Fresco Tomato and Basil Bisque

I got this recipe from a coworker and it's delicious! I love creamy tomato soups but have never made one fresh before. I highly recommend this recipe, obviously.

1/4 c butter
1 T salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 1/2 c chopped onions
2 c milk or cream (I used fat free half-and-half)
2-3 cloves of garlic minced/pressed
1 pinch red pepper flakes
4 c trimmed and cut tomatoes (or 2 cans of diced tomatoes)
1 1/2 T sugar
3 T uncooked rice
2 c water or chicken broth (I used broth)
1/4-1/2 c fresh chopped basil

In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute the onions. Add the garlic and the red pepper, saute for one minute. Add tomatoes, sugar, rice, and water/broth. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add basil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Puree this whole mixture in a blender or food processor (unless your machines are huge, I suggest doing this half at a time to save yourself the explosion and kitchen cleaning I may have gone through). Return blended soup to the saucepan. Add warm milk, salt, and pepper. Simmer 2-3 minutes and serve with toasted bread and parmesan cheese, veggie sandwiches, or eat it by itself! It serves probably 6-8, we had a lot left over.

Yoga

P.E. is the bain of my teaching week, I am bad at it and it is awful for me and the kids.  This week P.E. was wonderful.  I bought an app for my student's ipod touches called Pocket Yoga and let them play with it during P.E.  It was just one of the cutest things to watch them all, they have few inhibitions and if it's on their ipods they love it.  I felt like it was good enough for P.E. when some of my "tough" little athletic boys were saying it was hard.  I think we'll be doing some more yoga for P.E. this year.

Skiing, Quilting, and Reading

Over Human Rights Day, Stephen and I went up to Logan for the ole' annual Champlin family cross country ski.  We've had better snow in the past and it's always sad that Spencer isn't with us (mission) but it was fun nonetheless.

Then a couple of weeks later, Stephen came home with passes to the Park City resort from work and we got to spend the most BEAUTIFUL Saturday imaginable on the slopes.  After several years hiatus from downhill skiing I was quite pleased that I could keep up with Stephen and it was fun and not painful.  Stephen took this picture with the not-so-great camera phone but I thought it was kind of cool.

I've also started a new project that I am in love with...

Anywhere you see carpet in the middle will be gray and then I'll have some boarders and it'll be beautiful!  I will post pictures in the coming years when I finish it.  I got this far and haven't touched it because I'm reading the Hunger Games series and I am so roped into them.  I am just starting the third book so the end is in sight!