Firsts: Truck, Ladder, Celeriac.

Oh tis the season

For soup to be made each week

Celeriac cream

Things have been wild.  There is really nothing else to say.  I cannot even pretend that I do much more than work at this point.  Although, I feel, and have always felt, that when I am overworking, I am generally more productive in other aspects of my life.  As though my body and mind have grown accustomed to being used in excess, so they don't really want to stop.  Anyhow, I opened a new truck in the Longwood Medical Area.  This is actually the truck I drove to Boston from Ohio a few months back - funny, huh?  Here she is:

Best new discovery: weekends.  Maybe it is because I am working an exhausting amount of hours during the week and am unable to take care of myself during that time (no cleaning, no cooking, no sleeping), but weekends have been washing me clean lately.  They have been transformative.  Dramatic?  Absolutely.  True?   Even more absolute in my mind.  Each thing I do makes me stop for a moment and say, "Thanks, I really need that, and my life is so beautiful."  And I mean everything: cooking, reading, writing, walks, roommate time, drinking, dancing, finding music everywhere, the sun, hair cuts, lone sushi lunches, beer olympics (and obviously anytime I am in the Champagne household), every moment with Esther and Paula, finally unpacking, laundry.  Well, those last two might not sound amazing, but I am sure that we can all agree that life is easier in a clutter-free room and clean clothes.

Yesterday I did something crazy that I simply cannot go on without sharing.  Locked myself out (classic) of my apartment - without my phone.  NO THANKS.  After a short time of contemplating which was worse (sitting alone outside vs. death) - I decided to face death.  The possible reaper?  An old ladder.  (Do not use this footage as a means to break into my house. Please and thank you.)

Something I do lately is listen to music CONSTANTLY.  On my way to and from work, at work, in the shower, while cooking, falling asleep, obsessed.  Thanks, Pandora, for keeping things spicy. I heard this song performed live a couple of years ago and it always comes back to me.  Not only is it a song that I want to listen to over and over again, but to share as well.  It never fails to make me feel everything - giddy, heartbroken, hopeful.

Starting Notes:

1.  What the what is celeriac?  Celery root.  Looks like an alien head, smells like celery.  Did a bit of research on it and found: this article.  Last year at work I remember we did a soup with celeriac - and that was the first time I had ever seen it.  Paula and I were talked into buying it at the farmer's market this past weekend.

2.  I just made this soup up, which I have never done before.  I really like following recipes because I feel like they are tried, true, and cannot be messed up.  This actually turned out great and now I have soup for the whole week. Yessss.

3.  Made my own vegetable broth today, as well.  I had all of the peelings and stems from the veggies that I was using in the soup, so I simmered them in water for about 45 minutes and made a light amber broth. Another first.

Creamy Celeriac Soup

Yield: 8 servings

Difficulty: Moderate

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1/2 yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

1 leek

2 potatoes

5 carrots

1/2 bunch kale

1 head celeriac

1/4 cup chopped parsley

6 cups vegetable stock (or enough to cover veg)

4 cups coconut milk

To taste: salt, black pepper, sugar, nutmeg

Directions:

Wash and roughly chop all veg into chunks (no need to make this pretty, we will blend them later).

In a large pot, heat olive oil on high.  Reduce heat and add onions.  Cook these onions until they are softened and transparent.  Add garlic for about a minute and take a moment to enjoy the best smell that cooking has to offer.

Add the rest of the veg, stock, and fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, ect).  Make sure that the stock covers the veg.  Now, bring this to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, add milk, and allow it to cook for about 30 minutes or until the celeriac falls apart when pierced.

Set up your blender and ladle your soup in to fill the blender half way up (you don't want hot soup exploding out of the top).  Add a bit of salt with each batch.  Remember to start pulsing the blender on low each time, working up to a higher speed.

Once the soup is blended and at your desired consistency - salt, pepper, sugar, and nutmeg your way (slowly) to the perfect soup.

Garnish:

Croutons!  I used a crusty olive bread, cut it up into chunks, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and baked them at 400 degrees until browned and crunchy.  Completely makes the soup (they soak up the celeriacy goodness).

Finishing Notes:

1.  This soup reminds me of a cross between a root vegetable and "cream of" soup.  Earthy, thick, warm.

2.  I have said this about soup before and I will say it again.  It is an amazingly easy meal to make because you can pretty much throw anything into the pot and the soup will still turn out wonderfully!  Feel like adding more greens?  Or do you hate the idea of onion lurking inside?  Add or subtract anything you would like.  Freedom.

3.  All I had was parsley laying around - I would have added thyme as well.  Maybe some sage.

Particularly have been missing a lot of you these past few days.  In the kitchen, I feel quite peaceful, safe, and at home.  Eating this soup and writing to all of you almost makes me feel as though we are sharing a meal.  If you are reading this, then I think that we should share a meal sometime soon.  You would be doing me a great favor, in fact.  I pretty much just want to out-pour some love right now, in case you hadn't noticed already.

Outtakes:

Does this really need much of an explanation?  I didn't properly attach the blender.  I burnt myself and made a gigantic mess.  Who thought that it was a good idea to leave me alone in the kitchen?