So, now it’s Saturday...

I woke up on Saturday just before 8:00 AM. I have a lot to do this morning, so I just put on my shorts and a t-shirt and got to work.

I started cleaning the rest of the house. First I washed the kitchen cabinet fronts (while I like the look of the lathe strips they are a dirt catcher).

Since I had the anti-bacterial spray cleaner out, I next cleaned the microwave and stove. Then I moved the kitchen chairs into the living and swept and washed the kitchen floor. I cleaned the bedroom, the office and the upstairs bathroom while the kitchen floor was drying.

It was getting late, so I went to clean myself up. Jake and Carla showed up when I was just finishing my shower. They brought me some leftover pasta Carla had made (Saturday dinner solved!)

So, a bit behind, I started making the soup. I put a half cup of butter (two sticks) into my soup pot and melted it over medium heat. I added one onion, diced, and cooked it until the onion was softened. Then I added one (16 ounces) package of frozen broccoli florets and covered that with a large can (49 1/2 ounces) of chicken broth.

I simmered that until the broccoli was tender (10-15 minutes). I reduced the heat and stirred in one pound of cubed "loaf processed cheese food" (can you say Velveeta?) Did I mention this is not a recipe from a gourmet magazine?

I stirred that until all the cheese had melted. Then I added two cups of milk and one tablespoon garlic powder.

In a small bowl I stirred 2/3 cups of cornstarch (!) into one cup of water until it dissolved. I added that to the soup and stirred until it thickened. That’s where the recipe ends… No herbs, no salt, no pepper.

Come on...

After discussing, I added chopped fresh thyme and parsley. I had Carla taste it and then season it (her palate is better than mine).

We ate the soup with chunks of a sourdough baguette they brought. It was damn good!

Jake was done first, so he cleaned up while Carla and I finished up. By the time I was done, he had the dishes rinsed and stuffed in the dishwasher. He also put the rest of the soup into freezer containers and had the soup pot soaking. So, we sat in the living room and concluded our visit.

I lay down and was going to take a nap after they left but my daughter Melissa called (Dave was watching a football game). We talked for a while and then she hung up when her meatloaf was done (sounded good!)

Speaking of soup, she told me one of her favorites (and easiest) was a cabbage soup. She just boils wedges of cabbage in a large bottle of spicy V-8 juice, adds a few dashes of red hot sauce and calls it good (if I forgot anything, Missy, please correct me as I want to try it). Now, I admit, I like to make complex meals as much as the next foodie, but sometimes I want something good, fast and simple.

It was about 8:00 PM and I was starting to get hungry. I toasted two slices of the baguette in the toaster oven, (drizzled with olive oil) which I burned. I threw them away and tried again. Bingo! I took the toast and rubbed a clove of garlic on it

I warmed up the pasta in the microwave after adding a bit of water (Jake’s suggestion). I topped it with some finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

I went to watch TV, there was nothing “good” on so I changed to taped cooking shows. The pasta was great. She just created it so I can’t tell you the recipe. But, I can tell you it was a non-tomato based sauce with pasta (I'm guessing rigatoni), onions, mushrooms, Italian sausage and something I’ve never had (or even heard of) in a pasta dish: cannellini beans!

I fell asleep at 10:00 PM, but woke up at 1:00 AM wide awake. I finally fell asleep at 3:00.