Thursday, March 9, 2023

Soup. It's What's For Dinner


Well, well, well. 
I knew in the night that I was getting sicker or had another sickness or something because I was having some deep and productive coughs. Not so many but the kind that mean business. Woke up feeling shitty, reached over and knocked my Yeti cup of water over which of course tumbled to the floor, lid off. 
Knew it was gonna be a day. 

I felt terrible- not so much with sickness although I felt yucky for sure but because it was my day to get the boys and no way I was going to manage that one. So between that and feeling massive guilt at exposing everyone in Tallahassee yesterday to whatever this is, I called Vergil and cried on the phone. I get so emotional when I'm sick. He told me not to worry, he could cover the situation but I still felt horrible. I have not had to miss very many grandmother-duty days in all the years I've been doing this and it sucked. I told him I wondered if maybe the first thing I got at the beginning of the week was actually the first thing August got which was pretty light (I had been exposed to him last Thursday when he was coughing) and then when the boys came over on Friday, both Mr. Moon and I were exposed to the Flu B that made him run a fever and necessitated a visit to the doctor. 
"It's quite possible," said Vergil. 
Whatever, Mr. Moon was hacking up stuff too and I cried talking to him and then apologized for being so emotional and said, "Let's just take a nice relaxing day." 
"Nah, I feel fine!" he said. Hack hack. And then he listed several things he needed to do and he ended up over at Tom's, trying to figure out why Tom's planer was not working and he spent all day long doing that. 
That man. 
I took a covid test. Negative. 

So I did crosswords and washed about ten items and hung them on the line and watered the front porch plants and worked on my jigsaw puzzle and sat on the couch and watched part of a movie (This is Where I Leave You) that didn't suck but was quite predictable and formulaic. So yeah, I haven't finished it but I'm pretty sure there will be no huge surprises. It has some good actors in it. Here's the trailer in case you would like to be amused for two minutes. 



I got to see Dax Shephard's ass, albeit very briefly, and that alone was worth the price of admission. Dax is the host of the podcast "Armchair Expert" which Jessie turned me on to a few years ago (I recently discussed this, didn't I?) and now we both have little crushes on him. 

And I made soup because of course I made soup. Making soup is what I do. This one is a garbanzo bean, sausage, sweet potato, tomato, and cabbage soup. 


It's got lots of onion and garlic and cumin, too. Perhaps it will make us all better. I also got out one of my old, old favorite cookbooks. 



I was thinking how good this bread would be with the soup. 



It's the closest bread I've ever been able to bake that resembles the bread they served at Hanuman's Conscious Cookery in Denver where my tastebuds and consciousness were both awakened in the early seventies. If you would like to read an old post of mine that talks about this sacred restaurant you can go HERE.

You know what? Reading my old posts is like looking at old pictures of me. I was a better writer by far back in the older days, just as I was far better looking then than I realized. 
Depressing. 
I was probably a better cook back then too but at least no one's complaining about that. And right now my kitchen smells heavenly with the cumin and sausage and beans simmering away and I just put the loaf of bread in the oven so soon the scent of cloves and molasses will join the others in the dance of dinner. The sausage in the soup is venison, the sweet potatoes are from last summer's crop of volunteers that will obviously never not come up year after year. They are skinny and sometimes gnarly but they taste lovely and store nicely for a very long time. 

And there you are. Here we are. 

I wonder if August wondered and worried why I wasn't picking him up early the way I usually do. I so hate to disappoint my grandchildren. 
We will play Monopoly next week, good Lord willing and the creek don't rise. 

Love...Ms. Moon


34 comments:

  1. SO sorry to hear you are even yuckier...... darned. Your grandboys will understand....they are so smart. Soup cures pretty much everything......that, and rest, and love. Feel better soon!
    Susan M

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    1. Thanks, Susan. I feel so much better this afternoon. It's nice.

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  2. You do more when you're sick then I do when I'm well!

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  3. Sick sucks, for sure. If sick, I couldn't even write a blog page--or a comment.

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    1. Well, it depends on how sick you are! I have not been very, very sick.

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  4. I'm glad you have the energy to make soup. That sounds like just the ticket for both you and Mr M. Probably better not to be out and about continuing the circle of infection, at least for a couple of days.

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    1. You know me- I am quite happy to stay home.

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  5. No fun being sick. Love the soup and very glad you found something to watch. That's one thing that can be fun about being snugged in and sick, soup and something good to watch. For me, it's usually I Love Lucy or The Nanny. Cheers, Ivy.

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    1. I did enjoy that movie. And the soup was very good.

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  6. Yeah. It is in my house too.

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  7. I think I would very much like to see that movie. I'm sorry to hear you are feeling yucky, but the soup will help. Garlic is one of Nature's natural antibiotics and helps to sweep your system clean. Time and rest will take care of you too.

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    1. We eat a lot of garlic. Always have. Even more when we're sick.

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  8. I think a soup day sounds wonderful. I'm sure it'll do you good to just stay home and potter. I'm sorry you're both ill but I hope you feel better soon. Oh, and that bread sounds wonderful. I'm on a bit of a "molasses kick" so may have a go at that this weekend!

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    1. I love that bread but it is a very dense loaf. If you do try it, tell me what you think.

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  9. Get well soon Dear Mary. You are an excellent writer now so you must have been too good to be true before! I love your phrase " the dance of dinner". Hope the soup was good.

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    1. You are sweet, Frances. Thank you. The soup was excellent!

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  10. Well, at least it's not Covid, for what that's worth. I hope you feel better and I wouldn't worry too much about the boys. Kids are very resilient, as you know!

    I often look back at old posts or journal entries and think, "Wow, I was a better writer then," but I think it's just that our written words carry us out of our present reality and so seem fresh to us. When you read this post five years from now, you'll think, "Wow, I was a better writer then!"

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    1. Oh, funny story about "This Is Where I Leave You." When the movie came out, we got Jonathan Tropper's book in our library, and a seventh-grader checked it out. A few days later his mom returned it to us and said, "This is not a book for a seventh-grader." When I read it, I saw what she meant almost immediately! I don't remember the movie being as risque but the book is...colorful.

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    2. That's a great story! The movie did have a few risqué moments mostly involving Jane Fonda's breasts and what she said about sex. The only nudity, I think, was Dax Shepard's and I only wish that had been longer. Uh, had lasted longer. Oh hell. You know what I mean.

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  11. I hope you will all feel better by tomorrow or so. Virus infections are self limiting, my mantra although when I am stuck with one, find it impossible to believe.
    Soup and bread. Perfect medicine.

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    1. Yes. The virus has packed and is on the porch now, I think. Feeling much better.

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  12. You always know a good recipe when there are stains on the page! I know that is true with my own cookbooks! I think the soup will be the cure you need to start feeling better again.
    Hopefully, you'll be ready for martinis tonight! :)

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    1. That's the truth! The best recipes are the ones you can barely read for all the drips and spills.
      Martinis should be in order soon!

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  13. Well, I feel the same was about my old posts, they were much more interesting and better writing but I told all my stories I guess so the only thing left is my boring predictable day to day activity.

    hope you are feeling better soon.

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    1. Again- something we can commiserate about. I feel like by this time if there's anything I haven't written about it's because it ain't nobody's business but my own!

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  14. Get well soon
    Mrs Mary Moon
    You did a great job
    With the soup on the hob,

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    1. It was a fine soup, Mr. P. I think you would have liked it.

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  15. Get well soon! I so appreciate checking in with you (and others on your blogroll) every evening. You have the heat and we have the snow here in northern Pennsylvania.

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    1. Yes, but it's going to cool off here tonight a little bit! Did you know that my maternal grandfather was from Pennsylvania? Near State College.

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  16. I hope by now you're both feeling better? At least it wasn't The Rona. Soup is always a good standby when things are stressful and you aren't feeling 100%. Not being able to spend time with the Grandkids would make one emotional and be such a let down, I know how much you, and they, look forward to those visits.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.