What I am thinking about this week...

Today I woke up to an impossibly cheery announcer on KUT chirping that it was 24 degrees in Austin. I'm pretty sure I moved to Austin just so that I would never have to hear these kinds of announcements again, but apparently it's not working this week.

This kind of cold makes me want to dive head first back into bed, and after the covers are dragged off, it makes me want to go straight to the kitchen and start cooking some comfort food. "Comfort food" is a term that is everywhere these days, but what really is "comfort food"? Is it the food of our childhood? (As a kid in Portugal I remember eating some kind of dried meat pastries that were put in hot sweet tea, and I have NEVER found myself craving those...) But familiar is a quality that is welcome in comfort food. As I walked into my daughter's elementary school today I smelled pizza - the kind of pizza served by lunch ladies in a cafeteria, and I was right back at Nokomis, my old elementary school, with a massive craving for 2 slices of that Friday pizza hot lunch.

Nostalgia aside, I don't really want cafeteria pizza to warm me during the remainder of the Arctic cold spell. But I do want warm delicious food, that is immediately identifiable. Nothing strange, no food that causes even a hint of hesitation before springing fully loaded onto my mental taste buds. I want tomato soup. I want baked macaroni and cheese - the kind with cheddar and gruyere and buttery crumbs on top, that sends out sirens of fragrance to call you as it emerges golden and bubbling from the oven. Let's face it - I want a chocolate cream pie. So that's what I'm making - a wonderful creamy tomato soup, baked mac & cheese, some hot yeast rolls, pork tenderloin, and chocolate cream pie. A warm embrace of food to keep the cold out.

Make this Now!

Today I am going to give you a recipe for Carrot Ginger Soup. This is hands-down the tastiest, easiest, most nutritious soup that you can make with practically no effort, and I guarantee that you and your kids will both love it. If you have no kids try it out on your pets, I'm sure they'll love it too.

Carrot Ginger Soup
2 lbs. organic carrots, peeled
1 large sweet onion or 2 smaller yellow onions
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
4 Tbsp. butter

Melt butter in a large pot. Add roughly chopped onion to the butter and sweat over medium heat until translucent. Meanwhile, chop carrots into 1 to 2 inch pieces, then add to the pot along with the ginger and about 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt. (To use fresh ginger just break off a piece about the size you want to use, peel the thin skin from the exterior with a vegetable peeler, then cut into quarter inch rounds.)

Turn the heat to low, cover the pot, then set a timer for 15 minutes and let the vegetables sweat. (Check occasionally. If your heat is low, the carrots and onion will be releasing juices and smelling heavenly.) After 15 minutes, add about 2 quarts filtered water to your pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or in batches using a blender or food processor. Adjust the salt, and add 1 cup milk (or more) to bring it to the desired consistency.
VARIATIONS - You can make the soup with olive oil instead of butter, and adjust the consistency with broth instead of milk. I usually do this when I am making the soup for myself. In this case use about 3 TBSP olive oil at the beginning, then adjust consistency with a can of low sodium chicken broth at the end.

Yum! I decided yesterday that I needed to make a big batch to have in the fridge. I had oral surgery on Monday, and after suffering through a day and a half of commercially prepared cream-of-something soup I took out the soup pot and decided to remedy the situation. I still look like a chipmunk, but at least now I look like a happy chipmunk.

2009 Top 10 list

2009 was actually a great year, not least of which is that I started my little business, FoodMuse. I LOVE LOVE doing it. I love the menu planning, I love the cooking, but most of all I LOVE my clients. (I do not love the paperwork or creating invoices, that part is really uninspiring.)

I feel so lucky every day that I get to do this - I still pinch myself when I start in the morning and realize that instead of a dreary office with 300+ emails in my Inbox to scan, I get to make a sponge to use for a yeast bread later in the day. My "To Do" list contains items that I will actually check off at the end of the day - and the results will be tenable and delicious.

So in no particular order, here are the things that I most enjoyed cooking this past year:

1. OK, really, the Rosh Hashanah brisket was magical. Ditto on the pillowy, golden challah bread that went along with it. (The matzoh ball soup not so much - the matzoh balls broke apart. It could have been better.)
2. The big vegetarian pot pie with root vegetables. Honestly, I am really scared that I will never be able to produce one that good again.
3. The Bolognese sauce with rigatoni. That sauce was a revelation in flavor. I did not know that anything could really become that dense, that layered, that complex, given a few ingredients and a lot of time to simmer.
4. Hmmmm. There's definitely a tie brewing between the Chicken Tagine and the Glazed Pork Tenderloin... No, I take it back. The Chicken Tagine. Definitely. That dish was also a revelation - I just didn't know that green olives and dusky apricots could marry so well with chicken and Moroccan spices.
5. If I was being reasonable this spot would now go to the Pork, but I will continue to be capricious, so instead it's the Butternut Squash Risotto. Lovely, creamy, almost unctuous --- the rice and parmesan perfectly balanced the sweetness of the roast squash and tang of fresh sage.
6. The Creamy Potato Soup I made two days ago. (OK, if I were going to be strict about the rules, I would have to save this for next year, but gosh darn it, it was just TOO GOOD.) It's amazing that such a paucity of ingredients should result in something so magical.
7. Giant molasses ginger cookies.
8. Cheesecake brownies.
9. Yeast Rolls.
10. Apple Butter - a total pain to make, but worth it for the results.

I hope that you too enjoyed 2009 and I wish you a wonderful year to come!

2009 menus

Sorry for the uninteresting post - this is something of an "aide memoire" for me so that I have a reference in the future.

September 6, 2009

• Challah French Toast
• Tuscan White Bean Soup
• Potato Bread
• Rigatoni with Sauce Bolognese
• Grilled Mediterranean Vegetables
• Double Chocolate Brownies

September 13, 2009

• Blueberry buttermilk pancakes
• Fennel and tomato soup
• Honey whole wheat bread
• Sweet potato puree with roasted pears
• Maple glazed pork tenderloin
• Pesto
• Roasted red peppers
• Grilled asparagus

September 14, 2009 – vegetarian menu

• Maple Apricot Granola
• Tuscan White Bean Soup (vegetarian version)
• Potato Bread
• Manicotti
• Grilled asparagus
• Peach Pie

September 20, 2009

• Wheat Bran Muffins with Raisins
• Matzoh Ball Chicken Soup
• Challah Bread
• Brisket With Cinnamon and Plums
• Glazed Carrots
• Apple Sauce
• Caramel and Orange Flan

September 28, 2009

• Gingerbread pancakes
• Shrimp and sausage gumbo
• Basmati rice
• Sweet corn pancakes
• Southern greens
• Sourdough boule
• Strawberry rhubarb pie

Vegetarian menu:

• Gingerbread pancakes
• Sourdough Boule
• Butternut squash soup
• Grean beans
• Veggie Chili
• Strawberry/rhubarb pie

October 4, 2009

• Blueberry pancakes

• Carrot and Ginger Soup
• Chicken Tagine with lemon and olives
• Couscous Pilaf with Pine Nuts
• Stir fried Green Beans with garlic slivers
• Honey Whole Wheat bread
• Molasses Spice Cookies

extras:

§ grilled chicken breasts

§ tomato basil sauce

October 11, 2009

• Maple Apricot Granola with candied ginger
• Cuban Black Bean Soup
• Corn Bread
• Grilled Shrimp
• Red Mole with Pork Loin
• Basmati Rice
• Grilled Asparagus
• Chocolate Mousse

October 14, 2009

Vegetarian Menu:

• Blueberry pancakes

• Carrot and Ginger Soup
• Challah Bread
• Spinach Lasagna
• Grilled Mixed Vegetables with thyme
• Chocolate Mousse

October 21, 2009 also 10/26

Menu:

• Pumpkin spice bread
• Cream of mushroom soup or White Bean Soup w/rosemary
• Yeast rolls
• Butternut squash risotto
• Roast pork with fresh sage
• Snap Beans
• Pear and ginger crisp with whipped cream

October 28, 2009

Menu:

• Challah French Toast
• Fennel and tomato soup
• Honey whole wheat bread
• Sweet potato puree with roasted pears
• Maple glazed pork tenderloin
• Grilled asparagus with tarragon
• Snap beans with garlic
• Pear Crisp with vanilla whipped cream

November 2, 2009

Menu:

• Apple Buckwheat Pancakes
• Butternut Squash Soup
• White Chicken Chili
• Potato Bread
• Hearty Greens
• Snap Beans with garlic
• Angel Food Cake

November 9, 2009

Vegetarian Menu:

• Apple Buckwheat Pancakes
• Lentil soup
• Vegetarian pot pie
• Buttermilk cornbread
• Sweet potato puree with pears
• Grilled Asparagus
• Cinnamon Applesauce
• Chocolate Dipped Orange-Blueberry Biscotti
  

Menu:

• Glazed Oatmeal Scones
• Rustic Leek and Potato Soup
• Ciabatta Bread
• Chicken Cacciatore w/portobella mushrooms and sage
• Creamy Polenta
• Cinnamon Applesauce
• Rapini with garlic and oil
• Chocolate Dipped Biscotti

November 16, 2009

Menu:

*Cinnamon Swirl Bread

*Apple Butter

*Pumpkin Soup with Sweet Potato and Mango

*Braised Short Ribs in White Wine

*Bulgur Pilaf with apricots

*Cauliflower Gratin

*Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Menu:

• Quiche Lorraine
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Potato Bread
• Beef Burgundy
• Mashed Potatoes
• Snap Beans with garlic
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts
• Cheesecake Brownies

December 3, 2009

Menu:

• Healthier Bran Muffins with dried cherries
• Chicken Tagine
• Couscous Pilaf with golden raisins
• Turkey Mole
• Basmati Rice
• Stir fried organic Cabbage
• Organic Broccoli with Garlic
• Individual Chocolate Souffles

December 7, 2009

Menu:

• Healthier Bran Muffins with dried cherries
• Creamy Parsnip, Apple, and Leek Soup
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Vegetarian Curry
• Basmati Pilaf
• Lightly Sauteed Green Beans
• Molasses Ginger Cookies

December 8, 2009

Menu:

• Hearty Minestrone Soup
• Healthier Bran Muffins with Dried Cherries
• Cider Glazed Roast Pork Loin
• Mashed Butternut Squash with ginger
• Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw
• Lightly Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic slivers
• Iced Lemon Pound Cake

Happy New Year!

Well, marathon training has started in earnest. I managed to roll in to the Annex at Runtex Riverside promptly at 6:05 AM, just in time to hear Gilbert say: "Does anyone have any questions?" Needless to say this is definitely NOT the time for the newest and slowest kid on the block to raise their hand. Somehow I got through it, thanks to a very nice woman named Paula who took pity on me and ran with me for the duration. Can I just go ahead and say that I hate getting up at 5 AM? You know what I hate more than getting up at this ungodly hour??? Trying to run up Congress Avenue in the dark when it's 31 degrees outside, that's what!

I did manage to learn a few important things about group runner etiquette though. The standard greeting is not "Hey, how you doing" (my standard, running by, all purpose male/female greeting on the trail), but "Hi! What are you training for?"
Everyone is training for something. Most of this group seems to be Boston bound (one of the few marathons that people actually have to qualify for), which means that they are ALL faster than me. Not just like a little faster, but a humbling amount faster --- like their slowest runner would still be WAY faster than I can dream of. I keep assuring myself that it's OK, and most of the time I believe it. We ran 13.34 miles (more or less) and my dogs are barkin'.

Finally! Somebody took me up on the chocolate souffles!

Here is a photo of the first batch of souffles. I had to bake one off to test my serving instructions. These little beauties are great - they are individually portioned and arrive frozen, so all the client has to do is preheat the oven, pop it in, and Presto! instant gooey chocolatey goodness in 20 minutes. I love these!

I was so happy that my friend Tracy ordered these - I keep putting them on menus and no one bites (so to speak :)

So finally, here we are. I will post more photos, some recipes, and updates soon. It turns out that I actually have to start marathon training tomorrow. That's right, it all seemed so much easier when I first decided to do this three months ago... My thought process went something like this: "So I'll need to train for the marathon, big deal. And I'll need to relearn some French, but that's no problem. And then I'll actually have to run 26.2 miles. Oh well... Details, details."

Now that I am suddenly confronted with the reality of training at 5:45 AM, the process seems a little more arduous than when I was at the planning stage. (Did I mention that I ran a total of 4 miles last week? Oh well, details, details...)

Make this now!

Okay, it takes a lot to make me use the imperative with you gentle readers, but this is it! I insist that all of you make your own cranberry sauce.

Normally I am a fairly tolerant individual, but seeing cans of jellied cranberry "sauce" stacked willy-nilly in the supermarket's Thanksgiving display creates a feeling of increasing urgency around this topic. Admittedly Thanksgiving makes even experienced cooks nervous (myself included). Why? Simple, how many other times during the year do we ever attempt to cook a turkey? In my household this happens once a year - so even though I have hosted many thanksgiving dinners over what is an ever increasing span of time, the total is still only about 15 turkeys, give or take a few. I started collecting the Williams Sonoma Thanksgiving guides in 1995, so it's been at least that long --- btw, even if you don't normally enter a WS store during the year, go about a week or two before Thanksgiving and pick up one of their booklets. They're beautiful, make a wonderful keepsake, and contain lots of info about turkeys, side dishes, etc., including the recipes and menu that the WS kitchens came up with for the year. (Did I mention that they're free?)

Anyway, all of this reinforces my proclamation for all harried Thanksgiving cooks today: Make your own cranberry sauce. This is by far the easiest and most satisfying of all your tasks for T-day. Plus, it is effortless, delicious, and will look just as pretty in a cut glass dish as in a simple white bowl.
Here is the recipe for Cranberry Grape compote:
1 12oz bag cranberries
3 c seedless red grapes
1/2 c water
1 c sugar
In a colander wash the cranberries and seedless grapes. Place in a saucepan, add the water over medium heat. Once it is boiling immediately lower heat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes. (The cranberries will pop, which is entertaining for children and adults alike.) Stir in a pinch of salt and spoon into a heatproof container - I usually just put it into whatever I plan to serve it in. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. This compote will keep for at least 3 weeks in the fridge, and is just as delicious with roast turkey as it is with rotisserie chicken, or spread on toast. Trust me.

This recipe is from one of the Martha Stewart publications, I can't remember which, and I have it ever since we tried it because it is simply the best cranberry sauce in the world. (This is a BLOG - I am allowed to be highly opinionated!)
So, do me a favor and make this. I don't care if you don't make anything else from scratch this Thanksgiving, or if you are going top someone else's house for the holidays. Make it anyway and take it as a gift to the hostess - just don't drop any off at my house because I already made mine.