Green Is My Favorite Color.

Haven't you noticed?  I talk about green food all the time.  If you see me on a regular basis (not at work), you may have noticed that I wear it almost exclusively.  If you have seen my closet - it's like a forest in there.  Also, I get really sentimental about all of the different shades there are of this color when I am outdoors.  This may or may not make you want to hike with me.  Anyhow, I say why not the color green?  We basically live because of the color green: i.e. trees, vegetables, V-Tech (anyone? I know at least 6 of you who will appreciate this), ect...

This particular post is my half-hearted attempt to honor the color green.  SO.  One of my favorite songs:

Notes from the start:

1.  I know what this looks like.  "Ooohhhh - green drinks, green soups - Sara, did you turn into a goat and not tell us?"  Answer?  No, this stuff is just really tasty.

2. Adapted this recipe from:  LOVE SOUP by Anna Thomas

3.  As usual, I changed the recipe a bit.  Couldn't find chard or kale, so I used spinach and arugula.  That's the nice thing about leafy greens - they substitute in and out so easily.  Added ginger.  More than just a pinch of cayenne (doi).  Also, I added less than the called for amount of veg stock (thicker soup - yum).

Green Soup

The Original

mostly from Anna Thomas

Yield: 6 servings

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

7oz baby spinach

7 oz wild arugula

5 green onions

1/2 c cilantro

2 T fresh ginger

Salt

3 c water

1 medium starchy potato

1 medium yellow onion

1 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2 c vegetable broth

To taste: more salt, black pepper, cayenne, fresh lemon juice (about 1 T)

Wash all of your green things and cut off the stems. Chop up the green onions and ginger.  Place spinach, arugula, green onions, cilantro, and ginger in a large soup pot.  Add water and start heating.

Now, wash the potato and chop it into small chunks (the potato is here for starch - rice is also a possibility).  Add the potato to the pot, bring the water to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover, and let it simmer for about 40 minutes stirring occasionally.

It is time to chop the onions!  I cried today.  Weak.  Anyhow, heat up the olive oil in a pan, add the onions, and caramelize them until they are brown and soft.  This can take a long time, so please be patient. 

When everything is ready to come together, add the onions to the soup.  Add the chopped garlic to the pan and heat up to release the yummy smells.  Also add this to the soup and simmer for about 10 more minutes.

Add as much broth as it takes to cover the veg.  You can make this soup as thick or thin as you would like, so let your stomach be your guide.  And just like last week, ladle the soup to fill up the blender half way.  In small batches, start at a low speed to blend the soup until smooth.  Return the soup to the pot and bring it back to a simmer.

Now is the time to season.  Add salt, pepper, cayenne, and lemon juice little by little to bring out the flavors of the soup.  I like mine a little bit on the heated side.

Garnish:

- Naturally, croutons.  I used the rest of my bread from last week.  Yesssss.

- Crumbled gorgonzola cheese: oh my goodness, makes the soup.  Any crumbly cheese will do.

- Ms. Thomas insists upon a drizzle of fruity green olive oil.  Maybe I will try later on this week.

Notes at the end:

1.  This is an exciting soup.  A-WOO-hoo.

2.  You will want to double this.  It just doesn't yield as much as you will inevitably want to eat.  

3.  Share, share, share a bowl of soup with someone you love.  It's better that way.

In other news:

Occupy Boston is one of the more interesting things I have visited lately.

Made a budget today.  Responsible adult?  Indeed.

Any grand ideas on how to get a cheap flight home?  Currently in the market for just that.

Sunday ritual has turned into something perfect: time with Paula in the morning, walks, food shopping, cooking, laundry, Skype with the fam, time with Esther in the evening (usually more cooking and listening to the S Club 7 Pandora station).

Thanks for reading.  And be well.

Love ya'll.  Have a grand week.

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?