Saturday Afternoon Coffee

I’m sorry I didn’t meet up with you earlier; is now a good time?

So much has happened this week.

I ran a marathon and set a personal record: 3 hours 58 minutes 6 seconds. Huzzah!

Monday was a holiday and I enjoyed the time off. Of course, I didn’t rest and did my usual stationary biking.

Tuesday our school had a special visitor: the police department! They were there to present an award to a student for winning their annual essay contest. This year’s theme: “What It Means to be a Good Citizen”.

I’ve had a great time with my physics class as they work on a few projectile projects. If the weather is good next week, we’ll be able to go outside and see if they work.

Wednesday was cold and rainy, so I tried my hand at making homemade tomato soup. Of course we had grilled cheese with it: Muenster and hickory-smoked Gruyere with caramelized onions on potato bread.

Here’s a picture of the leftovers:

Krystal, who doesn’t usually like tomato soup, loved this hearty dish and made sure I’d written down the recipe:

Jay’s Tomato Dipping Soup

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely minced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced (or 1.5 teaspoons jarred)
• 1 large can tomato puree (28-32 oz)
• 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 large bay leaf
• black pepper to taste
• ¼ tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
• 1 tbsp fresh basil
• 2 tbsp honey or sugar (I used brown sugar)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• 1 cup vegetable stock, chicken stock, or bone broth of choice (I used chicken bone broth)
• 6 tbsp grated Parmesean cheese

1. In a heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat
2. Sauté the onion with the garlic until translucent.
3. Add the coriander and cumin and heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the tomato paste and heat until darkened, scraping often.
5. Add the tomato puree, broth, baking soda, parsley, basil, bay leaf, sugar, salt, and pepper.
6. Bring to a boil then simmer for ten minutes.
7. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until incorporated.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches.

I finally finished my library book, but then succumbed to the call of the New Release shelf and picked up two more books to add to my TBR pile. I may have a problem.

The last few days I’ve been battling sickness; I even decided today would be a rest day from running.

That turned out to be a good idea as I also had Candlelight practice, and so far today I’ve been working on cleaning the kitchen and living room.

Wheat have you been doing?