off the cake, cut the butter, stop the daily ration of toast and peanut butter, and not think, Oh it’s tea time, I 
it that because I’ve made it so often that I can do it by heart); deep, dark, and delicious, full of vitamins and rich in flavor, the basis for my favorite healthy, fat free, heavenly winter soup. The stock takes two days to make, which is why you may not have tried it — but it’s SO worth it; most of the time it’s just bubbling cozily on top of the stove making the house smell wonderful. The good thing is, you end up with lots of stock; enough to make a soup that will last for days, enough to do that and to freeze some if you want — I use it to make our favorite chicken soup that’s as good for breakfast as it is for dinner. (Soup for breakfast is delicious on cold winter days! Corn Chowder or Butternut Squash, yummmy!) So here’s how to make the stock:
Wash the giblets (the heart, neck, and gizzard), dry them, and chop them into 1 inch pieces.
Drop the chopped giblets into a pot sizzling with about a tablespoon of olive oil.
Brown them well over high heat. When they’re dark brown, deglaze the pan by pouring about a cup of water into the pot; immediately begin to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get up all the little bits and pieces clinging there.
Add chopped carrots, chopped onion, and chopped celery; put in whole black peppercorns, a handful of parsley, and a couple of bay leaves. (You should never salt stock — how much salt to add will depend on what you do with it later.)
Put your washed chicken on top of the vegetables. (I had a couple of extra thighs in the fridge so I added them too.)
Pour in a container or two of organic chicken stock; then add cold water until the chicken is submerged.
Bring the pot to a boil, reduce heat to simmer; set the lid off to the side, and cook for about an hour until the chicken is done.
When the chicken is cool, remove the meat to a bowl; put the bones, the carcass, and the skin back into the stock; refrigerate the cooked chicken. Partially cover the stock pot again, and let it simmer for at least six hours, but as long as ten is fine.
The stock requires almost no attention while it bubbles away the day, stir it once in a while and add more water if you need to. You can even take a nap while this is happening, and still feel like you’re accomplishing something!
I put another very large pot in the bottom of my sink, hang my basket strainer over it, and pour the stock through it — I let it drip through until all the goodness is in the pan.
I shake the strainer a bit, leave it for about twenty minutes until the dripping stops. Then I toss all those bones and things into the trash.
And put the stock in the fridge for at least twelve hours (do not cover, stock will sometimes sour if it’s covered before it’s cool) . . . until it looks like this:
The fat has all risen to the top. It’s very easy to scoop it off and throw it away! And underneath you have essence of organic vitality. The cure for the common cold.
instant gravy; you can make a huge pot of soup and freeze it in serving-size containers; you can make my 
occasionally. When giblets are very brown, add 1c. water; stir and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Roughly chop the vegetables and add them along with the rest of the ingredients, including the whole chicken. Pour in one or two containers of store-bought chicken broth; add water just until chicken is submerged. Bring to boil, set lid askew, and reduce heat to simmer. Chicken will be done in about an hour. Remove it from pot; cool to touch. Remove meat to fridge, put bones and skin back into stock pot. Continue simmering for 5 or 6 hours more; add more water if needed. Turn off heat and let cool a bit before straining it into a large pot or bowl; put the stock into the fridge, uncovered, overnight. The fat will rise to the top; you’ll find it easy to lift off and discard. You can stretch the stock by adding more broth or water, or reduce it to make it stronger. Keep covered (after cooling) in fridge, or freeze.
