Eat...Read...Sleep

Ashley and Hannah (friends here in Florida) and myself are on a personal improvement mission for 2011. Bucket lists have been established for the year (being all zen and everything we will take care of next year, when next year comes). We are also all "Eat Pray Love", "The Love Dare", "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway", "The Happiness Project", and just for kicks "Think and Grow Rich." What can I say...we are multi-taskers. We are mothers, so that is how we roll. Ashley, being a shrink turned Batista, likes to make us see the picture in three dimensions while keeping us jacked up on caffeine. I like to keep everyone's belly full, and Hannah is there to show us how to keep it real (she is excellent at calling BS when she sees it).

Today was an Eat, Read, Sleep and repeat sort of day, with a little happiness project thrown in. Scott had Fiona, so I have an empty and quiet house.

EAT (while trying to keep pace with Bruno Mars' mood swings - First he loves her just the way she is, then he wants her to tell the devil he says hey when she gets back from where she is from, and finally as he wants to be a billionaire so freaking bad (his girl is rich) and has completely forgotten to take his meds "Girl, I wanna marry you."

Makes me feel rather sane.

I digress.

Mushroom/ Potato Soup:

1 onion diced

2 carrots peeled and diced

1 clove of garlic

sea salt

stick of butter

4 cups of chicken stock

few lbs of potatoes

2 large portabellas chopped

rosemary- lots of it.

3/4 cup white wine (more if you want to get sloshed while making this).

1/2 cup heavy cream

shredded cheese... and sour cream for topping.

Cut the potatoes up and boil or steam until al dente.

Soften the carrots, onions, garlic in a skillet with some butter and rosemary.

Add some salt.

Add more butter to the skillet

Add the portabellas.

As shrooms start to soften add the wine... and let simmer until reduced some.

Put mushroom/ carrot/ onion mixture in large pot with chicken stock.

Add some salt.

Let this cook for a while took so it infuses the stock with flavor.

Add cream.

Let simmer for a bit.

Eat it.. with cheese and sour cream.

If you want the base to be thicker add flour to the mushroom/ carrot/ onion mixture before putting in the wine. Or, blend some of the cooked potatoes with stock and add it in.

READ - Harry Potter for the 6th time, and Jeffrey Archer's "Kane and Abel".

SLEEP -Initially I had intended to work on number 9 on my bucket list which is to be completely still and silent for two hours without going to sleep but that didn't work. However, sleeping falls into my home work category for The Happiness Project, so it's all good.

REPEAT - I had a great dream about apple cake. I got up and made one. I had to because I'm a "make your dreams come true" kind of girl. I will post the recipe later.

Cheers and Happy Eats!

Lucinda