The Amazing Parents and Their Daring Adoption Feat

I have a very dear friend, whom I have written about before, that is one of the most amazingly amazing people I have ever had the pleasure to know. Her name is Kate. I call her Katiepooh, but that's besides the point.

She and her fantabulous husband are raising a bunch of children just as wonderful as they are. Now, in case you think that's an easy feat, let me shed a little light. Firstly, they are raising 7 children. Having 7 of my own, I know how trying and tiring and utterly wonderful such a thing can be. The only difference is, while I have special needs kids of my own (I don't really see Asperger's as a special need, but hey - that's the label), I don't have children with the needs that hers do.

Kate being the amazing mom that she is keeps in all in check; homeschooling, doctor's appointments, surgeries, therapists and daily life. She does this without batting an eyelash. In fact, many times I've talked with Kate on the phone and she's laughing about life rather than wallowing in pity.

When Marty was injured, Kate was the first person on the phone to me checking in and keeping others updated for me. Kate was the one who set up a PayPal account to help our family get by while Marty was in the hospital. Kate was there in more ways than that and continues to be someone I can lean on and talk to about life, putting her own needs on hold to listen to me ramble.

See, pretty amazing, huh? Guess what? She and her husband Charley are even more amazing than all that. They are now on the road to adopting two very special and precious baby girls from the Ukraine. Not just any baby girls (this is Kate we're talking about) but baby girls with Down Syndrome. They are the sweetest babies ever and even though they will have many issues and many needs, Kate and Charley are up for it and I can't think of any family better suited to take these children in and raise them.

They do need help to reach this goal, however and I want to share with you how you can help.

Money is always welcome and the one thing that they need to most to get these girls home to the U.S. Right now they are looking at is $36,000. Kate's PayPal link can be found HERE if you are so led to help.

Donations of Goods or Services: Kate will be holding raffles on her blog for goods or services donated by friends and family. If you have something you can donate for her to raffle or would like to enter a raffle, please see her blog, Room for More for details.

Prayers - This is the best way to get them where they need to be. Offer up whatever you can on their behalf and the rest is Faith.

Blogging or any other way you can get the word out is fabulous. Even if you can't help, others may be able to and bringing it to light would be terrific. You can add Kate's button to your blog or web page as well:

<a href="http://snadoption.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i47.tinypic.com/70vq11.jpg" alt="" /></a>

Thank you so much for reading this and considering my dear friend and her family.

The Soup

The soup I'm going to be sharing with you today is not just any soup. The recipe comes from my friend, Danny, the man to whom this marvelous concoction owes its existence to.

I made up a half batch of it today (and you'll see why I only made half - it's huge!) and the whole time I was putting it together I kept thinking that it seemed familiar, and it does. Back in the late 80's to early 90's (that's 1900's, kids) there was a soup that everyone in the world who was trying to lose weight made. It started with tomato juice and built up with veggies until it was a seething mass of who-knows-what. It wasn't bad overall, but it lacked any real flavor that would keep a person wanting more. It was rather bland, as soups go, and for all that was dumped into the pot, it really should have had more 'oomph' to it.

Enter Danny. I'll let you get the story in his own words in a moment, but - in a nutshell - he took a similar soup and morphed it into a very fusion-flavored thing that actually leaves you feeling full for longer than the requisite 30 minutes that other 'diet' soups give you.

This soup is a thing of legend among Dan's friends and acquaintances, and having not been shared until now, has been carefully guarded by Danny himself and I have been lucky enough to have him share it with me and then allow me to pass it on. I know there are people out there who have been waiting for this.

Without further ado - here's the scoop:

The story is that many years ago, my doctor put me on a very low sodium diet and, with my background as a sous in Philly, it got me back into cooking by necessity. I went back to complimenting flavors between acidic and sweet, savory and tart, etc.. Given that I needed something to fill me up, but not high-calorie, I started with a vibe of a "Hobo Stew," but without the meat. My brother had something similar in his fitness diet that seemed like a good idea, but I knew that I could blend some flavors in ways that would provide more flavor and health benefits. The idea was to take a big pot of water and start tossing fresh vegetables into it and see what happens. Personally, I use low sodium V8 and I like to toss in a few gulf shrimp at the end with a pinch of mozzarella cheese when serving, but it's great over rice, noodles or just plain, too.

Over the years, I found myself tweaking this without ever writing down what I'd done, but my doctor (who LOVES this soup, by the way) suggested that I offer the recipe to other patients online. The mix of sweetness, citrus, spicy, savory, and the ability to be seasonal made it right for anything from gumbos to curries to vegetable soup with barley so I began to cook it for friends as well. Once that happened, people began to demand the recipe and, given that I wanted to share it through someone I know and trust, I found my way to you.

I'm told that it needs to be shared and that's the nature of a good soup, I think. This, like so many soups, is one of those that gets better on the second and third days. My friends continue to say that my soup rocked their worlds and/or changed their lives (especially if they are patients of some specific care who all seem to be able to eat this with little modification), I'm very proud of this particular recipe. It is energizing, both filling and light at the same time, plus good for you. A cup in the afternoon, late at night, or as a meal in-and-of-itself. To me, it's just my soup.

Thanks mucho!!

d

No, Dan - Thank YOU!

Here's the soup...

Daniel East's Rock Your World Veggie Chowder
Most people THINK they may not like this...until they taste it. Don't look, just cook!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Lg bottle V8 juice (low sodium or regular ok)
2 cups water
4 med tomatoes diced
2 cups sliced oyster mushrooms
2 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
2 cups sliced portabella mushrooms
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
2 cups chopped or sliced fresh carrots
2 cup chopped broccoli
2 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup chopped fresh garlic
2 small cans black beans – drained (not black bean soup - if you have time to soak dried ones,
even better)
1/2 cup of finely grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp Liquid Summer Hot Sauce - http://www.sauceboss.com
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sugar or 1 pk Splenda®
NOTE: if you must add salt, use sea salt or kosher salt to taste.

WHAT TO DO:

• Using a 8 qt or larger pot, pour in the V8 & water with heat on HIGH.
• Add all veggies (except ginger) and bring to a rolling boil.
• Stirring often, continue boiling until foam begins to appear.
• Add the OJ, vinegar & black beans.
• Once mushrooms have reduced, add all remaining ingredients & continue boiling/stirring for 1 hr until veggies are tender.
• Reduce to a simmer and cover. Once it thickens (approx. 1 hr.), check seasoning for taste.
• Continue stirring and serve while hot.

NOTE: DO NOT add too much pepper as it expands when heated and may get fairly spicey!
ALSO: Each time you heat and reheat, the mixture thickens and continues to break down.
ADD ONS: Great over brown rice or with a little shredded cheddar, shrimp and/or meat, etc.

Copyright ©2003-2009 Daniel M. East. All rights reserved. http://www.danieleast.net

Back in the Day

A long, long time ago at a restaurant not-so-far-away, my friends and I spent many a night hanging out and talking. The restaurant was the Perkins at routes 22 and 191 and the friends were usually my best friend Tommy and various other cronies ranging from my husband (who was just my friend then), to Scott, Mark, Tony and occasionally, my other best friend, Marie. This was after high-school but just before I was married - two of the most fun years of my life.

We'd head there after a long night of doing nothing and sit at the large horseshoe-shaped booth in the back. We'd talk about everything, smoke too many cigarettes, drink too much coffee, and wait for our favorite waiter to show. Jack was the waiter who bent over backward for us and dealt with our messes, odd orders and general silliness. I was told that Jack has since passed, but I'm not sure that's true - so we'll just pretend that Jack is still somewhere out there making someone's life pleasant while they dine.

Jack was the only person on the waitstaff at Perkins that would make us one of our very favorite concoctions, the Mutant Milkshake. Other waiters and waitresses would flat-out refuse us and we never really knew why. I still don't know to this day what the big secret was - I know we were charged the full price for what we were getting; a banana split. The difference was, it was a banana split in a blender, and Jack was the only guy who would appease our strange appetites.

I made them at home recently and had to share the "recipe" with the rest of the world. It isn't as odd as it sounds - in fact, they're really good - even my kids think so. The ambiance here isn't the same as it was there - and it's not the same there anymore, either. Perkins was remodeled and the old horseshoe shaped booth is long gone. There isn't anywhere else in that restaurant where I'd want to sit and sip on a Mutant Milkshake, so I make them here at home now.

Mutant Milkshake
Makes 1 shake

1 small banana - cut into chunks
3 scoops ice cream, one each vanilla, chocolate and strawberry OR 3 Neapolitan
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
whipped cream
4 maraschino cherries

Place banana, ice cream, chocolate syrup and 3 cherries into a blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and top with whipped cream and remaining cherry.
This is best enjoyed with friends, but drinkable if you're alone.

Mail From Japan

I love when the mailman comes. I know it's juvenile to get all excited when I hear the clunk of the mailbox lid as it opens, but I can't help myself. Most of the time I get what everybody else gets - bills, but some of the time it's good stuff like products for review, birthday cards or packages from friends.

A few weeks ago I got the "good" kind of mail - a package full of goodies from my friend Jodie in Japan. She had told me about a few cookbooks she no longer wanted and let me know she'd be sending them. Well, I'm not one to say "no" to a cookbook and I've had friends send others as well, so I waited excitedly for my package.

When it first showed I thought it looked odd - it was packaged in a bag from the Japanese postal service. Not a box like we'd send from here, but a large shopping type bag, really neat.

The surprise came when I opened the bag and found more than cookbooks! Take a gander at all Jodie packed in there:



Look at all that stuff! Four really great Japanese cookbooks, tons of chopsticks in all sizes, little key chains in all sorts of colors with little panda faces on them, a Hello Kitty play mat and containers, two packages of curry mix, two packages of some other mix (still no clue, I made it and it was awesome, but I don't really know what it is) and two bamboo sushi mats.

The kids were so excited as I unpacked everything and they immediately started picking out key chains and arguing about who would get the Hello Kitty and Thomas chopsticks.

I'll have to start making some things from the cookbooks and sharing the recipes, but for now I'm reading and enjoying all those chopsticks. Thanks, Jodie!

Cooking with Friends

There's a brand new website (don't you love those!?) that I'm going to ask you to check out. Cooking with Friends is the brain-child of Alison J. Bermack, Shannon Henry and Dana Bowen; all three accomplished writers, professionals and food lovers (my favorite part).

Cooking with Friends is the most brilliant twist on cooking ahead that I have ever seen. I've spent countless hours myself cooking up meals for Once a Month Cooking or even smaller weekly sessions, and I can attest to the fact that doing it alone makes it a chore. Cooking with Friends offers up a fabulous solution: do it with friends!

The site offers a blog, how-to, recipes and more! It's really worth a look. Even if you don't cook ahead, you'll be inspired to cook with your friends no matter what the reason!

Happy New Year!

To all my friends, my loved ones and everyone else in my life: Have a wonderful new year. I'm hoping that 2008 will be far better for us all!

There are blessings here, too...

I was able to see Marty yesterday and he is no longer in the coma. I talked to him, he opened his eyes, nodded or shook his head to some questions, but is still so heavily medicated that I honestly couldn't tell if he knew what I was saying or who I was. Mostly he would look through me or grimace, but he is still on the ventilator, so wouldn't be able to say anything, even if he wanted to.

The nurse said they were hopeful that the surgeries could be done on Monday. Marty continues to improve daily, but is still very broken and very sick.

In the midst of this chaos have been several lights. The first is my brother, Bob. On the day that Marty fell, Bob just happened to be a few blocks away from the hospital for a meeting. He went over to Hahnemann and got information for me and updated me as I was on my way there. It was a great comfort to me not to be completely blind about what was going on during the trip there.

Then there are the wonderful mothers that I talk to nearly every day over at Lots of Kids. It's a great community of moms, all with four or more kids, that supports one another through both small and big. They got together (thank you Kate, and Michelle!) and started collecting money for us. I was so shocked, still am, and so very blessed. They are truly a miraculous bunch.

After that I got a call from KFarmer. I love K, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. She called to check on me and then told me she was picking apples from her farm to mail to me--just because. She has a little story about the post office (don't we all?) and I'm hoping she'll post it someday.

And lastly ... whew ... two of the girls at Family.com, fellow bloggers Michelle and Molly (Princess_Peg and ShopandTell, got the same idea in their heads as the LOK girls and they started up another collection. You have to go check out these two at White Trash Mom. They are so funny, and so sweet, and I cannot believe they even gave me a second thought. They wrote the most lovely article about everything I'm going through.

I'm so grateful that these people are in my life, that all of you have come here and commented and cared. The prayers really ARE WORKING! Thank you, everyone, I've told Marty how much support the kids and I are being given, I hope he at least heard that part.