I admit I love snow. If you’ve never walked on a fresh blanket of snow, heard it crunch under your boots and experienced the absolute silence of the world around you, you won’t understand, but it is glorious. I love knowing that the natural world is asleep under that immaculate coverlet.
I love trying to catch a snowflake on my tongue, or staring in wonder at each tiny design, knowing snowflakes are all slightly different, just like us. This little town of Harmony looks like a winter movie set in the evening snow. I love walking here.
But, I also know the absolute hell of trying to drive in a blinding snowstorm when you can’t see five feet in front of you, and there’s probably a sheet of ice beneath your tires, so I’m not totally out of touch. I’m praying this winter’s snow has the decency to only come on weekends when fewer people work.
Last weekend, we got what seemed like ten feet of snow, but they say it was only eight to ten inches. I shoveled snow three times to make sure Topper could get outside to do his business since the snow was deeper than he is tall. I had to make sure I didn’t slip and die carrying him down the stairs because then who would take care of him?
I was forced to silently steal my neighbor’s plastic orange snow shovel, since I didn’t buy one myself. His shovel cracked a little more with every swipe. Then my Catholic guilt weighed in and forced me to clean off his stairs and porch too since I WAS using his shovel. It was quite the workout at 9 p.m., 5:30 a.m., and12:00 noon. Another joy of having a geriatric dog.
I’m sure that in another two weeks, I’ll be sick of it, but for now, I’m still enjoying it…until it falls on a weekday and I alternate between cussing and praying as I drive to work.
It’s also a good excuse to make delicious Escarole Soup with Tiny Meatballs. If you’re stuck in snow or experiencing a cold snap in Florida or So. Cal, try this soup. You can substitute vegan meatballs for the beef and pork and I’ll bet it would be just as good.
It’s kind of great hunkering down, making soup and having an excuse to drink hot tea with lemon, honey and Rock and Rye (with choice fruits) knowing you can now take care of all the stuff you’ve put off for days/weeks/months because you have nothing else to do.
I light candles, eat a quiet dinner (as Mom’s light-up Jesus peacefully takes it all in) and just enjoy looking out the window. I hope you take a moment to do the same. Stay warm!
As always, if you’re not a follower of my blog, please look at the top right of your computer screen, or scroll to the bottom on your phone and you’ll see where you can follow. I need all the followers I can get, so please follow, like, tell your friends, or re-post this blog. Thank you so much!
Escarole Soup with Tiny Meatballs (from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian by Jeff Smith)
(I know Jeff Smith was accused of very bad things when he was alive, but this recipe is delicious and, as Jesus famously said, “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.)Also, my meatballs were not so very tiny.
AuthorFran TunnoMix the milk and bread crumbs together in a small bowl and allow to soak for five minutes. Combine the remaining ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl along with the soaked bread crumbs. Mix together very well with your hands.
Form tablespoon (or teaspoon-size balls, if you like them smaller) with the meat mixture and place them on a sheet pan. Keep your hands a little moist with cold water to prevent the meatballs from sticking to your hands.
Heat a 4 to 6 quart pot and add the two tablespoons of oil and the sliced garlic. Saute for 30 seconds, being sure not to burn the garlic. Add the escarole and saute for five minutes, or until it collapses. Be careful not to burn the escarole.
Add the chicken stock and simmer gently, covered, for thirty minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Carefully drop the meatballs into the simmering soup, but do not stir.
After two minutes, when the meatballs have held their form, carefully stir the meatballs and poach them for another six to seven minutes, but do not boil the soup heavily. Serve in shallow bowls with lots of grated cheese. I love using Gruyere, but Parmesan works too.
Just a note: This recipe makes a lot of meatballs, so I usually freeze some for the next batch of soup I want to make.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the milk and bread crumbs together in a small bowl and allow to soak for five minutes. Combine the remaining ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl along with the soaked bread crumbs. Mix together very well with your hands.
Form tablespoon (or teaspoon-size balls, if you like them smaller) with the meat mixture and place them on a sheet pan. Keep your hands a little moist with cold water to prevent the meatballs from sticking to your hands.
Heat a 4 to 6 quart pot and add the two tablespoons of oil and the sliced garlic. Saute for 30 seconds, being sure not to burn the garlic. Add the escarole and saute for five minutes, or until it collapses. Be careful not to burn the escarole.
Add the chicken stock and simmer gently, covered, for thirty minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Carefully drop the meatballs into the simmering soup, but do not stir.
After two minutes, when the meatballs have held their form, carefully stir the meatballs and poach them for another six to seven minutes, but do not boil the soup heavily. Serve in shallow bowls with lots of grated cheese. I love using Gruyere, but Parmesan works too.
Just a note: This recipe makes a lot of meatballs, so I usually freeze some for the next batch of soup I want to make.
4 Comments
lafriday
January 24, 2022 at 9:18 pmI love snow—as long as it melts enough by the time I have to drive somewhere. But this is your first winter back home and you are allowed to still love it. Talk to me once you have an entire driveway to shovel and are a few years older. We still have snow on the ground down here, but it sure beats six-foot high berms in Idaho.
Fran Tunno
January 25, 2022 at 1:54 pmI had to drive home in it last night, which was rather treacherous, then sweep the front and back of my house so Topper could get out, so my love wanes on the weeknights. But it sure is beautiful!
Chas Madonio
January 24, 2022 at 1:02 pmSounds a lot like wedding soup – and sounds delicious. I agree about snow – even a my advanced age, I still love snow. Not crazy about the accompanying cold, but there’s nothing more beautiful than fresh fallen snow. I though after all those years in So Cal you’d never want to see snow again. But I guess once you appreciate its beauty, you never loose that appreciation. Enjoy the rest of winter.
Fran Tunno
January 25, 2022 at 1:58 pmThanks Chaz. Actually living in So Cal really makes you appreciate weather of any kind because it’s always the same in LA. In spring the weather is: “Morning low clouds and fog, followed by sunny skies with a high today of 65 downtown, 75 in the valleys and 55 at the beaches.” In summer it’s: “Sunny skies today with a high of 80 downtown, 90 in the valleys and 70 at the beach.” I still have it memorized after 12 years on the radio. Change is good! Happy New Year! I hope you, Nancy and the family had a wonderful Christmas!