Chicken Ravioli/Tortellini Soup

 

I have always made a lot of soup.  I grew up believing that you needed to use/eat and extend the foods that you have.  I would roast a chicken then if I wasn't going to make soup the next day I would stash the leftover carcass in the freezer.  Either way I could simmer it for several hours to create chicken stock.  Eventually I started freezing the chicken stock into ice cubes to use in my cooking.   I cook more chicken breasts than whole chickens now which means that I rarely have enough leftovers to make stock.  This change in my cooking has forced me to use boxed chicken broth and/or bouillon.  I always look for cartons that are low in sodium with no sugar added. If I have to choose I'd rather have no sugar.  

The problem I have with store bought stock is that it frequently lacks the true depth of flavor of my homemade stock.  To overcome this I add granulated onion and other herbs (or sauté ingredients in onion & herbs) depending on what flavor profile I'm aiming for.

You will need to determine your own proportions.  This is what I do:

• 2 boxes of chicken broth 
• 4 cups water and 4 tablespoons bouillon
• 1/2 cup granulated onion
• 2-3 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 refrigerated container of ravioli or tortellini (usually cheese filled)
• 1 small head of cabbage chopped
• Additional canned or frozen veggies such as peas & carrots
• Leftover chicken roughly chopped

Bring broth, water, bouillon and seasoning to a boil.  Add pasta and chopped cabbage.  Bring back to a boil and then simmer for the amount of time suggested on the package of pasta.  Two minutes before it is done add any other canned veggies (or microwaved frozen) along with the chopped chicken.   This makes a LOT of soup.  You could cut it in half if you can find a smaller container of pasta.  I have made a smaller batch using 2 cups of the dried ravioli (1 cup dried to 1 box broth).   From start to finish this usually takes about 20 minutes.

Totem Animal for 2021: Bison

Yellowstone bison

I was surprised when the bison appeared as my totem animal for 2021. Every year I expect not to have a new animal but I wait for signs and nudges and inevitably they appear. In this case finding out that a new baby white bison had been born in Montana was a big sign but so was a fascination with a beautiful calcite carving I had recently acquired. 

Antelope Island bison

What does the bison mean to me? Well it has a huge physical presence and a calm demeanor until it isn't calm then it is willing to charge obstacles and mow them down. The baby bison are playful and adorable perhaps bringing some fun along in this coming year. The adults trudge through the trials of snow, water, frisking subadults, and other adversities. I think this year may require ongoing patience and putting one foot in front of the other. There is a Lakota (Teton) legend of White Buffalo Woman who came to the tribes bearing wisdom and gifts teaching sacred ceremonies and promising to return in time. She stopped as she was walking away and rolled over four times. As she rolled she changed first into a black buffalo, then a brown buffalo, a red one and finally a white female buffalo. - Handbook of Native American Mythology by Dawn E. Bastian and Judy K. Mitchell, 2004.   For me, I'm going to work on improving four aspects of my life: spiritual, physical, mental, and social.

White bison on the way to Victor

Evolution then could be another theme for the year, moving forward on different aspects of life. Recognizing the sacred, and being grateful for what I have is another. The wisdom of gratitude could help make this year bearable as the pandemic continues. 

Elk vs Bison in Yellowstone. Yes in the end the Elk got out of the way.

More about the new white bison: 

• Tribal members in Montana celebrate rare white buffalo calf https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/09/07/tribal-members-montana-celebrate-rare-white-buffalo-calf-spiritual-significance/5685919002/ 
• Sacred White Bison Born in Missoula, Montana https://www.distinctlymontana.com/sacred-white-buffalo-born-western-montana
• In June 2020, a white buffalo named ‘Faith’ was born at Bitterroot Bison in Lolo, Montana. She was moved to a sanctuary to be kept safe after discovering that she was blind." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_buffalo 
•  Faith https://www.facebook.com/bitterrootbison/videos/192979382096076/ 

Frisky baby bison

The Great British Baking Show

 I like reality competition shows.  After a year of fending off "you will love this show" I finally gave in and watched a season of the Great British Baking Show.  

Now one of the big reasons I did not want to watch the show is that I like to bake. I like to bake cookies, truffles, cake, pies, etc...  I am also diabetic so having a ton of sweets in my house is not a good thing. I was very afraid that watching this show would inspire me to bake.  Well, I was right and wrong.  It does inspire me to bake, but I can add self talk about how complicated their bakes are. How much work. And I'd rather go read.  For the most part this tactic has worked.  I've only occasionally broken down and baked brownies or cake after watching an episode. 

Shanna and I started by watching season 5 which was in reruns on my local PBS station.  I was immediately sucked in.  I loved it.  I love the complexity of the baking, the surprise of the technical challenge, the creativity the contestants display and most of all the reality of the people themselves.  They are so very human. Funny, talented, interesting and sometimes just a little nuts.  

After finishing this season with Shanna I found my sofa, grabbed my needlepoint and binge watched all of the other seasons via Netflix.  I definitely recommend this series.  - Jenny

Books: Stephanie Plum

 I blame Nanette.  She's the one who would not shut up about how funny the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich books were.  I finally decided to try one.  I went to my local public library and they had abridged versions of the first three books on cd.  I checked them out and started driving.  I no longer remember why I was driving to Moscow ID, probably for an Idaho Library Association conference.  

In any case these abridged books were awesome.  I laughed and drove and laughed and drove and when I got home I knew these would be something I would look for.  Eventually I found a large portion of the series at a used book store.  Nan kept telling me that I'd like the unabridged versions better and she was right.  

Now I own all of them via Audible.  Audiobooks are my addiction of choice.  What's interesting is that I find the abridged versions to be really good so I have both editions where available.  The abridged versions are super funny and make good road trip reads for shorter excursions. Especially when I have people in my car who have never read one. 

There's a feeling of repetition of theme and content if you read them one right after another so I have found it to be better if I read one then read something else.  I read a lot of authors who set books in a series one year between each book.  These books make more sense if you think of them as taking only a few weeks inbetween.  It makes the romantic conundrum more sensible if it's only a few weeks not years.  

I love the characters, the situations (yes they are improbable), and the lighthearted romp of these stories.  They are lovely brain candy.  

Stephanie Plum Main Series

1. One for the Money (1994)
2. Two for the Dough (1996)
3. Three to Get Deadly (1997)
4. Four to Score (1998)
5. High Five (1999)
6. Hot Six (2000)
7. Seven Up (2001)
8. Hard Eight (2002)
9. To the Nines (2003)
10. Ten Big Ones (2004)
11. Eleven on Top (2005)
12. Twelve Sharp (2006)
13. Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)
14. Fearless Fourteen (2008)
15. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (2009)
16. Sizzling Sixteen (2010)
17. Smokin' Seventeen (2011)
18. Explosive Eighteen (2011)
19. Notorious Nineteen (2012)
20. Takedown Twenty (2013)
21. Top Secret Twenty-One (2014)
22. Tricky Twenty-Two (2015)
23. Turbo Twenty-Three (2016)
24. Hardcore Twenty-Four (2017)
25. Look Alive Twenty-Five (2018)
26. Twisted Twenty-Six (2019)
27. Fortune & Glory Tantalizing Twenty-Seven (2020)

Stephanie Plum and Diesel

• 8.5 Visions of Sugar Plums (2002)
• 12.5 Plum Lovin' (2007)
• 13.5 Plum Lucky (2008)
• 14.5 Plum Spooky (2009)

Happy reading - Jenny

My New Backyard!

Fall 2020

I've had a love hate relationship with my backyard. I've loved the space, the trees and the possibilities. But over the years the backyard has taken a beating. Trees dying, hot tub in then out, garden spaces in then out, shrubberies, the mystery of the city's missing sewer manhole and last but not least the 70 foot trench that had to be dug to replace the house's sewer line.

I've wanted to have it leveled and simplified for a number of years and this year, the year of the Coronavirus I finally had the money to make it happen. Nothing like being confined to the house for a number of months to reduce my travelling and increase my savings account.

I contacted several contractors but finally found the amazing team at Idaho Classic at: https://www.landscapingservicesblackfoot.com/

This team was great to work with. They communicated well and had great suggestions for improvements to my plan. They got the work done on time and on budget. I definitely recommend them to anyone who needs to improve their yards. They do sprinklers too.

Before photos:
You can see the non-grass covered remains of part of the trench

And the remains of the most recent garden attempt

Volunteer honey locust trees popping up where I don't want them and in the far right corner the mound of dirt leftover from the sewer line replacement.

Work in process


Such a lovely FLAT yard!!!

Finished
I know it doesn't look like much if you haven't been living with the mounds and debris of the past but this is stunning.


The lone planting bed planted with arborvitae, irises, tulips and other bulbs

Emotional Success: pt 1

I read Emotional Success by David DeSteno over a year ago and it stuck with me.  I would find myself thinking about how to incorporate more gratitude, compassion and pride into my core thought processes. How can I really leverage this big clue into real change.  Then there was a death in my family and grief washed me out to sea.   One year after the funeral I am back at square one battling  diabetes, weight issues, relationship issues, work issues, depression, and life.  I'm once again listening to my core and have started with short meditations, 15 minute walking breaks and listening to nonfiction in the morning.

I re-listened (I'm an Audible addict) to the first section of the book: Gratitude.  I am hoping to more fully understand how to incorporate this emotional concept and once I at least my fingers on the handle of it I will listen to the next section.  The first thing for me is to really start recognizing when I'm grateful.  I've tried posting my gratitude moment to Facebook, but my worklife has become quite complicated and I haven't had much time for Fbook, not even to post a gratitude moment.  I have started chanting about things I'm grateful for when I'm about to be tempted to buy dessert or treats, or when I'm in traffic. It is clear that when I do this my self control and attitude improves.  It's easy to forget to do it, but every step forward is a step forward.

I just need to make micromovements and eventually I will find myself in a better spot.  Like the ocean turning boulders into grains of sand, wash on, wash off.  -- Jenny

Emotional Success: The Power of Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride
by David DeSteno
https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Success-Power-Gratitude-Compassion/dp/0544703103

"A string of bestsellers have alerted us to the importance of grit – an ability to persevere and control one’s impulses that is so closely associated with greatness. But no book yet has charted the most accessible and powerful path to grit: our prosocial emotions. These feelings – gratitude, compassion and pride – are easier to generate than the willpower and self-denial that underpin traditional approaches to grit. And, while willpower is quickly depleted, prosocial emotions actually become stronger the more we use them. These emotions have another crucial advantage: they’re contagious. Those around us become more likely to apply them when we do.

As this myth-shattering book explains, prosocial emotions evolved specifically to help us resist immediate temptations in favor of long-term gains. Originally, they enabled us to build lasting relationships with other people, and they still do that brilliantly. But they can also be adapted to strengthen our bonds with our own future selves – who will benefit most from the grit we need to succeed in life. No matter what our goals are, EMOTIONAL SUCCESS can help us achieve them with greater ease and deeper satisfaction than we would have thought possible." -- Amazon

Article: Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride: What Do They Have in Common?
By Katie Williamson
https://medium.com/in-rare-form/gratitude-compassion-and-pride-what-do-they-have-in-common-1946c5b820f9

Donuts: Scarcity = Specialness

Melinda with the Toyota Echo named Spot

Several years ago my beloved Toyota Echo started to fail me while we were at a bird festival in Salt Lake City.  I spent the day in the Toyota dealership where they worked on the Echo.  Melinda spent the day with other sisters. As the day wore on I decided to ask about other cars, after all I had been looking online for a new car for more than a year now.  I drove out with a new leased Rav4 complete with navigation system.  I don't know if it was user error, programming fairies, or magic but the first address we found in the Nav system was for a donut shop in Wichita Falls TX.  We'd never been there nor how or why it was in the system. So in 2017 Shanna and I decided that we might as well find out what was up with this donut shop.

Toyota Rav4 Hybrid named Rafe Jr with travel buddy named Skittles

It did exist and made very yummy donuts.
Texas Donuts
1208 Holliday St
Wichita Falls, TX 76301

This year on our way to Texas for Christmas I made Texas Donuts one of my targets with the new Nav system.  (Yes of course we've transferred the address to every new car since the first Rav4.) We were making regular stop and stretch your legs breaks and Wichita Falls made a good stop.  The donuts were just as good as we remembered.

I've been working in my life with the concept of scarcity = specialness.  If you have popcorn all of the time it no longer keeps it's cachet as special.  The same can be said of a lot of food in our modern world.  We lose our wonder at the deliciousness of a strawberry in part because of its abundance.  Another aspect of our modern world that I feel we lose connection with is the turn of the seasons.  Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, all blur together in our heated/air conditioned offices/cars/homes.  Yes we might change some of our clothes, add a coat or swimsuit but our day to day living is still so much of a sameness.

Shanna with the new Hybrid Highlander aka Macleod 

I have added those two concepts together and have for the past bunch of years worked to move what I eat to the appropriate season. This is easiest to do with fruit. Strawberries are May and peaches August, grapefruit in the winter and apples in the fall.  It isn't that these fruits are available here because of Idaho's growing season, but because they are available fresh and flavorful at that time from the farmers far and near.  Yes I prefer to get fruit from Farmers Markets & Stands, but that's not possible in the winter and I need that fruit.  I'm also finding over the years that this concept of food for a season really works.  I crave stews, chili, soup, and oven fresh bread in the fall and winter.  Hamburgers, pasta salad, lemonade are summer foods, and quiche one for spring.   By making these choices I make the food more important to the season and to me.  They become treats again.  Those first May strawberries that taste of early summer are delicious and delight my soul as much as my taste buds.  August peaches which my daughter finds amusing as I spread them out on the counter as a number-line from most ripe to least ripe are a celebration of the hot summer and beginning of school.

So what does this have to do with donuts?  Well, what if the only donuts I will eat come from that shop in Wichita Falls TX?  Since they are the best donuts why would I eat any others?  Maybe I find a few other such places where I only go once a year.  Maybe I enhance my enjoyment and reduce my overall caloric load by only eating donuts at such places.   Something to think about?  Definitely.

I did think about this when I saw the email last week announcing that someone had brought donuts in to work.   I remembered the yumminess of cream filled maple bars from Texas and decided that today I could give a pass to the ones in the break area.  Apparently I'm saving my donuts not to a specific season, but to a location.

-- Jenny

Books found and read in 2018

New Favorites
I found several new series to read this year along with a new genre - Alaska mystery.

In the Alaska Mystery genre I recommend most highly the Dana Shugak novels by Dana Stabenow.  They center around an Alaska native woman who is a former law enforcement investigator who has retreated back to the village of her birth.  Mysteries then ensue along with a bit of romance and a cast of quirky characters reminiscent of Northern Exposure.  I LOVE these novels.  'Breakup' is probably my favorite.

The second series in this genre is by Sue Henry (Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold series).  This series is missing the cast of ongoing characters but is still a fun read.  Both authors live and work in Alaska and bring their perspective and knowledge on the location to the books. 

I also read all of the Tony and Anne Hillerman novels set in the desert southwest. I had read the first novel in the series before and it just didn't capture me.  I think they get better as the series develops and Anne Hillerman who takes it over from her father brings a new perspective, that of Jim Chee's girlfriend Bernadette Manuelito.  I really enjoyed reading about the Navajo and Hopi cultures and the southwestern locations.  I bought 'Navajoland' a guide to the locations of the Hillerman novels arranged by location name.  This meant I could read that book and remember the novels during the big drive to Texas for Christmas that we did. 



Shanna introduced me to the Circle Universe young adult novels by Tamora Pierce which is a charming fantasy series with a unique take on magic. 

I've had the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris recommended to me on a few occasions. I finally read it and loved it.  It was hard to put down.  I also got the Midnight Texas series in which several minor characters from the Stackhouse novels show up. I recommend it if you like supernatural mysteries. I particularly enjoyed the Texas series since I drive across west Texas on my way to visit family near Dallas. 

I also read the Sherlock Holmes oeuvre. I found it as a collection on audible read by Stephen Fry. It includes brief introductions to each novel or collection of short stories. These were interesting and I enjoyed the whole thing.

I also read a bunch of nonfiction.  Most entertaining biographies I read this year include "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed" by Alan Alda, and Elephant Whisperer" by Lawrence Anthony.  Mike Meyers' "Canada" is both about Mike and about Canada and has one of the best ideas I've heard for living well.  'How soon can we make this funny' when life deals you a difficult time, this concept can help you over the bums.  And speaking of humorous books, I read "My Life and Hard Times" by James Thurber to a colleague on one of our trips across to Boise.  Arlene introduced me to Thurber and this one is always a good one.  Lastly the most inspiring self help book I read in 2018 is "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do" by Amy Morin.

I read a LOT of books this year.  As long as you define reading as both listening on audible and reading on kindle/paper.  On average I read just over a book a day.  I know that seems excessive, but I read fast and can listen at what my daughter calls chipmunk speed (2-3 times the normal speed of the audiobook).  My reading goals for next year include more new series and fewer overall books.  We'll see how that goes. 

Foundations

I was journaling this morning in the book "Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration" by Meera Lee Patel and I found myself thinking of a time when I did something hard that really paid off. 

Anne, Jan, and Jenny on Graduation Day 1993

That hard thing would be going back to college.  Particularly for my graduate degree in Library Science.  My family was able to help me out financially for my undergrad degree, but not for grad school.  At this time I was a single mother of a second grader. We moved to my grad school in mid January 1992 and I was lucky enough that an Aunt (Louise Knapp) was willing to take me and my daughter in while we looked for housing. 

The good grades from my undergraduate degree met with the plan to teach out and close the library school. Which meant I got full funding for tuition/fees.  You are limited to two financial aid disbursements in a calendar year.  By starting in January I was able to go take a summer semester and then a traditional fall and spring semester pairing.  By taking a large load of credits I was able to graduate in the spring.

I was on every financial/food assistance program I was eligible for.  I worked a part time job and I shared an apartment with one of the funniest, kindest, smartest women I've known.  Anne you know who you are.  :)  I have been very lucky to meet and be friends with an amazing circle of kind women.   We tried to take some of the same classes and shared books so we both didn't have to buy them. We ate a lot of beans and for entertainment we rented vhs movies (usually action) and had dinner.

While I was living this, I had the best time. I didn't think it was hard, it was just the way things were.  I worked hard and did what was necessary.  My goal was to be able to put a roof over my daughter's head and food on our table without any other assistance. 

Looking back I can see it was hard and that I/we struggled.  But I also know that this foundation work paid off.  It took time and more work, finding jobs, moving, scraping by. But in not too many years (less than 5) I was able to provide for my family and  now 25 years after graduation I have my financial ducks in somewhat of a row.  There will always be times when they run amok and I don't expect smooth sailing.  But I am oh so grateful to be at this point and understand and appreciate where I came from. 

Arlene and Jenny on our way to Nome, Arlene is the amazing friend I met working on my undergrad degree.

I want to thank that younger me for setting things up for this older me.  I am seriously comforted by, and grateful for the retirement account, health insurance, solid tenured job, colleagues who are smart and funny, a job that I enjoy much of the time, and the financial resources to live well.  I'm not rich, but I sure feel rich in family, friends, and activities. I get to travel, work with students, and work in an atmosphere of ongoing and perpetual learning.   

So what have I learned? That if you lay your foundations you're older self will be oh, so grateful.  With that in mind, I went and did yoga for the first time in months. 

I am concerned for my future self's health.  This concern is not as immediate or omnipresent as putting a roof over a child's head.  However, it is perhaps as important.  I need to lay foundations. RIGHT NOW. I'd like to live to 120 and still be walking and talking and taking care of myself. 

Hey, one has to have a goal, right?

Somehow, I must keep in mind that every thing I do health wise will have an impact on future me.   Maybe by reliving some of what I did to get that degree will help move my health goals forward.

One can only hope.

-- Jenny

Oh, and do the work.

P.S. Life as we all know doesn't play fair, and I know I'm just as eligible for crazy illness as the next woman. If you are one of those women to whom life has dealt a difficult illness, I'm sorry.  You and your efforts are not to blame for what you are dealing with.  I know this.  And would never blame anyone past or or present for where they are now.   For me, this is about seizing the now and wringing from it as much amelioration for my future as possible. 

Iron Cranes

Once upon a time there was a crane.

The crane stood with two of his fellows at a store. They were so lovely but I thought, "I only need one." But no, I sent Shanna back to grab the others while I held our spot in the checkout line.

My aunt, came to visit and she loved them. So months later when next I spotted the very same cranes at the store I bought another pair, thinking I'd give them to her, but no. She didn't visit again till it was too late and I had fallen in love with them as a larger flock.

Months later I found a lonely crane at the store in Utah and he had to come home. Then a year or so later there were two more. The flock was growing, I couldn't help myself. I had 9 of them. Then a strange crane appeared, he was the same size though a different species. He clearly needed a flock.

When there were only three they lived in the living room. Roaming from one area to another. I had a treadmill in the living room for about a year and they liked standing on it. As the flock grew they wandered from upstairs looking out the big windows to downstairs hanging out in the family room. 

This spring I moved them out to the front porch. I thought I had a picture of this activity, but no.

Here they are flocked in the living room waiting to migrate to the basement family room until the holidays are over when they'll come back to look out the front windows once again.
 

2018 Halloween

I apparently like things. I like collecting things, gathering things, organizing and displaying things. In order to keep this impulse in some kind of control I try to weed things out of my life at similar rates as the increase of things. I've also discovered that you can display and collect around holidays. Of course, you also must store such things. I am lucky in that I have ample storage space and if I start to need more, then it's a trigger to weed.

For Halloween I have three collections scattered in my house. The first and oldest is one of pumpkins, the second of stuffed bears in costume, and the third and most recent of crows & ravens. I try to be very picky about what I add.

Front door wreath with crow


You put candy in the mouth of that ceramic pumpkin


Looking towards my front door the inside wreath also has a black bird

Ravens and my enthusiastic Christmas cactus

Shell cabinet with two small onyx ravens in front of the red Chinese pot


Halloween tree

Fireplace mantle with my orb collection now intermixed with ravens and crows





With a few more ravens

Hutch with wreath


Collection of stuffed bears in costume. The one sitting on the chair is in an owl costume/hat.



Part of the pumpkin collection on the buffet


We didn't really get any trick or treaters. Our house is just not in the right neighborhood, but I loved having the autumn in my house.  I packed it all up this past weekend, leaving a wreath on the front door, a vase of autumn foilage and an old fashioned paper turkey out to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Those are easy to pack away on the day after Turkey day.  Besides, I need my buffet and side cabinet for the upcoming feast.  -- Jenny