Follow Up to Yesterday's Empty Nest Post

Okay, so I was feeling blue yesterday, first day of a long weekend, no kids around and realizing that none were going to be coming over. So what was I to do? Get drunk? Could have; didn't. Instead, I made myself a fantastic--if slightly cheating--sopa de mariscos, then went out and mowed some lawn. Then came back in and watched some replay NFL football while I had my soup. Went to bed and then this morning had more soup and went out to mow more lawn. I'm sweating like a pig, and that's good. In a couple of hours I'm gonna go take a long walk, then go see my friend Dave and have my once-a-week glass of beer with a double of Jim Beam and then come home and mow more lawn. And then I'm gonna get to that shrimp scampi I was talking about yesterday.

And you know what? While I'm working the kids will show up. If they don't, well, I hope they're having a great weekend. Cause so am I. Not what I'd wish for, but not bad at all.

Here's the soup recipe:

8 cloves of garlic, chopped but not too fine, in 2 ounces of olive oil. Let it steep an hour or all day

6 diced Roma tomatoes

6 scallions, chopped

1 diced medium sized red onion

8 large shelled fresh shrimp--chopped

1 lb frozen bag of mariscos (mussels, clams, squid and octopus cooked and chopped)

2 family-sized cans of Campbells' Tomato soup

1 can chicken stock

12 ounces of water

4 ounces capellini or angel hair pasta

1 bunch of cilantro, washed and chopped

salt and pepper

Heat up your soup pot, put in the garlic/oil/tomatoes/onions/scallions. When they're good--onions slightly see through and the tomatoes are giving off their juice, add the 8 large chopped shrimp. In one minute or so, add the tomato soup, the water and chicken stock. When that gets to near boiling, let's say rolling but not burning, add the mariscos. If they're still frozen don't sweat it, they'll break up in the hot soup.

Cook till mariscos are done, about three minutes, then add the capellini.

Cook another minute or two till the pasta is done, add chopped cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat down very low, cook a couple of minutes, turn it off, then serve.

Serve with a hunk of good bread if you've got it. If not, no need. The soup is filling enough.

Serves about 6-8 good portions.