[2022-12-03] Saturday Synopsis #20
This week's Saturday Synopsis is a mix of inspiration, food and music.
Story of the week: Still capable of serving others
Quilter Luella Hall recently finished a quilt that contained two blocks turned the wrong way. She debated whether to repair the quilt until she learned the story of the woman who would receive it. In a Facebook post, Luella wrote that the woman will soon undergo surgery to have one leg, toes from the other foot, all fingers from one hand and all but one finger of the other hand amputated. When Luella learned of the woman, she says she knew the quilt needed to go to her "exactly as it was." When she presented the quilt to the woman and her husband, she explained that two blocks were oriented differently from the rest of the quilt.
I told them in time it would be the same with the loss of her leg, fingers and toes. It wouldn’t change who she is and the impact she will have on the lives of those who surround her. With all the quilts I have given away, I have never before experienced the feelings I had today. I KNOW her feelings of loss because I lost all use of my left arm 57 years ago and I have learned that I’m still an ok person capable of serving others.
It's inspiring when someone can lose something but still have so much to give.
Quote of the week: Where you start
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."
~ Nido Qubein
Recipe and photo of the week: Vegan broccoli soup
My daughter and I have been looking for recipes that make use of frozen vegetables. In my experience, one of the best ways to use frozen vegetables is in a soup, especially one that is puréed or partially puréed. Enter Vegan Broccoli Soup, which I made this week. It calls for onion, carrot, celery, garlic, fresh or frozen broccoli (I used frozen), and cashews for creaminess and protein. I did add the recommended ⅓ cup of nutritional yeast, but would opt for a smaller amount next time, beginning with 2 tablespoons. I pulsed the soup with an immersion mixer, breaking up the larger pieces of broccoli but leaving a lot of the carrots and other vegetables in chunks. The more we ate it, the more we liked it.
Video of the week: Kneading sticky dough
As I shared in Saturday Synopsis #14, I love this recipe for Light Wheat Rolls. My challenge has been kneading the sticky dough by hand, as I don't have a stand mixer. But this week, I found an excellent video (How to Knead Sticky Dough) that shows how to knead a dough that contains a high liquid-to-flour ratio. The technique worked beautifully and the resulting buns (which I call Swirly Rolls because of their attractive swirl pattern) were my best batch ever. They paired perfectly with the Vegan Broccoli Soup.
Song of the Week: Chapter 4
This week, Spotify released its personalized year-end summaries for listeners, which it calls Spotify Wrapped. It includes the listener's favourite songs, artists and genres. With great fanfare, Spotify informed me that my top song of 2022 was Chapter 4 of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, narrated by Andrew Wincott. According to Spotify, I listened to it 36 times—good thing, since the Wincott version of the audiobook is no longer available on the music service. My second, third and fourth most played songs were also from The Wind in the Willows: chapters 1, 2 and 3. Rounding out my top 5, for a little variety, was Dave's Truck by Stuart McLean, who was my number one artist. Apparently, I spent 14,229 minutes (or 237 hours) listening to Stuart McLean.
Allow me to explain (or defend myself). I've discovered that listening to stories to fall asleep and get back to sleep has an incredible soporific effect. And while I usually set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes, my phone doesn't always stop playing Spotify. Not surprisingly, then, I racked up 114,455 minutes on Spotify this year, which it tells me is more than 98% of Canadians.
I explored 60 different genres this year, with my top 5 being country rock, rock, contemporary country, new americana, and pop. Among the non-storytelling songs that made my top 100 songs in 2022 are these tracks, all released this year: Write You a Song by Hanson, If You Only Knew by Gabriels, Soul Sweet Song by Tedeschi Trucks Band, Dusty Bottles by Willie Nelson, and Late Night Talking by Harry Styles.
