Day Three Hundred Five

It can be argued that we've all been living through hell for the past year or whatever, but I'm here to tell you that HELL FROZE OVER. It did! That's the only explanation for the words I'm about to type.

Cheer competitions aren't all that bad.

Are you shocked? I know I'm shocked!

It turns out that cheer competitions can be made tolerable. You just have to throw in a global pandemic and two million global deaths (cheese and crackers - that number is real and that's so incredibly awful that it's beyond comprehension).

Clearly, safety was a priority, as it should be. You would think that every minute of every day would be filled with every possible safety precaution in place, but ... welcome to America. We still have freakin cheer competitions even as all of this is going on.

::sigh::

We're all doing the best we can through this whole disaster, and my best right now is letting the girls participate in things that are as safe as anything that involves leaving the house can be. While Alexis quit school cheer because they weren't wearing masks while stunting, the competitive cheer thing that she's done for the past several years has required masks. And social distancing. And dedicated stunt groups and ... and ... and. Basically, the organization behind it all has taken the stance that they will not allow COVID to spread on their watch, so there have been lots of virtual classes and a giant pile of precautions in place when they do practice in person.

Those precautions extended to the competition this weekend. Both girls participated, each at their own times, and ... it wasn't awful? They got to do their full fancy uniforms and makeup and hair. They had all of the pressure of a "real" competition, but no crowd. Each squad or team or whatever a group of cheerleaders is called (normally I call them a "headache") was allowed in the gym one at a time. There was zero overlap between groups, no parents, and no judges. So basically, it was just the coach and the kids. They videotaped their routine and judges will score and rate them separately at a later date.

It was very different from what we're used to, but that's what you do when safety ranks higher than normalcy.

But normalcy includes overzealous parents and crowds and early mornings and ... lots of things I don't like. When you take those things away? I don't hate cheer competitions! They turn into this thing where the girls get to focus on having fun and I get to focus on watching them have fun (albeit via Zoom, but it works).

When this is all over, I hope that we get to keep the rare good parts of it. Cheer competitions that aren't all that bad are on that list.

Day Three Hundred Four

Soup is one of the most underrated food groups, I swear. You can grab a bunch of stuff, throw it together, and call it a day.

Case in point:

White bean and spinach soup. 

You basically can add whatever is taking up space in your vegetable drawer. Carrots, onions, peppers, celery ... whatever. No matter what you do, it turns out fantastic and there's zero effort required.

White Bean and Spinach Soup

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped carrots
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cups broth (vegetable is my preferred broth, but chicken would also work)
2 cans Great Northern Beans
12-14 ounces fresh spinach (I use a bag of prewashed spinach, which I wash again because I'm paranoid)
1 tablespoon paprika
salt
black pepper

1. In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium low heat. Add the red pepper and garlic and sauté lightly for 4-5 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté for another 4-5 minutes.

2. Add the broth, beans, and paprika to the pot and simmer on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally.

3. Add the spinach. It will look like it's entirely too much spinach, but hold tight. It only takes a few minutes for it to shrink considerably.

4. Continue to simmer until the spinach wilts completely, approximately 5 minutes.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can serve this soup immediately or leave it on low heat for as long as you need to. It holds up REALLY well.

An aside: If you decide to add acini de pepe, do it after the spinach has wilted and cook according to the instructions on the box. If you add it too soon, it turns mushy.

Day Three Hundred Three