Not too long ago, after a long, long day, I came home really hungry for cornbread. I turned on the oven to preheat it and then started doing the dishes so that I’d have dishes to actually make and bake the cornbread in. Two minutes later, I heard buzzing and fizzing and popping and out of the corner of my eye I saw lights flashing in the oven.

Not a good sign.

The buzzing and fizzing and popping could easily have been the kids or the cats. Or a renegade mouse. Or the radio, which has seen better days.

Or some paper that got caught behind the fridge and sort of got sucked into the exhaust unit thingie and was rattling around. I know this because one day that actually happened and I thought the fridge was short circuiting. I was sure it was going to burst into flames any second, and after sniffing for smoke hard enough to cause the air pressure in the house to significantly drop, I grabbed the fire extinguisher, stood at attention by the fridge and called my husband. It was kind of embarrassing to find out it was only a piece of paper that got sucked up into the exhaust thingie. Also, to find out how dirty it was behind the fridge.

But the flashing lights in the oven could not be explained by any of those things.

The lights in the oven corresponded with the pops and fizzes and buzzes and then bangs.

I looked inside and saw that one corner of the bottom element was sending up a fountain of sparks – like those fireworks that stay on the ground and that send up a fountain of sparks. I love those. Actually, I love all fireworks. Especially the big ones that look like zinnias and spread out across the sky. Oh, and the ones that go straight up and explode into three more fireworks of all different colors. And the pink ones. I love the pink ones.

Where was I?

There were fireworks in my oven. I don’t really think fireworks belong in the oven.

I turned the oven off.

It seemed like the right thing to do.

I was so glad my cornbread wasn’t in there.

When I got the courage to open the door, I saw that one corner of the element was toast.

Not actual toast. Just toasted.

Not actually toasted, more like melted and cracked.

Yep. One corner of the element was melted and cracked.

We did not have cornbread that night.

I was bummed.

The good news was that when elements go bad, they go bad just like that. It was not a freak of ovendom. Also, they’re easy to replace. Whew.

We have a new element now. We inaugurated it with spritz cookies.

Not in the shapes of fireworks.

Robin from Rurification blogs at Rurification.

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I had eaten an Italian soup from a meal-prep company recently. You know, the places in larger cities where you go and assemble meals that you will store in your freezer to cook later, so you can (in theory) avoid making a mess in your own kitchen AND so you don’t have to buy more than you will use.

It was good, but I thought it could be even better, so I invented this version. It makes a crock pot full of soup, and helps use up some of that end-of-the-season zucchini that those of us who grow it always seem to have around.

We slice and freeze zucchini, and then we can eat this even in the middle of winter (which we did today!).

It’s a very forgiving recipe, so you can add or subtract a bunch of ingredients and it’s going to be good, no matter which way you make it.

Zucchini-Tortellini Harvest Soup

1 lb. Italian pork sausage links, browned and thinly sliced (I usually place these in a skillet with water and boil them until they are done, which helps cut down on the grease; then I cool them, slice them, and brown them along with the onion in the skillet)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups of tomatoes, diced (you can use a can of tomatoes if you don’t have fresh)
2- 14 oz. cans of vegetable broth (or you can use beef or chicken broth)
14 oz. can/jar of pizza sauce
2 cups of water
1 bay leaf
1 or 2 small zucchini, sliced or shredded (I like chunkier, so we slice)
9-oz. package of refrigerated cheese tortellini (left uncooked)
Parmesan cheese, fresh or sprinkle, for flavor and garnish

Add everything to the crock pot except for the zucchini, tortellini, and cheese. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours. About an hour before you want to eat dinner, add the zucchini and tortellini, then let it cook one more hour. (Discard the bay leaf.)

Ladle into soup bowls, and garnish/flavor with parmesan cheese.

I like this soup any time of the year, but it’s especially tasty when the memories of too much zucchini have faded a little!

Get the printable and save it to your recipe box:
Zucchini-Tortellini Harvest Soup

Kathi N blogs at Granddad’s Corner.

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