Food and Health

You’re Not Going To Miss It – Pasta Fagioli

   I like the new idea of meatles Mondays.  Growing up we had two days of not eating meat at dinner. The first was on Friday and then again on Wednesday.  I realized  this  when I was around 10 years old and when I asked my mom why??  She told us ..no meat on Friday because of Good Friday and Wednesday because of Ash Wednesday….that’s how it was done in Malta when she was growing up and that’s the way it is for us too.  Oh…ok…..Lent or no Lent…….it was to be observed all year long, and still is to this very day.  So I guess, it is no wonder that I grew up thinking soup was a meal and  to love all kinds of soup .  One of my favorite is Pasta and Bean Soup aka Pasta Fagioli!!! Easy to make and so good for your body and your soul.

Let’s get cooking:

serves 4

1 medium onion diced,  2 clove garlic diced, 1 stalk celery diced = saute in 1 Tb olive oil

add 1-16oz can tomato sauce and can full of water – salt/pepper/red pepper flakes to taste – add 1 bay leaf and bring to boil then cook on low 10 minutes

drain and rinse 1-16oz can cannolini beans – add to tomato mix and stir – cook on low

cook 2 cups elbow macaroni in well salted water – drain – saving a cup of  pasta water in case you need some – toss pasta and tomato/bean mix together in a large bowl – if you need the pasta water, add as much as you need now –  remove bay leaf and add in 1 cup fresh spinach leaves cut in half and finish off with grated parmesan or romano cheese..,,I like this soup with sesame breadsticks smeared with  butter….. Enjoy!

Family

Do Birds Really Fly the coop?

A long, long time ago, parents would raise their children and they would grow and fly out into the world…and parents would leave and retire to a place far, far away, and become part time visitors…you know Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even just a few weeks in the summer…well like I said, “A long,long time ago”.  Now I see that times have brought families together and I think that is a good thing.  I recently went to a house party and met an old friend that I had not seen for some time…of course we started to talk about the grandkids and how cute they are, etc…she then commented to me how her four (4) grand children are like her own she said,” I raised 2 children and now I’m raising 4 more, how did that happen”?  Of course, she pointed out with a joyful smile, and stated boldly, that she would not have it any other way…I thought to myself, how precious are these moments of time that when your children were young you rushed around and missed so many opportunities to just sit down and watch the young squeak and chirp away, and sometimes thought what an annoying little sound…now we have the opportunity to watch the next generation, squeak and chirp, but this time we watch with eyes that only a grand parent can have…so yes, we want them to fly the coop, but we also want them to land close by…

Family

Rock-A-Bye Baby


My Grandson, who is nine months old, is beginning to flex his baby biceps…sleeping through the night has now become a thing of the past…when he was born, of course, he would wake to get his bottle and suck away until he became content then sleep was the next option…now, as my daughter-in-law reports, he gets up after 2 hours and stays up for 3, this at around 9:30pm…I remember those days. My first born, had control of the night hours. My son would sleep whenever he got tired. He would stay up till 11pm…I was young, and enjoying my new found motherhood…boy, did I spoil him…then BAM!! School and second child all came at once…I needed to take control of the nights. So a bed time was in order…but my son did not agree..so the battle of the tears, screams, shouts for mercy, began…I had 3 long evenings of listening, comforting, a child who sounded like I was abusing him big time…Of course, I gave my two cents to my daughter-in-law about my Grandson’s antics. This is one battle that needs to be won…NOW!! See he sleeps over night at Grandma’s and I need my sleep…

T.V.

So, Who’s The Blonde?

My daughter was born in November,  I stayed home alot after we got home from the hospital. She was the most beautiful little baby in the world and I was head over heels in love with her. I always liked watching PBS television and would watch home crafting and cooking shows when I could. I remember one day I was feeding my new daughter canned formula from a playtex disposable liner bottle, while she was in her pampers. I was still in my pjs…..don’t think I combed my hair yet , for sure had not showered and turned on the tv. There I saw a blonde woman speaking so nice and calm,..could not make out her accent or where she was from. She was pretty and really looked nice and she was making doilies out of paper….I don;t know what for, but she sure made it look easy and did  a great job. After that she went out into the yard or garden and was picking up twigs and such, brought them inside and made a fabulous centerpiece for the dining room table. I could do that I thought, burping my baby doll. Now she was making chicken broth, throwing out the chicken after the broth was made and adding another chicken to make the soup….I’m thinking who is this chick?? I was obsessed. I remember always looking for the show…still not knowing who she was and whenever I would find her show by chance, I was so happy !! She was always doing something fab….made magic with felt…..what this woman could do with a glue gun….. costumes, invitations, christmas ornament and cookies , I was amazed. I struggled everyday trying to come up with a dinner, pasta with something, oh and of course a salad and I would throw in a loaf of italian bread and butter, spread it all out, fill the table. Be happy you never saw the way I gift wrapped Christmas presents…real sorry sight. As the years went by, I would always ask if anyone saw the show, while I enjoyed watching this woman and then it turned out she grew in popularity and alot of people got to know who she was. Turned out that the crazy blonde on tv was Martha Stewart, the one and only. Alot of people may not like her,and even though I never did make a centerpiece out of garden twigs … I still remember that mystery women from way back when…..I like her still.