Gotta love Mondays

Another Monday, the day of the week I usually dread, but today decided since I am changing my attitude, I am going to change my feelings about Monday. So today is a great day, and if I keep telling myself that, maybe I'll eventually believe myself!

But I did have a great weekend. Two weekends ago, I cleaned out and organized our kitchen cabinets and pantry, and the feeling of accomplishment I got from that is still making me smile. So this weekend, all my files got the once-over, and today I am really proud of myself. Past attempts at cleaning out the files have resulted in half-done jobs. this weekend, each and every piece of paper in all my files was inspected, and either refiled or filed int he circular file!

I also ate really well this weekend -- amazing! -- including dinner Saturday night, cooked by our daughter-in-law, Kim. She made the most amazing Roasted Root Vegetable Matzo Ball Soup, a recipe she found at www.wholefoodsmarket.com. It was the initial roasting of the vegetables that made this soup so special, and definitely worth the effort. There were four of us for dinner, and enough leftovers for another meal for Kim and Tim. With a loaf of crusty bread and a green salad, it really was a lovely meal, perfect for a cold winter night.

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE MATZO BALL SOUP

4 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 parsnips, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 small rutabaga or turnip, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 cloves garlic

1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 4 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup vegan butter substitute, melted 1 cup matzo meal 1 tablespoon chopped chives 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 3 tablespoons chopped dill 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, garlic, and onions on a large baking sheet and toss with oil and salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and tender. Remove from oven and cool.
• Meanwhile, put eggs, vegan butter substitute, salt and pepper into a bowl and blend well. Mix in matzo meal and chives, then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Bring a pot of water to boil just before removing matzo mixture from refrigerator. Once water boils, wet hands and form walnut-size balls out of matzo mixture, dropping each one into the boiling water immediately. Once all balls have been dropped into the pot, turn heat down, cover and gently simmer for 30 minutes.
• While matzo balls are simmering, in a separate pot bring the vegetable broth, dill and parsley to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then turn down heat to a simmer and add roasted vegetables. Once matzo balls are done, remove with slotted spoon and place gently in broth and vegetable mixture. Simmer for 15 minutes, then adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.