I’ve been working diligently to keep up with the blog feed I subscribed to for Vegan Month of Food. I’ve learned a few things.

From Veggie Converter I learned about putting veggie scraps (the ones I’m too lazy to carry to the compost pile) into a freezer bag until I have enough for homemade veggie broth. That’s a good idea.

I’ve also been inspired to cook more. This almost lead to homicide today. Z is of the opinion that I can’t cook. That would be mainly because my food is made of, well, food, instead of whatever she is used too. For example she won’t eat macaroni and cheese I make because I don’t use the right type of noodles. She can not describe or identify the right type of noodles but no matter what I make it is wrong. That’s fine with me since that means there is more for me. But today she crossed a line.

I made brownies. She was hovering around the oven and generally being annoying while waiting for the brownies to be done. Then, she refused to eat them. When asked why she told me that I messed up the frosting because it wasn’t “hard and crunchy.”

My head about exploded. I’m sorry she lives in a culinary wasteland where she gets stale frosting on her brownies but don’t tell me that my homemade cream cheese icing is another example of my lack of cooking skills. I had to go for a walk with the dog after that. Z couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t invited to go along.

What bothers me isn’t so much that she is totally ignorant. She’s eight. I understand that she is totally ignorant. It is her smugness in the rightness of her ignorance that makes me crazy. It is something I would expect from a 15 year old, not an 8 year old. Open your mind, kid. You might be shocked at what else is out there in the world.

She has been sent home to her mother so we can eat a decent meal in peace. I’m making pasta e fagioli.

4 cups homemade vegetable broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can mixed beans
2 stalks chopped celery
2 chopped carrots
1 clove garlic
Parsley from the garden

This is in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low.

I have some leftover jumbo shells that I broke up to use in the soup. I cooked the pieces separately. This was a nice way to get rid of the leftover pasta in my pantry.

Then I got a call from the SO. He asked what was for dinner. I told him and he replied, “That’s soup.” I said he was very smart. He asked if maybe there was some special bread being made to go with that. I said no and that he could feel free to pick up whatever he would rather eat while he was out and bring it home. I believe there was a Tone to my reply. This is where the wisdom born of maturity comes in. He backpedalled like crazy and offered to pick up some nice bread to go with the wonderful soup I am making. Smart boy. Hopefully his child will eventually also learn some tact. LOL.