Shel Silverstein

“There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.”
― Shel Silverstein "Where the Sidewalk Ends"

"Where The Sidewalk Ends", "Light in the Attic" and "The Giving Tree" were staple books in my classroom. My students never tired of hearing and reading Shel Silverstein's poems with his witty, playful words and zany drawings. Today is Shel Silverstein's birthday. He was 68 when he died in 1999. He left a huge legacy of over 1,500 poems to his family. His most recent book "This is It" published in 2011 was a culmination of over a year's work. A team of family members whittled down the poems to 145 for publication. They worked hard to stay true to his format used in previously published books. 

Shel Silverstein also wrote songs. It may surprise you that his most popular one was "A Boy Named Sue" made famous when Johnny Cash sang it at his San Quentin State Prison concert.

Today I enjoyed a bowl of comfort food White Cheddar Soup while looking back over some of his books. The following poem has remained one of my favorites

Band-Aids
I have a band-aid on my finger,
One on my knee, and one on my nose,
One on my heel, and two on my shoulder,
Three on my elbow, and nine on my toes.
Two on my wrist, and one on my ankle,
One on my chin, and one on my thigh,
Four on my belly, and five on my bottom,
One on my forehead, and one on my eye.
One on my neck, and in case I might need' em
I have a box full of thirty-five more.
But oh! I do think it's sort of a pity
I don't have a cut or sore!

White Cheddar Cheese Soup

Cook's Notes: It's smooth, creamy and rich. The taste is amazing. Garnish with a few tomatoes, seeded and diced, chopped fresh parsley or croutons.  Two cups of diced broccoli florets during the cooking simmering time would be a flavorful healthy addition. Soup served in small bowls would be a great first course for a dinner party. 

Recipe adapted from cuisineathome.com  and serves 4-6 depending on bowl size.

Cooking Tips: Make sure cheese is grated before adding to soup broth at the end and the soup does not boil. 

Ingredients:

• 1 TB. butter
• 1 cup sweet onions, diced
• 3/4 cup celery, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp.dry mustard
• 1/2-1 tsp. sea salt grind
• 1/2- 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup dry wine wine (note wine does boil down into a reduction)
• 1-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups 2% milk
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups white Cheddar cheese

 Directions:

• Add to food processor diced onions, celery and garlic cloves. Pulse 4 times.
• Melt butter in large soup pot and saute onions,celery and garlic.
• Cook on medium low heat 10 minutes.
• Stir in flour to coat vegetables.
• Add dry mustard, salt and pepper stirring constantly to prevent  scorching.
• Whisk in wine, (mixture will be clumpy but that's okay).
• Whisk in broth, milk and cream, scraping the bottom of the pot.
• Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
• Stir in cheese. Remove from heat continue to stir mixture until completely melted.
• To reheat next day thin with a little chicken broth uncovered.