mushroom minestrone soup

Cooked in a Crock pot

 

1 baking potato (washed and chopped)

2 carrots (quartered and chopped)

1 piece of celery (split and chopped, greens included)

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can pinto beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can corn (fresh cut, drained)

1 can of diced tomatoes

3 cloves garlic (chopped or pressed)

1/2 large sweet onion chopped

1 whole small container of the small brown mushrooms (washed and sliced)

vegetable boulion (cubes or paste from a jar - I used both)

ground pepper corns (to taste)

basil (only a little)

parsley (only a little)

cooked pasta added when the soup is finished.

 

2 cups of water to start and 1 boulion cube with the carrots and potato and slowly add other ingredients. Add water and more boulion as needed. I think I ended up using three boulion cubes in the entire batch of soup and some of the paste boulion.  If the soup doesn't taste rich enough, add a little more boulion.  Use a pepper grinder for the peppercorns to taste. I let it cook all day and it was ready that evening for dinner.  Still tastes good as left overs.

 

2007 in rescue

2007 was a tough year to be a pit bull. Not that any other year isn't tough enough.  Did you know that the average pit bull doesn't not make it to its second birthday?  I say average because I hate to use the word "typical". Unfortunately, many "pit bulls" don't get the luxury of living in a home with caring owners that provide regular vet care.  Many pit bulls are purchased on a whim (like many purebreds) but are quickly discarded as their owners find life with a pit can be difficult and they can be discriminated against. It's hard to find housing that allows the breed, homeowner's insurance companies discriminate against the breed and municipalities are trying to ban the breed altogether. There are so few dogs on these adoption pages because people just don't want to adopt pit bulls nor do they want to foster pit bulls.

Even in this year of Michael Vick, when people started realizing that the dogs are the victims, it's still hard.   It's not the dog but the  monster on the other end of the leash that's the problem. Maybe people are starting to get that picture. Sure there are bad dogs, there are bad dogs in every breed but these bad dogs are a product of abuse or bad breeding in the self fulfilling prophecy that comes with hatred and discrimination.  The more people persecute the breed, the more undesirable people will be drawn to the breed and the more un desirable candidates within the breed will be bred for even more undesirable outcomes.

In the right hands, responsibly owned and responsibly bred (though I take issue with breeding while the breed is in crisis) and responsibly rescued this breed compares to no other in its loving nature and loyalty to family.  The American Pit Bull Terrier and its close cousins (The American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier) are the ultimate family dog.  They want nothing more than to be in close companionship with their families and thrive on love and affection.

Here's hoping for a better 2008 for the "pit bulls"