good soup 1.3.12

heat some extra virgin olive oil in your magical soup pot while you cut up:

1 small bunch carrots

1 onion

1 celeriac

2 large cloves garlic

add these to the pot as you are finished cutting them and allow them to cook on med heat so they are softening slowly (i like to add some salt at this point too – just enough to bring out the flavor of these veggies).  the time spent on this will be the base of the flavor of your soup.  less time will be a lighter flavor and longer will be a heartier flavor.  once the veggies are on their way to cooked add:

1.25 lb ground pork (if vegetarian i’d also love this soup with garbanzo beans or red lentils just add them at the appropriate time).

give this time to start browning and add:

1 heaping tablespoon cumin

1 heaping tablespoon chili powder

2 pinches red pepper flakes

continue cooking until pork is cooked through.  now add about 1/2 cup of chicken broth let it come up to a boil and use it to deglaze your pot.  once done deglazing add:

2.5 -3.5 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

approximate 28 oz. whole peeled tomatoes

let this simmer on the stove for a bit (30 mins – over an hour).

now roughly chop about 1/2 bunch of cilantro and add it to the hop soup.  simmer another 10 -20 mins.

soup is ready!  but what is soup without toppings?

ladle soup into your bowl of choice and top with:

more fresh cilantro

a healthy squeeze of fresh lime juice

1/2 of a diced avocado

a small crumble of goat cheese

 

eat, drink, and be merry.  happy 2012 🙂

 

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ramblings on this october day

it’s golden in the tree tops

it’s golden in the skies

it’s golden, golden, golden

october’s passing by

(adapted from wynstones autumn)

 

after days of grey skies and rain

the sun finally broke through again today.

as i was driving down our road i noticed how the tree tops really are golden now,

when the bright fall sun is shedding her golden rays upon them.

how the verse we have been saying about the golden tree tops and golden skies

suddenly becomes more then a verse

when you are living it.

and i realized, in that moment as i drove along,

that the verse echoing silently in my own mind and heart

was coming to life for me.

and that it brings nothing for them when it is not alive inside me to begin with.

 

i am emerging here from more grayness than just the rain over the last days.

a healthy cocktail of large and small life stressors seemed to pile upon each other in my mind and heart recently until two nights ago i stood over the broccoli soup pot at 9 o’clock at night scrubbing and crying.  tears of fear, loneliness, and worry.

it is funny – no matter how good life gets there are still those moments of despair.  moments of sinking into feeling so deeply alone that there really is nothing left to do but cry.  to cry and cry until you are done crying (and then pick up the phone and call your friend.)

since that moment i have asked for and received the help and support i needed to inch my way out of that little dark spot and into a place of hope and spacious light.

the golden golden golden on the drive home was searing its way into my very core and spreading back out like a reflection of my own emotional and spiritual shifting.

 

we made rice milk today.

it was the bean’s idea.

i resisted it heavily when he first brought it up at 8am as the best way to resolve the dire situation of being out of rice milk (his only beverage).

i fought back.

then i gave in.

eventually i got into it.

we found a recipe.  we measured and cooked.  we worked on it throughout the day together.  blending, straining, straining, and finally pouring the finished product into glass jars.  we made labels together and he stocked two jars into the upstairs fridge and three into the downstairs fridge.

he had looked at the first label i made,

“rice milk

10-20-11”

and he asked to make his own:

“r    i         c e                   m    i      l          e

1  0     –  20    –  1            1 ”

he brought it to me and worried, “i couldn’t make the letter here,” while pointing to the k in milk.

“it looks beautiful to me,” i said.  “i can read this.”

several minutes passed.  he looked again at the jar with his label on it.

“if a real person was here could they know what mine said?”

“yes.”

 

maybe this is homeschooling.  measuring, cooking safety, creating something from scratch, copying mama’s letters as you make your own label.  wondering if your letters are real.

 

eventually the rice milk was cool enough to try.

he hated it.

“it tastes like there is rice in it!”

 

my schooling is in the art of letting go i suppose.

 

 

 

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19

green beans are good with lemon, garlic, tamari, tahini sauce

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and then i

yesterday i think i really became a modern day hippie when i spent a few hours in the morning dicing, grating, and chopping my local, organic, community supported agriculture share veggies so i could try some lacto-fermenting.

now there are three ball jars sitting on the counter fermenting.

on purpose.

to be eaten.

 

actually, i am pretty excited.

hip hip hippeeeeeeeee!

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this must be heaven

i adored my lunch today.

really truly it was love(ly).

i know i have a unique relationship with food.  i like things JustSo and i tend to prefer to put it all together myself so that is JustSo and then also i JustLove food.  Love.  especially when it turns out exactly how i imagined it.

today was cold lemon roasted chicken breast

sliced cucumber

marinated olives

feta cheese

pickled radish

and a smallish hunk of fresh bread

 

delightful.

 

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winter share

we had our second winter share pick up (from our vegetable csa) yesterday – having made barely a dent in last month’s installment. this morning i tried out a new to me recipe to pickle a few bunches of radishes. they will be ready to try in a few days…

meanwhile i need to discover a culinary answer to the handful of turnips we have that are the same size as my head. not to mention our daikon and watermelon radishes, parsnips, carrots, potatoes, rutabaga and varied winter squashes.

anyone have any simple and delightful recipe’s to (winter)share?

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december eve baking

is it not december yet?  i feel so surprised by that.  here i am all “taking in slow transitioning from thanksgiving to advent” and yet i was certain it was december on monday.

well it is december eve.  and in honor of that holiday feeling news we did some baking today.  these muffins were slated to be on the thanksgiving menu but they got scratched when i ran out of oven time/space.  all the ingredients have been sitting in the fridge begging to be married together for a quick treat.

i have been waiting though for a moment when i might have people to share with – beyond just me, flash, and our holiday induced bulging belly’s.

well tonight i am hosting a knit & sip.

and we had no plans this morning until story time at the library at 11:30.

so we baked cheddar leek muffins.

muffins cooling

they were relatively easy to make with several steps that the kids enjoyed participating in:
– i let pea cut up the butter
– they each got to measure and pour dry ingredients
– they each got to help crack one egg
– they sprinkled the muffins with the extra leeks

i made these minor changes to the recipe based on what we had on hand:
– switched out the all purpose flour for white whole wheat
– used agave in place of honey
– couldn’t stop myself from adding a bit of fresh ground black pepper

go forth and bake.
share with friends.
happy december eve.

 

ok, i might have sample just one when we got home from story time so i could be certain they were okay before serving them to guests.  if i did then i could share with you that it was tasty and paired nicely with my feta cheese and olives for lunch…

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a spicy stew

there is a smallish cold romping through our family.  the main symptoms, along with the standard runny nose and sneezes, are tired, crabby, whining.

it is a blast.

this morning has been cold and rainy.  on tuesday we had such a nice nice day all at home together with no school to rush off to and i was excited for today to come.  i planned for us to get some bread started, read some books together, pick up a few things at the grocery store, then stop in the local knitting shop and be home for lunch and then a nap.

after measuring out the three different flours i realized we had no yeast.

the books were nice.

it took about an hour to get everyone dressed and ready to go out in the rain.

then they had a big fight about who got to stomp in which puddle on the way to the car.

that was a good sign of how the grocery store would be.  there was a lot of insisting going on and with the insisting a lot of tears and foot stomping and near yelling.  (and i am not saying it was all from the under five crowd or anything.  i have the cold too.)

so i folded, grabbed a few things we needed, and hurried us all home.

the kids set up at the kitchen table and began snacking heavily on the different chips they had convinced me to buy.  i reheated my tea and took a deep breath.

ever since yesterday at lunch time i have wanted soup.  i had secretly thought i would buy myself some at the local lunch place when we finished our errands but clearly that was out.

i measured out the yeast and we finished the (rye dill) bread.

smooshing it around with my bare hands helped.  as i was finishing up the smooshing/mixing i decided to cook soup.  soup would cure all.

i dug around and realized i had what i needed for a spicy mexican stew so i threw it together in my magic soup pot.  the kids ate chips and cashews while i cooked.  the pea also ate grapes and yogurt.  then they climbed themselves down and built forts out of the couch cushions, played pretend games of going to sleep and waking up, and jogged laps around the house pushing assorted strollers and vacuums.  happily.

i chopped and diced and browned and deglazed and simmered.

the perfect medicine for me.

a moment of quiet and creating.  (well you know — inner quiet.)

to be followed by eating a bowl of soup.

 

sometimes when it feels like its all coming apart at the seams i cook.  how about you?

 

 

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food comfort

a last minute snack/dinner/not sure yet came together for me this evening while the kids were eating their dinner.

it was so perfect and lovely.

sometimes food just grounds me.  it brings me back to my comfort place.  i think, in moderation, it is a great tool.

the snack:

step one – the other night i had roasted a bunch of veggies from our CSA.  (eggplant, pepper, summer squash, leeks, and tomatoes) with a boatload of garlic, some olive oil, and a splash of apple cider vinegar.  (i really think you could use any veggies you have around.)

step two – earlier today i sauteed a bunch of chard with — you guessed it — olive oil and garlic (and sea salt).

step three – this afternoon i took the kids to my favorite local bakery/bagel/food spot (where i spend way too much time and money i am sure) for a cookie and while there i grabbed a multigrain baguette and a small container of olive cream cheese.

step four – slice about 4 inches of the baguette off, cut it in half, toast it lightly.   while toasting reheat all veggies.  spread a think layer of olive cream cheese on lightly toasted bread, top with roasted veggies, top with chard.

step five – eat.  super messy.  you will need a (cloth!) napkin.

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carrot bread rising

about a week ago, during that crazy time i think of as “dinnerbathbed,” the bean came up with a plan.

“let’s bake carrot muffins!”

my inner dialog, “um, no.”

my shared response:

deep breath.  “right now it is a little bit too late in the day for us to start a project like that which will take a long time.  it is almost dark out so we know it is time for bath and bed soon.”

followed by much protest.

followed by a lightbulb moment.  “why don’t we get some paper and come up with the plan of how we will make the carrot cupcakes?”

“but i can’t write.”

“that is ok, you can draw the plan.”

“ok!”

that night we talked about what things we might need to bake carrot muffins.  mixing bowls, aprons, measuring spoons, flour and the like.  while we talked he was busy drawing:

the plan

after we had thought of every possible thing we might need i reminded him that i was not certain because we needed a recipe.  so, of course, i had to find a recipe.  right.now.before.bathbed.

trusty favorite bread book to the rescue:

the bread book that changed my life

after i found the recipe (for carrot bread) i was instructed by my bean to write each ingredient on the back side of the the plan so that we knew exactly what we needed.  example, “carrots A LOT.”  (a lot added by a certain four year old.)

the plan was a popular item.  night one he slept with it.  in the morning he ran to the master bedroom to show it to flash.  it got toted around with us in our bag.

the next morning he woke up and wanted to get baking.  at 6:14 am.  i reminded him (gently i am sure) that we did not have all the ingredients we needed.  we agreed we would go to the store later that day.  i made my own grocery list and he brought the plan.  he insisted that i carry the plan so that i could read each ingredient i had written on the back and make sure we bought it all.  mission accomplished.

for a day or two there was no mention of the carrot bread project so i let it slide.  remember, around this time flash was suddenly on crutches and i was feeling busy enough.

last night, once again during the magical dinnerbathbed time beanie suddenly perked up. i was wary.

“we need to grate the carrots! for the cupcakes!”
oh yes. i mean, “ok. we do need to do that to make our carrot bread. right now we can’t start that project though because it is too late. it is going to be dark soon so that means now we need to do our bath and bedtime. we can make the carrot bread tomorrow.”
“but, i want to make it now.”
“i know. we are not making it now though. there is not enough time. i am tired.”  some dictator some honesty.
“you said that already.”
“we need to remember to make it earlier in the day,” i suggest.
“i always forget,” he scowls.
“i can remember,” i tell him. feeling of course that sudden guilt that i have remembered and simply chosen not to delve into it.
“i will remember for us tomorrow morning,” i promise.

of course i didn’t have to.  we got to work promptly after waking up at what i like to think of as dawn because then it sounds quaint and romantic.  we mixed in all the ingredients and then he looked at the plan and said, “wait!  we forgot something.  it is a bottle with a top.  um, it is a small bottle with a top.”

ok, readers, please scroll up and look at the plan.  just to see if you are as impressed by his recognition of objects he drew as i was.  i looked at the recipe aagain and we had not forgotten anything so then i had to think of what i might have thought we would need and mentioned to him before we found a recipe.

“vanilla?” i tried.

“yes!  vanilla!”

so i threw caution to the wind and added some vanilla to the mix.

by 8 am we had our batch of carrot bread rising and a few minutes ago we put the dough into the loaf pans to prepare them for actual baking:

carrot bread rising

now it is baking as i type and it smells good. it is funny how these things often end up bringing me joy after all the myriad ways i resist them – imagining them to be just extra work in my day. what might be so bad about carrot bread?

oh please, don’t ask the bean that. i can assure you he won’t eat it. he only eats three things. bacon, parmesan cheese, and sticky o’s.

he has not yet discovered the joy of all things food but he clearly is being raised in a family that loves cooking…

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