You know, I've only made eggnog once, with a recipe given to me by a friend from Canterbury. It's a good recipe but, as a carb-lover, homemade eggnog seems a little too foamy and a lot too liquor-heavy. I like the stuff you buy in Stop & Shop that takes like cream and nutmeg and has the texture of a Fribble I used to order at Friendly's.

I'm not sure I've had any eggnog during the holidays. However, just because I haven't quaffed eggnog, doesn't mean I haven't eaten cookies, brownies, cakes, and pies from Thanksgiving on. I've also had friends for dinner at my house, and when I make dinner, the food I cook is always food I like. (The exception is when I cook for Peter and Lee Cove, when her daughter Didi is in attendance. Her food must be gluten-free and she doesn't eat seafood or any meat of any kind.) They're coming Friday night and I'll make a chunky squash soup, lettuce wedges with cherry tomatoes and blue cheese, and, perhaps, crème brulee or chocolate pot de crème.

Perhaps I'll serve eggnog at that dinner, not that I need it-there are enough calories without the eggnog. So, when I come back from Phoenix after the holidays, I'll make an enormous pot of Weight Watchers's vegetable soup, a recipe I've written about every January in this column. Now, if I can just stay away from the goodies that are in my freezer!

Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.

Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup

Heavily adapted from Weight Watchers booklet, Week 1

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups sliced carrots

1 cup diced onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 or more red and yellow peppers, seeded and

thinly sliced

Red curry paste (I used about ¼ cup but that makes it very, very spicy)*

4 cups fat-free broth

(beef, chicken, or vegetable -I like chicken)

1½ cups diced green cabbage

1½ cups green beans (frozen is fine)

1 cup low-fat coconut milk*

1, 28-ounce can of good diced tomatoes

(I love Muir Glen)

Salt to taste

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil until warm. Add carrots, onions, garlic, and peppers. Sauté over low heat until softened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add red curry paste and stir until veggies are covered. Add broth until warm. Add cabbage, green beans, coconut milk, and tomatoes. Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 15 to 20 minutes, or until beans are tender. Salt to taste.

This soup can be kept in the refrigerator for at least a week. It can also be frozen and thawed before heating, but I'll finish this soup in a week, easy.

*The red curry paste is made by Mae Ploy. Once it's open, I refrigerate it. I've had the red curry paste since 2006 and it's been in the refrigerator since then. If you have an Asian market near you (there's more than one in New Haven, an excellent one in West Hartford, and other one in New London), they may also carry these ingredients. As I've mentioned before, most supermarkets carry Asian ingredients these days.