Maudie's Meanders

  Hi, I'm Maudie, a 4yo German Shepherd dog. It gets a bit (bit? That was just a love nip) warm up here in the Dry Tropics, so my housemates keep the aircon on quite a bit (bit? I was nibbling) to keep me cool. I'm not very well, by the way. I contracted a fungal infection, common up here, especially for young female large breed dogs (that would be me), which has triggered discospondylitis. When I was first diagnosed,  the vet  thought that I wasn't long for this world, but a combination of those veterinary skills and my housemates' loving care, have brought me to a pretty OK and fun life and even to my fourth birthday celebrations. Ah, those housemates. There are two humans and a couple of cockatiels. My great grandmother, Yannie, used to live with them, but she crossed the Rainbow Bridge a couple of years ago. They were very sad. They hope to meet her again, because Psalm 36 says that God saves both people and animals. That will be lovely for me, too, because ...

  2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp unsalted butter ½ cup celery diced 1 cup carrots diced 1 onion large, diced 1 tsp Kosher salt ½ tsp black pepper cracked 2 cans crushed/diced tomato 1L vegetable broth 10 basil leaves cut into strips ¼ tsp allspice ¼ tsp cayenne ½ cup full cream milk ½ cup cream In a soup pot or Dutch oven place olive oil and butter. Sauté the celery, carrots and onions until translucent. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the allspice and cayenne. Using an immersion blender, carefully crush all the ingredients. Stir in the half and half and cook for an additional 10 minutes uncovered.