Monday, January 7, 2013

January Redwork Snowman



The month of January is named for the Roman god Janus, who has two heads that face in opposite directions.  Therefore, he's able to look back to the past year and forward to the year ahead.  Janus is the god of doors, doorways, and gates - symbols of beginnings and endings.

                                                      January

                                             The days are short,
                                                The sun a spark
                                             Hung thin between
                                                The dark and dark.

                                             Fat snowy footsteps
                                                Track the floor,
                                             And parkas pile up
                                                Near the door.

                                             The river is
                                                A frozen place
                                             Held still beneath
                                                The trees’ black lace.

                                             The sky is low.
                                                The wind is gray.
                                             The radiator
                                                Purrs all day.
                                                                      by John Updike

On a cold day when the radiator is purring all day, fix some delicious Cheese Soup.  "There are many delights in winter, and eating in front of the fire is one of them."  Gladys Taber

Cheese Soup
1 quart chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 cup celery, sliced
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli pieces
2-1/2 cups potatoes, diced
2 cans cream of chicken soup*
1 pound American cheese, cubed

1.  Combine chicken broth and vegetables in a large soup kettle and simmer until vegetables are crispy tender.
2.  Add soup and cheese, stirring until cheese is melted.

Just about any vegetable can be added to this soup.  If you use peas, add them at the very last minute (after the soup and cheese) so they will stay bright green.

*You can make your own cream of chicken soup.  For each can of soup called for, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan.  Stir 3 tablespoons of flour into melted butter with a wire whisk until well mixed.  Add 1 cup of chicken broth.  Stir constantly until thick and bubbly.  This is equal to one can cream of chicken soup.  You would double this for this recipe since Cheese Soup calls for 2 cans cream of chicken soup.      

To view my completed Redwork Snowmen Calendar Quilt, click here:

7 comments:

  1. How wonderful you could all get together for the birthday celebration. That should make a great diary entry.
    I'd love to be sitting in on the Tony Hillerman discussion. I loved all his books.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So enjoyed hearing about your family celebration I hope you got lots of pictures, these will be your treasures for a life time. I will be following along with the BOM, thank you so much for sharing, I too have searched the internet with no luck.
    Happy Crafting
    Eva

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a neat redwork snowman and your soup sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
    Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

    ReplyDelete
  4. My daughter is a vegetarian and I've had to change a couple of recipes that call for "cream of" soups. I use cream of celery soup. When I made string bean casserole for Thanksgiving last year, everyone asked for the "recipe" as they said it was the best ever. Switching mushroom for celery soup was my "secret". This sounds like a good soup to make when I visit her in February. It's cold and damp next to the California coast--good soup weather.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Will make the soup in the next two weeks. I too love to use cream of celery instead of mushroom. Love Snowman, hope we get the years worth and poem also.
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the snowman and the soup will be made this weekend. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from readers. Your comments make my day!