the way of things :: gazpacho :: sidebars

family and food
things that certainly
connect us all



good eats
good times
and
funny sidebars
that make your family
uniquely yours
and
well...
mine
mine.

here's a scenario that just might
ring a bell of
familiarity

arriving home
after a full day at work
a grumbling stomach
and an empty fridge greet you
sure
you could opt for carry-out
but
if you're anything like me
(sorry if this is the case)
you begin doing the math
breaking down the upcoming purchase
in terms of hourly rate
thinking
is it worth 3 hours of my work day?

like magic
the pantry and nature
speak to you

canned tomatoes
fresh parsley

onion

cucumber

boys who are willing to run to the store

for the missing ingredient

low sodium V8

armed with an idea

and

technology 

i begin the search for

the best vegan gazpacho soup recipe

funny thing

every time i google a recipe

i put "the best" in front of it

a little tip that hasn't failed me yet

:)

taking me to 

oh she glows

toss all the gathered stuff

in the blender

and pop it in the frig to get cold

perfect

on a hot humid day

quick sidebar

in an attempt to save money

to get the family off the couch

and use that pool

i've declared this to be

(they love when i do this)

a summer without air-conditioning

except in extreme conditions

 (i needed an out clause!)

hence

fans

cool showers

gazpacho!

don't know why i poured it all

into a soup pot first

maybe to encourage my gazpacho virgins

to think soup

not 

salsa

to think meal

not appetizer

tell me

has anything like this ever happened to you?

as i was pouring the mix into the pot

holding the ninja spout open 

i heard a crack

and the two little plastic hinges

holding the little lid in place

popped free

and broke off

i could only locate one

leaving me to think #2

was in the soup

great

"chew carefully"

the savings i made wasn't worth

the cost of

future dental work

but good news

i stepped on it as i was getting

mug #2

cuz it really is the best

and told all to

eat free of fear

now normally 

i'd end my post here with a cute

anecdote

but 

this family of mine

keeps me laughing and i need to share the jokes

i love this one

maybe you've heard it

i can't tell you how many mornings

i wake to this view

somehow

some way

the boys in my life believe

this means dishes are done

i guess it's

the soak that counts

the almost but not quite since the 

water is now cold and the stuff has re-attached itself

requiring a second hot water soak

hmmm...

what up with that

???

then there's

 breakfast pancakes

i've heard there are those

who make one big cake with what's left

in the mixing bowl

not me

i'm onto them

them being my guys

with my gang it's the count

that counts

one is one

and two is

two

i.e.,

one more than one

one more to

mentally

fill 'em up

they keep me laughing

i keep them guessing

it's the perfect

pairing

gotta love it

;)

BTW...i'm loving Stephanie Tourles Creamy Cocoa Butter Lotion for Face and Body discussed in the next post...keep reading and google it if interested in finding the recipe. It's available on the web...gotta love that too :)

orange creamsicle body lotion

a rich vanilla cream

blended with

sweet orange

served in a cardboard cylinder

that once warmed

pushes up easily

while you savor each delicious

 lick

yeah

like that

only

the scent takes you there

without any of the 

guilt

calories

flavor

following one of my favorite

Stephanie Tourles 

body care recipes

and this time

exactly as written

almost

I did used olive oil instead of almond oil

other than that

to the tee

last time i used a 

nice blend of

vanilla and lavender

which was very nice

but for summer

"orangesicle"

fits the bill

so 

after gathering all the 

necessary ingredients

and borrowing a few

I turned my kitchen into an

esthetician's playground

measuring

melting

combining

and finally

pouring the light face and body moisturizer

into canning jars

and sampling the product

as i went along

enough to wrap myself

in creamsicle goodness

all 

summer long

plus a little extra

for gifting

as a thank you

for sharing needed supplies

to make it happen

yep

that's what i did today

now

for that

 push-up...