Soap Suds

It’s been a good day, methinks! I’ve been relatively productive and managed to a) exercise b) be outside c) get my freelance articles done and d) catch up on my emails. Yep—all in all, a productive little Tuesday. What about you?

I went on a mission to find a smoked ham hock this afternoon because I had a hankerin’ for some amaaaazing split pea soup. Now, most often I’ll just make my usual go-to version of split pea that involves merely some water, an onion and peas (ideal for when mint.com tells you you have blown your monthly budget at the Nordstrom’s half yearly sale). However, the good stuff takes a little more finesse…and pork. While I chopped my veggies, I snacked on an Arnold’s Sandwich Thin with pb + jam:

Now, this actually is a recipe that y’all can get…..but you have to wait until my latest Health.com article is published because I stuck it in this week’s “Healthy on the Cheap” article. It should be up in a few days though and I’ll link you over when I get word! Here’s a teaser: it’s reallyyyyyyyyyy good.

I had a steamy mug of it with a side of roasted brussels sprouts and Alice:

Really, there’s nothing quite like a cup of brussels sprouts.

Have I ever talked about my absolute obsession and adoration of Alice Waters yet on here? When other little girls were playing with barbie dolls, I was sitting crouched over my “Fanny at Chez Panisse” cookbook (Alice Waters book for kids) and memorizing recipes in my head. Eating at Chez Panisse is on my bucket list….I guess now that I live here I’m a little closer to the goal. When eating at a specific restaurant is one of your top 10 life goals, you know have it bad. Le sigh. Oh, Alice. Speaking of cookbooks, check out my latest True/Slant article, which gives you my Top 10 list.

Because I severely burned the roof of my mouth after sucking down simmering pea soup (I do this often because soup excites me so much that I can’t wait for it to cool down), I stuck with yogurt for dessert. With raspberry jam and trail mix.

I really wanted to have everything done tonight by 7:30 so I could just relax, read and go to bed early. So far so good.

Now, a speedy dish washing session! Between washing dishes and taking baths, I do love my bubbles!