Woot! I had a mom’s night out on Wednesday thanks to Disney and a semi-local PR firm working with Disney. I am not sure why they decided to invite me to a screening of Secretariat but hey.. I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, especially since this movie was about… a horse. Maybe someone read between the lines of my blog and knows I am a HUGE movie buff, despite only having reviewed 2-3 movies here. Or maybe they just know I love horses, either way… I thank them for the lovely experience.

In addition to getting to see a truly awesome movie, I also got to see it at The Gateway, which is a swanky theater near the Short North in downtown Columbus. Driving up the Short North on the way home as almost as wonderful as the movie. I simply love downtown Columbus and rarely get out to see it at night.

But on to the movie.. LOVED it! It is a wonderful family film with a great story and I was a bit skeptical at first. I come from “horse people” myself and spent my summers at a farm and my Aunt and Uncle’s stables. My family was involved in show horses, barrel racing, and cutting (what I call “dancing with cattle”). The picture below is none of those things though… just a trail ride in Arizona. Me… on a horse… no Old Spice, but I may or may not have smelled like a man. ;)

Distance horse racing always seemed kind of cruel to me and on some level I think it still is BUT this movie isn’t about some massive stable operation trying to make some money off their hundreds of horses and then discarding them when they don’t perform. It was about a small family operation and a horse that was a member of their family becoming what many believe to be the greatest race horse who ever lived. It was fun seeing it with my mom because she remembered when this all happened and how captivated people were by this amazing horse… Secretariat. I was amazed by how gutsy his owner was… Penny Chenery (played by Diane Lane). Seriously this little ol “housewife” was out making 6 million dollar gambles because she knew in her heart that this was the horse that could win the Triple Crown.

It is one of those movies where the audience claps insanely every 20 minutes or so. It is also very tense despite the fact that you know the outcome before you even go in. I was biting my nails the whole time. But it was very good and an A++ movie choice if you care to go anytime soon. Great story, great acting, and really great cast with a lot of my faves.. Diane Lane, Scott Glenn, John Malkovich, and Nelsan Ellis.  It opens today.

The vegetable broths they have in the store are often delicious for sure but not the best option for green and healthy families. First they come in plastic based, non-recyclable boxes usually. The cans will have BPA. Second they often have some unhealthy ingredients… really high sodium content, MSG, sometimes high fructose corn syrup, etc. Making your own vegetable broth is actually pretty easy though and you can store it for future use. Unlike many recipes it doesn’t have to be precise… you can make it with a bunch of various ingredients and you can use up the parts of veggies you normally wouldn’t eat… tops of carrots, the tops of root vegetables, onions skins, and so on. If you get some “scary” looking veggies in your CSA box and don’t want to eat them, throw them in your stock pot with some other veggies and make vegetable broth. Seriously, it is THAT easy.

First, start with the basics… your aromatic vegetables… celery, carrots, and onion. Chop up some fresh ones and throw in the carrot tops and celery tops too. You can keep leftover veggie scraps in the frig or even the freezer until you have enough to make broth. Parsnips and leeks can also take the place of or even partner with the carrots and onions. I always add garlic too because I LOVE garlic and it helps keep us healthy during soup season. Many people call vegetable broth a “kitchen sink soup” because really almost anything goes.

NatureMoms Super Simple Vegetable Broth Recipe

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Onions (chopped)
2 Leeks Chopped (green and white parts)
3-5 cloves garlic
1 heirloom Tomato
1 pound celery (chopped)
1 pound carrots (chopped, skin left in tact)
1 Zucchini
1 Cup Mushrooms (optional – for a meaty flavor)
1 Bay Leaf
2 Tablespoons Coriander Seeds
1 Cup Parsley (chopped)
1/4 Cup Tamari
Pepper or Peppercorns
1 Tablespoon Dulce Flakes
12 Cups Water

Optional Items: Leftover veggie scraps, other greens or veggies you have on hand, squash, herbs, a 1/2 inch piece peeled ginger (good for Asian soups).

Directions: Pour the oil in the stock pot and turn on heat, add veggies as you chop. Add all ingredients (except Tamari) and cook for 1 hour, bringing to a boil first and then to a simmer. Add Tamari and cook for another 30 minutes. Strain the broth and throw the veggies away (or put in compost). Take the remaining broth and divide among freezer safe pyrex bowls. This broth will keep in the frig for a week and in the freezer for about two months. To thaw freezer broth just take out of the freezer and put in the frig the day before you will be making soup.

This super easy broth can be used as a base for numerous yummy soups including the Potato Leek soup I made tonight. Enjoy!

Added to: Vegetarian Foodie Fridays

The whole week is a local foods celebration here in Ohio. We started off the week with our first ever visit to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. They are local to the area and they use local, seasonal ingredients for the most part. The cream comes from the local, grass fed, Snowville Creamery that provides us with milk each week. It was just named America’s Best Ice Cream by the Food Network too!

The flavors are a bit different but oh so yummy. Of the flavors we tried today, our faves were hands down the Salty Caramel, the Goat Cheese with Cherries, and the Goat Cheese with Cognac Fig Sauce. I think a trip to Jeni’s is going to be a regular monthly thing! Reminder to self though… bring along our wooden spoons so we can decline the plastic ones in the shop…

Ran across these awesome infusers while searching for a birthday gift for hubby next month. I am no tea expert because I don’t like it. It tastes like dirt water to me unless I add lots of sweetener and cream and then what’s the point of drinking of it? But the husband LOVES tea and I would love the fact that he loves tea if there were not tea baggies laying everywhere. So I guess a Swiss Gold Tea Infuser would really be a present for both of us. ;) It looks pretty nifty to me.

Anyone have a recommendation for a really tasty, organic loose leaf tea that could go with this?