Snow Day Soup

Before we went to bed last night school was cancelled for Floyd County. We received 3" of snow (it mostly covered the ground) followed by a glazing of fine hail. I called the Vet this a.m. to reschedule another day to take out Jack's stitches. I knew (from previous harrowing experiences) that the minivan would not make it across the hilly 1.5 mile dirt road we lived off of before hitting the cleared main paved road. Hubby had taken the 4-wheel drive Jeep into town to get to his store.

I took this picture of lamb's ear in the front garden bed, still decidedly green, a little bit of snow won't phase it. Recall that it was just three weeks ago on January 15th that we had a record high, then there were several hollyhocks a foot tall. Poor, confused flowers. Truth is the weather (climate?) was confused. No matter how good a 65 degree day feels in mid-January, it is just plain wrong for our neck of the woods.

The photo to the right is the top of a small table on the deck, the design reminded me of a Zen or Chinese symbol.

Here's the recipe for tonight's meal: Snow Day Soup.
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 15.5 oz. cans of black beans, well drained
2 carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach (could also use collards or kale w/rib removed)
Garlic, minced - to taste
3 c. water

I would have also added frozen or canned corn and a sweet potato (diced) but happened to be out of both. I thought about cooking one large chicken breast, dicing it, and adding in place of the beans. We're making cornbread to serve with the soup tonight. What are you having for dinner?