Sylvia's Scenario

Our weather has cooled off, at least temporarily, so today I made soup.  Imagine that.  Just a few days ago, we had hot weather and smokey air from wildfires but it only lasted a couple of days and today the weather was typical Seattle weather.  We love the cool, marine-layer morning clouds that end up burning-off by afternoon, ending up in the high 60's.  That is a typical day here.  I was actually cold!  So, I pulled out this soup recipe from  Hannah Freese, RD  that I've been eyeing lately because it looks so healthy.  When I served it, Bruce asked what makes it taste so rich; was there a lot of butter in it? or cream?  Neither.  It's nutritional yeast and the hemp seeds.  Nutritional yeast has a nutty and cheesy flavor to it, thus the title of this soup as "cheezy".  Vegans often use it in place for cheese.  I buy it at Trader Joe's in the spice section and Hannah Freese, RD uses it in a lot of her recipes. ...

Here is a recipe to start off the New Year in a healthy manner.  I made this salad for our New Year's dinner to take over to Nick's house. We had received an  Amana ham  from a vendor that Bruce worked with who sends us a ham every year.  Usually, we save it for our Super Bowl party but we certainly won't be having one of those this year.  So, we decided to have it on New Year's Eve and take it over to Nick's house. Nick's been home from work for 2 weeks since they have a break over the holiday and our granddaughter has not be going to preschool during this break so we figure there was less covid risk spending time indoors with them.  The grandkids were so eager to show us all their toys and have us play with them. I particularly had fun on their new gymnastic equipment that Santa brought them; a bar and balance bean that is low to the ground so you can't really fall off.  The beam was great for me to practice my balance, even though my granddaughter ...

Our 35th day of self-quarantine .  We are eagerly awaiting the governors press conference today because he's suppose to talk about outdoor recreation activities and maybe lift restrictions on golf, fishing and hunting.  Bruce is eager to hear this one because he wants to be able to play golf again.  It seems to me that golf would be safe enough.  Our state is taking things really slowly so we won't have a second wave hit us of the coronavirus .  Now, every time the governor comes on the air, we're eager to hear what will be the next thing to open.  Last week, he allowed construction workers to go back to work. (I'm so glad our remodel is all done.  We started our remodel one year ago exactly.)  Two neighborhood farmer's markets opened last week, too, with lots of restrictions but at least that's something.  Our neighborhood farmer's market hasn't started back up yet, but when it does, it will be interesting to see how it's changed.  T...

We are having soup weather.  Not because it is cold but because it is wet...surprise, surprise.  This is Seattle, after all.  We had really nice weather for a long time, dry and sunny and Bruce even went golfing last week but the rain always returns eventually.  The past couple of days, it has been pouring all day. On Sunday, I went to our local "downtown" in West Seattle called The Junction because the Farmers Market was going on (in the pouring rain but it's held rain or shine year around every Sunday.)  I also wanted to get my presents wrapped at a fund raiser that was going on.  I took eight gifts to get wrapped and they did a gorgeous job.  It was for an organization called  Furry Faces Foundation  that helps low income people stay together with their pets when they can't afford to do so.  I was happy to make a donation and get my presents wrapped at the same time.  There were 3-4 ladies doing the wrapping and the gift...

This week I signed up for an online menu plan by Cooking Light and tonight I made our first dinner with it and it was great! I subscribed to their cooking magazine years ago, back in the day when we would clip out recipes and save them, before the internet. I got a lot of good recipes that way. When I saw their ad promoting their Cooking Light Diet Plan, I remembered how good their recipes were so I signed up for 3 months for around $22. They email me everyday with the day's menu plan. You can also look ahead at all their menu choices, too, and save good ones you like in your "cookbook". You can choose between vegetarian, gluten free or the one I chose called SmartCarb. SmartCarb is minimally processed foods and refined sugar and is overall lower in carbohydrates. That one seemed closest to the way I eat. Bruce does not eat low carbs. and also eats much more than me so then I get tempted to overeat. For example, he wanted more of that granola  I made for our ...