I've been MIA (and tomato soup!!!)

I've been MIA since before the holidays. This is not wholly intentional, but it is not wholly unintentional. I was busy with holiday stuff, like everyone else. Then I'd planned to write a thoughtful New Year oriented post, and it went downhill from there. The new year is a naturally introspective time where people take stock of the past year's accomplishments and failures, and usually resolve to do things both achievable and impossible as a part of the next year's plan. I'm constantly reassessing my life anyway, so new years just brings this into my normal focus for everyone else. I'm also experiencing job unhappiness, so thoughts turn to the "what if", and "how am I going to" as far as deciding what I'm going to do when I grow up. I have the job I always wanted, and now I want a new one. It isn't as easy to plan what the next job will be when I'm not even sure what I'm qualified to do besides send people to jail. All of this usual new year introspectiveness was coupled with the rapid decline and departure of one of my best friend's dad. It was shocking, it was sad, and it forced us all to examine our own mortality. I've had 3 friends lost a parent in the last 2 years. In my mind, our parents shouldn't be dying yet....but then again I still think I'm 23! More good people always die than bad people. I have more than enough bad people I could nominate to take good people's places....

All of this added to a mental state not quite ready to make a public new years resolution.....but if I don't do it soon, I'll be out of time!!!

I feel I should note that these are substantially similar to the resolutions made for 2007. Progress has been made in many areas, but there is always room for improvement.

New Years Resolution 2008

1. Get my marathon time down to a flat 4 hours. (I was pretty close at the Pig 2007/Nike Women's half 2007). To accomplish this goal, however, I will need cooperation from the weather, and perhaps a flatter course. If I'm ever going to qualify for Boston before having kids, the time is now to get faster.

2. Not only eat healthier, but eat more local foods. This is in part a reaction to reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle . See previous review. Eating locally in Cincinnati is not going to be as easy as I'd hoped, and as easy as it would be in my hometown, but I love fresh fruit so much that it is worth the effort. I am hoping I can convince Santa's Little Helper to head to Findlay Market and local farms with me.

3. Get fit enough for the test. Nuff said.

4. Worry less about things that cannot be changed. And things that do not matter that much. This should lead to other benefits, like sleeping better, angsting less about work, and Santa's Little Helper also being happier.

I'd like to say that save more money should be on here, but it is not a realistic goal for a girl who is in a wedding, has to throw a shower, wants to join a gym, needs to buy a more reliable car, and works in a profession that doesn't give raises resulting in perpetually smaller paychecks as health care costs (amongst others) go up.

All of this introspectiveness inspired a homey meal of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Not entirely sure why, but we always eat soup when people are sick or die. It seems to make people feel comforted at the very least. Props to Cooking Light for this recipe. It was easy enough to whip up on a cold Sunday morning, but fun enough that Santa's Little Helper wanted to help blend it all up. The soup received our seal of approval.

Ingredients
1 cup less-sodium beef broth

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 cup coarsely chopped onion

5 garlic cloves

2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained

Cooking spray

3/4 cup half-and-half

Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 500°.
Combine 1/2 cup of broth, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Place onion, garlic, and tomatoes in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Pour broth mixture over tomato mixture. Bake at 500° for 50 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned.
Place tomato mixture in a blender. Add remaining 1/2 cup broth and half-and-half, and process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids. Garnish with cracked black pepper, if desired.