fifty for 50 with one week to go.

...yep, day 366 of my fiftieth year is next friday. and naturally that has me thinking a lot about what I had planned for this year...and what I've actually done. I just revisited my august 9 post with the 100-day plan and almost laughed out loud to think how much has changed in just those few short months.

we did the 2-day walk and raised over $2,500. (more coming on that after we draw the winners for the quilt and coasters next week.)

we celebrated my dad's 75th and sara's 21st birthdays.

and I completed two more needlepoint projects (sshhh...they're a secret!) and learned at least six new stitches.

I did not get to chattanooga to visit martha - but she came to see me last weekend with her two little ones. in no time it seemed like it had been just a few days since we'd seen each other instead of a few months...and I will definitely get up to see her in early 2013 (a few of us from our knitting group are talking a road trip which is good since I don't want to drive by myself!)

nor did I make much progress on the church's prayer shawl ministry beyond forming a committee...and securing a commitment to move forward; I'm thinking now it needs to wait til january.

and I am not taking on any new classes (in fact I stopped working at the shop except to teach the three classes I already have...just not enough time!)

but I started cooking again. three healthy dinners (split pea soup, turkey meatloaf and sara's birthday dinner) and one fabulous dessert. I even used the leftover potatoes from the birthday dinner to make oven roasted potato chips (with blue cheese dip) when my sister came for knitting wednesday night.

I did get the guest room cleaned out (along with the rest of my house!) and katie and I made a start at organizing pre-2003 photos (and now all those photos are neatly stacked in six boxes in my craft room closet...at least they're all in one place!)

...and I finished knitting the 12 charity hats. and remembered to take a photo before I handed them off to lou (she leads our charity knitting at the shop) to take to the homeless shelter.

those hats put a nice dent in my single/double skein stash and I love that they're going to keep twelve heads a little warmer this winter. it's got me wanting to play a more active role with our shop's charity knitting for 2013. we're talking about knitting mother bears for a local children's hospital. fun knitting for a wonderful cause.

and last but not least -  43 more random acts of kindness.  so far I've bought coffee for the people behind me at starbucks, paid tolls for the next car and delivered donuts to the vet. those are certainly fun, but I'd love some other ideas - please share!

fifty for 50. the 100 day plan.

...I knew this year was going to fly by, but I was still caught a bit off guard last week when I uploaded daily photo 257...and realized I'd hit 266 yesterday. that's right. just 100 days left in my 50th year. a few years back I had a boss who was big into "100 day plans" and that idea struck a chord to (re-)focus my efforts on the fifty for 50 list.

as I wrote back in march, flexibility and planning are critical. so is being realistic! I went through the list this morning to see exactly where I was and noted a few more "done":

1. ten projects knit from my stash - they were all cowls and hats, but still...
2. poppies needlepoint (it's off with the finisher now).
3. strength training routine/regular walking - a big change for me this summer; I now regularly attend 4-5 pilates, barre and zumba classes each week, together with walking three days and running two. feels like this is truly an all-around fitness program and I'm seeing results and feeling better (and enjoying it!)
4. manicures - I hit a rough patch after non-stop linen/silk knitting in may and june, but it's better now and I am definitely committed to keeping it up.
5. volunteering at a senior center - holly & I are now helping to facilitate a knitting group at the roswell nursing home on thursday afternoons. (how perfect is that!?!)
6. twitter :-)

then I crossed off or gave myself permission to not finish quite a few. things related to cooking (there were four; I finished one with sara's help; started two others; and have made no more progress since may), cleaning out the guestroom and organizing the pre-2003 photos, reading mere christianity, card-making (meh!) and finishing all my knitting WIPs (I made some progress - it's now only seven projects and they all fit in one small basket :-)

...and that leaves me with a manageable number of big things to complete:

• raising $2,500 (we're nearly halfway) for the 2-day walk...and walking 30 miles.
• revitalizing the prayer shawl ministry.
• celebrations for my dad's 75th birthday and sara's 21st.
• a new lace class in october.
• a trip to chattanooga this fall.
• 45 more random acts of kindness.
• four needlepoint projects (and three new stitches).

these next 100 days are going to be busy. and fun.

wordless wednesday.

the knitting tale of the fourteenth journal.

...no it's not a page turner. and it's definitely not one of my coveted 5 star reads. but when I closed out my fourteenth journal this morning, I was certainly curious.

journal #14 ... the yarn story

back on february 12 when I started it, here's what I wrote:

I hope journal #14 tells a similar story about knitting for others. but maybe not knitting quite so much. and definitely getting back to sweaters. we'll see.

journal #14 ...the project story

today, I tallied the results.

*20 projects - one less than last time
*7 for others - three less...but this time didn't include the rogovin birthday cycle or christmas (but I do have five charity hats in that total - that's good!)
*7 "sweaters"... and I have two on the needles now. I think that slump is definitely behind me.
*9,912 yds = 5.63 mi ~ 1/2 mile more than last time - oops!...but it felt like less.

funny, I knit more yards but it felt like less. and I'm not really sure why (especially because those last few silk/linen projects did a number on my neck/shoulder..and my nails!)  I'd like to think it's balance. I've added a few more things to my schedule (good things, like lunches with katie, and pilates, and more volunteer work) ...but maybe it's really just that the 14th journal took me 146 days, and the 13th was just 131? a two week difference? yeah, I'd believe it. same pace. at a much different time of year. I still need to slow down.

and maybe I will. I started journal 15(!!!!) with a currents list. and of course it didn't fill up the whole page so I added...thoughts about hopes and dreams and all the good things I'll see before I turn 50 in november. know that I'm knitting because I love it. and not just because I don't have anything better to do!

FO friday!

...yep, fully deserving of an exclamation point! this week I finished a sweater and a hat (and all the preparation for tomorrow's double knitting workshop*).

first up the sweater. it's making waves by jamie thomas (aka "imagine knits"). I was thrilled to meet her at stitches south where she debuted the pattern...and get to try on her sample. honestly, if I hadn't tried it on, I doubt I would've knit it since it's very oversized (finished width is about 52"...for the small!). but I did, and I did. and I love it.

raveled here

thank you to my sister karen for the photos!

I knit it as written except that when I blocked it, I tried hard to add length and not width. I succeeded a little; my piece is about 23" long and 50" wide. It's still very oversized and cropped, but it works.

I wore it again today and katie admired it. (she said it would be cute over a bikini...yeah she's still in her 20's!)

katie & mary - lunch at bistro vg

I do, however, think it will be a great layering piece for spring, summer and fall. I chose a gray/green/tan colorway that should look good with more than the white I've paired it with. I picture black and brown and - of course! - jeans. once the temperature dips back below 100 degrees :-)

raveled here (love that these are holly-approved too!)

and the hat. this is the seventh for my fifty for 50 and the second one in this pattern. I have a third planned for july (in the lighter gray but with the double buttons). this is the perfect pattern for my suburban car knitting. simple design, easy to figure out where I am...and light worsted yarn on size 7 needles means even 50 stitches knit from home to the grocery store makes noticeable progress.

*thank you all for your kind comments on yesterday's post - I am happy to report that I now have 30 tiny balls of yarn wound and paired and color copies of all the handouts assembled. in other words, I'm ready!

herb garden 2012.

...yet another sign there are just two of us living here this summer - and many nights it's only me. this year's herb garden fits into a single pot. (last year's did too, but there was a bit more variety.)

oregano, thyme and basil (and purple lantana in the pot behind)

I was glad the thyme and oregano came back, so all I had to do was add basil. and I since I have great plans (see #4 here) to make my own pesto, I planted two.

while I was at it, I also planted purple lantana in the other pots on the deck. and pink and white impatiens in the planters on the front porch and the mailbox.

summer, I'm ready for ya!

peach bread.

...quick bread #5 on my fifty for 50 list.

yeah, not the greatest photo, but the best I could do since I didn't remember to even take one til after I'd sliced and served the bread!

I knew I could count on sara to get me back on track with my baking. my bookmark folder is now packed with scone and muffin and bread recipes. but honestly, I think I might need just this one. it's easy. it's versatile. it's healthy. and it's delicious.

peach bread
inspired by emma christensen on the kitchn, makes one loaf
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup greek yogurt (I'll try a bit less yogurt and a bit more milk next time)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 small peaches, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 2/3 cup)

heat the oven to 350 degrees. coat a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

mix dry ingredients (flour through cinnamon) in a large bowl. in a smaller bowl, stir together the yogurt, milk, egg, butter and oil. add to the dry ingredients and stir gently until the flour is just absorbed. stir in the peaches.

spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and slicing.

...the variation possibilities are endless, and emma lists 10 at the end of the recipe...next, I think I'm going to try a savory version. maybe parmesan rosemary walnut?

rosemary walnut scones.

...quick bread #4 on my fifty for 50 list.

today was the last meeting of my women's circle til the fall and we had a potluck lunch to celebrate. of course I decided to make a quick bread (because no one really wants a "healthy" potluck dish, do they?!). the walnuts in my cupboard were calling out to be combined with rosemary (which is growing in abundance in not one but two mailbox gardens on my street. I feel obligated every so often to snip a twig or two or three just to keep the stuff healthy!) I googled rosemary walnut scones and found a few recipes...and decided to use this one because it called for light sour cream and I wanted to use non-fat greek yogurt.

I tweaked the preparation to follow the food processor technique I learned back in march. as mentioned above I substituted non-fat greek yogurt for the sour cream, and I used two tablespoons of chopped rosemary for all the herbs (including the chives).

the dough was really wet and as I was shaping the rectangle and cutting it I thought "I really should just be making drop biscuits". I only got 12 blobs wedges...in varying sizes...

I checked them about 15 minutes into the baking and worried when I saw lots of bubbling butter on the parchment paper... but no worries, five minutes later the butter was absorbed into the scones, they were nicely browned and done.

put them onto a plate - photographed :-) - covered loosely with foil and set off to the meeting. by the end of the meal, all but one were eaten. they definitely tasted fine. what's not to love about butter, rosemary and walnuts. but I wish the texture had been a bit more...scone-like...(i.e., not so much biscuit-like). and that I was more confident in my baking skills...to know they'd been eaten because they were good, and not just because I made them. my circle is super-nice. and I'm going to lead it next year. does anyone out there know where I'm coming from?!

in any event, the one remaining scone is wrapped and refrigerated. and awaiting sara's expert baking analysis. tomorrow!

try something.

from week 5 (full spread photo below)

...first off, thank you all for your kind words on my project life fail post a few weeks back. it means a lot to me to have friends here who not only have sound advice but also care enough to take the time to share it! I am happy to report that I found my groove. and I now have five weeks documented in a pretty orange album. which means I am - at least for the next 54 hours - caught up!

during the course of one particularly supportive exchange (thank you cynthia!) I decided to share a few thoughts here about my learnings and my process. I'm not sure how many of you even know about project life, but if you're curious or thinking about starting - or even if you're doing it already - I hope you can benefit a bit from the lessons I learned. over many long hours (and a few glasses of wine, thank you lydia!). these past four weeks.

in a nutshell - and in case you really don't care to know about project life :-) because I think these first four points are good for just about anything!

1. it doesn't have to be everything
2. it doesn't have to be perfect
3. don't over-think it
4. and learn how to use your printer!

and now if you want to know more...

I want to start by saying I LOVE this approach to documentation. I have been very good about documenting my life since 2007 - I have photo albums (which actually go back to 2003) and scrapbooks and photobooks and journals. but it's always felt a bit disjointed. or duplicative. like the trips sara and I took to nyc. they're in scrapbooks not photo albums. but the trip we took to mexico is in a photo album and a photobook (ditto a few other trips). and all the "stuff" of my life - tickets, yarn, letters and cards, really anything that's not a photo! - ended up only in my journals. and those journals are only for me (right now). so project life - which is really just a 12x12 album and a bunch of page protectors - appeals. I think I can combine the photo album with the scrapbook with the not-personal part of my journal. I still think I'll do photobooks for "special" events or trips. and I am definitely still keeping my journal. but now many of the bits and pieces I used to put there, will go in my project life album to share. and that album can be as "scrappy" as I feel like making it.

1. I am organizing my spreads by weeks...mostly running sunday to saturday. but the week we went to beaufort I used the left half for sunday to thursday and the right half for beaufort (friday to sunday). sunday mornings are a good time for me to work on project life, so it seemed like having my weeks end on saturdays made sense. we'll see.

2. I've gathered a small collection of supplies (dubbed "my toolkit" below) - pretty papers, adhesive, stickers, pens, inks, a few stamps, markers, my paper trimmer, and the box of project life page protectors - into a plastic bin. I'm hoping I won't get sick of seeing that bin on my kitchen counter, because I do love having everything I need right there!

3. before I started, I downloaded a few journaling and photo template packages from paislee press and this free one from paper peonies. I printed off the preview pages for each package and labeled those to show the filenames. I put those pages and a plastic pocket (to hold this week's "stuff") into a heavy duty folder (dubbed "my helpbook" below). when I want to print off a journaling card, or find a digital element for a photo, it's much quicker for me to page through my folder than to pore through the documents on my computer.

my little workstation - it's on my kitchen counter to the left of my desk

4. during the week, I have a big post-it in that folder to capture the key things. I jot down things there as they occur to me and then I use that post-it to organize my spread, decide the photos to print, etc.

5. I'm mixing up my own handwriting and computer journaling. I really like having both.

6. I haven't made a lot of rules about what I'm including except for:

• one "pretty paper" piece at the beginning of each spread to document the dates covered (with a date stamp) and the highlights (in my handwriting)
• one quotation.
• for each knitting project I cast on, a pattern grab from ravelry, a label and snip from the yarn, and the date.

a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

here are the five weeks I've completed.
you can click on all the photos to see them bigger. and maybe clearer.

week 1 - this is the only week that's just one 12x12 page

week 2 

week 3

week 4

week 5

and a handful of close-up shots to highlight things I especially love about the album.

first, from week 1, a photo that marc texted me (he was tickled to see I'd included it) alongside the postcard (cropped) that accompanies your check at bistro vg. the two-of-us photo from that lunch was not album-worthly, but this card made up for that. you can also see my love of labels. these are the martha stewart ones from michaels.

and now I'm no longer attempting to round corners (whew!), but love the instagram photo I cropped and the paislee press card for the bible verse.

and now from week 2, the format I've settled on to document project cast-ons.

a 6x6 grid.... this is great if you have big "stuff" (that you don't mind cutting - or folding - or combining the two - the left slot has a cut page with a folded page clipped to it)...or if you have instagram photos that are great printed at 3x3, like the slot on the right.

from week 4, a screen shot from my iphone.

redeeming a starbucks reward coupon. I get these about once a month and hope to include them in my album (especially if I order something different...slim chance!) I scanned the coupon and then cropped it to print here...along with the label from my drink and a stamp - this is one of the "scrappier" entries, for sure!

labels on the outside of the page protector for photos that "go together".

from week 5, another journaling card from paislee press and a few of the teabag tags I collected. the tazo awake tag is actually a tag on the card and sticks out of its slot (I love things that stick out like that!)

a view of the weekly summary card (note to self - they probably need to be 4x6 - I don't write small!) and writing on photos with slickwriters (I have 5 colors, but so far only the black and red have appeared here)

again, I welcome any and all input, feedback, questions, etc. and most of all, thank you for all your support!

delight of spring.

first bloom on our rhodie - about two weeks earlier than usual!

She had not known before how much the beginnings and progress of vegetation had delighted her. -- What animation both of body and mind she had derived from watching the advance of that season which cannot, in spite of its capriciousness, be unlovely, and seeing its increasing beauties from the earliest flowers, in the warmest divisions of her aunt's garden...
- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

of course it's no secret how spring delights me. and this passage made me love jane austen all the more.

(yay! I finished the book! another fifty for 50 done!)

10 thoughts about fifty for 50.

...taking a break today from carole's prompt to share an update on my fifty for 50 project. I'd wanted to do this last week since that was close to the one-third done mark (and carole even took a break!), but sara was home, and I had ella to finish...and I just didn't! I did however, thanks to a gentle push from sara "yeah mom, where are you with all those things you wanted to do this year?", post an electronic page here on my blog (with a link on the sidebar) to track my progress.

the paper, as of this morning...

so, with 234 still days to go, here are my top ten thoughts about this project.

1. be flexible. just because something was important to me back in november doesn't mean it still is. other more important things are bound to come up. or even if they don't, it's ok to let something go. I've replaced re-reading the harry potter books with reading seven new-to-me 5-star books (the gargoyle was the first; welcome suggestions on the remaining six!) and I've abandoned the superhero treasure hunts. I'm trying to embrace the idea that doing fifty "right" things is better than doing the fifty things I first documented.

2. actively plan. like those doctor appointments. reviewing the list last week prompted me to schedule the physical (and think about the eye exam :-)

3. loving photo-a-day. I have a set on flickr and a feed on instagram. I think this is definitely a habit to keep.

4. also loving the new routines for a monthly charity hat, healthy recipes and quick breads.

5. still need routines for random acts of kindness, strength training and manicures.

6. not sure when I'm going to knit through those WIPs, but I haven't abandoned the idea!

7. or get back into needlepoint? (or organize the pre-2003 photos or clean out the guest room). see #2 above!

8. starting project life as a way to document. my binder and page protectors arrived yesterday and I have time planned next week to dig in and start.

9. glad there are still 234 days to go.

10. and I need to make each one of them count.

baking bread with sara.

...another item on my fifty for 50 list done - thanks to sara! baking bread has intimidated me for years, but it's something I've always wanted to do. sara found a super-easy recipe on smitten kitchen. and we did it.

1. the ingredients (plus water); 2. the dough, after about 18 hours of resting at room temperature; 3. a quick mix; 4. resting; 5. into a pre-heated, covered pan for baking; 6. bread!!!

everything that deb said about the bread is true (and we used two hands to handle the heavy hot pot!). we sliced it for sandwiches (pesto mayonnaise, turkey bacon, avocado, tomato and lettuce) and it was delicious.

I will definitely make this again, maybe with some whole wheat flour. thank you sara for pushing me to do this!

cranberry oatmeal scones.

...quick bread #2 on my fifty for 50 list (I need to pick up the pace!)

this time it was scones to share with martha and kathy who came over this morning to knit. and hold holly. and chit chat about books, summer plans, photography (and knitting!).

sara is great for tracking down recipes. when I emailed her that I wanted to bake oatmeal raisin scones, she responded right back with a few suggestions. I selected this recipe because it looked easy and sort of healthy (with the yogurt and only one one third cup of sugar...isn't it funny how our "healthy" test accommodates baking?!)

it was easy. these ingredients were assembled, baked and cooled in about an hour.

(during which time I realized the white balance setting on my camera was for shade, outside. apologies for the wonky colors!)

perfect! really, they are exactly what I love in a scone. flaky, with just a bit of crumb, buttery (yeah, two tablespoons per scone, they should be right?), and flavorful. I'm glad I didn't give in to the temptation to make them spicy. really, the cranberries, nuts and yogurt are all the accompaniments that sweet butter needs!

I followed the recipe, with these changes: substituted dried cranberries for the currants; folded in the chopped nuts and the cranberries after I incorporated the liquid ingredients (near the end of step 3); put the dough directly onto a parchment lined baking sheet (sprinkled with all the reserved toasted oats) to pat into a circle; spread the 8 wedges ever so slightly apart before baking so they'd brown all around.

I love the food processor technique and the "makes 8" quantity. I can see cheddar jalapeno scones (without the sugar), or apple, or blueberry!!!, or .... I'm sure sara will have some ideas!  which is good because I have ten more quick breads to bake in the next 250 days!

vegetable lasagna.

...healthy recipe #4! sara was home this past weekend and I completely enjoyed took advantage of the opportunity to cook with her. katie & rob were here for dinner saturday (and the weekend - whew! that's why I'm feeling so far behind right now!). both my girls are vegetarians, but the guys demand something filling and a healthy lasagna seemed like it would satisfy everyone.

I started with a spinach lasagna recipe I got years ago from a cookbook called connecticut cooks (sorry, I can't find a link with a photo to know if it's the right one...it was years ago!) my favorite thing about the recipe is that it doesn't call for cooked noodles. you add water to the bottom of the pan when you assemble the layers, and cover the whole thing with foil for the first 45 minutes of cooking. it works. and it is so easy.

for saturday's dinner, I wanted to pump up the vegetables so we started with eggplant and zucchini, roasted.

then added the roasted vegetables to the sauce (I use a jar of "good" sauce, but of course it would be delicious if you made your own).

the cheese layer is fat free cottage cheese and frozen spinach (thawed).

and there's a little bit of grated parmesan for the top.

three piles of cheese = 2 lasagnas + yummy dip for bread

we started layering with a watered down sauce, then added noodles.

then sauce, cheese, more noodles. sauce, cheese, sauce.

and parmesan. cover with foil. bake.

lasagna #2...in the freezer!

(set the table, serve snacks, chat about wedding plans, catch up on college basketball, open a bottle of wine... really, it bakes for over an hour - it's plenty of time!)

serve and enjoy.

of course I forgot to take a picture of the cooked lasagna. we were all hungry and ready to eat! but it's delicious. I really can't tell that the noodles aren't precooked and I love that having an extra piece is fine. almost no fat, plenty of vegetables and it tastes good!

here's the recipe:
(serves 4-6 - note that in all the photos above we have double the ingredients - we made two lasagnas)
1 32 oz jar of "good" marinara sauce (feel free to add garlic, basil, oregano if you like)
1 medium eggplant
2 small zucchini
16 oz fat free cottage cheese
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 pound whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked
1/3 c coarsely grated parmesan cheese

peel and chop the eggplant into 1/2" cubes. chop the zucchini into 1/2" cubes. toss the zucchini and eggplant in a roasting pan, season with salt and pepper and roast at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until soft. add the roasted vegetables to the marinara (this is the "sauce"). mix the cottage cheese and spinach (this is the "cheese").

grease a 9x13 pan and start layering:
1/2 c water mixed with about 1/2 c sauce.
1/2 the noodles.
1/3 the remaining sauce.
1/2 the cheese.
1/2 the noodles.
1/2 the remaining sauce.
the remaining cheese.
the remaining sauce.
sprinkle the grated parmesan on top.
cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. remove the foil and bake 20 minutes more. let set about 10 minutes before cutting to serve.

zucchini apple soup.

...aka healthy recipe #3 (#8 from my list). and apologies, I know I've neglected to share #1 and #2 here, but oh well, we're starting at 3. because this one is really the first recipe that I've cooked by myself from start to finish and that I've made enough tweaks to the original recipe to call it my own (and the one that I photographed to share!)

my friend marci was the inspiration. (if you frequent cast-on cottage, yes, this is our marci!) she's been working out with a trainer and he shared a healthy soup recipe with her. she shared the basics with us last weekend. I bought granny smith apples the next day. and then, the onion and zucchini. on wednesday, martha lent me her immersion blender. ingredients - check!

marci's recipe called for two onions and one apple. I'm not a huge fan of onions, but I love apples (and I had a lot of them)...I substituted an apple for an onion.

I started with a non-stick pan, sprayed lightly with pam (sadly, costco doesn't sell the olive oil version, so this is the plain pam) heated over medium heat. I added a few cloves of garlic, chopped fine and one sweet onion, peeled and chopped.

while that cooked, I sliced the zucchini.

and then added it to the pot.

while that cooked, I peeled the apple, then sliced and diced it. and made the chicken broth. the onion and zucchini were just soft when I added the apple and broth, turned down the heat to low and waited for it to simmer.

then I set the timer for 30 minutes and ate breakfast (and started the latest book for bookclub!)

30 minutes later everything was perfectly cooked and ready to blend.

thanks to the immersion blender, a few minutes later I had soup!

a lovely dinner for one. (or two, or a starter for four). [edited to add - the slightly tart, slightly sweet apple really sets off the zucchini - and you can't tell there isn't any cream in this very creamy soup. I tried it hot and cold and it's delicious both ways...but today I'll be having it hot. with a spoonful of greek yogurt stirred in for a bit more protein!]

here's the recipe:
nonfat cooking spray
3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 medium zucchini, sliced thin
2 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped
3 pints chicken (or vegetable) broth
salt & pepper to taste (I didn't add any salt, but I did add pepper)

coat a non-stick dutch oven with cooking spray. heat over medium heat and add garlic and onion. saute about 3 minutes and add zucchini. saute about 5 minutes (onion and zucchini should be very soft) and add apples and broth. lower heat to low. simmer for 30 minutes. emulsify. done.