food and hockey.
My mom wanted me to give her this recipe I made up so I thought I'd share it with you all.
Slow Cooker Ham and Spinach Pasta with Carrot-Cauliflower Sauce
2 lbs carrots, peeled and broken into thirds
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
4 cups (1L) broth
1 T herbes de provence or whatever herb blend floats your boat
4 garlic cloves, peeled and
You need a big crockpot because the cauliflower is so bulky before it cooks. Put the carrots in first because the cauliflower is bulkier, then the cauliflower. Sprinkle on the seasoning and pour on the broth, and drop the garlic cloves in there somewhere.
Cook on high for a few hours or low for more hours.
Puree the bejabors out of it with an immersion blender. This makes a large amount of thick creamy soup. About 3L. I froze about half.
Then add:1 cup diced ham (or other meat, or cooked beans)
1/2 pound dried ditalini (or other tiny pasta)
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 T cider vinegar or other acid
Stir and then cook on high about 20 to 30 minutes.
The pasta soaks up the water and turns the soup into more like a pasta sauce.
It is NOT photogenic. Visually... imagine mashed sweet potatoes (the sauce) with pink and white chunks (ham and pasta) and floppy green streaks (spinach).
Now stop imagining it because you'll ruin your appetite. It SMELLS good, which covers a lot. And it tastes very rich and filling.
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Hockey seems to work the same for me every year, which is that I pay almost no attention to it until after Christmas, then I start following the Penguins (and the Canucks, sort of), and then slowly start being interested in the rest of the league as we approach the playoffs, until we get down to the wire of who's in or out, and then I'm checking the scores of every game to see if my favored or disfavored bubble teams are in or out.
I've gotten a bit more interested a bit faster this time as I've been reading Battle of California (language NSFW) and Pass It to Bulis, because they're very funny. I haven't found a Penguins blog that's really consistently funny yet.
I'm sort of a weird fan in that:
1. I like watching games but only if I have someone to watch with. Otherwise I either leave the audio as background noise or check the score periodically. But I love to read recaps, especially humorous ones.
2. I like the shootout. Apparently you're not allowed to like shootouts.
3. I can never remember people's nicknames. If I learn the nickname then I can't remember the actual name. Like, I was reading a hockey blog and they referred to somebody as "Disco". I didn't know who they were talking about (turns out: the coach). Now I can't remember the coach's real name. Thanks a lot.
Slow Cooker Ham and Spinach Pasta with Carrot-Cauliflower Sauce
2 lbs carrots, peeled and broken into thirds
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
4 cups (1L) broth
1 T herbes de provence or whatever herb blend floats your boat
4 garlic cloves, peeled and
You need a big crockpot because the cauliflower is so bulky before it cooks. Put the carrots in first because the cauliflower is bulkier, then the cauliflower. Sprinkle on the seasoning and pour on the broth, and drop the garlic cloves in there somewhere.
Cook on high for a few hours or low for more hours.
Puree the bejabors out of it with an immersion blender. This makes a large amount of thick creamy soup. About 3L. I froze about half.
Then add:1 cup diced ham (or other meat, or cooked beans)
1/2 pound dried ditalini (or other tiny pasta)
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 T cider vinegar or other acid
Stir and then cook on high about 20 to 30 minutes.
The pasta soaks up the water and turns the soup into more like a pasta sauce.
It is NOT photogenic. Visually... imagine mashed sweet potatoes (the sauce) with pink and white chunks (ham and pasta) and floppy green streaks (spinach).
Now stop imagining it because you'll ruin your appetite. It SMELLS good, which covers a lot. And it tastes very rich and filling.
---
Hockey seems to work the same for me every year, which is that I pay almost no attention to it until after Christmas, then I start following the Penguins (and the Canucks, sort of), and then slowly start being interested in the rest of the league as we approach the playoffs, until we get down to the wire of who's in or out, and then I'm checking the scores of every game to see if my favored or disfavored bubble teams are in or out.
I've gotten a bit more interested a bit faster this time as I've been reading Battle of California (language NSFW) and Pass It to Bulis, because they're very funny. I haven't found a Penguins blog that's really consistently funny yet.
I'm sort of a weird fan in that:
1. I like watching games but only if I have someone to watch with. Otherwise I either leave the audio as background noise or check the score periodically. But I love to read recaps, especially humorous ones.
2. I like the shootout. Apparently you're not allowed to like shootouts.
3. I can never remember people's nicknames. If I learn the nickname then I can't remember the actual name. Like, I was reading a hockey blog and they referred to somebody as "Disco". I didn't know who they were talking about (turns out: the coach). Now I can't remember the coach's real name. Thanks a lot.