Turds... 

(and other discoveries under the snow)

Turds. Nuf said.

They're the bane of my garden and about the only thing that invokes murderous thoughts. Piles of their perfect, spherical turds decorate my backyard like pigeon poop on a windshield. As the snow melts, I'm reminded of his (or her) omnipresence. My husband swears one particularly fat one (who likes to chill on our patio frequently) flips me off every time he sees me. I send the dog out, she loves a good chase, yelling "Get that rabbit!" and watch delightfully as she rips through the yard, zigging and zagging until he and his little white tail disappear under the fence. Next time I mumble, next time. Is that bad? 

Pussy willow catkins

The pussy willow trees in the back corner of my yard are fuzzy and white, kinda like that darn rabbit's tail, but enough about the rabbit. They should be humming soon with honeybees and we'll enjoy standing among the trees as they go about their business, completely undisturbed by our presence. It's wonderful.
 

A new critter has come to town.

During my backyard walkabout yesterday, I discovered an interesting labyrinth that lay hidden until the snow melted and ran from my patio to the veggie boxes. Voles. Great. These mice-like rodents run trails beneath the snow in search of food like tree bark and shrub branches. Good thing I wrapped the trunk of my tiny Little Twist cherry tree, whose bark would be a perfect delicacy, before the snow arrived. Have to admit I kinda like the backward "S" shape of his trail.

And since I started with turds, I'll end with them. Yesterday marked my traditional poop pickup, where I tip-toe and jump around the yard on the first warm day after the snow has melted, shovel and bags in hand, to pick up all the lovely presents my dog left but that became covered with snow. Yep, that's right. Those two bags in the foreground are full and I was just finishing up when my daughter snapped this. As I tied this last bag, Stella (my dog named so my husband could channel his inner Marlon Brando) meandered to the back of the yard and took a dump. I think she flipped me off too!

Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink Veggie Soup

It's always a challenge coming up with fast, healthful recipes everyday but I struck gold a few nights ago when I raided the cupboards and came up with a soup that has a little bit of everything, with the exception of animal protein which you could certainly add if you have it. I didn't so I made the best of it and came up with something pretty tasty and FULL of veggies. Even my kids ate it!

A warm ciabatta roll completed my veggie soup.

My family loves soup of any kind and I love an opportunity to take things that I typically have and combine them in such a way that causes silence at the dinner table. They're too busy slurping. That's when I know I have a winner.

I'm pretty conscious of sodium in our diets, especially since the hubs has issues with it. His ears turn fire red when he's had too much so all my prepackaged ingredients are either "low sodium" or "no salt added" varieties. I'm a label reader and have been ever since my oldest was diagnosed with nut allergies when she was five.

Feel free to tweak this with whatever you have. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:
2 32-oz boxes no salt or reduced sodium chicken stock (I use Kitchen Basics)
1 5-oz bag fresh spinach
5 carrots sliced into circles
1 turnip cut into strips
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 14.5-oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can reduced sodium cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups ditalini pasta (or whatever you have on hand)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes (optional, we like heat)

Cook pasta separately according to package instructions. Cooking it in the soup will reduce the amount of broth. When finished cooking, rinse and set aside.

Heat olive oil on medium high heat in dutch oven. Add onion, celery, carrots and turnip until softened - about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in undrained tomatoes and spinach, stir and cover until spinach wilts (this only takes a few minutes). Add beans and chicken stock, stir and bring to a simmer. Add pasta. Salt and pepper to taste. I add a liberal amount of red pepper flakes.