Sylvia's Scenario

We are still having soup weather around here as we just got a couple more inches of snow last night.  Winter is not over.  We feel fortunate our weather is not as bad as some parts of the country but we are still getting antsy for spring to arrive.  But not quite yet, I'm afraid.  I made this soup a couple of weeks ago and put some in the freezer to save for a day like today when we just feel like staying home all hunkered down waiting for the snow to melt.  It's no fun trying to drive around here with all our hills.  This soup warms you up real fast because it's a Mexican soup with just the right amount of spices and the best broth I think I've ever made.  After I made it, I gave some to a couple of friends and I got the seal of approval.  It's a recipe from a local chef named Charlie Midencey who works at Ovelake Golf and Country Club and this is his grandmother's recipe.  He was featured in the Sunday paper and I thought the recipe looked ...

Last night, we had this interesting beef stew that we both loved so much that I am doubling the recipe for my blog.  I'm not sure why Hannah Freese, RD only made it for two people but we both definitely ate 100% (minus the amount that Bruce dribbled down his shirt when he tried to tip the bowl up to his mouth to get every last little drop)!   It would have been nice to have some leftover so we could experience this lovely dish again today.  I'm sure the flavors would have been enhanced as it sat overnight making it a great leftover meal.  It has turmeric and dried pitted prunes, a persian-inspired mixture of ingredients.  We loved it.  It is from my collection of Hannah Freese, RD's recipes that I never got around to making.  She is no longer doing her online diet program but I joined her program during my joint replacement saga of 2019-2021 and it made a big difference in lowering my inflammation.  She basically substituted healthy fats and carbs...

Happy New Year and here I go again with my first post being a salad. We’ve had a lot of over-indulging during  the holidays, as most people have,  so I am definitely focusing on salads now.  Our first over-indulgent event was my neighbor’s holiday party that I wrote about  here .  And then at the last minute, we decided to go to Boise for Bruce's office party there.  It's been awhile since we've traveled for Christmas parties because of the pandemic plus last year we were in Spain so I was a little eager to go this year. We stayed at my brother's house and had good visits with he and his wife.  Two of my other siblings were also in town so it was really nice for all of us and our spouses to be together.  We also had great visits with so many of the  Bratney Company  employees who I hadn't seen in years and various friends from when we lived in Idaho from 1998-2015. It was a very festive time to be in town and the weather was gorgeous u...

We are having a quiet Christmas morning with just Bruce and I here until Lauren and her boyfriend come over for breakfast.  Last night, was also a quiet Christmas eve with just us but to tell you the truth, I was happy about that because I've been so "last minute" this year and it’s not been for lack of time.  I've had a lot of time this year.  However, I barely got the house decorated for Christmas!  And this is a person talking who has had the Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving in past years.  Yes, this year has been a little lackadaisical for me.  I miss the grandkids which is probably the root of it all since I keep remembering how much fun we had celebrating Christmas with them the past three years in addition to being in Spain with them last year.  But it's also been a very peaceful season for me, meaning a peaceful frame of mind. We’ve definitely done a lot of memorable holiday activities so all is good that way. I just feel more slowed down...

We went to our first Christmas party of the season last night and I just had to post all the festive food ideas.  It was an appetizer, drinks and dessert Christmas party for about eight of us neighbors. It's nice to just walk down the street past three houses and we're there.                          My neighbor, Karen, loves to host parties and I've written about her parties  here  and   here  and other various places.  We've lived on this street going on ten years now and I can't even remember how many of her parties we've been to.  One of her best parties was when she turned 80 a couple of years ago and she had an 80's themed party.  (I went with the Madonna-look). Her food spread is always impressive. That party was in the summer so we could go outside and use her deck which is nice because we all have great views on our street.  Karen is a lot like me in that she loves to ...