The Week That Wasn't

Kale Sausage Soup

Remember when I said that I hoped "love" would keep me from catching Baby Girl's germs when I stayed with her when she was sick? Well, that was wishful thinking. Last week was a miserable one, mostly coughing and hacking and sniffing. When I'm sick enough to cancel my hair cut appointment and make one with the doctor instead, it's a pretty serious.

When I sent a text to my dinner/TV night friends that I wasn't coming last Monday, they also knew I was really sick. We were almost at the end of 800 Words. Missing in the middle is bad enough, but missing the end of a series is awful. All those weeks of keeping up. Will George end up with Katie or Fiona? Will Ike complete his spiritual quest? What will happen between Arlo and Linsday and Poppy? I'll get to see the very last episode tonight. I'll fill in the gaps later.

I got a text from one of those friends saying, "Just made soup. Planning to bring you a quart." Bringing me soup was wonderful. Driving the distance to where I live was even more wonderful. Her soup was loaded with healthy things. It was good to just heat up a bowl when I was hungry.

And then the next text came. "I'm dropping off dinner for y'all. You don't even have to answer the doorbell. I'll leave it at the door." I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to breath near me either. I did have a quick chat when she came. But she kept her distance. She delivered an oven-ready casserole, salad and dessert.

Another friend did a dinner on short notice the night I missed. It was my turn to provide supper. And that surely didn't happen. All these friends. They were like the rescue rangers last week. Counting my blessings.

Before I got sick—and I was really convinced that I would not catch a thing when I stayed at their house—plans had been made for the little girls to stay here for a few days of their spring break so Mommy and J-Daddy could have a get-away. They ended up not going as far as they might have. But we did keep the girls. With the understanding that there would be more TV than usual. I could sit still while they sat still.

And we had a good time. They are big enough to tend to themselves. Sort of. They know where the dress-up box is. They put on shows and dance performances. They stayed outside on wheels as much as possible. And we re-discovered The Magic School Bus on Netflix. (Ms. Frizzle is voiced by Lily Tomlin.) Jessica suggested this one. Turns out Little Sister sees it sometimes at school. Baby Girl had never seen it but she said, "I love this. And I'm learning. I didn't know a rotten log had so much interesting things in it." 

We also took magic bus trips though the digestive system. And the blood vessels. And made a trip around the solar system. I was as interested as they were. Especially when they looked at how the body fights infection. I think that magic bus could have been inside ME!

We may have sent home some wild children because we didn't stick to our usual schedule. But they didn't go hungry. They went to bed clean. Their teeth were brushed. And there were only minor injuries. (Scraped knee. Pinched finger.) It actually was a good several days.

I asked Linda if I could share her soup recipe here. That was a sneaky way for me to get the recipe. Linda sent a photo of the recipe card. The original handwritten recipe had a name in the "from the kitchen of..." line, followed by "adapted by..." with ingredients crossed out and changed. Then Linda told about the changes they have made to that recipe. This version is what she brought me. Remember, it's SOUP. You can adjust it to suit your kitchen.

KALE SAUSAGE SOUP

5 links sweet Italian sausage

3/4 cups chopped onion

2-4 medium potatoes, large dice

1-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

8 cups roughly chopped kale

2 cans navy beans, drained & rinsed

2 quarts chicken broth, plus more if needed

Cook sausage in Dutch oven until done. Remove sausage and drain excess grease. Slice sausage lengthwise, then chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Add onion to Dutch oven and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add chicken broth, and potatoes and kale. Simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Add sausage and beans and simmer another 10 minutes.

This recipe freezes well.