I have a new hot date each week! Friday Morning Coffee with Suz, it's a lovely way to go into the weekend because let's face it, in this day and age weekends aren't quite the break they're meant to be. For us, and for everyone else I know, it's run, run, run! Baseball, basketball, Sunday school, homework, guitar, errands, haircuts, dentist, cooking, laundry...you know your version of the drill. It's nice to take a deep breath, and enjoy a few wicked laughs, before diving in!

The leftover black bean soup did indeed make a satisfying lunch, along with some simple tuna on crackers. As I said about soups, below, it's worth taking a minute to add some pretty, tasty extras to something so simple and light - I seriously enjoyed consuming this. And it was nothing more than canned tuna (Genoa - the best), with a bit of mustard vinaigrette stirred in, atop a couple of Ak-Mak whole wheat crackers, garnished with a dab of salty olive tapenade (I buy it premade at the store), sweet cherry tomato halves, and the crunch and bite of raw onion. As Baby Nathan used to say, tooooolicious.

For my "sninner" (snack-dinner) later? Perhaps mesquite-smoked turkey, wrapped up with more of those killer tomatoes, as well as chopped cabbage, in a small tortilla smeared with mustard. I'm more satisfied by foods that hit several notes - chewy, crunchy, salty, smoky, sweet. Rarrr... Then a movie with John - he's himself wanting to drop a few by cutting back on dinners, so he suggested we get the heck out of here at dinner time and make our date a 'vie. Lemons to lemonade, my friends, lemons to lemonade...

Or to strawberry smoothie! I'm a smoothie purist, as it were, forget protein powder (ick), flavorings, ice, etc. To me, all you need is a bit of fruit, a splash of milk, a splash of water, and perhaps a bit of sugar if the fruit isn't at its seasonal peak (like strawberries in September, for instance). This baby is nothing more than 5 strawberries, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1/4 c. each of skim milk and cold water. Blend until frothy...done. A surprisingly filling and creamy essence of fresh strawbery. Makes a nice desserty thing, or a snacky thing, whenever something sweet would fit the bill. Yum. Also great with (1/2) banana or other berries or pineapple in place of strawberries (as a purist, I don't mix fruits, but feel free to, of course, that's just me). Nice little antioxidant kick to boot, all for around, oh, 55 calories.

Have a good weekend!