Today is the 15th, so we are halfway through the month.  In honor of that, I present my grandmother’s recipe for Albondigas (meatball) Soup, as requested by Renee.

Albondigas Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 Tablespoon rice
1 egg
1 small can tomato sauce
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
1 small onion, sliced
1/4 cup barley
3-4 carrots, sliced
4 small potatoes, cubed
lemon juice

Fill soup pan 3/4 full with water and tomato sauce.  Bring to rapid boil.

While waiting for water to boil, beat egg, add rice and mix with meat.  Form into balls.  When water has reached boiling, add meatballs, onion and Mrs. Dash.  After the meatballs have resurfaced, lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes.  Add barley and simmer an additional 15 minutes.

Bring soup back to boil.  Add carrots.  Continue to cook for 10 minutes, then add potatoes.  Boil (slow) for 20 minutes.

Garnish individual servings with several drops of lemon juice to taste.  (If you add too much lemon juice, mix broth with someone else who hasn’t added lemon yet or return your broth to the pot.)

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I appear to be on the mend. Nobody likes being sick of course, but what I really hate is how some illnesses just linger on. If I’m going to be sick, then fine, I’ll be sick. But when I’m feeling better I want to be better. None of this various symptoms hanging on thing. Today I think I’m actually fine.

Some of the fall-out of mom being sick is that the house falls apart. It not only doesn’t get any neater or cleaner, it actually seems to get worse. So now I’ve got that to contend with, too.

On the good news, we have managed to keep up with school. I don’t get crazed about trying to keep to the schedule I’ve planned, but I try to avoid taking too many days off. We all end up too cranky and it’s frustrating to have to remind the children what we were talking about. “Last time we had school we were talking about the Roman Republic. Do you remember what a republic is?… They don’t have a king…their rulers are…elected…by…the people… Beuler? Beuler?”

Though Pumpkin Girl did manage to work the phrase “crossed the Rubicon” into her conversation the other day. I shouldn’t complain.

So life is getting back to normal, slowly. Our Christmas decorations are coming down and the house is getting back to it’s sanitary, if still cluttered state.

It’s good to be back.

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