A great weekend for soup

The weekend is almost here, thank heaven. This morning's 5 a.m. temperature was 55 degrees; it's dropped to 52 now. A strong north east wind is actually helping us stay warmer than we would otherwise be, as the waters of Lake Michigan are still fairly warm (59 degrees right now, in fact; we'd be warmer swimming, I guess).

All this to say it is perfect sleeping weather. An open window, a couple of quilts to snuggle under, and off to dreamland. There's nothing like spending an extra half hour after you wake up, cozy in that warm little nest you've made of the quilts, knowing how chilly it is outside of it.

While I placed a Peapod order last night, I deliberately left apples (which I desperately need; I'm completely out, and I always have apples in the house) off the list, in hopes that I can stop at a local orchard tonight after work. I'm not much for the pick-them-yourself thing unless I get a discounted price for doing the work, but this place has a great store.

Lots of soup-related things on the grocery list. The plan is to make several types of soup, including Pumpkin Soup with Basil, Mushroom Barley and Chicken with Wild Rice. Two of those soups are actually quasi-vegetarian, containing no non-vegetable protein. The barley has a little bit, but not enough to counter the carbs.

While I'm not averse to eating a vegetarian meal, the combination of carbs-fat-protein is the magic for diabetics. Cheese, whether melted on the soup or in a couple of slices on the side, is a quick way to add protein, but it also adds a fair amount of fat. Oddly enough, turkey pepperoni is low in fat, high in protein and (if you get the uncured type made by Applewood), low in sodium. It's also pretty tasty.

The only barrier to the festival of soup making is the availability of wild rice. Peapod simply does not carry it. They have lots of blends - primarily brown rice with some short thin spaghetti and a tablespoon or so of real wild rice - but no plain packages of wild rice itself. Frustrating, since wild rice is very much a Wisconsin staple - the Menomonee Indians were known as the "wild rice people", as the rice was such an important part of their culture.

Eh, I can probably get it at an actual supermarket, or I can wait until the week I'm off and pick it up on a trip to The Elegant Farmer, which is a haven for Wisconsin product. I'll certainly have enough other soup to sip on.

So that's the weekend plan: put away the grocery order and fool around in the kitchen. What are your plans?