she did it again.

you know me. oh how i love to use up random ingredients in the kitchen to create a new meal for the week. (and this will be perfect to freeze for post-baby nights.) it's so satisfying. well, looking through the leftovers today that i wanted to get rid of, here's what i decided to use:

lentils
bacon
parsnips, carrots, celery
shallots, leeks
fresh thyme, basil, tarragon
garlic
chicken, beef, and vegetable stock
bread
chickpeas

i went to the store and bought some more beans; navy and kidney. since i wanted to throw this together quickly, i bought canned. dried are much cheaper though.

i threw together a soup really fast with all of these ingredients. it's on the stove simmering for awhile yet (the longer, the more the flavors will merry and get happy and have children), but i can't wait to eat it. i'll make some croutons with the bread that is almost stale and throw those in that the end. yum!

chris is pretty dern excited about his sabbatical coming up at the end of this year. four weeks paid vacation. woo hoo! he's hoping to attach it to his two week's off for christmas, which will = SIX weeks paid vacation! he's really counting down the work weeks he has left. in the mean time, there's been lots of talk about how we're going to turn off our heat for the winter and use up our log pile in the backyard. we've cut down 9 trees (various sizes) in our yard and have collected quite a collection of logs. we're both excited about cooler weather, but he's looking forward to having fires in our fireplace. it makes me excited for hot chocolate and yummy winter comfort foods, like soup.