Thursday, February 6, 2014

Chicken or Turkey?

Christi took the boys to the regional science fair after school today.  Both boys made it through the individual school round and had the chance to present their projects at Utah Valley University.  Good job, guys!  Christi volunteered as one of the judges for the fair.  Just before they left, a good friend called and offered her free tickets to the BYU game.  Since they were already going to be in the area, they snapped them right up.  So here it is, 11:32 pm.  I had the rest of the kids all evening by myself.  I am bleary eyed and exhausted and wondering how in the world Christi did this the entire week of my national meeting in January!

I got ambitious and made turkey barley soup and cornbread (mix with water variety) for dinner.  And when we make soup around here, we don't go little.  I started out with 32 cups of water and went from there!  Now this is a favorite recipe from my childhood.  My mom would always make it with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.  I loved it.  When I made it last Thanksgiving, our kids loved it, too:).  Then I got to thinking, "Why not make it more than once a year?"  We don't very often have leftover Turkey, but we often have leftover chicken.  So I decided to make turkey barley soup with chicken.  Christi mocks me for this.  Not for making it, but for continuing to call it turkey barley soup.  She insists I should call it chicken barley soup.  Or chicken soup.  Or barley soup.  But not turkey barley soup.  OK, so she obviously has a point.  But how much difference is there between turkey meat and chicken meat anyway?  Especially when you put it in a soup?!?  Plus, no matter which meat you use, you season it with chicken bouillon!  So should it really be called turkey barley chicken soup?  Anyway, regardless of what meat is used, the flavor of this particular soup is what I remember and love.  So when I make it, it's still turkey barley soup.  If Christi wants to make it, she can call it whatever she wants:)

Tonight Graci came in as I was cutting up the vegetables.  "What are you making?" she asked.

"Turkey barley soup," I replied.  Her eyes lit up!  (Everyone in the family likes it.)  Then her face clouded over as she thought about what leftovers we likely had in the fridge. 

"Are you using chicken?" 

"Yes." 

"Oh." now with a semi-miserable look on her face. 

"Don't you like it with chicken?"  I asked. 

"No." 

"But you love chicken!" 

"I know.  But sometimes  you like things one way but not another."

I live with seven females and I do not understand a single one of them!

-Jer