Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Hot Dog Soup

It's been a quiet week so far, midwinter break. That means that I spent my day bouncing around in the house knowing that Nick sequestered himself in his room with only an occasional appearance. It's funny how the feeling of a house can tilt in an entirely different direction when someone is in it, even if they're quiet behind a closed door. It means that my day was more relaxed and I farted around more than usual. It means that I watched TV.

It means I made hot dog soup again. I invented hot dog soup the other day when Nick was hungry and I wanted him to eat something decent. I opened up the lunchmeat and cheese drawer and the only thing in there was crumbled feta, a hunk of old cheese, and a package of hot dogs. The vegetable drawer looked a little better, an onion, kale, cucumber, some half-dried mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. I love when I come up with a new thing by looking at what's in the fridge and the cabinets.

Mike raised one eyebrow the other day when I told him I'd made hot dog soup. Today, he gave me the thumbs up.

The other day, he asked, "What's hot dog soup?" while at the same time wrinkling his nose.

"I started with beef broth. Then I added chopped onions, kale, garlic, and beef bouillon. I threw in leftover rice and shredded turkey, and a hot dog to give it the name."

I didn't say that I put in an old mushroom for the flavor but took it out and ate them before I served it to Nick. Nick hates mushrooms. Mike isn't a big fan of mushrooms either. I like the umami flavor. Umami is the taste of glutamate, inosinate and guanylate and aids in the digestion of protein by allowing the stomach to secrete saliva and digestive juices. I sound so smart, don't I? I read it on the Internet.

"It had vegetables in it? And he ate it?" Mike asked.

"I called it hot dog soup so he'd ignore the vegetables."

"Sounds like it worked."

"It did. He didn't say a thing about kale."

Today, I was out of fresh kale, but I had some purple Brussels sprouts I'd seen at the store. They were pretty, green and purple, so I bought them. Plus, they were local. Dr. Oz says that purple foods contain anthocyanins and promote eye and heart health. I love that you can categorize fresh foods by their color.

Hey, I said fresh foods. IT DOES NOT WORK WITH M&Ms! You do not get anthocyanins in purple M&Ms but I would eat them anyway. Mmm. M&Ms. Now you want chocolate, don't you? Me too.

Sorry about that.

I was talking about the value of purple foods. Right. I'll have to look for purple cauliflower and potatoes for Mike's heart. He can't eat Brussels sprouts. We don't mess with Mike's IBS intolerances. Know what I mean? One misplaced onion can ruin Mike's day. Mine too if we had anything planned.

So, today I'm the champion of hot dog soup with secret vegetables thrown in.

Thank you for listening, jb



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