Sunday

I spent another restless night and still woke up for good at 5:00 AM. So, I put on a pot of coffee and sat on the couch to drink some. I had two cups and then started the last load of wash (misc. towels, the small blanket from the office and my yard jacket – I won’t be needing that anymore this year).

For the first time in a long time, I turned on “Sunday Morning, Over Easy.” It was cloudy, warm and windy today, BTW. So, I did a myriad of small chores, waiting for it to warm up even further outside. Oh, and I did make a quick run to Westborn to get some fresh baby spinach for dinner.

Melissa called and we talked for a long time (imagine that!) So, I didn’t get outside until after 2:00 PM. The first thing I did was to wash all the windows (except for the big picture window. That one’s under the porch so I can get it washed later.)

Then I assembled all the patio furniture, the wheelbarrow, etc. on Jake’s patio. Next, I drained the hoses and coiled them up in the wheelbarrow. Finally, I covered the whole pile with a tarp and tied it down. That’s when the wind became a real problem! The winds were a sustained 20-25 MPH, with gusts up to 35, which made the tarp installation very, very tricky. But, I got ‘er done!

Back inside, it was after 5:00 PM, so I started on my Sunday supper. I made soup: Italian Stracciatella with mini meatballs, cheese tortellini and baby spinach.

To make the meatballs, I put one egg, about 1/3 cup of fine grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a handful of fresh chopped parsley, a pinch of oregano, one clove of garlic, minced, and a teaspoon of Italian-seasoned bread crumbs in a bowl and combined them. Then I added in 1/4 pound of ground pork and 1/4 pound of ground sirloin. I mixed it by hand like you would a meatloaf and then rolled them into balls the size of marbles.

I put six cups of my homemade chicken stock in a large saucepan. I brought it to a simmer over medium heat. Then I added the meatballs and a cup of mini cheese tortellini. I let that simmer about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, I put an egg and some sea salt in a small bowl and whisked it.

I brought the soup back to a bowl and, while stirring briskly, slowly steamed in half the egg (that’s the stracciatella).

To plate, I lined the bottom of my soup bowl with fresh spinach leaves and put the soup over it. I topped it with a little more grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Then I ate it. I must say that the soup tasted great, but it looked awful! I tried another bowl just to make sure and, yep, I was right: tastes great, looks bad. This was a Nadia G. recipe, BTW.

I put the rest of the soup in the fridge and watched some Sunday night shows. I went to bed at 11:00 PM, to the sound of the clock chiming.