More Reasons to Be Glad I'm Not a Scientologist

In reading some upcoming gossip about TomKat's upcoming nuptials, I am extremely glad I'm not a scientologist. I would undoubtedly feel the need to 'open up a can of whoop ass' (sorry, I grew up in West Virginia) on the person giving the ceremony. What are scientologist spiritual leaders called? Priests, ministers, pastors, Darth Vader?

Here's what I would object to:

• To the Bride: And do you take/His fortune/At its prime and ebb/And seek/With him best fortune/For us all?/Do you?
  
• To the Groom: Now, (groom's name),/girls need clothes/And food and/Tender happiness and frills/A pan, a comb,/perhaps a cat/All caprice if you will/But still/They need them./Do you then/Provide?/Do you?

My disclaimer: I am not a scientologist, have no access to their secret ceremonies and have no way of knowing if this is actually true. (But it's really fun to think it is!)

I would object to the "taking his fortune part" and for anyone to suggest that I am a 'girl' and that I need clothes, a pan and a cat.

Experiments in the Kitchen

Yesterday, while I was shaking my behind for six hours straight, I used the wonderful invention known as the Crock-Pot to make my dinner and all of my lunches for this week. I made homemade tomato soup and it was DELICIOUS. Here's the recipe:

Creamy tomato soup with Israeli Couscous
from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 3 c. vegetable stock (I used chicken broth because I'm not a vegetarian and that was all I had)
• One 28-ox can crushed tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• pinch of sugar or other sweetener
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• 1 c. cooked Israeli couscous (I just used regular couscous)
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil for garnish (I left this out)
• I added: red pepper flakes (of course!), and dried basil

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.Transfer to a slow cooker, add the stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Puree the soup in a food processor or blender (remove bay leaves first), adjust the seasonings.

To serve, spoon about 1/4 c. of couscous in a bowl, then ladle the soup on top. Serve with sprinkled basil. (again, I left out the basil step!)

Give it a try - you'll be happy you did! I'm not sure about the nutritional content - this recipe is CORE (I'm doing Weight Watchers CORE plan) but there isn't anything super unhealthy, so you'll probably be fine if you're watching your waistline!