Tomatoes are ripening too fast - yikes!!

I just have two little ole plants - one Roma and one Cherry, but they have decided they suddenly want to be picked! Usually, I just rough chop them, put in freezer bags and use whenever I feel like making spaghetti sauce, but I found this great recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup so thought I'd give it a try. Here's the scoop:

8 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbls EVOO
3 pounds (or so) of your fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes, chopped
1 Cup soy milk (I don't do dairy)
Salt & pepper and some red pepper flakes if you like
Chopped fresh parsley, basil or dill, whatever you like

*Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water and let them soak for at least 15 mins.
*In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil, until soft but not burned
*Add the chopped tomatoes and the spices and continue to cook over med heat, stirring, until mixture boils.
*Remove the dried tomatoes from the soaking liquid and coursly chop them, then add to the pot along with their liquid.
*Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes then mash the heck out of them with a potato masher.
*Pour through a fine strainer leaving only the beautiful broth.
*Return the broth to the stove and stir in the milk.
*Raise the tem until soup is piping hot, then pour into bowls and garnish with the herb of your choice - VOILA!!!
(I put mine in the fridge for now, as I plan to have some for dinner tonight!)

Here's the nutrient poop (based on 4 servings):
Calories: 147
Protein: 5.5 grams
Fat: 6 grams
Carbs: 22 grams
Fiber: 6 grams

ENJOY :)

The movies

Went to the movies yesterday with my wonderful D-I-L. It was her FIRST movie outing since befor the triplets were born!! We saw "Julie & Julia." It became a movie initially from the blogs of Julie's character, a young woman who lives in New York. The premise is wonderful and Meryl Streep re-creates Julia perfectly!! I remember fondly watching Julia Child when she first appeared on TV and fell in love with her; he style, attitude, and yes, even her voice! The film shows her relationship with her husband, and whether true or not, it's simply beautiful. I have a feeling that her original 500+ page cookbook is going to garner many new printings due to this movie. I give it 5 stars and wouldn't mind seeing it again. :)

August already??!!!

Where has the time gone? Late July brought us the hottest days on record in the Puget Sound region - hottest EVER kids!! The heat was excruciating with most of us not having air conditioning in our homes. We are down to the 80s now as we enter August - much better.

Our triplet babies will celebrate their First birthday on August 14th and the party is planned for the 15th. They are truly amazing - our girl is very close to walking, and the boys are waiting to see how she does before they give it a try! :) Life couldn't be better!

Also in July, thanks to Facebook, I reconnected with 4 old high school chums from 1961. We had a long, laughing lunch at the fabulous Maltby Cafe and have made plans to get together again very soon. Pictures of our luncheon are on my page.

I continue to be impressed with our President's visibility, not just in the mainstream media, but also on all the social networks! In all my life, I've never experiences so much governmental transparency, and it's wonderful. Whether you like him or hate him, you have to agree that he's visible and not keeping secrets from us. All my Saturdays begin by watching his weekly addresses at www.whitehouse.gov/weeklyaddress - check it out!

Another exciting event is coming to us this October... Michael Moore's new movie is coming out! You can check out the details on his web page, and he's also on Facebook.

That's it for now... take care, and have some fun!!!

Our babies

So - My Shelley left Thursday with the babies headed to Crescent Bar - her first trip there by herself (just she and the babies that is). They all made the trip without incident, and in just 2-1/2 hours!! Shelley's parents and two aunts and uncles live there, so there are lots of family to help with the babes. And, it allows Shelley a little more time to do some 'adult' things that she can't do here with just me as her only helper. They'll be over there for a week or so, and I miss them already!! Ronnie and the big boys (Evan and Collin) went over Friday night after Evan got off work!!
The babies are doing SO good - during all of their awake hours they are bright-eyed and curious and learning new activities every day. They are up on their hands and knees, rocking forward and back, so the actual crawling will be happening any day now.
Life is GOOD!!!

Okay, so I just watched Michael Moore on Keith Obermann's show - topic was the demise of the 'old' GM. Michael was spot on with his comments... I love his thinking and all of the great work he has done (and is doing) to help wake us all up and get active. After all, WE ARE the government! I wish I knew why Michael is not a member of Obama's cabinet... he just makes so much sense. Watch for his new movie coming in October.

The first day...

It's my turn - everybody I know has their own blog, except me! So now is the time. Not exactly sure what I will post here yet - maybe thousands of pictures of my beautiful family, or pictures and commentary of my worldly travels, or all those recipes I've fine-tunded, or maybe I'll feel a little political on a given day, or... just share my life-long experiences - we shall see...