BYOC ala Drazil

1. What’s your favorite smell? Definitely the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.


2. What is your all-time favorite movie and why? Its a wonderful life. It just brings back so many great memories from when I was a small child and continuing into adult-hood. Christmas isn't Christmas to me until I see the movie!


3. What’s your trigger food? Anything salty/sweet like chocolate covered pretzels.


4. When someone you love is going through a difficult time – what are your go-to words to make them feel better – in just a sentence or two? What can I do to help?


5. This one is always the same. Who is your nominee for the blog of the week for YOU? Which blog OR comment touched your heart, spoke to you, stuck with you all week? I think it would have to be Catherines for me this week when she was explaining why she decided to not attend a wedding and the feelings associated with her decision.

Spinning out of conrol...help! Let me off this thing!

So, the company is all gone, THANK GOD! Its not their fault, believe me, its all me. I don't know why I do what I do but I always seem to be sabotaging my weight loss efforts. I am starting to get "that feeling". You know the one I mean? The "this isn't going to work for me" feeling? Let me explain:

After my friends left today, I jumped on the scale, up two lbs. and than I hightailed it over to the gym. I walked for 45 minutes and burned 310 calories. Great, right? Wrong! I left the gym and went straight to Burger King! WTF? I had a Jr. Whopper (no mayo or cheese) but really? What was I thinking? According to myfitnesspal.com, the calorie count was 340. So, in this case the calories are not terrible as it keeps me at my daily 1200 level BUT the choice I made just plain SUCKED!

All I keep saying is that I can't wait until I get my fill on Monday but the fill isn't going to change how I think. Hopefully I'll get some restriction but what will stop me from going to BK again, getting a Jr. going home and pureeing it with added ketchup and drinking it with a straw? (Don't worry, I wouldn't really do this but still!) Is this where the "head band" comes in?

I know I am not experiencing anything new from what others have experienced. I have read this same theme in countless other blogs and I always empathized but man, until it happens to me, it really doesn't mean anything! Does this make me a self-centered bitch? I hope not!

I suppose the only saving grace for me right now is that instead of saying "screw it, I'll go back on the wagon tomorrow, I am putting what I did in writing and making the next thing I put in my mouth a good food choice!"

I haven't told my husband what I did yet, maybe later tonight. I just hate seeing the disappointment in his eyes. Maybe he'll read my blog and find out here. Either way he finds out, it is still an improvement over the "old me".

New Bandster Alert!

Janice over at Banded and Blogging is in the final weeks countdown to her banding surgery and will be needing our support! Please give her a visit and cheer her on!

More Company is Coming!

Hotel "Jacquie" is going strong. Carmen and her husband left this morning, I washed sheets and towels, re-made bed, vacuumed, went food shopping and now I am waiting for Lorraine and her husband to get here!

I really do love having company but I wished it wasn't all in a two day period! Plus, I have decided that I do much better eating-wish when it is just Steve and I. We went out to dinner last night and I did not make the best choice...Veal Parm. It was a small piece but it was very salty. On the plus side, I drank 2 more bottles of water when we got home for a total of 6 bottles for the day! We are going to dinner again tonight but we are going to a restaurant that I chose and it makes the best fish taco's. While they give you two, I will just eat one. The fish is grilled and it has lettuce, salsa and some chedder cheese. Delish and light...that's what I need!

Once my morning company left and my chores were done, I ran to the gym and did a 2.5 mile walk on the treadmill. I felt so good as this was my first time back at the gym since before surgery. I am limiting myself to the treadmill, bike and eliptical for now until I see the foot/ankle specialist in June! I have this really strange pain deep in my ankle, went to doctor who sent me to specialist who did MRI and than told me that I have some sort of lesion very deep in the foot/ankle and there is only 1 doctor in FL he feels comfortable sending me to. Thankfully, it is only about 1.5 hours away but he could not see me until June 9 I think. I made the appt. in March! Exercise makes the pain worse so I am trying to baby it as much as I can while still staying active. I think it will result in surgery which is not good but I've got to get it taken cared of because it sucks to have the pain!

This coming Monday I am having my first fill and it cannot come too soon! I am so ready for it and realize, as it is my first fill, I will probably need another one not to long after the first one but still, it will feel like I am going in the right direction! It will be curious to see how much he puts in as I only have a 4 cc band.

Thats it for now!

Company's coming!

Since we moved to Florida, it is usually feast or famine when it comes to our Long Island family and friends visiting with us!

Today a dear friend and her husband are coming to spend the day and night with us. They will be leaving tomorrow afternoon and than another friend and her husband will be coming tomorrow night and than leaving the next day! I have told my one friend about the band but not the other one! I really don't see this as an issue considering that I have always been on a "diet" so it will not be a shock to anyone that I am watching what goes in my mouth!

Which brings me to my problem of the day! I weighed myself today and I am up 2.5 lbs.!!! WTF? From yesterday? This is why you should not weigh yourself everyday boys and girls! The scale is a mean a viscious thing and loves to play with us. Ok, I did have 2 very skinny pieces of that chocolate cake I made for Steves birthday but they were very skinny and one was actually lunch! For dinner I had a very small piece of eggplant parmesan which was probably salty due to the cheese and for breakfast I had the infamous hardboiled egg and cottage cheese. That was it for the day! No, it was not a steller eating day but than again, it was not one of my worst ones either! As Winnie says "oh bother! And yes, it does bother me even though I know the scale cannot be right! But still, I will drink even more water today!

Is this normal? EDITED

I am almost 5 weeks out from surgery and I can eat ANYTHING! I am eating the right portions, 1 cup or less BUT when I tell you I have had no indication that I have a band down there, you can believe it! I have even taken larger bites of something, not intentionally and thought, "yup, this is it, I am going to regret that one" and NOTHING!

I had a few "traffic jam" incidents early on but nothing in the last week or so. Is this because all my swelling is gone and thus, the restriction that I had is gone? Next Monday is my first fill....please tell me I will get some restriction from it!

****Edited at 10:30****
I have to learn to be careful what I wish for...I just ate a hardboiled egg followed by 1 spoonful of cottage cheese and BAM! Jammed up for sure! Ouch! So, I guess I really do have a band after all, huh?

BYOC - Better late than never!

1. Name a career you would NOT want to do and tell why?

I could never be a Phlebotomist. I hate the site of other peoples blood and the thought of sticking a needle into someone makes me queezy.

2.Best present you ever received for your birthday.It would have to be the diamond tennis bracelet my husband bought me for. Un until that point, I had always given him hints of what to get for me and that year he didn't listen to me (thank God!) and ended up totally surprising me!


3.What do you hide behind? I think its my sense of humor and always trying to see the good in people.

4.Where were you born? I was on Long Island, New York.

5. Which comment affected you greatly? There are too many for me to even think about picking one. Sorry!

Saturday, at the Beach!

Ok, so I am working and looking at the beach...almost like being there! Very quiet today in real estate land. I have a million things to do at home but what can you do, right?

Today is also exactly 1 month since I was banded! I cannot believe how fast it went. I am down 11+ lbs and I am really starting to believe that this will work for me. Lets face it, I cannot remember ever losing this much weight in a month with very little effort! I was healing and not doing much exercise except walking and thankfully, I have had some restriction since the swelling went down. My husband said I am easilly eating less than half of what I normally ate and he is so proud of me. I love that man!

Tomorrow is my husbands birthday and I will be making 1/2 of a very moist chocolate layer cake with chocolate icing. I'm laughing to myself because I never would have made 1/2 of a cake before! I am having another couple for dinner and if there are leftovers of the cake which I think there will be, I will send it home with them except for a little piece for Steve. I'm also making a pan of Eggplant Parmesan which is his favorite, and a salad. I know now that I can easily eat just about anything but I can eat much less of it. I am really curious to see how my fill next Monday will effect the different foods I can eat.



I did another 4+ mile walk with my little Brutus yesterday morning and today when I was leaving for work I swear I heard him breathe a sigh of relief that I was leaving and would not be taking him with me! Little bum! I am hopefully going to get in a long walk with both the pupster and the hubster tonight after dinner.

I had a nice NSV this morning when I was getting dressed. I picked up a pair of Capris that I haven't worn in a long time and put them on when I was still a little damp from my shower and lo and behold, they went up with just a smidge of resistance! I was very pleased with that one. I have a whole closetfull of clothes, some still with tags that I was going to wear when I lost weight, well, now I will start weighing them, right? The only thing I may have to buy are shirts as all of my shirts are XL or bigger. I always lose weight on top first and than usually stop dieting before it hits my hips and butt! Not this time baby...

Ciao for now!

4 Weeks = 10.2 lbs. Gone!

I am so excited! Jumped on the scale this morning and was greeted with a 10.2 lb. loss for my 4 week total weight loss! WooHoo!!! I was getting so depressed as I lost weight immediately after surgery and than gained some back and than nothing...zippo! Yesterday was the first day I saw a loss and today was another one. Wednesday is my weigh-in day so I have changed my ticker to refect my new weight!

So, I have rewarded myself with a new Dooney & Bourke bag. It was a Mothers Day special and comes with a free cosmetic case. Heres how I justified the expense: I figured with Mothers Day coming, I'll tell the kiddies that this is what they bought me and the rest will be my gift to myself for my first month of being banded. Pretty good, huh? I hope Steve see's things the same way :)

This is the bag that I bought except mine is in navy and the cosmetic bag is in tan.

Genise...come here please!

I just tried to comment on your blog and I think your comments are turned off as I could not leave a comment.

I feel good!

I went for a 4.2 mile walk this morning with Brutus and I feel great!

As I was walking, all of a sudden I heard the "sonic boom" of the space shuttle re-entering the earths atmosphere! How cool was that? Than, I saw the shuttle with its long plume of smoke heading towards Cape Canaveral. I am always very thankful when they take off and land safely, that's for sure.

Ok, getting back to me....as much as I hate exercising, I always feel so much better when I am done with it! When I go to the gym, I drag myself in and skip out, no matter how hard the work-out is. On the scale front, I was down 1.4 lbs today! Yay! Finally, those are the 1.4 lbs. I brought home with me from New York last week. I am PMS'ing too so I am hopeful that once that is out of the way, I will see some more movement on the scale. I also think that the planning and cooking of my meals is a huge help. Going out to dinner is always nice but not so nice when it comes to the scale!

I have my first fill coming up on 5/3 which is a week from Monday and I don't have to tell you how much I am looking forward to that! I am going to Dr. Domkowski who is Stephanies Doc and she highly recommends him! I was originally scheduled to go to Fill Centers USA for my after-care but went back and forth between them and the doctor. When I cancelled the Fill Center 2.5 weeks ahead, they charged me $35 for a cancellation fee! Turns out that it was in the email at the bottom so I can't fight it but did you ever? Granted, most docs or dentist will charge if you cancel within 24-48 hours but 2 plus weeks? What a racket. This proves that I made the right decision to go with Dr. Domkowski thats for sure!

Still Can't Comment Gen

New Bandster needs our support

Stevie over at "hellobandy" is a new bandster and was banded on March 2, 2010. She and I were both part of the Spring into March 2010 Bandsters thread on Lapbandtalk.com.

She is new to bloging and can use our support!

Gen!!! Come here please!!!

Your blog looks great but I've tried to comment on it 2 times and its not working!

From one BOOB to another....

I am a little discouraged with the lack of movement on my scale :( I know I am eating way less than before the band but I have to admit, with no restriction and not measuring, I am sure its not as little as I think. I am using a little plate and bowl as a guide but not physically measuring and weighing. Not only have I started that today, I am also logging EVERYTHING that is going into my mouth on www.myfitnesspal.com.

We have also been eating out way to much with friends and again, I am not eating as much but I'm not preparing the food myself so I'm sure thats another part of the problem. I've started upping my walking regime and once I am 4 weeks from surgery (this wednesday) I will be heading back to the gym. I have to remember though that I am still healing and feeling quite a bit of swelling in my port area. It still feels to be the size of a half of an orange, maybe a little smaller than the other day. I am in the office this morning and than have to go show a house this afternoon but once I get home, Brutus and I will be back to Walking Away Those Pounds!

So, almost 4 weeks from surgery and I am down 8 lbs. I know that I should feel good about this as it looks like its 2 lbs per week but its all from week one! Nothing lost these past two weeks! I am so looking forward to my fill on 5/5 as I feel like I have NO restriction whats-so-ever! Every now and then I find if I am eatting too fast, I get a "traffic jam" feeling but then it passes.

Oh well, back to work for a few more minutes before I have to run home and eat my lunch before going to show a house!

Ciao for now!

Walking the pounds away with Brutus and Leslie!

Oh. My. God. I just had the funniest workout ever! I decided to put in a Leslie Sansone tape instead of doing my usual walking outside. Brutus is my dog and when he saw I went into my "octagon" room, he took his usual place on the chaise while I set up the DVD player. I had originally planned on doing a one mile walk but ended up doing the full two mile walk instead as that is what Brutus wanted.

He was killing me because one, he watches TV - I swear to God he does! and everytime I would clap, he would bark! When I stopped after the one mile walk he jumped off the chaise and started barking at me. Leslie was into the two mile walk and I really didn't know what he was barking for but whatever, I started to do more walking and he would BARK every time I clapped! Anyway, I'm sure I am the only one amused by this but the point is, I ended up doing two miles instead of one. I would have probably done the third mile if I had put in the three mile walk instead of the two mile. Its probably just as well as I worked up quite a sweat with what I did!

We are off to the nursery to buy a few pony-tail palm trees that I've been wanting to put in these two big pots I bought over the winter for the front of my house. I am just waiting for a brownie cheesecake to come out of the oven that I am bringing to a friends house tonight. My husband Steve is a skinny bean pole and loves his desserts (he only eats 2 chocolate chip cookies as a dessert mind you, I guess thats why he is skinny, no?) and when I asked him what he wanted, he said brownies. I said I wanted to bring something a little fancier and he said, cheesecake? I said fine. When I went to look up my Ina Garten recipe that I make, I saw Ina's brownie cheesecake! I am going to surprise him with both of his requested desserts in one! I am a genious!

Ciao' for now!

BYOC

1. If you ever won the lottery what's the very first thing you would do? Buy my daughters a house IN FLORIDA! I miss them sooooo much!


2. What is your favorite curse word? Oh, definitely the F bomb!


3. What is your favorite holiday and why? Christmas without a doubt! I love baking, shopping and cooking for family. I still get excited going to sleep on Christmas eve.


4. What turns you on? My husband will gently rub my lower back and that does it for me!

5. What blog spoke to you this week? As usual Amanda's blog and also Amy W. had a great one this week!

A little bit of this and a little bit of that....

So I am debating if I should go to the doctor earlier than my planned 5/5 visit. When I called to make an appointment when I got back from Mexico, they said unless I had a problem that I should come in for my first appointment when I was ready for my first fill which will be 5/5. I have healed beautifully but I am still having soreness and swelling in my port area. I am 3 weeks out from surgery. When I press my hand over it, it feels like 1/2 of an orange. Is this normal? It does not hurt, it is just a little sore and swollen. What do you guys think?

Yesterday, I got back on track with my eating and exercising and this morning the scale was the same as yesterday. I know, I should not be expecting the pounds to start melting just because I walked 2 miles and ate healthy for 1 day but a girl can hope. I have my eating all planned out for today and should be able to get in another 2 mile walk if all goes as planned.

We are going to a friends house for dinner/noshies tonight and I am still debating on what to bring. I am still on mushy foods so I'm a little stumped on what dish to make. I'm not sure a bowl of mashed potatoes will go over big at a cocktails and noshie get-together but maybe I will start a new trend. Actually, I am thinking about making a spinach bread that everyone loves. The filling is basically spinach, ricotta, mozzerella, provolone and egg. I can easily eat the filling and not the dough outside so I will probably go with that so that at least I know I can eat someting.

Thanks for all the wedding dilemma responses from yesterday. I actually feel better since venting. The last thing I will allow my ex to do is take away any of my excitement and happiness for my daughters wedding. I am married to the greatest guy in the world and have two beautiful daughters....everything else is secondary!

Ciao for now!

Houston....We have a dress!

Gorgeous! Thats what I kept saying with each dress she tried on, but when she put this one on...we knew it was THE ONE!

This is my younger daughter Jordan modeling "the Veil"...Jordan is not a girly girl and this picture confirmed that we may be getting her wedding attire some day from the neighborhood Harley Davidson Dealer!


I got back from my NY trip and had such a good time with my daughters and the rest of the relatives! What a relief to have gotten a dress picked out so early! Mallory is getting married next March but I can see how fast the time is going already! It makes me want to start losing this weight I got the Lap-Band for, huh?

As great as my trip was, the scale was not my friend. I am up 1.4 lbs since last Wednesday! I still don't understand how this is even possible as I am eating so much less food! I have 3 more weeks until my first fill. Will I make it until then? I am getting so discouraged after losing 10 lbs from surgery and now I'm gaining? May 5 cannot come fast enough!

Mal's wedding is bringing up so many emotions, not the least of which is that I will have to deal with my childrens father who has been less than a steller father to his two beautiful daughters. I don't know where my girls get their forgiveness genes from because it is not from me when it comes to him! Yes, I get the whole "he is the only father I have" thing but what I don't get is giving him all the priviledges and honors that are usually given to deserving fathers! Its making me nuts actually and I have to just "let it go", right?

The wife of their father is another issue for me. First of all, she is the ex-wife of my ex's best friend...are you following this? Very Jerry Springer to be sure! Anyway, she is also the stepmother that Disney used as a model in the Cinderella movie. She is so jealous of my daughters and has never even tried to act like she likes my girls! It will take everything I have not to spit in her face when I see her. So much has happened with that one....instead of things getting better with time, they get worse where she is concerned. I have to get this out here so that hopefully, when the time comes, I will be able to control myself with her and HIM! Enough about those two.

It was great spending time with my mother also while I was visiting in NY. I'm trying to get her to come for an extended visit to my home in FL but so far, she isn't buying it. She only comes for a few days at a time when I really wish both her and my step-dad would come for a longer period in the winter. We have a great "mother-in-law" suite that everyone loves because its actually separate from our house. Total privacy so it doesn't feel like you are staying with us. I'm not giving up on that!

I have so much blog catching up to do and can't wait to have a couple hours tonight to go through all that I've missed!

For now though, I better get ready for work....we have a wedding to pay for you know!

Ciao!

I'm off to NY tomorrow!

I am so excited that I will be spending the next five days with my girls wedding dress shopping and shopping and maybe more shopping. Notice how I didn't say eating? I have to be so diligent when I go back to NY. Its so easy to justify things like: I have to have a NY bagel! You can't get them in Florida, and how about pizza, oh yea, you can't find good pizza in Fl either! The sad thing is that right now, although I am only on mushies, I could probably eat all of the above!

I feel so out of sorts with how I am feeling. While I feel like I can eat anything, I am definitely getting filled up on much, much less than pre-band. I was picking a lot yesterday while I was making dishes for a bbq we had last night, not good. When dinner came, I mushed up a hamburger really fine and ate about 1/4 of it, if that much. Don't worry, a very small piece of cheesecake went right down! WTH is wrong with me?

Today I was much more in control of my eating so at least that went ok for me. I am still having a soreness/swelling issue by my port area...is that normal? Its not really painful, just sore. I think it feels like its sticking out more but maybe its because the rest of my stomach swelling has gone down and just not the port site. Is that possible?

Anyway, please wish me luck with keeping my eating in check while back in NY. I am really focusing on spending quality time with my daughters and not focusing on the food! I'll try to check in on the blogs while I'm gone but not sure if I will be commenting as its difficult on my Blackberry! I will be sure to catch up when I get back next week!

Ciao!

I ate way too much!

What the hell is wrong with me? I have been 100% on track until tonight. I knew I was hungry when I got home from work and I had seconds of Turkey Sheppards Pie. Yes, it was seconds in my little bowl but it was still seconds. Than, I ate 2 chocolate chip cookies (yes Stephen, you heard me) and THEN I ate a sugar-free chocolate pudding cup with fat-free whipped cream and a cup of tea!

Tomorrow marks my two week mark from surgery...can't wait to get on the scale! Can i safely assume I have been inducted into Bandster Hell? Man oh man. I have not even had an appetite and than THIS! My stomach feels like its going to burst and I have a dull ache on the left side of my chest. It feels like there is a baby elephant sitting on my chest too.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Super Sunny Springy Saturday!

I am giving DH another 30 minutes to get out of bed and get moving with me! We are off this morning to finish looking for my Parsley and Rosemary for my herb "garden". It seems like there has been a run on these herbs and no one in town has them in stock! I have two huge planters that I will be using to grow my Basil, Parsley, Rosemary, Oregano and Thyme. I am so excited about this. Last year was the first year I grew anything and it was only Basil and Parsley. I'm "branching out" this year, if you will! I feel like Ina or Paula when I go out to clip my fresh herbs!

Has anyone bought and used those Topsy Turvy Tomato Gardens? They look so cool and I would love to try them but DH tells me he's heard that they do not produce much, if anything. I ask him how he knows and he said 'I read it somewhere'.

I love to cook for my family and I am determined to keep all my cooking as flavorful as possible while cutting calories where ever I can. While I will continue to make family favorites, I will try to lighten them up where ever I can and add new dishes to the mix. My Husbands absolute favorite dish is Eggplant Parmesan and until recently, I would bread and fry the Eggplant. A while ago, I started baking it and you know what? Its just as good! I still bread it but I put it on a baking sheet and spritz it with Olive Oil and bake. No difference in taste and yet, it wasn't fried in oil.

Later on today I will be making my little Cherry Cheese Cake Tartletts that I am bringing to my Dads tomorrow for Easter. I am going to make them with Splenda and low-fat cream cheese and I plan on tasting a little of it tomorrow as my dessert. I make them in a cupcake liner and use a low-fat Nilla Wafer as the crust. I leave the cherries off so that others can either put it on or not. I probably will just eat a little of the filling for my dessert.

I'm off to take my Brutus for his walk! Have a great Saturday everyone!

Now I understand why pasta is not so good with the band!

I was craving spaghetti with oil and garlic for dinner. Two problems with this: 1) I am on liquids, not mushies and 2) spaghetti in the Magic Bullet = Cement! After eating only 3 or 4 baby spoonfuls, I experienced what I would descibe as a "clog". It was very uncomfortable for about 10 minutes than I was ok. I had a tightness in my chest with a little pain in my left shoulder. Tomorrow I will be back to my full liquids, following doctors orders, where I know I will stay out of trouble! I suppose sometimes the Doctor knows what he's talking about, huh?

Today was the first day since my surgery that I was actually hungry. Stupid me picked a winner first time out. Hopefully, I will be able to use this as a learning experience.

BYOC

1. If you could be a Superhero (like Gilly) - what would you be called or what would your powers be? I'm stumped on this one...sorry.


2. Name one physical thing you love about you and one mental thing you love about you. I love my hair...its thick and wavy and straightens very easily! I also love the fact that when I start losing some, hopefully it won't be too noticible! I am very honest with my feelings and I always look for the best in people.


3. If you stood in front of God (or whatever Supreme Being you may believe in) - what question would you ask him? I would ask him "Why Stepanie and why so young?" (my niece, diagnosed with cancer at 14 and died at 20)


4. Besides yourself - who was/is your biggest enabler in your weight loss journey?
I'm not sure what this question is asking. If its who supports me most in the journey, without a doubt its my husband Steve. If the question who enabled me in getting fat? No one but me! I will take all the credit for that one because as always, I am the one holding the fork!

5. What do you do for a living (another reader request question)? After 23 years in Human Resources, I changed careers and became a Realtor! I love it but its so hard sometimes because I become a "mother" to some of my customers and I've actually tried to talk them out of buying a home! Yea, I'm a realtor with a conscience!

6. Whose blog hit home for you this week or whose blog made you think the most this week? Definitely Amandas.

Peeps, Peeps, Everywhere!

First, to the human variety, A HUGE THANK YOU! I have 70 "Peeps", who woulda thunk it!

Second, to the marshmellow/sugary/melt-in-your-mouth variety....they are everywhere. No matter what store I go in, their little black eyes are following me! This is the first year in FOREVER that a Peep has not even come close to entering my mouth! My doctor, bless his heart, sent out a newsletter with the nutritional value of some Easter fav's, let me share:

5 Peeps, 160 Cal., 0 Fat, 40 Carbs., 1 Protein, 0 fiber;
1 Cadbury Creme Egg, 170 Cal, 6 Fat, 28 Carbs., 2 Protein, 0 fiber;
14 Jelly Beans, 150 Cal., 0 Fat, 37 Carb., 0 Protein, 1 fiber;
1 Peanut Butter Egg, 90 Cal., 5 Fat, 9 Carb., 2 Protein, 0 fiber;

So, there you have it my little Peeps, if we do not eat them, we too can be "Little Peeps".

"Catherines" Curried Zucchini Soup

CURRIED ZUCCHINI SOUP
From "Smith & Hawken: The Gardeners' Community Cookbook" by Victoria Wise


Serves 6


2 tablespoons margarine (I used olive oil)
2 pounds zucchini, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (I used a mixture of 1/2 & 1/2 and skim milk)

I added a little parmesan cheese to my cup and it was perfect! Also, I was never a fan of curry but this really was very good. You can cut down on the curry if you'd like and I am sure it would still be great!



1. Melt the margarine in a large, heavy soup pot. Stir in the zucchini, onion, and garlic and sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of the broth. Remove from the heat and cool enough to handle.
2. Purée the mixture in a food processor or through a food mill and return to the pot. Stir in remaining 2 cups of broth and the milk. Reheat over medium heat without boiling, then serve.