Whenever we go to Olive Garden, FavoriteSon always orders the Zuppa Tuscana soup. So, one cold night, I fixated on the idea of making it myself. I found three recipes, all seemingly good on their own, but I just couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I created my own recipe from the roots of all three and then modified it even further. It turned out GREAT, but again, with the can’t leave well enough alone, I’ve already decided what I’m going to do differently next time. Here’s the three original recipes:
First of all, I made a double recipe, which I tend to do very often when I cook. I don’t like to work hard for just one meal. I want leftovers.
Ingredients:
Two packages of turkey sausage or kielbasa (I tend to buy Oscar Mayer or Butterball for about $2 a package)
1½ tsp crushed red pepper
1 large diced white onion (which I diced with my Vidalia chop wizard)
1/2 lb. (or so) crumbled bacon (I bought 2 jars of Hormel Real Bacon Bits on sale)
4 cloves minced garlic (I used Spice World Minced Garlic)
1 quart water
2 14.5 oz cans or 32 oz box chicken broth (I used Swanson low sodium)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 lbs. cubed Russet or Idaho potatoes/about 5-6 large potatoes
(again with my Vidalia Chopper – and I didn’t peel the potatoes, I just cleaned them and left the skin on)
2 cups chopped kale (I chopped it small to avoid whining)
Directions:
(I actually did this between step 1 and 2 below)
Cut sausage links open and cook them in the microwave for about 2 minutes or so.
Chop the sausage in the food processor and set aside.
1. Cook onions, garlic, cooked bacon pieces and crushed red pepper in a stock pot on medium heat until onions are transparent. (I added a swirl of olive oil to the pan first.)
2. Add chicken stock and water to the pot and bring to a boil.
3. Add diced potatoes to the pot and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. (about 10-15 min.)
4. Add the cream to the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove some of the potatoes and liquid from the pot and put them in a blender
6. Add the thickened potato mixture from the blender back into the pot
7. Add the sausage and kale, simmer for a few minutes and serve.
sausage “
Something has bothered me for a while. When someone says that a certain group of people “thinks” this or “says” that, where does the opinion of that group come from?
If it’s true that only 1% of people are “vocal” on the internet, (via posts, tweets, comments or blogs) does that really tell us what the quiet people are thinking? (I’m not claiming to be one of the quiet ones.)
By Life of Riley – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Even if a person on the internet seems to be in line with my own thoughts on a subject, I rarely agree with the way they’ve stated it much less every nuance of their opinion. Often, there is no nuance, the stand is so extreme it forces polarized positions and the statements are surface level, oversimplified, sarcastic or trite.
The world is bigger than this 1%.
The issues are complex and I have a feeling a good chunk of the other 99% think much deeper than can be expressed in a tweet. So, they don’t tweet, they talk. and listen.
In person.
Where there are no trolls and the only seagulls are at the beach.
I don’t say “the left” does or says this or “the right” does or says that. Reformed, Arminian, Atheist, Evangelicals, straight, LGBT, Clinton/Trump “supporters”….whatever group label you can think of, remember the 1% rule.
“The 1% rule states that the number of people who create content on the Internet represents approximately 1% (give or take) of the people actually viewing that content. For example, for every person who posts on a forum, generally about 99 other people are viewing that forum but not posting.” [CLICK HERE to read the full wikimedia content on the 1% rule]
Given our propensity to get our information from the internet, it’s statistically probable that whatever opinion you hold about a certain labeled group and whatever reasoning behind that opinion is based on what 1% of the internet population thinks – and the internet population is only 40% of the world population.
The world is bigger than this 1%. We only think they represent the majority because they are the loudest and most visible.
The quiet people are thinking. And apparently, there’s more of them than we realize. I’m betting one of the reasons they are quiet is that they have no time or patience for the tic-tac-toe futility of the bickering that seems so prevalent on the internet today.
Thank God. Because there’s a LOT of intolerant and judgemental people on the internet who could use a day or two off the grid to regain some perspective.
#seepeople and #edify, because everybody is #justadifferentkindofbroken
After the events of the last few days, my resilience is worn-down. I can’t read another post or comment by an armchair pundit containing divisive broadcasted attacks against the nameless, faceless “THEY.”
Arrogant sarcastic rants that begin with:
“I love it when…” or
“Don’t you just love it when…” or
“Isn’t it funny, how…”
when no one loves it or thinks it’s funny.
So many one-sided, barricaded opinions using words like “idiots” and “crazy” and the all encompassing and overused label of “hater” to pigeonhole anyone who disagrees with that particular social media blaster on a particular issue.
not to mention the onslaught of profanity-ridden contemptuous ridicule.
and the deliberately cruel comments like the ones below after an alligator attacked a toddler at Walt Disney World within days of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on June 12th:
The mom in me can’t help but think “What happened in this person’s childhood and life that could result in such a complete lack of compassion and empathy? How did this particular individual’s character deteriorate to this level of having so little respect for others? Why is this person seemingly incapable of extending kindness to people who are different from them or – even worse – to people who are suffering unimaginable pain? Is this person friendly in real life? or at least civil? Would they say these terrible things to the victim’s families face to face? Or are they a consummate fraud and a coward?”
And then there are the reports of commentators “slamming” someone or shutting someone down. Interviewers “grilling” and politicians “firing back.”
This stuff is coming from BOTH sides of the issues.
Neither side holds the high ground.
Neither side truly wins if bridges aren’t being built and crossed.
Making a stronger point is pointless if the conversations remain stalemate arguments instead of open dialogs revealing common ground and leading to softened hearts, opened minds and expanded thoughts.
When explaining the reasoning behind a particular point of view in our society today, the use of the words “clearly” and “simply” is empirically wrong.
There is NOTHING clear or simple about the complex and turbulent issues we’re engulfed in.
Thankfully, I’ve come to understand that those who have the capacity to reject the labels and the stereotypes and the caricatures and LISTEN more than they talk don’t spend their discretionary time pontificating through their fingertips about the issues that threaten to permanently divide us.
And I totally get it. I’d rather mow my quarter acre, knee high, 3 week neglected, sloped backyard in the noonday heat of a Florida summer than step a foot into the mire of these issues on the internet.
Some of my personal facebook friends have unknowingly attacked me individually through a shotgun approach, railing against “idiots” whose opinions they believe are invalidated because those opinions are deemed irrelevant and wrong. I’ll never comment on one of those posts or reply to one of those comments and reveal that I have anything in common with the people my (facebook) friend can’t or doesn’t accept. That would make me and my family vulnerable to continued and/or focused attack. I’m not stupid. (Contrary to their belief.)
Even so, I roll around the thought of asking a few of these individuals to meet with me and talk. Not to try and change their mind about whatever side of whatever issue they are committed to. I have no hopes or expectations of changing someone’s mind when they are so categorically entrenched in their commitment to a particular belief.
But still. I idealistically imagine that a face-to-face conversation would personalize the target of their attacks. And if so, would the personalizing of their target prompt them to pause before they post the next time? Is it possible that they might intentionally choose non-inflammatory and respectful language? Would they try to see from someone else’s perspective?
And most importantly, would they consider exploring the possibility of collaboration or compromise by patiently and thoroughly examining and stepping through the complex multifaceted issues instead of calling for a tunnel visioned, all encompassing mandate that barrels over anything and everything that might be a speed bump in achieving their goal?
Why do I think that more likely, they would just hide controversial posts from me after our conversation and continue as before, perpetuating the status quo?
My problem with jumping on a bandwagon is that I see so many sides to these issues. I understand that each of us have reasons for what we believe, need and want, and I can’t help but think that hearing those reasons might bridge some distance and be the first step to resolving some of the problems.
We need to consider perspectives other than our own. Because groupthink never serves anyone well.
I’ve said this before: Everybody is a #differentkindofbroken I want to #edify and #seepeople as individuals, even when they are different from me.
I’m praying for God to equip me to be not only His hands and feet in order to help in tangible ways, but also His eyes and ears and voice so as to follow His plan for me: to Love God and Love others. Even others who think and believe differently than I do.
I’m praying for people – in real life and on the internet –
to be slow to speak,
slow to anger and
quick to listen.
And I’m praying that if people can’t be kind,
that they will at least be quiet.
[This post was an experiment. First post using only phone photos and my android WordPress app.]
I made ratatouille for the first time today. Actually, I assembled it. The oven is preheating now. I have yet to see how it turns out or if my family will like it.
This was not a fast and easy recipe. I can’t decide if I want my kids to love this because I want them to eat more vegetables or hate it so I’ll never have to make it again.
This particular Ratatouille recipe came from HERE. Check out her mouth watering photos of premium veggies. And then there’s my week old Publix veggies because I was going to make this last week and never got around to it…
And my freakish ability to shoot a sliced vegetable across the counter just by slicing it…
My canned petite tomato (no salt added) based sauce…
And my vegetable stacking skills…
My obvious over estimation of the proper size pan needed.
I ran out of onions, tomatoes and eggplant so I decided to keep slicing the zucchini and yellow squash and make a pan of a family favorite, Vegit Lasagna.
First, spray the pan with Pam to prevent sticking. Then layer sliced zucchini and sprinkle on some Vegit.
Then some shredded cheese…
Then a layer of yellow squash sprinkled with Vegit…
Topped with more shredded cheese…
Repeat until you run out of veggies or they reach the height of your pan. I usually have a total of 4 layers.
I found three leftover slices of zucchini. I won’t say how far away.
Bake at 350 for about an hour. The same time and temp recommended to bake the Ratatouille.
