The Corporate ABCs: G is for Gum

gigantic green globs grossly glued to

garbage pails and gym facilities  

Thinned Veggie Soup

This morning I did a final round of thinning in my garden.  I always feel guilty when I thin, as if I am cheating my vegetables  - "here, grow this much and then if you are in the way of your bigger siblings, I'll uproot you!"  

Today's thinning yielded baby veggies big enough that I decided to make them into soup instead.  Boy was that a good idea!!

To the thinned carrots and beets I added two small potatoes, half an onion, some garlic, and two tablespoons each of yellow and green split peas from my pantry. 

 aren't they cute?

I diced everything up, added enough water to cover, and threw it in a small pot with some thyme, salt, and pepper.  Twenty minutes later, everything was tender. I gave it a few pulses with my hand blender to puree the veggies and thicken the broth.  

It ended up with the most wonderful color - a beautiful rich red - and the specks of the green & yellow split peas really made everything pop.  While the soup sat, I roughly chopped the beet greens and put them in the bottom of a bowl.

 

I ladled the hot soup over the greens, allowing them to sit and blanch as the soup cooled.  They turned a lovely bright green and added a wonderful texture to the mixture.  The delicate flavors of the tender veggies and the slight bite to the greens were perfect for a nice slow lunch after a morning in the garden.  It almost makes me wish I had more veggies to thin.  :)

  

The Devil's in the Details

On a good day my company would be described as quirky.  On a bad one...well...I got a cheesy thank you email this morning from a department I've been helping this week that contained this. 

I am still trying to figure out if the things sprouting from my shoulders are supposed to be.  Any guesses?  
 
I shudder to think of the variations of this photo they may have concocted closer to the beginning of the week when they weren't so happy to be working with me. :) 

I am glad to be working for a company that isn't afraid to be a little wacky sometimes.

5 things that remind me of high school

5)  Loose-leaf college rule notebook paper
4)  Walking anywhere with my violin
3)  Gigantic Sharpie markers
2)  Pearberry lotion
1)  Songs by Smashmouth

The Corporate ABCs: F is for Fact

when fleece and fluff fail

it falls to frankness to face front