The Family Table: A flight to freedom
A couple weeks ago, much like everyone else in this part of the state, we found ourselves snowed in.
When we went to bed on Friday night, there was some accumulation outside as pretty snowflakes drifted toward the ground. The streetlights outside illuminated them, and it looked almost magical. But by the time we — me, Mike and the three kids — got out of bed on Saturday, it was obvious Mother Nature had come home to roost.
Everything was covered. The kids, all excited, wanted to play outside in it once it stopped, and Cooper the dog was over the moon with the snow. As Mike and 15-year-old Gabe readied themselves to go out, I readied 9-year-old Wes and 7-year-old Josie. And after layers, and gloves and boots (oh my!), they headed outside with the dog.
I followed behind, camera in hand, to get some photos. The snow came up to Cooper’s chest. Surely, Mike said, we could let him off the leash in our unfenced yard. He wouldn’t be able to dart away with that much snow to trudge through. I agreed, noting that since Mike was out there, Cooper was way more likely to listen even if he did start to stray. (While I joke that Cooper is “my” dog — it’s me he curls up with or comes to for food — he most assuredly listens to Mike far better than me.)
On that Saturday afternoon, that was a lovely theory that ended up being terrible in practice.
The scene was something like this: me on our side porch, snapping away at the kids as they threw snowballs at one another and jumped and fell in the snow. Everyone was smiling and giggling as Mike leaned down to unhook Cooper’s leash.
One of the last photos I took captured the moment perfectly — Cooper jumping through the snow, inches from the alley behind our home. And then he was gone.
There happened to be someone walking their dog. Our pup’s tag boasts that he loves everyone. That he does. He’s especially fond of the neighborhood dogs who stop by to say hi. He apparently wanted to return the favor.
For three streets, Mike going one way, Gabe the opposite, they chased him as I heard Mike’s booming, sharp yell of the dog’s name. It wasn’t until Cooper stopped to sniff and own a telephone pole (those of you who walk male dogs know exactly what I mean) that Mike was able to grab him.
As Wes and Josie waited inside — I shuttled them so I could wait in the front yard in case the dog looped around — back came Mike and Gabe, along with a sad looking (and leashed) Cooper. His flight to freedom had been thwarted.
All thankful that the roads were so bad that cars weren’t out, we returned to the house, promising Cooper it was unlikely he would find himself off the leash again in any condition.
It was, I thought, the perfect time for some soup. So, as the humans and the dog thawed themselves, stripping off wet clothes and changing into dry ones, I doled out a simple soup to warm them up.
As for Cooper, he spent the rest of the day sleeping. Apparently, the excitement (or perhaps the shame of getting caught) wore him out.
Jennifer Garofalo is the 蘑菇视频’s news managing editor. 蘑菇视频 her at jgarofalo@heraldstandard.com.
Chicken Meatball Soup
2 pounds ground chicken
1/2 grated onion
2 tablespoons dried parsley
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Cracker meal to bind
3 boxes low salt chicken broth
4 carrots, peeled and cut into thin rounds
1 pound frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1 pound bag frozen cheese tortellini
Add the broth and carrots to a large pot, and turn it on so that it comes to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer and cover. Combine the first six ingredients in a bowl. Add enough cracker meal until the meatballs hold their shape. As the broth simmers, turn the chicken into tiny meatballs, and drop them directly into the broth once they’re all made. I make mine about the size of a dime, but if you don’t want to stand there for that long, you can make them larger; they’ll just take longer to cook.
As they simmer, defrost and squeeze out the spinach. Add it into the broth. The meatballs should only need to simmer for 20 minutes or so. In a separate pot, boil the tortellini. Dole out the soup, with tortellini in it, and enjoy!