The art of procrastination and green soup

I have been procrastinating. I have been procrastinating doing my taxes. I have been putting off renewing my CPR card. I have been avoiding the recertification process for my Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification. I have been working my around to cleaning the toilets (really, I have). I have taken the long road to dusting and folding laundry and washing the windows.

With all of this procrastinating what I am to do?

Well, the only answer that made sense to me was: Make more green soup!

Green soup is fun. I have become a recent convert to the world of Luvmysplitpeasoup. So, when I found another recipe for green soup I figured why not try it out! When I started thinking about it there is a real lack of tasty green soups... there are numerous red and yellow and tan-colored tasty dishes, but not a whole lot of deliciousness in the green-hued-soup category.

Green Soup (isn't the name original?!?!)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 large yellow sweet onions, chopped
• 3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 cups of water
• 2 tsp dry sage
• 1 large bunch of fresh kale
• 1 large bunch of fresh chard
• 6 peeled cloves of garlic 
• Freshly ground salt and pepper (to taste) 

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions - cook until the onions are brown and soft (approximately 30-40 min). Stir frequently. 
2. While the onions are cooking, place 4 cups of water, the salt, sage and sweet potatoes in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for 15 minutes. 
3. While the onions and sweet potatoes are coming along, wash the kale and chard. Cut away all tough stems and chop the remaining leaves. Add the kale, chard, garlic and remaining 2 cups of water to the sweet potatoes. Continue to simmer partially covered for 15 more minutes. 
4. Next add the onions to the sweet potatoes. If you have a hand-held immersion blender, blend the soup until it is pureed. If you do not have a hand-held, transfer the soup in batches to a blender and blend until pureed (be careful of air bubbles - the soup is HOT). 
5. Serve immediately. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Optional - drizzle olive oil over the top. 

Happy green soup and happy procrastinating!!

I heart purses

This last week I decided to venture into a new world of art (and in this case, crafts). I decided to make myself a new purse.

First, I picked out a rich, reddish-burgundy wool yarn that I used to knit the body of the purse. The color reminds me of a dark merlot wine that has been poured into a glass and held up to the light; there are hints of light red, dark red and black depending on how the light is shining.

I finished the knitting, then went searching for handles. I ended up liking a pair of 10 inch black bamboo circulars; they work well as a handle and are also large enough to go over my shoulder (versatility!). After folding my knit piece in half and binding the sides I wrapped the upper edges over the handles and fastened them.

Finally I had the joy of hunting through the stacks of vintage silk fabrics at a local fabric shop (F&S Fabrics on Pico) until I found one with the colors I wanted; in this case I was looking for reds and blacks. I don't know what it is about being surrounded by beautiful fabrics with deep colors and exotic patterns, but I absolutely love it! The fabric that is laying behind the purse is the left over remnant from what is now the lining. I even went so far as to fashion a little pocket in the lining for keys or a cellphone.

While I have never been much of a "purse person" I can now see the draw. I had such fun picking out the different materials, then hand-crafting everything together. I am looking forward to taking my purse on it's first outdoor excursion. I hope it holds up well. Who knows, this may be the beginning of a whole new creative line... (watch out gucci, coach, chanel...) :)

New beginnings

It's time to start thinking about planting again. In Los Angeles the last spring frost is generally in February and after that plants can start going in the ground outside (or the container pots filled with "ground"). I know I did not have the best of luck last year; actually lets be honest I had abysmal luck with my plants, but it is time to try again.

The final count was 13%. What does this "13%" mean? Well it means 13% of the plants I tried to grow last year survived. Two hardy souls made it through out of the 15 I brought home. They are Adromischus maculatus (aka Space Rocks) and Aeonium arboreum atropurpureum (aka Zwartzkop). Both are settled happily into their respective homes on the outdoor deck and seem to be thriving despite my best intentions!

This year I have decided to do things differently. I am researching which plants I am going to buy prior to going to the store (in fact I may just do it all from seed and skip the seedling part). Last year I showed up at the nursery, wandered around looking for things I liked, then planted them. Obviously that was not a good way to start (13%!). I am also going to find out more about container gardening; some plants like it, some do not, I think I should figure out which is which. As this year's adventures in growing progress I will keep you all posted.

But for now, enjoy the pictures of the two plants that survived (despite all the odds)!