Sunday Happy Sunday

I love Sundays. They just might be my favorite day of the week. Things just seem sunnier on Sundays. During the school year, Sunday is often my only day off of the week. My Saturdays are frequently taken up during the school year either at school working on sets for an upcoming production or at a speech tournament. I love those Saturdays spent building and painting with my students or at tournaments with my team, don't get me wrong, but there's something about having a whole day that's all yours. Sunday is the day that I sleep in (during the school year, I'm up at 5:30) until 8:00. I'll wake up and watch Meet the Press with my cat Tela happily curled up beside me. (Neither of us is quite sure how we're feeling about Tom Brokaw filling in since the passing of Tim Russert, but we're willing to give him a chance.) Sunday is the day that I make a big breakfast -- whether it's omelettes (which I've finally mastered the creation of) or pancakes or just scrambled eggs. I'll go pick up the Sunday paper and check out the sales at Target. It's a day to run errands during the school year or curl up on the couch and watch old movies during the summer. The past couple weeks, Sundays have included time out working in my yard. Today, my sis and I went out and de-vegged the crop circle and put in a seed blanket so that the crop circle will, in a few weeks time, be full of lovely flowers. Sunday is the night when I often cook a fine dinner feast -- even if it's just putting a good soup in the crockpot (as I've done today -- see the recipe below). (Again, not much serious cooking gets done during the school year because I often don't get home until 6:00 when I'm directing or coaching and am usually too tired to then stand over a hot stove cooking dinner). Sunday nights are often spent getting ready for the week ahead, curling up in bed a little earlier than usual to read. It's a day of endless possibilities. I can understand why God chose it as his day of rest. It's the perfect day to do just that.

As promised, here's the recipe for the soup currently brewing in my crockpot.

Italian Peasant Stew
Ingredients:
Italian Sausage Links (I usually do one link per person. You can use regular Italian sausage, turkey Italian sausage, or Boca makes a really excellent vegetarian "sausage" that's terrific to work with. I do recommend browning the sausage first if it's not precooked)
1 cup of pasta (I like radiatorre) or a couple chopped potatoes (Again, I usually do one potato per person)
1 can of white beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic (depending on how much you love garlic. I always use 2)
1/2 teaspoon basil
2-3 cups of water

Put it all in the crockpot and cook it on low for 4-5 hours. It's great to serve with a tasty crusty bread on the side if you're so inclined. It's also a great recipe to experiment with, adding different things or substituting different things. The pasta is a recent brainstorm I had when I made radiatorre with my usual pasta sauce and commented, "This would be great in soup!")