Winter Minestrone

First of all, check out my winter wonderland...

... Allow me to get excited really quick... snow! Finally! Poor Jagger; he hates it sooo much. But please take a moment to laugh at his awkwardness, because he's a huge baby and it really is laughable. We'll keep him inside, don't worry.

Of course snow is the perfect occasion for a huge pot of soup and homemade rolls. It's for warm fuzzy socks and laying on the couch with a good book. It's for snuggling up with a warm blanket and maybe a lazy dog. There's really nothing more comforting; so long as you don't have to leave the house.

But you've got to understand that I'm committed to my huge pot of soup. And you better believe I trekked to the grocery store for fresh vegetables. Because I believe that canned soup is gross.

I will never consider myself a food snob. I hate the term "foodie."

Because as much as I love and appreciate good food, my love for food encompasses even the simplest of things. I've told you of my love for snacks. I will spend an hour making macaroni and cheese, but I will never be too good for the boxed stuff. I have an almost frightening love for peanut m&ms and a secret obsession, thanks to my grandparents, with sandwiches made from Campbell's Pork and Beans and white sandwich bread (and yea, I put ketchup on that). I'll dig on boxed brownies and Funfetti cake any day. What can I say? I'm an American till the end.

But I really think that canned soup is sad. Depressing. Floppy noodles, bits (not even pieces) of chicken that probably wouldn't even make it to McNuggets, more sodium than a human should have in a week, tasteless vegetables... I could continue, but I won't. Mostly because I feel mean if you're eating canned soup right now. (I'm sorry; it doesn't make you a bad person.)

Because for a bit more effort we can all have something really great.

If you've never made your own soup before, I really strongly encourage you to try it. It's soup-er easy and soup-er worthwhile. (Bada-bing!)

In general, when I make soup I usually take the "throw whatever is about to start rotting in the fridge into a pot" approach. Sometimes it wows; sometimes it doesn't. But I hate wasting food, so either way it always works for me. But this minestrone is definitely worth following the recipe.  This recipe was given to me highly recommended by a very trusted source, so I knew I had to follow directions. With one change. Couldn't help myself?

It's flavorful and healthy. The vegetables taste like vegetables. The sodium levels are kept in check. It smells like heaven on a snowy day. And best of all, it's really fairly easy. In fact, as long as you can enlist a buddy to help chop vegetables, it's really just as easy as opening a can (ok, maybe that's an exaggeration).

Soundtrack: More Brothers Past... I know. You don't even have to say it. I'm hanging my head in shame already. AHH BUT I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

Winter Minestone
Adapted from Alice Water's - The Art of Simple Food via Sharon Lustig


1/4 c EVOO
3 carrots (mine were smaller, so I used 4), peeled and diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
5 thyme sprigs (mine disappeared somewhere between the grocery store and my apartment, so a tsp of dried thyme works just fine; however I would recommend at least attempting to obtain fresh)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp kosher salt
4 c. vegetable stock (We all believe the key to this recipe is in the stock - use Medford)
2 c. water
1 leek, diced
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 1" lengths
2 c. red swiss chard, coarsely chopped
1-15 oz can diced tomatoes or 1 1/2 c grape tomatoes, halved (I used the canned diced)
1 rind of chunk of Pecorino-Romano cheese (Or Parmesan), plus additional grated to serve
1 c. butternut squash, cubed
1 can cannelloni beans (with liquid)
1 can red kidney beans (with liquid)
Salt (additional) and pepper, to taste


Heat EVOO over medium heat in a large heavy pot. Add onion, carrots and parsnip and saute for 15 minutes or until onions are translucent, stirring often. Add garlic, thyme sprigs (or dried), bay leaf and salt and continue to cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes.


Add the vegetable stock and water, stir and bring the contents to a boil. Once boiling, add leek and green beans. Cook on a boil for 5 minutes, then stir in cheese rind, squash, tomatoes and chard. Once soup boils again, reduce heat to medium, then cook another 15 minutes.


Add beans with liquid. Stir and taste for salt, adding more if necessary and a bit of black pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.


Remove bay leaf, thyme sprigs (if used) and cheese rind. Serve with grated Pecorino (my preference) or Parmesan cheese.

Vegetable & Biscuit Potpies

Hello again and happy new year y'all!

I think it will suffice to say that I feel as though I have definitely rung in another new year the best way in which I know how. For the past few years this has featured a week full of good times, unforgettable people, and fabulous memories, all of which I know I am so fortunate to have in my life. 

But now, fortunately for you (wink, wink!), I am home and once again going back into food nerd mode. Just testing out some amazing new stuff that I received during the holidays and trying to ingest some vegetables.

I didn't eat many vegetables last week.

Ahh, yes. Butter, flour. You look familiar.

Going back to work tomorrow is certainly going to be rough. Even rougher is going to be battling the crowds at the gym for the next 2 weeks.

Soundtrack:  Play Child by FaltyDL
To London by FaltyDL

Vegetable & Biscuit Potpies
Serves 4




For the filling:


5 c stock (vegetable or chicken)
3/4 c carrots, medium chopped
3/4 c broccoli, coarsely chopped
3/4 c green beans, chopped
1 small onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
salt and pepper


For the biscuits:


3/4 c ap flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp chilled butter
3/4 c cold milk


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


In a large stock pot or dutch oven, bring stock to a boil. Add carrots, broccoli, green beans, onion, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat.


In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once butter is melted, whisk in flour until dissolved to create a paste. Add paste to the stock and vegetables and whisk until dissolved.


Return soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and allow to thicken for 5-7 minutes. (Note: soup is meant to be a bit thinner than the average pot pie filling.) Remove from heat and add chickpeas.


Meanwhile, begin the biscuits. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Add butter and process until mixture forms small pea-sized pieces. With processor running on low, add milk slowly until a dough forms. Remove dough to a floured surface and knead 8 times, until smooth. Roll out dough into a square shape and cut into 4 pieces.


Using a ladle, spoon soup filling into 4 oven-safe bowls. Cover each bowl with a biscuit and place in the center of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, or until biscuit is beginning to brown on top.

Faaabulous Christmas prezzie!

The beginnings of veggie stock

It's like a health explosion!

Favorite Peanut Stir Fry Sauce

This is...

...hands down, the best stir fry sauce. Ever.

Do you like peanut butter? I'm sure that you do. Because you're cool. I'm cool. We're hip. We're groovin'. And peanut butter is super yummy.

I remember the first time I learned peanut butter was mayyyybee not the best thing to haphazardly eat 5-6 spoonfuls of per day. It was a sad day. One day it's, "Hey, this goo is really good! I can totally snack on this instead of real food whenever I get bored, because goo is totally calorie free!" and the next day it's "Wow, I've totally been consuming an needless average 600-700 calories mindlessly every day." Oh, to be 13 again. Eek.

And just so you know, I'm not the only person who's had this experience with peanut butter. I know others. My aunt, for instance. She told me once (it must have been why I had this revelation, because I don't know why else this story would be so burned in my brain), that she ate it every day when she got home from school, until one day she read the label. So see? I'm not the only one.

But anyway, back to this stir fry sauce. It's my go-to. The peanut butter is thinned out with vinegar and soy sauce and seasoned, to make a tangy, gingery, spicy sauce that you can pour over virtually anything that you're stir-frying. It's that easy. It's that delicious. And I'm sharing it with you. Because I love you.

And because you love me, you're going to follow this link. And vote for my pie. I scratch your big toe, you scratch mine. I'm just kidding. I would never go anywhere near your big toe. I hate feet.

Soundtrack:


Make My f/ Big K.R.I.T. by the_roots  

Favorite Peanut Stir Fry Sauce
Adapted from Eatingwell.com
Serves 2-3


3 tbsp water
4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp honey
2 tsp minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 tsp hot sauce (to taste)


Whisk all ingredients together. Pour over cooked meat and/or slightly sauteed stir-fry vegetables to finish!

Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes

If this were a friends episode it would be called "The One Where Adam and Meghan go on a Picnic." 

Pic-a-nic Basket!

If this were a friends episode, we would get to the park and Adam would get stung by a bee (again!). And then he would be allergic. But not the deathly kind of allergic, the kind where you just get really swollen. But we would be really far into the woods, so by the time we got to the car his face would be giant and purple. He would encounter some people who would make some funny comments about his face and then we would have to bring Jagger to the hospital with us. And Jagger would get into something while we were there. Maybe while we were in seeing the doctor, he would walk to the other side of the curtain and eat all the food from the lunch bag of the man sleeping on the other side. He is in the hospital because he just got giant a mole removed and is under anesthesia. It turns out that he is our neighbor who hates Jagger already, because he barks at his cat. We would make an effort to leave quickly before our sleeping neighbor awakes. The episode would end with Adam and Meghan, many hours later, having a candlelit picnic in their living room later that night. Their neighbor would stop by and recount to them how his lunch had disappeared and Adam would keep scratching while he was there and it would make the neighbor suspicious. Then he would leave and in true sitcom form, it would be romantic and there would be wine.


But that's not really what happened (mostly because in real life Jagger can't be in hospitals). In real life, we had a pleasant morning with delicious food and great company. And Jagger enjoyed himself too. It was all very sickening and adorable. AND I LOVE PICNICS!


In addition to the items listen above, I also brought along some of these scones since I wanted a brunch-type vibe. I also threw in a container of assorted olives and peppadews. I like to eat lots of different things .

Peek-neek stuff and sunflowers :)

These appetizers/small bites are fantastic to bring on a picnic. Many different components served separately that are meant to be assembled. They compliment and balance each other well, but each is also great on it own. It's a really easy spread (SO EASY) and you can either build small sandwiches or just have a smattering of different things (I love that word). Or both! Appenzeller is a really great and flavorful cheese that pairs really well with arugula. Pesto adds a nice touch.


Soundtrack: Cage the Elephant - Self-titled


Roasted Vegetables with Appenzeller, Arugula & Pesto Baguettes 
(Serves 2 or 3 as a meal or 5 as an appetizer)


For this spread you will need:


1 block of Appenzeller Cheese, cut into slices
2-3 handfuls Arugula
1/4 c. Pesto
1 baguette, sliced on the diagonal
Roasted Veggies (See below)

Arrange everything separately. Encourage mixing and matching to create different sandwich combinations! Yum!


Roasted Vegetables




1 medium zuchinni, sliced on a diagonal
1 small red onion, cut into wedges
1-8 oz package of baby carrots or carrot sticks
1 tbsp EVOO
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt & pepper
cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350. Toss vegetables in oil, rosemary, oregano, & thyme. Season with salt & pepper to taste (just a sprinkling of each).


Spray a 9x11 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread vegetables evenly in dish and bake for 45 minutes, or until vegetables are completely softened, stirring every 10-15 minutes. 


Allow to cool & serve cold.

Fraiche Vegetables

Add some flavor...

Bam! Delicious!

Gorgeous day in b-e-a-utiful Fairmount Park!

"Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world:
Then how can it be said I am alone,
When all the world is here to look on me?"

Portable food.. sigh

Uh, what?