The Ultimate Fighting Soup

Did you ever eat something that just made you so so happy?

Well, last night The Husband and the twins took me to Minado for Mother's Day. I really love the place. (See if you've got one near you if you like sushi, or Asian food. Lots of treif for people who don't keep kosher, and enough vegetarian for those who do but "eat out".) Especially at night (when the selection is greater), yummy sushi and lots of other stuff too. M and E love the jello and soft-serve machines. The food was delish and we were all happy.

So, that's eating out happy food. At home? Prepared easily? Pull the last of my homemade chicken soup out of the fridge. Crumble up a cooked breast from making the soup. Throw in some chopped cilantro and a bit of hot sauce. Heat up on the stovetop (the microwave is making a weird noise. How do you tell if it's broken? Is it worth having an above-stove microwave repaired or do you just replace it?). Throw in a bunch of tortilla chips. Add salt to taste, but keep it around in case you need more.

Heaven, people. Heaven.

One of the things I'm trying to work on is having food around that I love, that's easy to prepare or grab. It's tricky shopping and cooking for this family (and let's be clear, The Husband does a lot of cooking, though less than he used to, and weekdays, dinner is pretty much thrown together, not like my friends with their menu planning and what-not who intimidate the hell out of me with what I know is a basic level of organization for some people)--The Husband is either the world's most flexible picky eater or the pickiest omnivore ever (he loves food, lots of different types of food, but also has many individual ingredients he doesn't like, and since he's the only adult-type eater in the household at the moment, there is no point making anything with avocados, mushrooms, olives, for starters) and also tends towards 50s-style recipes himself; A is a vegetarian and otherwise eats a narrow range of foods; E eats a bit more than her, and M is more adventurous, but it's usually for individual things, not as often for soups and casseroles and stews, etc.

So, shopping and cooking is complicated. What will everyone eat? Grilled cheese in various forms. And pasta.

This year, I did my best to shepherd the Emptying of the Shelves and the Reduction of the Larder before Passover. As we restock, I want to concentrate on having things we need and will use, not random things that theoretically look good (because that's how I ended up with a bazillion bottles of marinade). And especially on having things around that I enjoy, that are healthy, and delicious. Things I can snack on, and ingredients that make me happy.

Number 1: cilantro. If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

(But since cilantro isn't exactly a grab-it snack, also clementines to keep chilled, good smelly cheeses, linguine, and red delicious apples.)

What are your "must haves"?