Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

My hubby and I just filled out our ballots.

Sigh.

I bought a bag of red potatoes at Costco last week and I have been LOVING having it (believe it or not!).  I’ve mostly avoided potatoes in the past; I can take them or leave them, I’m allergic to peeling them (strange but true, I promise), and only my youngest has been willing to eat them as a toddler.  (My oldest has made her peace with them, but my middles still aren’t really fans.)  That oldest of mine wanted to try the cute mini potatoes at Costco, however, and so the reds were my compromise–still small, but a dollar less per pound.  Today I was trying to come up with a soup idea, since we have leftover bread bowls from my hubby’s work’s Halloween potluck, and I decided to look for potato chowder pins on my Soups board.  This Slow Cooker Potato and Corn Chowder made the cut.

I did, of course, make a few changes; that’s just how I roll.  In this case, since our family isn’t fond of thyme, I left out that AND the oregano and used 2 teaspoons of herbs de provence instead.  I also cut the broth down to about four cups and upped the amount of evaporated milk (my automatic substitute for cream in soups).  I used 1 1/4 cups and threw in a teaspoon of chicken bouillon with it, and I liked the texture.  (Another cup of broth would have tasted good as well, but thicker is easier for littles to eat.)  My kiddos weren’t exactly passionate about it–they gave it thumbs middle across the board–but they all ate it of their own accord, and in a timely fashion as well.  (That speaks volumes.)  I’m thinking I will make it again and play with the herbs; it’s so incredibly easy that it’s definitely worth experimenting with.  If you try it, let me know what you suggest!

We scored a bunch of free books at the kids’ elementary school’s literacy night, including a copy of William Steig’s The Real Thief.  (Honestly, I hadn’t even heard of it, but it was William Steig–of course I grabbed it!)  I finished it a few days ago, and now I’m passing it off to my second girlie, because of all of my kids, she’s the one that struggles with the truth.

The Real Thief is the 58-page tale of Gawain, Chief Guard of the Royal Treasury and a famously honorable goose.  When items start to disappear from the treasury, he seems guilty nonetheless–he and the king are the only two with keys!  He is ultimately convicted on circumstantial evidence, which devastates and angers him; he flees his country and is living a solitary existence in the forest when he is sought out by the real thief.  Gawain’s bitterness and struggle to forgive his accusers make an interesting contrast to the thief’s crushing guilt and desperation to fix the mess he has created.  Steig does an excellent job of examining the thought processes of both the accused and the guilty; I wouldn’t have had patience with the thief as a child, but as a parent I am thoroughly impressed at what the author has created.

Bottom line?  This is an impressive and accessible fable about guilt, innocence, and forgiveness.  Don’t miss it!