450!

Hard to believe it's my 450th post. What a yacky doodle.

I used this wonderful needlebook tutorial by Nana Company to make a simplified version. And yep, I put the hair elastic thingy on the wrong side. I can't tell you how many times I've done that. No biggie, I actually liked the patchwork side better. That cartoon chick was starting to bug me.

I had leftover cabbage from making potstickers, so for dinner I thought I'd whip up a simple cabbage soup to go along with grilled cheese sandwiches. The soup was killer! It's not your Weight Watchers cabbage soup diet soup, but I bet it's still pretty good for you. Let's see if I can remember what I put in it.

Cabbage Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup diced jowl bacon or 2 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 large glove garlic, minced
2 carrots, sliced (I didn't have any carrots, but I would have added them)
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 can stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 quart low sodium chicken broth
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups water
3 cups sliced green cabbage
romano cheese, for garnish

In your soup pot, saute bacon in hot olive oil until bacon is rendered. Add onion, celery, garlic and saute until onions soften a bit. Add carrots, peppers and stir to combine. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, beef boullion cubes, tomato paste and water. Let mixture simmer up to an hour, checking for seasoning. Add green cabbage the last 20 minutes of cooking adding salt and pepper to taste. Grate or shave romano cheese on top before serving.

Recipe notes: If you haven't tried jowl bacon, get some. Not the kind with teeth, that's just icky. Pigs don't brush their teeth! I made that mistake once and not much grosses me out, but pig teeth in my food is just icky. Vegetarians, leave the bacon out.

I leave the cabbage until last, because most people don't like the texture of slimy cabbage. Your cabbage will still have a bite to it if you add it toward the end. This soup has tons of flavor, but do taste the broth while it's cooking to adjust seasonings. The addition of cabbage will make the broth blander, but remember you're adding salty romano cheese.

Most soups are better the next day and this soup is no exception. I just ate a bowl for breakfast. Wonder when those pounds are going to start melting off?

Finally got a copy of this book. Oh wow, the quilts are amazing! I'm off to dig out my solids.