Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Okay, it’s been too hot for soup, but if I don’t record the changes I made to this Chipotle Chicken and Corn Chowder, I’m going to forget what I did completely.  (And that would be a shame, because I really enjoyed it with the changes.)

First off, you have to understand that I like smoky, and I like corn chowder, and chicken and potatoes thrown into the mix is fine with me, but I don’t like peppers.  (Sorry, Mom.  I don’t care for peppers.)  Aspects of this recipe really appealed, however, and so I consulted my friend Andrea about the best way to alter it for my heat-sensitive family.  (We’re wimps–at least, most of us are.  And we’re okay with that.)

So.  Red bell pepper was never going to happen in my kitchen voluntarily, but onion seemed like a perfectly reasonable substitute.  (After all, they’re both aromatics, and who makes soup without onions, anyway?)  I didn’t have poblanos, and Andrea warned me that you can get the occasional hotter one, so I used 2 4-oz cans of (mild!) diced green chilies instead.  As for the chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, I simply didn’t double that amount when doubling everything else.  I could have used a bit more smokiness AND tolerated a bit more heat myself, but my 8-year-old had trouble with it as it was, so it worked out.  (Maybe a touch of smoked paprika next time–when I saute the onion?)  That basically covers my changes–I don’t consider using 1% milk instead of whole a major change in soup, although I may have used a can of evaporated milk as part of it as well–and several of us really enjoyed it.  (A warning, though–when you double it, it makes a LOT.)  It’s even likely to happen again at some point, despite the detractors.  We’ll see what happens in the fall!

I really did!  I knew I was going to be gone from Wednesday night to Saturday morning, and I knew I’d be coming home to a busy weekend, and I kept meaning to do a ‘taking a quick break’ kind of post, but other things seemed to pop up every time I tried to do it.  I’m truly sorry!

The thing is, I’m still fairly exhausted from ALL THE THINGS, and so this is going to be brief.  Are you ever in the mood to read something completely, utterly, and in all ways bizarrely funny?  If you are, you need to try Caleb Krisp’s Ivy Pocket series.  Ivy is a maid with all the natural instincts of any kind of expert, anywhere–at least, to herself.  (What her employers, acquaintances, and readers think of her is best left to discover.)  There is fantasy involved here that I didn’t expect–an object of power, mysterious characters with strange powers–but also a sort of eye-popping humor that’s a little bit hard to describe.  I skimmed the series before handing it over to my 11-year-old, and I’m still shaking my head at times about just how odd (but entertaining!) it was.  Start with Anyone But Ivy Pocket and move on through the trilogy; I promise you an unforgettable ride!

My second girlie has been practicing her dance to that very song–from “Anastasia”–while I’ve been reading a book about Russia before and during WWI.  Perfect timing, right?  And Gloria Whelan’s Angel on the Square is narrated by a girl whose mother was lady-in-waiting to the Empress and who therefore lived with, learned with, and played with Anastasia (nicknamed “Stana”) for years.  I’m quite sure Katya and her mother are fictional, of course, but the main events from history are all there–the war, Alexei’s hemophilia, the Bolsheviks, and the sad end of the  Romanov family.  (I thought the book might avoid the actual executions entirely, but no, they’re there.  An event spoken of rather than described, but they’re there.)

I actually checked this one out for my oldest; she read Listening for Lions in school last year and wanted something else by the same author.  I didn’t remember Whelan’s historical fiction as being masterful, but I still love the genre, so I’ve been hoarding it so I could read it first.  And, no, it’s not quite masterful, but it is compulsively readable.  It’s not the sort of book that’s full to the brim of meticulously researched details and tidbits about the time period and subject, but it’s going to have rather a broad appeal to young readers.  If your child has a passion for history, there are probably better books on the topic to be found, but if you’re looking for a fast-paced, engaging historical read written with the average middle grader in mind, don’t miss Gloria Whelan.