My Snow Baby.

Gabe explored snowfall for the first time today. There was plenty of snow last winter, but he wasn't really able to comprehend it. This year, he is a curious little man.

Hi, snow!

Snow, Beautiful Snow... and SOUP.

In honor of this beautiful snowed in Saturday, and I do mean snowed in-- our car looks like a marshmallow ate it-- I am posting my two favorite soup recipes of late.

But first, here is the view out our condo sliding doors (I didn't open the doors to avoid the screen in the photo, but I didn't want to mess with snow getting all up in here):


The view here is much improved from our last bout with Jack Frost in December. It sure is nice to be home, sweet home.

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I should really call this blog post Soup VS. Soup because I am deciding which one of these soups is being served at my little one's Christening party. You could even call this, the SOUPberbowl.... oh good grief.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Black Bean Soup
So this first soup is from Stephanie Dea's slowcooker blog, A Year of Slow Cooking. You can access the recipe here. I served it to my husband, and I served it to my Mom. Both LOVED it.


It looks yummy, and it really is. The ingredients are all pretty basic-- chicken, one jar of salsa, mushrooms (I used baby bellas because I hate the dinky usual button ones), frozen corn, chicken broth, a zip of cumin, and two cans of black beans, of course. I love using the slow cooker. It makes the chicken so deliciously fall-apart-in-a-second-ish.


Carrot Ginger Soup

This soup is a knock off recipe of Whole Foods' Carrot Ginger Soup sold in their prepared food section. I worked in a Whole Foods in high school and early college, and I looked forward to winter and their scrumptious carrot ginger soup. I found it here.

It's a vegan recipe, though I am not vegan (yet... I am getting a little crazier with the green-minded how-can-you-treat-the-cows/chickens/insert lifestock or produce-that-way? every day. Luckily, my husband finds this interesting and not disconcerting. In his words, "as long as you are going to cook good food for me, I love it."), and it is really great. I did not make the vegan version this time because the food market in all its AAH IT'S GOING TO SNOW shoppers, was missing vegetable stock so I used low sodium free range chicken broth. It definitely altered the flavor from the pure veggie flavors I remember from high school, but it still was simply awesome.

It definitely did not come out quite as thick of a puree as I have had at Whole Foods or as it looks in the picture on the recipe's site, so next time, veggie broth and more carrots than this time!


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As for this soup choice duel, I am taking into consideration that the 'main' meal of the day will be baked ziti, meatballs, salad, and rolls. I want there to be a soup for people to be a little more choosey choosey, especially for those with more adventurous palates. Any votes as to which would be more of a crowd pleaser?

Gobs and Gobs and Gobs of Snow.

Gobs and gobs of snow. It makes a girl warm in her heart, especially when it is the week of her first baby's first Christmas.

What is not so heartwarming is the fact that we are still stuck without a condo. My husband and I would give anything to be snuggled at home right now, our heat jacked up with a blanket over the pair of us, our little Gabriel snuggled into his own blanket in our arms, our Christmas tree twinkling with white lights and crimson decor, Mommy and Daddy chomping on pieces of freshly-made fudge and enjoying our snow-covered and enchanting woodland view.

But this is not yet possible, and so, in the meantime, we hope the snow stays just a few days more so that we may enjoy this scene, this winter wonderland moment with babe, in just a day or so more.

The condo should be painted today or tomorrow, allowing us to return tomorrow or Tuesday evening. Just in time to get our tree decorated in time. I still have many presents to wrap, and 1 or 2 to purchase!

Our little female cat, Sage, is returning home today from the Pet Hotel (my husband ventured out onto the awful roads to drop my sister off at work and get Sage home in my Mom's 4-wheel-drive-equipped vehicle). I am sure she will be happy to sit in our windows and chatter at squirrels again.

What's sweet about our current not-so-snuggly situation is that we are holed up with family, and that is certainly nice. If you are going to be snowed in for an evening(see the aftermath picture-- i.e. where is our bumper?-- at right), I sure don't mind playing Taboo with my 3 sisters and my parents.

And so, that is the way of the weekend... enjoying family, gazing outside, and longing for the moment the Christmas my husband and I dreamed of from the moment we knew were expecting truly begins.

Oh, and while I lament, we also would like for Gabe's behavior last night to never occur again. He screamed everytime he was put down in the pack and play, and would immediately stop crying when my husband picked him up. I nursed him when he seemed hungry and when it seemed just a little milk would make him drunk enough to sleep, but the longest he went down was one hour. On weekend nights (most Fridays and all Saturdays), my husband tends to Gabe's antics between feedings, and I felt awful knowing he was not getting any rest. And to be honest, what sound rest does a Mommy get while she is hearing her babe cry and her husband sigh anyway?

Mommy FAIL post coming very soon.