spinach bean dip

So I saw Giada make something like this on TV last week, and I thought I'd try it. I had to make it from memory, so I'm not sure its quite right. I started with:
2 cans of white beans, garlic, lemon, balsamic vinegar, and spinach
I steamed the spinach and roasted the 2 cloves of garlic. In the food processor: the beans, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, juice of 1/2 lemon, and about half of the spinach. Mix until desired smoothness, and put in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Eat with fresh veggies to dip in:
If you like balsamic vinegar, lemon, and garlic, this is pretty good veggie dip.
Oops! I did a little research (belated) and I found the original recipe here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/spinach-and-cannellini-bean-dip-recipe/index.html

the joy continues

As I arrived at work this morning I was greeted with the news that we (charlotte county educators) , will more than likely be receiving a 2% pay cut.

I am going to pet the dog now. And perhaps make a pot of soup.

matthew 6

Well this has been an interesting week so far and its only Tues night:

1. I have to see my homebound student for 6 hours a week after work. He is a pretty nice kid, but his parents smoke the entire time and I have only been there once this week so far and I already have a sore throat. Can I bring a rag or something to cover my face and get away with it?
2. The teacher in the next classroom died over the weekend. We were not close friends, but we were work acquaintances, and spoke with each other often. She was about my age and had a small child. That's not the worst part. This is hard to type, but she killed herself. She hung herself in her garage.
3. Ange's back doctor admitted that he really does not know what wrong, but "something is not right." He needs to do more tests. This is after thousands of dollars worth of apparently useless shots and hundreds and hundreds of dollars of co-payments that we did not really have laying around, not to mention all the missed hours (and pay) at work.
   
4. On a lighter note, our car has suffered a mysterious disaster in the fact that apparently nothing is holding the exhaust system on and the corresponding parts are bent and /or mangled. ???
   

Can't wait to get up tomorrow!

happy new year

New Years Day: making two soups and a bike ride...
First the soup. Here are most of the ingredients.


Split Pea Soup (based on a recipe by fat free vegan) This soup is so easy. Chop the veggies in the food processor, and toss everything in the pot to simmer for an hour or so.


At the end, I added some spinach and blended the whole thing up.


I also made Butternut Squash Soup. It has to be some of the best soup I have ever eaten. My only regret is that I did not note which website I got the recipe from, so I can't give proper credit. Anyway, here goes: Peel and chop an onion and 2 or 3 garlic cloves. Cut up and peel 2 small butternut squash.

Saute the onions and garlic for a few minutes in the soup pot. Add 2 cans of diced no-salt added tomatoes, a tablespoon of thyme, and a bay leaf. Let that start to simmer, then add the squash and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until done. meanwhile, blend 1 cup of plain soymilk and 1 cup of cashews (sorry, mom) in the blendtec. When the squash is soft, begin to blend with an immersion blender. Add the soymilk mixture and blend until smooth. Not too sweet like most butternut squash soups. Could use a little cayenne pepper or maybe white pepper, but really it is just fine the way it is.





Now for the fun part, the bike ride :) The weather was really nice again, cool and breezy, but warm in the sunshine.We decided to ride the Port Charlotte 'Beach'. Pretty pathetic as far as Fl beaches go, but it is peaceful, and nice to sit by the river. More importantly, it is within biking distance.
This is part of the route, just a random shot.

This is a bridge we cross:



We call it the bat-bridge cause there is a large (flock? gaggle? pride? herd?) bunch of bats that live underneath it.



When we got to the beach we found a some trees and parked ourselves for awhile.



We got there just in time to see some dude launch this:






And then he was gone....